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sorghum -sugar industry; nevertheless, those who plant the virgin soils 

 of this great southwestern empire must remember that to always take 

 and never give will tire the most patient soils, and a just return should 

 be annually made to the willing fields. A judicious fertilization, rotation 

 of crops, and rest will not only preserve the natural fertility of the fields 

 but give even a richer return in the improved quality of the cane and 

 the greater tonnage secured. Perhaps the most sensible solution of 

 the problem of the disposition of the waste chips will be found in re -. 

 turning them to the soil. These chips have a positive manurial value 

 in the nitrogen they contain, while their merely physical effect on the 

 soil may prove of the highest importance. 



Water supply. The misfortunes which have attended many attempts 

 in the manufacture of sugar by diffusion by reason of an imperfect or 

 insufficient water supply are a sufficient warning on this subject to the 

 careful student. Not only should the water supply be abundant and easily 

 accessible, but the portion of it at least which is to be used in the bat- 

 tery should be as pure as possible. The presence of carbonate of lime 

 and some other carbonates in water is not injurious, but the evil effects 

 of a large amount of other kinds of mineral matter are shown in the data 

 from Conway Springs. When the supply of water is insufficient it has 

 been customary to use ponds for receiving the waste from the factory, 

 so that it may be used again. This method is applicable if care be 

 taken to prevent organic matters, scums, etc., from entering the water 

 supply. In case this precaution is not taken the operator of the factory 

 may find himself in the condition in which the Department was placed 

 in its first experiments at Ottawa and Fort Scott in being compelled to 

 use water foul and putresceut. It is scarcely safe to rely upon a well 

 for a supply of water, especially if it has to be sunk to any depth. Where 

 pumping machinery must be placed many feet below the surface, as in 

 the cramped condition which attends its erection in a well, serious diffi- 

 culties may arise from the machinery getting out of order, and a great 

 loss of energy may ensue from the necessity of lifting the water to a 

 great height. In all cases where it is possible a running stream of 

 water should be selected for the supply, and the factory should bo 

 placed conveniently near its banks. The importance of this matter is 

 emphasized the more when it is considered that the most favorable 

 localities for sugar making, as indicated by the present state of our 

 knowledge, are situated in regions where the water supply is notably 

 deficient. Yet it must be admitted that even in southern and western 

 Kansas it will not be difficult to find localities for the erection of sugar 

 factories where the water supply is certain and abundant. In the light 

 of past experience it is not probable that any further mistakes will be 

 made in this direction. Careful estimates should be made of the quan- 

 tity of water required, and absolute certainty should be secured of the 

 supply of that amount of water, and even of a much greater amount in 

 cases of emergency. The only safety will be found in some such plan 

 as this. 



