A true & exact history of the island of BarbadosLigon, Richard
History
A true & exact history of the island of Barbados
Ligon, Richard
Barbados -- Description and travel; Plants -- Barbados; Sugar -- Manufacture and refining -- Barbados
And now, since I have put my selfe upon this Discovery, I think
it fit to let you know the nature of the Plant, the right way of
planting it, the manner of growth, the time of growing to ripenesse,
the manner of cutting, bringing home, the place where to lay them,
being brought home, the time they may lie there, without spoile, the
manner of grinding or squeezing them, the conveyance of the liquor to
the Cisterns, how long it may stay there without harme, the manner
of boyling and skimming, with the conveyance of the skimmings into
the Cisterns, in the Still-house, the manner of distilling it, which
makes the strongest Spirits that men can drink, with the temper to be
put in; what the temper is, the time of cooling the Sugar before it
be put into the Pots; the time it staies in the Cureing house, before
it be good Muscavado Sugar. And last, the making of it into Whites,
which we call Lump-Sugar.
First then, it is fit to set down, what manner of place is to be
chosen, to set this Sugar-work, or Ingenio, upon; and it must be
the brow of a small hill, that hath within the compasse of eighty
foot, twelve foot descent, _viz._ from the grinding place, which
is the highest ground, and stands upon a flat, to the Still house,
and that by these descents: From the grinding place to the boyling
house, four foot and a halfe, from thence to the fire-room, seven
foot and a halfe; and some little descent to the Still house. And
the reason of these descents are these; the top of the Cistern, into
which the first liquor runs, is, and must be, somewhat lower than the
Pipe that convaies it, and that is a little under ground. Then, the
liquor which runs from that Cistern must vent it selfe at the bottom,
otherwise it cannot run all out; and that Cistern is two foot and a
halfe deep: and so, running upon a little descent, to the clarifying
Copper, which is a foot and a halfe above the flowre of the Boyling
house, (and so is the whole Frame, where all the Coppers stand); it
must of necessity fall out, that the flowre of the Boyling house
must be below the flowre of the Mill-house, four foot and a halfe.
Then admit the largest Copper be a foot and a halfe deep, the bottom
of the Copper will be lower then the flowre of the Boyling-house,
by a foot; the bottom of the Furnaces must be three foot below the
Coppers; and the holes under the Furnaces, into which the ashes fall,
is three foot below the bottom of the Furnaces: A little more fall
is required to the Still-house, and so the account is made up. Upon
what place the Sugar-work is to be set, I have drawn two Plots, that
expresse more than language can do, to which I refer you. And so I
have done with the Ingenio, and now to the work I promised, which I
shall be briefe in.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account