New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-09-24
EXPERIMENTS WITH SORGHUM CANE.
THE WORK AT THE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT
PROFESSOR WILEY HOPEFUL


PROFESSOR WILEY HOPEFUL
lBY TELEGRAPH TO THE rRIBUSEI
WASHINGTON, Sept. pa field of sorghum,
about sixty Ave acres grown this city during
the summer by the Department OF Agriculture and Oh
the 11th inst the grinding OF the begun at the
Cove eminent mill. Speaking to-day OF the crop and OF
the probable results OF this years experiments I'm the
manufacture OF sugar Professor Wiley chief chemist OF
the Department OF Agriculture, said: we had fine
crop OF cane which promised Well until the storm Of
September II. when It was laid as fat
as n roller had been passed over It..
The made with the canes which were left standing
compared with those blown down, show that iu the
former there about IL per Of crysalzabe sugar
while 10 the latter there is only per cent. The
latter WILL therefore, yield a very small quantity OF
sugar milling We combining ourselves strictly
TO experimental work, trying the various forms OF pur-
ncaton and noting the effect which they have upon the
coenlcent OF purity of the juice etc. The
apparatus for diffusion has now arrived, and
extensive experiments will be made In the
extraction of the juice from the cut cane.
The cutter slices the dagonally These slices.
each about oneeigh an inch ia thickness are placed
IN diffusion battery, consisting Of eleven cells where
they are treated with water until sugar
trely extracted The mill at the Department has been
put excellent condition and 10 doing good work. The
canecrusher Is pressing about So per cent Of the
another mill, sent by the Hon. Benjamin ButterwOrth,
% Cincinnati This consists OF two sets OF rolls After
the passed through the first set IA into five
slices by knives ana subjected hot IL Is then
passed into and through the second set OF rolls IL ia
claimed by the inventor OF this machine that IL VIII
larger percentage OF Juce than any other mill
known
notwithstanding the poverty OF the Juice now
working have succeeded In making sugar from every
strike and the prospects that the yield will be better
hereafter. We have only ground a few far and
have not passed any through tne cenrfugals
not give the exact yield. But inasmuch the
cane polar zed ony per cent OF crystal
Hzab,e against per cent OF uncry sialzable sugar.
cannot expect a very large quantity. We have
about ten acres Ut left standing and If We are
not oanght By frOsts shall doubtless get a good
yield rom II Tne composition OF the cane now
working shown by analysis. Is far inferior any
before examined by the Department and the fact
that have succeeded in M KING sugar
every limo is very encouraging This mfcrorty Is
due GOODNESS or the and the prOstraOn OF
the before IL quite ripe. by the storm Of the
a. instant We shall be aDle to port later relative t.
experiments with the diffusion process Our work
Is entirely experimental We not trying run 1t
a manufacture scale ana different experiments
made with every tank OF juice. During
various methods ~ publication viii be tried, with the
Of dcy-ing means for increasing the yield sugar
ana simplify ing the processes for ito extraction"