St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1889-11-23

such FILINGS.
SUGAR AND SYRUP MAKING FOR
SMALL FARMERS.
The Hon. J. T. Henderson, Com
missioner Of Agriculture for the
State Of Georgia, answers an in
quiry IS to the best method Of SUI
gar making suitable on small farms,
and with inexpensive apparatus, or
such - are in common use through
out the State, q follows:
1 shall say nothing about the cut
ting Of the cane, other than to re-
mark that the cane should be cut
as closely to the ground As possible,
and thst the cane should be worked
up Is soon As possible, at least
within twenty-four hours after cut
ting. Neither shall I say anything
about the mills for grinding, the
pans and kettles for evaporation,
etc., Is it is supposed that each far
mer who has cane to work up has
already his own special outfit.
Where it Is desired to make sugar
from the juice rather than syrap, it
is Of great importance to clarity or
defecate the juice. In order to &C
complish this object, the following
is the best method of procedure:
The juice As it flows from the mill
should be passed At once through
wire cause or coarse cloth, to sepa-
rate pieces Of cane and other me
chanical impurities, and allowed to
run either into large tank capable
of holding the whole Of the juice, or
into kettles. The juice should not
remain exposed to the air for more
than twenty or thirty minutes after
being pressed, as fermentation viii
be sure to set in and reduce the
yield of sugar. The Qualification of
the sugar could be best effected by
those who have some means Of heat
ing the juice in q large tank or by
means of . steam coil and steam, as
the heat then could be easily regu-
lated. But for those not having
these appliances, large kettles could
be made to answer the purpose.
The juice having been run into the
vessel Of whatever nature, heat is at
once applied and the temperature
raised till the liquid is as hot IS the
hand can bear, when . solution Of
milk and lime is poured in and
thoroughly incorporated with the
juice. The heat should now be
raised almost to the boiling point,
but not allowed to come to . boil.
The heat ought now to be shut of,
and the thick scum that has risen to
the top should be skinned off; the
juice ought then to be drawn of
into the evaporating pan. The So
luton Of lime should have been pre-
viously prepared, and is made as
follows: From one to four pounds
Of lime to every 500 gallons Of juice
to be treated is slaked with hot
water, stirred, allowed to stand .
few minutes, poured of through a
cloth, . quantity Of boiling water is
again poured on, allowed to stand
and poured of. Water Of ordinary
temperature is now added and stir
red up. II the correct proportions
Of lime and water have been used
the mixture will be Of the consist
ency Of thin cream, and may be set
aside for use. It is proper for me
to remark here, however, that this
solution of lime should not be used
by one who has had no experience
with it, or who does not know how
to tell when enough has been added,
for If an excess be used, the user
win be worse of than If he had
used none. To those interested who
can visit this department, the chem
list win take pleasure in showing q
method by which the amount of
lime to be added can be regulated
1t will.
After the juice has been clarified
the next point is the concentration
or evaporation Of the juice. This
should be proceeded with in the
same manner - for making syrup.
The best test, however, is that when
the liquid has reached that degree
Of concentration that = drop Of it
placed between the thumb and fore
finger and pressed, may be drawn
into . thread which has . granular
appearance; this is an indication
that the evaporation is complete and
the syrup ready to be transferred
to the cooler.
The coolers should be large, shall
low vessels. As the sugar begins
to crystalise the liquid should be
stirred, to make the granulation uni
form.
A valuable hint il to add . small
quantity Of granulated sugar to the
syrup Is it cools, which will hasten
the process Of capitalization, SO
that putting . little sugar to the
first syrup run into the cooler, and
allowing some sugar to adhere to its
hoftovn and sides when Il il emDtied