ACCUMULATION OF AIR AND VAPORS IN THE DIFFUSION CELLS. In the battery at Magnolia we have been troubled quite often by the accumulations of air and vapors in the cells. The men at the battery have instructions to "blow off" these accumulations at frequent intervals. In working a battery at high temperatures, through carelessness the battery man will often neglect to reduce the steam pressure on the calorisators at the proper time and the juice will be heated above its boiling point, and large quantities of steam will form in the cells when the pressure is reduced. These vapors and the air in the cell are liable to "trap" and prevent a uniform extraction of the sugar from the chips. To overcome this difficulty the attachment illustrated in the accompanying figure was devised by K. Leyser, of Oschersleben, Germany. This apparatus consists of a float g, connecting by means of a spherical joint at its upper end with the valve b, and guided at its lower end by FIG. 1. means of a rod at the center of the strainer e. The tube a communicates with the diffuser. If vapors of any kind collect in the diffuser, they will pass out through the tube a around the float g, through the valve b and tube d, into the open air. Any foam that may have accumulated in the cell will also pass out. As soon as the juice in the cell rises sufficiently the float g will lift and close the valve c and prevent its escape. The object of the small funnel m is to catch any fine pieces of pulp which may pass the strainer and prevent them from clogging the apparatus. This funnel should be removed from time to time and emptied. A valve between cc is provided, which is to be closed when the apparatus is not in use. CONTROL OF DIFFUSION WORK. In order to arrive at comparable results and place the records beyond the possibility of error through neglect or forgetfulness of the wor men, some automatic device for registration is essential. Those investigators making a serious study of diffusion of sugar-cane will realize the necessity of some such device. A number of German and other beet-sugar manufacturers have devised instruments for recording all that is essential in the work of a battery. These records, the work of an instrument, and made entirely without prejudice or fears of punishment for negligence, become valuable data for locating and correcting errors. The first cost of such instruments will be many times repaid. A battery man, no matter how faithful and capable he may be, is liable to make errors that may prove very expensive and render valueless studies to improve the work. The diffusion of sugar-cane presents many conditions quite different from those which exist in the beet. The comparatively small amount of work that has been done in the diffusion of cane in this country and many of the conditions under which it has been done, have prevented a careful study to determine the most favorable conditions for such work. Now that the success of the process is fully demonstrated, we should turn our attention to improving the work of our batteries. HORSIN-DÉON'S AUTOMATIC REGISTER.1 "A cylinder rotated horizontally by clock-work carries a roll of paper divided into hours, quarter hours, and fractions of five minutes; a pencil car attached to an arm bears directly upon the paper; this pencil, moved by a float, follows and registers every change of level in the measuring tank. "It will be seen that this instrument records every change that takes place in the measuring tank, whether it be charging, discharging, or irregularities of the work of any kind. The lines traced from the lower to the upper part of the paper show the charging of the measuring tank, and vice versa those traced from above downward-the discharg ing. The lines are more or less inclined according to the rate of charg ing or discharging. A counter records the total number of cells filled. Mr. Horsin-Deon has so arranged this apparatus that it may be located at a distance from the diffusion battery, preferably in the office or lab This description is a free translation of one in Bulletin de l'Association des Chimistes, 6, No. 2, 160, oratory. In order that the work may be regular and the extraction uniform, two electric bells are connected with the apparatus and indicate the proper moment to open or close the battery valves. "With this apparatus, where a complete record of the diffusion work is automatically made, one can attain absolute certainty that all orders from the laboratory or office have been strictly carried out, and that time has not been lost at certain hours of the night only to be made up by hurried work in the morning." EUGENE LANGEN'S (COLOGNE, GERMANY) AUTOMATIC REGISTER. The following-described apparatus was designed by Eugene Langen, a very prominent beet sugar manufacturer, and was constructed by Fischer & Stecht, Essen am Ruhr, Germany. This apparatus is designed not only to register the measurement of the juice, but also to determine its density, "The measurer' of the volume of the juice drawn consists essentially of a cylinder of copper containing six compartments, and is similar in its action to a gas-meter. The juice from the diffuser passes immediately FIG. 3. into the measurer, thence to the carbonatation (or clarification). The FIG. 4. "The lines in the diagram which are very nearly vertical indicate the time required to discharge a diffuser of juice. The short horizontal lines show the length of time between discharges of juice, and their height above the center line shows whether the correct amount of juice was drawn. Translated from "Revue Universelle des Progrès de la Fa brication du Sucre " 2o et 3° Années, pp. 56, 57, "The automatic determination of the density of the juice depends upon the principle of communicating vessels. A column of juice of an invariable height counterbalances a column of water whose height is proportional to the density of the juice. "A portion of the juice measured by the meter passes through the small reservoir H into a tube S, provided with an overflow at r. Inside the tube Sis another tube, FD, which terminates above in a funnel-shaped vessel and below in a flexible rubber bulb, F. The interior of this tube, including the bulb, is filled with water, whose height is registered upon a cylinder, B, by means of a float carrying a pencil. "The variable temperatures of the juice have no influence upon the apparatus, provided the column of water is of the same temperature as the juice surrounding it. For this reason the tube F is spiral at the lower end. The specific gravity of the juice so obtained is reduced to the normal temperature and the degrees Brix or Baumé noted. Mr. Langen has substituted a bundle of very fine copper tubes for the spiral in the original apparatus, in order to more readily equalize the temperature of the juice and water. FIG. 5. "Foam and mechanical impurities do not affect the accuracy of the apparatus." If this apparatus is used independent of the automatic meaurer, a double ball-valve should be employed, to prevent wastage from the overflowing of the juice. AUTOMATIC SAMPLING OF THE JUICE. The simplest method of sampling the juice automatically consists of a three-way valve opened and closed by the rise or fall of a float in the measuring tank. One opening of the valve communicates with a stand-pipe, extending above the greatest height to which the tank is ever filled; the second opening serves to connect the stand-pipe with the bottle in which the sample is to be stored; the third opening connects the stand-pipe with the measuring tank. The float is so arranged and connected with the stem of the valve that when the juice rises to a given height it lifts, and, opening the valve, places the stand-pipe in communication with the tank. When the juice level in the tank falls, the opening from the stand-pipe to the tank is closed at. the same time that connecting the stand pipe and bottle is opened, and the juice which filled the tube passes into the bottle. This is repeated every time a cell of juice is drawn, and provides a method of sampling both certain and accurate. A certain amount of subacetate of lead, in proportion |