130 SUGAR MILLS. 
It has been proved that by the process of maceration, 
the saccharine matter may be extracted almost entirely 
from the canes. This process consists in cutting the canes 
into thin transverse slices, placing them in a succession of 
boxes with perforated bottoms, one over the other, and 
pouring into the highest of the series hot water, which as 
it descends gradually through each removes the greater 
part of the sugar. But this mode of working is tedious, 
the hard coating of the canes soon blunts the edges of the 
circular knives used in slicing, and the cost of evaporation 
is much increased. Although impracticable for these rea- 
sons, it is suggestive of an improvement in the ordinary 
mode of expression, which has already been put in practice 
in some sugar countries with very gratifying results. One 
mode which suggests itself is to steep the begassa in hot 
water, and press a second time. This is liable, however, to 
several weighty objections, such as the additional labor and 
time to be expended in rehandling the crushed cane, and in 
passing it a second time through the mill, the liability of 
the very dilute saccharine solution to fermentation and the 
greatly increased cost of evaporation. 
The efficiency of the mill may be increased by increasing 
the number of the rollers. When mills with five rollers 
were used, arranged three below and two above, a yield of 
70 per cent. of juice was the result, but the very consider- 
able increase of motive power required, prevented them 
from coming into general use. But mills with four rolls, 
placed in pairs one directly above the other, with little if 
any increase of motive power above that which is required 
for an ordinary three-roller mill, produce 70 to 75 per cent. 
of juice at one operation. Such mills have been used in 
Louisiana, yielding the very best results. 
If to a mill of this form be added the improvement 
originally proposed by M. Payen, the distinguished sugar 
