The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1906-12-22
BELLE HELENE FACTORY.
a Finely Equipped ascension susarhouse.
The Newell erusher and Other

The Newell Crusher and Other
improvements.
The work Of the grinding season of
1906 was brought. to close at the
model factory of the Belle Helene
Planting and Manufacturing Com
pany on the 18th instant, save that an
extra days run was made this week
to dispose of forty carloads OF be-
lated cane that came in from some
point on the Mississippi Valley rail-
way. The campaign opened at Belle
Helene on the LIST of November, and
practically $4,000 tons OF cane were
handled, of which about 1900 tons were
produced on BoWden, Ashland and the
smaller places forming the Belle Helene
group. The mill was run under slow
bells nearly all the time, owing to
the shortage in the cane supply,
the average weight ground being
only about 500 tons day, whereas the
house could readily dispose of 800
tons. The yield of sugar averaged
from 135 to TAO pounds to the ton of
cane, and only first sugars were made
standard granulated and fancy yell
lows-with the exception of several
tankfuls of molasses which was mar
keted at good prices.
The efficiency of the Belle Helene
factory is due in large measure to the
ability Of Superintendent w. E. Cage
and TO the enterprise and liberality of
the company owning the property, of
which Geo. B. Reuss is the leading
factor. Every department. of the fac
tory is equipped with the latest and best
appliances for cane-handling and
sugar-making. Steam is supplied by
battery Of seven boilers, licensed
for 125 pounds pressure and fitted for
burning both bagasse and oil, no
coal being used. Nothing that can
possibly be turned to account lis
wasted, even the refuse from the filter
presses and ashes from the bagasse
burners being combined to make a fer
tilizer that is returned to the soil.
Three methods of loading cane on the
carrier are in vogue, namely: From
stand ard-guage railway cars, from
carts, and from loose heaps dumped
on the ground. The latter process is
accomplished by means of a derrick
invented and patented by Mr.. Cage,
and the three methods enable two or |
three ordinarily skillful men to keep |
the carrier properly supplied at all |
nd sHa q
an imperfect feed.
One OF the most valuable adjuncts
Of the Belle Helene mill is the Newell T
crusher installed on trial at the Begin
ming OF the past season by the Newell /
Company of New York
city. This device operated to perfec-
ion and will De retained. 1t replaces
'he old top roller OF the front mill,
and consists of series of half-dia-
steel teeths separated by
parallel ribs of steel placed about six
inches apart. 1t regulates the amount
d cane entering the mill and provides
IN even flow to the second mill, crush
ng the cane in such way that it is
much more easily and effectively
handled by the second mill than was
heretofore possible. The claim that
ne crushing capacity of the mill would
% increased at least twenty-five per
'ent by the use OF this invention has
,een fully sustained at Belle Helene.
The front mill, which formerly ex-
PRESSED only little more than half
he total juice, extracts about eighty
yer cent when equipped with the
rnsher, and the fear that if such an
'biect as a piece OF iron should ac-
identally go into the mill the crusher
7ould be put Of business has been eff
ectually set at rest, since this very
ccident occurred several times dur
ng the season and the crusher wasn't
amaged in the least. G. A. Chopin,
resident OF the Newell company, Wis
ed Belle Helene last Saturday to OBJ
ain reports as TO the work of the
rusher and make arrangements for
IS retention.
The principal members OF the Belle
Lelene factory crew this year and for
number of preceding seasons were:
amille Rome, chief sugar-boiler;
outs Melancon, assistant sugar
oiler; Val. Wehrman, chief engineer;
AIRY Armstrong and August Lam
~, assistant engineers.
For Over Sixty Years
FEJYnT, ,1c g.,