l^^nT] 



F A R M K R S" ii E Tt I S T K R 



95 



ol" the prcpsure. The remark may appear pue- 

 rile, but it is liiglily iinportaiit, as \vc hiluill soon 



SOP. 



Suppose, for example, thnt with a known pow-, 

 er, a' certain quaniiiy of juire is exprosped in a 

 given time from a ma.^s of pulp. Suppose, in onlcr 

 toffivetlie press the maxinnim of etiet-.t of wliicli 

 it is capable, that three men are employed lor one 

 hour, and that by ihis mean? 70 per cent, of pynip 

 from the juice is ohmined ; it is probable erinuixh, 

 that by applyiiiir double liic pressure after this, not 

 more than 10 per cent, in addi:ion will be obtain- 

 ed. It ijien becomes a question whether the quan- 

 tity so obtained be worth the cost of producinir it. 



Mr. CaOer employs a hydraulic press of the 

 power of ten tons, on a surface of about 74 square 

 inches. This was chartred in the presence of the 

 author, and from the pulp about 70 per cent, of 

 juice was obtained at the first operation. The 

 power was then doubled, but not more than 8 per 

 cent, ofjuice was the result, which, as before ob- 

 served, hardly paid for the labor of producitiir it. 

 However, on this point, much depends on the na- 

 ture of the power used ; for it is obvious that wind, 

 water, steam, or even horses and oxen, are less 

 expensive than hand labour, now so commonly re- 

 sorted to. 



It may be imagined that an increase of power 

 in this department would fully answer the requir- 

 ed end ; hut, as has been said belbre, it is to the 

 rasp that we must look for obtaining the greatest 

 results from the press. 



All roots do not give out the same quantity of 

 juice from similar rasping and pressirifr. Those 

 which are richest in sugar ffive far less of it than 

 those of a more watery formation. The o[;era- 

 tions of extraction beinir the same, it is only the 

 different proportions of water which influence the 

 quantity ofjuice afforded by the roots; and as 

 the richness of the juice is ascertained in a manner 

 sufficiently exact by the areometer, we may, by 

 the help of this instrument, pretty nearly deter- 

 mine the quantity of roots which must be rasj)ed 

 to obtain a given body ofjuice. 



Thus, with a good map and a powerful press, 

 the fbllowinrr quantities ofjuice may be obtained 

 proportionably to their areomelrical densities : — 



A 5° 80 percent. 



A 6° 75 " 



A 7° 70 " 



A 8° 66 «' 



A 9° 63 " 



A 10° 



60 



Supposing that the experiment be tried on twenty- 

 five hectolitres (88 English cubic feet) ofjuice, 

 weighing 6° by the areometer, it would be neces- 

 cessary to rasp and press 3 J- tons of roots ; at 7°, Sj 

 tons; at 8°, 3f tons; and so on in proportion. 



It is important that the operation of pressing 

 should be done quickly ; for as little delay as pos- 

 eil.le should take place between the rasping and 

 pressing; as also between these and the defeca- 

 tion. 



§1. Of Presses. 



A variety of presses have been mentioned as 

 applicable to the manuflicture of beet-root suirar, 

 as the screw, the Jever, the wedge, the cylinder, 



and the hydraulic. Of these the las' is decidedly 



the best, as exiractingat one ojieration all the juice 

 that the pulp is capable ol" allbrding. 



2. The Acciwrpanimcnts of a Press. 



These accompaniments arc the following: 



1st. The baffs which contain the pulp. 



2nd. Osier hiudles. 



3ni. A flat reservoir for preparing the bags in. 



4th. A cistern for the juice, with |)ii)es, pump, &c^ 



1. The Pulp Hags. 



These bags should be made of strong materials : 

 Russia canvass, for instance. The texture should 

 not be too close, so as to injure the juice liom es- 

 capins:, or they will be in danger of bursting; 

 neither should tliey be too coarse, or the [)ulp wilf 

 squeeze throuixh "the meshes. This last inconve- 

 nience is, however, of less importance, and of" lesa 

 frequent occurrence tlian ihe other. 



The size of the bags ought to be regulated by 

 the power of the press ; observing always, ifial the 

 surface pressed should never extend beyond the 

 edges of the press itself 



As to the number of bags, that must, of course, 

 depend on the number of working presses, their 

 size, and the charge of pulp which each bajj is 

 made to hold. Thus, suppose a press of which 

 the height of the pressing space is tiiree feet three 

 inches, and that each bag shall be so filled, as, 

 with the hurdle, to take up a thickness of 1^ inch, 

 it will then require Uventy-five bags for each charge 

 pressed. Add to these, five others for extra occa- 

 sions, it will then form what is called a set (unjeu 

 de sacs). If the press is kept at work day and 

 night, three sets will lie reqiired ; but, if only in 

 the da}', two sets will be sufficient. They ought 

 to be changed every twelve hours. In some ma- 

 nufiictories they use but one set, even if" working 

 day and night; but tfiis is by no means desirable, 

 Reckonino- five months as the averaire length of 

 the working season, one may liiirly calculate on 

 wearing up a set of baiis in each season. The 

 bags oiifrht to be carel"ully washed in hot water 

 every twelve hours, in order to keep them as liee 

 from impurities as possible. 



Hurdles, 



The hurdles are made of osier, either peeled or 

 un peeled. They support the pile of bags under 

 the press, and ought to be very stronfr and well 

 put toffether, though not cumbrous. The dimen- 

 sions will depend on those of the f"ace of the press; 

 at all events, they ought not to be larger. It is 

 needless to describe the destruction of these wicker 

 hurdles further than to say that it resembles that 

 of common hampers in its texture. The number 

 of the hurdles must correspond with that of the 

 bags, plus one. It will be advisable to have sev- 

 eral sets of them, that they may be renewed every 

 twelve hours. The same care is necessary in 

 washing them frequently, as in the case of the 

 bags ; this is done in a flat cistern, of which men- 

 tion will be made by-and-by.and which also serves 

 to arrange the bags in. For this purpose the cis- 

 tern is half filled with cold water, into which a cer- 

 tain quantity of unslaked lime is thrown, Kach 



