PRODUCTION OF SIRUP FROM SWEET POTATO!.-. 27 
chute. The hopper scales are designed to weigh 20 bushels of pota- 
toes at a time. The second chute would conduct the potatoes to the 
boot of an incline elevator. The elevator would raise the potatoes a 
little above the top of the mash tank and discharge them into a 
third chute, which would drop the potatoes in the mash tank. After 
being leveled, the potatoes would be ready for steam blanching. 
From this point on the material would be handled in practically the 
same manner as at Fitzgerald, except in the matter of flavoring ( r 
bottling the sirup. At Fitzgerald the sirup to be flavored or bottled 
was drawn from the evaporator into 5-gallon cans and carried to 
the flavoring and bottling kettle. In the proposed plant the sirup 
would be drawn from the evaporator into the evaporator catch tank. 
From here it would be pumped as needed into the flavoring and 
bottling kettle. The water to be added to the potatoes after steam 
blanching would be measured in an elevated measuring tank, and 
when wanted could be run directly into the mash tank, thus saving 
time. 
The modifications and improvements introduced in the process can 
be noted by a comparison of the new flow sheet (Fig. 11) with that 
for the experimental plant process (Fig. 11). 
At Fitzgerald experiments were conducted on the drying of the 
pomace secured from the pressing operation. This pomace was to 
be used as stock feed after drying. The excessively high cost of 
drying the pomace, however, made this impractical. In the pro- 
posed plant the pomace as it came from the pressing operation would 
be placed in garbage cans and distributed among the consumers, a 
method of disposing of the pomace without any expense. 
COST OF MANUFACTURE. 
The complete cost of manufacturing sweet-potato sirup in a plant 
of the proposed type, having a capacity of 100 gallons j^er 10-hour 
day. has been calculated on the basis of the information secured at 
Fitzgerald during the experimental runs of 1922. It was assumed 
that culls would be used in making the sirup and that they would 
cost 25 cents a bushel. The yield was assumed to be 1.37 gallons of 
sirup per bushel of sweet potatoes, which was secured in 1922 at 
Fitzgerald. Operating the plant for manufacturing the sirup in 
conjunction with another plant would reduce some of the cost, such 
as that for plant superintendent and office and miscellaneous ex- 
penses. Also if a plant of greater capacity were built and operated, 
the cost per gallon of the finished sirup would be less because of the 
distribution of some of the fixed charges over a larger number of 
gallons of the sirup. 
The unit prices for the different cost factors are given in the cost 
estimates. These prices will vary from time to time and with differ- 
ent localities. Therefore it will be necessary for each manufacturer 
to substitute the prevailing prices in his locality in order to secure 
cost data adapted to his particular case. However, there should be 
little difference between his cost figure per gallon and the one given 
in this bulletin. 
The cost of the containers when the sirup is put into 5-gallon cans 
is 12.2 cents per gallon. The total manufacturing cost o( the sirup 
