22 



obtained at Con way Springs and Douglass, Kans., during tbe past 

 year. To determine the fitness of the cane for the manufacture of su- 

 gar, control the workings of the factory, and find and remove the sources 

 of loss in the sugar-house, are duties which can be committed only to 

 the chemist. For many years, at least, this chemical supervision will be 

 necessary, and its utility will always continue. 



PROGRESS OF DIFFUSION WITH SUGAR-CANE. 



Two plantations are using the process of diffusion during the present 

 season for the extraction of sugar from sugar-cane. These are Sugar Land 

 plantation of Colonel Cunningham, in Texas, and the Magnolia plantation 

 of Governor Warmoth, in Louisiana. The latest reports from the Sugar 

 Land plantation I find in the Item of December 15, 1838. At that 

 time it is reported that over 2,000,000 pounds of sugar had been made 

 and that the diffusion battery was working up from 300 to 350 tons of 

 cane a day. It is also reported that an average of 194 pounds of sugar 

 is made per ton. From the analyses of the cane reported in the Item 

 of November 28, 1888, it appears that the juice has about 12 per cent, 

 of crystallizable sugar. The success of the operations seems to be fully 

 assured. 



The working of the battery atKMagnolia is also satisfactory. The an- 

 alysis of the cane shows that it is extremely rich in sugar. In the Item 

 of December 4 it is reported that the juice contained 13.7 to 16.6 per 

 cent, of sugar. A polarization had been made showing as high as 19.2 

 per cent. 



Under date of December 9, Mr. Gr. L. Spencer writes as follows : 



Diffusion is working to everyone's satisfaction. We have had a great many delays, 

 almost all of which were caused by the Yaryan quadruple-effect pan. Governor War- 

 moth had the apparatus overhauled this morning and found that the exhaust-pipe 

 from the pump opens into the second effect, making a pressure-pan of this when 

 working with more than 3 or 4 pounds of steam. This defect has been remedied and 

 wo hope everything will be all right now. The cutter gave a great deal of trouble 

 at first, so much that we thought it would be necessary to abandon it. Finally two 

 holes cut in the side of the casing opposite the cutting disk relieved it, so now it is 

 working well. We can cut a cell of chips averaging 2,864 pounds in seven and a 

 half minutes. The dilution will probably surprise you. I intended starting with a 

 dilution of 33 per cent., but by a mistake in measurement I started with 50 per cent. 

 With 50 per cent, dilution we left from .28 to .70 sucrose in the chip juice. I gradu- 

 ally reduced the dilution until it dropped to 14.8 per cent., leaving about .70 to 1 per- 

 cent, of sucrose in the exhausted chip juices. We have finally commenced running 

 with a dilution of 21 per cent., leaving .42 per cent, of sucrose in the exhausted chip 

 juices. With pulped cane, such as Hughes's apparatus gives, I would be willing to 

 guaranty a dilution of only 18 per cent, and to leave less than .50 per cent, of sugar 

 in the exhausted chips. We tried the use of lime in the cells. Practically, when 

 making white sugar, we can not work the battery hot enough to obtain clean juice. 

 We try to keep the battery at about 90 C. 



Further experiments have also been made in the application of diffu- 

 sion to sugar-cane by Prof. W. 0. Stubbs at the Keuuer Sugar Experi 

 merit Station. A full report of this work will be published in a forth- 

 coming bulletin of that station. In the Louisiana Planter and Sugar 



