April 2, 1888.J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
653 
alono, the transport to the factory's tramway being 
vory easy matter, and he would get finished and tako 
advantage of the rainy wea'her to prepare new cane 
fields, and to plant corn, beans, rice, &o. 
Even to the short-handed planter the Fac- 
tory System has saved him from loss, in a 
time like this, for instead of having to stop, 
owing to all the roads leading from the cane fields 
to the mill being turned into rivers of puddle, 
he continues cutting between the showers, and he' 
has not far to carry it to the Factory Company's 
wagons. Oane in a wet state does not pay the 
manipulator so well, as when it is dry it not only 
gives a smaller percentage cf sugar, and requires tho 
consumption of a larger amount of fuel to eva- 
porate the juice; but, if it be not orushed at once, 
it Boon turns aoid. The sugar factory meets 
these disadvantages by having large crushing mills, 
and an extensive system of cvapurative apparatus ; 
and these establishments being all fitted up with 
gas, when a glut of cane oocurs, a night shift 
is put od. By a recent invention the cost of 
fuel to the Central Sugar Factory is reduced to a 
minimum, so that those who have adopted it re- 
quire very little of either coal or firewood ; the 
greon megass as it falls from the crushing mill 
and is fed directly into the furnaces is all that is 
required to supply all the engines with steam, 
and the exhaust steam from these engines assisted 
by a small quantity of direct steam from the boilers 
in rainy weather does all the evaporation required 
to bring the cane juice from its initial density 
to a mass from which the crystalized sugar is 
easily separated by centrifugal machines. 
It is not my intention at present to give a des- 
cription of tho process of sugar making from cane, 
but I cannot let the invention as to saving of fuel 
to which I have alluded above be lost sight of. As 
you are aware, tho great cost in tho manufacture of 
sugar is in the fuel required. The sugar planter, " out 
of crop" as you would say, has to employ his hands, 
or the strongest of them, and all his bullock 
carts, in cutting and carrying firewood for use 
during the crushing season. The weight of fire- 
wood required and stacked during the idle time 
would be nearly half the weight of cane that 
would have to be carted during crop time. True, 
a great many used to dry, and still do dry, the 
megass and use it for fuel, and also collect all 
the dried cane tops and dry leaves from the fields, 
but both of these operations tako away a great 
deal of lauourors from the work pi cutting, which 
is in tho end quito as costly as using firewood. 
The invention 1 now allude to does away with 
the necessity of drying megass, and, if the eva- 
porating appliances work up the juico at tho 
same speed that the mill crushes the cane, that 
is to say if the mill has not to stop because of 
tho other processes being delayed, then the green 
megass as it falls from the crashing mill is im- 
mediately fed into the boilers, and gives sutlicient 
fuel. 
The invention is by tho firm of Thomson A 
Black, now Torris & Findlay, of tho ciiy of 
Campos, Province of Rio do Janeiro. It consists in 
the arranging of the hues k. such a inanuor, 
fit to heat the air used in combustion before it 
enteix the (nruaceii. I have seen tho furnaces 
working ut mhiii' •-■■v. 11 central nui;ar factories in 
the Province of ltio do Janeiro, and have satisfied 
mjBolf, that, where the machinery nnd appliant 
aro properly collocated anil proportions) one with 
the ulhur, a largo central factory can be woikcd 
without any OtlMI fuel thin tho m« gas* or fibre 
of tho oane after tho juice is expressed. There 
aro two other (vysteiiis (or burning green megass, 
but those to work successfully uiunt bo mixed with 
coal in the proportion of half coal to half of 
megass. They have both been tried in this country 
with a mixture of firewood instead of coal, but 
do not work well. Indeed, in some of the largest 
central factories, the two French inventions have 
been thrown out, and Terris & Findlay have been 
applied to, to put in Thomson & Black's patent. 
This, as you will observe, is causing quite a re- 
volution in the manufacture of sugar from cane. 
As I before hinted, the low price of sugar is 
putting all common kinds which u.-ed to be made 
by open evaporators and oid-fashioned mills out 
of the market. The planter finds it pays him 
better to sell his cane to a central factory at so 
much per ton. He has then little risk to run, no 
old rickety machinery to keep in order, no early 
rising and late at night slaving, when he may 
have, after all, to wait some time for his inferior 
sugar being sold at a price which very often does 
not fetch the amount of advance he has received 
on it. Selling tho cane to the factory, he can grow 
more than double the quantity, for the quantity 
of cane a planter could grow on the old system was 
always proportionate to that which he could cut, 
transport to the mill, crush and turn into sugar 
or rum during the crushing season. More than 
half the labour on it is saved by selling to a 
central factory, consequently he can grow moro. 
This system is only in its infancy as yet in 
Brazil, but does not receive the attention it de- 
serves. The Government gave out a good many 
concessions giving a guarantee of interest, and many 
companies were formed on these concessions, both 
with local and European capital. Many of these 
concessions have been cancelled, particularly 
those working with European capital, and in con- 
sequence some of these latter have entered into 
liquidation. A strict examination into these matters 
would not, in any way, show in favour of the 
Brazilian Government, and would certainly discredit 
many enterprizes formed on their guarantee of interest. 
It is notable, however, that all Sugar Factory 
Companies formed with Brazilian Qapitaj nave not 
only held their own, but in spite of the low price 
of sugar, which has been ruling for the last three 
years, have made fair, and many of them large, 
profits. What has helped the factory system is 
the low price of cane ; this has been consequent 
on the low price of sugar and rum, for the farmer 
could only make these himself at a loss, and was 
glad to sell his cane at a low price. In the 
factory the price ruling for the first half of this 
crop season was about C shillings and 'J pence per 
ton of cane : this would be equal to £1 5s on the 
ton of sugar. After two months' working, the price 
of sugar fell so low, the factory proprietors would 
not givo more than four milreis por 1,500 kilos, or 
say J shillings and 6 pence per ton, or equal to 
£3 8s *Jd on the ton of sugar, making with the 
£5 for manufacture £8 8s t)d per ton as C03t 
of Bugar. By the adoption of Thomson $ Black 
patent furnaces, sugar can be mado from the 
crt.ie for. £5 per ton of sugar. I have compared 
tne accounts oi several factories, and find that ^'ic 
whole oost of the establishment for the ye^r doeB 
not oxooed that sum, for orua'iing ea •■. matting 
Bugar, administration, repair, \>\, $c [q g |di- 
tiou to i_'j tons of cane m in • one ' »n 
rugar, there is a pipe of rum tinned pat (or 
every 40 tons of eaiio crushed; the rum is made 
from the treacle and washings, In this country 
it is i ot the custom to take more tha.i twp iu >>. 
and in the majority of cases only ono- -a Beoond sugar 
— from the treacle, after the first olear whito crystili 
■ pcrated; hut nothing is lost, not oven tho 
washings of the various utensils, all go to the 
molasses lank, and are turned into rum or spirit 
