Feb. 1, 1901. J 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
523 
Rs. 
15,540 cds. of sugar at Ks. 19-6-5 ... .3,01,491 
5,040 cds. of treacle at Rs. 6 .. 30,240 
3 31 731 
1.3,083 cds. of sugar at R14 . .Rl, 83,190 ' 
7,560 cds. of treacle ab R6 ... 45,360 
2,28,550 
Uifterence ... kl, 03,181 
equal to R4-14-7 per candy of the 21,000 candies of 
]";tgtrery which the sugar works can afford to pay 
the planter for such cane. 
On the otiier hand, the planter can afford to 
grow as little as an average of 11 tons of cane 
per acre at R21-6-7 per candy of Ja£;gei y, as against 
15 tons with the jaggery at Rl6 8. 
Tliere is another possibility with the better 
cane — that of working the treacle for its sugar 
through a preliminary treatment of the cane juice 
and a final treatment of the treacle, and so being 
entirely independent of a distillery for the reali- 
sation of the treacle. As regards the pieliminary 
treatment, the writer has not worked it on cane 
juice, but has worked it on several thousand 
tens of jaggery in refinery blow up and scum 
liquors and with glucose content of 4 and 5 in 
the 100 apparent solids, equivalent to, in the 
case of ordinary constituted cane juice, J to 1 
per cent glucose in the juice, and with the result 
thit the treacle contained only 1-4 glucose in the 
100 solids, or 1'2 per cent and accordingly quite 
fit to be treated by the final— the Sleffen Lime 
Separation — process. The writer has not worked 
this process but he went to Germany to inquire 
about it in 1885, and in 1891 he went to Europe 
specially to go into the question of the advisa- 
bility of its adoption in consequence of the op- 
pression and vexation to which the busi:iess 
was subjected by officials through the distillery. 
The result was that the writer could not re- 
commend the immediate adoption of the process 
which would have involved the outlay of 1^, to 2 
lakhs of capital, and with a distillery already on 
hand ; and when, too, it was found that what whs 
urgent was the adoption of crystallisation in 
movement. In the end this view was not justified 
and with his experience now the writer would 
not recommend the investment of capital, under 
any circumstances, in a business dependent on 
official suffrance in India, where the revenue 
official of heterogeneous origin and early training 
is invested with absolute power in anomalous 
capacities and is free from the restraints of public 
opinion. 
From the foregoing it follows that the writer 
would strongly recommend the adoption of the 
Steffen separation process in sugar making in 
India, where pos ible. Applied to sugar cane 
juice with the preliminary destruction of glucose 
referred to, the position would be as follows, 
working the better cane with juice containing a 
maximum of one per cent glucose. 
Crushing 400 tons a day and obtaining 66'7 per 
cent juice* containing 1 per cent glucose there 
would be obtained 8 7 tons of treated treacle, 
« This was the yield ascribed with a density of 
juice of 9 3° B, but the juice of the better, non-sti- 
mulated a;rovi'th of cane would have a considerably 
greater density, and hence, probably, the yield of 
juice would be greater ; but this is a detail that 
need not be considered, 
requiring 5'6 tons of lime for its tieatment, and 
giving in the saccharate formed— and which 
would be used for the destruction of the glucose 
in the following day's cane juice— rather more 
than twice the lime required for such purpose. 
Under the ciicumstances the lime expen.se is 
limited to the treatment of (he treacle. 
The following would be the cost of treatin<' a 
day's out-turn of treacle :— 
Rs. A. J'. 
3'J candies treacle at R6 ... 234 0 0 
Establishment : .30 men at 3as. R5 10 
Supervision ... ... lo 0 
„ , 15 10 
I'uel, LOcwt. coal (only pumping, 
stirring and lime-grinding required, 
decomposing the f iiccharate in ' 
the cane juice) at K15... .. 7 8 0 
Filter-bags ... .. 9 0 q 
Lighting and repairing .. ... JO 14 0 
Lime, 5'6 tons at Rll-8 CA 6 0 
40 I. H. P. tor cooling machine, at 
4lbs, coal per hour, for 10 hours 10 115 
Labour, oil, and sundries ... 4 8 0 
Fitting (tc. ... I 8 0 
Interest and depreciation (7 per 
cent on RlO.OOO) 70 0 0 
Rs. 428 1 5 
value of 16 candies rough supar 
in the cane, which if separated 
would have an average polarisa- 
tion of 94 7, at Rs . 35- 8 ... 568 GO 
Value of 5 candies of treacle. 
say, nothing ... 
iis. 1,39 14 7 
or, say, R140 per day, R14,0^0 for the (he season, 
hut from which has to he deducted the cost of 
the preliminary process of the destruction of the 
glucose in the juice, beyond the cost of the lime 
met in the final process. Plant, consisting of 
two large gas pumping engines (to take this holier- 
Hue gases), and gas-scrubbers, three large tanks 
pipes &c., and more filters would be requiied, 
involving a capital expenditure of about R30,000 
which at 7 per cent is equal to Ri>,100 debt 
which on 15,540 candies of sug,ar.=R0-2-3 ; and 
labour, fluel for gas-pumping, and more filter- 
bag wear, RO-1-9 total RO 3 0 ; per candy or 
R2,013 12, making a nett proKt on the process 
of R14,000 less, say, K2,814. equal to Rll,086. 
The Steffen separation process, it may be men- 
tioned, consists in combining the sugar of the 
molasses with lime to make an insoluble sacchar- 
ate which can be washed fiee from impurities 
in a filter press. It necessitates the employment 
in the tropics of an ice machine, used simply 
as a cooling machine for keeping the temperatures 
of the liquors and water in use within 60° Fahr 
but as ice machines are at present made this is 
not a serious matter, and the cost of it has been 
fully provided for in the above statement. 
It will be noticed that a large quantity of 
lime is required. Further, the limestone burned 
must be very pure, and it must be burned on the 
spot. A very good source of lime would he ccckle 
or such shells, washing them before brr .ing if 
sea shells. 
Summary of profits: Working 400 tons 
rane a day for 100 days 
1 Tiikii g the inferior cane with its contained 
jaggery of 62 3 refiining value, costing RI6 8 and 
( a) Supposing the whole of the treacle is worked 
