THE SEPARATION OF THE CRYSTALS. 



A large number of devices to obtain the separation of a rich and poor 

 molasses have been patented ; the main idea is the interposition between the 

 outer monitor casing and the wall of the basket of a partition removable at 

 will ; when the effluent from the basket impinges on the partition it passes to 

 one gutter, and when the partition is removed the effluent strikes the monitor 

 casing and passes to a second gutter. 



Patterson's apparatus, which is but one of many recent inventions to this 

 end, is shown in Fig. 212. It consists of two cones attached to the basket, 

 top and bottom, so that their bases nearly meet in the centre. These cones 

 AA deliver the molasses from the annular opening F, and not all over the 

 casing like an ordinary centrifugal basket. Besides the usual gutter in the 

 bottom, another narrow and deep gutter H is placed inside the casing for the 



FIG. 212. 



washings ; its top being below the level of the annular opening formed by the 

 cones. A movable guard B suspended by four chains from an equal number 

 of pulleys E controlled by a hand wheel 1) on the outside, hangs between the 

 basket and the washings gutter. The weight of the movable guard is 

 balanced by a spring attached to the hand wheel. Thick copper wire cloth 

 suspended over the washings gutter prevents splashing ; the fixed guard M 

 protects the gearing from * spill,' and the blocks P secure the apparatus in 

 case of excessive oscillation. 



The centrifugal is charged and spun with the movable guard raised, as 

 shown in Fig. 212. The molasses, caught on the cones attached to the basket, 

 are at once discharged by the centrifugal force and conducted by the movable 

 guard to the usual gutter in the bottom, leaving the cone surfaces clean and 

 ready for immediate washing. When washing commences, the guard is 



381 



