GRAIN AND MOLASSES DISTILLERIES IN OPERATION SEPTEMBER 1, 1880 TO 1896.

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT SHOWING THE NUMBER AND CAPACITY OF GRAIN AND MOLASSES DISTILLERIES IN OPERATION ON THE 1ST DAY OF SEPTEMBER IN EACH OF THE YEARS 1880 TO 1896, INCLUSIVE.

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF DISTILLERIES REGISTERED AND OPERATED.

The whole number of grain distilleries registered during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1896, was 1,833, of which number 1,351 were operated.

The number registered during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1895, were 1,949 and 1,621, respectively, showing a decrease during the last fiscal year of 116 in the number registered and of 270 in the number operated.

The larger portion of the decrease in the number registered and operated occurred in the class of distilleries having the smaller capacities for the production of spirits, there having been a decrease of 111 distilleries of this class registered and of 229 in the number operated. In the class of larger distilleries there was a decrease of 5 in the number registered and of 41 in the number operated.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1895, there were registered 1,683 distilleries of the smaller class, varying in daily grain capacity from not over 5 to not over 60 bushels each, and of this number 1,385, or 82+per cent, were operated.

Of the larger distilleries, having daily grain capacities varying from over 60 bushels to several thousand bushels each, 266 were registered, and 236, or nearly 89 per cent, were operated.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1896, of the smaller distilleries, 1,572 were registered, and 1,156, or 73+ per cent, were operated.

Of the larger distilleries, 261 were registered, and 195, or 74+ per cent, were operated.

There were 11 molasses distilleries registered and 11 operated, a decrease of 1 in the number registered for the previous fiscal year.

A very large increase occurred in the number of fruit distilleries registered and operated, there having been 4,845 registered and 4,825 operated, an increase in the number registered and operated over the previous fiscal year of 3,925 and 4,028, respectively.

The total number of grain, molasses, and fruit distilleries registered during the year is 6,689, and the total number operated is 6,187.

There was an increase of 3,808 in the number of all kinds of distilleries registered and of 3,758 in the number of all kinds operated during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1896, as compared with the fiscal year ended June 30, 1895.

MATERIALS USED FOR THE PRODUCTION OF DISTILLED SPIRITS.

The average yield per gallon of molasses used for the production of rum was

3,507,609 1,490,228

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF MATERIALS USED AND SPIRITS PRODUCED DURING THE LAST TEN FISCAL YEARS.

The quantity of molasses used for the production of spirits other than rum has become so large as to require separate mention, and is stated in the table above with the product therefrom in appropriate columns.

In this table, as heretofore prepared, the grain used included the molasses used for the production of spirits other than rum reduced to its equivalent in grain; and the spirits produced included the spirits produced from both grain and molasses.

The number of gallons of molasses used for the production of spirits during the last fiscal year is 3,507,609, with a product therefrom of 2,642,322 gallons of spirits.

The quantity of grain used for the production of spirits during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1896 (18,630,618 bushels), shows an increase of 1,130,907 bushels over the actual amount of grain used in the preceding fiscal year (17,499,711 bushels, which is exclusive of 557,396 bushels included in last year's report as the equivalent of 3,583,264 gallons of molasses used for the production of spirits); and is 3,224,214 bushels less than the average (21,854,832 bushels) for the last ten years. The number of gallons of spirits produced from grain during the year (82,456,153) shows an increase of 4,283,641 gallons over the prod uct for the year ended June 30, 1895 (78,172,512 gallons, which included the spirits produced from 3,583,264 gallons of molasses, reduced to its equivalent in grain), and is 11,681,196 gallons less than the average product for the last ten years.

The yield of spirits from each bushel of grain is 4.42+ gallons.

The yield for the two preceding years was 4.42+ gallons for 1894 and 4.32+ gallons for 1895.

The quantity of molasses used for the production of rum during the fiscal year (1,891,356 gallons) shows a decrease of 328,191 gallons from the quantity used in the previous year (2,219,547 gallons), and is 458,835 gallons less than the average (2,350,191 gallons) for the last ten years. The quantity of rum distilled from molasses during the fiscal year (1,490,228 gallons) shows a decrease of 286,855 gallons from the product of the previous year (1,777,083 gallons), and is 295,435 gallons less than the average product (1,785,663 gallons) for the last ten years.