Abstract

A pleasant and interesting excursion was recently made by the writer to see a power mill and jaggery boiling plant erected at Kuni- gal, a village some 45 miles from Bangalore. The improvement con- sists mainly in the furnace which is so constructed as to possess a high heat efficiency and obviate the necessity for using extra fuel. The pans are arranged in batteries of three, with a fourth reservoir where the juice can be stored. The highest pan, which gets the least heat, is just at the boil; the middle pan receives enough heat to keep boiling briskly, and it is calculated that here about half the evapora- tion is done before the juice is run into the third pan, where it is finally boiled down to the right consistency. This last pan can be tilted up by means of a pulley and chain, and the thick juice run out into a wooden box from which it is poured into the moulds. The pro- cess is thus continuous, a pan being taken about every hour from each battery. Each change of juice fills the pan to a depth of about 5 inches, and the weight of jaggery produced is about 125 lbs.

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