116 



NORTHERN SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



THE SCUMS AND SUBSIDENCE PRODUCTS. 



The scums are rich in albuminoids, and with the precipitates, con- 

 taining lime, phosphoric acid, &c., make a valuable fertilizer. 



Their composition is shown in the following table, taken from the 

 Agricultural Eeport, 1880, page 134. 



Constituents. 



Moisture 



Mineral matter 



Chloropbyl and wax 



Sugars 



Eesins 



Gums 



Albuminoids 



Undetermined 



Crude fiber 



starch isomers 



Lime and 

 clay pre- 

 cipitate. 



Lime pre- 

 cipitate. 



9. 77 

 21. 69 

 17. 60 

 10. 80 

 3. 61 

 6. 02 

 25. 58 

 5. 73 

 2. 20 

 Trace. 



7. 69 

 7.00 



8. 95 

 43. 96 



3. 26 

 n.40 , 



4. 55 

 12. 71 



0. 48 

 Trace. 



.5. 72 



14. 30 

 14.44 



15. 06 

 5. 08 



11.10 

 8. 05 

 5.58 

 5.49 



15. 18 



These substances vary greatly in their composition, according to the 

 kind of defecation practised. 



The scums and precipitates should be dried by exposure on a cement 

 floor to the action of the sun's rays. 



The dry residue is ground to a fine powder and applied like ordinary 

 commercial fertilizers. 



MOLASSES. 



There is still another factor in the sorghum problem which must not 

 be left without attention. If the production of sugar from sorghum 

 should i^rove profitable, it is certain that the industry will rapidly spread, 

 and the production of sugar increase until it equals the demand of the 

 country. The history of the progress of the beet-sugar industry in 

 France and Germany teaches us that this will be the event which is 

 certain to occur. When this happens the product of molasses will be 

 enormous, far greater than the demand of ordinary consumption will 

 dispose of. On account of the large percentage of uncrystallizable srtgar 

 which the sorghum juices now contain, the yield of molasses in the man- 

 ufacture will be far greater than with the cane of the tropics or the beet 

 of the temperate zones. 



As I have already shown, the proportion of uncrystallizable to crys- 

 tallizable sugar in the sorghum juice is about one to three. This sugar 

 prevents nearly an equal weight of sucrose from crystallizing. 



By the methods in use at the present time a yield in dry sugar of three- 

 fifths of the total sucrose present in the juice is an exceedingly gratify- 

 ing one. It follow.**, therefore, that the weight of molasses produced 

 (including the ^^ater) will remain nearly double that of the sugar in the 

 most favorable of the present circumstances. It is idle to suppose that 

 such quantities of molasses can find their use for culinary and table 

 purposes. The oidy remaining uses to which the molasses can be put 



