Daily Honolulu press. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1886, 1885-11-26
4 VISIT TO THE MILL.


This much abused "whlte Elephant
| am informed upon indisputable au-
thority, has no superior in this King
dom, if any where else. Its mechanism
seems perfect as indeed do all its APP
pointments. Its three little rollers, each
Of eleven tons weight, reyolve with ma
jestic quiet and dignity, performing
their work of crushing cane in a
manner which force upon one the
thought suggested in the adage "Tho'
the Mills of the Gods grind slowly yet
they grind exceedingly small" The trash
which drops from these huge rollers is
so completely crushed that it seems ex.
trcmely doubtful If any known process
could possibly extract half enough
saccharine matter to pay the expense
OF rehandling. The bits of trash are
only from "a to d" inches in length,
and seem almost dry when they leave
the rollers. 1t is evident that this mill
does better work than the average, to
say the least, and the improved result
is accounted for by the fact that these
rollers are SO much larger in circum-
ference that they afford more extended
pressure surface.
Six CHARTERS Of capacity of 500
| gallons each are arranged to receive the
juice, as il flows from the mill. Just be
low the CHARTERS is another row of six
500 gallons receptacles for juice, which
are called precipitators. This mill is
equipped with the new patent mud
press and double effect. The vacuum
pan was reached at ago p. M. just in
time to witness the "strke." A quantity
of melada is drawn into the mixer,
sufficient to make nine tons of sugar. Six
Weston's centrifugals are suspended be
meath the mixer; into thesereceptaclesthe
melada is drawn at pleasure, and in a
very short time the whole "strike" is
dried of, and dropped to the floor in
the packing room below. In this room,
which is kept scrupulously neat, are
found four men, who bag, weigh,
mark, sew.up, and load into the freight
wagons, (Which are driven to the door at
the rear Of this room), all the sugar
which passes through the mill. While
we stand watching the packing process,
which is manipulated with mechanical
precision and dispatch; six-mule team
Is driven to the door. and in just -four
minutes from the time of arrival, the
team is started to the tramway with a
load of two and one half tons of sugar.
The narrow gauge railroad or tram.
way referred to was graded and built
under the supervision of the present
manager. Commencing at the wharf
at Punaluu this tramway curves among
the ledges OF pahoehoe, rising on a
grade OF four feet in every hundred.
The road now terminates within third
Of a mile of the mill, and about 425
miles from the wharf This tram way
is soon to be completed when the cars
will be loaded in the packing room.
Twenty-Five tons Of sugar we're de-
livered at the landing for shipment last
Tuesday, which was the product OF
cane that at six o'clock Monday
morning was standing uncut, in the
fields from ~ TO 8 miles distant fton
the MILL This fact may interest those
who are unfamiliar with the manufac.
ture of sugar, but will be matter of
no surprise to those in the business. The
growth Of the cane on this plantation is
entirely dependent upon the rainfall, as
there is at present no water supply
sufficient for irrigation. Over twelve
miles Of hume have been erected for
: the purpose of taking the cane to the
mill, seventy-iive per cent of the entire
crop being transported in this way.
BY the most rigid economy, the meager
water supply afforded in very dry
weather. by springs, found in the
the mountains at distance of five to
six miles, sufficient amount is stored
each night to "hume" .the required
cane during the following day. A de-
wise for saving and utilizing a large
quantity of water averaging, it is esti-
mated about 10000 gallons per day,
which must otherwise run to waste, is
probably new idea at least, in this
country and seems to us worthy of
more than a passing notice.
Two iron tanks connected at the
bottom by an iron pipe, with capacity
of 10000 gallons each, are placed near
the mill, sufficiently elevated to draw
from them the water to be used in the
vacuum pumps Over one of these
tanks is built scaffold about 36xs4
feet, forming hollow square, the top of
which is elevated about 10 feet above
the tanks. Around this hollow square,
upon the frame, is built three shelves
on trays, beginning at the top; each is
placed two feet below the other and are
built eight feet wide, and deep enough
to carry five inches of water. All the
water which passesthrough the mill srun
into receptacle in heated state, flom
which it is forced up into the top tray
or cooler above described These trays
are built on an INCLINED PLAIN around
which the water runs until within foot
of the starting point, it passes through
an aperture and falls upon the tray be-
low, the incline Of which is reversed,
and'the water passes around the square
| auain and pours fhrnuoh ono+h ..,