43 



the sugar under the high temperature of the battery. After leaving 

 the battery the treatment of the juice must be prompt to guard against 

 inversion. Indeed, as has been remarked above, every part of the fac- 

 tory in which the work is done until the juice has been reduced to a 

 sirup should be of such a capacity that it can surely do its work at all 

 times as rapidly as the battery can bo operated. It is a matter of great 

 importance to the manufacturer to know whether, at any stage of the 

 process, inversion is taking place. To determine this the analysis of 

 average samples of freshly-cut chips may be compared with analysis of 

 the product at other stages. For example: To determine whether in- 

 version is taking place in the battery, crush out and analyze the juice 

 from samples of chips as they enter; then analyze samples of the diffu- 

 sion juice as it comes from the Battery. If the relation of sugar to 

 glucose is the same in these analyses it may be concluded that no in- 

 version is taking place. If, however, the proportion of sugar to glucose 

 is smaller in the diffusion juice than in that obtained directly from the 

 chips by crushing, inversion is probably taking place, and its cause 

 must be sought and remedied. 



The subsequent processes of manufacture give little occasion for in- 

 version, unless from delay before the juice has been reduced to sirup. 

 The safest plan is to not let it cool until it is ready for the strike-pan. 

 If unavoidable delays lead to a suspicion that inversion may have taken 

 place, the matter may be determined by analysis. Inversion is not the 

 only cause of loss to be guarded against in the battery. As shown by 

 the report of the chemist of the United States Department of Agricult- 

 ure, the average extraction of the battery at the Parkinson factory 

 this season was 92.04 per cent, of all the sugars the cane contained. 

 A closer average extraction than 95 percent, is scarcely to be expected, 

 and an extraction of less than 90 per cent, should be considered inad- 

 missible. Poor extraction may result from overhurryiug the battery, 

 from allowing the temperature to run too low, from raising the tem- 

 perature too highly, thereby filling the upper parts of the cells with 

 steam instead of water, or from improper manipulation of the valves, 

 or from failure of the cutting machines to properly prepare the chips. 

 The perfection of the extraction may be determined by analysis of the 

 exhausted chips from the battery, and if not found satisfactory, the 

 cause is of course to be sought out and remedied. 



It is desirable for the manufacturer to know how much sugar he is 

 leaving in the molasses, and also how much molasses ho* is leaving in 

 the sugar ; i. e., the purity of the sugar. These points are readily deter- 

 mined by analysis. 



WHO CAN DO THIS SCIENTIFIC WORK? 



It is doubtless desirable, though not essential, that the superintend- 

 ent of a sugar factory be also a chemist. The analyses indicated in the 

 above pages are not intricate. To make them all, however, will require 



