The New Orleans daily Democrat., 1878-06-16
SUGAR MACHINERY.
THE EXISTING NECESSITY FOR USING
THE HIGHEST IMPROVED. MACHIN-
ERY ON QUIZ SUGAR PLATATIONs.

Within the past quarter OF century Cne aver"
age result Of a mans labor, when applied to
producing those crops which furnish food has
been more than doubled by bringing to his
assistance the improved machinery OF modern
times. The greatest improvements have been
made in harvesting machinery from the fact
| that there 1t is most needed, since in almost
any crop that is grown one man can plant and
cultivate more than he can gather.
| In the cultivation Of sugar invention has
been literally forced to It's widest scope. There
the most perfect and ponderous machinery is
needed to properly manipulate the crude pro-
| duct of the corn fields Probably no other
crop in the world requires such an outlay OF
capital In machinery before its perfected pro-
duct can be placed In marketable shape.
| Twenty-Five years ago there were nearly
one Thousand sugar plantations in Louisiana,
containing steam power mills and machinery
! Many Of their immense manufactures were
erected and equipped at cost each, OF over
$1,000 while few steam sugar-houses In the
State cost less than $4,000. The total amount
of capital invested In fitting up the harvesting
machinery of the Louisiana sugar fields was
over twenty-five millions Of dollars.
The greatest improvement In the machinery
applied to sugar manufacture was made when
eteam clarifiers, the vacuum pan and oentri-
fueals were substituted for or added to the
open-kettle apparatus generally used, which
apparatus consisted OF set OF open kettles
with sometimes steam strike pan attached.
Before the war those places whose machinery
was improved by the addition Of vacuum
pans and centrifugals went rapidly to the
front as far as comparative production was
concerned, and acknowledgement crops on
single plantations ceased to be considered as
astounding results. Since the war, the i'm
proved machinery has manifested its immense
advantages over the open boiling apparatus
in the results obtained.
We have no reliable data for the crop OF
1877 as to the proportion manufactured in
vaccuo, but of the crop of the preceding year
the most reliable statistics have been fur
nished. These show that the gross crop
manufactured THAT shipped to market and
that kept for consumption in the parishes
where it was madel amounted to 190,O00,00O
pounds of sugar. OF this, 100000 pounds
we're made in vacuum pans and 15O,OOO,0OO
pounds in the open kettle apparatus.
These 1000, 900 pounds were manufactured
on sixty-five plantations, whose manufactor-
les we're fitted with the vacuum boiling appar-
atus. Each of these places turned out an
average of more than 100000 pounds Of sugar
and 10000 gallons of molasses (the yield OF
molasses having been ffty-sx gallons to 1000
pounds clarified sugar)
The 150 100000 pounds were made on 720
plantations equipped with the open kettle
boiling apparatus, and also from 254 horse
power mills, Considering the horsepower
mill production as too small to affect the
general calculation, we find that the planta-
tions which made open kettle sugar averaged
about 200,0 900 pounds of sugar and $1,000 gal
Ions Of molasses (seventy-fve gallons to 1000
pounds of sugar the proportion obtained) per
plantation.
The plantation equipped with improved
machinery made nearly three times as much
| in quantity as that which followed the old
method of open boiling. It is well known
that the average, acreage OF the plantations
| containing open kettle apparatuses is more
than half that of those fitted with the best
| improved boiling machinery, yet the crops
they produced in 1876, and the average crops
| they produce almost every year, scarcely eX-
ceed one-taird OF the average OF those con-
| tanning the improved machinery.
| II 1t had not been well known Learned by
| experiment and found by experience) that the
vacuum pan obtains more sugar from stated
amount of cane juice than does the open
| boiling apparatus, 1t would only need a
glance at the comparative production of su-
| gar plantations to prove that it does.
| This excess of cryStalized sugar from the
vacuum pan isgestimated-when the juice or
syrup from sound cane is treated-at from
| 20 to 25 per cent, with of course, diminution
! In molasses. The object OF sugar machinery
being to extract the greatest possible amount
of sugar from the cane, it seems that the
vacuum pan boiling apparatus should be uni
versally adopted.
The vacuum pan also turns out much
higher grade Of sugar, the difference OF
price between the finished product of the one
and the crude product of the other being
about two cents per pound.
The cane necessary for crop of 400, 900
pounds of sugar to be manufactured in open
kettles, if it's syrup were boiled in the most
improved vacuum pan would give far bet
ter result. The excess would be 1O0, 900 pounds
of second and third sugar, and the quality OF
100000 pounds Of first raised so as to bring a
far greater price; or gain OF at least two
cents per pound on 100000 pounds Of first
sugar, and 100, 900 pounds OF second and third
additional, whose price would be above the
total gain of $4,000 on the price obtained for
sugar manufactured in vaccuO with slight
loss in molasses and probable increase OF a
few hundred dollars in the actual cost Of
manufacture.
1876, been treated with vacuum pans, gain
Of at least 20 per cent on the $50 600, 900 pounds
of open kettle sugar made that year would
have been the result. The l50,O0O,00O pounds
of first sugar would have sold at price
probably two cents per pound higher, and
the State would have made 10000 600 pounds Snn dt
: least seven and half cents per pound.
The advantage Of boiling in the vacuum
, pan is plainly manifested in the results Of Sc
/ treating the syrup from sound and sweet
| cane But it shows far more plainly in boil;
the Juice Of cane @ fh9t m has been nb TndFfEsa % @
IN fact often when it has been found utterly
: impossible to manufacture grain Of sugar
J from frosted cane by boiling in open kettles
the same syrup when boiled in vaccuo, at the
l lowest possible temperature, has been known
to crystalize well and yield as large pro
portion of sugar as syrup from SOUND cane
boiled in the ordinary open apparatus.
} The crop of 1877 was one in working which
the vacuum pan showed its immense sqpeEii 1!O9T
supar-hOuses had abandoned the vain attemp
to manufacture sugar. from their windroWet
cane, neighboring manufacturers, who Wyert
the fortunate owners Of vacuum pans, KEEP
! on working, and saved large proportion o