PRODUCTION OF SIRUP FROM SWEET POTATOES. 
Fig. 3. — Sweet-potato washer in operation. 
WASHER. 
A standard-make, rotary-screen cylinder washer (Fig. 3) was used 
to remove the dirt, sand, etc., from the sweet potatoes before they 
were placed in the mash tank for steam blanching. A scroll-shaped 
pipe, running from one end of the washer to the other, carried the 
potatoes through the machine. The turning over and over of the 
cylinder caused the potatoes to rub against one another. This rub- 
bing action, together with a spray of water from a perforated pipe, 
which extended through the cylinder parallel to its axis, thoroughly 
washed the potatoes. 
The driving pulley of the washer was driven at 90 revolutions per 
minute, which made the cylinder revolve approximately 25 times 
a minute. With this operating speed, 150 bushels of sweet pota- 
toes an hour could be washed. The washer was installed out of 
doors to save installation expenses, especially the cost of sewer con- 
nections. 
MASH TANK. 
A large wooden tank, 7 feet in diameter and 5 feet deep, outside 
dimensions, was used for the steam blanching and the subsequent 
mashing of the sweet potatoes (Fig. 4). It was made of 3-inch 
cypress staves dressed down to 2J inches and had a capacity of ap- 
proximately 1,200 gallons. Steam for blanching purposes was pro- 
vided by means of three-quarter-inch pipes running into the tank at 
