par ie aap a abe see oe ee ee Dwi : , ‘ ; fe 5 i ; ‘ Bence ‘ : ce ; A pth nee Ale ee focal acta iy OS eed D Gorell University Library Ithaca, New Pork CHARLES WILLIAM WASON COLLECTION CHINA AND THE CHINESE THE GIFT OF CHARLES WILLIAM WASON CLASS OF 1876 1918 Cornell University Library SB 235.H45 Sor iwi 3 1924 023 i, 998 0020 a AACA, JEDEE GOW Wo td toy WITH AN Se BY Baw WILLSAM CLODOK “i et Ohio State ‘Board A \. SORGO CULTURE. WAICX Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by APPLEGATE & CO., in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of Ohio. CONTENTS Relating to China and the Chinese Chinese €ane . 4.2 524 4 6 «4 @« VS First appearance of Chinese cane dt BUPope: . ae A ie ee ee ee «6B The manufacture of sugar in China . 323 Chinese variety not well adapted for SUGAPHMAKING 66S aS GOS ek ee «6B Description of Chinese cane .... 40 Chinese cane (illustration) .... 42 HSriy PuOCUCE:. a.:4: eae area |S Advisability of planting other cane contiguous with Chinese; Chinese cane degenerates in France...’ 44 Varieties preferable to Chinese .. 93 African cane stands stronger soil . 55 Cultivation of Chinese cane in the United States . 2... ee se ees 69 CONTENTS, PRERPACE ssssvssersovess ee iieeaeoeweeNatevpsvenee WIL INTRODUCTIONS csctacicsanevacoosswerssnvenstoovinsceedserandbiaiecaivecliseweeseate: AI CHAPTER I. The Chinese and African Canes......ss..scssseerecosseeesene seeavaiias 19 CHAPTER II. Bugar-producing Plants: ..csssssssceeecoctererscreessece sarscese soasseees 36 CHAPTER I1t. Varieties of Seed, and their Preservation.......css00csssvesseecees . 40 CHAPTHR IV. Soils and Seasons of Planting.......cccsecsssersccreceseterateasecerens OF CHAPTER V. Cultivation of the Came....cccccssssssssscsscscseeccceceres ceeseese serene OD CHAPTER VI. Cutting and Handling.......06s.sssee0 RETURNER TES (iii) ‘iv CONTENTS. PAGE CHAPTER VII. Arrangement of Steam Sugar-Works......00rsccceseeservessvesseees 66 CHAPTER VIII. Mills and Cane Grinding....... dsaneee secnseen cesses sens a teasnscaseoeces 90 CHAPTER IX. Defecators and Neutralizing Re-agents.......00sssee seosssceseeees 106 CHAPTER X. Evaporating Apparatus, How Used......ssscssessresesecseee vorseeeel 33 CHAPTER XI. Sugar-making Process........sccccessee oesseee ee wees Siac ie soeeeeeeL Sd : CHAPTER XII. Vinegar and Alcohol from the Scum.........scssssseesssssesesseesee L768 CHAPTER XIII. Bagasse for Fuel and other Uses.....eccerscersserscesesssseeecessenees 181 CHAPTER XIV. Refining Processes and Materials, How Made......... seseersoce 176 CHAPTER XV Products, Markets, and Profits.....s.sccsessseccrscsssssseosssseeceseeel OS PREFACE. In preparing this work for the press, it has been my one single purpose to write a plain, practical treatise upon the subject to which it relates; to produce a book adapted to the wants of persons engaged in cultivating and working the Northern Cane. I am, neither by inclin- ation nor education, a book maker. All the qualifications I possess in that line, and all that I have employed in preparing this little volume, are such as have been forced upon me, by a long and rugged intimacy with the busi- ness of which it treats. If I have not furnished a schol- arly production, it is, perhaps, because my degrees were taken in the furrow, the mechanic shop, and sugar-house, and not in the university. Having been, for twenty-five years, connected with the manufacture of agricultural implements, and being exten- sively engaged in that business at the time public atten- tion was first called to the Northern Sugar-cane, I became acquainted with the new plant as soon as it was an- nounced. Believing, with a few others, that it was exactly what was needed, as an addition to the domestic produc- tions of the West, and that it would, at least, afford our farmers a bountiful supply of good family syrup, I im- mediately espoused the enterprise, with all the zeal and (v) vi PREFACE. all the means I could command. My anticipations have at last been realized. The country is being supplied with a syrup of its own production, and not only supplied in abundance for’ its own consumption, but a surplus is now flowing to the cities and, towns, and ‘clamoring for recognition as an article of commerce. Pioneers, in new enterprises, who are subjected to the jokes and jeers of the public, are more than compensated for all they endure, if at last permitted to witness the fulfillment of their cherished expectations. ' In the winter and spring of 1857, after the adverse, and, I may say unfortunate, report of Dr. Hayes, of Boston, in regard to the Sugar of the Sorgho, the confi- dence of the public was very much depressed, and the enterprise was regarded by many as having received its death-blow. I immediately addressed our then Minister at Paris, Hon. J. Y. Mason, desiring him to furnish me with the facts, as far as they had been developed by the cultivators of the Cane in France. In reply, I received, through the Department of State, six pamphlets, together with an elaborate communication from Vilmorin, Andreux & Co., of Paris, all treating upon the subject fully; the latter confirming all the hopes we had previously enter- tained, and directly controverting the position assumed by Dr. Hayes. I immediately procured a translation of the communication, published it, and furnished copies to the press in many parts of the country, giving it a wide circulation. This at once reassured the public, and led to further efforts in the cultivation of the cane. At the same time I placed the pamphlets in the hands of my friend, Henry 8. Olcott, of New York, urging him to translate the documents, and embody them in a general and complete treatise upon the subject. This he at first hesitated to undertake, fearing, that as the subject was PREFACE. vu looked upon at that time as quite utopian, no publisher would assume the risk of bringing out the book, without some assurance against pecuniary loss. That matter was finally settled by letters of credit furnished by our house, and the handsome volume, ‘Olcott's Sorgho and Imphee,” shortly appeared. The changes which have taken place in the develop- ment of this important enterprise, from the above period to the present time, although gradual and almost imper- ceptible, have been so great as to constitute, by contrast, quite a new era. Each year has afforded new and im- portant unfoldings, and has confirmed, more and more, the sanguine expectations at first entertained. And yet much, very much, remains to be learned. We are even now struggling with the early rudiments of the subject. Facts in greater number, and in greater variety, are needed, as it is from these that the ultimate truths and principles, upon which final and complete success de- pends, must develop themselves. The important problem of Sugar, as a practical result, is yet to be solved. Shall it be accomplished? When the past, with the immense strides which have been made, is considered, and when we estimate the skill and industry now devoted to the business, can we believe that the future will be less auspicious in beneficent results than the past has been. It was not my purpose, at first, to extend this work beyond the limits of a moderately sized pamphlet, the design being, mainly, to afford a general reply to numer- ous letters of inquiry from persons who had noticed my paper in the Patent Office Reports, and my communica- tions to the press. But after entering upon the task, I found even the dimensions of the present volume far too small for all I desired to write upon the subject. Its dimensions can not be conveniently enlarged, for the size Vu PREFACE. and price of the book had been fixed and extensively advertised by the publisher, before the recent extraordin- ary advance in paper and other materials. They are thus unable to add any thing further to the cost of the work, without advancing the selling price. I am, therefore, compelled to withhold many valuable communications and other matters of interest for the present. But I hope, at some future time, in a more prosperous condi- tion of the country, to present them to the public. My address, in future, will be in this city. I have no longer any interest whatever in the manufacture of mills and apparatus, but shall devote myself, in future, to the business, in a professional capacity, as consulting and su- perintending machinist. I shall also give especial atten- tion to the subject of improving our present stock of seeds, For this purpose, I shall plant and cultivate, with the utmost care, all the best varieties of African and Chinese Cane, solely with reference to improving and accurately defining the different kinds, testing their re- spective qualities, and determining, by careful experi- ment, their tendencies to hybridize or mix with other plants. Crvorwnati, March 1, 1863. INTRODUCTION. GENERAL NATURE AND PROPERTIES OF SUGAR. Suear, as a general term, is applied to a class of sub- stances, most of which are sweet to the taste, and all of which are capable of entering into the vinous or alcoholic fermentation. It does not include the mineral sweets, such as sugar of lead, and the combinations with hyposulphite of silver, nor a variety of vegetable substances, such as liquorice and the mannas, for these, though very sweet, do not ferment and afford alcohol. The principal varieties are cane sugar, grape sugar or glucose, and milk sugar. The elements of which the sugars are composed are the most common and familiar substances in nature—carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The first of these is simply charcoal, and the last two the elements of water, and these enter into combination with the carbon in pre- cisely the same proportions in which they exist in that all- pervading element which forms the rain-drop, the rivulet, and the ocean: It will thus be seen that a mixture of charcoal and water, in due proportions, contains essentially all the elements, and the precise quantities of each that are contained in those highly-coveted saccharine crystals for which we tax the productive resources of all lands and all (ix) x INTRODUCTION. climes, But it must be remembered that these homely elements, when they afford the properties of sugar, are delicately and mysteriously combined, and that this com- bination is effected only by the subtile alchemy of the sunbeam in the great laboratory of nature. The sugars can not be appropriately considered, except in connection with a number of other bodies, with which they form a distinct and highly interesting class,*called the saccharine and amylaceous group. These bodies are all composed of the three elements heretofore named, car- bon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and, in all of them, the hydro- gen and oxygen exist in the exact proportions which form water. The following is a list of the principal substances form- ing the sugar and starch group. ‘The figures indicate the number of equivalents of each element in the substances respectively: Carb, Hyd. Oxy, Cane sugar, crystallized. ,...ccccccseesDbceeee22ecceee 22 Cane sugar, in combination... 24 eeLBsrccee 18 Grape sugar, crystallized. .....cccce 2b 28.0100 28 Grape sugar, in combination Milk sugar, crystallized.....ceceee Milk sugar, in combination............ Biarths wm ares d seeteekicagsaeed . Dextvine....cscce vercece serereces ses cocscsnge Db senses QO ceeree 20 Gum ATE biG. sesccss sevecesscaceeneece covevets Dk cen ZZ veer 22 Gum Tragacanth.. Db iveeer 20 cceeee 20 Lignin or celulose....... Tt will be seen that the only apparent difference in the above bodies, is a slight variation in the proportion of the elements of water to carbon, while in respect to several of them, the elements are identical. This is a phenomenon of frequent occurrence in the composition of organic INTRODUCTION, xl bodies, and is termed isomerism. It is supposed to result from a difference in the mode in which the elements ar- range or adjust themselves to each other. For example, there are reasons for supposing cane sugar to be formed by the combination of twenty-four equivalents of carbon, eighteen of hydrogen, and eighteen of oxygen, and these to be secondarily combined with four equivalents of water. But the actual plan or order may be much more complex than this, and the great varieties of modes in which it is thus possible for these elements to enter into combination, is sufficient to account for the great difference found in their properties, although haying the same elemental com- position. The foregoing will naturally suggest that the different bodies in their group may be susceptible of ready conver- sion from one substance to another; that, by adding or removing a small number of the elements of water, such a result would be produced. In principle, this is true, and with reference to several of the hodies, changes of this nature are practically effected on a large scale. In the production of alcohol from grains and all amylaceous sub- stances, the starch is first converted to grape sugar before alcohol can be developed, and it is only from the artificial sugar thus produced, that the alcohol is made. Lignin, cane sugar, and dextrine are easily changed to grape sugar. The starch sugar of commerce, immense quantities of which are made in some countries from the potato, is produced by the action of sulphuric acid upon the starch, causing it to acquire additional equivalents of the elements of water, by which it is completely transformed to grape sugar or glucose. Increase of weight occurs in the oper- ation, showing that the change is effected, not by the abstraction of carbon, but by the addition of the element of water. —] xii INTRODUCTION. But the natural position of these bodies seems to be upon different planes of organization. They appear to form a graduated scale, from a higher to a lower type, so that while it is possible to effect artificial changes in one direc- tion, it is quite impracticable to produce them in the op- posite direction; all the possible changes being restricted to what may be called the descending scale. In other words, all the transformations, which may be artificially produced, are in the nature of a degrading process, or that of reducing the body acted upon to one of a lower organic type. If this, which is a mere suggestion of the writer, be correct, it may appear that the order of arrangement is determined or indicated by the proportion of carbon to the elements of water in the respective combinations, and that a classification of the various bodies composing the group, in accordance with this theory, would indicate the direc- tion and kind of changes it is possible to produce by the action of re-agents, or otherwise. Such a classification would give cane sugar the first or highest position on the list; milk sugar, starch, lignin, and other bodies would follow next in their order, and last, or next to the last in the list, grape sugar would have its place. Whether this theory be correct or otherwise, it is cer- tainly true that most, if not all, the changes which have been heretofore effected in these bodies, have. been in accordance with it; for, while cane sugar, starch, lignin, dextrine, etc., have been, and are, convertible to grape sugar, all the appliances of art have failed to elevate one of the lower bodies to the dignity of cane sugar, or to any position higher in the scale than that indicated for it in the proposed classification. The facts in the case, apart from all theories, afford the real practical suggestions needed by the operator. They + INTRODUCTION. xili imply distinctly that true sugar is not, in any sense, a manufacture; that it is purely a natural production, which the cunning device of man can neither improve nor imi- tate. They teach that all our efforts are required to pre- serve the sugar, which nature affords, in the state in which it is originally presented, and not in unavailing efforts to produce something which all the skill of man has hereto- “fore failed to produce. If a plant contain cane sugar, it is the province of art to extricate it from the other substances with which it is intimately associated, and if this is accomplished without impairing its perfect organization, clear and beautiful cane- sugar crystals will always be the result. If only starch and grape sugar exist in the plant, no cane sugar can, by any human means, be extracted from it. If the plant contain the three substances, as is often the case in sugar-bearing plants and trees, they may all be extracted, and separated, and the due proportions of each will be the result. But the difficulty to be encountered, in all cases, when working to extract true sugar from its solutions and impurities, is in preventing it from degenerating into grape sugar. This will appear obvious when we come to consider the agen- cies which excite this transformation. In the business of manufacturing grape sugar from starch, the operation is facilitated by a natural tendency of the body to degenerate to a lower organic plane, and this is the same tendency which is to be resisted in the operation of extracting cane sugar from its solution. Cane Sucar.—This substance is distinguished from other ~ sugars by a variety of properties. It separates from a weak solution in large, bold, transparent crystals, having the fig- ure of a modified oblique rhombic prism. It has a pure, sweet taste; is quite devoid of odor or of any vegetable taste; is very soluble in water, and nearly insoluble in abso: , xiv INTRODUCTION. lute alcohol. Heated to a temperature of 320°, it loses ita crystalline form, and assumes, without changing its atomic constitution, a glassy appearance, known as barley sugar. It will, however, after a time, again become distinctly crystalline. If exposed for some time to a temperature of 356° Fah., it loses the power of crystallizing; at a tem- perature of 396°, it parts with two atoms of water, and forms a black, amorphous substance, called caramel, which ~ is neither sweet nor fermentable. When kept in contact with any acid, even very dilute, it becomes uncrystalliz- able, and is converted to grape sugar. The juices of all sugar-bearing plants contain substances which, under favorable circumstances, excite fermentation. The first action of a ferment upon cane sugar is to convert it to grape sugar, from which it is next changed to carbonic acid, alcohol, and water. Weak solutions of cane sugar, exposed for a considerable time to heat, become, in part, converted to grape sugar, and the viscidity or ropiness of the latter impedes or wholly prevents the remaining cane sugar from crystallizing. Sugar-producing plants often contain a glutinous substance, which, if it fail to excite an incipient fermentation, converting the cane sugar to grape sugar, operates as a mechanical obstacle to the de- velopment of visible crystals, and when the tendency to crystallization is great enough to overcome the obstruc- tion, the adhesive substance is with difficulty purged from the sugar. Soluble salts, of various kinds, derived from the soil, frequently appear in the juice of cane, and besides communicating a rank, offensive taste to the concentrated syrup, operate to convert the crystallizable to uncrystalliz- able sugar, or wholly neutralize the tendency in true sugar to crystallize. The sweetening properties of cane sugar, as compared with grape sugar, are estimated to be as 5 to 2. ~ INTRODUCTION. xv Sources or Suear,.—The following are the principal sources from which the world’s supply of cane sugar is derived, as estimated by Dr. Stolle: Millions of Ibs. Per cent. of whole Annually. Sugar Product. Sugar cane... senves converses 4,527 ..eceseee secedeene Bled 362.. Cane sugar is also contained in the green stalks of In- dian corn, from which it was extracted by the Mexicans, before their country was visited by Europeans. The sweet principle of melons, bananas, and many other fruits, par- ticularly those in which no acid predominates, consists of cane sugar, while those fruits which contain considerable acid, owe the sweet property they possess to grape sugar. This should be remembered, in connection with the remark already made, that cane sugar is changed, by contact with any acid, to grape sugar. The sweet substance of flowers, which bees extract, is cane sugar, but this is transformed in the stomach of the bee to grape sugar, and, as such, it appears, when found in the hive. Grape Sucar.—This term is applied rather indiscrimi- nately to the sweet principle of fruits, honey, and the artificial sugar made from starch, and even more indis- criminately, to the anomalous uncrystallizable substance otherwise called molasses. Strictly speaking, the sugar of grapes and other fruits, and of honey in the liquid state, is a slightly different substance from the granulated crust or frosting which appears upon the surface of dried raisins, from which the term grape sugar is derived. For this reason some authors apply the term ‘fruit sugar” to the first or natural state of the substance, and “raisin sugar” to the same substance after the slight change (that of acquir- Xvi INTRODUCTION. ing two equivalents of water) which takes place before it granulates. We have deemed it sufficiently accurate for the present purpose to use the term in its general and common signification. The appearance which grape or raisin sugar presents, under the microscope, is so different from cane sugar as to be apparent at a glance. The latter appears in bold, well-defined crystals, which, with polarized light, are beau- tifully illuminated in prismatic colors, while the solid forms which the other assumes, consists of innumerable needle-shaped grains, arranged in tufts, with seldom any well-defined forms with sides and angles. Molasses may be said to consist, ordinarily, of uncrys- tallizable grape sugar, a portion of cane sugar, in most cases carbonized sugar or caramel, together with a large quantity of soluble and insoluble impurities, which the process of defecation failed to remove, including innumer- able minute fragments of cane and particles of matter, washed from the leaves and surface of the stalks, The liability of the sugars to pass into the vinous or alcoholic fermentation has been referred to. Grape sugar alone is susceptible of direct fermentation; the other sub- stances, such as starch, lignin, cane sugar, etc., are first converted to grape sugar, before undergoing faxthey trans- formation into alcohol and carbonic aot It is not un- derstood that a solution of pure sugar is susceptible of spontaneous fermentation; an exciting agent is supposed to be required in all cases. This, however, is never want- ing in the crudg juice of either the cane or beet-roots, as they always contain azotized substances which readily furnish an impulse to fermentation. Suear as an Articte or Dimt.—Aliments are of two kinds or classes; one, consisting of the nitrogenized sub- stances required for the formation and maintenance of —J) INTRODUCTION. xvii the bodily structure, and the other, of the carbonaceous or calorific principles which produce fat, and, by their ready combustion, afford heat, and mantain the vital tem- perature of the body; of the latter class, fat, sugar, and starch are the principal. In the bodily economy, nature has provided a compen- satory law, which permits of the substitution of one article of diet for another of the same class. Thus fat, butter, sugar, and starch are compensating principles, and may be substituted one for another, or one for all the rest, as food, without in any respect disturbing the vital processes. The sweets which the child craves is a natural appetite, proceeding from an imperative need of the body for car- bonaceous aliment. It may be supplied, it is true, by animal fat, and it is supplied in part, though perhaps insufficiently, by the starch contained in the bread and potatoes with which it is supplied; but if the demand be not fully met, the vital fires feed themselves upon the organism and consume it away. But it is probable that the clamor of universal childhood for sweets is an indi- cation of nature that sugar is more appropriate to its immature system than the other substances with which it is allied as food, particularly animal fat and butter. Adults ordinarily manifest a less intense appetite for sugar than the young, but they are highly relished by the great majority of persons, and it is believed they might properly be used as a substitute, in part at least, for but- ter and the fat of meat, to a much greater extent than has been customary. In military dietetics, and in the alimentary regulations of prisons, hospitals, and other institutions, the habit of providing sugar and meat inter- changeably—thus practically recognizing them as equiva- lents—existed long before science had demonstrated the same fact. 7 xviii INTRODUCTION. é ' Sugar may be appropriately termed an element of civ- ilization. As mankind advances in intelligence and re- finement, the coarser articles of diet are abandoned for those which a higher physical organization demand. The food of the savage, including roots and the flesh of wild animals, comports with and answers the demands of his semi-brutal nature; but as he progresses in the scale of being, a more refined and delicate taste is developed, corresponding with a higher state and a higher order of employments. That the general state of civilization in a country is indicated, in a remarkable manner, by the average con- sumption of sugar by the population, is shown by the fol- lowing oarefally-compiled’ table: Sugar Consumed, Ay. per Head, Tons Pounds, United States .........ceee 20000435,000...4. .veveveeee 4 34 United Kingdom. +++420,000... 2 Brant invcniviscene weeeeee1 85,000, Central Europe... Russgia in Europe...csccssssorees Italy, Sicily, Turkey, Greece, and the Levant Spain... sea sessrseeserereeess 50,000.00 eer’ re Sweden. Portigal vacivsrscsssesveevees see 10,000. ..ceceacecees The large increase in the cultivation and use of fruits, including the modern conveniences for preserving and prolonging their use beyond their season, the more ex- tended use of tea, coffee, and other beverages in which sugar is employed, and these combined with the great increase and diffusion of wealth in the world, affording the means of luxurious living, all tend to extend and increase the consumption of sugar. SUGAR OF THE NORTH. CHAPTER I. THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN CANES. A correct history of the canes whose products form the subject of this little work, may be of interest to some, and serve to direct the mind of the reader to consider the present condition and future prospects of this young giant product. It is only twelve years since the first seed of the Chinese cane made its appearance in Europe, having been forwarded by Count de Montigny, consul of France at Shanghae, in the year 1851, and as there was but one of the seeds germin- ated, it required some years to reproduce it in sufficient quantity to ‘admit of exportation. An agent of the United States Patent Office returned from Europe in the month of November, 1854, bringing with him some of the seed that he ob- tained from M. Vilmorin, a Parisian agriculturist (19) 20 THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN CANES. and seedsman. Hence it will be perceived that the first planting in this country was in the year 1855, and then, of course, upon a very limited scale. The most satisfactory report of its culti- vation and experimental tests were those of Gov- ernor Hammond, of South Carolina. (See Pat. Office Report, 1855.) In the Spring of 1857, Mr. Leonard Wray, of England, arrived in New York, bringing with him, from France, a quantity of the African seed called Imphee. Being my- self in New York at the time of his arrival, and already engaged in the manufacture of apparatus, I gladly embraced the opportunity of making his acquaintance, having been previously. aware of his researches in the general field of sugar- making, etc. I here introduce his own account of the cane he had the honor of placing in our hands. Although he failed in his efforts to make his trip to this country one of profit, pecuniarily, he is entitled to the lasting gratitude of our whole people for his persevering efforts, and the results that are likely to follow from the seed he has placed us in possession of. “In the year 1847, while I was engaged in writing my work, ‘The Practical Sugar Planter,’ my mind became strongly impressed with the idea (an impression almost amounting to convic- tion,) that ‘the reed,’ the ‘sweet reed,’ so fre- THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN CANES. 21 quently made mention of by ancient authors as being used by the natives of Morocco, Ethiopia, Egypt, Arabia, and India, for the purpose of mak- ing sugar or jaggery, did not really in all cases mean, or apply to, the sugar-cane, but that some other reed-like plant was more particularly re- ferred to, which, in process of time, had been gradually displaced by the true sugar-cane. But with no satisfactory authority, and with no cor- roborative evidence to support the idea I had formed, it by degrees lost its hold upon my mind, and eventually was scarcely remembered. However, on visiting a colony in Natal, in Africa, in 1851, I found there, in the plant called by the Zulu-Kaffirs Imphee, ‘the sweet reed’ which might well have been alluded to by the ancient writers. My mind, at the time, was so occupied by other subjects, that I paid but small attention to this interesting plant, and some time elapsed before I directed my thoughts to it, and thus became aware of its immense importance to Europe and America, and, indeed, to the world at large. “T heard that some very intelligent colonists had tried to make sugar from its rich juice, but that they had, one and all, entirely failed in doing so. “No way discouraged, I sent my most intelli- gent Kaffir servants long distances to collect me 22 THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN CANES. seed of all the different kinds of Imphee known among themselves, and thus obtained fifteen kinds, more or less differing from each other, but all known under the general native name of Imphee, and comprised in botany under the name Holeus saccharatus (Linnzus). “All of the seeds I planted, and made sugar from the whole fifteen different kinds, which en- abled me to ascertain not only the saccharine value of each, but likewise the distinct peculiari- ties of the growth, seeding, etc., etc. “The results of my observations and long- continued study of their habits and relative value will be found in the succeeding pages; but my manufacture was so completely successful, that I left Natal and came to Europe to prosecute my discovery, and introduce to the notice of the world the vast importance of the plants for sugar manufacture. “In recently looking over various botanical works, I find that attempts have been made-by Signor Arduino and others to introduce varieties of this plant into European cultivation, for the purpose of making sugar, but from some cause or other they had hitherto been perfectly unsuc- cessful. “Nor am I any way surprised at these fail- ures, believing that its success in Europe very THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN CANES. 23 essentially depends upon the particular kind of Imphee that is planted, and the next, upon a peculiar method employed in treating the juice. “T also find it stated that the inhabitants of northern China use it in making a kind of sugar. “This really may or may not be the case, for, in point of fact, almost the whole of northern China, together with the major portion of the great interior of that immense empire, may be fairly denominated a terra incognita to us; a country so effectually sealed up, that, as I before observed, numerous arts and manufactures may be there existent at the present moment which are, nevertheless, wholly unknown to us, or per- haps have been heard of only through the medium of unauthenticated and unsatisfactory rumors. “In the manufacture of crystallized sugar, and other products, from the Imphee and Holcus sac- charatus, I have had the most signal success, and in the following pages I will endeavor to set the value of these plants in a true light before the public, hoping very soon to present to the atten- tion of my kind readers a much larger and com- prehensive edition of this work.” * * * * “But if we look back from our own times to very remote ages, and search for any very au- thentic records of the Imphee or Holcus saccha- ratus among the writings of ancient authors, we o 24 THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN CANES. must confess the unsatisfactory result of our inquiry; for the notices of the ‘sweet reed,’ contained in their writings, have long ago been seized by Porter and other authors, and appro- priated by them as forming part and parcel of the history of the sugar-cane. “But if we examine somewhat minutely into the matter, we shall find abundant reason for believing that the Holeus saccharatus was fre- quently alluded to instead of the sugar-cane, more especially by the Roman writers; thus Lu- cian, (Book iii, page 237,) has the line— “* Quique bibunt tenera dulces ab arundine succos,’* which can scarcely be supposed to apply to the large, coarse, hard stock of the sugar-cane. “ Besides this, we all know that the Romans had a very excellent general knowledge of the products of Ethiopia, in which varieties of the Holcus saccharatus are to be found; and they, no doubt, knew that the natives ate, or rather chewed, its stalks for the ‘ sweet juices’ contained in them. “The native traders, who took a coarse kind of goor, or jaggery, to Muciris and Ormus, always said that they obtained it from a ‘reed;’ and I have no doubt that they did really obtain it from * «¢ And those who drink sweet juices from the tender reed.’ . THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN CANES. 25 this reed-like plant, until the sugar-cane super- seded it in their estimation, and was cultivated in its stead. . “T could enlarge much upon this interesting question, had I the space to do so; but the con- fined limits of this treatise compels me to bring this chapter to a conclusion as soon as possible. “T venture to consider the Holcus saccharatus as the connecting link between the sugar-cane and the grain-yielding sorghums; and so strong an impression did my mind receive when I first saw the extremely tall ‘ Vim-bis-chu-a-pa’ and ‘H-a-na-moo-dee,* that I almost persuaded my- self that they were in reality hybrids, between the sugar-cane and the Kaffir corn (Sorghum vul- _ gare). “Such, however, is not the case; but it remains to be seen whether we can, by adopting proper measures, obtain hybrids between the Imphee and the sugar-cane.” I conceive that I can hardly do justice to history without introducing in this chapter Mr. Wray’s full descfiption of the different varieties * «The two largest of the Imphee kind. “Note.—Wilkinson says, that the Holcus saccharatus (Arabic name Dokhn,) is grown about Assouan, in Nubia, and the Oasis. “ Of Sorghums, there are in Egypt, six kinds, namely, Doura sayfee, or baalee; D. humra, D. kaydee, D. byood, or dimeree; D. owaygeh, D. saffra., 26 THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN CANES. of the Imphee. It may be useful to those seek- ing for improved seed, in order that they can judge for themselves of the varieties offered. This becomes move important, from the fact that it is generally conceded that some varieties of Imphee are better adapted to sugar-Making than others, or the Chinese variety. Upon the subject of the different varieties, Mr. Wray says: “JT am acquainted with fifteen varieties of the Holeus saccharatus, although I doubt not there are yet others in different parts of the world that have not come under my notice. “T shall, therefore, confine my remarks to the fifteen varieties ; and to prevent the constant re- petition of their botanical name, I shall, through- out these pages, use their Zulu-Kaffir name of Imphee alone. “Among Europeans residing in South Africa, no distinction is known in regard to the varieties, and there they will be much surprised at learn- ing that there are really fifteen different kinds of Imphee growing before their eyes, and con- stantly being eaten by them. “There is certainly that degree of similarity between them, when seen growing together, which is quite sufficient to puzzle any one who has not thoroughly studied them; and this is so much the case that there are very few male Kaffirs THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN CANES. 27 even who can discriminate between some of the varieties; in consequence of which I had very frequently to call in the superior agricultural knowledge of the old Kaffir women, until I had learned to distinguish between them with cer- tainty myself. “When I had attained this first most desirable step, I had next to learn their several peculiari- ties and value; which I was able to do with greater exactness by planting the seed, watching them daily during their growth, and eventually testing the saccharine value of their juices, and making sugar from them all in large quantities. “Vim-bis-chu-a-pa.—This is the largest size, and the tallest of the whole; while it is full of juice, and very sweet. When planted in rich alluvial soil, it attains its greatest size and most perfect development, requiring from four to five months to arrive at maturity. It grows to a hight of from ten to fifteen feet, is from one and a half to two inches in diameter at the lower end of the stalk, and usually cracks or splits as it ripens. By means of a most primitive and ill- constructed little wooden mill, I obtained sixty per cent. of juice from the stalks. This juice was clean and clear, and the saccharometer showed it to contain fourteen per cent. of sugar, after I had removed the fecule by means of cold 28 'THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN CANES. defecation. The sugar it yielded was fully equal to the best cane-sugar of the West Indies. The stalks, carefully weighed, were found to vary from one and a half to two and a half pounds English weight each, trimmed ready for the mill. The seed-head, which is very large and beautiful, is generally from twelve to eighteen inches in length, containing many thousands of fine, plump seeds, of a sandy yellow color, strongly held by a sheath, which partially envelops them. “H-a-na-moodee is the next in size, and is very similar, both in habit and yalue, to the last. It attains a hight of twelve to thirteen feet, but is not so coarse in appearance, nor does it contain so much woody fiber as the Vim-bis-chu-a-pa, but it is rather softer and more juicy, I having ob- tained from it sixty-four per cent. of juice, con- taining fourteen per cent. of sugar. The stalks “weigh from one to two pounds when trimmed ready for the mill, and I have cut as many as eleven such stalks from one root or stool. The seed-heads are large, but stiff and erect, contain- ing quantities of large, round, plump seeds, of a clear yellow color. In general, they may be said to ripen two weeks earlier than the last named. “Like the Vim-bis-chu-a-pa, this variety rattoons in about three to three-and-a-half months after the first cutting. THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN CANES. 29 _ “H-engha.—This is a fine, tall kind, being from ten to twelve feet high when full grown, but it is more slender than either of the foregoing, and exceedingly graceful in appearance. It begins flowering in ninety days, and is fully ripe three weeks after; we will, therefore, class it at four months. I have had stalks weighing as much as one pound fourteen ounces each. The largest commonly obtained may then be estimated at two pounds weight; yielding, by my poor little mill, sixty-eight per cent. of juice, containing fourteen per cent. of sugar. I have obtained ten stalks from one stool. They rattoon in three months after cutting. The seed-head of the E-engha is large and very pretty, the seed being upon long slender footstalks, which are bent down by the weight of the seed, forming a graceful drooping. The seeds, which are of a dull, yellow color, are rather long and flat than round and plump. “Nee-a-za-na is held by the Zulu-Kaffirs to be the sweetest of all the Imphee kind; but I found the Boom-vwa-na and the Oom-see-a-na quite as sweet, and, in my estimation, their juices are superior to it in some points. My Zulus have told me that, under favorable circumstances, the Nee-a-za-na frequently ripens in seventy-five days; and my head man. (a most intelligent native plowman) declares that he has had them 30 THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN CANES. from his own land as sweet as any sugar-cane. From my own actual experience, I found that they ripened in about three months, and that they were the softest and most abounding in juice of any. With my mill I obtained seventy per cent. of juice, much still remaining in the trash, and the saccharometer showed fifteen per cent. of sugar after cold defecation. This, then, for Eu- ropean culture, is a perfect gem of a plant, one which will be anxiously sought after, and very generally cultivated, throughout Europe at least. In two months after the first cuttings, I have had the rattoons six feet high, and in flower. The Nee-a-za-na is a very small-sized variety, but tillers out greatly, having sometimes fifteen stalks for one root. I have had its stalks vary- ing from four ounces to upward of twelve ounces in weight; but they do grow rather larger than this. It always appeared ta me that their juice was more mucilaginous and abounding in fecule than the two varieties I have just mentioned. The seed-head is very bushy, and bunchy, and when thoroughly ripe, the seeds are large, round, and plump.* * This seed is usually nearly white, and may yet make a sub- stitute for buckwheat flour. I believe this cane should be cut while the seed is only in the dough, or it will lose saccharine.— AUTHOR. THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN CANES. 31 “Boom-vwa-na is a most excellent and valuable variety, of which I have eaten single pieces, containing certainly two or three per cent. more sugar than the average juice obtained from large bundles of stalks, taken as they come. This average juice never contained less than fifteen per cent. of sugar, as indicated by the sacchar- ometer, after the raw juice had been cold defe- cated; and there is a clearness, a brightness, and a genuine sugar-cane sweetness in the: juice of this variety, and of the Oom-see-a-na, that I very much admire. In its growth and general appear- ance, it is very much like the H-en-gha; but its stalks are brighter and more slender; its leaves are not so broad, and its seed vessels are upon shorter and stiffer footstalks. The stalks have a pinkish red tint, which increases as they approach maturity, and the seed cases have a pink and purple hue mixed with the géneral yellow ground. The Boom-vwa-na tillers very much, giving from ten to twenty stalks for one root, but they sel- dom weigh more than one pound each. I have obtained seventy per cent. of juice, which is easily clarified, and makes a beautiful sugar. The plant reaches perfection in from three to three-and-a-half months. “ Oom-see-a-na ig a peculiarly marked variety, in consequence of the purple or black appearance ¢ 82 THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN CANES. of its seed-heads, arising from the sheath or seed cases being of this color, and not the seed itself. The seed-head is very stiff and erect, with short, strong footstalks, and the seed is large, round, and full. In time of growth and goodness of juice, it is very similar to the Boom-vwa-na; its stalks are small, but numerous. They both rattoon well, in three months, from first cut- tings. “ Shla-goova is slightly inferior to the three lagst-mentioned varieties, but is nevertheless very valuable, and much prized by the Zulus. It takes three-and-a-half months to ripen, and becomes a. tall, good-sized plant ; but its chief distinction is.the exceeding beauty and elegance of its seed-heads. The footstalks are extremely long, which causes them to have a graceful drooping, while the seed _eases or sheaths vary in color from a delicate pink to a red, and from a light to a very dark purple, but each color very bright and glisten- ing, forming, on the whole, an extremely beautiful appearance. “ Shla-goon-dee.—This is a sweet and good variety, and, under favorable conditions, produces fine-sized stalks. The seed-heads are very stiff and erect, and the seed vessels are compact, and very close. It usually takes three-and-a-half months to reach maturity, and it rattoons very THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN CANES. 33 quickly, as the following memorandum of my diary will show: “ ARRANGEMENT OF STEAM SUGAR-WORKS. 87 tion at that end, and thus drifts whatever of scum there may rise to the sloping end, -where the workman stands to remove it. In operating, the steam can be let on as soon as enough has been let in from the prop to cover the pipes; and a moderate supply of steam until the first scum is removed; then the steam should be increased, and a supply of “cero,” from the prop, about equal to the evaporation, until enough is received to make a Watch of the desired quan- tity—say thirty, forty, or more, gallons. Then the inlet is closed, and the batch well tested, to see that it is free from the herbaceous flavor; if not, add lime-water, to effect that object. It will be found that an active boiling can not well ensue except there is a pressure of steam maintained, at least of seventy-five pounds. A good, reliable steam gauge is always a useful appendage to a steam boiler, but in this business it becomes in- dispensable, as the frequent closing and opening of the valves, in boiling syrup, will require such a monitor constantly on duty. In fact, this business will be more safely and economically managed with a considerable excess of steam-generating capacity, so that these changes may produce less immediate effect, thus affording the engineer more room for managing his fires. But to return to the train again. The batch 88 ARRANGEMENT OF STEAM SUGAR-WORKS. being all right as to flavor, thé boiling is urged up with full valve, and the operator now watches close by eye, if sufficiently practiced, if not, by the test-cup and saccharometer, until the degree is obtained for syrup; about 36° with some sacchar- ometers; with others, 35° is sufficient. When at this degree of heat, I find some little difference in them, hence it will be well to ‘test them by cooling some of the syrup after being tried by the saccharometer, and settle ‘the gauge. As soon as the proper degree is obtained, the steam is closed off, the gate opened, and the batch struck off into the cooler. The strike, or pan, should be made similar to the fire-pan, (only some ten inches deeper,) of iron, and well riveted; the heat is too great for wood, and will ever prove a source of trouble and loss, if made of it. This pan, as well as the sides of the fire-pan, should be inclosed with plank, which will protect them from the atmosphere, and increase the effect of the heat. This I would cover with lids also, and arrange a steam chimney like the former. It has been left out in the en- graving, because of its covering the view of sev- eral parts desirable to be shown. The outlet into the cooler should be directly through the bottom, and at least three inches in diameter, in order to discharge the batch in the least possible time, as ARRANGEMENT OF STEAM SUGAR-WORKS. 89 the steam has to be retained during the time. In order to facilitate the discharge, the strike should be arranged with a convenience for lowering the end some two inches during the time of run- ning off. - The cooler, in the foreground, does not occupy exactly the position it should, owing to the want of room within the limits of the page. It should stand close to the end, and pass under the strike some two feet, in order to receive the batch. The cooler should be in two apartments, each of capac- ity for holding nearly half a day’s run, and not be over twelve inches in depth of syrup. By being in two apartments, one could be cooling and racked off while the other is receiving. This, like the other pans or tanks receiving hot syrup, should be metallic, and riveted, but if properly supported upon framework, would not require iron over one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness. Tron will serve better for a cooler than a wooden structure, as, being thin, and a good conductor of heat, it will greatly facilitate the cooling. Note.—Molasses barrels should have sixteen good hoops, and the heads of pine, or a center strip of it, at least. Inferior coop- erage will injure the market for syrup or molasses very much. CHAPTER VIII. MILLS AND CANE GRINDING. As indicated in the preceding chapter, the peculiar construction of mills for expressing the juice will depend very much upon the charac- ter of business to be done, whether of steam or horse power. For the former, the rolls should be horizontal, of size and length according to the extent of business to be done; but rolls of less diameter than eighteen inches, will be found dif- ficult to feed, especially from a rolling apron. If fed by hand, it will be found better to have them large, otherwise the buts of large cane will not enter, and a loss of juice will occur, by a thin layer of half-pressed cane passing off. I have proven, to my full satisfaction, that large, short rolls are preferable to small, long ones. There is less danger of breakage, as a more steady feed may. be kept up. As about a fair scale of sizes for power-mills, I would indciate a master-roll of twenty or twenty-four inches diameter, with the (90) MILLS AND CANE GRINDING. 91 lower rolls fourteen or sixteen inches in diameter; and if twenty-four inches in length, with four revolutions per minute as the maximum speed, and fed with a layer of cane consisting of about seventy-five stalks, as an average, the yield of about fifteen gallons of juice per minute will be the result. The rolls of such a mill, in order to sustain the pressure, should have a shaft in the master-roll at least five inches in diameter, of the best charcoal iron, and in the lower rolls, four inches, of similar iron. The journal boxes, or bearings, should be at least six inches long, and of the most complete fitting. The metal most common in the boxes of the large mills of the South is a composition of brass, called gun- metal, and this often Babbited by drilling holes, quite numerously, in the bearing circle, and fill- ing them with Babbit-metal. I found cast-iron boxes, bored out and filled in like maner, to serve a good purpose. I have also used chilled hot- blast cast-iron boxes, polished with emory rollers; with these I had some little trouble, arising from the lack of a perfect fit. The pressure is very great, and if there is not a perfect fit, no amount of oil can arrest the friction and wear. A limpid oil is best for such bearings; lard, tallow, or any ordinary grease is not sufficiently fluid. The juice of the cane or water I have found as good Mone uo pur ‘uoseas ysed oy} [eroaos ysnq J ‘pofoy pue poetoq ore yey} osoqy Ayperoodsa ‘Lavoy LIA 0g plnoys ‘Tu oy} 0} re0F oy Stmo0UU00 ‘sSurdnoo oy} pue “[[od-roysem oy} jo yey} se esrel se ojmmb oq prnoys [ooyM UlvUL oy} Jo ayeys oy], ‘“Suyyy yowxo pue ySuens yeord sormbor ‘g][rum Jo ssepo sty} Burppedoad soy ‘Surrees ayy, ‘raquuy Lyeys Jo souonbesuoco ur [[e} 3SeL Sursnoy @ oyorq [ ‘pediesuepue oq prnoa Suryseo oq} ‘soprseq {Suraeqys1 yUe}su0o ormber pue ‘1q -wy yos Lue oyut ueyuns Apooarp oq plnom “Tux oy} UI oansserd oy} Jo oo10y 0} Aq possoad ou Soy yory ysurese pue ‘ssed syjoq-qsnox0y} oy Yor ySnosgy ‘Mopeq soyeid oy} se ‘poo paey jo pue ‘soyeys Woy oaty pue pouosves [[aM oq plmoys spueys [Iu oy} yor uodn saoquiyy oxy, ‘IasIv] pustauiooel prnom pue ‘ATPenuyYUOD WaT} poreez T nq 4803 oy} poojs Loy. { uorT [eooreyO Your Jaqrenb-e-pue-ouo0 ato sypoq-qsnor10y} AT 480} OY} puvys [[LM ‘pouorsodord-[jom jr ‘yoy ‘spunod poapuny moj ynoqe oq ‘][TM “[[w pozts % Yous Loy ‘ouo Jo 4YSIOM OY], “UMOP Yeoiq & eaves Leu o1om spunod Moy e {uoat Jo durreds 004 eq JOU plnoys wey, Suryeu osoqy ynq ‘Asroods 04 J[NOWIp ore s[[IML Yous jo ssursnoy oy, “A[qearupe soasue pia yr ‘uo ydey oq uvo Ayddns @ “uemoSuesie Lue fq Yy ‘peurnol ey} todn pourezor oq 0} 4[NoTIP e10u ynq “[IO 8B “DNIGNIUD ANVO GNV SITTIN 66 AA 2 NS ei Hine i) | Made by CLARK SORGO MACHINE CO.—See pages 206-207. MILLS AND CANE GRINDING. 93 that had stood through the previous season’s work. This, however, is in conformity to a well established fact, viz.: that all materials, under great stress, will ultimately fail; hence, for per- manency, such parts should possess a super-: abundance of strength. Mills of this class, of the ordinary construction, require an interme- diate coupling-shaft between the main wheel and the master-roll, in order that any irregularity in the movements of the roll shall not disturb the line of the gearing, which would be liable to break while under such strain. When steam power is applied from a short- stroke engine, and, consequently, quick motion, it would require a very large master-wheel and small pinion to reduce the motion; hence it is found more convenient and cheap to double the back gear than use such a cumbersome wheel. An engine, eight-inch cylinder, two-foot stroke, being about suited for this purpose, should make nearly one hundred revolutions per minute, with eighty. pounds of steam. In order to reduce this motion, one pair of gear, reducing four times, and another, six times, will accomplish the object. Ordinary gear-wheels are not well proportioned for strength to answer this purpose. I would suggest to those making patterns for this pur- pose, to make their master-wheel about five feet f 94. MILLS AND CANE GRINDING. in diameter, with two-inch pitch and four-inch face, a pinion of about ten inches diameter, with shrouded cogs. This size would serve well, single, for the lesser mills, and by hanging two -of them, side by side, on the same shaft, will an- swer for the large mill, as described above. In the next gear the same pinion may be used, and a wheel of about forty inches diameter and three inch face. The rim and arms should be made to embrace strength, and such proportion as to avoid strain by shrinkage. Crooked arms are always preferable on this account. The first gear is sometimes by belting; in such case it will require a large band-wheel and heavy belt—the former some ten feet in diameter, and the latter twelve inches wide, kept in active serv- ice by @ tightening pulley. This method of propelling is more advisable where hand feeding is relied upon, as, in such cases, it is not unfre- quent that the mill is over-fed, and then the belt may serve as a safety-valve, although it is likely to receive some damage by being cast off while running. | The use of flanges upon the ends of the lower rolls I found to serve a good -purpose, until, by a mishap in not getting oil to one of the journals, on a cold night, the box cut away, letting the end of the roll settle, thereby cramping the MILLS AND CANE GRINDING. 95 flange, which broke one off. This is, therefore, a demonstration of the importance of a correct adjustment and more careful working of the machinery where flanges are used. The dumb returner must fit closely between the flanges, as, under such pressure, the hard shell of the cane will insert itself, and increase the friction greatly. The custom of casting rolls upon the shafts I find to answer quite as well, or better, than bor- ing and keying. Long cylinders, having heads every four or five inches, extending to the shafts, will give great security to the shell of the roll without necessitating so great a thickness of metal forming the shell. With these supports, one-and- a-quarter inches of strong iron will be found an ample thickness. I would suggest a plan of mill that may be con- siderably cheaper, and, at the same time, quite an effective mill, viz.: a two-roll mill, with one roll directly above the other—rolls of equal size, with the crown-gear on one end, and the master-wheel keyed directly upon the shaft of the opposite end of the lower roll, which, in such an arrangenient, turns in a stationary box; hence this gear may be attached to it with safety. Manufacturers must be very particular in so adjusting the size of the rolls, and the pitch of eK Manufactured by SECE LER & PORTER Cincinnati 96 MILLS AND CANE GRINDING. the gearing, that there shall not be the least vari- ation in their movement; for instance, if one roll is less than the circle of the pitch of the gear, as compared with the other roll, it will be compelled to slip enough to increase its circumference to equal the other, which will cause great strain upon the gear, and consequent tax of power upon the team or engine. Two-roll mills have done good execution, and, no doubt, will work with less power, as the fric- tion of the dumb return is avoided, as well as one pair of gear and journals. It is generally believed that it takes less power to crush a given quantity of cane, in a given time, with small rolls, than it dees with large ones... This I consider a mistake; although the. point of resistance is extended, yet the greater ease with which an obstacle is surmounted by a larger wheel, over the lesser, is fully compen- sated for, and then the extent of the impinge- ment of the large rolls is much more, by which the juice is expelled with less liability to cut the cane. It will be recollected that the surface of the rolls should have about the same speed in all cases. I have one more suggestion to offer, as an im- provement, by which the saccharine property can ‘be more fully extracted, hoping some person may ! x t Mannfactured by SECE LER & PORTER Cincinnati MILLS AND CANE GRINDING. 97 put the matter to a test, viz.: the construction of a double mill, with two pair of rolls, as just described, set some three feet apart—the last pair about six inches lower, with a steam-chest between them, through which the bagasse is to pass, subjected to the constant puffing of the ex- haust steam of the engine. This, I believe, will soften the fiber, and, of course, dilute the sweet remaining in the bagasse by the condensation of the steam, which, by the second pressure, will be extracted, and the saccharine thus obtained fully compensate for the expense attending the operation. This matter will appear more important when we estimate the quantity of saccharine left in ‘ the bagasse, even that the most thoroughly milled. There are very few mills in the North that take out to exceed sixty pounds of every ‘hundred weight of cane, while the bagasse, dried in the sun, will weigh less than twenty pounds, leaving, consequently, twenty pounds of juice, or four hundred to each ton; or, in other words, enough to make five gallons of syrup; and in an ordinary yield of cane, say twelve tons per acre, the gain over the present yield would be sixty gallons. The only expense attending this would be in some little additional outlay in mill, and some extra fuel in evaporating the water added 5 98 MILLS AND CANE GRINDING. to the juice by the condensed steam upon the bagasse. As this business becomes more settled and general, the competition in the market will make it important to adopt every possible plan of econ- omy by which not only to save labor, but to make the greatest possible yield from a crop once pro- duced; for all the various handlings and expense of its production, and milling, etc., are the same, whether the one-Ralf or all the value it possesses is obtained. In the great sugar districts of the South, as also of the West Indies, the planter does not hesitate to invest five or ten thousand dollars, if, by so doing, he can even increase the amount of crystallization a few pounds to the hundred, or improve the quality of his sugar so as to realize a quarter of a cent more per pound. Thus must‘it be with us in this crop. If, by any improvement, we can make a syrup that will bring. five cents more per gallon, the result, in making teh thousand gallons, will be five hundred dollars, and so on for every subsequent ten thousand; or, in a saving of only ten per cent. in making ten thousand gallons, it will amount to an aggregate of one thousand gallons. I introduce these considerations with a view of stimulating the minds of those in every de- partment of this business to impravement and MILLS AND CANE GRINDING. 99 progress. The present high prices can not be expected to continue long, and, unless we succeed in adopting some system by which we can pro- duce this syrup and sugar upon.-a scale that will compete with the products of the tropical plant, it must dwindle away, instead of growing, as it should, into great commercial importance. When our manufacturers of apparatus fully understand *their business, it will be found most prudent for those engaging in this syrup and sugar enterprise, to simply apply for a set of fixtures to do a certain amount of business of a certain class; that is, steam or horse power, fire or steam boiling, as the case may be, and thus throw all the responsibility upon the machinery manufacturer; otherwise, obtain the plans and specifications of some experienced operator, and then get them executed at the best rates. This is the plan generally adopted South, and, no doubt, will ultimately be adopted with us. If I had to have a limb amputated, I should certainly want to employ an expert surgeon of practice. Those designing erecting works should, by all means, arrange for their mills and other fixtures long in advance of the working season—a month or two is not sufficient; manufacturers must have time to prepare; besides, such work, rushed out in haste, is liable to be imperfectly done. 100 MILLS AND CANE GRINDING. Another consideration presents itself, quite im- portant to the purchaser. Manufacturers can furnish such work for a less per cent. profit, upon well-secured contract, than when made upon a speculative estimate of the demand. Contracts for an outfit for a southern works are usually eight or ten months in advance. Farmers should determine their purposes. in regard to this crop, as well as all others, and then set about arrang- ing for carrying out their plans. A man that should plant fifty or a hundred acres of cane, without knowing positively how it is to be worked up, would be considered as a fit subject for a lunatic asylum, or, in other words, would be very much like the man who had raffled and won the elephant. This is a new business in our country, and needs systematizing, in order to be- come successful. The next class of mills demanding attention, is of medium size, between those already de- scribed and the common two-horse mill, and, is sometimes of horizontal rolls, and, at others, ver- tical, calculated for four, six, or eight -horses. Now, the strength and adjustment of the gearing to propel such mills by power so irregularly ex- erted as. that of horses, mules, or cattle, is seldom sufficiently considered. The ordinary power ex- erted by a span of horses upon a steady pull, is MILLS AND CANE GRINDING. 101 y three hundred and fifty pounds, as indicated by the dynamometer; but, when excited by the lash, I have seen it run up to nine hundred; hence, with four span, an excess of twenty-two hundred pounds is frequently thrown upon the gearing, which, if not well fortified, must fail. Where the line of motion is changed, by the introduction of a bevel or miter-gear, the liabilities to hreakage are greatly increased over that of the simple speer-gearing. It requires the best seasoned oak or other hard timber, of good, ample proportion, and thoroughly framed, to form a husk. frame- work for such gearing, and then it must be so firmly braced that it can not be made to give a particle by the most violent effort of the whole combined force employed. There may be much damage sustained, even without a breakage, by the waste of power, when the shafting and gear become even slightly dis- turbed. In my observation and experience, large mills, propelled by animal power, never accom- plished work in an increased ratio with the in- crease.of animals employed. This, however, in a great measure, may be accounted for in the fact that it is difficult to keep them all uniformly em- ployed; nevertheless, whatever of loss is sustained thereby is’ fully compensated for by the saving in hand-labor, as it only requires a man to feed a 102 MILLS AND CANE GRINDING. large mill, and one, however small, will require a hand; but the economy of labor does not end here, as is shown in the discussion of the com- bined steam and fire-train, as illustrated in the preceding chapter. I perceive, in passing through the country, par- ticularly Illinois, and farther west still, that a great number of wooden two-roll mills are in use, con- structed like the old cider-mill, except the rolls are smooth, with cogs in one, and mortises in the other, to serve for match gear. This latter feature will work hard, owing to the fact that the work- ing line (commonly called pitch of the gear) is unequal. To make a pair of wood rolls work correctly, where a set of cast gear can not be obtained, the rolls shduld be turned, upon the working surface, exactly of equal size, say twelve inches long, and of such diameter as desired—not less, however, than twelve inches; then, upon the upper end of one, turn a neck, three-fourths of an inch deep, and four inches long; upon the other, turn a corresponding projection; in the former set the cogs, which should project one-and-a-half inches, and mortise ‘the latter of corresponding depth. The cogs should be of dry hickory or sugar tree, and carefully set. The spacing should be about two-and-a-half inches, affording a cog of about one-and-a-quarter inches in thickness by MILLS AND CANE GRINDING. 1038 two inches face. The mortises, for the cogs to work into, as gearing, should be about one-and-a- a-half inches by two-and-a-half, and flaired or rounded on the sides (similar to the end of a cog) from the center outward, and the end of the cogs, in like manner, so as to match. Such rolls can be very readily turned, by sim- ple means, where lathes are not convenient. I have often assisted, when a lad, in turning cider- mill nuts, and the screws also, in the following manner, viz.: Cut such stick as is designed for the two rolls, insert a short bolt of one-and-a- quarter inch round iron in the center of each end, to serve as a temporary gudgeon for turning. Have a square upon one end of one of them, for a hand-crank, then arrange two trestles, at a suitable distance, to receive the journals; place a scantling, or some strong stick, resting upon the trestles, to serve as a rest for the turning gouge or chisel; in this manner, with an active hand at the crank, a pair of rolls can be turned out in a short time. It will be found better to have both on one stick, and sawed apart, after being turned. The bearings, or boxes for the journals, should be of well-seasoned, hard wood, and cut circular across the grain, so that the wear may be against the side, instead of the end of the wood, as this is easily replaced, while the journal, once de- 104 \ MILLS AND CANE GRINDING. stroyed, the whole roll is gone. The journals should be about six inches in diameter, and five or six long, except the driving-journal or shaft, which should be about eight inches, and two feet long; thus requiring twenty-five inches for one roll, and forty-three for the other, or five feet eight inches for the two. If the journals are small and short, they will soon become useless from the rapid wear.* The framework is so simple as not to require a description here, as any workman competent to do the work already described, can very easily construct the residue. I have given the above directions in view of the fact that there will, for some years to come, be very many who will adopt this method of com- mencing the business, and, like primers and spell- ing books, they serve an excellent purpose for a primary education. Besides, there are many thousands who can not raise money to possess themselves of an iron mill, and it would be infi- nitely better to use a wooden one a year or two, than to buy upon credit. Besides, there are very many persons who, after trying a new business, % The best lubricator, for wood journals, will be found in a mixture of three parts beeswax, two parts rosin, and one of beef-tallow ; to this add, when melted, some black lead. This may require warming before using. MILLS AND CANE GRINDING. 105 become dissatisfied, and wish to discontinue it, and the loss of a temporary. apparatus would be but a trifling sacrifice. It will be found comparatively unprofitable to work a mill of less capacity than two horses, and still more profitable the larger the mill, provided all things in connection are correspondingly com- plete. = as J. L. Gill & Son, Manufacturers, (See pp. 210 & 211.) CHAPTER IX. DEFECATORS AND NEUTRALIZING RE-AGENTS. In all large works it will be found advisable to provide especially for defecating the juice, by: the arrangement of some suitable pan, in such man- ner that the heat (either fire or steam) can be under immediate control; and, furthermore, as herein is the great bulk of labor in skimming, therefore a conveniently-constructed apparatus, from which the scum can be removed with cer- tainty and but little labor. The method of re- moving it with a perforated skimmer, as is done in Louisiana and Cuba, from the large kettles, is very laborious, and not so complete as other methods that may be suggested. Whatever form of vessel is used for a defe- cator, it should be well arranged for cleaning, as there must, of necessity, be a constant accumula- tiom; upon its sides and bottom, of the neutral salts, together with the heavier substances con- tained in the juice. The use of coil pipes are (106 ) DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. 107 quite common, and would answer a good purpose, were it not for the great trouble of cleaning thefh, the necessity for which I will illustrate by giving here a statement of the effect of using my defecator some three days without cleaning the pipes. It took thirty minutes to obtain a temperature (190°) suited to the removal of the first blanket of scum; but the next day, having cleaned my coil, the above degree of heat was obtained, with the same pressure of steam, in ten minutes; this led me to notice more particularly the operation of my steam boiler, for we were much retarded by the want of steam, although our fireman used every possible means to keep up a supply. We then stopped, and had it cleaned, when an equally favorable result followed. This is no new thing, of course, but I refer to it only with a view to show the importance of so arranging a steam works as to condense all the steam and re-use it in the boilers, for, having been once evaporated, it will thereafter make little or no deposit. There are several plans for constructing a steam defecator free from the objections of a coil, and, at the same time, possessing all of its advantages. An oblong steam-jacket, with the lower surface protected from the atmosphere, in order to avoid the condensation that would -be 108 DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. caused by its” contact. It may be set in a flue, (where a fire-pan is employed in the train,) be- tween it and the stack, and sufficiently elevated to draw from it to the latter. This defecator should be made quite smooth inside; whatever rivets or bolts are in it should be countersunk, and if the iron is polished, before using, all the better, as the smoother the surface the less labor required to remove the coating. I have, gener- ally found the best method to do this was to let it have a few minutes of high steam upon it, while empty, which will produce a brittle crust of the scale, and induce it to scale off; then, by using a broad chisel with a long handle, in the manner of a shovel, the work will soon be accom- plished. To remove the coating from the kettles of Louisiana, they heat them red hot, and thus carbonize the vegetable properties, and cause the accumulation to scale off. I would caution those using plate pans against that process, as it will warp the wrought iron, and soon crack those made of cast iron, unless all parts can be heated at the same time equally. The exhaust steam of an en- gine, although possessing considerable caloric, is, nevertheless, not sufficient for defecating. It will not raise a temperature above 175° or 180°. It has been suggested that, where a fire-pan is being used, there could be an extension of it DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. 109 back, over the flue, some twenty feet, with a false bottom or steam-jacket, with the extended fire passing below, and the exhaust steam being above, between the fire and the juice, it would become somewhat superheated thereby, and thus the juice defecated, or, at least, very well heated, before entering the evaporator. This may appear plausible, but I have very little confidence in producing any marked effect with steam, except under a pressure of some fifty pounds or more. Should this plan succeed, even so far as to con- dense the exhaust steam and simply heat the juice to 175°, it will be a saving equal to about twenty per cent. of the fuel required to evaporate the juice. The exhaust steam could be condensed by the introduction of large tin or copper pipes into the juice tank, whereby the heat would be saved; but in such case there would be a greater necessity for keeping the evaporator close to the grinding, as the juice, once warmed up, would sooner commence fermenting. This subject will be more fully discussed in the next chapter. It is quite common in the southern sugar- works, both of the United States and of the West Indies, to use defecating pans separate from the kettle-range ; these are very often of heavy cop- per, two in number, and set upon the same flue, in the rear of the, kettles, and sufficiently elevated 110 DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. to allow their being drawn off directly into them, leaving the scum behind, which is removed sub- sequently. These pans are set side by side, with dampers for changing the fire, at the pleasure of the operator. I perceive that most writers upon the subject of the processes of the southern works, recommend allowing the heated juice to stand some fifteen or twenty minutes after the scum has become coagulated and raised to the top, before removing it. This may do in such cases as the above, but not where pipes are used, or upon pans difficult to clean, as the moment the heat is withdrawn, the scum not only ceases to rise, but commences at once to settle, and will soon attach to the pipes, or bottom, if a fire-pan. I am much in favor of the settling plan, but would provide for that in a separate tank, as I shall de- scribe in the next chapter. The re-agents employed for defecating the juice are usually alkaline or albuminous; the lat- ter, however, is too expensive for general use, but often resorted to for producing samples. There is, in this cane juice, a greater per cent. of acid than is generally supposed. I have made the following test, that will give some idea of the quantity. To forty parts of soft water I added one part of strong vinegar, and applied the test- paper, and found the-color indicated the presence DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. 111 of rather less acid than the generality of cane juice. This acid of the cane appears to hold in solution, or suspense, the green feculencies, for as soon as lime is added, coagulation and settling eommences, which, if the space of one hour, will carry down nearly one-half of the scum. Now, if it is the fine, insoluble particles of lime, rendered neutral by the action of the acid, adhering to the feculencies of the juice, thereby increasing their weight, and thus sinking them together, it would be fair to presume that the free use of any similar neutral ingredient, such as plaster of Paris,.whit- ing, or even common clay, may serve as an agent for assisting a cold defecation of the juice, with- out prejudice to its saccharine properties. Any process that shall result in a successful defeca- tion of the juice, cold, will be found a most de- sirable acquisition. The use of lime is strongly opposed by some, either through ignorance or interested motives. I consider it as essential to the production of a good-flavored syrup as the use of yeast is to ob- tain light bread, and as essential for preserving it in a commercial condition as the use of salt upon bacon. It will be found, by reading all the authors upon the subject, that in the manufac- ture of sugar and syrup from the tropical cane, in all parts of the globe, lime is used. I here v 112 DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. introduce a few quotations upon this subject, in order that those engaged in this business may consider well the methods so well tried and set- tled, as’ essential in the manufacture of sugar. Upon page 98 of a work called Sorgho and Im- phee, by H. 8. Olcott, the following occurs: “So far, neither of the defecators have come into play, enough juice has been collected in the receiver to fill one of them. The cock of the receiver is opened, and while it is running in, the sugar master takes a little of the juice in a glass, and tests it with litmus paper, which, from a deep blue, changes in an instant to a deep red, when dipped into the juice, should an excess of acid be present. The juice is always acid, more or less, therefore, the question is not whether he will add lime or not, but how much. Having before pre- pared lime water, or mixed some cream lime on the spot, the damper being raised, and the fire playing on the bottom of the defecator, he stirs in small portions of the lime water or cream of lime, till the litmus paper, which at first became bright red on being immersed, now shows only a faint rose color. Here he stops, the juice is nearly neutral, neither too acid nor too alkaline, requiring but heat to make a good defecation, or separation of its albuminous and other feculen- cies, which, as the heat increases, rise to the top DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. 113 in the form of a thick, dirty crust, leaving the clear juice underneath. The moment the first signs of ebullition are perceived, the damper is let down, and the juice allowed to rest for fifteen or twenty minutes, when it may be drawn off un- derneath, clear and bright, leaving the dirty scum to be cleaned out when the defecator is washed for the next charge. After the train has been started, one or other of the defecators is always full, while the other is being cleaned out, and so on during the crop.” Upon page 161, vol. xv, American Cyclopedia, will be found the following: the writer having discussed various processes of milling cane, then adds : “The crude liquor contains various impurities, as particles of woody fiber, coloring matter, dif- ferent soluble salts, albumine, casine, wax, etc. The nitrogenous induces immediate fermentation and the conversion of a portion of the syrup into alcohol, and afterward acetic acid, thus not only reducing the product of sugar, but new com- pounds, which might prove detrimental, by act- ing upon the lead and copper of the apparatus, “and adding their pernicious salts to the sugar. Not much time should, therefore, be allowed for a portion of the impurities to settle, before the liquor is drawn through the strainers of copper ‘114 DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. or iron-wire into the vessels for clarifying it. By the old method, practiced in Asia, a series of eleven kettles, or earthen boilers, is set in a line, in a rudely constructed boiler-range, at one end of which is the ‘fire, with a large iron boiler placed over it, and at the other, the chimney. The juice is first put in the boiler furthermost from the fire, and is gradually transferred to the others, as the process goes on, until the final concentration is effected in the iron boiler. The product is afterward drained, and the sugar is clarified by boiling again with water, an alkaline lye, and milk. A somewhat similar arrangement of kettles, to the number of four, five, or six, has also been employed in this country and the West Indies; each kettle, however, having its own fire, and the defecation or partial purifying being effected, during the boiling, by ‘tempering’ the liquor with slaked lime. This, when used in small quantity, causes the glutinous matters pres- ent to coagulate and rise upon the surface in a scum, which may be continually removed by skimming. It also neutralizes any acid that may have formed. In Louisiana it has been the prac- tice to concentrate the syrup to 42°, Beaumé, in the last kettle, called the ‘battery,’ and then transfer it to large wooden vats, called ‘coolers,’ for granulation; but the operation has been vari- DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. 115 ously modified there, and different methods, too, have been pursued in the West Indies. Instead of kettles, each one requiring a separate fire, large, copper caldrons, or ‘teaches,’ into which the juice is conducted from the strainers in troughs, lined; and these caldrons are heated by steam, either by being inclosed in a steam- jacket, or by containing a coil of steam-pipe. The clarification is effected, as before, by means of lime added to the juice, in the form of the milk of lime, of known strength, and care- fully graduated so that exact quantities may be used, Just enough should be used to neutralize exactly the syrup, which may be known, when litmus paper indicates neither an acid nor an alkaline re-action. An excess of lime should be particularly guarded against, as it involves a loss of sugar, and when it occurs, it should be cor- rected by careful addition of alum, or, better, of sulphate of alumina, which contains no potash.* The heat employed should not reach the boiling point of the syrup. At a less degree the scum gathers upon the surface, and when this rises in large bubbles, and breaks into white froth, * I would recommend, instead of using alum, etc., to coun- teract an excess of lime, to add more juice, by which the same object would be obtained in a more satisfactory manner.— AurHor. 116 DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. the clarification is completed. The heat is then stopped and the liquor allowed to repose for an hour, when it is drawn away from the scum, and is seen, as it flows into the first of the evapor- ating pans, to be of a clear, bright, wine, yellow color. These pans, to the number of three or more, are set, in succession, over a flue heated by fire at one end. The liquor is gradually transferred to the smaller pans, and, as it boils away, the scum that rises is taken off. It is the skimmings in these operations that furnish the best materials for distillation, and the manufac- ture of rum is generally carried on in connection with that of sugar.” Upon page 792, vol. xx, Encyclopedia Britan- nica, will be found the following treatise upon this subject : “The juice of the cane is a solution of sugar in water, with traces of albumen, of gum, and of a peculiar substance resembling gluten, a vege- table gelatin, also a minute portion of cerosin, and of a green, vegetable wax. The mineral ingredients resemble those of other plants and vegetable juices. * * * * The juice has generally a yellowish color, but is sometimes colorless, and grayish globules, suspended in it, render it turbid. It has an agreeable, but rather insipid, taste, and a peculiar, balsamic odor. It DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. 117 contains from seventeen to twenty per cent. of crystalline cane sugar, but the planter seldom obtains over seven-and-a-half per cent. There is a loss of sugar in the mode employed in ex- pressing the juice from the cane, and, secondly, a“loss arising from the change due to exposure to the air, whereby the crystalline sugar becomes degenerated into mucilaginous or non-crystalline sugar, commonly called molasses. Indeed, did space permit, it would be easy to show that the loss to the planter commences in an imperfect system of agriculture, the ground being worked by hand-hoeing instead of deep ploughing, and from a frequent absence of agricultural and man- ufacturing machinery of improved construction. The exposure of the juice to the air of a tropical climate, even for half an hour, would cause fer- mentation .to set in; lime is, therefore, imme- diately added, for the purpose of neutralizing the acid and rendering some of the soluble impurities insoluble. The old method of clarification of the juice is by heating it in iron pans, or ‘teaches,’ arranged together in a row, and heated by one common fire. The juice reservoir, below the crushing mill, supplies the largest pan—the fifth in the row, and farthest from the fire—with juice. The milk of lime, or temper, as it is called, is equal to about sts weight of the juice, but the 118 DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. proportion varies with the quality of the juice; and the effect of the heat, which should not ex-\ ceed 140°, is to coagulate the albuminous por- tions of the juice which rises to the surface in the form of scum. This is removed by skim- ming, and the juice is passed through the other four ‘teaches,’ and evaporated at increasing tem- peratures, until the sugar will crystallize out on cooling. Scum collects on the surface of each ‘teach,’ and a great deal of it is nearly pure sugar, decomposed by the heat; it is passed into the molasses cistern, and is used for making rum.” It will be perceived that, in all the foregoing quotations, the processes there employed, em- bracing, as they do, those of the West Indies as well as of Louisiana, that in all of them the use of lime, for neutralizing the acid, is, in all cases, resorted to. I could increase the number, if it were necessary, as in all cases to be found upon record, both in the manufacture of raw syrup or sugar, or in the refining process, lime is used. . Mr. Belcher, in refining the Sorghum syrup, pro- ducing the most delicious article, says he uses lime to correct the acid. See his letter, in the chapter on refining, etc. Believing the foregoing evidence to be ample, without my own testimony, to establish the im- portance of using a neutralizing re-agent, the DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. 119 best mode of using it, as well as the ingredient to be used, become the legitimate subjects of dis- cussion. The quotations indicate lime as more directly the desirable re-agent to be employed. It is cheap, and always convenient to be ob- tained. I have used several different kinds, but, unable to discover any very marked difference in the results, I would recommend the best white - lime, possessing full strength; that, when slaked, and water added, forming a thick cream, would mark from 12° to 15° by the saccharometer. The stronger it is, of course the less will have to be added to accomplish the object, and, as a neutral insoluble salt is formed by its combination with the acid, it is well to avoid adding any already neutralized by exposure to the air. With a view to secure as complete a cold defecation as possi- ble, I would recommend careful attention, to that end, and, as before suggested, the use of clean, light-colored clay, that may be found upon most any farm, a few inches below the surface. This I would suggest, as an experiment that can be tried cheaply, by dissolving the clay, and mixing enough through a few gallons of juice to give it a slight change of color, then add the lime im- mediately, and stir all well together, as directed upon page 121, and allow the batch time to settle, which may take an hour or more. Then, by the 120 DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. : = e use of a draw-off gate,* which should be so ar- ranged that it will draw from the top first, take what has become clear, and thus afford more time for the residue to settle. Plaster of Paris, or common whiting, may serve this purpose of defecation better than -clay ; neither of these possess any perceptible alkaline properties, hence their use will not supersede the use of lime, or only in a slight degree. The principle upon which I conceive their action to be based, is a mechanical one. I have found, in using lime in cold juice, that a subsiding of the green feculence would immediately commence; whether the result of mere neutralization, or from the mechanical action of the insoluble par- ticles resulting therefrom, attaching to the fecu- lencies, and thus increasing their weight, causes them to sink, is difficult to determine; but if the latter conclusion is correct, then it is quite prob- able that the foregoing suggestions, in regard to | the use of clay, plaster, etc., may be essential. I have found, by a small experiment, in using lime to some little excess, and then adding a solution of alum, that a more complete coagula- tion and settling is effected; besides, the lime, having produced a darker shade in the juice, the alum serves to restore the former hue. / * See cut and explanation on page 44. DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. 121 I am unwilling to recommend the use of filters for raw juice; they are too liable to get sour, and if of any material fine enough in texture to accomplish the desired object, they would fill up every hour, and require more washing and labor to keep them in a condition to be useful, than the benefits realized could confer. In order to illustrate more clearly the action and re-action of the acid and alkaline properties upon test-paper, I have introduced, upon the op- posite page, the colors representing the tints that should follow the use of litmus paper, as there explained, so that there need be no mistake in the treatment of the juice. An excess of lime is detrimental, and should be avoided, which may be very easily done by attention to the use of the test-paper. As the juice is more or less acid, lime should be added until the colors of the paper are obtained, as seen and explained on the page referred to. An excess of lime may be detected by re-using the red slip, by which it will be restored to the original blue or litmus color. In order to counter- act any excess of alkali, the addition of a few gal- lons of fresh juice will be found better than other acids, such as alum, alumina, etc., as is sometimes recommended. Mr. Lovering, of Philadelphia, one of the most successful sugar refiners in this 6 122 DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. country, not only neutralized fully with the milk of lime before boiling, but having reduced it to a suitable degree, and filtered it, he added clear lime-water again in his final boiling, which, he says, enabled him to take off a thick, glutinous scum. (See his report, in the chapter on Sugar Making.) This agrees with many experiments of my own, where I have sometimes found it dif- ficult to obtain a satisfactory rise of scum in my second boiling; by the addition of a little more lime, good results would follow. But there is another necessity sometimes for adding lime. A careful operator, whose taste has become expert, by practice, can detect the noxious, grassy flavor at this stage of the process, say 20° or 25° B., which, by the addition of a little lime-water, ill be removed. I have found it objectionable to have a hand, at this department of the process, who chews tobacco, as he is most sure to neglect this test, preferring to neglect the test to losing a quid; besides, I doubt whether such persons have as scrutinizing faculties, in this respect, as those free from such a miserable practice. It is the grassy flavor referred to that is so objectionable in the city markets, and this’ flavor is more or less distinct, as the acid is more or less abundant; hence the destruction of the one is the removal of the other. I am aware that DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. 123 the deposits upon both the defecators and evap- orators will be considerably increased by this mode of treating the juice, but let it be so; have our works so constructed that they are compe- tent to endure it, and most convenient for the purpose. The acid has some little action, chem- ically, upon the metals, which serves, to that ex- tent, to keep them clean, but, at the same time, the effect upon the syrup is, to the same extent, prejudicial; this, however, is quite limited in either case. Before closing this chapter, I will suggest to those having syrup on hand possessed of the acid and rankness, to take a gallon or two, ac- cording to size of the boiler at hand, and add to it one-fourth water, and, as soon as warm, add lime, according to preceding’ instruction, stirring it thoroughly through, and as soon as heated to near a boil, remove the scum, and boil it to about 85° B., and the change will, no doubt, be satis- factory. In this manner I have restored old-crop syrup, that had become so tart that a complete jelly had formed, and the odor arising from it, when boiling, was at first quite offensive, but finally changed and became, at the close of the few minutes’ boiling, as rich and aromatic as new crop boiling. The addition of well-beaten eggs, in milk or water, say one to every two or 124 DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. three gallons, and well stirred in before the syrup is hot enough to cook them, will be found quite serviceable. Fresh bullock’s blood, about one pint to five gallons, will serve well as a substi- tute for eggs. In the use of these albuminous agents, it will be well to have the heat applied very gradually, and considerable time allowed for the scum to rise before ebullition commences. In the usual method of using blood for clari- fying, the fire or steam is withdrawn, and the batch allowed to rest for half an hour or more, and then the defecated juice drawn from under the blanket of scum. But in the use of those pans or evaporators that operate by a continu- ous flow, the same plan can not be pursued. It would, however, be better that the tempered juice or syrup should be admitted at the cooler end of such evaporator or pan. I here quote the short article, upon this sub- ject, that I furnished to the Agricultural Depart- ment, at Washington, last year; although there may be some repetition of my views already advanced, still there are others contained in it equally useful, and not embraced in this chapter. Upon these subjects much has been said and written, and many are the pretended discoveries, especially in regard to defecating, which have been published. I find, however, that the well- DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. 125 directed application of heat is the greatest of all defecators, or, as some call it, clarifiers. The natural acid of the cane, which is more abundant than is generally supposed, acts as a serious ob- stacle to defecation; and, according to my expe- rience, it is very impolitic to inspissate the juice without a very near approach to neutralization. Lime—the ordinary quick-lime—I have found to be the best re-agent for this purpose. Soda, in the cheapest form, is much more expensive than lime, and, being a carbonate, has the fault of pro- ducing effervescence; moreover, when used to excess, it leaves a flat, alkaline taste, which is not the case with lime; lastly, in no respect does it serve a better purpose than lime. Bi-sulphate of lime has been used to consid- erable extent in Louisiana, and although it favors crystallization, yet it produces a softer grain of sugar, and is, in some other respects, inferior to the simple lime process. It has also been used experimentally in the Sorghum works, but I am unwilling to recommend its use from any evi- dence yet adduced. Very many persons unac- quainted with the chemical changes that take place when lime and acid are commingled, serious- ly object to its use, they supposing that the lime actually remains to be digested in their stomachs, while the fact is, that a perfect neutralization 126 DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. takes place, and nothing but a neutral sediment remains, which generally attaches to the pan, or pipes, or.settles in the “prop,” if allowed to do so. - It is a great pity, and rather detrimental to the immediate success of this crop, that several parties engaged in the manufacture of apparatus have, doubtless in good faith, strenuously urged the disuse of all alkaline or other defecating re- agents. The result of such a direct inspissation, it is true, is a syrup of somewhat lighter color; but it is less sweet, in the direct ratio of the free acid contained in the cane; and, moreover, the syrup so made contains within itself a fer- ment, which, unless the syrup has been concen- trated to an undue thickness, will make it work, and become tart in summer. This fact has led many to suppose that the Sorghum syrup could not be made to keep good in warm weather, and that the rank, herbaceous flavor could not be removed. During the past season I have re-handled sev- eral barrels of such syrups. On adding about eight gallons of water* to each barrel, and about “* This addition of water is in order to permit of reboiling, and for no other purpose. Here I would mention that by merely reducing syrup with water, and reboiling to the same consistency, a darker syrup will result; and so in working cane, wet with rain water, a darker syrup will result. DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. 127 six quarts of lime-water, 14° Baumé, and applying a boiling heat, there rose to the surface a thick, green scum, and in the steam a very offensive odor escaped. From each barrel I usually found about four gallons of this scum to separate; and the syrup changed by this treatment from a fair straw-color, with a greenish tint, to a deeper color, rather amber in tint, when seen in thin strata; at the same time, from being turbid it changed to something approaching brightness. I have never met with a thoroughly clear syrup manufactured either with or without the use of neutralizing or defecating agents; a cloudy in- gredient seems to remain suspended, which, when it subsides, has the appearance of buckwheat flour. The filter seems necessary to remove this. Albuminous substances, such as eggs, blood, etc., have been used from time immemorial for coagulat- ing and removing scums; the first of these is too expensive except for laboratory use, on a small scale, and the latter is not always to be obtained. On experimenting with bullock’s blood, I found it to determine the separation of a large quantity of scum, without, however, rendering the syrup per- fectly bright and clear. After filtering, however, through animal charcoal, the remaining cloudi- ness is entirely removed, and the syrup is left bright, of an amber color, and having a most 128 DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. pleasing flavor—of a quality to insure its being found, when produced in full quantity for the ‘nets, on the tables of | our best hotels and families. It is difficult to indicate with exactness the quantity of lime requisite to neutralize the acid of the juice, as for different samples, grown in different seasons or localities, a different quantity is required. The litmus paper,* in the hands of beginners, and probably in those of old operators, will be the best guide, and, like the saccharome- ter, should never be absent from the works. My practice is, to add the lime-water by installments in the “grand” boiler, until, upon testing with the litmus, the juice changes the blue color to a purple. Before adding the lime, the acid changes the paper to a bright pink color. Prac- ‘tice will soon indicate the proper colors to be sought for, and in testing it will be well to dilute the inspissated juice with water, as its own color *To make litmus paper, procure half an ounce of litmus, which all druggists keep for sale in cities, and will send by mail for a few cents; infuse this in hot water for about ten min- utes, and then, in the clear, blue liquid decanted from the dregs, immerse unglazed, white paper, and hang it up to dry. It should be of a full, pure blue color; cut it in strips of conve- nient size, say half an inch by three or four inches, and it is fit for use. Preserve it from light and air, or it will change color and become violet. To use, dip one end of a strip in the liquid to be tested. DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. 129 is apt to be mistaken, by beginners, for the effect of an acid reaction. In making lime-water for neutralizing, it will be found that, as the water only dissolves a very small quantity of the lime, the remainder settling to the bottom of the ves- sel, it is better to agitate before using, whereby a larger quantity of lime, being held in suspen- sion by the water, will be introduced into the syrup or juice. I find the following appropriate remarks, upon this subject, in Porter’s work on Sugar-cane: “The juice being composed of solid and fluid parts, united with a very great proportion of water, the first object proposed should be to separate and remove the solid parts. The oper- ations which tend to deprive the juice of all solid matter, both feculent and earthy, is called clari- fying. These substances removed, there remain the water, the mucous juice, and the mucilage, which form together the cane liquor. The next step is to expel, by means of heat, the water which is over and above the water of solution; this is evaporation; and the juice is then desig- nated syrup. The feculencies and the supera- bundant water removed, the water which remains just holds the soluble matter in solution; this is called the water of solution. The object of the work inethe last boiler is to remove, by evapor- 130 DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. ation, a certain proportion of this water; the action of heat upon the water of the syrup is called concentration. It is clearly seen from this, that the manufacture of the expressed juice consists of three principal operations, successive, but very distinct, viz.: clarifying the expressed juice into cane liquor, evaporating the cane liquor into syrup, and concentrating the syrup into the state for crystallization. “The clarification is the first and most import- ant work required. Its aim is entirely to dis- unite and remove the feculencies, and to separate the earthy matters which accidentally fall into the juice. The means employed to decompose the expressed juice and to disunite its feculen- cies are heat and alkalies; those which should be used to_remove them, are skimming, filtration, and time for subsidence. “Heat, in the first moderate ebullition, acts particularly upon the first kind of feculencies, which it separates easily, and raises to the sur- face of the fluid, whence they are removed by a skimmer. The second sort require a strong ebullition to separate them. It often happens, especially when the expressed juice is of very good quality, that heat alone suffices to. effect the complete separation of the second kind of fecu- lencies, and although the flakes formed may not DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. 131 always be sufficiently large to be raised by a skimmer, it is enough if they are disunited, be- cause then they will not escape filtration and subsidence.* “ Alkalies are, in this case, happily dispensed with; an advantage which can never be enjoyed in the usual method in which they must be em- ployed not only to separate the feculencies from the juice, but also to unite them together under the form of a frothy scum, which the skimmer may be able to collect and remove with facility. When the feculencies resist heat, it is proper to employ the concomitant action of alkalies. Lime ought always, in all circumstances, to be pre- ferred, because, in separating the feculencies, it takes from them but a comparatively small por- tion of their mucilage, and when its action does not produce the required effect, which, however, is an extreme case, it should be seconded by that of potass or soda. As the lime, in this method, has only to assist the action of heat in separating the feculencies, it never need be used in so great a proportion as in the usual method, where it is also required to give them a frothy consistence to collect them on the skimmer. Whatever care, * “Tn some parts of Jamaica, where the cane liquor was ex- ceedingly rich, Mr. Bousie made very good sugar without a particle of temper.—Zdwards’s West Indies. 132 DEFECATING AND NEUTRALIZING. whatever attention is given in removing the fecu- lencies, as they gradually rise on the surface, it is impossible to get rid of them entirely by the skimmer alone; this is not only insufficient for the feculencies, but it can do nothing for the earthy matters which are accidentally mixed with the juice. ‘“‘Dutrone was convinced of the absolute impos- sibility of entirely removing, by the skimmer, the impurities belonging to the juice, and the extra- neous earthy matters, which are always, in a greater or less proportion, found in it. He, therefore, saw that it was absolutely indispens- able to filter, and to leave the cane liquor to deposit before concentrating. For this purpose he adapted two reservoirs-to communicate with the concentrating vessels, which fulfilled this end admirably well, and produced the greatest advantages.” In the foregoing, it will be perceived, the reli- ance is placed in subsidence or settling, as also the use of lime, although there were instances where very little lime or temper was required. Syrup from sandstone or soft-water soils will be nearly as acid as though made of the juice of sweet apples. CHAPTER X. EVAPORATING APPARATUS, HOW USED. Ir can hardly be expected that any one per- son’s views will be coincided in by all. There is already a great variety of opinions and expe- riences upon the subject of inspissating the juices of these canes, and, although there have been issued, within the last five years, over fifty patents for evaporators of one form or another, and still some twenty more pending, many of which are in use as under trial, still more than one-half of all the syrup and sugar, made from this cane, is upon either simple, box-formed pans, with sheet-iron for bottoms and plank for sides, or in the common iron kettle. It is only occa- sionally that we see the samples of sugar or syrup from these latter sources, or hear reports of their success. There being no special active interest connected with them, their achievements are allowed to remain unheralded. I agree fully with the remarks of a gentleman ( 133 ) 184 EVAPORATING APPARATUS, HOW USED. in one of the late Sorghum Conventions, (who had used several kinds of evaporators,) in reply to a question as to what kind of evaporator he could make the best syrup upon; he said he could make just as good upon one as another, and just as good in a dish-kettle, as in any of them; the only difference consisting in the matter of convenience and economy. Many persons have been led to suppose that the business of syrup and sugar making was exceedingly complex and mysterious. It is true there are some few essen- tial points to be observed, but entirely simple, and the general success throughout the country is a proof of the above position. Very many new beginners succeed quite as well as those of practice. The best sample of sugar I have seen, was made upon the most simple apparatus possi- ble, and the mode of operating would have been pronounced quite certain to fail of success by those of practice upon the so-called improved apparatus. One of the most important steps to be. taken by any person engaging in this or any other business, is first, to arrange, in his own mind, some system by which to be guided, and to that end he should read, write, talk, and listen to others talk, always scanning their motives and interest, as well as their opportunities for inform- EVAPORATING APPARATUS, HOW USED. 135 ation upon the subject, discriminating between that which is given as opinion and that of knowledge. I will here introduce the experience of a farmer near Osborn, Ohio, as related to me a few days since. Having some ten acres of good cane, he obtained a mill and evaporating appar- atus, with instructions for working. This being his first experience, he was considerably confused during his apprenticeship, and after some few days’ working, he was persuaded that his instruc- tions were not correct; he thereupon changed, and took the advice of his neighbor, and con- ducted his boiling accordingly. After he had concluded his operations, and began to seek a market for his syrup, (having some fifty barrels,) he discovered a decided preference given to his first boiling, although made during his days of inexperience. This led him to reflect and apply his own scrutiny, and he found that all he had made, after his change of process, was inferior. That change consisted simply in omitting the use of lime. New beginners should experiment cautiously, and upon a small scale, until they have be-— come familiar with all the qualities and indica- fs tions of good syrup and sugar. The eye alone is not the umpire to whom the question of quality 136 EVAPORATING APPARATUS, HOW USED. should be referred, although it has much interest, and should be, and is, always consulted; never- theless there are properties that may be incor- porated in the syrup very prejudicial to the taste, and yet entirely secreted to the view. The-construction of evaporating apparatus are as various almost as men’s ideas, but there are general principles that should be observed in the arrangement of furnaces and fixtures for boiling. In the first place, durability, by which money, once invested, may yield a return before the structure has failed to serve the purposes for which it was originally designed. The constant action of a brisk fire, for successive weeks, upon the one side of any thin metal, and at the same time, also, a still more active wear, by oxydation and friction, in the manipulations of cleaning, upon the inner surface, must very soon render pans thus constructed, useless. But, like wooden mills, they may serve very well for a time, during the experimental operations of new beginners; but, as the business becomes settled, and the ex- perience of the operator will justify, the arrange- ment of more thorough and permanent works will suggest itself as more profitable. we I would, by no means, advise any one to em- bark precipitously, without experience, into this . business. The difficulty of obtaining the assist- EVAPORATING APPARATUS, HOW USED. 187. ance of experienced hands is one of the principal drawbacks to a rapid extension of this enterprise. There is more depending upon the man than the apparatus, in the production of a good article, but the economy of the business depends princi- pally upon the arrangement and extent of the works, and constitutes the second point of con- sideration: As previously intimated, small works can not be made to afford profitable employment for the operatives, as, for instance, one hand was fully competent to attend my fire-pan, with which I could make twenty gallons of syrup per hour, and, had it been double its capacity, the same hand could still have performed the labor; the only increase of labor being in handling the in- creased amount of fuel to keep up the fire, as this labor is also performed by the one same hand. The matter of fuel constitutes an important feature in the economy of syrup and sugar making. In my works, last season, my fuel bill was fully forty per cent. of my running expenses, and still I used only about three-fourths of a cord of wood to the hundred gallons of syrup. || 59 |. 7 110/) 99 2 8 | 6 14 279.5 , 60 100 SUGAR-MAKING PROCESS. 173 “Although soluble matters, other than the essential salt, are combined with the water of solution, the water is, nevertheless, always united with it in a relative and determinate proportion. The thermometer ought, therefore, to be em- ployed to determine its concentration, the solid product having always relation to the proportion of water which the heat has evaporated at each degree of this instrument. If the extraneous matters exist in a greater abundance, the quan- tity of pure sugar will be less than that marked in the foregoing table.” , I have already remarked that the process of sugar making is quite simple, and as an evidence of this assertion, and for the encouragement of others, I will here give the process (if such it may be called) employed by Mrs. Hooker, of Schuyler county, Illinois, whose success has been fully reported by the press of the country. Being desirous of examining the cane, in order to sat- isfy myself of its variety, as well as to have the particulars of the cultivation and manufacture, I visited the farm (as mentioned on page 46) and obtained the following facts in relation thereto: The apparatus consisted of a two-roll, wooden mill, a tub to receive the juice, and an evaporator, made as follows: a sheet of iron, two feet wide and some eight feet long, with about one foot of 7 174 SUGAR-MAKING PROCESS. each end turned up, forming the ends, while two planks, one-and-a-half inches thick, formed the sides; to these the iron was thoroughly nailed. This, set upon a rudely-constructed furnace, con- stituted the train. The process consisted in in- troducing twenty-seven gallons of juice as one charge, adding to this, when slightly warm, one tablespoonful of soda; sometimes eggs and milk were added, but not all the time. As the scum rose, it was carefully removed, and, when this was reduced to a tolerable syrup, another tub of fresh juice was added, and the same treatment repeated as before; and, in like manner, when this had become reduced, as before, a third in- stallment of juice was added, with a continuance of the former treatment. This now constituted a full batch, and as soon as reduced to the degree that her experience, in making sugar from the sap of the sugar tree, had indicated as a suitable degree of concentration, the batch was removed from the fire and set away, in a tub, to granulate, _ which granulation proceeded directly, the sugar being fair in color, and in good hard crystals. At the time I visited them, December 18th, there remained yet on hand some of the last boiling, after the cane had been frozen; never- theless, a fair per cent. of crystallization had resulted. The quality of the molasses that had SUGAR-MAKING PROCESS. 175 drained from the sugar was quite as fair in color and rich in flavor as the syrup of the best works in the country. There was, evidently, a large per cent. of the sugar yet remaining uncrystal- lized. There were, probably, several causes for a lack of a full success in crystallization; the use of soda, instead of lime, and by far too little of it, as the molasses was quite tart; the want of a warm place to facilitate granulation,. and, in all probability, not reduced quite as much as re- quired for the best results, had all the other con- ditions been obtained; these circumstances, when all considered, make the success, as it was, still more encouraging. There is much due to the variety of cane used, (see p. 46,) because there have been numberless similar operations with the Chinese and some other varieties of the Imphee, without equally favorable results. The molasses, drained from the sugar referred to above, was of a quality to recommend this cane as productive of a good article of syrup, as well as sugar, although it is not desirable to have syrup, made for use as such, to granulate on the hands of the consumer. CHAPTER XII. VINEGAR AND ALCOHOL FROM THE SCUM. T'we vinegar I have made from the scum of my works, one year since, has proven entirely successful. I have had it well tested in every possible form of domestic use, and, in all cases, it has served all the purposes fully equal to any cider vinegar. A sample was left with the United States Commissary Department, and submitted to the usual test, when it proved to require some five per cent. more alkali to neutralize it than any other specimen presented. Although the vine- gar is of superior quality, nevertheless, like the syrup, and all other new commodities, it is diffi- cult to get it upon the market. The scum, as it comes from the works, is hot, and if then reduced to about 3° B., by the use of condensed steam, where it can be had, or with soft water, and allowed to ferment, in some two days it will be ready to rack off. The first scum (176) 4 VINEGAR AND ALCOHOL FROM THE scum. 177 will rise to the top, and, in a short time, throw down, unless removed. It may now be called cider, and will contain a considerable quantity of sediment that will be difficult to remove with- out some cheap filter, such as apple pummace, ~.pounded charcoal, or turner’s shavings. It will require the addition of some whisky to give spirit to the vinegar, say one gallon to forty of the cider. If it is desired to hasten the maturity of the vinegar,’it can be done by the German process, which consists in filling casks of five, six, or more feet in hight, with beech shavings, and I presume the bagasse will answer the same. purpose, especially where used only for a short period, as will be the case with this business. These casks should have a false bottom, perfor- ated with augur holes, and resting upon brackets, one inch from the bottom, with an additional perforated cover a few inches below the upper chine of the tub, and close upon the shavings or bagasse; these had better be well saturated with boiling or hot vinegar at the start, and then fol- lowed with the filtered cider, by being thrown on the perforated head every hour or so, and, as it trickles down through the shavings, it becomes exposed to the action of the oxygen of the atmos- phere, which causes acetic fermentation in a rapid manner—two days being sufficient for one man, 178 VINEGAR AND ALCOHOL FROM THE SCUM. with a sufficient number of casks, to make fifty barrels or more. The use of scum for hog feeding is another method of disposing of it to advantage ; but some care is to be observed in this, lest it becomes too ‘much fermented, and intoxicate. The swine are the easiest made drunk of almost any other ani- mal, although not so much addicted to dissipation as some others we know of; and, again, if given them in abundance at first, it may sicken and defeat a further use in that direction. In large works of the Indies, it’ is quite com- mon to distill this and all the washings from the works, and any sour juice that may, by accident, accumulate. In our latitude, where early frosts and succeeding warm spells are of frequent occurrence, an arrangement for distilling would, no doubt, prove economical with those fancying the business, and doing enough to justify the expense. There are, everywhere throughout the country, numerous publications, and persons well informed upon the subject of distillation, where and through whom instruction can be obtained. I am myself totally unacquainted with the busi- -ness. The reports from France, obtained through. a correspondence I had with our minister at Paris, in the year 1857, were quite flattering upon the subject of distillation. From these Sea VINEGAR AND ALCOHOL FROM THE scum. 179 reports it appears that more attention had been given the alcoholization of the Sorgho in Algeria than in France, the former being a climate more suited to its culture. There have been some few instances of distill- ing in this country, only upon a small scale, and generally that of the inferior syrups, and, in a few instances, the skimmings. Mr. Alexander In- gram distilled some of the juice, in this city, in the fall of 1857, a small sample of which I now have in my possession, said to possess fine quali- ties, by good judges. Mr. Ingram says the yield, in gallons, of proof spirits, is about equal to that of syrup per acre. _Inasmuch as there is a large district of our western country where apples are scarce and the grape does not succeed well, from which cider or wine can be made, it may be well to know that a very good beverage can be manufacturede from the washifigs of the pans or the juice of the cane. The same has been done, long since, by the French, who are proverbial for their faculty in this direction. The simple juice is deficient in acid and some of the essential oils, to make a good cider or wine, but rather rich in saccharine to undergo that degree of ‘fermentation requisite to produce the spirit required for the common demand, and, at the same time, serve as a pre- al 180 VINEGAR AND ALCOHOL FROM THE SCUM. servative of the beverage. ‘The feculencies of the juice should be removed by heat and filtra- tion, without the use of lime, as the free acid is . useful for this purpose. This liquor, then, should be reduced to about 4° B., with soft water, and to each ten gallons add one of currant juice, if to be had, or cranberry, or half a gallon of the juice of the pie-plant or rhubarb. This juice being added, a temperature of about 65° Fah. should be maintained, and fermentation expedited with an addition of one quart of fresh yeast to the barrel of liquor. A fine flavor may be given with van- nilla or elderberries. After being sufficiently fer- mented to become entirely cledr, and of sharp taste, it may be racked off, bottled, sealed up, and laid away for age. By the introduction of a de- coction of hops, in the early part of the above process, a very good beer may be obtained. To ®obtain color, as well as a somewhat improved flavor, the addition of some litéle caramel (or burnt sugar) will accomplish the object. CHAPTER XIII. ~ BAGASSE FOR FUEL, AND OTHER USES. THE amount of bagasse, or pressed cane-stalks, in a large manufactory is very great, and hence its disposition and uses become matter worthy of consideration here. In my own works, small though they were, the amount turned out from the mill in one hour was, by actual weight, 2,375 pounds, which considerably exceeds the weight of half a cord of green wood, and besides, con- tains less water. I disposed of all my bagasse to a paper manufacturer, for the sum of $82, being the proceeds from four hundred and ninety- two tons of cane; this was taken from the apron free of expense to me. In combination with rags, he told me that it made an excellent wrap- ping-paper; of course, the pithy portion of the cane was useless in the manufacture of paper. It is evident, from the foregoing statement as to the weight of bagasse accumulating in a large manufactory, that a considerable saving of fuel (181) 182 BAGASSE FOR FUEL, AND OTHER USES. might be effected by using it for that purpose ; the large amount of water contained therein renders its consumption, in ordinary furnaces, uneconomical, as the water, in evaporating, ab- stracts a large portion of the heat generated by the combustion of the carbonaceous and hydro- gen compounds. Where it is designed to burn the bagasse, the milling should be very thorough and close, taking out fully seventy per cent. of the gross weight of the cane.” I have examined several methods for burning the bagasse, employed in Louisiana, which worked well, but all upon a much larger scale than required for our operations at present. I would have been glad to give descriptions of them, but my work is too small to admit of it, having been compelled to omit already much that I had designed to introduce, as a more full discussion of the manufacturing operations. I am, however, pleased to present the plan* of a more simple and less expensive arrangement, and so constructed that the bagasse department can be closed off with a few bricks and a little mor- tar, leaving the boiler with the usual furnace only. The bagasse may be fed in the top, from * Iam indebted to Mr. J. C. Morris, of this city, (who has observed the operations of those furnaces in Louisiana more than myself,) for suggestions in relation to this simple furnace. — BAGASSE FOR FUEL, AND OTHER USES. 183 an apron, or by a hand, with a fork, or it may be passed in at the left-hand upper door, which door swings inward, as the bagasse is pressed against it, and drops of its own weight, being hinged at the top. Upon that side of the furnace there are two sets of grate-bars; the upper one, however, ig quite open. The precise space between each section of bars may be ten or twelve inches, but a little experience will determine that matter. The large chamber above this grating, extending over the boiler, is requisite as affording room for the vapors that arise to mingle and form the new combinations that precede combustion. The lower grating forms a full floor across the whole furnace, except the partition, which only rises to the level of the grates. The intermediate door, on the left, is designed for introducing wood or coal in the commencement, in order to get up steam, and heat up the burner, preparatory to the receipt of the bagasse, after which time all the front doors should be kept closed, causing the supply of atmosphere chiefly to come through the top of the arch, The opening on the side, back of the grating, is for admitting a fresh supply of atmosphere through the openings of the bridge-wall. (See the center sectional cut.) The oxygen here unites with the carbonic oxide, and forms the complete combustion, giving off a flame BAGASSE FOR FUEL, AND OTHER USES. 185 of intense heat. This side opening should have a damper or door, so as to control the supply, according to the character of fuel employed, as in the use of fuel, in the ordinary way, this would not be needed at all. It will be seen, by reference to the sectional cuts, that the furnace is not only simple and cheap, but may be adapted to pans or evaporators of any construction, possessing good length. In such cases, however, there would be no need of a double front, but the double set of grates, with more up- per chamber for the vapors, say five feet above the upper grate, would be as little as I would consider advisable. The walls of such furnaces should be unusually thick, two-and-a-half bricks would not be too much, (that is, twenty-one inches,) and the inner lining of fire-brick. The base of the arch should be supported by an iron gripe. I found it difficult to fully represent the arrangement of the self-closing doors of the inlet of the arch, nor are the cuts made to an exact scale, my object being to get the idea as near as possible, leaving the dimensions and many of the particulars for the engineer or draughtsman. CHAPTER XIV. REFINING PROCESSES AND MATERIALS, HOW, MADE. THE best method of refining which has come under my observation so-jfar, consists in the use of the creased bag-filter, and afterward of the bone-coal filter. The bag-filters are constructed of canvas, like a long grain sack. They should contain about two widths of canvas, and be of the length required; before use, they are introduced into a narrow sleeve, also of canvas, say six or eight inches in diameter, with open mouths. The whole filter is suspended vertically by a frame, with proper mouth-pieces to facilitate the filling. By this arrangement a large surface of canvas is furnished to the syrup or juice to be filtered. The juice from the “ grand,” after being allowed to stand for some time in the “prop,” so as to separate as much as possible of the impurities by subsidence, is poured hot into the bag-filter and allowed to percolate through, by which a consid- erable quantity of the impurities are removed; (186 ) .REFINING PROCESSES AND MATERIALS. 187 the syrup or juice, after coming from the bags, is transferred at once to the coal-filters, which are constructed as follows: the case is in the form of an upright cylinder, constructed of heavy sheet-iron, riveted and calked at the joints; the ordinary size is about seven feet high and four feet in diameter; but, of course, they may be made of any desirable dimensions. Mr. Belcher, at Chicago, has filters twenty-five feet high, filled with coal from an elevator similar to one for ele- vating grain, only it is constructed of iron, so as to admit of handling the coal while hot from the re-burning retorts; this enables him to keep his syrup hot and limpid, by which it parts with its coloring matter more freely, and, being kept at a high temperature, can be handled at a less degree of density. Previous to filling with coal, a perforated board or iron bottom, on brackets, is introduced, (being raised a few inches from the bottom of the iron cylinder,) and on this a thick woolen covering, say, of blankets or carpet, is spread for receiving the granulated animal charcoal. The charcoal should be filled in up to the top of the case, and be formed into a concave at top, four inches deep in the center. On the coal, carpets or blankets should be laid, and thus arranged, the filter is ready to receive the syrup to be refined. 188 REFINING PROCESSES AND MATERIALS. The syrup from the bag-filters should not mark much over 20° Baumé, and should be passed into the coal-filters hot, in a stream not larger than would pass through an opening half an inch in diameter, under a pressure of one foot. The fil- tered syrup should not be started to run off until the coal is covered entirely with syrup, and then ‘the stream should be slow at first. If small coal seems to pass with the syrup, stop running, return that which is already drawn off to the filter, wait | an hour, and try again. If now the syrup comes off clear, adjust the supply and draw off so as to equal each other, and leave the process to itself. After a quantity of syrup sufficient, when fully concentrated, to fill entirely a filter-case of the size you are using has passed through the filter, the supply should be stopped, and hot water sub- stituted and continued until what runs off does not mark more than 2° Baumé. The stream below should then be turned off, the washings being used for vinegar, or otherwise, as they will scarcely pay for re-concentration. The syrup from the filters must now, without delay, be boiled to the required degree of con- centration, as, if kept too long, it may become sour. And here the use of a vacuum pan would be found to produce the most pleasing results, in producing a light-colored and finely-tasted syrup. REFINING PROCESSES AND MATERIALS. 189 The high temperature, 225° Fahrenheit, required for boiling the syrup in the open air, tends to caramelize a considerable portion of the sugar, thus imparting the brown color and burnt flavor. For making sugar the syrup needs to reach a higher temperature than that named, going even as high as 238° Fahrenheit. In the vacuum pan the temperature need not be much higher than 150° Fahrenheit. A method of boiling in open pan, by producing ebullition with injected cold atmosphere, is said to work exceedingly well. It was operated, many years since, in London, by Mr. Ingram, now a resident of Champaign county, Ohio. It was my purpose to have tested it the past season, but cir- cumstances prevented. If this is successful, there will much good result from it, as, in vacuo, there can be no scum removed, the pan being entirely closed over. Now, although the syrup made directly from the juice, without filtration, is a good article, and will ever find ready sale, I doubt not that filtra- tion will so far improve its appearance and qual- ity as amply to remunerate the manufacturer for the extra labor and outlay necessary. I shall, therefore, here introduce a brief sketch of the method of making bone-coal, and also of the a re-burning the coal which has already 190 REFINING PROCESSES AND MATERIALS. been used as a filter. I am led to do so from the consideration of the probability that ere long we shall have many large and well-arranged establishments in this country, each of which will be self-sustaining, making their own charcoal, re- burning it, refining their syrups directly from the “ orand,” then passing it into vacuum boilers and concentrating for syrups, and also for granula- tion. In a refining establishment, where steam- power is used, few hands are required, as com- pared with those needed in a boiling-house. Unless some more cheap and efficient filtering agent is discovered, we shall have to rely mainty on bone-charcoal in our refineries. The manu- facture of this material is one of great simplicity, and is conducted as follows: premising that the long bones, consisting of compact bony substance, as the leg-bones, ribs, jaws, etc., are best adapted to the purpose; skulls and weather-beaten bones are not of much-use. Perhaps the simplest and best retorts in which to heat the bones are cast-iron pots, of a size con- venient for handling, and, say, half an inch thick ; these, being filled with bones, are piled one above the other to a hight of, say, fifteen feet, the top one being provided with a cover. Any crevices between the pots are filled with fire-clay mortar, and any number of stacks may be inclosed in a Ra, REFINING PROCESSES AND MATERIALS. 191 cupola, heated below by coal or wood. A steady heat must be kept up in the furnace until nothing seems to escape from the pots except a pale-blue flame, which indicates the completion of the char- ring process. The fire must then be withdrawn, the cupola opened up, (having been closed mean- while,) and the whole allowed to cool. The pots are then taken down and emptied, when their contents are ready for the granulating mill. The granulating mill is simple, like a bark-mill or corn-crusher; the object being to reduce the coal to the size of hominy. After granulating, the coal is passed through sieves or bolts of dif- ferent gauges, The coarser part is used for filters; the finer is ground and sold for the man- ufacture of shoe-blacking, etc. Instead of using cast-iron pots, as before de- scribed, some use old boiler tubes or flues. These are not so durable, but, at the same time, are not so costly. The coal which has been used to the extent of rendering it useless for further filtering may be again rendered as good as new by re-burning. To this end, after it has been washed, as directed under the head of “ Refining Processes and Mate- rials,” it must be removed by the manholes pro- vided for the purpose near the bottom of the sheet-iron cases, and transferred to the retorts 192 REFINING PROCESSES AND MATERIALS. for re-burning. These retorts consist each of a cast-iron conical pipe about seven feet long, five inches in diameter at the lower end,-and seven or more at the top. Any required number of these retorts are arranged vertically over openings in a cast-iron bed-plate, to which they are secured by flanges. The bed-plate is supported at a hight of, say, two feet from the ground, so as to admit the contents of the retorts to be discharged down- ward, by withdrawing a slide from under their mouths. Covers are provided for the tops of the retorts, and are closely fitted thereon during the burning. The furnace, for heating these retorts, is placed alongside, to the right or left, and the flame therefrom is passed over and among the retorts, which are heated thereby, and, communi- cating theixy heat to their contents, char and decompose the vegetable and gaseous matters retained from the syrup, thus rendering it ready for use again. As soon as the lower part of the retort has become red-hot, the slide in the bed- plate is drawn, and, as the red-hot contents fall out, the coal, from above, settles down, and more is added-—the cover being replaced, as at first; so the process is continued, until all is re-burned. The red-hot coal from the retorts is sprinkled with water in quantity barely sufficient to quench it and prevent it burning away. CHAPTER XV. PRODUCTS, MARKETS, AND PROFITS. Havine considered the various departments of this cane culture and its manufacture, I now pro- pose to devote a few pages to the subject as indi- cated above, for it becomes as interesting, to those engaged in the business, as any other feature of the enterprise. That there will soon be a surplus product, in the agricultural districts, is not only very certain, but much to be desired, as the com- mercial transactions are to be based upon the surplus of the country productions. Thus far the cultivation has been confined to mere experi- mental patches, with, here and there, an excep- tion. Nevertheless, the aggregate number of gallons produced in the free States the past season, may be stated at thirty millions, and this will, undoubtedly, be doubled the coming season. Should it be quadrupled, it will not surprise me, and still it will fall short of a full supply; the consumption of foreign molasses, as shown by the (193) 194 PRODUCTS, MARKETS, AND PROFITS. letter of Mr. Belcher, has been fifty million gal- lons yearly. I say foreign, as, in this connection, we may consider the Louisiana molasses foreign. There are, within my own knowledge, families that formerly used only ten gallons of the New Orleans, (sugar-house syrups included,) that are now consuming annually from fifty to sixty gal- lons of the Sorghum. This consumption will be much increased, as experience suggests other uses, and as the rising generation come forward, who are everywhere more fond of it than adults; hence it is taking the place of fat meat to a very considerable extent. In curing meat, also, it will be extensively used when the price is such as to admit of its free use. There could be ample testimony adduced to prove that its abundant use is conducive to health; being indigenous, it will attach itself to our appetites, and can not be supplanted by a foreign product, especially one of the tropics. Already our children, accustomed to the, use of the Sorghum, will reject the finest specimen of Southern molasses, not from prejudice, but from choice of quality. From these considerations we may conclude that its use will continue so long as our soil and climate will produce it. The following letter from Mr. Hunter will be found of interest, as showing how much value PRODUCTS, MARKETS, AND PROFITS. 195 there is in the forage part of this crop. I could add any number of similar reports had I room, but will simply urge my readers to try it for themselves : “ Mapison, Inp., Fed. 24, 1863. “Mr. Isaao A. Hepes: ; “ Dear Sir.—In reply to your inquiries in regard to my experience and observation in relation to the value of the Sorgho crop, besides that of syrup and sugar making: My first crop was in the year 1857, and I have increased the cultivation annually, using the fodder every year, and I can say that I know it to be superior to corn or any other class of forage. I have only fed the seed for the past three seasons. I fattened twenty-two hogs upon the seed, ground like chop feed, sometimes merely wet up, and sometimes scalded, sometimes allowing it to sour, and I think my hogs liked it best when sour. I consider it worth rather more than half as much as hard corn for hog-feed. I have fattened three head of beef cattle, and am now fattening the fourth, and am boiling the seed instead of grinding, using my sugar-pan for that purpose, and believe it a better plan than grinding the seed ; I find cattle also to feed well upon it, and fatten fast. I have never had either to cloy or reject it. Iam now feeding my milch cows upon the boiled seed, and they increased their milk considerably; besides, the milk is fully equal to any other feed. I have cut young cane, and fed it to my milch cows, and can say that it is unequaled for producing both quantity and quality; the butter, from such milk, is more yellow, if possible, than clover. I found, when feeding upon the leaves, stripped from the cane and dried, even in the winter, the butter was as yellow as when fed upon fresh clover. , “Very truly yours, C. W. Horse.” 7 196 PRODUCTS, MARKETS, AND PROFITS. The syrup is being used for making printers’ rollers, and found to answer an admirable pur- pose. The inferior syrups, made from scum de- posits or sour cane, will find a market in all large cities, for blacking making, and in the manufac- ture of the extract of coffee, for which purposes not less than three thousand barrels are used annually in this city. But, for these uses, it should be boiled very heavy, say 38° B., when hot. The following letter from Mr. Belcher will be read with much interest, as connected with this subject. He informs me that the estimates of imports of foreign, and the production of Louis- iana molasses, are made up from the statistics of the New York shipping and commercial lists, and may be relied upon as correct. “Curcago, January 31st, 1863. “Tsaao A. Henexs, Esq. : “ Dear Sir.—In reply to your letter of the 26th inst., requesting my views as to the future market for Sorghum syrup, I beg to remark, that it is my opinion that there will be a ready sale, in Eastern markets as well as in our Western markets, for all the Sorghum syrup of good quality that will be produced for some years. The pres- ent winter is the first season in which there has been much Sorghum syrup offered for sale in the Chicago market, and, thus far, it has met with a quick sale for cash; indeed, the supply is not equal to one-fourth of the demand. There is a large demand for refining purposes; PRODUCTS, MARKETS, AND PROFITS. 197 contractors for army supplies have purchased large quan- tities, and the demand for it, in a raw state, for domestic consumption, increases rapidly. Some shipments of it have been made to New York and other Eastern cities, with satisfactory results, and large quantities of it, if of good quality, are wanted for Eastern markets, but our Western farmers have not raised it much as a crop for sale, and, consequently, large orders for it can not be filled. “The introduction, into the large Western markets, of Sorghum syrup, as an article of produce, has been attend- ed with some perplexity and discouragements, arising from the want of uniformity in the density, color, and taste of the syrup, and the bad condition of the barrels, many of them being old barrels, and not properly coopered. “These evils will undoubtedly be remedied by a more extended product of the syrup as a market crop, by im- proved methods in the manufacture of it, and by the use of new cooperage of good quality. “The range of prices, in this market, for Sorghum syrup, this season, have been twenty-eight to forty-five cents per gallon, viz. : Inferior dark SYLUpS ssssessassseeseeeees seesessseeee28 to 33 per gall. Common (thin body). +32 1035 © ae Fairs..cccsssseeseeces ” +36 to 38 «6 ee Prime: is choice; ligagy? body ‘oud good colle, 40to45 6 pene nerenseereee “JT think there is a good prospect for a higher range of prices, by another season, for this new article of West- ern produce. Our national troubles will probably prevent the usual cultivation of the sugar-cane in our southern States for some years, and we can not rely on a supply of sweets from Louisiana, as we have heretofore done. The North-west must, therefore, raise their own syrups and molasses, or purchase their supplies from foreign countries 198 PRODUCTS, MARKETS, AND PROFITS. with gold. I hope we may soon have such increased pro- duction of Western cane syrups as to fully supply our Western markets, and, in a measure, take the place, in our Eastern markets, of the large quantities of foreign molasses which are imported therein, and. which, by cus- tom-house returns, will show about twenty-six millions of gallons as the annual import of West India molasses into the United States for the past twelve years. The average annual product of Louisiana molasses, for the same period, has been about twenty-four millions of gallons. From these two sources (the West Indies and Louisiana) we have derived an annual supply of about fifty millions of gallons of molasses. To this quantity of molasses must be added the sugar-house syrups of refiners, the maple molasses, and the Sorghum molasses, and we have not less than eighty millions of gallons of molasses and syrups as the annual consumption in the United States for some years past, and of this vast quantity of sweets, it may be safely estimated that the free States have consumed not less than sixty millions of gallons annually. “This enormous and increasing consumption of mo- lasses and syrups, in our northern States, should encour- age the Western cane-growers in their efforts to produce crops of Western cane syrups, with the certainty that they will find a ready sale for all that will be produced of merchantable quality and in good packages. “ Respectfully yours, “Wiis H. Betcuer.” In order to give our country friends an idea of the consumption of this city, I have arranged a condensed table from the annual statement of the Chamber of Commerce of Cincinnati. This PRODUCTS, MARKETS, AND PROFITS. 199 table shows the aggregate imports of molasses for the last seventeen years; also the aggregate exports, with the balance, constituting the con- sumption of the city for the whole period, and also the annual consumption : IMPORTS. EXPORTS. Aggregate imports for the last seventeen Bbls. Bbls. years, ending August 31, 1862........00+e+061,126,712 644,415 Excess of imports over exports, constitut- ing the aggregate city consumption for the last seventeen years, Of ........eseererere Average consumption per annum. For the five years, 1856 and 1860 inclusive, the annual average is still greater, being 31,459 bar- rels. About four barrels per acre being the average yield of Sorghum syrup, it will require 7,864 acres to supply the annual consumption of Cincinnati alone. The average annual consump- tion of sugar, for the same period of five years, was 17,079 hogsheads. Mr. J. M. Mohler, of Covington, Miami county, Ohio, gives me, as the actual cost of making his syrup, at sixteen cents per gallon, allowing for the forage of the crop, which foots up as follows: 482,297 28,370 One acre’s product, 150 gallons, at 16 cents per gallon.....$24 00 The use of land......... eiaseceuas saadiabdexsisteasisusdeavssecsevsesssaaers: (0000 Interest on outfit, costing $150......secrescevccssrsvessssseerecees 9 00 Total... odWilaabaisabndSevecocude4 snaubacdsenaaduasesceneaciienesss@oe: UO Proceeds oe rap, at a7 penta nen galleries a Leaving a net profit, per acre, Of..serccccscrrssecersserasservenpaa 00 200 PRODUCTS, MARKETS, AND PROFITS. The following estimate is reported to me from Shelby county, and although the method of esti- mating differs, the results are nearly the same: ‘REPORT. Preparation of soil for planting.......ssss essere see Planting of seed......scessssessccesssssreeseeees cence faptee'es a Working through twice with one-horse cultivator........... 2 00 Working through twice with one-horse plow. ..1... sssseseesee 2 00 Hoeing and thining four times..........s00s0 » 400 Stripping blades, one hand, four ioe » 400 Topping cane, one-and-a-half days......... - 1 50 Cutting and ee cane to mill, one and anal tears three days....s.scecsnccersesseccsssesseeseecsssse sossssencesssracseeseses 6 00 Use of oe ee evessenseatees - 5 00 Total expense. .rrccceccccccsssssereesersaneee sarees sersnens cieeeeiae $27 50 “Now I will give you the products of the same acre. You can use it as you like. 173 gallons, at 50 cents per gallon..sccccscrsercsecerrereesereeee 50 50 The syrup was boiled to 40° Baume’s saccharometer. Value of forages. ....sccecssssssescveostecs cssessensee seen sone tageccons 5 00 Total profits.....csecccvesescrscsserssessscerssseveasseresvecerseees SOL 50 Then deduct the price of making 173 gallons at 20 cents per gallon scien aos vires vnanasavecstueiseiese: $34 60 And the expense of cultivation and use of land... 27 50 Total expense....vceecesssscsseseessessssser vereecerese B62 10—62 10 Total profit..,.csoe cssssssserssnerencsen ces sosssessssseseseeseesesers P29 40 “T respectfully submit the above to your inspection. “Wirrmm Sern,” iY = By the above it will be perceived that, although high wages are allowed, and very liberal pay for PRODUCTS, MARKETS, AND PROFITS. 201 the use of land, and more time given for cultiva- tion than required by expert hands, yet the net profit is $29.40, while a crop of corn, of fifty bushels per acre, at forty cents per bushel, would amount to only about two-thirds the sum, with- out paying its cost at all. The-above are the esti- mates of manufacturing upon a small scale of only sixty or eighty gallons per day. As the ultimate success of this crop will de- pend upon the low price at which it can be pro- duced, I will here give an estimate of the expense, per gallon, for manufacturing upon a large scale, using ‘steam power, and fire and steam combined, for boiling, making at the rate of one hundred gallons per hour: “ Eight men, at $1 per day... acsseesee SS: 00 One man as superintendent, at ‘$3 per ray. . 3 00 Two cords of wood, at $2 per cord... . 4 00 Interest on capital of $5,000, at ae ue asi for aay days, the running time.. sisveanssivensd empistenesmasees 8:00 Total expenses Per CAY..crccesesvesceessereesneeerees a 00 Making cost of syrup, without barrels, two aii three-tenths cents per gallon. Bagasse burning, in combination with the wood above, would generate ample steam. This is predicated upon a thoroughly well constructed establishment, with all the improvements for la- bor-saving. There is yet a large offal that may 202 PRODUCTS, MARKETS, AND PROFITS. be turned to account, viz.: the scum, for vinegar or distilling. The cost of cane, delivered at the mill, will be greatly reduced as our farmers become more familiar and expert in the cultivation and hand- ling of the crop. When due credit is given for the seed and other: forage of the crop, the cane can be delivered, at the mill, at ten dollars per acre, yielding two hundred gallons of syrup, thus increasing the cost of the syrup five cents per gallon; to this must be added two-and-a-half cents per gallon for casks, making the total cost of syrup, at the works, nine and eight-tenth cents per gallon. When we shall have availed ourselves of all the advantages that are sure to result from an application of the mighty mind of the Ameri- can people, drawn out, as they are being, by the certain prospects of this very valuable product, then it will be that our market reports will an- nounce the prices of the various grades of sugar, syrups, and molasses, the products of the Sorghum crop INDEX. PAGE ALCOHOL, Vinegar, etc., from the SCUIN...6.-secssecrresee verseeees 76 Bagasse burning and paper making, CtC.....06.serersceseeersrerere LBL Barrels, Molasses, how Made.....sscceccssecssssseesseeses coscssssserees 89 Belcher’s letter on Products, profits, etc.......sscccovesseee eee 196 Cane, African and Chinese, History of....... * Otaheitan, where from.......... “« cultivation of, Wray’s iia: “i. « cutting and miietiiices © BUPA BEC: sicwinerorseee nevi Clarifying agents, sia eae, ete.. Engine, its connections, etc........ aisslen sib tvs ee eeweesiecesteuesssaueaened Evaporators, their construction, etc.. se TOW USEC, cesses sessessesserseseees Forage, its relative value.....sccesssservee senevoeee eeeseneeesenenereseee LOD Furnaces, Economical construction of........ Wav eemieaee esate ua 138 Hog-feeding ..ccssee see resseeee fe tnosesens onevens teas caneneee sisvenniteasoisenies 178 Introduction... Lime, How used......s.s00e «111, 115, 125, 141, 158, 165, 168 “ ee éounbonucted whens IM CXCESB...... reece 115 Litmus paper, how made and used........ diucaisee seceel eines 121, 128 Mills and cane Sa ia a ea acspeniaieatint nendicucasiss serseceseee 90 Double, @ SUggeStION...sccssssesccersrereccreesaes ees seeneeee soseee 96 Wooden, How Madessrrecesesssrersecesorscseesessossessveses eve LOS ( 203 ) Ub 204 INDEX. Molasses, Consumption of, in Cincinnati... .ccccsseeseccseere re 199 “ inferior quality, a market for......cccsssceessseesese cere 193 Preface.......+ sisssvewseve dives ee eseessacaserenes ve seecereenseseeeeseseeereees 5 Products, profits, markets...... Hsevssiveswososats asaizeees esa’ aeeeees 193 Refining processes and materials.......cesssessee severe Siebavanecees 186 Sugar, Sources Of....cscsesssesssccsescescenaeecasees Dib fate ded esieaassseet . 15 “« an article of diet and civilization. « producing plants...; 36 “© making process...... 154 « ce by Lovering.........66. saeedidee’ wee L 64 Seed, Varieties and preservation Of.....ccssesseseescseeeseeses senses 40 & illustrations Of. ....ccccccseeeees é 8 Moker’ ssisusssecsaccarsoeesveveuwiesssesavevers veecdseusesscesssveverss AO 6 should be preserved....scsressssssceesvecesescatsoesrevssssescesses 49 «not to be imported this season.. for stock feed......cerceveee Soils, and seasons of planting..... “ Steam sugar-works, how didenizedlon a sasecevend NaNNssooee’s “ “ 6 description tees sovseeevecsenes es «ce «¢ how manned.. «chimneys, how ee ae Syrup making, cost per gallon..... Saccharometer, how used, CtC...rcoecsersrvecseeee Tanks of wood, How Made......, ccsesseve son sosreeses $6 TrODvesssceuessasvedi send dacs deavsveaesvesseernessiscsisenessaseayesves Thermometers, their NBD aie pigninscnuuegn anayaianensiventesiee inl equbenaier nieve Vinegar, alcohol, etc..ssecccscsccccssesssesceesenasseneveece Will it pay Peissccsccsceessscsssresesssssessessressssssssrcesscssesseresnesseee TA SECHLER & PORTER, No. 54 WEST SECOND ST., CINCINNATI, OHIO. AGENTS FOR MANUFACTURERS OF, AND DEALERS IN PIG IRON, BAR, BOILER, AND SHEET IRON. ALSO, MANUFACTURERS OF SUGAR CANE MILLS AND EVAPORATORS. Having made and sold more during the past year than any other Manufacturers, we can lay some claim to superiority in our Mills. Special attention is called to our IMPROVEMENTS OF 18638. FOR DESCRIPTION AND PRICE OF OUR WARES, SEND FOR OUR ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE FOR 1863, Now Ready---Mailed free on application. 205 CLARK SORGO MACHINE CO. No, 122 MAIN STREET. CINCINNATI, OHIO. (Successors to WM. H. CLARK.) INCORPORATED MARCH, 1863—CAPITAL STOCK, $50,000, WM. H. CLARK, President. HORACE NORTON, Secretary Tx1s Company has been organized for the purpose of establishing in Cincinnati an extensive and permanent Manufactory of Sugar-cane Mills and other Farm Machinery. It is provided with an ample capital and every facility for carrying out this design. Especial efforts will be made to acquire and maintain for all its manufactures a high standard, and to provide that every article made. by the Company shall be the very best of its kind. The most competent managers and skillful workmen will be employed, and every available improvement that will add to the efficiency and intrinsic value of its manufactures, will be adopted. The cultivation of the Northern Cane having become a permanent business in the West, a necessity exists for a better and more reliable Kind of Machinery. Heretofore, the Cane culture has been regarded, even by those engaged in it, as rather an experimental enterprise. Producers have, in many cases—to avoid expense—required cheap and temporary Machinery; and manufacturers—willing to avail themselves of the business as it was offered—added Cane Mills to their regular list of manufactures, without regarding the trade as sufficiently per- manent or important to warrant any great efforts to render the Ma- chine effective and reliable. : Under these circumstances it is not surprising that Cane Mills have been, in many instances, too slightly made; that they have, in numer- -ous cases, failed, and caused the loss of the entire crops of Cane. Nor is it remarkable that the demand is now universal, among Cane-grow- ers, for more perfect and reliable Mills. . It will be the special aim of this Company to improve the Sugar Mill to the uttermost, and to fully meet all the requirements of Cane- growers. Great care will be exercised in the selection of materials, and all the skill and ingenuity which the Company can comman will be employed in construction. The mechanical department will be under the direction of. Mr. CLark,-who has been identified with the manufacture of Cane Mills, and followed it as a business, since the first Mill for crushing the Northern Cane was made in the country. CLARK SORGO MACHINE CO,, 122 Main Street, Cincinnati, Ohio. 206 SORGO CANE MILLS, Of all sizes and of the most approved patterns, including Hedge’s Patent Vertical Mill, with all Clark’s Improvements, Horizontal Mills, Small back-geared Power Mill, Two Roll Mills, Regular Planta- tion Mills, of various sizes, etc. etc. MADE AND SOLD BY CLARK SORGO MACHINE Co. , BEVAPORATORS, Of any desired style and capacity, including Plain Iron Pans, to be operated either continuously or intermittently, Serial Pans of two or more, adapted to one furnace; Steam Coil Evapgorators of any dimen- sions, MADE AND SOLD BY CLARK SORGO MACHINE Co. - QOOK'S GREAT UNRIVALED EVAPORATOR. Sole Agents in Cincinnati for the sale of this popular and favorite Pan. CLARK SORGO MACHINE Co, ~ BELLIS. Cast Steel and Steel Amalgam Church Bells, Fire Engine, School, and Farm Bells, MADE AND SOLD BY CLARK SORGO MACHINE Co, MISCELLANEOUS. "Little Giant and Clark’s Improved Corn Crushers, Agricultural Boilers, Cider Mills, Cider, Wine, Tobacco, and Lard Press Screws and Nuts, Grocers’ Sugar Mills, Mineral Crushers, Road_ Scrapers, Jack Screws, Furnace Iron, Skimmers, Saccharometers, Test Cups, Thermometers, Proof Glasses, etc., etc. MADE AND SOLD BY CLARK SORGO MACHINE Co, CANE SEED.~ Pure and reliable Cane and other Seeds always on hand and for sale b: 7 CLARK SORGO MACHINE Co. SYRUP. General Agents for the purchase and sale of Northern Cane Syrup. Syrup received for refining, and the business carefully superintended. CLARK SORGO MACHINE Co. 207 EAGLE WORKS Manufacturing Company, CHICAGO, ILL. P. WwW. GATES, THOS. CHALMERS, PRESIDENT. SUPERINTENDENT. RALPH GATES, D. R. FRASER, SECRETARY AND TREASURER. DRAUGHTSMAN, ‘WE MANUFACTURE PORTABLE AND STATIONARY: STEHKA M ENGINES, BOILERS OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS. g& Send for Circulars. “EX QUARTZ MILLS and all kinds MINING MACHINERY, PORTABLE SAW MILLS, - ROTARY, MULY OR GANG SAW MILLS. JE Send for Circulars. BX FLOUR MILLS, And MILL FURNISHING of EVERY DESCRIPTION. SUGAR CANE MILLS and EVAPORATORS, TO BOIL EITHER BY STEAM OR FIRE. f&> Send for Circulars. “BX Feed Mills for grinding all sorts of Grain for Feed, AGRICULTURAL BOILERS, RUBBER AND LEATHER BELTING, Steam Gauges, Try Cocks, Water Gauges, ALL KINDS BRASS .WORK. ZE& Send for Circulars. RX Gloke Valves, Governor Valves, Wind Mills, and Pumps, GAS FITTING AND ALL KINDS OF STEAM FITTING. g& Send for Circulars, GX P. W. GATES, President. 208 i yi hee a i il a ¥ it a y y | ¥ Mount Vernon Iron Works THE LARGEST & OLDEST ESTABLISHMENT IN THE UNITED STATES, Manufacturing FIVE SIZES of the UNION VERTICAL CANE-MILL. THEIR WEIGHTS ARE RESPECTIVELY 650 Ibs., 750 Ibs., 1000 Ibs., 1700 Ibs., and 2300 Ibs. 5 7 THREE SIZES of the HORIZONTAL CANE-MILL, Gcared to suit any power or motion. Their weights are respectively, 12590 Ibs., 2400 Ibs., and 3300 Ibs. ALL OTHER REQUIRED SIZE MILLS MADE TO ORDER. We have sold over nine hundred Mills in the last five years, which are now in use in all sections of the country, both North, East, South, and West, and they have not cost on an average of one and a quarter per cent. for repairs. All are warranted FOR ONE SEASON. Our Mills embrace many Valuable Improvements, such as Springs to the Master-Roll, Adjustable Return Gauge, Rolls, Flanges, Superior Oiling Arrangements, &c. UNION BVAPORATOR, made of galvanized or common Iron and Copper. No other Evaporator has succeeded better, or is offered to the public cheaper. Also, Manufacture STATIONARY, PORTABLE, AND FARM ENGINES, Grist and Saw Mills, Boilers, Flax Brakes, Pickers and Presses. For full particulars, send for Innustratap CrecuLaR AND Price List. Usual Terms given to the Trade. Acznrs Wanrep. c. & J. COOPER, Mt, Vernon, O. 209 THE NORTHERN SUGAR-PLANTERS’ DEPOT. J. L. GILL & SON, PROPRIETORS, Nos. 90, 92, 94 & 96 NORTH HIGH STREET, COLUMBUS, ORLO. SEND FOR A DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. > THE PROPRIETORS MANUFACTURE AND KEEP ON HAND THEIR CELEBRATED AND IMPROVED VERTICAL CANE MILLS (SEE PaGE 105,) AND HORIZONTAL MILLS FOR STEAM AND HORSE POWER, . EVAPORATORS and CLARIFIERS, Saccharometers, Thermometers, Bi-Sulphate of Lime, &c. THEIR Mills have larger Shafts and longer Journals than Mills of any other manufac- ‘turer. They use solid Boxes with closed Ends, allowing the weight of the Rolls to bear on the bottom of a Lubricated Box—making the draught of the Mill the lightest in use. As a recommendation of durability, we are prepared to say that there have not been Fifty Dollars expended for repairs on seven hundred of these Mills sold during the past four years. i SUGGESTIONS WORTH CONSIDERING BEFORE PURCHASING A MILL. 1. See that the Shafts are of wrought iron, not less than two and a half inches in diameter, for it has been well proven that any thing less will break. 2. See that the Journals and Boxes are not less than four or five inches long: for Boxes less than that will invariably crush. ' 8, See that the Gearing is on top of the Mill, so that the lower boxes can be closed to retain the oil. f 4, See that there are independent tubes for supplying the oil to the lower Journals, which wants to be fresh, and not the waste oil from the upper Boxes, as it will seldom ever run through the Rolls, and never in cold weather. 5. See that the Driving Roll is stationary; for when it is made adjustable, the weight -of the lever and the draught of the horse will constantly vary the position of the Roll, and make it liable and almost sure to break the Gearing. 6. See that the other two Rolls can be adjusted to suit the size of the Cane, by means of steel set-screws, not less than an inch in diameter: for smaller ones will crush in almost every instance, and wedges will get loose, ' 7. See that it is sufficiently strong to stand all wear and tear, and rough usage of {nexperionced hands. 210 C. JACOBS’ CLARIFTER & EVAPORATOR PATENTED AUGUST, 1861. Tuis celebrated Apparatus (represented by the Cut on page 152,) has been thoroughly tested for four years, and proven to be THE MOST PERFECT AND EFFICIENT APPARATUS IN USE for the manufacture of Syrup and Sugar from the Sugar cane or Maple Juice. It is made ON AN ENTIRELY NEW PRINCIPLE, Combining all the important advantages in defecating Sacchar- ine juices, viz. : 1. A rapid evaporation. 2. Short exposure of the juice to a boiling heat, without overheating the same—thirty-five minutes only being required to convert the juice into syrup. 3. Quick and thorough separation of the vegetable matter from the juice, (which imparts the strong and disagreeable taste and smell so common to the Sorgo molasses,) thus pro- ducing a syrup superior to the best golden syrup of the tropical climate. ~ 4, It requires less wood or fuel than any other apparatus known. 5. Its simple construction renders it the cheapest and most durable apparatus in use. The syrups made on this EVAPORATOR have taken the premiums at every State and county fair wherever they have been exhibited. The Proprietors having secured the exclusive right for the manufacturing and sale of this celebrated Apparatus, are pre- pared to supply any demand. For full description send for ILLustRaTED CATALOGUE. JOHN L. GILL & SON. 21 F. B. JAMES & CO., SHEET IRON WORKERS No. 53 EAST FRONT STREET, CINCINNATI, OHO, MANUFACTURERS OF Hedge's Improved Evaporators. ALSO MAKE TO ORDER EVAPORATORS, TANKS, COOLERS, SUGAR MILLS, CHIMNEYS, And other work used in the manufacture of Sorgo Syrup, and Sugar. ALSO, Sheet Iron Chimneys and Breechings, and Escape-Pipes for Steamboats and Land Engines, —ALSO,— ALL KINDS OF SHEET IRON WORK FOR RAILROAD, MILL, DISTILLERY, COAL OIL, CHEMICAL WORKS, AND SUGAR REFINERIES, DONE ON SHORT NOTICE AND ON REASONABLE TERMS, Extra Wide Sheets of Iron, punched for Boiler Bottoms, KEPT ON HAND, OR CAN BE FURNISHED ON SHORT NOTICE. aa For Terms and Price, please send for Circular. All Orders by Mail will be promptly attended to. 212 re bee : : ne se a Mat