The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1888-05-21

best methods OF manufacture COM
mon to mary other concerns on
these islands. But this company
has not rested here. DESTROYS of
being in the fore front of progress
and ready to adopt improved ma
chinery and methods of manufac-
ture as they are discovered, 1t is
just now testing the virtue and value
of the Diffusion Process. The ne
cessary machinery has been import
ed from Germany and erected along
side Of the old mill, SO that the
same power and manufacturing APP
paratus heretofore used serve for
the diffusion process. This process
merely relates to the method of ex-
tracing the juice from the cane and
does not alter the treatment of the
juice after extraction.
The diffusion plant consists main
ly of cutting apparatus and vessels
for containing the cut material
while the process of diffusion is in
operation.
The cutting machine is composed
of number of knives concealed in
case in q horizontal position and
attached to vertical spindle which
revolves at a rapid rate. There are
six sloping tunnels leading from
above TO the knives, and through
these the sticks of cane are fed by
hand, not many sticks at time.
There are three of these cutting
machines.
The Clipped cane falls through
the machine, and is conveyed from
the ground floor TO receiver near
the top of the building, by similar
method to that by which cane is
carried to the rollers, as already
described. From here it is fed to
the diffusers through shoot, the
top end of which is hinged and the
lower end attached to wheel, by
which it is easily moved around
from diffuser to diffuser.
The diffusers are huge iron tanks,
twelve in number, arranged in a
VII ullC SCIOnu nun
They have doors at each end, top
and bottom. The chips are taken
in at the top with the juice in them,
and let out at the bottom with the
juice extracted. Water at tempe
rature few degrees below boiling
point is forced into the diffuser
through pipe at the base, begin
ming at one end of the semi-circle,
and out through another pipe near
the top, and then it descends
through pipe and enters at the
base of the next diffuser, and so on.
In this way the chips are saturat-
ed and the sugar dissolved out.
There is no pressing or crushing.
The chips come out as sound and
whole as they go in. The sugar is
absorbed Eby the water just as the
substance is taken out of piece of
beef by gentle simmering. This
water, impregnated with sugar, is
drawn and treated in the tsame way
as the juice expressed by rollers.
The chips are afterwards passed be-
tween the maceration rollers merely
TO dry them for fuel.
The diffusiongplant was put into
operation by the Makee Sugar Com
pany at the beginning of last week
and ran for q portion Of three OF
four days. Operations were sus
pended on the third or fourth day,
for a week or two, on account Of
the breakage of two of the shafts O.
the counter-balances of the bottom
openings of two of the diffusers
near the point of attachment, anc
for the purpose of strengthening tn
others as well as mending these
This is q comparatively small mat
ter, which can be remedied on th
premises as soon as the necessar.
iron arrives from the foundry ,whicl
will probably be by the first steamer
The cutters do not wor
to entire satisfaction. Bits c
fibre from the cane rind ar
thrown by centrifugal force t
. ! the outer ends, where they collec
, and choke the machine, necessitat
ing an occasional stoppage for re
moving the accumulated matter
! This, however, is a drawback whic
! Colonel Spaulding is hopeful {
remedying by slight mechanics
a alteration.
AS far as the completeness of IL
Q extraction of the sugar from tt
y cane is concerned, this has alread
y proved entirely satisfactory. I'll
2 sugar is all, within a fraction, take
p out of the chips. Colonel SpauldiI
a is also satisfied that the chips, aft,
l. being dried by passing between IL
h rollers, is good fuel.
Il The machinery and the proce
q have not yet been sufficiently testt
;. as whole, to enable one to say th
+ everything will prove entirely sati
factory, and that it will pay; b
= Colonel Spaulding inclines to Il
o belief, from the trials already mad
- that a short time will suffice to owe
# come the little difficulties which ba'
"a presented themselves, and to bril-
"a the results up to the maker
20 guarantee.