102 



MANUAL FOR SUGAR GROWERS. 



having steam pans but not filter-presses ; where filter- 

 presses are used the quantity will be about 2,525. 



The packages in which the sugar is placed to drain 

 are arranged in a curing-house, the floor of which is 

 furnished with beams or stanchions on which the 

 packages stand, the molasses draining down onto a 

 floor beneath, where gutters conduct it to molasses 

 tanks, whence it is filled into puncheons for sale. 

 The packages in which the sugar is cured are usually 

 closed up and shipped without any further treat- 

 ment ; sometimes it is the custom to remove the sugar 

 from the hogsheads or boxes and repack it in bags. 



This is the outline of the process followed in mak- 

 ing muscovado sugar for refiners' use. It will be 

 seen that the process is simple, requiring neither 

 elaborate machinery nor highly skilled labour ; at the 

 same time it is very wasteful. The rate of inversion 

 may be judged from the following analyses : The 

 samples in Series A were obtained from an estate 

 provided with a windmill, the concentration of the 

 juice being finished- over the fire. The samples in 

 Series B were from an estate having steam plant, the 

 syrup being concentrated to a certain density over 

 the fire, and the evaporation finished in a steam pan. 



