14 



structioii of the battery I refer to the report of Mr. Edson. In regard 

 to its working in general, I may say that it was a total failure, both as 

 to economy of power and success of extraction. The financial diffi- 

 culties which were met with by the company during the year were at- 

 tributed largely to the use of this battery. The evaporating apparatus 

 in use afc Douglass was of first-class quality and arranged in a practical 

 manner. The system of clarification tanks, double effects, and strike 

 pan was as good as could be desired for sugar-making purposes. Had 

 the company adopted the system of diffusion erected by the Department 

 at Fort Scott, there is every reason to believe that even during the 

 first season it would have paid all expenses and made a reasonable 

 profit. The attempt to introduce a new and untried system on a large 

 scale shows the danger which too often besets the introduction of anew 

 enterprise. The promoters of such an enterprise, not satisfied with 

 what has been accomplished, attempt to follow new paths, which often 

 lead to unknown and unwished-for localities. It is best in any enter- 

 prise to accept what has been proved of value and not jeopardize the 

 success of a commercial undertaking by introducing in its place a kind 

 of experiment, which, failing, would destroy all prospects of success. 

 As will be seen by the analytical tables accompanying the Douglass 

 report, the crop was of lair quality, showing about the average per- 

 centage of sucrose developed in Kansas during the last two or three 

 years. The soil on which most of the crop was raised was somewhat 

 richer in vegetable matter and contained less sand than the soil at 

 Conway Springs. The climatic conditions of the two places were so 

 nearly identical as to make apparently but little difference; yet it must 

 be conceded that at Douglass the hot dry winds produced less effect 

 than at Conway Springs. There did not appear to be the same drying 

 up of the juice, which may account to some extent for the percentage 

 of sucrose therein being less. The agricultural results, however, were 

 of the most encouraging nature, showing that in this locality a crop of 

 sorghum cane can be grown which, with proper treatment, may be ex- 

 pected to yield from 80 to 90 pounds of sugar per ton of clean cane. 

 Not only were the actual results rendered unfavorable by the kind of 

 battery employed, but, aside from this, for some reason the centrifugals 

 used proved to be wholly inadequate to the severe task imposed upon 

 them. The drying of sorghum sugar is at best a difficult task, and only 

 the best approved centrifugal apparatus should ever be employed for 

 this purpose. Had the battery at Douglass worked successfully much 

 delay would have been experienced in the manufacture of the crop by 

 the imperfections above noted in the centrifugal machines. 



EXPERIMENTS AT STERLING, KANS. 



At the very beginning of my connection with the experiments in the 

 manufacture of sugar from sorghum I realized the importance of improv- 



