, 1876-06-17
UGAR De NO VO.
III.
From the Trinidad CAyonicls.)
Continued from Auls No. 3d..

Inc eT6 action OF tic 1UlCe from the CANE
the first step toward the manufacture of raw SUI
gar-was, in early times, effected by the rud-
est appliances, The stump Of a tree, the
upper part Of which was carved into a ruda
resemblance Of a human head, was regarded
as a deity, which enabled the ancestor of the
poor ltyot of the present day TO obtain the
juice which would yield the much priced sweet
crystals. Into the hole representing the mouth
OF the hLlre, or into one made lower down,
was inserted the end of a long pole which
served az a leYer to crush the juice from q
piece Of cane placed between it and the stump,
III. The Buck Indians or CaribS of British
Guiana, it is curious to remark, now employ
an almost exactly similar contrivance for a
like purpose. 2
This Ineffective method gave place to one
by which the Juice was crushed out in a NOR
tar. The primitive mill still used in Dinaj-
pur is an adaptation of this plan and is con-
structed rs follows. A sound tamarind tree
being selected, it is cut down at about two feet
from the ground where it may be o foot and
a half or m]re 10 diameter The stump is then
followed out in the form of a mortar, and from
the bottom of The hollow O hole is bored a little
way perpendicularly. The exterior ot. the
stump is next pierced by a hole which meets
the previous boring obliquely, and thus affords
an outlet for The juice which runs into a strain
~ nACA y XII NAANhOt Wv GN' 49, S0 6hONNA
amongst the roots Of the tree. The pestle, it
is to be observed, does not pound the pieces
Of cane, but brushes or squeezes them. 1t
consists ofthe trunk Of a tree some IS or 90
feet in length and about a foot in diameter,
rounded off at the larger end, which is placed
in the hollow Of the mortar in an inclined position.
A pair of oxen are yoked to a horizontal pole,
which is supported at tho outer end by q bau'
boo hanging by a notch made in the root end
from the upper and sAaller end of the long
pestle, while the other end is attached by a
loop to a bamboo hoop which enciroles the
stump, and thus acts as a runner. The p@estle,
therefore, forms a double-armed lever, the
fulcrum of which is situated at the edge Of
the mortar, the cane being crushed betw ven
the sides of the pestle and mortar resnee.sgs,
ly. The force with which the pestl3 ~3ts IS
increased by the driver sitting ursa la outer
extremity of the horizontal po.,, 1nd some.
times by weights being added. Such q ma.
chine, however, is totally Intellectual to crush
the cane until it has been first out into small
pieces. To this end bamboo stake is driven
firmly into the ground and a deep notch made
in the end projecting upwards. The attendant
passes the canes through this notch, which
Sits them longitudinally, while he outs of the
slit canes, in lengths of about g foot 1s1h,
with a rude chopper.
The sugar-mill of Chinapatam is q slight
Improvement. Instead of the standing stump
of a tree being used, which could only be
done when a suitable tree grew on the desired
spot, the mortar is carefully fashioned out Of
the trunk of a tree some 10 feet long, 8 feet OF
which is firmly embedded in the ground. The
hollow, for two-thirds ofthe depth, ism the shape
of an inverted t~runcated cone, the remaining
third being cylindrical, with a hemispherical
projection at the bottom, like the lower part
of common beer bottle. A forked branch Of
a tree is worked down, Robinson Crusoe-like,
to q beam or plank some 4 or 6 inches in thick
ness, and varying from near Is inches in
breadth at the single end to less than a foot
at the fOrked ends, when, by the way, it has
much the appearance of a monster boot jack.
This beam is placed horizontally with the hol'
low against the mortar, and the bullock driver
sits on the undivided end to which the cattle
are attached, wtile the beam turns round the
mortar like a Screw.key which if too large
would slip round a nut. The pestle is a piece
of hardwood of the usual form, which is pressed
down by a beam, one end of which is attached
either directly over or near above the undt-
vided end of the lower beam. There is q
hollow on the under side of this upper beam
Immediately over the mortar. In which rests
the top of the pestle, the other extremity being
pulled doWnwards by cords attached TO the
forked ends. BY tightening or slackeDing these
cords, the upper beam acts as regulating lever
to give the pestle more or less force. Tho
II 1890