20 



of sucrose in the juice meant a pound of commercial sugar the return 

 can be easily figured from the table. At any rate, as the extra amount 

 of sugar secured in the juice is the only way to judge of the good mac- 

 eration does, everything will be found in the table which is necessary to 

 form an opinion of the work. A gain of 17 pounds of sugar per ton of 

 cane by simply adding 11.94 per cent of water is an amount of sugar 

 secured in such a way that no planter can afford to overlook it. The 

 only extra expense entailed is the evaporation of the water added, and, 

 as at Calumet, all the exhaust-steam could not be used before macera- 

 tion was begun the extra yield was secured with almost no expense. 



The method employed for adding the water is believed to have much 

 hi it to recommend itself, and since the manner of doing anything has 

 as much to do with success as the mere fact of doing it, the method will 

 be given in full. The water was ejected from a perforated pipe upon 

 the bagasse as it was being released from the pressure of the front mill. 



It was argued by Mr. Wibray J. Thompson, and rightly, too, in my 

 opinion, that during the expansion which follows this pressure the 

 bagasse is more likely to thoroughly and uniformly absorb the added 

 water, as it is known to do such juice as passes through the mill, than 

 at any subsequent period, a minimum of water thus being made to pro- 

 duce maximum results and a maximum of time afforded for diffusive 

 and osmogenic action before entering the second mill. The water added 

 and the juice present in the bagasse from the front mill should, he 

 thought, become a homogeneous liquor practically resembling the nor- 

 mal juice in every particular except in having a lower specific gravity. 

 It can readily be seen that this juice of a uniform quality would give a 

 higher extraction of sucrose than if the water be added indiscriminately 

 at any point of the intermediate carrier, supersaturating some of the 

 bagasse and not reaching other parts at all, which would give a smaller 

 extraction of sucrose with a higher dilution, since from that part of the 

 bagasse which was supersaturated an excess of water would be expressed 

 while an excess of juice would be left behind in parts insufficiently 

 saturated or diffused. 



By carefully observing these conditions the yield of sugar, as was 

 mentioned before, was increased 17 pounds per ton of cane. This is an 

 enormous advance over ordinary mill work, but on an estimate of what 

 diffusion would have done with the same cane and a 96 per cent ex- 

 traction, which can easily be obtained, a net gain over maceration of 

 23 pounds of sucrose per ton of cane would have been made. Thus, 

 while it can be seen that maceration is of great advantage, it is at its 

 best only a temporary expedient to be used till plantation owners can 

 prepare their sugar-houses for diffusion. 



The most effective and economic maceration will require a dilution of 

 about 15 per cent, on the weight of normal juice, while diffusion needs 

 but little more. Multiple effect evaporation is, then, as necessary for 

 maceration as for diffusion, and without this aid the expense and loss 



