46 



REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



3. To determine percentage of saccharine matter left in pulp and 



waste water. 



4. To compare diffusion juices with mill juices from same kind of 

 cane. 



5. To establish best proportion of water to use. 



6. To determine influence of time and temperature on percentage of 

 juice extracted and its properties. 



APPARATUS. 



The apparatus for the experiments in diffusion was constructed in 

 New York. It consists of two parts, viz., the cane-cutter and the diffu- 

 sion battery. 



THE CANE- CUTTER. 



This machine consists of a cast-iron disk, conical in shape, and car- 

 rying three knives shaped like the bit of a carpenter's plane. The 

 canes are delivered to the cutter by a forced feed, set to move at such a 

 rate that the canes are advanced from one-eighth to one-sixteenth of an 

 inch during each third of a revolution of the disk. The canes being 

 fed parallel to the axis of the machine, are struck by the knives in the 

 conical disk at an angle of about 35°, i. e n the angle of inclination of 

 the cutting surface of the disk to the axis. 



The disk revolves 500 to 800 times per minute. Each revolution rep- 

 resents three-eighths to three-sixteenths inch of canes cut. The rate of 

 movement of the canes, therefore, is 187 to 300 inches per minute. The 

 knives are easily detached, when dull, a»d sharp ones put in their 

 places. The knives should be ground twice a day and sharpened with 

 an oilstone every two hours. 



The dimensions of the experimental cutter are : 



Diameter of disk feet . . 2 



Thickness of disk inches.. If 



Angle of inclination of disk 35° 



Diameter of shaft - inches.. 2£ 



Length of shaft feet.. 4 



Diameter of pulley inches.. 13 



Capacity for ten hours tons.. 3. 5 to 4 



The disk was covered by a hood, so that the chips could not be 

 thrown into the room. These were received by a box underneath. 

 This apparatus at first gave some trouble on account of the feed, which 

 was not properly arranged. When this was adjusted, however, the ma- 

 chine worked well. A cane-cutter properly constructed will always 

 have an advantage over a cane-mill, viz., it will be difficult to break it 

 or get it out of order. On the other hand, cane-mills are a constant 

 source of trouble, and often by untimely breaking entail great loss on 

 the manufacturer. 



Instead of having the knives shaped as in the cutter just described, 

 it would probably be better to have them thinner. The thick knife 

 tends to break the chip into several pieces in lines parallel to the axis 

 of the cane, but this may not be a disadvantage. It certainly exposes 

 a greater surface to the action of the diffusion juices. It may, however, 

 by the rupture of a greater number of cells, tend to defeat the idea of 

 diffusion, which is percolation through unbroken membranes. The 

 substance of tbe cane being much more brittle than that of the beet, 

 it will be found quite impracticable to secure for the diffusion i^rocess 

 chips as perfect as the cossettes and schnitzel of the French and German 

 factories. 



