al, mamma!' and then a burst of
laughter at the idea of making sugar with a mangle. The mangle in
question was part of a patent washing apparatus which Mr. Hardy had
brought with him from England, and consisted of two strong iron rollers,
kept together by strong springs, and turning with a handle.

'I do think that the mangle would do, Clara,' Mr. Hardy said, 'and we
are all much obliged to you for the idea. I had thought of the great
washing copper for boiling the sugar, but the mangle altogether escaped
me. We will begin to-morrow. Please get all the tubs scrubbed out and
scalded, and put out in the sun to dry.'

'How long will it take, papa?'

'Some days, Ethel; we must only cut the canes as fast as the boiler can
boil the juice down.'

The next day the work began. The canes were cut at a level with the
ground, the tops were taken off, and the canes cut into lengths of three
feet. They were then packed on a bullock-cart and taken up to the house.
They were next passed through the mangle, which succeeded admirably, the
juice flowing out in streams into the tub placed below to receive it.
When all the canes had been passed through the mangle, the screws were
tightened to increase the pressure, and they were again passed through;
by which time, although the juice was not so thoroughly extracted as it
would have been by a more powerful machine, the quantity that remained
was not important. As the tub was filled, the contents were taken to the
great copper, under which a fire was then lighted. The crushing of the
canes was continued until the copper was nearly full, when Mr. Hardy
ordered the cutting of the canes to be discontinued for the day. The
fire under the copper was fed with the crushed canes, which burnt very
freely. Mr. Hardy now added a small quantity of lime and some sheep's
blood, which last ingredient caused many exclamations of horror from
Mrs. Hardy and the young ones. The blood, however, Mr. Hardy informed
them, was necessary to clarify the sugar, as the albumen contained in
the blood would rise to the surface, bringing the impurities with it.
The fire was continued until the thermometer showed that the syrup was
within a few degrees of boiling, and the surface was covered with a
thick, dark-coloured scum. The fire was then removed, and the liquor
allowed to cool, the family now going about other work, as so large a
quantity of liquor would not be really cold until the next day.

The following mornin