dered lignite, bituminous coal, shale, several kinds of soils, and prepared 

 carbonate of lime. The following conclusions were derived from these 

 experiments : 



(1) None of the above materials would filter juice satisfactorily that 

 had an acid reaction. 



(2) Neutral juice filtered very slowly and a hard-press cake would not 

 form in the press. 



(3) With a decidedly alkaline juice the filtration took place much 

 more readily, but was not entirely satisfactory except with carbonate 

 of lime. 



(4) Lignite did not have any apparent decolorizing effect on the juice 

 except when the juice had become highly colored by adding an excess of 

 lime, when a slight decolorization took place. A large number of ex- 

 periments were made with varying quantities of lignite, but in no case 

 did it show any superiority over fine sandy loam, either as a decolorizer 

 or filtering medium. 



Experiments for testing the cutting, cleaning, and elevating machinery 

 were also conducted as early as the condition of the cane would per- 

 mit. 



The method of unloading the cane and getting it onto the carrier was 

 similar to that employed last year. The seed heads, however, were cut 

 off in the field. The cutters were made by the Belle City Manufactur- 

 ing Company, of Eacine, Wis. They did the work well, but the ma- 

 chines were too light to stand the very severe work they were called 

 upon to do. 



The cane was cut into pieces about an inch long and then elevated by 

 a drag to the top of a series of four fans standing straight" over each 

 other, each fan being furnished with a separate set of shakers. The 

 cleaning apparatus, after considerable adjustment, did fairly good work- 

 The leaves and sheaths were removed by a suction fan. The cleaned 

 pieces of cane were cut by a rapidly revolving cutter, consisting of a 

 cylinder carrying thirty knives. The cylinder was made up of three 

 separate sections, each with ten knives. Although no difficulty was en- 

 countered in cutting, the work of the cutter was very unsatisfactory. A 

 large portion of the chips consisted of long pieces with the bark on one 

 side. Diffusion in this case could take place but in one direction, and 

 in the largest chips of this kind the extraction of the sugar was very im- 

 perfect. The drag for conveying the chips to the cells was rebuilt and 

 placed higher and on one side of the battery so as not to interfere with 

 the packing of the chips in the cells. The exhausted chips were dumped 

 directly into a car running on rails under the battery. This car was 

 run up an incline onto a trestle work about 20 feet from the ground, 

 by the aid of an endless cable. Two friction clutches, running in op- 

 posite directions, served to run the car forward or backward, and the car 

 was so arranged that the charge of exhausted chips could be dropped 

 at any point by simply reversing the motion of the cable. 



