The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-12-26
MAKING SUGAR.
THE INTERESTING FACTS OF A
GREAT INDUSTRY.
Juice Extracted From Cane on the
Plantations-Secur Crude
Naterial-Syrup Cleared
and CrystaliZed.

sugar exists IN various lormS OIL VeSc-
table growth, but the great producers
are sugar cane, sorghum and the beet
root. The United States consumes more
sugar per capita than any other country
in the world, Louisiana growing the
bulk OF cane. In 1887 LOUISIANA
produced ol,12',s72 pounds of cane
s"gar. The same year the United States
imported 3, 1DG, t42, 240 pounds and
exported 2O4,24l, 167 pounds. The
biggest years product for louisiana was
in 1862, when the output reached 52S,
321, 500 pounds.
"Sugar making" said one of the st.
Louis rciners when interrogated by
Cube Democrat reporter, ''is cooking.
The first care of the producer is to get
all the sugar possible out of the cane,
either by squeezing out the juice or
washing out the sugar. The juice is then
cleared of its impurities, as coIee is
cleared by the white of an egg or water
is filtered through charcoal; it is then
boiled, to evaporate as much of the water
as possible and crystalize the solid sugar;
it is then cooled and The molasses drained
of, leaving the soft dark sugars, in
with ca n crystal has its thin coating
of molasses, or dried by a centrifugal
machine, as clothes are dried in the
whirling drier, whence the water flies
out. or further clarified and left to cry
stalizc in white loa"es, wh ch are sawed
or crushed, or ground or powdered into
several varieties of sugar Most of these
earlier processes are performed on the
plantations, but in many cases they arc
repeated and the sugar carried through
| the final process in the great reinerics.
Refining is, in fact, little more than
finer repetition of 'making,' aud to do
these simple things OH great scale and
in the best way is the sole purpose of
those enormous bseh;ves of industry"
The sugar planter requires for his cane
plantation q warm, moist climate, with
intervals of hot, dry weather, with little
danger from frost: SOL not too rich,
containing lime and magnes:a. and OF
good drainage; and the benefit of sea
6rcekes, salt in the air being better for
him than salt in the soil. The sugar
plantations Of Louisiana find these con-
ditions IN the alluvial soil of the lower
Miss .ssippi Valley In laying out an es-
tate, drainage must be carefully pro-
vided for, and in some countries lrriga-
tion is much used. From one to four
cuttings arc set olt together in holes
about two feet apart. AS the canes grow
they must be we'll weeded aud crashed" ="
that is, all dry, dead leaves removed.
They begin to grow in Louisiana in eb-
ruary, aud are harvested from October to
January.
Tho iuice of the cane makes aboat nine.
tenths of its weight, and the extraction
can be done by soaking out the sugar In
water or crushing or grinding. Th; lat
ter was the process in early times. and
some of the pr m tive mills are still used
in some of the Southern States. The
sugar house on a large plantation is a
big building, usually in the center OF
th. lands, with roads or tramways lead
ing to it from all directions. AS the
cane is brought up by the teams it is
carried by endless belts to the crushing
mill. This is simple in construction, but
of enormous power. The crushing is
done by gigantlc iron rollers, giving i'm
mcnse pressure. The juice runs in one
direction and the crushed cane, called
| UeSals, gus "uo'nei' W w
burned in the furnaces.
from the crusher the juice goes to
the straiuer, then is heated to about 2l0
degrees, milk of lime being added to
neutralize the acid in the iuice. The
LIQUID must then be tempered to correct
any excess of lime, after which is it til-
tered and crystalized. In the old sugar
houses these changes are effected by
what they call "battery" of open pans
or ''taches." The clarifying is done in
the first two pans. The Others are set on
a descending line, the last and lowest
beng the tsrrikiug tache." The juice
is dipped from one pan to another, the
heat increasing as the pans get lower and
nearer the fire, until at last the boiling
has brought a crystalizing point. After
six or eight hours boiling the cooked
mass is of reddish gold color, and is
ready for "striking." This calls for the
expert, as it is the critical moment. He
must ''strike" or dip off the liquid the
exact instant it is ready to crystalize in
the pan. One.half the contents may be
taken out when the rest will have to be
left to have new syrup added. An i'm
provcment on this plan is the using of
the vacuum pan, in which boiling is
possible at a lower temperature than in
the open pan, making the danger Of
burning or overh"ating very slight.
After being crystaliHed the sugar is
packed in barrels and hogsheads and
sent to St. Louis and other reaneres.
When reaching the refinery the crude
sugar is dumped iuto huge watts for a
'"blow.up." The vats OF tanks ale of
iron lined with steam coil and with
revolving arms to stir the contents.
Water is run in and heated nearly to
boiling, when some ten tons of raw sugar
will be thrown in. During half an hours
boiling the impurities rising are skinned
off. The syrup is then pumped to the
top of the refinery, and starts downward
in slow stages, being clear sugar when at
the bottom.
The top Loor is the defeating depart
ment. Here are rows of square tanks six
feet high, filled with the LIQUID forced
up from the mixers kept at liO degrees
temperature. The process here is exactly
like clearing coffee with the VIII to of au
egg, except that bullock's blood acts as
the albuminous matter in clearing out
the dlegs and sediments. In half an
hour the liquid is well cleared and is
drawn off to be strained. The ne t floor
below is covered with series of CUTTERS,
under which hang the bag filters, con-
| -; of ,o,r.o cotton twi Il fOnr or i've