The daily gazette., 1880-02-17
FIRST EDITION.
Beet sugar.

At Riverside, on last THAI ksgiving day,
since which time they used up about
seven hundred tons OF sugar beets. Yes
terday afternoon they ceased working
until next season, this seasons opera
tions being merely experimental.
The factory Is located on the line OF
the p. W. X b. r. R., b tween Edge
moor and Hullyoak stations, and close to
the Delaware, thus giving Il the double
advantages Of uater and rail facilities.
IL 10 fitted with all the neces- aiy ma
chinery for manufacturing sugar that
needs only 10 60 through the refining
process to make 1t IT. for table use.
In view Of the fact that the factory
was to shut down last evening, a num-
Der Of Wilmington gentlemen went up
on the 230 train yesterday af ernoon, by
invitation Of the Company, TO see
HOW BEET SUGAR IS MADE.
The party numbered about thirty OF
the leading citizens of this place, and
on arriving at the factory they divided
Into two parties, one going under the
leadership of Mr.. Lea Pnscy, and the
other under that Of Mr.. George w.
Stone.
Both gentlemen explained the opera
tions In al intelligent, comprehensive
manner, and thus the entire party was
enabled To get perfectly clear idea of
the mOdus OperdnH In manufacturing
beet sugar.
TO commence, the beets are taken
from the cars as they arrive, or from
earth pits near the mill, where they are
c.,ver,d d up when they arrive faster than
they can be used, and the tops hacked
of by lusty blows with a corn knife.
| They are then tumbled into the mill and
dropped into a hopper, which conveys
them into a long revolving cylinder, into
| which water Is coi,s, anti, pump d. This
washes the 0eets thoroughly, while a
screw In the cylinder conve them to the
further end, where they drop into the
buckets OF an endless chain elevator,
and are carried up 81 airs to the cutting
machine, and thoroughly mashed. An
o.her elevator conveys the cut beets up
TO the third floor, where they are placed
into twelve receptacles called batteries.
| These batteries, when filled, are subject
ed TO q hot water and steam pressure
which extracts all the juice and sweet
ness from the beets and leaves nothing
but the pulp. The latter Is then dropped
down stairs again, when II Is loaded Into
cars and sold for cattle food
This en- Is the use Of the bel per Sc
as a factor In sugar making, and future
operations are confined exclusively TO
the juice. This Is conveyed from the
batteries into large vats called defacat-
lug tanks, where, by the action of lime
an,l carbonic acid gas IL is thoroughly
cleans d Of all impurities. 1t next
drops down into large boiler on the
first floor, called the ''mOnt JUICE" The
only Use of this move Is to place the
juice where 1t can be subjected to pow
erful pressure, by which II is forced up
stairs again and run through two filter
ing machines. The tiltcrers are relays OF
thick cloths and wire screens, aud when
the juice comes forth II Is clear and
transparent.
The next and most imp lrtant opera
tion Is the boiling Of the juice, which Is
conveyed from the filterers into the
vacuum pan. Here 1t is boiled, vii a
vacuum Of 27 or 28 inches at from 1l5
to l25 degrees OF heat. The boiling is
done by steam, and the water necessary
to condense the steam and create the
vacuum Is pumped from the Delawar
river, through ali eight-inch main, bJ a
splendid Blake pump. BY t vacuum
system of boiling, the juice can be
thoroughly boiled a. much lower tenn
peratuIs than If fire is rectly used,
while there is no danger Of II burning.
BY the latter system 10 will not boil al
less than PIP degrees, while In the va
cuum 1t boils at ll5 degrees.
| Eiofn the vacunm nan the Iuipe
which by the last operation Is converted
into thick syrup, drops iEto a long
tank called the mixer, along which IL is
rolled and tumbled, and finally deposit
ed In portable tanks. These tanks arr
wheeled into an adjoining apartment,
where they are kept for ve:al days,
subjected to temperature of 1875 de-
grees, Fahrenheit. by this treatm ment
the syrup crystaliZes and becomes ready
for conversion INTO raw sugar.
But one more op"ration remains.
The syrup after being thoroughly work
ed by hand, so as TO Iemove all the
Jumps, is placed IN machine called the
centrifugal, which is nothing more than
q cylindrical seive. The seive is double,
the outer part being OF moderate size,
while the inner lining is composed of
wire SO closely woven that while liquids
can be forced through nothing possess
Ing any pretentions to solidity could
pass Its minute m shes. when the
syrup is poured in the seve the machine
Is set In motion and revolvrs with such
amazing Tapidity that the centrifugal
power of the motion forces the syrup
through the meshes of the seive, and
leaves nothing but the sugar behind.
This completes the operations of sugar
manufacturing, as far as manufacturers
are concerned. They manufacture only
the raw sugar, and sell IL TO the refiners
who render 1t fit for family use.
Sometimes the syrup that comes
through the centrifugal is worked Sec
oud time, producing what is called sec.
ond q, ade sugar, not near so light as the
first working. In Germany il Is then
kept tor six months and worked into 9
third grade, but the Riverside manufac.
tnrPrs do not propose TO bother with any
bird grade stun
When the visitors hal followed the
course Of sugar making to its successful
completion, they we're given little TIL
boxes, which they filled with sugar righ
from the centrifugal. This was the tirs
> sugar manufactured from Delawar,
7 beets, the former operations OF the com
pany having been with beets grown IL
Ol her States.
Next season the Beet Su.ar Compan,
propose 10 pnsh their operations NOR
vigorously, and will enlarge the capaci
10 nf fhair wnrla 'rhau inutfa th