95 



common type in 'Negvos, this difference is probably due to the fact that, 

 the distance between rollers being a fixed one, the actual pressure exerted 

 upon the cane as it passes through the mill is determined largely by 

 the hardness of the cane itself and the consequent resistance which 

 it offers to being squeezed out in a thin layer and made to pass through 

 a definite-sized opening. Taking an extreme case as an example, a young 

 cane sprout might fiatten out readily and pass between the rollers 

 without having much pressure exerted upon it, while a stick of hard 

 wood of the same size would be subjected to such a severe pressure that 

 it might even break the mill. In a small experimental mill with semi- 

 fixed rollers allowed only a slight "give" by means of rubber washers 

 to the bolts which hold them in place, this varying behavior of dif- 

 ferent kinds of canes appeared to an exaggerated extent. As a matter 

 of record, while analyzing canes from different parts of ISTegros, I deter- 

 mined in each case the factor "mill juice per 100 fiber" in the bagasse, 

 in addition to the regular analysis, although theoretically, if this factor is 

 a standard of efficiency for mill work, it should, in the case of the hand 

 mill kept at the same tension, be approximately the same for all kinds 

 of cane. In reality it showed the most extreme variations, always in 

 the same direction; the harder, more fibrous canes tending to }'ield a 

 bagasse containing a lower percentage of juice than the softer ones, 

 although since the bagasse produced was greater in quantity for the 

 hard canes, the total amount of juice extracted was somewhat less. 

 The following examples indicate the behavior of canes of different fiber 

 content when expressed in the same mill : 



" The slight difference between the sum of juice and bagasse and 100 is due to the 

 loss of water by evaporation from bagasse while preparing it for analysis. This was 

 taken into consideration in calculating the percentage composition of the cane as given 

 previously, but is not essential here. 



