1S37.J 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



721 



wells have never penetrated to a stratum such as is 

 usually the repository of the salt water, hut have 

 gone throu2;h succet^sive heels of blue and red clay, 

 and broken slate, all of them niin.U'led more or less 

 with plaster. The two wells now in use, Kinip's 

 and Preston's, are each 212 li'et deep. They are 

 very near each other, and are thought to conunu- 

 nicate beneath, and are situated a little to the 

 south of the anticlinal line bei'ore noticed. The 

 water, raised by a steam engine, is conveyed in 

 wooden pipes to the furnace, two miles distant, 

 where, alter the crude impurities have been suH'er- 

 ed to subside, by allowing it to rest some time in 

 larije tanks or reservoirs, it is transferred to the 

 kettles. Of these there are five double rows, 

 each containing 100 kettles, makinit in all 500. 

 Thirty thousand trailous of the brine are daily 

 boiled dou'n, yielding an avera<£e product of 1,000 

 bushels of salt, or one bushel for each 30 gallons. 

 The sulphate of lime, which is almost the only 

 impurity in this brine, for the most part adheres 

 lo the bottom of the kettles, and leaves the salt in 

 a state of remarkable purity. At the same time 

 sulphurets are Ibrmed by the intense heat, which 

 give a peculiar odor and tlavor to the residual 

 mass. No muriates of lime or magnesia exist in 

 this brine. Hence it is free i'roni biticrn, and dries 

 rapidly in the air. ^ 



fn the strength of the brine as well as its free- 

 dom from troublesome impurities, these wells are 

 scarcely excelled by an}' in the world. 



While all the salt manuliictured here is of a 

 very excellent quality, there are three grades, dis- 

 tiuijuished by different degrees of purity. These 

 are — 



1. The conmion salt, which is of a fine grain, 

 dry, and not liable to deliquesce in moist air, but 

 is a little discolored. 



2. The table salt, which is beautifully white 

 and fine. This is made by very rapid boiling. 



3. The alum salt, perfectly pure, in thin crys- 

 tals oj' a satin lustre. This is formed by slow 

 crystalization as the kettles cool. 



Looking to the alum salt now made in Kanaw- 

 ha, and the table salt above described, Virginia 

 has just reason to be proud of the pre-eminence 

 she has attained in this branch of manutticture. 



From the Sillv Cultuiist. 

 PIIOCESS OP JIAKING BEET SUGAR. 



The attention of the public having been some 

 time drawn to the manul'acture of sugar from the 

 beet, and having repeatedly recommended its cul- 

 tivation to li;\rmers as a profitable crop, we have 

 felt ourselves under an obligation to give them the 

 details of the process by which it is extracted. 

 We have, therefore, examined the best authorities 

 on the subject, and consulted several gentlemen of 

 some practical knowledge and experience in the 

 business, and the result of our investigation is that 

 the process is altogether more simple and less ex- 

 pensive than has generally been supposed. In 

 describing the various processes in the manufac- 

 ture, we have carefully avoided the use of chemi- 

 cal terms, and substituted language which we 

 hope will be understood by every reader. 



There are several varieties of the beet which 

 yield sugar ; but the Silesian beet is recommended 

 as the best and most productive. This beet will 



Vol. IV-91 



come to maturity in all parts of the United Slates, 

 up to the 45th degree of latitude. The soil most 

 congenial to its growth is a ll<rht sandy loam, of 

 i>-ood depth, and if free fi-um stones, the bc^tterj 

 Probably no country in the world is better adapted 

 to the growth of this root than the alluvial mea- 

 dows on the Connecticut and other rivers of New 

 England. The cultivation, however, need not be 

 confined to valleys, as in most of the hill lowns^ 

 lands may be found well adapted to its growth. 

 The land is prepared for the seed by deep plough- 

 ing and pulverizing the surface. This is best 

 accomplished by ploughing in the fldi, and leav- 

 ing, the land in furrows through the winter. In 

 the spring, the land should be cross ploui>-hed and 

 harrowed, and, if the soil be light, it will be [ire- 

 pared to receive (he seed. The seed may be 

 sown as early as the season will admit, broad-cast, 

 or in drills ; but ultimately the plants should be 

 from 12 to 18 inches apart. They should be hoed 

 and kept free of weeds — at the second hoeiufy they 

 should be thinned out, and but one plant left in the 

 hill^the surplus plants may be transplanted to 

 vacant places in the fielil. 



In the extraction of the sugar, the beets must 

 first be cleaned by washing or scraping with a 

 knife, and care be taken that all decayed parts be 

 cut off. They must then be passed through the 

 rasper and be reduced to a pulp— the finer they 

 are rasped the better, as it facilitates expressing 

 thejuice. The pulp must then be put into cloth 

 bags, and have the juice pressed out by a screw 

 press. In France they use the hydraulic press; 

 but a cider, or other press, will answer the pur- 

 pose, and be attended with much less expense. 

 As decomposition commences soon after the beet 

 is out of the ground, and progresses rapidly, no 

 time should be lost in converting them into sugar. 



Afler the juice is expressed, and before it is con* 

 verted into sugar, it must undergo four distinct and 

 different processes. 1. Defecation. 2. Evapora- 

 tion. 3. Clarification. 4. Concentration. 



Defecation. 



The composition of the beet juice does not difi 

 ft!r essentially from that of the cane — it combines 

 with the saccharine matter small quantities of 

 malic or acetic acid, wax and mucilage, which 

 must be extracted before evaporation is com- 

 menced. The first process, therefbre, is lo purify 

 the juice, which must be done by neutralizing the 

 acid, decomposing the wax, and coagulating the 

 mucilage, and hence is called defecation. All this 

 may be done by healing and mixing with it the 

 milk of lime in about the proportion of 46 grains 

 troy weight to the gallon. The milk of lime is 

 prepared by slaking quicklime with hot water, and 

 reducing it to the consistence of cream. The 

 juice must be liealed to about 160 degrees Fah* 

 renheit, and the milk of lime poured into it and 

 thoroughly mixed by stirring with a stick. After it 

 is intimately mixed, the stirring must be stopped, 

 and the mixture suffered to rest tor a short time. It 

 must then be heated to the boiling point, which 

 will throw the impurities upon the surface in the 

 form of scum, when the boiling must be stopped. 

 When thejuice has become clear it must be drawn 

 off fiom below, by means of a cock, or the scum 

 must be skimmed off from the top — care being 

 taken in either case to efi'ect a complete separa- 

 tion. 



