Robinsons Patent Sugar Mills. 127 



thrown back, while in the common mill the canes are subjected to 

 but two pressings, at the first of which the expressed juice is thrown 

 forwards with the canes, and but very partially separated from them, 

 leaving nearly the whole to be separated at the second pressing, 

 which, as shewn above, fails in obtaining the juice to a great extent. 



3rd. The pressing cylinders or rollers are tied or held to each other 

 by malleable iron straps or bars, which relieve the cast iron side- 

 frames from the great strain they are subject to in mills of the 

 usual construction. Should any of these straps break, they are easily 

 and promptly replaced.* 



Extract from the Cerneen Newspaper of Nov. lOth, 1842, regarding 

 the V milla produced at Mauritius, on the estates of Mr, Geneve, 

 Black River. Communicated by Willis Earle, Esq. 



* Mr. Bojer, at the last sitting of the Mauritius Society (of Natural 

 ' History), exhibited some beautiful vanilla fruit or pods, the produce 

 ' of the last gathering made by Mr. Geneve at the Riviere Noire, with 

 ' the view of inducing the Society to encourage as much as possible the 



* culture of this plant, which offers great advantages to the country, 



* on account of the little expence attending plantations on a large 

 ' scale, and of the extremely high price of Brazil vanilla. 



* This latter, Mr. B. says, bears no comparison with that of Mauri- 



* tins in respect to the perfume, and the beauty of the fruit, and yet 



* it sells for 90 to 100 francs per lb.! ! f 



' A pod of M. Geneve's weighed gross, 2f drams. J Six pods 

 ' thus weigh about an ounce, or 96 to a pound avoirdupois, and if 

 ' ('un pied,') a foot? of vanilla gives 1000 flowers at the end of 

 ' three years, its importance may be easily calculated. Mr. Bojer 

 ' ascribes the rarity and consequent dearness of vanilla, to failure 



* arising from the excessive developement of a certain membrane, 

 ' covering the stigma or female parts, § which prevents fructification, 



* Mechanics Magazine, Oct. 1841. 



t But only sometimes at this rate I suppose.— W. E. 



I Mr. B. says the fresh fruit, whereas that of the Brazils must be old ; but I have not seen 

 either the plants or the fruit.— W. E. 



§ The pollen being shed rapidly, and often when the stigma is thus enveloped, as explain- 

 ed to me by Mr. B. in conversation. — W. E. 



