30 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY 



SUBSTITUTE FOR SUGAR OBTAINED FROM 

 GRAPES 



The deficiency of sugar in the Tinine dis- 

 trict has created an incentive for studying the 

 question of substitutes, and the Italian Clov- 

 ernment has caused to be manufactured a 

 type of loaf sugar combined with saccharine. 



The question of obtaining sweetenilig sub- 

 stances from plants and fruits has naturally 

 been studied by scientists, and at the Royal 

 Experimental Station in Asti (Province of 

 Alessandria) a new product called "Honey 

 of Grapes," has been produced by a special 

 process and patented apparatus, discovered 

 by a Prof. Monti. 



By means of this process a grape sugar re- 

 sembling honey is secured through evapora- 

 tion. It has a great advantage over other 

 sugar substances in that it contains no water 

 and therefore does not change in quality even 

 if conserved for a long period. 



How Honey ofdrapes i.i Obtained. 



In obtaining honey of grapes great care 

 must be taken at the beginning of the opera- 

 tion to avoid fermentation of the grape juice ; 

 and in order that the evaporation of alcohol 

 may be minimized and to futher assist the 

 process, a certain quantity of sulphur anhy- 

 dride is added. This latter, however, is 

 eliminated eventually. 



The grapes are pressed to separate the pulp 

 and seeds from the juice, which latter is con- 

 veyed into a battery of eight tubshaving 

 double bottoms and heated by (serpentine 

 coils that keep the liquor at a steady tempera- 

 ture of from 95 to 104° F., thus allowing con- 

 stant evaporation. On passing the eighth 

 tub, the liquor must be quickly cooled and 

 placed in a refrigerating room. 



The process which follows (apparatus of 

 Prof. Monti) consists in freezing the grape 

 liquor in a rotating cylinder (ammonia evap- 

 oration on the exterior), the water in the 

 liquor becoming crystalized on the inner sur- 

 face of the cylinder and the ice crystals auto- 

 matically scraped off by fixed knives as the 

 cylinder rotates. The concentrated liquor 

 and the ice crystals fall into a box having a 

 perforated bottom which permits the liquor 

 to pass through and return to the cylinders 

 for further concentration. 



The passage of the concentrated liquor 



over the ice crystals removes the acid there- 

 from and this acid (tartaric) is found as a laj'er 

 above the ice crystals. 



The liquor must be further concentrated 

 in order to obtain a sirup of grapes, and this 

 is done by means ofTieating in an apparatus 

 under low pressure until the degree of density 

 is 1,300. If honey of grapes is desired, further 

 concentration must be efifected until the 

 point where crystals are formed. 



Success oj tJie Model — Yariovs I srs f< r the 

 Product. 



At the Experimental Station at Asti only a 

 small model of Frof. Monti's apparatus is 

 employed, but notwithstanding a concentra- 

 tion of 55% is obtained from grape liquor 

 which at the beginning has only 16% of sugar 

 in solution. 



The uses of this new product are varied, 

 but mention should be made particularly of 

 its adaptabihty in the preparation of pre- 

 served fruits and marmalades, as well as in 

 the manufacture of flavoring fruit sirups for 

 "nonalcoholic" beverages, which are so fav- 

 ored in Europe. — Consul Joseph Emnson 

 Haven, Turin, Italy. 



THE FERTILIZER PROBLEM 



The fertilizer problem is daily becoming 

 more difficult. Materials have advanced un- 

 til some now bring as much as six times their 

 cost before the war. Nitrate of soda, for 

 example, has advanced from $56 per ton in 

 July, 1914, to $115 at the present time. Sul- 

 phate of ammonia brings $185 per ton, against 

 $62 in 1914; 16 per cent, acid pho.sphate, $33, 

 against $19; 40 per cent, double acid phos- 

 phate, $75, against $55; and sulphate of pot- 

 ash, $350, against $55. The sulphate of pot- 

 ash quoted today contains only 40 per cent 

 of soluble potash, while that offered in 1914 

 contained 48 per cent, so that the actual 

 difference is still greater than is indicated by 

 the comparative prices. 



It is no longer, however, a question of price 

 with the Cuban planters; it is a question of 

 obtaining the materials at any cost. Firms 

 that have bought their materials on long time 

 contracts cannot get their contracts filled, 

 while those that have bought only for current 

 requirements have had practically to suspend 

 operations. — Facts About Sugar. 



