plants. It is procured in Italy from _Sorghum saccharatum_;
in China, from _Saccharum sinense_; in Brazil, from _Gynerium
saccharoides_; in the West Indies, from _saccharum violaceum_; and in
many other parts of the world from _S officinarrum_. The last two are
commonly known as sugar canes, and they are generally considered as
varieties of a single species, _S. officinarum_, which is now widely
spread over different parts of the world.

Some curious specimens of palm sugars were exhibited at the Great
Exhibition of 1851, among others,--gomuti palm sugar (_Arenga
saccharifera_) from Java; date palm sugar, from the Deccan; nipa
sugar, from the stems of _Nipa fruticans_, and sugar from the fleshy
flowers of _Bassia latifolia_,--an East Indian tree.

Among the other sugars shown were beet root sugar, maple sugar, date
sugar, from Dacca, sugar from the butter tree (_Bassia butyracea_),
produced in the division of Rohekkund, in India; and sugar candy,
crystallized by the natives of Calcutta and other parts of India.

Sugar and molasses from the grape, were also shown from Spain, Tunis
and the Zollverein.

Sugar, or sugar candy, has been made in China from very remote
antiquity, and large quantities have been exported from India, in all
ages, whence it is most probable that it found its way to Rome.

The principal impurities to be sought for in cane sugar are inorganic
matter, water, molasses, farina, and grape, or starch sugar. The
latter substance is occasionally, for adulterating purposes, added in
Europe to cane sugar; it may be detected by the action of concentrated
sulphuric acid and of a solution of caustic potassa; the former
blackens cane sugar, but does not affect the starch sugar, while
potassa darkens the color of starch sugar, but does not alter that of
cane sugar. But the copper test is far more delicate. Add to the
solution to be tested, a few drops of blue vitriol, and then a
quantity of potassa solution, and apply heat; if the cane sugar is
pure, the liquor will remain blue, while, if it be adulterated with
starch sugar, it will assume a reddish yellow color.

Inorganic matter is determined by incineration, farina by the iodine
test, water by drying at 210 deg., and molasses by getting rid of it
by re-crystalization from alcohol, as also by the color and moisture
of the article.

The natural impurities of sugar are gum and tannin; gum is detected by
giving a white precipitate with diacetate of lead, a