54 



Unloading. — There are many means of unloading cane, the simples- 1 

 of which is to take it from the carts or other means of conveyance by 

 hand. In many countries where carts or wagons are commonly used 

 they are made with hinged beds so that by tilting up the front end. 

 the entire contents are dumped onto th^ cane carrier or gi'ound as 

 desired. 



Where cane is loaded directly onto the cars by hand in the field and 

 transported to the mill yard for storage in the cars until it is ready for 

 discharge onto the carrier there is no further work required, which 

 is a great advantage in countries where labor is scarce or high priced. 

 Cars are generally discharged by a large mechanical rake having a univer- 

 sal motion which enables the operator to move it at any height from the 

 body of the car to the top of the load over the entire length of the car 

 at any desired rate for keeping the carrier evenly loaded. 



MILLING. 



Sugar-cane milling under modern methods may be divided into four 

 essential processes, namely, the extraction of the juice from the cane, the 

 clarification of the juice by boiling, the evaporation of the juice so as 

 to reduce the sugar to the crystalline form, and the freeing of the sugar 

 from impurities. 



For accomplishing these processes a great many machines and devices 

 have to be used. They are all generally arranged in compact form in a 

 substantially constructed building designed for the purpose. A brief 

 popular description of a modem sugar-mill equipment and its use is 

 given for the benefit of those who may be in need of elementary informa- 

 tion on this question. 



Cane carriers. — All modern mills are equipped with some form of car- 

 rier for transporting the cane from the point of discharge from vehicles, 

 cars or barges outside of the mill house to the crushing plant inside. 

 These carriers generally consist of a strong wooden frame-work built 

 parallel to the railway track or cane platform and of sufficient height for 

 the greater part of its length so that the cane may be dumped from the 

 wagons or cars on to the carrier without elevating it. On approaching 

 the wall of the mill house it gradually ascends and passes into tlie build- 

 ing at sufficient elevation to deliver the cane into the crusher or first 

 mill rollers by an inclined chute, having a length greater than the length 

 of the average stalk of cane. The highest point in the carrier is gen- 

 erally not over 6 meters from the ground level. The width is generally 

 the same as the length of the mill rollers. The floor or belt of the carrier 

 consists of two strong parellel chains, having a series of wooden or iron 

 slats fastened between them so as to form a continuous belt of sufficient 

 length to give plenty of slack on the return portion and avoid jamming 



