Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1895-11-28
A PRIMITIVE MoLAssgs MILL.
An interesting Description of Cane Cul.
ture on q Small Scale.

ture on q Small Scale.
While no doubt most OF your readers are
familiar with sugar and strip making, as
practiced on the large plantations, since
our periodicals from time TO time have
given frequent descriptions of the intricate
process, perhaps not n few may be inter
ssted IN little account of the cane Gull
ture OF north Louisiana and the primitive
molasses boiling of the small hill farmer.
First of course. is the planting of the
cane, for we have no seed here, and this is
done about the last Of March by putting
it lengthways in burrows, and then cover
ing to the depth of or z inches. Some
times however, we use the stubs Of the
year before, If they happen TO stand the
frosts, and these we simply cover by plow-
ing on either side of the row, and the cane
grows from them.
Whether you plant the cane itself or
leave the stubble the cultivation is the
same. There Is an eye at every joint of a
stalk of cane, and when the stalk is plant
ed cane will spring from every eye if they
be good ones. When the cane gets up sew
eral feet all the grass and weeds which
are among it are hoed away and cast into
| the middle of the rows. Then follows a
succession of plowings and hoeings, till
the crop is ready to clay by" Work is
| now over for a brief season till cutting
time comes about.
The cutting of the cane is in keeping
with the rest Of the process and may be
briefly described rs follows: There are two
men to every row, one gathering bunch
of canes in his arms, while the other, with
q sharp hoe, cuts IL OF about an inch from
the ground. The stalks are then stacked
! in large "WindrOWs," with every top
turned the same way, SO that the long
| blades cover the cane thoroughly, leaving
no part Of the stalk exposed TO the frost
\ The small stalks are usually saved for
\ planting the next year, and these arc by
ana 10y taken down, put in pile and COW
cred over with dirt, so MS TO keep them
/ from the frost The large stalks are strip
! ped clean of every blade aud the small tor
| joints broken OFF. The cane is now ready
to bc hauled TO the mill.
Tie MILL whether large or small, is
usually very primitive affair in our
country, consisting merely of an arrange
ment of cylinders, or wheels, which mash
the juice from the stalks The mill is fed
by hand and turned by horsepower, the
juice dripping into an open vessel, usually
barrel or "a tub. Close by is the evan.
orator. When n sufficient quantity OF
! juice has been ground, thc boiling begins.
Ono mill, however, never stops except for
a change Of horses, the juice being cooked
as fast as IL is ground.
The evaporation partly filed and bar.
rel of juice i placed over 1t, so that it may
be turned on when needed. Tlicn IA fire i.
built i'm the furnace beneath, and as the
juice boils Ii will pass from one partition
Of tho evapOrntor to another, the skutn be
ing carefully removed by means Of long
handled perforated tin skinner As Ii
cooks the color changes gradually to darl
reddish yellow. At this stage Of the proc
ess there viii rise large brown bubbles
which indicate that IL Is ready to be drawn
off. When par upon the market, it com
mands q fairly rood price - Black LAX,
Q.a.) Letter in Philadelphia Times.