Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1863-03-06
sorghum Manufacture

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been steadily gaining in extentin the
West. The unprecedented sale of
machinery the past season shows
the increasing confidence in the crop
as one that is to become feature in
our western husbandry. Much of
the machinery sold the past sea
son has been of increased capacity
over that of other years. At many
of the prominent points on our lead
ing railways large mills have been
erected, where the boiling and grind
ing is done by steam, and the cane is
worked up for a long distance around
them. The most extensive and com
pIete of this kind are the works cree
ted at Loda, on the Illinois Central
railroad, one hundred miles south of
this city.
The mills, two in number, with 30
inch rollers, and made very strong,
are arranged under a shed st the
side of the building. these mills are
fed by gang of men at the rate of
about ten acres of cane in twenty
four hours. The juice runs from
these mills into a cistern, through
strainers of hay, to take out the
coarse matter accommodating in the
trough; then, by a force pump,
Is carried into a receiving tank in
the large building. From this re-
.ceiver it is drawn into large tanks
below, which hold about one thou
sand gallons, two in number. These
In4n Io1G
provided with a steam coil in the
bottom.
About four hundred gallons of the
juice is drawn into one at time,
when the steam is gradually let on
.and the juice brought to a boiling
heat, the juice having some lime
water mixed with it to assist in the
separation of the vegetable matter
and neutralize the acids The steam
is then shut off and the mass skim
med; this is repeated two or three
times, when it is quite free from
scum Here it is drawn into another
receiving tank and allowed to settle,
thence to a pair of evaporating pans
provided as before with coil pipe on
the bottom; here the whole force Of
steam is put on and the juice boiled
down to eighteen or twenty degrees
Beaume. Then a step lower are two
more pans5 where it is again boiled
to a density of twenty-eight degrees
and skimmed-then to the finishing
pan, where it is reduced to thirty
six degrees, producing about two
thirds of a barrel Of syrup every
twenty minutes when in full opera
ton; from this it is drawn into large
iron coolers where it remains till cold
and is then barreled.
The whole is so arranged that it
all moves off like clock work; with
out any confusion. Mr.. Bender has
arranged an apparatus for the col
lecting Of all the escape and con-
densed steam from the several coils
into a reservoirs and by pump of
his own construction returns the
same to the boiler, thus making the
circuit complete, and keeping up the
supply of water in the boiler with
very little waste, except the exhaust
from the engine, which is disposed
of in the usual way.
To keep this in operation it re-
quires about forty hands, day gang
and night ganGsjas it runs without
any stops. It requires the steady
work of twenty to thirty teams to
draw the cane as fast as it is wanted,
according to the distance Of the field
from the mill.
The mill is now turning out about
thirty barrels per day of fine-havored
syrup, but rather dark colored, ow-
ing to the fact that they are obliged
to run the cane through without any
stripping or suckering, for want of
the necessary laborers to perform
the work. This color the refining
process will entirely remove. The
whole is being sent to the refinery
in this city as fast as made, and will
soon find its way to market in such
shape as will convince the unbeiev-
ers that we never again need to go
off the prairies for our syrup.
The quality of the cane varies
very much, as the planters had to
resort to every source for seed, Some
is very rich in saccharine matter,
while some is very poor-the yield
varying from eighty to two hundred
gallons per acre.
The little village of Loda is alive
with the hustle caused by the gath
ering and delivering the cane to the
mill. If any one doubts the success
Of sorghum, let him go to Loda and
spend a day, and he will be convert
ed.-Prairje FARMER.