Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1882-11-09

We are glad to put on record the &C.
count Of syrup and sugar making at
the Rio Grande works, condensed
from the Washington correspondent Of
The Tribune:
A SORGHUM PLANTATION.
Rio Grsnde, n. j., is little hamlet
six miles north Of Cape May, situated
in the midst of country which, until
the last year, appeared desolate enough.
Much of the land had been abandon
ed for cultivation, and had grown up
to briars and other useless underground.
1t is said that for many years past any
Of this land could have been bought
for the cost of the buildings upon it.
Three years ago an effort was made to
grow sorghum in this region, and manu-
facturo it into sugar. Disappointment
attended the efforts of the first two
years. This year, however, under new
management, the enterprise seems to
have been successful.
To begin with, 1000 acres were
placed in sorghum, most of which was
of early Amber variety, although 200
acres or more we're devoted to the
Early Orange, the Honduras and the
Links Hybrid The land is not fertile
and as. a recent visitor expressed in
81 saw absolutely nothing growing in
that vicinity except the sorghum, and
my only wonder was that such a crop
of that could be raised" The COM
pany has an extensive mill, but its
capacity has proved inadequate to the
demands upon it this year, and it is
not probable that any attempt will be
made to work the product over more
than once-that is to say, the molasses
left after obtaining the hrsts will be
sold az molssses, and no effort made to
extract the sugar therefrom. The otfi-
GERS Of the company feel greatly en-
couraged by the results OF this year.
The president of the company, in a
letter to friend under date of October
II, writes:
We will have 100000 pounds Of SUI
gar made by next Saturday night. |
have about twenty sugar wagons and
we keep them full. Each sugar wagon
holds about two and half barrels of
sugar. A barrel of sugar weighs 355
pounds net. Forty sugar wagons there
fore hold about 35, 700 pounds of sugar,
SO that the sugar already made and the
sugar in sight amounts to 235, 900
pounds. We estimate we have 1000
tons of cane to work up after this week.
We have $1,000 gallons Of molasses on
hand now, and unless we can get 40
cents per gallon for it we will work it
over into second and thirds. Mr.. knight
will probably refine the sugar we sold
him this week.
From another letter it appears that
Mr.. Knight, who is sugar refiner, has
bought 275 barrels of first product of
the Rio Grande Company. Professor
Collier of the Department of Agricul-
ture-who has tor several years, az
Tribune readers known, been engaged
in experiments designed to promote
the manufacture of sugar from sor-
ghum--recently paid visit to the Rio
Grande works, and in response to sew
eral inquiries by Tribune correspond
ent in regard to the methods in use
there said:
"Their mill, and indeed all their ap.
paratus, is practically identical with
those used upon the sugar plantations
OF Cuba and Louisiana. They have a
three-roll mill, the rolls being thirty
inches in diameter and five feet long,
driven by an engine of $50 horse, power.
They have two vacuum pans which COM
plete the concentration of the juice TO
the capitalization point. From the
vacuum pan the mixture of sugar and
molasses is emptied into large iron
tanks this operation is called techni-
cally striking the PAM and its contents
of these tanks is allowed to stand a day
or two in the hot room, about 100 deg.
F., to complete the crystallization.
After standing a day or two these tanks,
or cars rs they are called, are emptied
into a mixer, the revolving arms of
which stir up into uniform mass the
sugar and molasses, and this by means
of lar .e bucket which passes below
the mixer, emptied into the centrifugal
machines, which, revolving with a
velocity of twelve or fourteen hundred
revolutions o minute, throw out the
molasses from the sugar through holes
in the side of the. centrifugals. The
operation is called 'purging' the sugar.
'After the molasses is nearly all re-
moved little water is sprin kled over
the sugar, which removes the last traces
of the molasses, and leaves the sugar of
snowy Wilderness. Each centrifugal land
they have four running) purges at each
charge about seventy-five pounds of
sugar, which sells at z cents per pound
readily. All their work is done by
steam, they having a boiler-power OF
500 horsepower, besides the $50 horse
power used for the grinding of the cane
in the mill. They grind $50 tons OF
stalks daily, although their mill has a
capacity Of 800 tons; bat the evapora,
ting capacity Of their pans is at present
unable to work up the juice of over 150
tons Of stalks daily. About 175 men
ere employed in and about the mill,
and in the fields bringing ia the crop.
Every load OF stalks is weighed and
daily examinations are made of the
Juice obtained. These examinations
confirm fully the work done at the de-
partment of Agriculture at Washing
ton
"The soil is a light sandy loan. The
section is one which would hardly APP
peared suitable for such an expert
ment, but the fact is that they have Sc
cured an excellent crop OF sorghum,