12 



The juice in both cases was made as nearly neutral with lime as pos- 

 sible. 



It seems from the above that the invertive action of the heat has 

 been greatly overestimated, and that when the juice is not acid no ap- 

 preciable inversion takes place even when the juice is reduced to a 

 moderately heavy sirup in an open pan. 



From Mr. Parkinson's report it will be seen that the loss in leaves 

 and sheaths amounted to about 11 per cent, of the weight of the topped 

 cane. This loss can no doubt be somewhat reduced when the cleaning 

 machines become better adapted to the work. 



According to a number of trials with freshly cut cane the weight of 

 leaves and sheaths amounted to 10 per cent, and the seed tops to 15 

 per cent, of the weight of the whole plant. Late in the season when 

 the leaves become dry this proportion is of course considerably less. 



COST OP A FACTORY. 



A very important fact to determine is, the capacity and cost of a 

 factory that will work the cane most economically. There can be no 

 doubt but the advantages are greatly on the side of the large factory. 

 The office expenses and cost of management will be but little, if any, 

 greater. All the machinery required in a large factory is equally neces- 

 sary in a small one and the proportionate price of this machinery is in 

 favor of the larger factory. In other words, a factory working 200 tons 

 of cane per day will cost much less than double the cost of a factory 

 working 100 tons. Again, the cost of operating a large factory is pro- 

 portionately much less. It takes no more men to operate a diffusion 

 battery with a capacity of 200 tons of cane than one half as large, and 

 this is true of the larger part of the machinery in the factory. A point 

 may of course be reached where the size of the machinery becomes too 

 large for economical working, and when the amount of cane needed for 

 working will be greater than can be grown within easy reach of the 

 factory. 



Judging from our present knowledge, a factory capable of working 

 from 200 to 250 tons of cleaned cane per day seems the most desirable. 

 This would require a diffusion battery of 12 cells, each cell having a 

 capacity of 112 cubic feet. The evaporating apparatus should have a 

 capacity of 250 tons of water per day and a strike pan with a propor- 

 tionate capacity. The cost of such machinery will, of course, depend 

 largely on its kind and quality, and can be readily obtained from any 

 reliable manufacturer. The cost of a factory is almost always under- 

 estimated, owing to many items which are not taken into account. The 

 capital for building a factory of the above capacity should not be less 

 than $100,000 to $125.000, any thing below being certainly unsafe. 

 Nothing but the best machinery should be used and every precaution 

 should be taken to prevent breakage of machinery and to be able to 



