engineers are m considerable doubt as to the economy of running larger 

 combinations. A good twelve-roller mill will secure an extraction of 

 95 to 96.5 per cent of the sugar in the cane. 



The crushed cane is delivered by gravity from the crusher rollers into 

 the first mill unit where it is subjected to heavy pressure on passing 

 between the top and the first bottom rollers. Then it passes over the trash 

 turner which is a curved iron bed passing between the two bottom rollers. 

 When it reaches the point of contact between the top roller and the 

 second bottom roller it receives a second crushing. In mills having 

 more than three rollers there is an intermediate carrier between each of 

 the mill units which carries the crushed cane or bagasse upward and 

 forward until it is delivered into the space between the top and first 

 bottom rollers of the second mill, after which it receives two crushings 

 as in the first unit. The same process is repeated for each unit and 

 the cane may pass in succession from one mill unit to another as much 

 as six times. 



Maceration. — The extraction of the juice from cane is greatly facil- 

 itated by the application of water after it has been thoroughly crushed. 

 Both hot and cold water have been advocated and many systems for its 

 application have been devised, but the most common practice now is to 

 apply all of the maceration water cold between the last two units of the 

 mill, preferably just as the bagasse emerges from the rollers. This is 

 generally done by maintaining a water pressure in a perforated pipe 

 just behind the top roller of the mill imit next to the last. The amount 

 of water to be applied varies from 15 to 40 per cent of the weight of the 

 juice extracted from the cane and is dependent generally upon the fuel 

 value of the bagasse. The juice extracted by the last mill consists 

 largely of this maceration water with a very small percentage of sugar. 

 This is run into a separate tank from which it is pumped back through 

 another perforated pipe to the next unit which would be the first one 

 in a nine-roller combination, or the second in a twelve-roller mill. This 

 process is repeated for any larger combination thus concentrating the 

 juice as it returns to each unit of the mill. The juice from the crusher 

 and first unit is collected in a tank and known as first mill juice. The 

 first and second mill juice are mixed before going to the clarifiers so that 

 it is of a uniform composition. 



Bagasse carrier. — After the bagasse passes through the last mill it is 

 delivered into a receiving pit from which it is taken by a chain carrier 

 either directly to the furnace room, or to another carrier which takes it 

 to the stokers. In all modem mills bagasse contains an average of about 

 45 per cent of moisture and requires no further drying outside of tlie 

 furnace before burning. The carrier passes above the furnaces which 

 are fitted with a funnel-like stoker with a device for opening and closing 

 a. slot in the bed of the carrier bv means of which the amount of basrasse 



