666 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



of any remaining dirt and sediment, but eliminates the necessity of 

 filter press, which is expensive, and not so good as the settling pro- 

 cess. All sirup which has not been filter pressed, an expensive pro- 

 cess, will contain more or less sediment, which can easily be removed 

 by narrow, upright settling tanks. These should be not less than 8 

 feet high, preferably 10 feet, and not more than 18 inches in diame- 

 ter. Bibs can be supplied near the bottom for drawing off the syrup 

 above the sediment, when a clear, uniform product can be obtained. 

 The sirup containing the sediment can be drawn off from below, and 

 either reworked in the "strike pan" or sold direct as a second grade 

 product. 



Use of Litmus Paper. There are two kinds of litmus paper, 

 and they can both be obtained through any druggist. The blue 

 paper is turned red by any acid solution, even when the acid solu- 

 tion is very weak. The red paper, on the other hand, is turned blue 

 by any alkaline solution. It has previously been mentioned that 

 the freshly expressed and untreated juice of the cane has an acid re- 

 action ; the effect of treating it with sulphur fumes is to still further 

 increase this acidity. The treatment with lime not only precipitates 

 or throws down, of itself, some of the dissolved solids in the juice, 

 but unites with an excess of acid if present, and carries down impuri- 

 ties in a mechanical way. But in treating the juice with the lime 

 paste, the litmus paper should be frequently used, in order that an 

 excess of lime may not entirely neutralize the acid and render the 

 juice alkaline. If this should occur, some sulphurous acid or phos- 

 phoric acid must be added immediately until the juice has a faint 

 acidity. 



Use of the Lime. About one barrel of lime is slaked at one 

 time in a box conveniently located with reference to the clarifying 

 pan. Then a small box, about 6x6x6 inches, with 216 cubic inches 

 capacity, will be found a very convenient measure for putting the 

 lime into the clarifier. 



The Evaporating Pans. The evaporating pans may be of any 

 convenient size and shape. Pans 6 feet in diameter and 30 inches 

 high will be found to be a very convenient size and form for steam 

 heat. They should be of copper, but steel will answer quite well. 



Size of Mill. A 100-ton mill will give about 2,000 gallons of 

 sirup a day, if the steam supply is sufficient for running the mill 

 and heating the sirup at the same time. But this is larger than is 

 necessary for any one farm ; such a mill might be used as a central 

 or co-operative one for several farms. A 50-ton mill is even larger 

 than is ordinarily required. But the boiler capacity, when steam is 

 used for evaporating the juice, should be at least double that re- 

 quired for running the mill alone. 



Cane Sirup as a Commercial Commodity. One great obstacle 

 in the way of putting the manufacture of cane sirup upon a commer- 

 cial basis has been the difficulty of getting the sirup to keep properly. 

 Either the sirup would crystallize in winter, leaving a considerable 

 deposit of brown sugar; or, failing to do this, it would ferment, 

 "wprk," in summer, and finally sour, unless reboiled. It has, there- 



