CULTURE OF THE SUGAR BEET. 143 



the discharge of pulp may be regulated at will. A portion of the axis 

 of the screw is hollow, and the portion beyond the discharge orifice con- 

 nects with the water supply, so that a small quantity of water may be 

 continuously added to the pulp at the latter part of the pressing to effect 

 a saving in the sugar that would otherwise be left in the pulp. 



To secure effective work with this as with other continuous presses, 

 the method of double pressing must be employed, and for ordinary work- 

 ing 6 presses are used for the first pressing, and 2 for the second press- 

 ing. For the first pressing the motive force required by each press is 

 1£ horse-power, and for the second 2 horse-power. The advantages 

 claimed for the press is its solidity, slight liability to accident and repairs, 

 and small amount of labor required iu their management. The work of 

 grindiug and pressing being altogether automatic, one man can attend 

 to both operations. There is no opportunity for the juice to come in 

 contact with the air between the press and the liming- vat, and there is 

 consequently little or no change. The pulp of the first pressing contains 

 80 to 83 per cent, moisture, and 7 to 9 per cent, of sugar ; and that of 

 the second pressing contains 4 to 5 per cent, of sugar. The final pulp 

 represents 26 per cent, of the beets worked. 



On account of the advances it is making in France, the process of 

 diffusion invented and applied by Eobert, of Seelowitz, in Austria, merits 

 some attention here. It finds favor among manufacturers on account 

 of the reduced cost of working as regards the employment of manual 

 labor, and the larger proportion of sugar it is claimed may be extracted 

 from the pulp. But the apparatus of Robert has been somewhat im- 

 proved upon with regard to rendering the process more automatic by 

 placing the cliff users in a circle upon a platform, to which a rotary motion 

 may be applied. They are so arranged that the root-cutter may be 

 placed upon a floor above, and the slices charged directly to each dif- 

 fuser in turn as brought in place, with no extra handling. Georges 

 Dureau, writing of this improvement, and quoting Dantzenberg, says:* 



Desirous of effecting more rapid work than otherwise, and at the same time doing 

 better work, there has been constructed a diffusion battery, charged directly from 

 the root-cutters. For this purpose the diffusers are placed upon a movable base and 

 under the root-cutter, so that the slices may fall directly into the diffusers like rain, 

 in such a way as to distribute themselves in the best possible manner for the circula- 

 tion of the juice. The diffusers are animated by a rotary movement, which may be 

 made so slight that when we wish to work 240 diffusers per day the rapidity of 

 motion on the circle will not pass 3i mm per second. It will therefore be seen that 

 the rotary movement will not interfere with the manipulations. 



It follows, from the mechanical movement, that the interval from charging the dif- 

 fusers and the different operations up to the discharge is exactly determined. The 

 spaces of time for each diffuser are exactly the same, and the workmen must abso- 

 lutely follow the rapidity of the apparatus. The manufacturer needs, therefore, to 

 place no dependence upon the laborers. He may fix the duration of diffusion and 

 make the number of diffusers he desires. On the other hand, tho personnel is reduced 

 in most factories by about eight men. 



* Journal des Fabricants de Sucre, July 24, 1878. 



