The reburnt and cooled char is collected and sent back to the char cisterns.

The char is then " settled " by water being slowly run on to it, in order to prevent the syrup making channels for itself and not permeating the whole mass evenly.

The syrup in the cistern is allowed to remain for about twelve hours, by which time the char will have absorbed all the colouring matter in it, as well as the lime.

All sugars are colourless solids or syrups, which char on strong heating; they are soluble in water, forming sweet solutions but difficultly soluble in alcohol.

Below each retort, and attached to it, is a cooler formed of thin sheet-iron, which receives the hot char as it passes from the retort, and at the bottom of the cooler is an arrangement of valves which permits a certain amount of char to drop out and no more.