Cjjc Canairian Portimltarist 



VOL. III.] MAECH, 1880. [No. 3. 



CANE SUGAR No. 3. 



BY P. E. BUCKE, OTTAWA, ONTARIO, 



Having grown the cane, the next thing is to proceed to make the 

 sugar. It is found, as I before stated, thg,t the storing of cane for any 

 lengtli of time after it has been cut is highly detrimental to the 

 crystalization of the syrup ; therefore in order to prevent failure, it 

 should be insisted upon as a general rule that the stalks should be 

 worked up witliin twenty-four hours after being cut in the field. All 

 the operations of cutting, blading, topping, removal from the field, 

 extraction of the juice, defecation, evaporation and crystalization, 

 should follow each other with the least possible loss of time, as in 

 every stage any delay will cause a proportionate loss to the manu- 

 facturer. The only point at Avhich the operation can rest after the 

 cane has been cut, is when the syrup has reached a density of 25" 

 Baume. It will therefore be seen that shed room need not be provided 

 for more cane than can be used up in a single day. 



It is not desirable that the crushing mill should work at a toQ 

 high rate of speed. The best results appear to be obtained by rollers 

 which develop a surface of from four to five yards per minute, so thg,t 

 a roller of two feet in diameter should make about two to, two and a 

 half feet per minute. An increase in the capacity of the mill can only 

 be given by adding to the length of the roUers. It is found by analysis 

 that fresh undried canes contain eighty-five per cent, of saccharine 

 juice, biit as a rule only from fifty to sixty per cent, is extracted. So 

 great a loss throws open a wide field for some inventive genius, to 

 discover either a more perfect mill, or some new method of extracting 

 t;he saccharine matter from the cane. An increased yield of syrup 

 may be obtained by running the canes through the mill a second time. 

 The pqill should be placed so hi^h that the juice may drain from it by 



