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told was to come from Fort Scott. The connections with the presses were not com- 

 pleted. 



The sulphuring tanks, and also the sulphur stoves and sulphur air pump, were in 

 position, and the filter presses for the sulphured juice were also in position. 



To write of the matter more generally, we should say that while there seems yet 

 much to do in the way of details, yet we think excellent progress has been made, and 

 that unless some unforeseen delay occurs the apparatus will be ready in due time for 

 the experiments. 



The cane-cutter is a beautiful machine, but its complete failure in Demerara, where 

 its duplicate was used, and whence we now have the report of Mr. Quintin Hogg, the 

 proprietor, that it took forty-eight hours to slice 108 tons of cane, indicates its com- 

 plete uselessness for the purpose, as it is now constructed. 



This excites considerable anxiety here, as with all of our machinery now in position 

 we are absolutely without any cutter that can cut the canes. 



Other cutters may demand different arrangements of gearing and shafting that 

 might result in delay if not at once considered and provided for. 



Mr. Barthelemy thinks that the difficulty with the present cutter arises from the 

 fact that the short ends of the canes can not be held in position for the cutters to act 

 on them, and that a system of spring rollers might be added to hold these ends in posi- 

 tion until the slicing is completed. 



This seems plausible, and it might be well for you to give him authority to experi- 

 ment in that direction, but it seems to be almost too late to experiment now, and 

 especially so when we know that the failure of the same machine has terminated the 

 experiments in Demerara, making it a disaster. Mr. Hogg reports they return to the 

 cane-mill process there until proper cutters are provided. He does not seem disposed 

 to experiment with the cutters. 



It would seem extremely desirable to provide the cutters that succeeded in Java, as 

 you suggest, and further to provide those you now have at Fort Scott, as you suggest, 

 as the whole experiment may be placed in peril from these difficulties in cutting. We 

 shall be pleased to be of any further service we can, and remain, 

 Yours, respectfully, 



JOHN DYMOND, 

 HENRY MCCALL, 

 Advisory Committee. 



Dr. H. W. WILEY, 



Chemist, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



CANE-SLICER. 



In order to secure a multiple feed for a single cutter it was deter- 

 mined to adopt the horizontal disk system. Cutters of this kind not 

 being made in this country, it was necessary to purchase one in Europe. 



The cutter built by the Sangerhauser Company, of Sangerhausen, 

 Germany, was selected. This cutter was guarantied to give from 200 

 to 250 tons of chips per twenty-four hours, suitable for diffusion. 



This sliciug-machine, having been tried in Demerara in the early 

 summer, proved inefficient. To guard against failure from lack of a 

 proper cutter, another machine which had already proved successful in 

 Java was ordered from the Sudenburg Company of Madgeburg. 



The small cutter, with a horizontal disk, tried at Fort Scott last year, 

 was also sent to New York for certain alterations, and thence to Mag- 

 nolia. Unfortunately the new knives sent with the machine ha4 not 

 15440 Fo. 17 G 



