The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1888-09-28

In le49 erected my first set of sugar
works; they were of frame the boiling
house 4Ox30 feet, the draining house
6oX30, the mill-house 3Ox3O. NV machine
ry consisted of tiftv-horse steam engine.
My mill was, for those days, a gigantic
affair, horizontal of rollers 5 feet
long, the largest roller weighing i've tons
With shis structure | took off my first
crop in ls49-5o, and had scarcely finished
rolling when the whole was burned, crop
and all. The crop consisted of sc, 900 lbs
Of sugar and 1000 gallons of molasses.
This was terrible blow, and | had to
commence de nOoO
had saved largely Of seed cane from
this crop, had exi ended the area of cane
land, and would largely increase the acre
age IN cane for lS5O-5l. In addition,
therefore, to this increased cultivation,
the provision Of fuel, aud some $50 hogs
heads, which had to be made on the plan
tation, and all other ordinary requisites
for taking off a crop of sugar about three
times as large as one just lost, | had to
construct anew and complete, and on a
much more extensive plan, a new estab-
ment.
This determined should be of brick
Phe buildings which erected were as fol
lows:
The mill house 4Ox4O, walls Is feet
high; boiling house 40x4O, walls l6 feet
high cooling house 4Ox4O, walls II feet
high draining house 4Ox6O. walls s feet
high.
All Of these brick were made on the
spot and by my own force, and with the
exception of one white workman, as bos-
brick layer, they were all laid by my own
negroes the most intelligent being Sc
lected and under the tuition and guidance
OF Mr. GODDARD, who was one of the
earned occupationists " and a master
workman. they did good and loyal work.
The roof frames Of these houses were
massy, it being my intent at a future day
to cover with slate. The carpentry of
this work was done by contract, but all
the timber was sawed by hand on the
plantation, as was all the lumber of every
kind used in construction. This work
was all completed in time to take off the
crop of ls5O-5l This crop consisted of
23l 900 pounds sugar and l $50 gallons
molasses.
The crop Of 185l-52.-This crop was
cut short by frost. Recurring to my jour
nal find the following record:
"RoLLISG SEASON l85l-52.
" December l9.-Ice during the night
january Lice in the pools until
10 o'clock a. NJ Thermometer 26 de-
grees at sunrise.
"January Lice.
"January 2O.--Iccles hanging to steam
chimney. Thermometer 26 degrees.
"January %, %, 81, %, 29.-lce, very
cold weather.
''The crop of 1e5l-52 was 163 hogs
heads sugar, 1875, 900 pounds, and $3.50
gallons of molasses.
"The cane was much hurt by the frost
of 9th December, and entirely destroyed
by that of l4th January"
Crop of 1928 was 10000 pounds
sugar and 1000 gallons molasses.
Crop of l853-54 was 900 pounds
sugar and 1880 gallons molasses.
This year | erected a second draining
house, also of brick, 4Ox6O feet. These
draining houses on each side of the cen
trail alley contained cisterns for holding
molasscs, extending the whole length Of
the house, each three feet deep, lined with
hydraulic cement; the hogsheads were
placed on beams over these csterns. My
boiling house was furnished with two sets
of kettles arranged along each side, each
set consisting of five open kettles, headed
by steam kettle, in which the syrup was
concentrated to sugar An eight horse
engine furnished the steam to operate
these steam kettles, and one of Hurd's
centrifugal draining machines, the first
one believe which he made. This en-
CINE was also used to drive grist mill
and one of Pages circular saws, and from
the time of its erection furnished all the
lumber for the plantation, including slaves
for hogsheads. The largest kettle in each
of the open range kettles held five hun
dred gallons My mill was raised on
massy brick work, capped with three tiers
of heavy timbers, 6 inches square, bolted
together by heavy rods, which were an
chOred in the base Of the brick work and
stood some ten feet above the kettles, and
the cane was carried up to it by an end
less band composed of wooden Stats and
iron chains, and extending from the mill
far into the cane yard this carrier was
five feet wide and moved in a trough IA
inches deep, and while the mill was in
motion solid mass of cane five feet wide
and IA inches high passed continuously
between the rollers, and was so effectually
crushed that the bagasse as 1t passed from
the rollers was nearly as dry as finder, cut
in two at every joint, and if applied to
the mouth while inhaling would produce
partial sufocation by it's fine, dry impal-
pable powder
| Hho 0c