Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1862-04-04

well divided, clean and free of roots, new
manure, and all undecayed organic sub
| stances.
| The general mode of planting is to drill
in rows two feet apart, and to drop one seed
every six inches in order to secure one plant
to every foot in the line; this will require
43, $50 seeds one pound of seeds contains
from 20 to $4,000 grains; therefore p lbs.
will plant one acre.
In clay lands, the seed ought to be deposit
ed on the top Of the ridge; in sandy soils at
the bottom Of the furrow, or ON leveled sur
face; atmospherical circumstances will regu-
late the depth of planting, one inch in dry
weather, shallow when rain is imminent.
When the young plant has put four leaves,
the land must be thoroughly cultivated with
hoe and shovel pillow, then intermediate plants
are used to fill the empty spaces, the remain
der may be transplanted, sold or destroyed
the process of hoeing and cultivating must
be repeated, until the bcets are able to out
grow foul weeds this prepares the ground
for the ensuing crop, which in rational rota-
ton ought to be wheat. No further attention
is required until harvest. Egs
Bcets arc ripe when the external leaves
grow yellow, drop and decay they must
then be dug out with shovel or pillow, and left
on the ground the leaves must be cut off
with knife or shovel, and they may be fed
to cattle, hogs and sheep.
Three or four days after, the bcets ough t
to be stored into cellars or placed into heaps
and covered with earth, like potatoes: in
these conditions, beets can be kept until
March or April; however, they should be
disposed of as early as possible, because by
the length of time the quality Of sugar may
be impaired, and its quantity diminished.
MANUFACTURING PROCESS.
Beet sugar is made in the same manner as
cane or maple sugar.
All successive improvements were made
on utensils, machinery and chemical reactions
as, for instance, Achard improved on Marg-
raft by saturating with sulphuric acid the ex-
cess Of lime which is used Tor DELEGATION; -
Howard invented the vacuum pan, to svapo-
rate the juice with economy, safety, and dis
patch; The Hydraulic press was substituted
for the inferior screw press; steam took the
place of hand labor; but the original princi
pie Of the whole operation is still followed,
and may be summed up in three words, viX:
''extract, Clarity" and concentrate the
juice of the sacchariferous plant.
EXTRACTING THE JUICE.
This operation requires three implements:
LIST A washing machine" TO cleanse the
roets it is a cylinder, made with lath, one
inch apart, and revolving within box which
is filled with water. I'd A "grater" to grind
the beets; this is another cylinder, the sur
face of which is half covered with saw blades.
Sd A "press" to force the juice out Of the
pulp. With these instruments, and a motive
power, three men can extract the juice from
900 lbs. of beets in twelve hours.
The pulp, coming out Of the press, may be
fed to cattle, either fresh or fermented; 256
lbs. of red beet pulp equal 100 lbs. Of dry
hay, according to Boussingault.
CLARIFYING THE JUICE.
This comprises the important operations
of defeating and filtering; it requires two
a kettle and filter, the latter
may be barrel or box.
The juice running out of the press, is di-
rected into the kettle; fire is kindled; when
the liquid is at the temperature Of 1902 Fab.
lime is applied, in the proportion Of one quart
to 100 quarts of juice; the lime may be dry or
diluted; when the liquid reaches the boiling
point, the fire must be removed; some time
is allowed for the scum to rise, and for the
sediment to settle; these being carefullysep-
arated, the liquid is poured into the filter,
which must contain about per cent. Of fresh
animal charcoal at each operation, or 10 per
cent for three operations.
Coarse animal charcoal is always used for
filtering the "juice;" fine charcoal is used
for syrups )" the former is worth cents,
the latter cents per 10.
Exhausted animal charcoal has absorbed
all the salts and heterogeneous substances
which were contained in the juice; its prin-
cipal element is phosphate of lime, precisely
the same elements that our lands want the
most. A liberal supply Of this article, which
is always abundant in sugar factories, will so
much favor wheat crop, that return of
thirty to forty bushels of grain may safely
be expected; that is what England obtains
by improving her lands with the bones of her
dead soldiers.
CONCENTRATING THE JUICE.
Slow, protracted boiling changes sugar in
to molasses therefore juice and syrup should
be evaporated as rapidly as possible this ef-
feet is produced at the low temperatures of
1400 to 1902, consequently with economy
of fuel, by means Of vacuum pans.
Open, SHALLOW eVaporatlnS pans, over a
brisk, regulated fire, may be used with ad-
vantage in small factories
Deep, cast iron kettles are good enough for
DELEGATION, but they are entirely worthless for
concentrating syrups.
When the juice is reduced to the density
Of 250 Beaume's saccharometer, it must
again be filtered /; but the filtering will not be
good unless the animal charcoal be of fine
grain. The syrup is then replaced upon a
brisk fire, in order to undergo rapid conccn-
tration, down to 45o B. The concentrated
syrup is allowed to cool, then it is placed in
to warm room, where it soon crystalizes
the molasses are drained off, the crystals are
left to become dry, and sugar is made.