8 



clarified in the usual way, and evaporated in a double effect Eil- 

 lieux pan, one of the original pattern. It had horizontal tubes of 

 about 1,225 square feet heating surface. Two 7J-foot strike pans were 

 used in reducing the sirup to massecuite. For pressing the scums two 

 Niles filter presses were used, of 220 square feet of filtering surface 

 each. These were not adequate to the work, however, and a good pro- 

 portion of the skimmings was settled and reclarified. 



A machine for automatically weighing the juice was constructed at 

 the beginning of the season by Mr. A. E. Shattuck, upon his own de- 

 signs, and at considerable expense. Its operation did not prove sat- 

 isfactory, however, and when I reached the plantation it had been laid 

 aside. 



OPERATION OF THE FACTORY BY WEEKLY PERIODS. 



It has been the custom at this plantation to keep each week's running 

 of the factory separate. The mill is shut down every Sunday, all the 

 sirup on hand boiled up, the first and second sugar barreled and weighed, 

 and wagon sugar estimated. Similarly the amount of cane ground dur- 

 ing the week is kept, and if any is left on the yard over Sunday the 

 quantity is estimated and charged to the following week. Such a sys- 

 tem is somewhat difficult to carry out practically, and would doubtless 

 be still more so in a larger house, but the checking of the operations of 

 the factory is much facilitated by it, and an opportunity afforded for 

 making comparisons that would be difficult to obtain otherwise. For 

 comparing the results of one week's run with another during the season 

 the third sugars were estimated, as indicated above, but the wagons 

 were all marked and kept separate, and when they were run off this 

 spring the exact amount of third sugar and molasses was ascertained 

 for each week, thus completing the statistics. Following the same plan, 

 the analyses for each week were kept separate, this being an easy matter, 

 of course, and in the tables results are given by weekly runs. 



QUALITY OF SUGAR. 



"Yellow clarified" first sugars were made, and what are known as 

 44 cut seconds," that is a portion of first massecuite, is left in the pan to 

 serve as a grain for the seconds. This is quite a favorite method of 

 boiling in Louisiana. Its advisability is somewhat questionable from a 

 scientific point of view, as it sacrifices a part of the first sugar and sub- 

 jects it to a second boiling. It must therefore diminish the yield to some 

 extent; but on the other hand it increases the proportion of high grade 

 product so that a great many conditions of price, etc., are brought into 

 the problem and I have made no attempt to solve it. The molasses 

 from seconds was boiled to string proof, and allowed to stand until gran- 

 ulated. 



