Sugar-Making 261 



SLICING AND EXTRACTION 



The chief object sought in slicing is to obtain as large 

 a surface as possible and at the same time to leave the 

 pieces of beet in such a condition that they will not pack 

 into a mass through which water will not pass readily. 

 Many kinds of slicing knives are used, but all cut the 

 beets into long thin strips called "cossettes." These are 

 so thin that the sugar contained in the cells of the root 

 can readily diffuse out into the water with which the cos- 

 settes are treated in the diffusion batteries. The cor- 

 rugated slicing knives revolve rapidly and are able to 

 handle large quantities of beets. 



The cossettes pass from the knives to the cells of the 

 diffusion battery, shown in Plate XXVII. These are large 

 iron containers, cylindrical in shape, and terminating in 

 truncated cones having covers ; they are arranged in a 

 circle or in a straight line. The series usually contains 

 from ten to fourteen of these tanks. Each is so con- 

 nected at the bottom by means of a pipe with the top 

 of the next in the series that a continual flow of warm 

 water passes through the cossettes as long as they remain 

 in the battery. The batteries are so arranged that the 

 container which has had its charge for the longest time 

 receives the fresh water, which removes the last bit of 

 sugar that can be extracted. The pulp from which the 

 sugar has been removed is dumped out and the tank is 

 again filled with fresh slices. This tank then becomes the 

 last in the series and receives the water laden with juice 

 after it has passed through all the other cells of the bat- 

 tery. 



