Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1867-04-19
Editorial Correspondence OF the Free Press I
From the West Indies.

ST CEoIx. March "a 1867.

drive Of the Natery PARTICLES sni leave The sirul
81 strong that as il cccls the sugar will, grt
nala;e. Is from steam. II ia any csse she i'f
eot heat Of the lire IS sppei to the kettle. ,her
is great liability to lurn the sugar more Of
less-an injurious effect which 10 sujstIuen
care or skill can remove. TIE steam i com
monty passed through copper tubes ysriousl,
disposed in the bottoms Of the keiilrs-or con-
pers, as they are often called In few in-
stances there Is used a revolving system oftube.
or hollow disks. within which the steam passes
the tubes or disks as they reYolve dipping into
the hluor anl then coming into the cren sir 81
that the hot yspor may have free way Of es-
cape. This very efficient spparatu, = only sr-
| piled for the final concentration. In most cases
however. this is completed in the common open
copper.
The ciariftIs are large tanks holding several
hundred gallons. These receive the juice as it
runs from the crushing rollers, and within them
the Juice is subjected to a heat someEhat below
that Of boiling water. As the cane juice runs
in j; appears as a iurbd greeuish fluid. the
color coming from the fne particles o. care
which in the crushing process hsye come Of
with the juice. Whatever dirt aiheres 10 the
cane stalks AZ they come from the dell. adds 10
the amount Of impurities. The hea, gradually
applied to the CHARTERS, cause, th.s mass Of
iecuIeut matter to Iise to the surface, from
whic L is swept oil over the edge % the cllri-
fer T.. sort Of long wooden paddle, into
trough which carries it to general receptacle
f,r al the scum which IS removed from sll the
coppers a. the boiling gees on.
Bssiles this cleansing proc,s, the juice in the
CHARTERS 5 subjected to another treatment. The
cane juice, however fresh j, msy be, contains a
smal! amount Of acid, which II left uuueutr,l-
lied, would seriously interfere with the granu-
l1ting y the sugar. This hss % be ueutaI,zel
by the ac;iJu Of quieklime. small quantity Of
which i ii.iusei through the liquor N the cls-
riier. his amount Of acidity Is not uniform
tor the cane juice Of all estates or seasons. Il
j. LEES when the coil where the cane is grown
has considerable lime in il, than wheu the soil
Il deficient in that important mineral ingre-
dicut Experience enables the manager. or
head boiler IA an, 10 determine fiom the ,ubse-
quent action Of the srup as the boiling pro
ceeds, Il the ueutralzng operation has not been
perfect, in which case he adds more lime; but
after a ;eN trials with successive charges Of the
elAridyrs, he can usually spfly the proper
quantity Of lime, once for ali.
From the CHARTERS the liquor Is trans
ierrei by troughs to the coppers, where
the boiling is effected These coppers are
usual, three IN number. with square rims,
eight ten fee, on a side. the ccppsis iorm-
ing rsS aud with their edges covered by ,hick
strong rims Of wool. As the boiling goes active
ly on, the eoppers are constantly filled nearly
OF quite 10 the brim with foam (fresh iuice be-
ing frequently aidel) aud sturdy men with
long wide paddles which reach quite across the
copper. are constantly sweeping the loan over
the rims from one copper to the next aud e. on.
Trough. are placed 70 as to receive any that
hollis over on the side or whatever is removed as
impurity. The air over the coppcrs is filled
with yapor, though open windows al around
allow Of its being rapidly carried away. The
whole scene Is one Of great activity aul watch
fulness and tine cries o: the wOrkmen in giving
directions Of all sorts. from the crushing mill to
the coolers, aid to its life and interest
GraIuslly the sirup is concentrated in one Of
the Coz pers till it il ready for ".iriks." The
experience and tact Of the chief operator decides
when tie strike should be made The transfer
by t., Ghs, or other means, of the thick and
hot si:up to the coolers large square tanks
Of NOod-where il is to be left to cool and gran
ula;e into sugar. is called "the sirike;' which
is made ''high strike or 'low sirike'-that
is with a greater or ltss concentration Of the
syrup, according to the Judgment Of the opera
tor. As it ccos the grsuulated sugar falls to the
top when thoroughly cooled the whole is ex
pected to be dense mass OF sugar with mole or
less mOlasses intermixed. The better the juice
and the more perfec; the conduct Of the business
the less is the proportion Of uiol.sses in the re
suit. Commonly successive "strikes' are poured
into the coolers till they filled nearly to tie
brim. when they are left Till i, is convenien. to
pot the sugar
The potting room s not far from the coolers.
The lower part Of it is in fact large shallow
trough, the whole size Of the room, with a na--
rover trough and more inclined. to receive from
the wide end whatever falls upon it. Across
this wide trough are placed beams Of wood at
few ilehes distance from each ether, and on
these beams stand the sugar hogsheads, filing
the roOm-which, always very large, varies ac-
cording to the extent Of the sugar estate. Each
hogshead, before any sugr is put into it h,s
three or four auger holee bored through the head
on which it stands. Long plugs-long enough
to reach from the bottom TO above the open head
Of the bog.head-are inserted into these suger
holes, the plugs at the lower end being Whitfield
away so as not to perfectly stop the boles. The
sugar in the cookers is most commonly ladled
out into tubs, which are carried on the heads Of
the men aud the contents emptied into the hogs
heads This putting Of the sugar from the cool
ers into the hogsheads. is termed ''pottins" it.
MOlasses soon begins to drain out through the
imperfec,ly stopped holes At the bottom, and
soon 50 much sugar stihens around the holes
tina, the plugs can be drawn entirely out With
gu, risk Of the sugar escaping. The polases Of
course drips down between the imbsrs and 10