NORTHERN SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



51 



was plowed with a common two-horse plow, and harrowed. The cane 

 seed was drilled in rows 3. J feet apart on the 3d of May.* The seed 

 had been previously steeped in tepid water for forty-eight hours. The 

 plants generally came up in a week. The young plants suffered much 

 from cold, wet weather. The cane received two hoeings and three 

 plowings, with double sulky cultivator. There was a heavy frost the 

 morning of May 31, injuring the young plants somewhat. 



Meteorological data from the 



icial records of Purdue University, seven miles from cane- 

 field, Wea, Ind. 



Months, 1883. 



Mean 

 pressui-e. 



Temperatures. 



Mean. Max. Min 



Mean 

 relative I 

 humidity. ' 



Total rain 

 and 

 melted 



Wind. 



Total. Daily. Hourly. 



May 



June 



July 



August .-. 

 September 



Inches. 

 30. 000 



29. 990 



30. 093 

 30. 131 

 30. 471 



58. 42 

 65. 36 

 71. 53 

 68. 75 

 61. 22 



Inches. 



74. 26 



Miles. 

 5, 902. 

 5, 720. 

 5, 272. 



3, 565, 



4, 986. 



Miles. 

 210. 70 

 220. 00 

 170. 06 

 142. 60 

 184. 66 



Mr. Deming, the superintendent, writing under date of August 3, 

 says : 



The season lias been remarkable for the nuruber of heavy rainfalls, accompanied 

 with strong winds, damaging the cane considerably. At 2 p. m. this day the ther- 

 mometer registered 39". 



During the latter part of Sei)tember I went to the company's works 

 at Wea (West Point post-office), Ind., to superintend the working of 

 this cane into semi-sirup, which was done on .the 1st and 2d of ^ ctober. 

 The method eniployed was the same as has been described lor the cane 

 here, with the exception that the juice as it lelt the mill passed through 

 a sulphur box, where it was thoroughly mixed with the fumes of burn- 

 ing sulphur. This removed the necessity of allowing the lime bisul- 

 phite to run into the juice as it left the mill, and this chemical was there- 

 fore added first when the juice reached the defecator. 



PRODUCT OF CANE, ETC. 



A heavy rain and wind storm on the night of September 29 had com- 

 pletely prostrated the cane, and the whole of it was gathered and 

 weighed very wet. I therefore made a deduction of 2J per cent, for 

 this increase of weight. 



Wet cane tons.. 48. 



Less 2| per cent do . . . 46. 8 



Clean cane (estimated) do... 42. 



Juice expressed , gallons.. 5,309. 



Specific gravity degrees B . . 7. 95 



^Abont one acre of this which did not make a good stand was replanted the last 

 week in May. 



