Chapter 8

This kiln is located at the foot of a steep bluff, the top about level with the top of the kiln, with railway track built of wooden sleepers, with light iron bars, running from the bluff to the top of the kiln, and a hand-car makes it very convenient filling the kiln. Such a location should be had if possible. Your inquirer may perhaps get some ideas of the principles of a kiln for using _coal_. The dimensions may be reduced, if desired. If for _wood_, the arch would have to be formed for that, and the height of kiln reduced.

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THE MANUFACTURE OF APPLE JELLY.

[Footnote: From the report of the New York Agricultural Society.]

Within the county of Oswego, New York, Dewitt C. Peck reports there are five apple jelly factories in operation. The failure of the apple crop, for some singular and unexplained reason, does not extend in great degree to the natural or ungrafted fruit. Though not so many as common, even of these apples, there are yet enough to keep these five mills and the numerous cider mills pretty well employed. The largest jelly factory is located near the village of Mexico, and as there are some features in regard to this manufacture peculiar to this establishment which may be new and interesting, we will undertake a brief description. The factory is located on the Salmon Creek, which affords the necessary power. A portion of the main floor, first story, is occupied as a saw mill, the slabs furnishing fuel for the boiler furnace connected with the evaporating department. Just above the mill, along the bank of the pond, and with one end projecting over the water, are arranged eight large bins, holding from five hundred to one thousand bushels each, into which the apples are delivered from the teams. The floor in each of these has a sharp pitch or inclination toward the water and at the lower end is a grate through which the fruit is discharged, when wanted, into a trough half submerged in the pond.

The preparation of the fruit and extraction of the juice proceeds as follows: Upon hoisting a gate in the lower end of this trough, considerable current is caused, and the water carries the fruit a distance of from thirty to one hundred feet, and passes into the basement of the mill, where, tumbling down a four-foot perpendicular fall, into a tank, tight in its lower half and slatted so as to permit the escape of water and impurities in the upper half, the apples are thoroughly cleansed from all earthy or extraneous matter. Such is the friction caused by the concussion of the fall, the rolling and rubbing of the apples together, and the pouring of the water, that decayed sections of the fruit are ground off and the rotten pulp passes away with other impurities. From this tank the apples are hoisted upon an endless chain elevator, with buckets in the form of a rake-head with iron teeth, permitting drainage and escape of water, to an upper story of the mill, whence by gravity they descend to the grater. The press is wholly of iron, all its motions, even to the turning of the screws, being actuated by the water power. The cheese is built up with layers inclosed in strong cotton cloth, which displaces the straw used in olden time, and serves also to strain the cider. As it is expressed from the press tank, the cider passes to a storage tank, and thence to the defecator.

This defecator is a copper pan, eleven feet long and about three feet wide. At each end of this pan is placed a copper tube three inches in diameter and closed at both ends. Lying between and connecting these two, are twelve tubes, also of copper, 1½ inches in diameter, penetrating the larger tubes at equal distances from their upper and under surfaces, the smaller being parallel with each other, and 1½ inches apart. When placed in position, the larger tubes, which act as manifolds, supplying the smaller with steam, rest upon the bottom of the pan, and thus the smaller pipes have a space of three-fourths of an inch underneath their outer surfaces.

The cider comes from the storage tank in a continuous stream about three-eighths of an inch in diameter. Steam is introduced to the large or manifold tubes, and from them distributed through the smaller ones at a pressure of from twenty-five to thirty pounds per inch. Trap valves are provided for the escape of water formed by condensation within the pipes. The primary object of the defecator is to remove all impurities and perfectly clarify the liquid passing through it. All portions of pomace and other minute particles of foreign matter, when heated, expand and float in the form of scum upon the surface of the cider. An ingeniously contrived floating rake drags off this scum and delivers it over the side of the pan. To facilitate this removal, one side of the pan, commencing at a point just below the surface of the cider, is curved gently outward and upward, terminating in a slightly inclined plane, over the edge of which the scum is pushed by the rake into a trough and carried away. A secondary purpose served by the defecator is that of reducing the cider by evaporation to a partial sirup of the specific gravity of about 20° Baume. When of this consistency the liquid is drawn from the bottom and less agitated portion of the defecator by a siphon, and thence carried to the evaporator, which is located upon the same framework and just below the defecator.

The evaporator consists of a separate system of six copper tubes, each twelve feet long and three inches in diameter. These are each jacketed or inclosed in an iron pipe of four inches internal diameter, fitted with steam-tight collars so as to leave half an inch steam space surrounding the copper tubes. The latter are open at both ends permitting the admission and egress of the sirup and the escape of the steam caused by evaporation therefrom, and are arranged upon the frame so as to have a very slight inclination downward in the direction of the current, and each nearly underneath its predecessor in regular succession. Each is connected by an iron supply pipe, having a steam gauge or indicator attached, with a large manifold, and that by other pipes with a steam boiler of thirty horse power capacity. Steam being let on at from twenty five to thirty pounds pressure, the stream of sirup is received from the defecator through a strainer, which removes any impurities possibly remaining into the upper evaporator tube; passing in a gentle flow through that, it is delivered into a funnel connected with the next tube below, and so, back and forth, through the whole system. The sirup enters the evaporator at a consistency of from 20° to 23° Baume, and emerges from the last tube some three minutes later at a consistency of from 30° to 32° Baume, which is found on cooling to be the proper point for perfect jelly. This point is found to vary one or two degrees, according to the fermentation consequent upon bruises in handling the fruit, decay of the same, or any little delay in expressing the juice from the cheese. The least fermentation occasions the necessity for a lower reduction. To guard against this, no cheese is allowed to stand over night, no pomace left in the grater or vat, no cider in the tank; and further to provide against fermentation, a large water tank is located upon the roof and filled by a force pump, and by means of hose connected with this, each grater, press, vat, tank, pipe, trough, or other article of machinery used, can be thoroughly washed and cleansed. Hot water, instead of cider, is sometimes sent through the defecator, evaporator, etc., until all are thoroughly scalded and purified. If the saccharometer shows too great or too little reduction, the matter is easily regulated by varying the steam pressure in the evaporator by means of a valve in the supply pipe. If boiled cider instead of jelly is wanted for making pies, sauces, etc., it is drawn off from one of the upper evaporator tubes according to the consistency desired; or can be produced at the end of the process by simply reducing the steam pressure.

As the jelly emerges from the evaporator it is transferred to a tub holding some fifty gallons, and by mixing a little therein, any little variations in reduction or in the sweetness or sourness of the fruit used are equalized. From this it is drawn through faucets, while hot, into the various packages in which it is shipped to market. A favorite form of package for family use is a nicely turned little wooden bucket with cover and bail, two sizes, holding five and ten pounds respectively. The smaller packages are shipped in cases for convenience in handling. The present product of this manufactory is from 1,500 to 1,800 pounds of jelly each day of ten hours. It is calculated that improvements now in progress will increase this to something more than a ton per day. Each bushel of fruit will produce from four to five pounds of jelly, fruit ripening late in the season being more productive than earlier varieties. Crab apples produce the finest jelly; sour, crabbed, natural fruit makes the best looking article, and a mixture of all varieties gives most satisfactory results as to flavor and general quality.

As the pomace is shoveled from the finished cheese, it is again ground under a toothed cylinder, and thence drops into large troughs, through a succession of which a considerable stream of water is flowing. Here it is occasionally agitated by raking from the lower to the upper end of the trough as the current carries it downward, and the apple seeds becoming disengaged drop to the bottom into still water, while the pulp floats away upon the stream. A succession of troughs serves to remove nearly all the seeds. The value of the apple seeds thus saved is sufficient to pay the daily wages of all the hands employed in the whole establishment. The apples are measured in the wagon box, one and a half cubic feet being accounted a bushel.

This mill ordinarily employs about six men: One general superintendent, who buys and measures the apples, keeps time books, attends to all the accounts and the working details of the mill, and acts as cashier; one sawyer, who manufactures lumber for the local market and saws the slabs into short lengths suitable for the furnace; one cider maker, who grinds the apples and attends the presses; one jelly maker, who attends the defecator, evaporator, and mixing tub, besides acting as his own fireman and engineer; one who attends the apple seed troughs and acts as general helper, and one man-of-all-work to pack, ship and assist whenever needed. The establishment was erected late in the season of 1880, and manufactured that year about forty-five tons of jelly, besides considerable cider exchanged to the farmers for apples, and some boiled cider.

The price paid for apples in 1880, when the crop was superabundant, was six to eight cents per bushel; in 1881, fifteen cents. The proprietor hopes next year to consume 100,000 bushels. These institutions are important to the farmer in that they use much fruit not otherwise valuable and very perishable. Fruit so crabbed and gnarled as to have no market value, and even frozen apples, if delivered while yet solid, can be used. (Such apples are placed in the water while frozen, the water draws the frost sufficiently to be grated, and passing through the press and evaporator before there is time for chemical change, they are found to make very good jelly. They are valuable to the consumer by converting the perishable, cheap, almost worthless crop of the bearing and abundant years into such enduring form that its consumption may be carried over to years of scarcity and furnish healthful food in cheap and pleasant form to many who would otherwise be deprived; and lastly, they are of great interest to society, in that they give to cider twice the value for purposes of food that it has or can have, even to the manufacturer, for use as a beverage and intoxicant.

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IMPROVED GRAPE BAGS.

It stands to reason that were our summers warmer we should be able to grow grapes successfully on open walls; it is therefore probable that a new grape bag, the invention of M. Pelletier, 20 Rue de la Banque, Paris, intended to serve a double purpose, viz., protecting the fruit and hastening its maturity, will, when it becomes known, be welcomed in this country. It consists of a square of curved glass so fixed to the bag that the sun's rays are concentrated upon the fruit, thereby rendering its ripening more certain in addition to improving its quality generally. The glass is affixed to the bag by means of a light iron wire support. It covers that portion of it next the sun, so that it increases the amount of light and warms the grapes without scorching them, a result due to the convexity of the glass and the layer of air between it and the bag. M. Pelletier had the idea of rendering these bags cheaper by employing plain squares instead of curved ones, but the advantage thus obtained was more than counterbalanced by their comparative inefficacy. In practice it was found that the curved squares gave an average of 7° more than the straight ones, while there was a difference of 10° when the bags alone were used, thus plainly demonstrating the practical value of the invention.

Whether these glass-fronted bags would have much value in the case of grapes grown under glass in the ordinary way is a question that can only be determined by actual experiment; but where the vines are on walls, either under glass screens or in the open air, so that the bunches feel the full force of the sun's rays, there can be no doubt as to their utility, and it is probable that by their aid many of the continental varieties which we do not now attempt to grow in the open, and which are scarcely worthy of a place under glass, might be well ripened. At any rate we ought to give anything a fair trial which may serve to neutralize, if only in a slight degree, the uncertainty of our summers. As it is, we have only about two varieties of grapes, and these not the best of the hardy kinds, as regards flavor and appearance, that ripen out of doors, and even these do not always succeed. We know next to nothing of the many really well-flavored kinds which are so much appreciated in many parts of the Continent. The fact is, our outdoor culture of grapes offers a striking contrast to that practiced under glass, and although our comparatively sunless and moist climate affords some excuse for our shortcomings in this respect, there is no valid reason for the utter want of good culture which is to be observed in a general way.

Given intelligent training, constant care in stopping the laterals, and checking mildew as well as thinning the berries, allowing each bunch to get the full benefit of sun and air, and I believe good eatable grapes would often be obtained even in summers marked by a low average temperature.

If, moreover, to a good system of culture we add some such mechanical contrivance as that under notice whereby the bunches enjoy an average warmth some 10° higher than they otherwise would do, we not only insure the grapes coming to perfection in favored districts, but outdoor culture might probably be practiced in higher latitudes than is now practicable.

The improved grape bag would also offer great facilities for destroying mildew or guarantee the grapes against its attacks, as a light dusting administered as soon as the berries were fairly formed would suffice for the season, as owing to the glass protecting the berries from driving rains, which often accompany south or south-west winds in summer and autumn, the sulphur would not be washed off.

The inventor claims, and we should say with just reason, that these glass fronted bags would be found equally serviceable for the ripening of pears and other choice fruits, and with a view to their being employed for such a purpose, he has had them made of varying sizes and shapes. In conclusion, it may be observed that, in addition to advancing the maturity of the fruits to which they are applied, they also serve to preserve them from falling to the ground when ripe.--J. COBNHILL, _in the Garden_.

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UTILIZATION OF SOLAR HEAT.

At a popular fête in the Tuileries Gardens I was struck with an experiment which seems deserving of the immediate attention of the English public and military authorities.

Among the attractions of the fête was an apparatus for the concentration and utilization of solar heat, and, though the sun was not very brilliant, I saw this apparatus set in motion a printing machine which printed several thousand copies of a specimen newspaper entitled the _Soleil Journal_.

The sun's rays are concentrated in a reflector, which moves at the same rate as the sun and heats a vertical boiler, setting the motive steam-engine at work. As may be supposed, the only object was to demonstrate the possibility of utilizing the concentrated heat of the solar rays; but I closely examined it, because the apparatus seems capable of great utility in existing circumstances. Here in France, indeed, there is a radical drawback--the sun is often overclouded.

Thousands of years ago the idea of utilizing the solar rays must have suggested itself, and there are still savage tribes who know no other mode of combustion; but the scientific application has hitherto been lacking. This void this apparatus will fill up. About fifteen years ago Professor Mouchon, of Tours, began constructing such an apparatus, and his experiments have been continued by M. Pifre, who has devoted much labor and expense to realizing M. Mouchou's idea. A company has now come to his aid, and has constructed a number of apparatus of different sizes at a factory which might speedily turn out a large number of them. It is evident that in a country of uninterrupted sunshine the boiler might be heated in thirty or forty minutes. A portable apparatus could boil two and one-half quarts an hour, or, say, four gallons a day, thus supplying by distillation or ebullition six or eight men. The apparatus can be easily carried on a man's back, and on condition of water, even of the worst quality, being obtainable, good drinking and cooking water is insured. M. De Rougaumond, a young scientific writer, has just published an interesting volume on the invention. I was able yesterday to verify his statements, for I saw cider made, a pump set in motion, and coffee made--in short, the calorific action of the sun superseding that of fuel. The apparatus, no doubt, has not yet reached perfection, but as it is it would enable the soldier in India or Egypt to procure in the field good water and to cook his food rapidly. The invention is of especial importance to England just now, but even when the Egyptian question is settled the Indian troops might find it of inestimable value.

Red tape should for once be disregarded, and a competent commission forthwith sent to 30 Rue d'Assas, with instructions to report immediately, for every minute saved may avoid suffering for Englishmen fighting abroad for their country. I may, of course, be mistaken, but a commission would decide, and if the apparatus is good the slightest delay in its adoption would be deplorable.--_Paris Correspondence London Times_.

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HOW TO ESTABLISH A TRUE MERIDIAN.

[Footnote: A paper read before the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia.]

By PROFESSOR L. M. HAUPT.

INTRODUCTORY.

The discovery of the magnetic needle was a boon to mankind, and has been of inestimable service in guiding the mariner through trackless waters, and the explorer over desert wastes. In these, its legitimate uses, the needle has not a rival, but all efforts to apply it to the accurate determination of permanent boundary lines have proven very unsatisfactory, and have given rise to much litigation, acerbity, and even death.

For these and other cogent reasons, strenuous efforts are being made to dispense, so far as practicable, with the use of the magnetic needle in surveying, and to substitute therefor the more accurate method of traversing from a true meridian. This method, however, involves a greater degree of preparation and higher qualifications than are generally possessed, and unless the matter can be so simplified as to be readily understood, it is unreasonable to expect its general application in practice.

Much has been written upon the various methods of determining, the true meridian, but it is so intimately related to the determination of latitude and time, and these latter in turn upon the fixing of a true meridian, that the novice can find neither beginning nor end. When to these difficulties are added the corrections for parallax, refraction, instrumental errors, personal equation, and the determination of the probable error, he is hopelessly confused, and when he learns that time may be sidereal, mean solar, local, Greenwich, or Washington, and he is referred to an ephemeris and table of logarithms for data, he becomes lost in "confusion worse confounded," and gives up in despair, settling down to the conviction that the simple method of compass surveying is the best after all, even if not the most accurate.

Having received numerous requests for information upon the subject, I have thought it expedient to endeavor to prepare a description of the method of determining the true meridian which should be sufficiently clear and practical to be generally understood by those desiring to make use of such information.

This will involve an elementary treatment of the subject, beginning with the

DEFINITIONS.

The _celestial sphere_ is that imaginary surface upon which all celestial objects are projected. Its radius is infinite.

The _earth's axis_ is the imaginary line about which it revolves.

The _poles_ are the points in which the axis pierces the surface of the earth, or of the celestial sphere.

A _meridian_ is a great circle of the earth cut out by a plane passing through the axis. All meridians are therefore north and south lines passing through the poles.

From these definitions it follows that if there were a star exactly at the pole it would only be necessary to set up an instrument and take a bearing to it for the meridian. Such not being the case, however, we are obliged to take some one of the near circumpolar stars as our object, and correct the observation according to its angular distance from the meridian at the time of observation.

For convenience, the bright star known as Ursæ Minoris or Polaris, is generally selected. This star apparently revolves about the north pole, in an orbit whose mean radius is 1° 19' 13",[1] making the revolution in 23 hours 56 minutes.

[Footnote 1: This is the codeclination as given in the Nautical Almanac. The mean value decreases by about 20 seconds each year.]

During this time it must therefore cross the meridian twice, once above the pole and once below; the former is called the _upper_, and the latter the _lower meridian transit or culmination_. It must also pass through the points farthest east and west from the meridian. The former is called the _eastern elongation_, the latter the _western_.

An observation may he made upon Polaris at any of these four points, or at any other point of its orbit, but this latter case becomes too complicated for ordinary practice, and is therefore not considered.