THE CUBA REVIEW 31 



Work in the sugar house goes on day and night during the crop season, with two 

 gangs of men who usually work six hours on and six hours off. 



III.— REFINERY 



The refining of raw sugar is carried on in a refinery in distinction to a factory 

 or "Central" where the sugar is extracted from the cane. These sugar factories send 

 their product, consisting of raw sugar, more or less unsuitable for consumption, to 

 the refineries, where it is pui-ified and transformed into the different shapes as de- 

 manded by the individual taste or requirements of the consumer. 



The cargoes of raw sugar are received at the refinery in jute bags holding about 

 325 pounds each. When discharged from the ships the sugar is weighed and sampled 

 by employees of the government to determine the amount of import duty to be col- 

 lected thereon. It is then weighed and sampled by the representatives of the seller 

 and the refinery. 



When the sugar enters the refinery, the bags are cut open and emptied and the 

 sugar carried by conveyors to the sugar bins. The sugar is then washed with water 

 in the centrifugal machines to remove the impurities (mostly molasses) adhering to 

 the outer surface of the crystals. From here the sugar passes to the melting pans 

 where it is dissolved in hot water. 



This sugar solution, which is a dark brown, cloudy liquor, is then pumped to the 

 top of the filtering department, where the real refining commences. The solution is 

 heated nearly to the boiling point in tanks called "blowups" and treated with a filter- 

 ing medium to make it evenly filtered. It is then passed through mechanical filters, 

 which remove the suspended impurities, leaving a clear brown colored liquor. This 

 liquor is then passed through filters filled with bone charcoal which remove all color- 

 ing matter, leaving the liquor as clear and colorless as the purest spring water. This 

 bone charcoal is thoroughly washed with boiling water and burned in special kilns 

 and is used over and over again until worn out. The solution, after char filtration, 

 is then pumped into the sugar house proper where it is drawn into vacuum pans and 

 concentrated at a low temparature until it has formed a mass of crystals mixed with 

 a small quantity of syrup. This is a very important stage of the refining, as the 

 temperature at which the sugar is boiled and the method of forming the grain de- 

 termine the grade of the finished sugar. The men who do this work, known as sugar 

 boilers, are men of long experience and training and unless their work is properly 

 done, the sugar will not be up to the required standard. 



The crystals are then separated from the syrup in centrifugal machines, after 

 which the sugar is passed through dryers and thoroughly dried. The dried sugar is 

 separated in the various sizes by means of sieves and is ready to be put in barrels, 

 bags or cartons and sent out to the consumer. Pressed cubes and tablets are made 

 from moistened granulated sugar. The syrup taken from the centrifugal machines 

 is reboiled and yields the soft or brown sugar, and the final residue is sold as refinery 

 syrup. 



REVERE SUGAR REFINERY 



The new refinery of the United Fruit Company, which is operated by the Revere 

 Sugar Refinery, is located on the Mystic River, Charlestown, Mass., and has sidetrack 

 connection with the Boston & Maine Railroad, facilitating shipments of refined sugar 

 throughout New England and the West. 



The construction of the melter, filter, pan and boiler house is of steel and brick; 

 the engine house and refined sugar warehouses being of reinforced concrete. Every 

 precaution has been taken to make the plant as thoroughly fireproof as modern con- 

 struction and equipment assure, and the buildings are constructed so as to permit of 



