REPORT OF THE CHEMIST." 23 



ANALYSES OF SUGAR BEETS SENT BY MR. LEVI MAISH, YORK, PA. 



Beets sent November 22, 1883. Analyzed December 19. 1883. 



No. 



Variety. 



No. of 

 beets. 



Total 

 weight. 



Weight 

 without 

 neck. 



Sucrose. 



Glucoso. 



Ash. 



Purity. 



1 

 2 



Vilmorin Improved 



4 

 3 



Kilos. 

 2. 924 

 2. 892 



Kilos. 

 2. 68i 

 2. 610 



Per cent. 

 8. 04 

 7. 24 



Per cent. 

 .40 

 .78 



Per cent. 

 1. 37 

 1.57 



Coef. 

 G4.3 

 58 







By comparing the analyses of the latter beets with those from Os- 

 wego, the great superiority of the latter is at once manifest. 



York, Pa., seems to be too far south for successful culture of the 

 sugar beet, and analyses recently made of beets grown in Washington 

 show a still worse result, illustrating the effect of climate upon the root. 



SORGHUM. 



But to return to a consideration of the general characteristics of the 

 sorghum cane, of which less is known than of the beet. Its tendency 

 to rapid change after cutting is a serious fault, and no amount of im- 

 provement by culture will be able to eradicate it. Canes, as has been 

 shown, can be preserved in silos, and we have even found it possible to 

 transport them for long distances for the purposes of analysis by cover- 

 ing the end with melted paraffine. Kapid changes of temperature, 

 however, especially in green or frosted canes, produce inversion and 

 fermentation. The conditions have not been carefully studied, and it 

 is, in fact, a difficult histological problem. Tropical cane is very different 

 in its characteristics, a specimen, after two weeks, having nearly 16 per 

 cent, of sucrose and only a little over one of other sugars. The fact illus- 

 trates the difficulties which the presence of so large an amount of solids 

 not sugar, which are ready to produce fermentation and inversion in 

 the juice of the sorghum, introduces into the successful development of 

 the industry. With beets this difficulty is avoided, but others more 

 easily overcome are met. 



Owing to these impurities, only a certain portion of the sugar present 

 in the juice of either sorghum or beet is available. Its amount depends 

 on the percentage of juice extracted from the cane, and the ratio of 

 sucrose to the other bodies in the juice. 



Long experience has shown that each equivalent of substance not 

 sugar in the juice prevents a like quantity of sucrose from being 

 obtained in a crystalline state. To this we must add another result of 

 experience, viz., that about 5 per cent, of the sucrose is lost in the pro- 

 cess of evaporation. Applying these data to a cane yielding a juice 

 containing 10 per cent, sucrose, 2.75 per cent, of other sugars, and 2 per 

 cent, of solids not sugar, or in all 4.75 per cent, of solids not sucrose, we 

 find that only 5.25 per cent, of the sucrose remains available. If the 5 

 per cent, of the whole is lost on evaporation, then only 4.75 per cent, 

 would be obtained from the juice, or, on an average yield of juice, only 

 2.37 per cent, from the cane, or 46.4 pounds per ton. 



The yields of the factories of the country from which returns were 

 obtainable make it doubtful if any of them exceeded this. The data 

 may be found in my original report. The report of one of the most suc- 

 cessful factories' is appended : 



Rio Grande, N. J., December 6, 1883. 

 Sir: The mill commenced grinding September 10 and stopped November 14. The 

 ataount of unstripped cane ground was 6,795,811 tons. We made 282,711 pounds 

 sugar and about 55,000 gallons molasses. 



♦ 



