THE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY. 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
 
 SPECIAL REPORT— No. 54. 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 OF TIIE 
 
 HO¥. GEO. B. LORING 
 
 U. S. COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, 
 
 BEFORE THE 
 
 Mississippi Valley Cane-Growers* Association, 
 st. louis, mo., 
 
 DECEMBER 14, 1882. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 1883. 
 
 ILwn<rrjuH 
 
Book ^: ?Z_ 
 

73*2- 
 
 THE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY. 
 
 ,2. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
 
 SPECIAL REPORT— No. 54. 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 ft 
 
 HON. GEO. B. -LOSING 
 
 U. S. COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, 
 
 BEFORE THE 
 
 Mississippi Valley Cane-Growers' Association, 
 
 SAINT LOUIS, MO., 
 
 DECEMBER 14, 1882. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 
 1883. 
 
 ^ 
 
V 
 
 % 
 
 _ 
 
 #u 
 
 IS 
 
 D. or D. 
 
ADDRESS. 
 
 Gentlemen : The foundation and development of a new industry in 
 this country is entitled to all the respect and admiration which are won 
 by great achievements on more prominent and conspicuous fields of ac- 
 tion and thought. The record of military endeavor, by which we have 
 founded and preserved our nationality; the history of the intense civil 
 straggle out of which sprang our Federal Constitution ; the brilliant 
 years in which are recorded the efforts of the American mind to secure 
 a foremost place in the bright realms of science and literature, will al- 
 ways challenge the warmest consideration of all thoughtful men. But 
 the growth of our varied industries constitutes- a chapter from which no 
 student of man's progress can turn indifferently away. Standing as 
 we now do in the midst of fertile and cultivated lands, whose annual 
 product has reached the enormous sum of $9,000,000,000, we turn with 
 profound respect to him whose axe struck the first blow in the primi- 
 tive forest, and whose hand first planted the treasured seed for a scanty 
 harvest in a virgin soil. We are never weary of the recital of the first 
 feeble but determined efforts of Samuel Slater to establish cotton manu- 
 factures iu this country, now nearly a century ago, or of the far-reach- 
 ing courage and foresight which, twenty years later, led Lowell, and 
 Appleton, and Jackson to contemplate from the snowy banks of the 
 Merrimac the power of that rushing river, confident that a great indus- 
 trial city would be founded there whose looms would clothe the world, 
 and establishing a national enterprise with a capital of $250,000,000, 
 employing nearly -00,000 persons, consuming nearly 1,000,000,000 pounds 
 of raw cotton, and running more than 10,000,000 spindles. The early 
 endeavors of our fathers to establish the woolen industry, with their 
 little flocks and their household looms, an industry now employing 
 a capital of $150,000,000, producing goods valued at $250,000,000 
 annually, consuming 200,000,000 pounds of wool, and employing more 
 than 100,000 persons, are as fascinating as the fables of antiquity. 
 We turn back from the enormous shoe and leather interests of our day, 
 and contemplate with a natural incredulity the early labors of those 
 who tanned a few domestic hides in domestic tan-vats, and manufact- 
 ured slowly the rude and enduring shoes of the family by the fireside. 
 We are lost in wonder before the seven and a half millions of tons of 
 iron and steel produced in this country last year, aud recall with still 
 greater wonder the fact that within the lifetime of many a man among 
 us this great industry was founded as a national enterprise. And as 
 
 ;5 
 
4 TEE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY. 
 
 we survey this vast field, we are always impressed with the evidences 
 written there of the wise and well-directed enthusiasm, the deliberate 
 judgment, the keen foresight, the unwavering- courage, and the power 
 of dispassionate investigation, which man has exercised in laying the 
 foundation of the best forms of state and society on prosperous and 
 well-educated industry. 
 
 It is in this honorable service that those g who would develop a new 
 source of wealth in our day are engaged, and whose efforts entitle them 
 to all the light which science can bestow, all the encouragement which 
 public spirit can give, and all the direction which sound, unbiased, prac- 
 tical wisdom can apply. Discoveries and inventions are made by inves- 
 tigators patiently pursuing their unobtrusive way, with minds and hearts 
 superior to all natural obstacles and free from prejudice or passion. 
 And so we approach the examination of every question in which man's 
 welfare is involved, with an ardent desire to discover the truth and a 
 natural inclination to lend all the aid iu our power to the solution. Im- 
 pelled by this desire and guided by this inclination, I have accepted 
 your invitation to address you on this occasion, and to explore with you 
 the industry to which you are devoted. I cannot expect to teach you 
 the art of manufacturing sugar from any of the sugar-producing plants. 
 But I have watched with great interest, both as a citizen believing iu 
 prosperous industry, and recently as an official engaged in encouraging 
 the producing classes, all the efforts which have been made to perfect 
 the work for which this association is organized. If I repeat what you 
 already know, you will pardon me, and receive my assurance that I am 
 desirous of inquiring into and advancing your industry by your own 
 practical means and in your own piactical spirit. My last official ap- 
 peal for information was made to the manufacturers themselves who 
 are engaged in establishing a profitable business and not in defending 
 a theory. 
 
 The history of the sorghum industry in this country is curious and 
 interesting, and familiar to you all. Twenty-five years ago or more 1 
 planted it on my farm in Essex County, Massachusetts, as a green for- 
 age crop for my milch cows. But at that time my attention was called 
 to the plant as adapted to the production of sirup and sugar, and 1 
 studied with interest the essays of 1). .1. Brown, and the opinions of 
 Dr. Charles T. Jackson, Dr. J. Lawrence Smith, Dr. Antisell. Professor 
 Goessmanu later, all declaring that the sugar contained in sorghum is 
 crystallizable, but differing in their views as to the method by which 
 this sugar can be produced: Dr. Smith asserting that "the sugar can 
 be obtained by processes analogous to those employed tor extracting 
 sugar from other plants;" and President Stockbridge, of the Massa- 
 chusetts A.gricult iiral College, expressing the opinion still later, in 1881, 
 
 that — 
 
 The experiments \\ it li soil; hum, ;is m sugar- producing plant, forever settled the fact 
 i Ii at no known variety of il ran lie profitably employed for the purpose, unless chemical 
 science can disco\ er a law by \\ Inch glucose can be changed for cane sugar. 
 
 
THE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY. 5 
 
 During this long period of time in which the possibility of producing 
 sugar from sorghum was discussed and experimented upon, the pro- 
 duction of molasses had largely increased, and during the war many 
 sections of the country depended upon sorghum almost entirely for 
 their supply of this important commodity. Meanwhile an interesting 
 discussion arose with regard to the time for harvesting the sorghum, 
 and the condition of the seed at which the largest amount of sugar 
 could be obtained. Dr. Jackson found that "the juice from stalks 
 with quite ripe seed was by far the sweetest, while the green one which 
 was just in flower contained but very little saccharine matter." Vil- 
 morin thought that sugar could be " easily obtained in all cases where 
 the cane can be sufficiently ripened." Dr. Jackson also says: "The 
 unripe canes can be employed for making molasses and alcohol, but, as 
 before stated, will not yield true cane sugar." Dr. J. N. Smith, of Quincy, 
 111., in 1862, says: "The sirup from sorghum will not make sugar if 
 the cane is cut before the seed is in the dough." Mr. Bollman, of Iowa, 
 advocates " perfect maturity." William Clough, of Cincinnati, Ohio, 
 in 18G4, declared that the precise period most appropriate for harvest- 
 ing the cane is "when the seed at the mhhlle of the panicle is just 
 beginning to harden or pass from the fluid or milky state." On the 
 other hand, Professor Erni, in 1805, stated that '.' the juice from un- 
 ripe cane readily crystallized." In I860, the "Sorgho Manufacturers' 
 Manual" stated that "the cane is in the best state for harvesting when 
 part of the seed is beginning to turn black, or in other words, when the 
 seed is in the doughy state." In 1807, a correspondent of the Depart- 
 ment of Agriculture, says: "I take the sorghum when just fairly in 
 bloom. In no case do I allow the seed to mature when I wish to make 
 sugar, but for "No. 1 sirup I let the cane mature." In 1869, Mr. Wm. 
 Clough, editor of "The Sorgho Journal," says : "Do not mind the pan- 
 icle if the juice has a clear sweet taste; even if the panicle is only in 
 bloom, cut and work the cane." Again, in February, 1869, page 92, in 
 an article entitled "Immature cane best for sugar," he says : " The the- 
 ory that cane should be harvested before fully ripe, when designed for 
 sugar, has been further confirmed by the experience of this year. The 
 other idea, that the cane should be fully ripe, was never confirmed by 
 facts." Page 58 it says : " The weight of evidence just now is in favor 
 of cutting as the seed is passing from the milk to the dough state." In 
 1873 Mr. E. W. Skinner, of Sioux City, Iowa, says, in the annual report 
 of the Department of Agriculture: " The best sirup is made from cane 
 not fully ripened." In 1880, the "Sorgho Hand-book," published by 
 the Blym^er Manufacturing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, stated that 
 "The cane should be cut when the seed is in the dough." In 1881, 
 Professors Weber and Scoville, of the Illinois Industrial University, 
 says: "The proper time to begin cutting the cane is when the seed is 
 in the hardening dough." 
 Opinions have differed also with regard to the best time for working 
 
6 THE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY. 
 
 the cane after it is cut. Dr. Smith, in his report to the Department of 
 Agriculture in 1857, says: "The uncrystallizable sugar forms rapidly 
 after the cane is fully ripe and recently cut." Hence, it is evident that 
 no time is to be lost after cutting in expressing the juice. Dr. Cook, 
 in the annual report of the Ohio department of agriculture in 1861, 
 thinks the cane should be allowed to "season a few days" after being- 
 cut. Mr. F. A. Hedges, in the Annual Report of the Department of Agri- 
 culture for 1861, says: "After the canes have been topped, stripped, cut 
 up am t tied in bundles, they may be set up in the open air or, prefer- 
 ably, under shelter, and kept for some weeks." Mr. J. H. Smith, of 
 Quincy, 111., in the Report of. the Department of Agriculture for 1862, 
 says: "The cane should be brought to the null and crushed on the 
 same day." Mr. William Clough, in the Annual Report of the Depart- 
 ment of Agriculture for 1865, says: "It would be best to allow but 
 little time between harvesting and working the cane; and on no account 
 should it be stored and allowed to remain long in large shocks." The 
 Sorgho Manufacturers' Manual, in 1866, states that "the cane should 
 be cut and shocked in the held, with tops on; and in this condition it 
 may remain several months before being worked up, for the cane ma- 
 tures and forms more saccharine matter." Professors Weber and Sco- 
 ville, in their report of 1881, Illinois Industrial University, say: "The 
 cane should be worked up as soon as possible after cutting." 
 
 In the midst of this conflict of opinion the investigation of the sor- 
 ghum cane as a sugar-producing plant was undertaken by the Depart- 
 ment of Agriculture in 1878, and has been continued to the present 
 time. Elaborate scientific analyses have been made year after year in 
 the laboratory, and an attempt has been made to manufacture sugar in 
 a mill erected on the grounds of the department from sorghum grown 
 on lands lying in and around Washington. The results of these opera- 
 tions I desire to submit to your consideration, believing as I do that 
 the test of all economic science lies in the hand of the producer, and 
 that this association of practical sorghum growers and sugar manu- 
 facturers is the jury before which every experiment is to be tried for a 
 verdict. 
 
 I submit the conclusions already arrived at by the chemist of the 
 department as laid before me. He informs me that " the following con- 
 clusions may be fairly claimed as having been established by the ex- 
 periments" made in the department: 
 
 1. The presence in the juices of several variet ies of maize of an amount 
 of sugar greater than is found upon the average in the juices of the 
 sugar beets grown in the United States and analyzed by this depart- 
 ment. 
 
 2. The presence in the juices of several varieties of sorghum of an 
 amount of sugar equal to that present in the average juice of the sugar 
 eane of Louisiana. 
 
 3. The possibility of recovering in the sirups as large a percentage of 
 
 
THE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY. 7 
 
 the sugar present in the juices of maize and sorghum as is recovered 
 from the sugar-cane juice, and by processes and appliances identical 
 with those employed in the production of sirups from sugar caue. 
 
 4. The number of days from planting when these several varieties of 
 sorghum have attained approximately their maximum contents of sugar, 
 from 92 to 139 days. 
 
 5. The number of days during which these several varieties retain 
 approximately their maximum content of sugar and maybe most profit- 
 ably worked up from 92 to 122 days. 
 
 6. That the increase in sugar during the later period of development 
 in the plant is not caused by a drying up of the plant. 
 
 7. That iu this latitude, during ordinary seasons, there would be a 
 period of three mouths' duration in which one variety or another of 
 sorghum would contain its maximum content of sugar and could be 
 most profitably worked therefor. 
 
 8. That the so-called gum which often causes trouble in the purging 
 of the sugar from sorghum is not present iu the juice of the plant, but 
 is a product of manufacture, and is often present in but small quantity; 
 and its formation, therefore, may probably be entirely prevented by fur- 
 ther investigation. 
 
 !». That sorghum and maize, after being cut up, are in great danger of 
 having the sugar present in the plant inverted, and that therefore the 
 only safe way is to work up the cane within a few hours at most after 
 cutting. 
 
 10. That for the purpose of sugar production, immature cane is worse 
 than worthless, and should therefore be carefully kept apart from such 
 cane as is intended for the production of sugar, and should be worked up 
 only for sirup. Consequently a uniform stand of cane should be 
 secured at the first planting, and such varieties of the sorghum are to 
 be preferred as do not have a tendency to throw up suckers. 
 
 11. That the result of a heavy rainfall, even after a prolonged 
 drought, did not effect the quantity of juice nor increase the water in 
 the sorghums. 
 
 12. That the effects of frost depended entirely upon the condition of 
 maturity of the sorghum, being iu one case disastrous and in another 
 without apparent effect. 
 
 13. That the juice after defecation could be kept over night before 
 being evaporated to sirup without suffering any inversion of the sugar 
 present. 
 
 14. That water could be added to the juice during defecation without 
 causing any loss of sugar. 
 
 15. That the specific gravity of the juice furnishes a convenient means 
 by which the amount of sugar may be determined. 
 
 10. That the results obtained by analysis were in very close agree- 
 ment with those obtained by the polariscope. 
 17. That the excessive drought caused an increase in the sugar of the 
 
<5 THE SORGHIM 8UGAE INDUSTRY. 
 
 juice, but ;i diininislied crop of cane in weight; and provided the crop 
 has secured a good start, it is capable of sustaining severe drought, but 
 unless a good start is secured, the effect of the drought is disastrous. 
 
 18. That an excess of lime in defecation has the effect to destroy glu- 
 cose and darken the s.irup produced, but did not affect the sucrose present. 
 
 ID. That the seed of the sorghums is about identical in composition 
 with maize and probably of equal nutritive value. 
 
 In addition to the points thus determined in the opinion of the chem- 
 ist, I learn from him that lie expects to ascertain from the analyses now- 
 going on at the Department — 
 
 1. The absolute and relative value of new varieties as compared with 
 varieties examined in past years. 
 
 2. Proximate composition of juices of sorghum. 
 
 3. Loss of sugar in begasse. 
 
 4. Effect of stripping. 
 
 These are the points which have been and will be laid down by the 
 chemist of the Agricultural Department for the benefit of those who are 
 engaged in the industry, both as farmers and manufacturers. 
 
 At the request of the chemist of the department, I called upon the 
 National Academy of Sciences, on January 30, 1882, to investigate the 
 processes by which these conclusions had been reached in conformity 
 with the act of Congress incorporating that body. The report of a com- 
 mittee appointed to make the investigation was submitted to me in May 
 following, was withdrawn by the president and secretary of the Academy 
 for revision and "such action as the Academy might deem necessary." 
 On the loth of November last the report was returned to me essentially 
 modified, and in such form that it could be given to the public, to 
 the satisfaction of the Academy and the instruction of the community. 
 An abstract was at once prepared and published by the daily press) 
 and the entire document, which is elaborate and voluminous, will soon 
 be issued in special form by the Agricultural Department. I: regret 
 that its completion by the Academy was so long delayed, and that its 
 magnitude will prevent an earlier publication, even while I congrat- 
 ulate you that the delay furnished an opportunity for the committee to 
 secure valuable information of the work done during the season of 1882, 
 and to lay before the country the latest knowledge of the practical manu- 
 facturer from Champaign, HI., Rio Grande, N. J., and Ashtabula, Ohio. 
 1 am happy, however, to be aide to lay before you what the Academy 
 call -'the facts relating to the economical production of crystaili/able 
 cane sugar on a scale profitable to the farmer and manufacturer, from 
 sorghum, in this country, so far as developed by the existing state of 
 the laboratory and field practice." 
 
 1 . Thai i lieise plants develop al maturity, and when the seed is ripe a maximum of 
 cane sugar and ;i minimum of glucose. 
 
 2. Thai the maximum of cane sugar in sorghum juices is found associated w iih about 
 one tenth ii- weighl of grape sugar (glucose), and nol far from one-fifth its weight 
 .>!' solids not sugar, \i/: ash, gum, chlorophyll, albumen, wax. aeon i tic acid, &c, 
 
THE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY. 9 
 
 :'>. That after maturity the relative amounts ami proportions of the ehief factors 
 vary but little, even for a period of three months or more, provided the season does 
 not change: e. </., an early maturing variety of sorghum holds its own until frost ; a 
 later variety has a shorter working period. 
 
 4. That while varieties of sorghum differ greatly in rapidity of growth and time 
 of reaching maturity, in size, weight, and consequent yield per acre, it appears that 
 all varieties of sorghum resemble each other in developing at maturity, under the 
 same conditions, nearly the same maximum percentages of cane sugar, glucose and 
 solids, the cane-sugar maxima varying from 14 to 16 per cent, of the total weight of 
 the expressed juice, the other factors being as stated under 2. 
 
 5. The soil best adapted to the growth of a good crop of sorghum for sugar appears 
 to be a sandy loam. This plant thrives on soils and in climates too light and dry for 
 maize, and makes the best "stand" when grown closer than Indian corn admits, in 
 a given locality. 
 
 6. While good sirup may be produced from sorghum, as a domestic industry, and 
 on a limited scale, over a very wide range of country, the successful production of 
 crystallized sugar on a commercial scale, appears to demand the skill and appliances 
 of a sugar-house conducted in a systematic manner and with ample capital. 
 
 7. The best results in sugar are obtained only when the ripe cane is manufactured 
 ou the same day in which it is cut from the held. 
 
 8. The seed of ripe sorghum is a valuable feed crop, equal, for fattening animals, 
 to maize, and in product is equal from 2-J to 4 bushels per ton of cane. 
 
 9. About forty per cent, of the juice of sorghum is lost in the begasse, as it is, to 
 nearly the same extent in tropical sugar cane ; more than one-half of which loss may 
 probably be saved to the crop by process of displacement yet to be perfected. 
 
 10. Of other residual products, the scum and sediment, rich in various elements of 
 fertility, are now thrown away. The begasse, when treated by a pulping machine, 
 gives a valuable paper stock. Treated as a fertilizer, the begasse will return to the 
 soil a portion of what the plant has borrowed from it in its growth. In regions where 
 fuel is dear, the begasse can be used with advantage as fuel. 
 
 I thiuk many of these conclusions can be properly and profitably 
 discussed by this convention. 
 
 Having- laid before yon the points which have been developed by the 
 scientific work of the Agricultural Department, I will now call your 
 attention to the effort made by the department to manufacture sugar, 
 and to point out the way by which sorghum could be raised as an agri- 
 cultural crop, and by which it could be converted into sugar as a man- 
 ufacturing industry. 
 
 In my report to the President, November 25, 1881, I made the fol- 
 lowing statement : 
 
 Congress at its last session appropriated the sum of -ij;25,000 for expenses of machin- 
 ery, apparatus, labor, &c, to continue experiments in the manufacture of sugar from 
 sorghum and other sugar-producing plants, the appropriation to be immediately avail- 
 able. My predecessor had purchased the machinery and apparatus, appointed sev- 
 eral additional chemists, and made contracts with parties residing near this city to 
 raise sorghum cane for experiment. Upon assuming the duties of my office, I found 
 growing 135 acres of sorghum, consisting of 52 varieties. Having engaged the serv- 
 ices of an expert in sugar-making who was highly recommended for the position. 
 operations were commenced at the mill on September 20 and continued with slight 
 interruptions until the latter part of October, at which time the supply of cane be- 
 came exhausted. Forty-two acres of* the sorghum were overtaken by frost before being 
 sufficieutly ripe for use, and the crop was so badly damaged as to be regarded unfit 
 for experiment. 
 
10 THE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY. 
 
 The following condensed statement gives the results of the operations for i he season : 
 
 Acres ofoane passed through mill 93.5 
 
 Yield of cane per acre in pounds 4,903 
 
 Pounds of cane c rushed 458,444 
 
 Gallons of juice obtained after defecation 26, 794 
 
 Pounds of sirup obtained 34,985 
 
 Gallons of sirup obtained ". 2, 977 
 
 Pounds of sugar obtained 165 
 
 The expenses of raising the cane were as follows: 
 
 Rent of land $1,854 00 
 
 Labor and superintendence 3, 474 22 
 
 Tools and implements 347 13 
 
 Hire of teams and hauling of cane to mill 914 10 
 
 Total (J, 589 45 
 
 Expense of converting the cane into sirup and sugar. 
 
 For labor and running mill : $1,342 11 
 
 Coal and wood 325 48 
 
 Total « 1,667 59 
 
 The cost of 2,977 gallons of sirup and] 05 pounds of sugar was $8,257.04, 
 not counting the wear and tear of the machinery, or the interest on the 
 outlay for the mill. 
 
 The crops brought to this mill were raised by Mr. S. M. Golden, Dr. 
 Dean, each on his own land, and by Mr. Culver, on land hired of Mr. 
 Carlisle Patterson. 
 
 Mr. Golden's land was in good tilth, had been previously cultivated, 
 and was a warm somewhat light loam of clay and sand intermixed. Die 
 states to me that he planted 28 J acres, as follows : (> acres planted May 
 4-6; 2^ acres planted May 7; 71 acres planted May 8-10; 12 acres 
 planted May 17-28. 
 
 The 12 acres were of the Honduras variety, and the remainder con- 
 sisted of 51 different varieties. He says he was continually replanting 
 and filling in the rows, until about June 15. At that time, notwithstand- 
 ing all his efforts, at least £ of the land had no stand. The department 
 paid him a rent, $12.50 per acre for the land for the season, and for all 
 the labor employed on the crop. He delivered from his 28| acres 105 
 tons of sorghum, the entire crop being 110 tons. This crop cost the 
 go vein men t $1,367.25. 
 
 The land of Dr. Dean resembled that of Mr. Golden. It consisted 
 of 40 acres, rented and managed in the same manner as the preceding. 
 He began planting May 20 and completed the -first planting May 25. 
 From that time until duly 15 he continued to replant. At this last date, 
 as he reports to me, a crop of Early Amber was planted, which was ripe 
 on September 15. He delivei ed 50 tons to the depart inent, and the 
 rest was frost-bitten and rotten in the field. This crop cost the govern- 
 uicnt $2,000. 
 
 
TEE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY. 11 
 
 The laud rented of Mr. Carlisle Patterson, consisting of about 65 
 acres, was divided into two lots, according to the statement of Mr. Cul- 
 ver who had charge of it, one of which was planted with Early Amber, 
 and the other with "Link's Hybrid." On Tuesday, May 10, the planting 
 of this land commenced, and the work was renewed until Juue 18, when 
 it was planted for the third time. The land was a pasture which had 
 been heavily fed for years, and was plowed just before planting. Y~ou 
 will not be surprised to learn from Mr. Culver that the first " lot of seed 
 was nearly all destroyed by worms" on land like this, and that the 
 worms continued their ravages until they were driven away by rolling 
 the seed in coal-tar. The amount of caue delivered to the department 
 from this land was about 100 tons. The cost of this crop to the gov- 
 ernment was about $4,000. No manure or fertilizer of any kind was 
 used on these parcels of land, either on the worn-out pasture which was 
 filled with wire-worms, or on the old laud which had been previously 
 cropped. The land of Mr. Patterson was a light sandy loam. 
 
 This agricultural operation should be seriously considered. Mrs. Glass 
 in her famous English receipt for cooking a hare commenced by saying, 
 "First catch your hare." To those interested in the sorghum industry, 
 whether on the land or in the mill, the foremost injunction is " First get 
 your crop," by the exercise of all that wisdom in the selection of land, 
 and the modes of fertilizing if necessary, and the care of the crop, which 
 enables the farmer to raise the great corn crop of the West, and the 
 valuable special crops of the East. On the ninety-three acres harvested, 
 the yield was about two and a half tons to the acre. The yield of sirup 
 and sugar from this was small. The result in the large mill and in a 
 a smaller one devoted to special processes was very unsatisfactory. 1 
 should say the lesson learned from all this was what to avoid and not 
 what to follow. To the farmers it gave so poor encouragement, that 
 when I endeavored to employ them to raise a crop for the work of the 
 present season, one of them experienced in the efforts of last year pro- 
 posed to raise it for me at $15 per ton, and an inexperienced one pro- 
 posed to raise it for $6, and finally concluded that he had better not 
 raise it at all. At this stage of the proceedings, having satisfied myself 
 that the experience of practical men endeavoring to work to a profit, 
 was especially necessary for the development of the industry, and that 
 a judicious selection of locality is necessary for this as for every other 
 industry, I called upon the manufacturers throughout the country to 
 contribute the results of their experience during the present year. To 
 a circular issued by me in June last, calling upon them to furnish me 
 information upon their various modes oi manufacture and the results, 
 I have received nearly a hundred responses, and I feel confident that 
 much valuable knowledge will be compiled from these communications. 
 
 I have also secured from other sources accounts of work now going 
 on, which 1 feel confident will be interesting to this association. 
 
 In the report of the Academy of Sciences to which I have alluded, I 
 
12 THE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY. 
 
 find many references and opinions with which you are all familiar; and 
 I also find elaborate statements of work performed (luring - this last 
 summer and autnmn to which I call your attention, as the most recent 
 information we have upon this subject. 
 
 The committee having in the firs! draft of their report presented the 
 condition of the Rio Grande Sugar Company in 1882, state, under date 
 of October 12, 1882, that they are able to add the following information 
 obtained by a personal examination of the plantation and sugar works 
 of this establishment. They say: 
 
 This company (the Rio Grande Sugar Company, Cape May County, New .Jersey,) 
 are the present owners of their works, anil also of 2,400 acres of land, chiefly of a light 
 and not fertile soil, being on the peninsular between Delaware Bay and the sea, within 
 live or six miles of Cape May and 75 miles south of Philadelphia. April 19, 1882, and 
 following, they put in, of Amber cane, 958 acres; Linke's Hybrid, 25 acres; Early 
 Orange, 23 acres; and Honduras, 2 acres; in all, 1,008 acres. Warned by former ex- 
 perience the company determined to own ami cultivate its own cane. The very 
 cold and wet spring occasioned the loss of a considerable portion of the first planting, 
 the loss being also due in part to deep planting by unskillful hands. The deficient 
 portions were replanted in June, leaving such portions of the first planting as came 
 up to grow together with the second planting. This circumstance worked consider- 
 ably to the injury of such portions of the crop, and reduced the exponent of sugar 
 notably. Notwithstanding this untoward circumstance the ciop, as we first saw it. 
 near the close of September, presented a noble appearance of vast fields of luxuriant 
 cane ready for the rolls, and still full of vigor and of a deep green color. The Amber 
 cane stood about 8 to 10 feet in height; the Orange and Linke's Hybrid were higher, 
 being from 12 to 14 feet. The Amber cane only was ripe at that time, and the harvest- 
 ing had been in progress from the 28th of August, at the rate of 120 to 150 tons of the 
 cane delivered daily to the mill, which is the present limit of the floors to accommodate 
 the sugar wagons. The mill is a powerful apparatus of three rolls, each 5 feet long 
 and 30 inches in diameter, driven by a steam-engine of 125 horse-power, crushing the 
 cane with an opening of only one-sixteenth of an inch between the rolls. The stalks 
 are uot stripped, only the dead heads are removed in the field. This mill is capable 
 of crushing 300 tons or more daily, but the floor space of the works limits the out- 
 post, as before stated. The product of sugar exceeds the most sanguine expectations 
 of the projectors. 
 
 The Amber cane, on a large area, stands not less than 10 tons to the acre on about 
 TOO acres. The exact figures for the whole crop can be given only when the account 
 ] s fully made up. Each day's cutting is accurately recorded, and so can now be safely 
 stated. We saw the "strike" of the vacuum -pan of 1,600 gallons on the 28th of Sep- 
 tember, and again on the llih of October, filling nine, wagons of one ton capacity 
 each with "melada," yielding 2.1 or 3 barrels of sirup to the ton, The yield of sugar 
 to the wagon would be, by estimate, greater by about half a 'barrel (the barrel holds 
 355 pounds) if more time could be allowed for it to stand before going to the centrif- 
 ugals. 
 
 From the mill the green juice Hows to a tank of 1,000 gallons capacity, whence it is 
 pumped to defecators, after which it is hurried through the open pans to the vacuum- 
 pan, where it is reduced to about 32 !>.. and thence to the Larger pail of 1,000 gallons, 
 where it is raised to about 45° B., or a temperature of about 140 F. There are two 
 "strikes" of this pan daily. The lack of space for cooling compels, at present, the 
 working of the melada in the centrifugals, of which there are four, before it is com- 
 pletely cooled, so diminishing. as just stated, by probablj a half barrel, tin' yield of 
 
 *• firsts." 
 We examined the books o Henry A. Hughes, the superintendent, who is a sugar boiler 
 
 
THE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY. 13 
 
 of twenty years' experience, which showed the juice of the daily workings, as tested 
 hy polariscope, to have a coefficient of from 10° to 12° for the new juice, which is 
 polarized several times daily. For the week ending the day of our first visit 656 
 tons of cane were crushed, yielding 115 barrels of sugar of 88°, and 89 barrels of mo- 
 lasses of 47°. The first sugar was equal to 63 pounds to the tous of cane crushed. 
 
 The fertilizers used on the laud of this plantation this year were about 25 bushels of 
 lime, followed by 150 pounds of Peruvian guano, having as much sulphate of ammonia 
 added as raised the nitrogen to 8 feet. This guano cost $53 per ton. A few acres were 
 treated as an experiment, with fair results, with barn-yard manure; on about 20 
 acres fish guano alone was used, the effect of which was to reduce the available sugar 
 by about l c on the polariscope. On the whole, the lime, the guano, and stable manure 
 gave good results. Greeusand marl, which abounds in New Jersey, remains to be 
 tested hereafter. The crushing of the cane with the leaves settles one of the "sor- 
 ghum questions" on which there has been much difference of opinion-. In practice, 
 on a large scale, the removal of leaves would involve an impracticable amount of 
 labor. In the 1879 Report of the Department of Agriculture, p. 59, are experimental 
 results showing an increase of both juice and sirup from the crushing of the entire 
 plant (seed excepted). A small loss of available sugar and a gain of sirup will prob- 
 ably result from crushing the blades with the stalks, a subject requiring further exami- 
 nation. It is by no means improbable that in the plant's life the sucrose is elaborated 
 directly in the leaf, and is gradually transferred to the stalk, where it accumulates. 
 
 The fall returns for the crop of this year will not be in before the closing of this 
 report. But we are able to state from a communication of date November 8, 1882, 
 from the president, that the probable results of the season's work ending November 
 11 are as follows: 6,000 tons of cane, 950 barrels of first sugar, and 1,100 barrels, 50 
 gallons each, of molasses. The seed is not yet measured, and a full balance sheet re- 
 mains to be made up, which may, perhaps, come in season to be added to this report. 
 
 The Orange cane turns out rather better than the Amber, being richer in juice, and 
 with an average test of 13° B. 
 
 This committee have received from Mr. Knight, the sugar refiner of Philadelphia, a 
 barrel of the sugar, sample of a lot of 350 barrels refined by him, of the Rio Grande 
 Sugar Company. It. ranks, .on the independent judgment of experienced growers t© 
 whom we have shown it, as " C" sugar. 
 
 Analyses of the soils of different fields are now in progress to determine, if possible, 
 the causes which influence such very unlike productiveness as the experience of the 
 season of 1882 has shown to exist — the differences of yield being per acre : 3| tons with 
 guano and no lime; 5^ tons with guano and no lime; 7i, 8, 15, 17 tons respectively. 
 
 Since the completion of this report of the Academy, I have received 
 the following statement with regard to the product of these works in 
 18S2: sugar, 319,000 pounds; molasses, 40,000 gallons. 
 
 It will be observed that no reference is made in the report to the 
 methods employed in the manufacture of the sugar. It is to be pre- 
 sumed, therefore, that they are such as are usually employed in the pro- 
 duction of cane-sugar. 
 
 The committee of the Academy have also laid before me an interesting 
 statement of the Avork of the " Champaign Sugar and Manufacturing 
 Company," Champaign, 111., as follows: 
 
 The undersigned have the honor to present to you the following report on the man- 
 ufacture of sorghum sugar for the year 1882. Our report is necessarily incomplete, 
 as we are still in the midst of our season's work ; but the gratifying l'esults thus far 
 obtained will, we hope, warrant our reporting the data on hand. 
 
 HENRY A. WEBER. 
 MELVILLE A. SCOVELL. 
 Champaign, III., October 28, 1882. 
 
14 THE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY. 
 
 As a result of the experiments carried on l),v the writers in the seasons of 1880 and 
 1881, the Champaign Sugar Company of Champaign, 111., was organized. The ohject 
 of the company was to carry out, on a commercial scale, the production of sugar from 
 sorghum, as was indicated by the laboratory experiments. The company was organ- 
 ized with a capital stock of $25,000. The total expenditure for building the works 
 and raising the crop, however, was more than $30,000. The main building is 40 by 
 (in feet, and three stories high, with a lean-to, 4. r > by 30 feet, covering'the engines and 
 Crushers. Near the main building are situated the boiler-house, with ninety horse- 
 power boilers, and a kiln with twelve retorts for revivifying the bone-black. 
 
 For the sake of convenience, the description of the apparatus will be given in con- 
 nection with the process followed in the manufacture of sugar and sirup. 
 
 The cane is conveyed by means of a carrier fifty feet in length, to the first mill, a 
 "Cuba" No. 4, manufactured by Geo, I. Squier, of Buffalo, X. Y., who kindly consented 
 to the use of his rubber springs for our second mill, which was originally one of the 
 rigid kind. 
 
 After leaving the first mill the begasse is moistened with a spray of hot water, and 
 is conveyed by means of an intervening apron to the second mill. By the use of this 
 second mill the sugar which is left in the begasse after passing through a single mill, 
 as is pointed out in the report of our experiments, is practically all recovered. 
 
 The juice from the two mills is pumped together to the juice-tanks, which are placed 
 at the top of the main building, and have a capacity of about 3,000 gallons. From 
 here it is drawn to the defecators, where it is exactly neutralized with milk of lime 
 in the cold, heated to the boiling-point, aud thoroughly skimmed. These defecators 
 are made of wood, lined with galvanized iron and supplied with copper coils for heat- 
 ing. Four of them have a capacity of 660 gallons each, and one of over 1,300 gal- 
 lons. After settling, the juice is allowed to run into the evaporators, where it is con- 
 centrated to a density of 25° BaumC. The evaporators are two in number, eight feet 
 in diameter, made of copper, and supplied with copper coils. From the evaporators 
 the liquor runs into settling-tanks, and next through bone-coal filters. The filters are 
 four in number, 2 feet in diameter, and twelve feet high. The liquor is next drawn 
 up into the vacuum-pan, where it is concentrated to melada. The crystallization of 
 the sugar takes place in the vacuum-pan, and could at once be run into the mixer 
 and centrifugals. Owing to the fact that only one centrifugal has thus far been sup- 
 plied, the strikes from the pan are usually run into crystallizing wagons and placed in 
 a warm room until the sugar can be ''swung opt." There are fifty of these wagons 
 having a capacity of 120 gallons each. 
 
 The quality of the sugar produced is unobjectionable in regard to taste and color. 
 It grades as extra yellow "C," and sells readily at the factory at 8^ cents per pound, in 
 lots of five barrels. The molasses is of a dark color, but still is rich in cane sugar. 
 It is stored up in barrels and will be kept until the cane is all harvested, when it will 
 either be refined or worked over for a second yield of sugar. * 
 
 The company raised 100 acres of cane, 8 acres of which is '• Kansas Orange," about 
 10 acres "Early Orange," and the rest "Early Amber." Private parties planted about 
 
 LOO aires more, all of which was Early Amber, with (he exception of one field of 
 Early Orange, containing 12.1 acres. 
 
 'fhe company began working up their Amber canes on September 21 . An analysis 
 of the juice was made with t he following result : 
 
 Specific gravity, Ihix 1 18 
 
 Cane sugar per cent .. 8.10 
 
 < rrape sugar do. .. 3.63 
 
 The best Amber cane of the company was grown on sod ground, the field contain- 
 ing •")(! acres. The c position of t he \ u ice of th Ik field on October 21, was as follows : 
 
 Specific gravity 1.060 
 
 Cane sugar per cent . . 10. IT 
 
 < rrape sugar do. . . 2. I- 
 
THE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY. 15 
 
 Owing to the lateness of the season, one continuous run was made, and the cane 
 raised by private parties was worked up with the company's cane, so that it will be 
 impossible to give the yield per ton and acre before the close of the season's work. 
 
 One field of Early Orange, grown by Mr. J. G. Clark, has been harvested .by itself 
 and the products kept separate. Of this field and variety of cane, exact data can be 
 given. 
 
 The composition of juice, October 24, was as follows : 
 
 Specific gravity 1. 070=16°. '.i Brix. 
 
 Cane sugar • per cent . . 10. 82 
 
 Grape sugar do :!. 54 
 
 Number of acres in field, 1225. 
 
 Total amount of cane stripped and topped tons . . 156 
 
 Yield per acre do . . . 12. 5 
 
 Amount of juice gallons. . 20, 939 
 
 Weight pounds.. 185,947 
 
 Per cent 59. 6 
 
 Weight of melada pounds. - 25, 920 
 
 Weight of sugar do 9,900 
 
 Weight of molasses do.. .. 116,020 
 
 Quantity of molasses gallons.. 1, 456 
 
 Yield of sugar, per acre pounds.. 790 
 
 Yield of molasses, per acre gallons . . 116. 5 
 
 In this statement the amount of water added in moistening thebegasse before pass- 
 ing the second mill has been deducted from the total amount of juice obtained. 
 
 The melada obtained from the Amber caue is fully as rich in sugar as that obtained 
 from the Orange. The yield of sugar and molasses, per acre, will be lower for some 
 of the fields of Amber, but for others it will be fully as high, and in a few cases per- 
 haps higher. 
 
 It is not more than fair to add that for this section of the country the season has been 
 very unpropitious for the proper development of sorghum cane. This will be seen at 
 a glance by comparing the analysis given here with those made in this locality last 
 year and the year before, as given in our report. The necessary hot summer temper- 
 ature for the production of a high percentage of sugar was entirely wanting. But 
 on the whole, the sorghum sugar industry is to be congratulated, for this cold, wet sea- 
 son, as the flattering results which we are, nevertheless, obtaining here, will forever 
 silence the claim that sugar can be made from sorghum only underthe most favorable 
 circumstances. 
 
 Since the above account was reported to the Academy I have seen it 
 publicly stated that this company has produced about 125,000 pounds 
 of sugar and 22,500 gallons of molasses during the last season. They 
 estimate the return at $75 per acre. 
 
 Valuable statements have also been made with less detail than those 
 I have fully laid before you, by Mr. Magnus Sweuson, of the University 
 of Wisconsin, for the year 1882; Capt. E. Blakesley of the Faribault 
 Refinery, Minnesota, for the year 1881; Mr. John B. Thomas, of the 
 Crystal Lake Refinery, Illinois, for the year 1881; Mr. A. J. Russell, 
 Janesville, Wis. ; all of which have been submitted to me by the Acad- 
 emy. 
 
 The following letter from Mr. Henry Talcott, president of the Jeffer- 
 son Sugar Manufacturing Company, Ashtabula, Ohio, addressed to the 
 
1G THE SORGHUM SUGAR [NDUSTRY. 
 
 Department of Agriculture, 1 also find in the appendix to the report 
 of the Academy. Mr. Talcott, under date of November 2, 1882, says: 
 
 I have been endeavoring to .scenic a praci ieal method of producing the same results 
 which tnej have obtained at the Rio Grande Company's works, where I have jusl 
 been for myself — that our farmers could all adopt with small means, and make the 
 industry universal. I think our company can show the world as comnlete success in 
 about four weeks as the Rio Grande have done, on a much smaller and more simple 
 scale. We are now crushing and boiling from ten to fifteen tons of cane stalks daily : 
 Uave been doing this lor tour weeks past : our returns, in yield, are the same in sub- 
 stance as the Rio Grande; but, unlike them, we have had ten or fifteen good hard 
 white frosts, some of them hard enough to freeze ice on water thick as window-glass. 
 Our cane was standing in the fields; we are yet cutting it. 1 had ten acres of it on 
 my own farm. We see no ill effects from it (the frost) in our work. We have made 
 just as good a yield of juice: it makes just as good sirup and sugar, and all we have 
 lost, as far as we can discover, is the Leaves for our cattle fodder. Mr. G. ('. Potts 
 wished me to notify you of this fact on my return home: also to send von some 
 samples of our work. We cools in open pans, by the Stewart process, only much 
 more perfect than he ever did his work (excepl in theory). F. C. Knight analyzed 
 our mush sugar and finished sugar yesterday, in their refinery, and pronounced it the 
 purest and best sugar they ever saw. The sugar was our "second." This year's 
 stock is still in our hot-room granulating slowly, for we dare not cook it dry in open 
 pans, for we are so liable to scorch it when near done, 80 we make time and warm 
 room dO part of the work. We shall not use our centrifugal until the close of the 
 month; shall then have from sixty to eighty thousand pounds of mush to work over. 
 I shall make a complete and clear report of it to the department as 1 possibly can. I 
 shall also visit the Champaign Works in Illinois next week and compare notes with 
 them. 1 have an invitation to do so, and must see the bottom of this industry so far 
 as it is practically developed. Of course the vacuum-pan and animal-bone filter 
 make the refined sugar at once ; a specimen of it they sent me yesterday, and I in- 
 close a little of it for you : but this expensive machinery, if it is more profitable, can- 
 not be made to come in general use. < >ur farmers must do this work as handy as they 
 can make good butter and cheese, to get them into it in anj great numbers. Our fac- 
 tory are learning many of them to do the work, and several others are to-day making 
 mush sugar at their own molasses factories, while we furnish them solution B. and do 
 their centrifugal work. I will send a little sample of sugar we purged yesterday for 
 Mr. 1'. A. I'pp, of Edgerton, Williams County, Ohio, who made it under our direc- 
 tions, and then brought to the factory to sec our works, and with his own eyes see 
 finished sugar of his ow n make. 1 guess he was as well pleased with the result as any 
 fond mother could well be with Inr first born, lie ret uriied home with his sugar, and 
 said he should now go shouting among his own people, for he had accomplished well 
 what his people all said was an impossibility. 
 
 The committee of the Academj state in this connection: 
 
 It is from t lie States of New Jersey and 1 llinois 1 hat we are able to cite examples of 
 success on so large a scale and attended with such an unequivocal result as fairly puts 
 to rest any doubts as to the production of sugar on a great scale in a northern cli- 
 mate with a commercial profit . 
 
 Hence it is thai I have quoted the reports from Rio Grande and 
 Champaign. 
 
 These significant communications adopted by the committee of the 
 Academy I present here for your consideration. I regret that 1 cannot 
 add statements from manufacturers who will soon supply the Agricul- 
 
THE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY. 1? 
 
 tural Department with reports covering the following points submitted 
 to them in my circular of June 6, 1882, viz : 
 
 1. An accurate account of the number of acres of sorghum brought 
 to the mill; the number of tous of cane manufactured; the yield 
 .sorghum per acre; the mode of fertilizing; the time of planting; toe 
 time required for maturing the plant; the value of the crop as food for 
 cattle, after the juice has been expressed. 
 
 2. The amount of sugar manufactured; the amount yielded per ton 
 of cane; the quality of the sugar; the amount of sirup manufactured; 
 the process of manufacturing; the machinery used; the success of the 
 evaporator, the vacuum-pan, and the centrifugal in the work of man- 
 ufacturing. 
 
 3. The number of hands employed in the mill; the cost of fuel; the 
 cost of machinery ; the wages paid for labor; the price of sorghum at 
 the mill, if not raised by the manufacturer. 
 
 The replies I shall receive to this circular will be published as soost 
 as they can be properly arranged, and I doubt not they will contain a 
 large amount of valuable and interesting and accurate information. 
 
 It will, I doubt not, be gratifying to ascertain the extent of the sor- 
 ghum industry in the country; and I have endeavored to arrive at this 
 as far as possible by means of circular letters addressed to correspond* 
 ents in every county in the Union. I have received imperfect reports 
 from the following States, and I submit them in this connection, not as 
 a complete return, but only as indicating to a certain degree the extent 
 of the industry. During the season of 1882,24 couuties in Arkansas 
 have produced 729,500 gallons of sirup, and no sugar, as returned ; 12 
 counties in Alabama have produced 520,125 gallons of molasses and j>i> 
 sugar; 5 counties in Dakota have produced 139,648 gallons of molasses 
 and no sugar; 42 counties in Georgia have produced 508,023 gallons of 
 molasses and 5,150 pounds of sugar; 35 counties in Indiana have pro- 
 duced 018,410 gallons of molasses and no sugar; 32 counties in Illinois 
 have produced 000,633 gallons of molasses and 13,200 pounds of sugar ; 38 
 counties in Iowa have produced 491,949 gallons of molasses and 731 
 pounds of sugar; 32 counties in Kansas have produced 950,947 gallons 
 of molasses and 100 pounds of sugar ; 35 counties in Kentucky have 
 produced 853,700 gallons of molasses and no sugar; 10 counties in 
 Louisiana have produced 81,800 gallons of molasses and no sugar; '>7 
 counties in Missouri have produced 1,408,350 gallons of molasses ami 
 2,400 pounds of sugar ; 22 counties in Minnesota have produced 267,483 
 gallons of molasses and 100 pounds of sugar; 16 counties in Michigan 
 have produced 46,503 gallons of molasses and no sugar; 15 counties iu 
 Mississippi have produced 530,100 gallons of molasses and 2,200 pounds 
 of sugar; one county in Maryland has produced 1,200 gallons of mo- 
 lasses and no sugar; 2 counties in New Jersey have produced 42,000 
 gallons of molasses and 319,000 pounds of sugar; 8 counties in New 
 York have produced 101,261 gallons of molasses and 90,150 pounds of 
 7248 2 
 
M 
 
 18 THE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY, 
 
 wgar: 1!) counties iu Nebraska have produced 177,420 gallons of mo- 
 lasses and 00,000 pounds of sugar; 20 counties in North Carolina have 
 produced 371,300 gallons of molasses and 1,500 pounds of sugar; 1'.' 
 counties. in Ohio have produced 201,555 gallons of molasses and 275 
 pounds of sugar; 1 county in Pennsylvania has produced 1,200 gallons 
 of molasses and no sugar; 6 counties in South Carolina have produced 
 292,500 gallons of molasses and no sugar; .">L counties in Tennessee 
 have produced 2,122,700 gallons of molasses and 50 pounds of sugar; 
 47 counties in. Texas have produced 958,940 gallons of molasses and 800 
 pounds of sugar ; 7 counties in Utah have produced 07,480 gallons of 
 molasses and 10,000 pounds of sugar ; 20 counties in Virginia have pro- 
 duced 132,871 gallons of molasses and no sugar; 13 counties in West 
 Virginia have produced 379,200 gallons of molasses and 125 pounds of 
 sugar ; 14 counties iu Wisconsin have produced 281,300 gallons of mo- 
 lasses and 5,000 pounds of sugar. In all, 12,898,098 gallons of molasses 
 and 509,731 pounds of sugar. 
 
 You will observe that this is but a small number of the counties in 
 the States enumerated, and that undoubtedly some of the best sugar- 
 producing counties have been omitted. 
 
 The census of 1880 thus far contains accurate statistics from only 
 four States, viz : 
 
 States. 
 
 Acres. Sugar. Molasses. 
 
 Pounds. Gallons. 
 
 K.msas 20,fi43 18,060 ; 1,414,404 
 
 Louisiana i 1,015 j 4,000 38,736 
 
 Minnesota : 5,221 I 3,457 345,556 
 
 South Carolina ! 7,660 8,225 276,046 
 
 And now, gentlemen : 
 
 The further development of this business depends on the judgment 
 and wisdom of those who are engaged in it. There seem to be several 
 methods by which ihe desired result can be obtained, the choice of 
 which is to be governed by soil, climate, and atmospheric influences. 
 The condition of the ciop depends, of course, on the state of the soil in 
 which it is grown. The conversion of the crop into sugar depends upon 
 tlif skill with which it is harvested and subjected to the various methods 
 of manufacture — methods which may perhaps differ somewhat in differ- 
 ent localities. 
 
 1 am informed by one of the most intelligent investigators that the 
 attempt of chemists in many localities to eliminate the acids which inter- 
 fere with the successful manufacture of sugar and of clear free sirup 
 alike have been crowned with success during the present season. He 
 is of opinion that the work requires '-the constant attention of the 
 chemist schooled to this particular work," and he suggests that "the 
 sorghum, factories now without a certain knowledge of the juice in all 
 its stages will fail to produce sugar in any certain quantities." Thisob- 
 
THE SORGHUM SUGAR INDUSTRY. 19 
 
 server's views of tlie prospect of the business in Kansas, Minnesota, 
 Wisconsin, and Illinois are encouraging. 
 
 I have of con rs% spoken, gentlemen, not as an expert in this matter, 
 but as an observer whose official duty it is to encourage every branch 
 of agriculture in our country, by wise co-operation with those who are 
 engaged in the work of tilling the soil. 
 
 The fact that sugar can be made from sorghum has been proved. 
 That it can be profitably made Professors Weber and Scoville have 
 demonstrated, and have so declared to this association with their fig- 
 ures before them. That there is a market for the product no man doubts. 
 Whether it is a universal crop or not, time and experience alone can 
 prove. When I asked Professor Weber, yesterday, "What are the ob- 
 stacles Professor Goessmann found in Massachusetts which render sor- 
 ghum sugar-making there impracticable?" his reply was: "Shortness 
 of the season, danger of early frosts, and an incomplete development of 
 the cane." Who can say, as yet, that this crop will take its place among 
 the special crops of our extreme Northern and Eastern States, or will 
 occupy the place now filled by the sugar cane of the South? Nor is 
 this important. Like all other agricultural products, the profit of sor- 
 ghum depends on locality, soil, climate, and the commercial status of 
 the cultivator as regards the ownership of his land; whether he pos- 
 sesses a plantation of thousands of acres or a small farm ; whether he 
 sets up his own sugar mill and runs a sugar plantation or depends upon 
 a neighboring factory for his market of the 'crop from his few acres. 
 We have a right to expect that it will find its place, as every other crop 
 has done, and will be accepted in its proper sphere either for the do- 
 mestic supply of molasses when convenient and economical or for con- 
 version into sugar where circumstances are favorable. It took many 
 years for the great cotton and woolen and iron industries to establish 
 themselves and occupy the market, but their founders made their goods, 
 found their market, ami pocketed their profits. They worked with 
 perseverance, economy, and great ingenuity and skill. You can follow 
 their example. 
 


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