Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1889-04-20
INVESTIGATION ITEMS.
Report of the Committee Appointed
to Look Up Points in the Sor-
ghum Sugar Industry.
Statements and Conclusions Of
General Interest.

It seems necessary that We make a re-
port of our investigations up 70 this time,
because: LIST. Quite number have ex-
pressed desire that we do SO; ID. We
do not expect to have any thing more to
report until after the sugar-manufactur-
ing season of 1889 has commenced. We
hope to investigate thoroughly then all
the new methods that have come to light.
Up to the present time, sorghum sugar
has been manufactured as business by
the methods known es open and close
diffusion.
Open diffusion is where the cane chips
are handled in large iron baskets by a
large crane, the chips being dipped in diff
ferent tanks OF water until the fluid be-
comes rich enough to reduce.
Close diffusion is where the water is
handled, inetead of the chips.
While the machinery necessary in the
latter method seems to be more expensive
than that required in the former, yet it
seems, at present, to be the more profit
able of the two methods. The principal
reason seems to be that larger per cent
age of the sweets can be extracted from
the sorghum by the close-diffusion pro-
cess. In this age the leading question
seems to be, Does it pay? From investi-
CATION, we would say to the manufacturer,
Yes, abundantly. The profit runs from
four to five dollars, and even more, per
ton. Thus mill of the usual capacity of
200 tons per day of twenty-four hours
should make a profit of $500 every day,
or S20,S00 every month; and for one sea-
son of little more than three months the
profit amounts to the cost of the plant, or
nearly $4,000. This result is, of course,
based only upon the most intelligent
management. Cane must be planted at a
time specified by the manager, SO that a
continuous supply Of mature cane can be
obtained. The season can be heightened
by planting the earliest varieties, then
the medium and then the late. and by
covering with a thin layer of earth to pre-
vent freezing. Then, before harvesting, a
sample of each crop must be submitted to
an analysis, to determine whether the
cane has reached such degree of matu-
rity as to have made its sugar.
An outline of the processes of sugar
making will doubtless be interesting to
those who have not had time or opportu-
nifty to investigate for themselves. As
now developed, the processes of sugar
making are as follows:
First-The topped cane is delivered at
the factory by the farmer.
Second-'rhe cane is cut by machine
into pieces about one and a fourth inches
in length.
Third-The leaves and sheathes are
separated from the cut cane by tanning
mills.
Fourth--The cleaned cane is cut into
fine bits called chips.
Fifth-The chips are placed in iron
tanks, and the sugar diffused-soaked out
with hot water.
Sixth-The juice obtained by diffusion
has its acids nearly or quite neutralized
with milk of lime, and is heated and
skinned.
Seventh-The defeated, or clarified,
juice is boiled to a semi-syrup in vacuum
pans.
Eighth-The semi-syrup is boiled to
grain in a high vacuum in the strike-pan.
Ninth-The mixture of sugar and mo-
lasses from the strike-pan is passed
through mixing machine into centrifugal
machines which throw out the molasses
and retain the sugar.
And now we come to the important
question as to the profit to the farmer.
Prof. Cowgirl says, in his report, that I'M
der ordinary methods of cultivation ten
tons of cleaned cane per acre are some
what above the average; but that under
the best OF cultivation the larger varieties
often exceed twelve, while the small
Early Amber sometimes goes below eight
tons per acre. Let seven and half tons
OF cleaned cane per acre be assumed for
the illustration. This responds to gross
yield of ten tons to the farmer; and, at
81 per ton, gives him $50 per acre for his
crop. He also states that sorghum will
yield seven and half tons OF clean cane
per acre more surely than corn will yield
thirty bushels or wheat fifteen bushels
per acre. He estimates that one acre of
sorghum will produce
$50 lbs Of sugar worth sc per Id. ....... $S7. so
1000 lbs of molasses, q 1a1c per h.. 1850
800 lbs of seed, g 1sc per ID. ,......-..... $50
Total value of sorghum, less fodder. $50. so
The corn crop gives 1850 Ms g 4 CENT. $40
The wheat crop gives 900 Ms q cent. 900
1t can be seen that the sorghum yields
to the farmer more than twice as much
per acre as either of the leading cereals,
while as gross product of agriculture
and manufacture on our own soil, more
than six times as much per acre as is
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