Vol. III. No. 51. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



99 



the experiments, altliougli carefully conducted, were of little 

 value owing to lack of uniformity in the material used. 



In the experiments recoided in the A;iricultural Ledger 

 this difficulty was avoided, and the results show in a striking 

 manner the amount of deterioration (that is, the decrease of 

 the available sucrose) which occurred in the course of periods 

 varying from one to five days. 



It having been ascertained from preliminary exi)erimonts 

 that the act of cutting resulted in a homogeneous material so 

 far as the different kinds of cane were concerned, five varieties 

 •were divided into five or six uniform samjOes and the 

 percentage of available sugar was determined in each at 

 intervals of one day. Taking an average of the experiments 

 the following figures are sliown : — 



For the first two days the loss is relatively small, but 

 after seventy-two hours about one-fifth of the available 

 sugar disappears. 



The facts demonstrated by these experiments are not 

 new to the sugar manufacturer. Experience lias already 

 taught him, at his own expense, that he gets a larger yield 

 of sugar from fresh canes than from stale ; it is, however, 

 very doulatful wJiethcr he knows that even the gain of 

 twenty-four hours at the light moment will give him a 

 considerably cheaper sugar. 



The Diffusion Process of Extracting Sugar 

 from Sugar-cane. 



The Afjricultund Ledger, 1903, No. 8, is devoted 

 to an account of the diftusion process of extracting 

 sugar from the sugar-cane. The value of this paper is 

 purely historical, since it is not likely that the diffusion 

 process will be capable of successful employment in the 

 West Indies, as will be seen from the following 

 extracts ; — 



The diffusion process has not ousted the crushing 

 process, and the reasons are as follows ; — 



Diffusion needs — 



(1) more fuel, 



(2) a greater supply of skilled workmen, 



(3) the utmost regularity ; for it works as as 

 iron system. 



In return, it — 



(1) extracts more sugar, and 



(2) gives a juice purer and easier to work with. 



Prinsen Geerligs, reviewing these, says : — 

 'A great advantage of mills is that their capacity permits 

 more variations of output than is the case with the diffusion 

 battery. If necessary, it is possible (when, for instance, 

 burnt canes mu.st be crushed at once) to crush 600 tons 

 a day with a milling plant intended to crush, say, 450 tons, 



provided the other stations of the factory can tackle and 

 work up all the juice. It is evident that such an enormous 

 increase of work done cannot but influence its quality, so 

 that a poorer extraction will be the consequence ; and 

 granting even this, we must not overlook the fact that 

 a diffusion battery may conceivably accomplish such excess 

 of work. But even if we allow a very poor extraction, it 

 would not be feasible to work u|( all the canes, as the 

 slicing machine might prove insufficient to slice properly all 

 the surplus cane. On the other liand, the advantages 

 of diffusion are, that it extracts nearly all the sugar from 

 the cane in the form of a pure juice, the greater part of the 

 inqiurities remaining behind in the bagas.se, so that the 

 juice is easily workalile. There is also less danger of 

 stoppage from breakdown, for if one diffuser gives way, it is 

 disconnected and the work carried on with the others, which 

 is not so feasible with mill work. 



' The disadvantages are that more hands are required 

 by the diffusion system, and that they must be chiefly 

 workmen acquainted with diffusion. Moreover, the diffusion 

 juice is very much diluted (up to 20 pei- cent, and sometimes 

 beyond), and a large (piantity of steam is required to 

 evaporate the diluting water. It is true that, in some 

 factories working with the mill, the dilution by maceration is 

 not less than 20 per cent., but only in case they are crushing 

 canes with a high saccharine content, which renders such 

 dilution worth the while ; on the other hand, it is not 

 possible in diffusion to diminish the dilution in the case of 

 poor cane, so that poor and rich juices are equallj' highly 

 diluted. Finally, the slicing machine costs a great deal in 

 steam and maintenance, as it has very heavy work to do in 

 cutting up all the liard cane into thin slices, and the 

 exhausted slices contain so much water that they have to be 

 freed from serviceable fuel. Naturally the mill has nothing 

 like so much to do as when it is used for cane crushing, but 

 still it is a great inconvenience to be obliged to have along 

 with the diffusion battery also a mill apparatus. Then the 

 bagasse, which is first cut and then ground and dried, is 

 much finer and more powdery than cane bagasse, which has 

 only been ground, and it su[)plies a less valuable fuel. 

 Against the advantages of extracting more sugar and having 

 a pure diffusion juice, along with regular working, we have 

 thus to put the disadvantages of requiring more and also 

 more skilled workmen, being compelled to use more steam, 

 and getting a less valuable fuel as an after-product ; whilst 

 the capacity of the station does not adapt itself so well to a 

 decrease or increase in the quantity of cane to be worked up 

 as with a milling plant.' 



ARBOR DAY. 



The wise idea of man's duty in tree planting was 

 common in many lands. An old Prussian ordinance decreed 

 that every couple on their marriage day should plant six 

 fruit trees and six oaks. The Italians had a proverb : ' If 

 you wish to leave a competency to your grandchildren, plant 

 an olive.' 



But the Americans, going, as usual, one better than 

 anyone else, have founded a national institution on the idea. 



That the true basis of national wealth is wood, not gold, 

 is an idea that has taken firm root in the States. Trees 

 preserve water, preserve the soil from flood.s, temper climate, 

 protect birds, yield fruits for man's enjoyment, provide 

 material for his work and fuel for his fire. And, above and 

 beyond all, they make the beauty of a country. {Pearson's 

 Mayadne.) 



