Vol. XIII. No. 320 



THE ACxRICULTURAL NEWS. 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



THE MESSCHAERT GROOVED MILL 

 ROLLER. 



In the i.s.sue of thf Louisiana Planter for .September ll', 

 1914, an account i.s given of an invention termed the 

 jMe.s.schaei-t grooved mill roller, for which it is claimed that it 

 is capal)k> of effecting appreciable improvement in the work 

 of cane mills. 



E.ssentially the device in question consists of a series of 

 (■(|uidistant circumferential grooves cut on the feed-roll of the 

 mill, each groove being 1^ inches deep and |-incli wide. The 

 distance between the grooves is not stated, but the information 

 is given that in the case of the mill to which the device wa.s 

 iiist applied, fifteen grooves in all were cut on the roller. The 

 dimensions of the mill roll in ijuestion are not sj)eciried, but 

 for a 72-iiich roller, tlie distance between the grooves works 

 out on this basis at 4'425 inches. Analytical data are given 

 which show the improvement eft'ected in the milling proper- 

 ties of a cane mill by the introduction of the device in ques- 

 tion, the information indicating that the best results are 

 obtained when the feed roll of every mill in a train is 

 grooved in the way indicated. 



The inventor explains the efficacy of his device in tiie 

 following manner: 'When there are no juice grooves the juice 

 has to run up hill to get out and thus forms a little pool on 



top of the feed-roll Where the feed-roll is provitl- 



ed with juice grooves no pool forms all the juice 



flows down the front and back of the roll.' 



It is claimed by the inventor that none of the bagasse 

 enters the grooves on account of its natural resiliency. Some 

 difficulty was however experienced owing to the increased 

 amount of 'fine trash' which dropped into the juice pan 

 through the grooves; by this term is probably understood the 

 material usuallj- known as cush cush in West Indian sugar 

 factories, consisting of cane trash and very fine megasse sodden 

 with juice. 



It is stated that this difficulty has been overcome by the 

 cnqjioyment of a scraper, devised by Mr. James Ogg of the 

 Hawaiian Agricultural Company, fitted to the bottom of the 

 roller. This consists of a series of spikes projecting from the 

 turn plate which fit into the grooves and thus remove the 

 objectionalile material. 



The devices in question appear to possess merit, 

 and the detailed reports thereon of mill engineers which are 

 shortly to be forthcoming from every mill in the territory of 

 Hawaii will be awaited with interest. 



From an article in the Canada- West India Magazine 

 for September 1914, we glean that Canada's war tariff makes 

 considerable changes in the sugar duties. For raw sugar 

 answering the 96° test, the duties were raised from 40|c. 

 to Sr03| per 100 R). for preferentia's. A pleasing point 

 to the West Indies is that the preference on their sugars 

 is more than doubled, an increase from 16|c. to 33|e. 

 on raws. This is 6|c. more than the 20 per cent, called 

 for under the Reciprocity Agreement. 



SOLIDIFIED MOLASSES. 



Tlie Louisiana Planter for September 12, 1914, contains- 

 an article by Dr. H. C. Prinsen Geerligs on the suljject of 

 solidified molasses. 



The subject-matter of the article in question deals with 

 the old problem of the profitable employment of exhausted 

 molasses, having a purity of about 30, and appends details of 

 the process which has come into vogue in Java during the 

 past ten years, whereby exhausted molasses is concentrated to ■ 

 absolute dryness, and is turned into square blocks and packed 

 in bamboo baskets. This process overcomes the ditticulties ■ 

 previously attendant on the shipment of molasses, involving 

 as it did the employment of expensive packages and the 

 handling of a product which owing to its lialiility to frothing 

 frec|Uently gave rise to trouble and loss. 



Dr. Geerligs states that in its best form the product is 

 lilack or dark green in colour; never red or reddish brown; it 

 should be brittle and in appearance vitreous. It should not 

 lie gummy or leathery in texture, and .should be free from 

 minute air holes. The dry substance in the finished product 

 can attain a percentage as high as 99 '8. 



Apparently the quality of the resulting product depends 

 in large part on the character of the molasses employed; it 

 would seem that the less the glucose of the juice has been 

 decomposed in the course of manufacture the better the 

 [product will be. On this account, any marked alkalinity of 

 of hot juice or .syrup is undesirable in a factory aiming at 

 produang solidified molasses, and for the same reason the 

 prolonged maintenance of syrups and massecuites at a high 

 temperature is to be avoided. 



The process of manufacture as descrilied is relatively 

 simple, and consists in first steaming the final molasses so as 

 to effect the removal of suspended impurities and subsequently 

 concentrating the liquid in a vacuum pan. In boiling, a low 

 and even temperature must be maintained together with 

 a high vacuum. The finished product at the temperature of 

 the vacuum pan is a thick, very viscous fluid, which solidi- 

 fies on cooling to a glassy mass. 



In Java the manufacture of the product has attained to • 

 considerable proportions during the past few years: the ■ 

 exports for 1911 to 1913 are summarized below: — 



1911 59,221 tons 



1912 76,718 „ 



1913 66,809 „ 



No data are given for the prices realized by the commo- 

 dity. The bulk of the exports are shipped to Southern India 

 where it is used as a raw material in spirit manufacture and 

 also in preparing tobacco. 



In Java, owing to the prevalence of Mahomedanism, very 

 little alcohol is consumed while custom regulations render ■ 

 difficult the export of rum to foreign countries. Under these ■ 

 conditions it would seem that the introduction if this method 

 of dealing with exhausted molasses has proved of marked 

 value; it remains to be seen however, how far the increasing 

 introduction of industrial alcohol as a source of fuel is- 

 likely to modify the present position. 



The Jesuits have long been famous for their educational 

 methods. One of these is quoted with approval in A Path 

 to Freedom in the School, a book reviewed in Nature, 

 August 27, 1914, viz. to put those students who understand 

 to explain to those who do not. An improvement even on 

 this is suggested: arranging, that is to say, that the boys 

 teach each other, irrespective of supposed ability. It is 

 claimed that excellent results in certain subjects, such as his- 

 tory and French, have been obtained in this way. 



