Abstract

The sugar-cane cultivators of our Presidency mostly adopt the practice of converting the juice into jaggery by means of boiling. Various types of furnaces are in use for this purpose. The ordinary country furnace is one of them. It is a big circular pit with slightly curved sides. In this, facilities for feeding the fuel and for the inlet and exit of air are so poorly provided that much heat is wasted. For manufacturing jaggery from an acre of cane, the ryot has to spend about Rs. 50 worth of fuel, in addition to using the whole of his megass and trash. This is a costly and tedious process, and takes about three weeks to finish the work. The introduction of the Sindewahe furnace by the Agricultural Department found favour with the ryots and this is the type now in common use by a large number of the sugar-cane cultivators. Its construction and use have been dealt with in detail in the Villagers' Calendar for the year 1923-24. Apart from the savings in the item of fuel, the time required for making jaggery is comparatively less. It takes about 12 days per acre and hence the popularity of this type of furnace.

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