TREACLE  , the thick viscid

syrup obtained in the early processes of refining sugar, the uncrystallizable fluid obtained in the process of procuring refined crystallized sugar being known as " golden syrup " and the drainings from the crude sugar as " molasses " (see SUGAR: Manufacture) . The word was properly and first used for a medical compound of varying ingredients which was supposed to be a sovereign remedy against snake bites or poison generally . A well-known specific was Venice treacle, Theriaca Andromachi, a compound of a large number of drugs reduced to an electuary,l a medicinal compound prepared with honey, which dissolves in the mouth . The old French triacle, of which "treacle," earlier "triacle," is an adaptation, is a corruption of theriaque, Latin theriaca, Greek BrlpcaKa (sc. qihpµaKa), literally drugs used as an antidote against the bite of poisonous or wild animals (Bilp.ov, dim. of Wye, wild beast) . The word " triacle " came to be used of any remedy or antidote . The composition of electuaries with honey or syrup naturally transferred the name to the most familiar syrup, that obtained from the drainings of sugar . TREAD-MILL, a penal appliance introduced by Sir William Cubitt in 1818 and intended by him as a means of employing criminals usefully . It was a large hollow cylinder of wood on an iron frame, round the circumference of which were a series of steps about 7a in. apart . The criminal, steadying himself by hand-rails on either side, trod on these, his weight causing the mill to revolve and compelling him to take each step in turn . In the brutalizing system formerly in vogue the necessary resistance was obtained by weights, thus condemning the offender to useless toil and defeating the inventor's object . The tread-mill, however, was subsequently utilized for grinding corn, pumping water and other prison purposes . The speed of the wheel was regulated by a brake .

Usually it revelved at the

rate of 32 ft. per minute . The prisoner worked for 6 hours each day, 3 hours at a time . He was on the wheel for 15 minutes and then rested for 5 minutes . Thus in the course of his day's labour he climbed 864o ft . Isolation of prisoners at their work was obtained by screens of wood on each side of the mill, converting the working space into a separate compartment . Each prisoner was medically examined before going to the mill . By the Prison Act 1865 every male prisoner over 16, sentenced to hard labour, had to spend three months at least of his sentence in labour of the first class . This consisted primarily of the tread-mill, or, as an alternative, the crank . The latter consisted of a small wheel, like the paddle-wheel of a steamer, and a handle turned by the prisoner made it revolve in a box paetly filled with gravel . The amount of gravel regulated the hard labour; or the necessary resistance was obtained by a brake, by which a pressure, usually of 12 lb, was applied . The prisoner had to make 8000 or 1o,000 revolutions during his 6 hours' work, according to his strength, the number being registered on a dial . The crank too, however, was subsequently made to serve useful purposes .

Both tread-mill and crank have gradually been abolished; in 1895 there were 39 tread-

mills and 29 cranks in use in English prisons, and these had dwindled down to 13 and 5 respectively in 1901 . They are now disused . The fundamental idea of Cubitt's invention, i.e. procuring rotary motion for industrial purposes by the weight of men or animals, is very old . " Tread-wheels," of this type, usually consist of hollow cylinders, round the inner surface of which a horse, dog or man walks, foothold being kept by slabs of wood nailed across at short intervals .