THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT OF 
 Gift U.C. Library
 
 . ,\,
 
 SIXTH EDITION. 
 
 SORGHO AND IMPHEE, 
 
 THE 
 
 CHINESE AND AFRICAN SUGAR CANES. 
 
 A TREATISE UPON THEIR 
 
 OKIG1N, VARIETIES AND CULTURE ; 
 
 THEIR VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP; AND THE MANUFACTURE OP SUGAR, 
 SYRUP, ALCOHOL, WINES, BEER, CIDER. VINEGAR, STARCH AND DYE- 
 STUFFS ; WITH A. PAPER BY LEONARD WRAY, ESQ., OP 
 CAFFRARlA, AND A DE-CRIPTION OF HIS PATENTED 
 PROCESS FOR CRYSTALLIZING THE 
 JUICE OF THE IMPHEE. 
 
 TO WHICH ARE ADDED, 
 
 COPIOUS TRANSLATIONS OF VALUABLE FRENCH PAMPHLETS. 
 
 BY HENRY S. OLCOTT, 
 
 Julia Ellustratrtj foitf) Stagings of Hit lust fHarijitwrg. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 A. 0. MOORE, AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHER, 
 
 (LATE C. M. SAXTON & CO.) 
 No. 140 FULTON STREET. 
 
 1858.
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S57 ty 
 ..AUGUSTUS O. MOORE, 
 
 Ii the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, f UM 
 Southern District of New York
 
 f 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IF the subject of this work, the Chinese Sugar Cane, were as little 
 known in Europe as it is at present in our own country, I might 
 well hesitate before appearing as so decidedly its champion. The six 
 years which have elapsed since its introduction from China into 
 France, have seen it experimented upon in many different ways ; and 
 its capacity to yield various valuable products, has been more or less 
 thoroughly tested. 
 
 The attention of agriculturists, chemists, sugar makers, distillers, 
 and others, has in turn been attracted to it as the possible source of 
 profit to themselves ; and in our own country, some of our most 
 respected and trustworthy citizens have put it under cultivation, and 
 announced its value to the public. 
 
 It therefore having been endorsed by investigators in both countries 
 as a plant of great promise, -and no delusive speculation fostered by 
 sanguine minds for interested purposes, I have addressed myself to the 
 task of compiling all the evidence as yet placed at our disposal. And 
 strengthening it by the result of my own experience and that of my 
 friends, I have completed the testimony down to the latest moment, and 
 ask for it a patient hearing. 
 
 Yarious causes have combined to render the present year most 
 auspicious to the cultivation and trial of a new sugar plant. Not 
 only are our planters filled with apprehension because of the rapid 
 decline of the tropical sugar cane, under the vicissitudes of our climate, 
 but the use of sugar has now become so common, that we regard it as 
 little short of a necessary of life ; and short crops, reduced arrivals from 
 foreign countries, and excessive speculation, have all conspired to advance 
 
 613791
 
 IV PREFACE. 
 
 the prices of every description of sugars at an almost unprecedented rate. 
 Under the stimulus of such scarcity, extraordinary attention has been 
 given to the manufacture of maple sugar, as the statistics of the present 
 year will doubtless show. But supposing even that sixty millions of 
 pounds of maple sugar should be made, the insufficiency of this 
 amount to supply the demand of the country will be appreciated, 
 when we reflect that in 1855 we used nine hundred and nineteen 
 millions of pounds of sugar, and many millions of gallons of 
 
 So great is the demand, and so comparatively scanty the supply 
 that when our General Government saw the crop of 1855 was less 
 than the preceding one by nearly two per cent, a ship was dispatched 
 to the West Indies and adjacent tropical countries, to procure a stock 
 of fresh cuttings of the best varieties of cane, to renew the exhausted 
 plantations of Louisiana. 
 
 What wonder is it then that, when it became bruited abroad that 
 there had been introduced from France, a new plant which was said 
 to have been in common use in North China for the production of 
 sugar, and to be capable of acclimation in even our extreme Northern 
 States, one simultaneous desire should have possessed the farmers of 
 all parts of the country to procure a little of the precious seed, and 
 experiment for themselves as to its virtues. 
 
 Thus, then, we have seen the news passed with rapidity from paper 
 to paper, throughout the land. The United States Patent Office 
 'gratuitously distributed one hundred thousand papers of seed ; enter- 
 prising seedsmen imported it by the ton from France ; the entire crop 
 of Mr. Eichard Peters, of Georgia, was sold by him in packages of one 
 third of a pound each ; so that, considering the supplies actually 
 known to have been distributed, I think to be entirely within the 
 bounds of moderation in stating, that there are now, in the fall of 
 1857, under cultivation in the United States, fifty thousand acres of 
 Chinese Sugar Cane. 
 
 The interest in the question has been materially heightened, and the 
 hopes of success greatly augmented by the statements and discoveries 
 of Mr. Leonard Wray, of London, formerly a resident of Natal, South
 
 PEEFACE. V 
 
 Africa, who in the month of March last, arrived in this country, to 
 take out letters patent for his process of making sugar from the juice 
 of the sorgho and the implies. This gentleman states that he discov- 
 ered on the south eastern coast of Africa, fifteen varieties of the 
 Holcus saccharatus, cultivated by the Zulu Kaffirs, under the name 
 im-fe, or imphee, and that, from the juice of each variety, after 
 repeated failures, he made sugar in large quantities. Convinced of 
 the importance of his discovery, he has come to the United States at 
 the invitation of Governor Hammond, of South Carolina, to introduce 
 his plants. Mr. Wray has heartily joined me in my present labor*, 
 and has furnished the elaborate treatise upon the origin, varieties, 
 culture and manufactures of the imphee. 
 
 The value of the plant being established, therefore, and its ultimate 
 success seeming to me quite certain, there is immediately created a 
 demand for a critical work on the subject, which shall enable enterpris- 
 ing and energetic men to acquaint themselves with its merits, and 
 divert unproductive capital and industry to carry on its various 
 manufactures. With no hope of completely filling the hiatus, but as 
 having arranged all our available material, this work has been written. 
 The basis of it is the matter contained in a lecture which I wrote and 
 delivered by invitation at agricultural meetings of the legislatures of 
 Massachusetts, New York and Ohio, during the past winter. The 
 cordial reception which it met, and the paucity of information as yet 
 published in this country, suggested the idea that, perhaps, if enlarged 
 and illustrated by appropriate engravings, it might be of value at the 
 present stage of our experience. 
 
 The pamphlets of Dr. Sicard, F. Bourdais, Count Beauregard, Paul 
 Madiuier, and Duret and the letter of Vilmorin, were placed at my dis- 
 posal for translation by Messrs. Hedges, Free & Co., of Cincinnati, who 
 received them from Hon. John Y. Mason, our Minister at Paris. The 
 description of a West India sugar plantation, the chapter on alchohol, 
 and the cuts of sugar and distilling apparatus, were furnished by Mr. 
 John W. Keid, of this city. The article by Dr. Jackson, furnished 
 by Mr. D. Jay Browne, of the United States Patent Office, in advance 
 of its publication ; those of Dr. Hayes, Mr. Sprague, Prof. Gray and
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 Mr. Eedmond, need no praise from me to make their excellence more 
 apparent. 
 
 Thus aided and encouraged by gentlemen of the highest scientific 
 and practical attainments, the author presents this work to the agri- 
 cultural public in the sincere desire that the future may not belie 
 the promise of the present, but that the plants of which it treats may 
 prove to be valuable acquisitions, an enduring source of wealth to the 
 American farmer. 
 
 WflSTCHESTER FARM SCHOOL, 
 
 MOUNT VERNON, N.Y., AUGUST 30TH, 1857.
 
 PREFACE-TO THE SIXTH EDITION. 
 
 THE season which has passed since the appearance of this work in 
 September last, has been one of great interest to all cultivators of the 
 new sugar canes. The published results of thousands of experiments 
 in every State of the Union, under every latitude and on every 
 imaginable variety of soil, have established the value of the sorgho 
 beyond cavil. There is scarce a press in the country but has had in 
 its columns some certificate of successful sorgho culture, and the 
 vexed sugar question has been definitively settled by the production 
 of cane sugar crystals by numerous experimenters. Nothing, how- 
 ever, which positively proved the profit and ease of northern sugar 
 production had been made public prior to the 13th of the present 
 month, when, at the meeting of the United States Agricultural Society 
 in the City of "Washington, there were exhibited splendid samples of 
 loaf sugar, " No. 1 Coffee " sugar, and various grades of " Muscovado" 
 sugar, made by a practical and well known sugar refiner of 
 Philadelphia, Mr. Joseph S. Levering. His success was so complete' 
 and the explanation of his process so lucid and satisfactory, that the 
 Society, as will be seen from the record in another place, awarded 
 to him its large silver medal for his well conducted experiments. 
 This pamphlet of Mr. Lovering, with additional practical instructions 
 for farmers, prepared especially for this work, will be found in the 
 Appendix. To make room for this aad the record of other American 
 experiments of the past year, several articles, embraced in the Appen- 
 dix to the first edition, have been expunged because they were of 
 minor interest compared to those taking their places, and could 
 
 [71
 
 Viil PREFACE. 
 
 be omitted without materially affecting the practical value of the 
 work. 
 
 The sorgho has been so successfully cultivated throughout the great 
 West, that Conventions have been called in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, 
 to consider the best method for its cultivation and for the manufac- 
 ture of its products. At the recent session of the United States 
 Agricultural Society, the merits of both sorgho and imphee formed 
 the subject of a very thorough debate. It will readily be foreseen 
 that the abatement of that excessive speculation which so greatly 
 enhanced the value of sugars, will make it difficult for the new canes 
 to compete with the tropics in this respect, but beyond this they have 
 a commercial value which will insure their wide cultivation. The 
 author expects to spend some months in France during the present 
 year, and any important discoveries which may come under his 
 observation, will be communicated in future editions of this work, 
 should such be demanded. 
 
 XF.W YORK, JANUARY, 1658
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ORIGIN AND SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 Th'? Cane in China Accounts of Jesuit Missionaries Extracts from Ja- 
 panese Works Its Exhibition at the Great Fair at Moscow Intro- 
 duction into Europe The appearance of Mr. Wray's Imphee 
 Precarious position of the Sorgho To whom is most Honor due Sale 
 of Eight Hundred Seeds to Vilmorin, Andrieux, & Co. Various Ex- 
 periments Attempts of Pietro Arduino, inl 786 Mr. Leonard Wray 
 Introduction of the Sorgho into America Sugar made ' y Professor 
 Avequin, of Louisiana How Patent Office Seeds should be used. 
 
 15-31 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OP THE PLANT. 
 
 The Confusion among Agricultural Writers Appearance of the Plant 
 Height, &c. Comparative Growth of the Sorgho and other similar 
 Plants Weight of the Stalk Progressive Growth Pulling out the 
 Tufts Ripening Prostration by Wind Storms. 32-45 
 
 i* m
 
 X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SOIL REQUIRED CULTURE MANURING. 
 
 Should Hilling be Practiced ? Deep Culture Subsoil Plow Soaking 
 Seed Covering Lightly Manures Hybridization Cultivation Cur- 
 ing Fodder Saving Seed Stripping Stacking. 46-56 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP TESTIMONY OF CULTIVATORS. 
 
 Sowing for Fodder Rattooning Cutting Fodder Testimony of D. Jay 
 Browne, Esq. Testimony of Author Testimony of Mr. Gratz, of Ken- 
 tucky Mr. Wray's Remarks at the Fanners' Club Count Beaure 
 gard's Experience Testimony of G. de Lacoste Of Gov. Gardner, of 
 Mass. Experience of C. L. Flint, of Mass. The Sorgho in Texas this 
 year Ability to withstand Drought Curing Its Nutritive Qualities 
 Size of Stalks in North Africa Testimony of Doctor Turrel, and 
 Lacoste Coloring the Bones of Chickens Yield per Acre of Seed 
 and Forage Should not be allowed to Grow more than one Year. 
 
 57-71 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING A WEST INDIAN SUGAR PLANTATION- 
 CUTTING CRUSHING BOILING. 
 
 Apparatus Required, Fully Illustrated A West Indian Steam Mill- 
 Cattle Mill Horse Mills Stream Trains -Ordinary Trains Vacuum 
 Pan Bascule Pan Making a Small Crop of Sugar The Cause for 
 Present High Prices The "African Apprentice " System. 72-128 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SYRUP BEST METHODS OF MAKING IT. 
 
 Experience ot American Growers The Seed obtained as well as Syrup 
 Apparatus Necessary M. d'lvernois' Syrup made without a Mill Iror
 
 CONTENTS. XI 
 
 Kollers better than Wooden Rollers Amount of Saccharine Matter 
 Varies in different Cases Necessity of Cleanliness and System Col. 
 Peters obtains 468 Gallons on an Acre. 129-140 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS. 
 
 Most Approved Method of Making Sorgho Alcohols The French Experi- 
 ments Brandies The French Government Patronage Enthusiasm 
 of Dr. Turrel J. W. Reid's Experiments Distillery Apparatus Il- 
 lustrated with numerous Engravings. 141-168 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PAPER VINEGAR STARCH DYE STUFFS CEROSIE OR WAX. 
 
 The Quality of Vinegar D. Jay Browne's Testimony Count Mofg- 
 nerie's Process Described Dr. Sicard's Experiments, and his Method 
 of Vinegar Making The Value of the Starch Pearling and Hulling 
 the Seeds The Flour Author's Experiments in making the Dye 
 Stuffs Coloring Ribbons Dr. Sicard's Samples of Colors Chemical 
 Treatment to Procure the Tints Pigments Cerosie or Vegetable 
 Wax Making Candles in China Author's Experiments Monsieur 
 Hardy's Calculations Corn Stalk Paper Duret's Specimens Dr 
 Sicard's Specimens Process of Paper Making. 169-18s 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ME. WRAY'S PROCESS FOR MAKING EXCELLENT SUGAR FROM THS 
 IMPHEE, SORGHO, SUGAR MAPLE, BEET, AND ORDINARY SUGAR CANE- 
 
 THE IMPHEE. 
 
 BY LEONARD WRAY, ESQ. 
 
 Discovery of the Plant in Caffraria Previous attempts to Make Sugai 
 Unsuccessful- -Botanical Position of the Imphee The Different Vane
 
 Xli CONTENTS. 
 
 ties Their Description and Yields of Sugar Cultivation Manuring 
 The Imphee Compared to the Sugar Beet and Sugar Cane 
 Ameircan Notes for 1857 on the Imphee. 193-235 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Award of Medal to Mr. Levering Condensed Reports of Experiments 
 Feeding Stock with Sorgho Sorgho Paper Eeport on the Botan- 
 ical Eank of the Sorgho and Imphee J. S. Lovering's Experiments 
 Application of Lovering's Process Letter from Louis Vilmorin 
 Chemical Researches on the Sorgho Sucre Chemical Composition 
 of the Sorgho Author's Translation of Pamphlets of M. Bourdais 
 Count Beauregard Avequin Duret Vilmorin Hardy History of 
 the Sorgho in the Southern States, by D. Redmond. 236-352
 
 PART I. 
 
 THE 
 
 OK 
 
 CHINESE SUGAR CANE.
 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 ORIGIN AND SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THE CHINESE 
 SUGAR CANE. 
 
 INQUIRIES into the early history of the Chinese Sugar 
 Cane, disclose the fact that we are indebted for this new 
 addition to our agricultural riches, (as for the ordinary 
 sugar cane,) to that mysterious country whose name it 
 bears, and whose agricultural products are only by slow 
 degrees being placed in the possession of the civilized 
 nations of the world. When we consider the jealous 
 exclusion of foreigners, the difficulty of pursuing investi- 
 gations into either the literature, manners, customs, or 
 statistics of China, and the comparatively late date at 
 which any communication has been opened with it, there 
 will be little cause for wonder that the plant concerning 
 which our investigations are about to be made, should 
 have but just been placed within the reach of the 
 American farmer. Nor can we consider the objection as 
 valid, that if it really be rich in a product which at the 
 present day bears a high commercial value, we should 
 certainly have been made acquainted with it before ; for 
 our past experience with Chinese productions certainly 
 warrants the belief, that not only may the Sorgho be 
 
 [15]
 
 16 THE CHINESE SUGAB CANE. 
 
 fully worthy of the encomiums which, have been bestowed 
 upon it by its various European cultivators, but that there 
 may be in use in China other plants of inestimable value, 
 which have not as yet been brought to our attention at all. 
 
 As a corroboration of this position, we have only 
 to remember the early history of the sugar cane cul- 
 tivated in our southern states. The art of cultivating 
 the sugar cane was practiced in China from the highest 
 antiquity ; and yet, so moderate were the means of 
 intercourse with that nation, that it was unknown to the 
 ancient Egyptians, Jews, Greeks, or Eomans; and it 
 was not until the end of the thirteenth century that it 
 passed into Arabia. From Arabia it was carried by the 
 merchants to Egypt, Nubia, and Ethiopia. The Moors 
 obtained it from Egypt, and the Spaniards from the 
 Moors. In the fifteenth century the cane was intro- 
 duced into the Canary islands by the Spaniards, and 
 subsequently into Madeira by the Portuguese ; thence 
 it found its way into the West India Islands and 
 the Brazils. Previous to the year 1466, sugar was 
 known in Europe only as a medicine, brought, as were 
 costly spices, from the East, and bearing the name of 
 " Indian salt ; " and though it was cultivated in a few 
 places on the shores of the Mediterranean sea, still it 
 was not more generally used on the Continent. 
 
 With these historical facts in view, how shall we be 
 authorized in the assertion that the Chinese Sugar Cane 
 should have of right been known to us before ? The fact 
 is, that were it not for the merest accident, even to this 
 day we should not have been called upon to discuss its 
 merits, or have been put in possession of its riches.
 
 OEIGIN AND JEISTOBY. 17 
 
 From the venerable Father Du Halde we learn that 
 there existed, even in his time, in China, in the province 
 of Se Chuen, situated in the western part of the Empire, 
 a cane which produced excellent sugar, and it is sup- 
 posed by Dr. Sicard that this is the same plant which 
 has been brought to Europe. Ldon de Eosny, a dis- 
 tinguished philologist of France, has, at the request of 
 M. G. de Lacoste, searched the Chinese and Egyptian 
 Archives in the Imperial Library at Paris, and speaks 
 as follows concerning the Chinese Sugar Cane or Sorgho : 
 
 JAPANESE ACCOUNTS OF THE SORGHO- 
 
 " The treatises on agriculture, and various other 
 works, in the Chinese and Egyptian department of the 
 Imperial Library, contain several chapters exclusively 
 upon the sorghos; but their authors do not seem to 
 have divided the varieties in such a manner as to make 
 them correspond with those which we recognize in 
 Europe. Besides the common Chinese and Japanese 
 names, Sorgho is attached successively to other 
 graminea which should not be, according to our system, 
 embraced in this species. The Japanese, who, in respect 
 to Agriculture, are eminently more advanced than all 
 other people, even than the Chinese themselves, cultivate 
 the sorgho to extract from it sugar and alcohol ; but in 
 the works which we possess, no mention is made of the 
 coloring principle which is extracted from its seed. 
 However, it is probable that it is not unknown to them, 
 and that if we had at Paris a richer collection of 
 Japanese books, we would .find in them valuable and
 
 18 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 interesting investigations on this head. We must 
 remember, however, that the Chinese and Japanese 
 synonyms of the Holcus saccharatus are not yet clearly 
 established by botanists and orientalists. Nevertheless 
 it seems certain that under the name of Kibi the 
 Japanese designate several species of the sorgho ; that 
 
 the Holcus sorghum corresponds to JS (Tsi) of the 
 
 Chinese, and that sfef (Chu) is probably a Holcus sac- 
 charatus. 
 
 ITS EXHIBITION AT THE FAIR AT MOSCOW- 
 
 "We have a further evidence of the fact that it is cul- 
 tivated in China in an article which we find in the 
 journal " L'Utile etl'Agreable," in its number for the 
 month of April, 1855. The writer says at Shanghae the 
 plant is cultivated under the name of the North China 
 Sugar Cane. The Chinese Tartars value it exceedingly ; 
 and at the Great Exposition at Moscow, in the year 1852, 
 some of the stalks of this same species of sorgho were ex- 
 hibited under the title " Precieux Gaoutlam de la Chine" 
 
 FIEST APPEARANCE IN EUROPE. 
 
 Its first appeararfce in Europe dates back no further 
 than the year 1851, at which time the Count de 
 Montigny, being at that time Consul of France at 
 Shanghae, in China, sent, in compliance with official 
 request, to the Geographical Society of Paris, a collec- 
 tion of plants and seeds which he found in China, and 
 which he thought would succeed in his own country.
 
 OEIGIN AND HISTOEY. 19 
 
 Among these was the celebrated Chinese Yam (Dios- 
 corea batatas) and the Holcus saccharatus, under the 
 name of " The Sugar Cane of the North of China." 
 
 THE APPEARANCE 01' MR. WRAY'S IMPHEE. 
 
 Curiously enough, there was received in France at 
 about the same time a quantity of seeds of a plant 
 having apparently the same properties and almost the 
 same appearance as the sorgho, which had been dis- 
 covered on the south east coast of Africa, in" the 
 country of the Zulu Kaffirs, by Mr. Leonard Wray. The 
 lucid, but truly surprising statements made concerning its 
 virtues by this latter gentleman, at once stimulated in a 
 most lively manner investigations into the properties 
 of the Chinese Sugar Cane, and upon comparing the 
 plants derived from these widely separate sources, the 
 remarkable fact was made apparent, that in ability to 
 yield crystallized sugar, to afford nourishment for stock, 
 and in the requirements of cultivation, and other pecu- 
 liarities, they were almost identical, and much surprise 
 was created that from this double source, and as if cor- 
 roborative the one of the other, a greatly needed sugar 
 plant, and one apparently of high value, should have 
 been given to French agriculture. 
 
 THE PRECARIOUS POSITION OF THE SORGHO. 
 
 It is a curious instance of how upon the slightest 
 thread depend most momentous results, when we con- 
 sider that, of the package of seeds sent by the Count
 
 20 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 de Montigny to the Geographical Society of Paris, one 
 only, one single seed, germinated in a garden at Toulon ; 
 and if by any attack of insects, by injudicious planting 
 or manuring, by careless cultivation, or by any one of a 
 thousand possible mischances, the plant springing from 
 this seed had been destroyed, France at this day would 
 have been without the Chinese Sugar Cane, and it may 
 be that the same opportunity would jiot have been again 
 presented for a great number of years. 
 
 TO WHOM IS MOST HONOR DUE! 
 
 Much stress has been laid in the French works upon 
 the fact that the Count de Montigny introduced the 
 sugar cane into France, and the learned Dr. Turel, Secre- 
 tary of the Cornice of Toulon struck with astonishment 
 at the wonderful results which the sorgho can give in 
 alcoholic products, its vast importance as filling a void 
 made by the failure of the grape crop, and the gov- 
 ernmental prohibition of the distillation of cereals even 
 goes so far as to claim that to the Count de Mortigny is 
 due as much honor as is awarded to Jenner for his glo- 
 rious discovery of Vaccination. Without wishing to de- 
 tract from the honor due to the illustrious Ambassador, I 
 would respectfully urge the fact that, so far as any account 
 which we have at present goes, the Count sent the seed 
 of the sugar cane as he sent other seeds, because they 
 were said by the Chinese to be valuable, and because he 
 supposed it possible that their excellences might be re- 
 produced, upon experiment, in his own country. The 
 gentlemen receiving the package of seeds planted them
 
 OKIGIN AND HISTOKY. 21 
 
 as our American farmers receive and plant the packages 
 sent to them by the Patent Office at Washington, often- 
 times ignorant and skeptical as to their value. It chanced 
 that into the hand of M. Eobert, Director of the Marine 
 Gardens at Toulon, were confided a few seeds of the 
 sorgho, and he being an intelligent and enterprising gen- 
 tleman and a careful observer, was desirous of knowing 
 if, indeed, the plant would bear out the assumptions of its 
 endorsers. He planted the seeds with care, but, to his 
 chagrin, but one single tiny sprout appeared above the 
 ground ; and from the interest which he took in it, it is 
 to be supposed that he continued its cultivation, and fol- 
 lowed it through the phases of vegetation with no little 
 apprehensions against the chances of failure. His labors 
 were rewarded by a plant of good size, strong and vigor- 
 ous, from the roots of which sprang up six rattoons or 
 suckers. The seeds attained a complete maturity, and 
 were distributed to the Agricultural Cornice of Toulon. 
 
 SALE OP SEEDS TO YILMOEIN, ANDRIETJX, & CO. 
 
 A gardener of Hydros, who had received part of these 
 seeds, planted them with care, and the next year gathered 
 eight hundred seeds, which were sold to the house of 
 Vilmorin, Andrieux, & Co., seed merchants at Paris, for 
 eight hundred francs! They had now come into the 
 hands of men fully sensible of their value, capable both 
 by education and opportunity of investigating their worth, 
 and determined to make them available to the public. 
 The seeds were planted by the senior partner of this 
 house, the illustrious M. Louis Yilmorin, and numerous
 
 22 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 experiments were made by him during the season of 
 growth, the results of which fully established the expecta- 
 tions which he had been led to entertain, and gave him 
 the basis for the work which was published by him in 
 1854, under the title of " Eesearches upon the Sorgho 
 Sucre', " or Chinese Sugar Cane. 
 
 VAEIOUS EXPERIMENTERS. 
 
 Experiments were likewise instituted by members of 
 the Imperial Acclimation Society; but by none were 
 they more zealously pursued, nor more successfully 
 carried on, than by the Compte de David Beauregard. 
 This gentleman was so confident of its value, that he 
 made strenuous efforts to increase his stock of seed, 
 planted the greatest possible area of land with it, and 
 succeeded so completely that it is from his third crop 
 that has been derived- the major portion of the immense 
 amount that has been planted in the United States during 
 the present year. In France we find it successively 
 spreading in the provinces of la Drome, les Pyrenees 
 Orientales, la Haute-Marne, la Gironde, le Gers, etc., and 
 everywhere exciting the greatest attention among the most 
 distinguished agriculturists ; and thence it quickly finds its 
 way to that prosperous, albeit lately acquired French 
 province of Algeria, where, according to M. Paul 
 Madinier, a company with a capital of several millions of 
 francs is about to be formed to cultivate and manufacture 
 the sorgho. In 1852 there was imported into France 
 from Russia, by M. Masson, the seed of another sugar 
 sorgho, but the plants which sprung from them were 
 much inferior in every respect to those sent by M.
 
 ORIGIN AND HISTOKY. 23 
 
 Montigny. Dr. Sicard says that upon its appearance in 
 Europe, the sorgho was supposed by various persons to 
 be the millet of Caffraria, Pain des Anges, Sorghum 
 saccharatum of Wil, Holcus docna of Forsk, Holcus sac- 
 charatus of Linnaeus, Andropogon saccharatus of Kunth ; 
 and somewhat later Mr. Leonard Wray gave to it the 
 name of Imphee. 
 
 THE ATTEMPT OP PIETRO ARDUTNO. 
 
 Frequent reference is made in all the French works 
 which I have translated, to the attempt made in 1786 by 
 the Signor Pietro Arduino to introduce the Holcus sac- 
 charatus from Kaffirland into Italy ; and to his pub- 
 lished accounts of his experiments in sugar mak- 
 ing. His son collected these fragments of writing, 
 added to them his own reminiscences of his father's 
 experiments, and issued them in a separate volume, 
 in 1808 ; but at the present day it is almost a matter of 
 impossibility to procure a copy of the work, it having 
 passed out of print. Nothing is known, however, it 
 seems to me, to distinctly show that the plants on which 
 Dr. Arduino's experiments were undertaken were the 
 same as the sorgho introduced from China ; for he speaks 
 of the seeds being of a clear light brown color, while the 
 seeds of our Chinese variety are of a very deep purple, 
 almost black. His description, nevertheless, exactly cor- 
 responds with the appearance of the seeds of Mr. Wray's 
 imphee ; and hence we are led to believe that it was in 
 reality the African, and not the Chinese sugar cane which 
 was cultivated by him at Florence. Whether it was be-
 
 24 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 cause of the troubles which at that time convulsed Italy 
 from one end to the other, because of want of means on 
 his part for continuing the experiments, or because the 
 plants were not adapted to the manufacture of sugar, I 
 am not able to say ; it is probable that all these con- 
 spired to militate against the prosecution of his studies. 
 But I think it very possible that Dr. Arduino procured 
 from Africa the seeds of some one of the varieties of the 
 imphee, which required too long time to ripen to allow 
 of its being grown in the climate of Italy ; and that the 
 small amounts of sugar obtained by him from the plants 
 arose from the fact that the maximum of saccharine mat- 
 ter is only made present in the Chinese or African sugar 
 canes at the moment of their complete maturity. 
 
 M. Louis Vilmorin, in his "Eesearches," mentions that 
 in a package of seeds from Abyssinia, sent to the Museum 
 in 1840, by M. D'Abadie, which contained about thirty 
 species or varieties of the sorgho, he had noticed that 
 some of the plants were particularly distinguished from 
 the others by the sweet flavor of their stalks ; but to all 
 intents and purposes, and so far as any practical result 
 has eventuated, from 1786 until the introduction of the 
 Montigny seed and of that of Mr. Wray from Kaffirland, 
 there is a complete void in European experience with the 
 plant. Considering the question as to whom is due the 
 honor of giving the plant to European agriculturists, 
 there should be no cause for strife between the partisans 
 of the Count de Montigny and Mr. Wray ; for it ap- 
 pearing, upon the testimony of M. Vilmorin, Dr. Sicard, 
 M. Lacoste, and Mr. Wray himself, that the sorgho and 
 imphee are not different varieties of the same plant, bub
 
 ORIGIN AND HISTORY. 25 
 
 two different species, the introducer of each plant may be 
 duly credited without in the least depriving the other of 
 appropriate honor. If indeed we base our gratitude 
 upon the amount of research and labor given by the indi- 
 vidual previous to the introduction of the plants, we cer- 
 tainly must agree that Mr. Wray is entitled to greater 
 thanks at the hands of the agricultural world than the 
 Count de Montigny, who took no great labor to dis- 
 cover the properties of the sorgho, but merely sent 
 the seed, as he sent others, to be experimented upon in 
 France. 
 
 MR. LEONARD WRAY. 
 
 Mr. Wray is widely known to the sugar planters of the 
 world, from his authorship of the " Sugar Planters' Com- 
 panion," published in Calcutta in 1843, and the "Practi- 
 cal Sugar Planter," published in London in 1848, and 
 republished in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch. 
 In 1850, he left the East Indies for the Cape of Good 
 Hope, whence he went to Kaffirland, and found the 
 Zulu Kaffirs cultivating the imphee around their huts, 
 not for the purpose of manufacturing crystallized sugar 
 or obtaining any other of its products with a commercial 
 view, but merely for the purpose of chewing and sucking 
 the stalks. He quickly saw of what value <mch plants 
 were likely to become to Europe and America, and ap- 
 plied himself to their study, their culture, and manufac- 
 ture into sugar, etc. After having fully satisfied himself 
 on these points, he returned to Europe, and planted 
 patches in England, France, and Belgium; applied for 
 2
 
 26 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 patents in various countries ; addressed the French gov- 
 ernment through Marshal Vaillant, Minister of War ; 
 exhibited specimens of sugar and the plants to Mr. 
 Buchanan, then American Minister at London ; and subse- 
 quently established the culture of the imphee in Turkey, 
 Egypt, the West Indies, the Brazils, the Mauritius, Aus- 
 tralia, and finally in this country. Instead of one variety 
 as we have of the Chinese Sugar Cane, he has discovered 
 among the Kaffirs no less than sixteen distinct kinds of 
 imphee, of various degrees of saccharine richness, and 
 differing very widely in the time required for their ma- 
 turity. 
 
 The gift that he has thus made to our agriculture may 
 be estimated when we reflect that we have almost every 
 range of climate known in the world from the torrid and 
 fervent heats of the tropical zone to the most rigorous 
 winters of the North ; and his plants requiring in some 
 instances but ninety days to run through the whole course 
 of vegetation and ripen their seeds, others of greater 
 saccharine richness requiring a more lengthened season 
 than is necessary for the ordinary sugar cane, he has 
 thus given to the farmers of every section of the country 
 the opportunity to select from out his collection of varie- 
 ties some one peculiarly adapted to the latitude in which 
 he resides. Sugar, by this means, supposing his anticipa- 
 tions to be realized, and the experience of Governor Ham- 
 mond and other southern gentlemen to be a prestige of 
 what we can anticipate in future, will become no longer 
 even such a luxury as it is at present, but rather will as- 
 sume its proper position as a cheap, readily obtainable 
 article of common use. It is well to remark in this place,
 
 OEIGIN AND USTOBY. 27 
 
 that in the year 1854, in the month of September, an 
 application from Mr. Wray for a patent on his process 
 was filed at bur Government Patent Office by Charles F. 
 Stansbury, Esq., acting in his name ; but an error having 
 been made in his application, it was withdrawn until a 
 more favorable occasion should present itself. In the 
 year 1856, Mr. Wray obtained the large silver medal of 
 the Exposition Universelle at Paris, for his imphee sugar, 
 alcohol, seeds, and plants, and the French government, 
 moreover, granted to him twenty -five hundred acres of 
 land in Algeria, to encourage in that colony the establish- 
 ment of this important cultivation. 
 
 INTRODUCTION OP THE SORGHO INTO AMERICA. 
 
 In the month of November, 1854, D. Jay Browne, Esq., 
 of the United States Patent Office, returned to America 
 from Europe, bringing with him a quantity of the seed 
 of the Chinese Sugar Cane, which he had procured from 
 M. Yilmorin, the gentleman previously referred to. 
 These seeds were distributed to various persons through- 
 out this country ; but the feeling of suspicion with 
 which all now things are more or less viewed, tended to 
 confine this experiment of cultivation to a few of the 
 more enterprising farmers, until the formal report, ad- 
 dressed by Gen. J. II. Hammond, late Governor of South 
 Carolina, to the Secretary of the Beach Island, South 
 Carolina, Farmers' Club, awakened general attention, 
 by showing the successful results of his own cultivation 
 and manufacture. Upon its history, in the southern 
 states, I do not propose to dwell at length, because the
 
 28 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 full details are given in the excellent report which has 
 been furnished to me, through the politeness of Mr. 
 Redman. Suffice it to say, that upon the publication of 
 w circular, containing the experiments of Colonel Peters, 
 -.aid the notice of the syrup which was exhibited by nim 
 v t the Fair of the United States Agricultural Society, 
 a October of the past year, the general excitement upon 
 he subject was at once considerably augmented; and 
 -he subsequent appearance of the reports to the French 
 'ifrnister of War, the experience of American farmers in 
 lifferent parts of the country, the excellent pamphlets 
 Df Mr. J. F. C. Hyde, of Massachusetts, and Mr. Charles 
 F. Stansbury of Washington, all have united in lending 
 this increase to the all-prevalent interest ; and the result 
 has been, that during the present year, the seed of the 
 Chinese Sorgho has been imported by the ton by differ- 
 ent seedsmen, and by the agencies which we have here- 
 tofore mentioned, it has been scattered throughout the 
 length and breath of the land. 
 
 In 1855, 1 received from Paris, the " Researches on the 
 Sugar Sorgho," by M. Yilmorin, and although at that 
 time but very little attention had been directed to the 
 plant, yet presuming, from a perusal of it, that it might 
 have some future value, I translated it, entire, for the 
 " Working Farmer." 
 
 SUGAR MADE BY PROFESSOR AVEQTUN OP LOUISIANA. 
 
 Whilst it was in course of publication. I corresponded 
 with persons in different parts of the United States, de- 
 siring to call their attention to its merits ; and having
 
 OEIGIN AND H1STOEY. 'J9 
 
 ascertained from Messrs. Parker, White, & Gannett, 
 seedsmen, of Boston, that the editors of the " New Or- 
 leans Bee " had received samples of sugar from Professor 
 Avequin, of Louisiana, I opened a correspondence 
 with that distinguished gentleman, and received from 
 him the editorial notice of the "Bee," and an article, 
 written by himself, for that paper, which I translated, 
 and which will be found in subsequent pages of this 
 work. The editors of the " Bee " clearly acknowledge 
 the receipt of a loaf of sorgho sugar made by Professor 
 Avequin ; and I regret much at not having been able, 
 during the past two years, to have communicated with 
 this gentleman, and thus have been enabled to place my 
 readers in possession of all the facts concerning his ex- 
 periments. 
 
 HOW THE PATENT OFFICE SEEDS SHOULD BE USED. 
 
 We have thus narrowed down the circle of our in- 
 quiries to the introduction of the plant, and its domes- 
 tication among us. In considering the slight contingency 
 upon which hung the chance of its having been put in the 
 possession of the French agriculturists, it seems to me a 
 useful lesson may be derived to guide us in our practice at 
 home. Although the General Government makes but very 
 slight appropriations to the cause of agriculture, barely 
 begrudging a miserable pittance out of the superfluous 
 revenues which it has collected, yet it does appropriate a 
 sum, however small it may be, for the purchase of seeds and 
 cuttings for distribution to our farmers, and every year 
 this service is perform 3d by the department of the Patent
 
 30 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 Office. Now if we really, as American farmers, desire to 
 have the Government not only continue its present appro- 
 priations but increase them, we certainly should not take 
 the seeds and cuttings which it now gives to us, and by 
 the most culpable carelessness allow them to be utterly 
 lost, thrown away, and rendered unproductive of any 
 benefits to our farmers. In the majority of cases, seeds 
 received from the Patent Office, with foreign names 
 printed upon the packages, are looked at as curiosities, 
 bitten to see how they taste, placed upon the mantel- 
 shelf for the examination of visitors, and subsequently 
 put into the fire, or thrown into the top of some old 
 closet, because the farmer cannot find time to plant them 
 with care, and investigate their qualities. It is highly 
 possible that among the seeds distributed for the last few 
 years by the Patent Office, there may have been a number 
 which, if they had been properly planted and taken care 
 of, would have been productive of the greatest good to 
 this country. Are we not confined as to cotton-growing 
 to a small section of the southern states ? Would it not 
 be a source of immense wealth to our country if we could 
 find some plant which would be a substitute for the cotton, 
 and which could be produced in the northern and north- 
 western states, as in this instance we have found a new 
 sugar cane having a number of varieties, and some of 
 them specially adapted to the cold climates of the north ? 
 and who can say but that among these seeds which have 
 thus been lost to our farmers, there may not have been 
 some one or more which would have produced a substi- 
 tute for the cotton plant ? Many of the seeds are brought 
 home by the officers of our Exploring Expeditions, and
 
 ORIGIN AND HISTORY. 31 
 
 those connected with ships of war cruising in various 
 parts of the world. They are sometimes obtained by 
 them without the slightest knowledge of their properties 
 or value ; and it may be that from some distant island in 
 the Pacific, or some rarely- visited portion of the African 
 coast, seeds have been brought to this country which 
 would have given us enduring sources of revenue.
 
 CIIAPTEK II. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT. 
 
 CONFUSION AMONG AGRICULTURAL WRITERS. 
 
 IN proceeding to consider the botanical rank of the 
 Chinese Sugar Cane, we find ourselves at once involved 
 in the midst of conflicting assumptions on the part of 
 various investigators. So much confusion has arisen in 
 regard to the plant, that M. Greenland, an associate of 
 M. Vilmorin, has endeavored to extricate us from this 
 confusion, and is at the present time engaged in the pro- 
 duction of an agricultural work, wliich will set the mat- 
 ter at rest; in the mean time, from the testimony of all 
 observers, we are authorized to accord to the plant the 
 name Holcus saccharatus. Although, as M. Vilmorin 
 says, it is inexact as to its generic character, yet it has 
 tlie advantage of being known, and of not having been 
 applied to other plants. Our seedsmen and agricultural 
 writers seem bent upon not only maintaining this confu- 
 sion of names, but also of increasing the list of synonyms, 
 by giving to the Sorgho sucre in turn the names of half a 
 dozen other plants. We must expect this, however ; 
 but in the meanwhile, and until the result of M. Green- 
 land's labors are known, we are probably authorized to 
 call it the Holcus saccharatus.* 
 
 * Since writing the above, we have received from Dr. Charles T. 
 Jackson, one of the State As^ayers to the State of Massachusetts, the 
 [32]
 
 THE CHINESE SUGAR CAKV
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT. . 33 
 
 APPEARANCE OF THE PLANT. 
 
 In comparing the appearance of the sorgho with that 
 of our common maize or Indian corn, we are struck with 
 the superiority of the former, in respect to the exceeding 
 grace of appearance which it presents. Like the latter, 
 
 following paper upon the botanical position of the plant, which was 
 read by Mr. Charles J. Sprague, Botanist to the Boston Society of 
 Natural History, at its meeting of April 15th. By it, it will be seen, 
 that although the plant was by Linnasus termed the Holcus sacchar- 
 atus, it had undergone subsequent subdivisions ; and, as he says him- 
 self, the specific name is a matter of some doubt, so that it is as well, 
 perhaps, to allow it to retain the name of Holcus saccharatus, until 
 we obtain further advices. 
 
 " The plant was called Holcus saccharatus by Linnaeus ; but when 
 this genus underwent a subdivision by subsequent botanists, this spe- 
 cies was placed by some in that of Andropogon, by others in that of 
 Sorghum. These two genera are closely allied. Some of the best 
 authorities consider the difference so slight as to warrant their union 
 into one. Steudel arranges Andropogon, Sorghum, and Trachypogou 
 all under one head Andropogon. Lindley italicizes Sorghum in the 
 last edition of his " Vegetable Kingdom," and places it beneath Trachy- 
 pogon, evidently considering them equivalent. Dr. Gray retains Sor- 
 ghum for our only native species (S. nutans) in his last edition of the 
 Manual, considering the genus a good one. 
 
 " It is between Andropogou and Sorghum, therefore, that we must 
 choose in reference to this particular species. 
 
 " The differences between them are these 
 
 Andropogon. Sorghum. 
 
 " Inflorescence spicate. " Inflorescence paniculate. 
 
 Spikelets in pairs, only one be- Spikelets in twos or threes, cert- 
 iug fertile. tral one only being fertile. 
 
 Glumes herbaceous o? mem- Glumes hard, coriaceous, or in- 
 branaceous. durated. 
 
 Raehis hai-ry. Eachis smooth. 
 
 2*
 
 84 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 it presents a tall straight stalk, marked at intervals with 
 knots or nodes, and from these, on alternate sides of the 
 plant, spring long, spreading, tapering, and drooping 
 leaves. The stalk very gradually decreases in diameter 
 from the base to the top. Its outer coating is smooth 
 and silicious, like the stalks of the maize, which becomes 
 harder as the water and starch and the sugar of the plant 
 become converted into woody fiber, and more silex is 
 deposited on the outside. The seed grows upon the 
 eight or ten separate stems which group together to 
 form the tuft at the top of the plant ; and, unlike the 
 maize, this -is the only fruit produced by the plant. When 
 the tassel first emerges from its sheath, the seeds are 
 nothing but a soft green husk, which by degrees, and in 
 
 " If these differences shall eventually render the genera sufficiently 
 distinct to establish a universally recognized separation, then this plant 
 must be placed under that of Sorghum. 
 
 " The specific name is a matter of some doubt. Both S . vulgaro 
 and S. saccharatum are recorded as distinct species ; but there is fre- 
 quently a query appended to the latter. Some of our best authorities 
 incline to the opinion that these two are identical, the differences be- 
 tween thefo being due to the long cultivation which the plant has un- 
 dergone. "We know that some of the grasses have sported into nume- 
 rous varieties ; and it is very probable that the Broom Corn, Doura 
 or Guinea Corn, and the Chinese Sugar Cane, are all descended from 
 one and the same stock. 
 
 " If we accept this as a fact, then the plant should be called SOR- 
 GHUM VULGAEE, Pers. var. saccharatum, L. ; but as the latter name is 
 so extensively known, and as there is still some doubt as to the ident- 
 ity, it may be as well to continue the name Sorghum saccharatum. 
 
 " The true Sugar Cane, Saccharum officinarum, belongs to the same 
 tribe of grasses, differing in the ample inflorescence, which is paniculate, 
 and drooping with downy pedicles and florets."
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT. 35 
 
 like manner to wheat, becomes filled with farinaceous 
 matter, and the grains are plump and hard. The soft 
 green pulp, as the plant approaches maturity, undergoes 
 transitions in color, changing to violet, brown, and 
 finally, to a purple, almost black. When this latter color 
 appears, the plant has reached its last stage of vegeta- 
 tion, and will give its greatest amount of sugar. The 
 stalk, as compared with that of the maize, is more slender 
 and soft. The adhesion of the parts above and below 
 the knots is not so firm, for I have found in the crops 
 which we have cultivated at the Farm School, that a 
 gust of wind would break the plants off at the knots 
 when they attained considerable height, in a wet season. 
 Another peculiarity distinguishing the sorgho stalk from 
 that of the corn, is, that as the plant approaches maturity, 
 we see a whitish effloresence appear upon the parts un- 
 derneath the foot-stalks of the leaf. This is a dry, hard 
 powder, and is known to the French, under the name 
 of cerosie, or vegetable wax. Of its uses and probable 
 value, we will speak in the appropriate place. 
 
 HEIGHT, ETC. 
 
 The sorgho attains different heights as the circum- 
 stances controlling its growth are more or less favorable, 
 and on some soils, the deep black loam for instance, grows 
 to an enormous height, as high as sixteen or eighteen feet, 
 while, on poorer soils, on gravels or gravelly loams, or 
 colder soils, it is shorter ; but on dry, poor soils its juices 
 have a greater tendency to crystallize. My own. crop 
 averaged the last season eleven feet in height. Some of the
 
 36 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 stalks were full fifteen feet, and but a small proportion were 
 nine and ten. The leaves of the plants being more slender 
 than those of the corn, and the joints being farther 
 apart, it will not give the same amount of green fodder 
 to the acre, if the plants are allowed to attain their com- 
 plete maturity ; but this is only a comparative loss, for 
 by suffering them to stand until this time, we procure 
 what we cannot obtain from the corn a full crop of 
 sugar ; therefore all the forage which we obtain is so 
 much actual profit. The root of the sorgho is exceed- 
 ingly hard and strong. Where the ground has been well 
 disturbed, the roots run to a great depth, and acquire 
 very great strength ; so much so, that it was a matter of 
 great difficulty for a man to pull up a stand of sorgho on 
 our place, even after the plants had been cut off from it, 
 and they had stood for a month or two. There is a very 
 marked difference between the tuft of the Chinese Sugar 
 Cane and some of the varieties of the Imphee ; but there 
 is a curious resemblance between the Shla-goo-va and the 
 sorgho tufts. The stems of the tufts of the Chinese Sugar 
 Cane are some of them four or five inches in length, and 
 when covered with seeds, plump and ripe, by degrees, 
 of course, droop over towards the ground, thus giving 
 the tuft a feathery appearance ; but the seed heads of the 
 Yim-bis-chu-a-pa present a compact 1 unch of upright 
 growing stems, albeit they are all laden with seeds, and 
 resemble more the pompon of a military cap. 
 
 In judging of the ripeness of the imphee seed, of 
 course the cultivator will not be misguided by any 
 previous experience with the Chinese Sugar Cane ; for 
 while in on* ease he would wait for the seed< to turn
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT. 37 
 
 black befcrs lie would feel authorized to harvest the 
 stalks, on the other hand, the seeds of some varieties of 
 the African Sugar Cane, when they are fully ripe, are not 
 darker in color than a light buff, and its only distinction 
 then would be their plumpness and hardness. 
 
 It would be a matter of impossibility for any body but 
 a most experienced hand to distinguish between a field 
 of sorgho and one of ordinary broom corn in the early 
 stages of its growth ; for in appearance, size of leaves, 
 covering, and general characteristics, it is identical. A 
 difference will be found, however, if rows of corn and 
 rows of sorgho should be planted together. So far as 
 rapidity of growth is concerned, the sorgho is not a fast 
 grower at first, and for this reason it would be very apt 
 to discourage persons experimenting with it for the first 
 time, as it did myself. 
 
 COMPARATIVE GROWTH OP THE SORGHO AND OTHER SIMILAR PLANTS. 
 
 An instance of the comparative rapidity of growth 
 will be found at page 11 et seq. of the excellent work of 
 Dr. Sicard.* We quote as follows : 
 
 ' We sowed, in a warm bed, upon the same day, at 
 the same hour, on the same kind of soil, seeds of the 
 white sorgho, the Kaffir sorgho, broom corn, and the 
 Chinese Sugar Cane. The seventh day the sorgho was 
 out of the ground, the broom corn appeared in the after- 
 noon of the same day. On the following morning we 
 
 * " Monographic de la Canne a Sucre de la Chine, dite Sorgho a 
 Sucre," par le Docteur Adrien Sicard, Secretary of the Horticultural 
 Society of Marseilles, etc. Marseilles, 1850.
 
 58 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 saw appear the Kaffir sorgho ; and two days later the 
 Chinese Sugar Cane." 
 
 Once out of the ground, the plants develop their leaves. 
 It was not the same with the Chinese Sugar Cane. The lat- 
 ter remained for a L N ng time before developing its leaves, 
 its increase was very slow. Thus we see that, as compared 
 with broom corn, the Chinese Sugar Cane requires three 
 days more to make its appearance above the ground. A 
 great difference is observable in the comparative flexi- 
 bility of the leaves of the sugar cane and those of others 
 of its congeners. The Chinese Sugar Cane leaves can be 
 bent and rebent into perfect circles without breaking 
 them, whilst the others will snap in two. 
 
 WEIGHT OF THE STALK. 
 
 Dr. Sicard, from a desire to relieve the questionings in 
 regard to the comparative weight of the Chinese Sugar 
 Cane and the broom corn, took from each one of these of 
 the same length, about twenty-nine inches, and that there 
 might be no mistake as to the identity of their period of 
 development, measured their diameter. These precau- 
 tions taken, he weighed them, and found that the broom 
 corn weighed thirty-five grammes, and the sugar cane one 
 hundred and thirty-seven grammes. Let those, then, who 
 say that the Chinese Sugar Cane is no more than broom 
 corn, that the juice of the one is as good as the other, 
 compare this result, which, from our experience of the 
 comparative weight of the two plants, (though we have 
 made no precise experiment,) we should think would be 
 a faithful indication of the differences, in the vast majority
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT. 39 
 
 of cases. Dr. Sicard gives in his book a very interesting 
 and minute account of the growth of the sugar cane, from 
 the putting forth of the first, radicle until the complete 
 maturity of the plant. Our space prevents our following 
 him in detail, as we should be pleased 
 
 PROGRESSIVE GROWTH. 
 
 The first effort at vegetation is, of course, the swelling 
 of the seed, the separation of the valves enclosing the 
 germ of the plant, and the putting forth of a little root. 
 This root, unlike the others surrounding it, is of a violet 
 hue. Its covering is impregnated with a tint on the in- 
 side of the hull. The surrounding roots are of a yellow- 
 ish color. The plant rarely springs up on a single stalk. 
 A short time after the appearance of the stalk, suckers 
 are formed, which commence to grow upwards. The 
 cane throws out in rudiments each one of the internodes 
 that it must subsequently develop, and each one of these 
 bears a leaf, which acquires dimensions larger or smaller, 
 according to the soil upon which it is grown. The time 
 required for the cane to acquire its full development, is 
 about five months; but it will be more protracted or 
 brief, as the soil is suited to its nature. In this respect, 
 the planter will be subject to the same vicissitudes as he 
 now has in the cultivation of the ordinary sugar cane ; 
 and we opine that, like this latter plant, the Chinese cane 
 will be found to grow exceedingly well on the soil of a 
 certain plantation, and on the one immediately adjoining 
 it, give but meager results. 
 
 The present season is, perhaps, as unfavorable a one
 
 10 THE CHINESE SUGAK CANE. 
 
 for the institution of experiments with the new plants as 
 we could have had ; for, whereas, the plant requires a 
 warm, dry, season to develop its excellences, and to 
 attain a rapidity of .growth, we have this year been 
 subjected, since the earliest portion of spring, to a con- 
 tinued series of drenching rains and untimely showers. 
 The soil, in consequence, has been kept cool and moist, 
 and the temperature of the air has been so reduced that 
 even the corn crop in the vicinity of our farm is very 
 much more backward than it should be at this season of 
 the year. One of the largest planters in the southern 
 states informed me, a short time since, that he had 
 frequently seen corn in the month of June, so tall that 
 the tassels would be above his head when he rode 
 through the field on horseback ; but that in July of the 
 present year, his crop was but four feet high. 
 
 There will, therefore, necessarily be much apprehen- 
 sion existing among the experimenters of the sorgho, as to 
 its maturity, and it may even be that, in case the frosts set 
 in earlier than usual in the fall, a large proportion of the 
 plants throughout the United States will not ripen their 
 seed-heads ; but because they do not, it is no index of 
 what we must expect, were the season but auspicious. 
 The experiment has been tried in France of using 
 excessive irrigation to produce an increased growth of 
 stalks; and as in that case, although the growth was 
 obtained, yet the proportion of the sugar in the juice 
 was in consequence materially reduced, we may like- 
 wise expect that the rain of the present season will pro- 
 duce, should we have warm and favorable weather till 
 the close of the seas D, a great growth of stalks, but a
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT 41 
 
 diminished richness in the juice. When the panicle 
 commences to put Lrth its flowers, the portion of the 
 stalk, immediately under it, contains a quantity of sugar, 
 equal to that which may be found later in the lower 
 portions of the plant ; but in ratio, as maturity of the 
 seed is produced, this upper part of the stalk loses its 
 sweet principle, which seems to descend by its specific 
 gravity toward the root, slowly, it is true, but surely, 
 and at the time of harvesting the cane, there is a marked 
 difference between the comparative saccharine richness 
 of the upper and lower portions. In noticing this fact, 
 Dr. Sicard shows the analogy between it, and what 
 occurs in the case of grapes. " The latter in fact com- 
 mence by giving verjuice. In proportion as the ripen- 
 ning advances, they become more and more sweet ; and 
 if you only know enough to gather them at the proper 
 epoch, and the temperature of the atmosphere is pro- 
 pitious, you will obtain wines of a quality, by as much 
 more superior as the juices of the grape are more 
 elaborated, that is to say, arrived at a more perfect 
 maturity." 
 
 PULLING OUT TEE TUFTS, ETC.-RIPENINGK 
 
 It has been observed by Mr. Wray, as quoted by the 
 French authors, that it is the practice among the Zulu 
 Kaffirs to pull out the panicles on the stalk, at the time 
 that they are appearing, for the purpose of concentrating 
 the juices and obtaining more sugar ; but upon this sub- 
 ject, Dr. Sicard says, that in taking off the panicle of the 
 seed, when it commences to show itself, we will arrive
 
 42 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 at an effect contrary to what is desired. He says, that 
 he had some canes of which the stalk was broken, at 
 different periods of its development, and that he had re- 
 marked, that according to the color of the seed, that is 
 to say, according to the more or less continued progress 
 of the process of ripening, the internodes the nearest to 
 the upper portion of the plant, were more or less sweet. 
 Thus, he says, the colors most removed from that of the 
 ripe seed coincided with the greater quantity of sugar 
 in the internodes nearest the panicle ; but the more the 
 plants approached the term of maturity, the more did the 
 saccharine matter travel downwards in the stalk. In 
 ripening, the Chinese sugar-cane takes on a yellowish 
 tint, striped in places with red. Some of them continue 
 to preserve an apple-green color, marked likewise with 
 red. These colors generally indicate the term of matur- 
 ity ; if the red passes into carmine the cane is too ripe, 
 and cultivators should notice this thing, in connection 
 with the color of the seeds. At the commencement of 
 our experience with this new plant, it is well to mention 
 the fact, that -it is subject to different maladies, some of 
 which attack the root, and some the pith of the stalk. 
 Dr. Sicard has made, upon this point, extensive in- 
 vestigations, and at page 65 of his book says, " The 
 roots, especially the upper ones, those which we have 
 called secondary, take on sometimes a deep violet color. 
 If you cut these roots thus degenerated, they present in 
 the interior the appearance of a purplish red color, 
 which continues even as far as the radicles. The plants 
 which have these roots, languish, take on a chlorotic tint, 
 and end by their dying, or producing insignificant
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT. 43 
 
 panicles; they contain scarcely any sugar. If we ex- 
 press the juice from these canes, and allow it to stand 
 for a while, there will be found at the bottom of the 
 vessel a considerable portion of fecula, with a reddish 
 tint, which subsequently passes into a violet tint by con- 
 tact with the air. There is developed, sometimes, on the 
 plant, much before its maturity, reddish points. If we 
 cut into this part of the cane, it will be found to be pass- 
 ing from a red into a violet; having no more sweet 
 juice, but a species of vinegar, of a very disagreeable 
 flavor, (which is due to the ferments which are developed 
 from the juice under the influence of the air). We have 
 found, likewise, the larvas of insects in the interior of 
 the cane. Unfortunately they were lost before I could 
 experiment upon them. We are in possession of a stalk 
 which had received a bruise at the middle of one of its 
 internodes. This wound, which only seemed to the 
 naked eye a simple dot or point, controlled the violet 
 color in all the internodes which had acquired the defects 
 above indicated ; but what is most remarkable is, that 
 the principal nodes did not participate in any way 
 in this alteration. This same coloring was observed 
 upon all the. canes injured by hailstones." 
 
 PROSTRATION BY WIND-STORMS. 
 
 It unfortunately happened to us, that as our crop of the 
 last season was just approaching the time of the putting 
 forth of the panicles, a violent storm prostrated the 
 whole field. In our dilemma, ignorant of what was 
 best to be done, we tried various methods of raising
 
 4:4 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 them. "We straightened up a number on opposite rows, 
 inclined them towards the center, and bound them 
 together by wisps of straw, or by strings, thinking that 
 by treating the whole field in this manner, we might 
 save a considerable portion of our crop ; but we soon 
 found that the knots on the canes were so tender that 
 a very large number of them broke in two at the joints, 
 and were thus rendered entirely useless. We discon- 
 tinued the experiment, after having satisfied ourselves of 
 its inefiicacy. On the portions of the field which we 
 left untouched, the plants were mingled together in 
 much confusion upon the ground, and we found to our 
 surprise, that no fermentation occurred ; nor did the plants 
 beneath die out because of the superincumbent masses, 
 but like corn under similar circumstances, the stalks 
 began to grow with a curve upward. In some cases, 
 the upper ones partly elevated themselves. The ones 
 beneath struggled to get to the light and air, in some 
 cases protruding their panicles where an opening occurred. 
 But Dr. Sicard, who met with a similar accident at the 
 time when they had not thrown out their seed-heads, 
 says, " At the end of several days they made efforts to 
 raise themselves. The canes which were on top were 
 nearly successful ; but not so those which were buried. It 
 seemed as if conscious that they could not overcome the 
 weight which rested upon them, they twisted their stalks 
 upwards, and in that prostrated condition developed 
 their flowers in the usual way. One of them which was 
 completely buried, and which could not reach the light, 
 had thrown out from each one of its nodes, shoots which 
 formed large panicles and yielded a rich harvest of
 
 DESCRIPTION" OF THE PLANT. 45 
 
 seeds, The canes have suffered nothing from this un- 
 propitious position. It was only those which were com- 
 pletely flat upon the ground and in contact with the 
 soil, which were unfit for the extraction of sugar. They 
 had been almost completely converted into feculent 
 matter. "We should observe that we had taken the 
 precaution to hill these sugar canes, which were thus 
 thrown upon the soil by storm. It is to be remarked 
 that the plants which were sown alone by themselves, 
 which were not hilled, had not been thrown down by 
 the wind, which corroborates the opinion previously 
 advanced by us of the uselessness of hilling. It now 
 seems to us proved that in letting the plant take care 
 of itself, without coming to its aid by artificial appliances, 
 the cultivation would be easier, and the harvest more 
 sure. Too much care given to certain products of the 
 soil are oftentimes more hurtful than useful." Unlike 
 Dr. Sicard's plants, my own were not in hills, but were 
 sown in drills at two, and two and a half feet apart. 
 I find that some rows of canes which were planted at 
 a distance of about a foot apart, in the row, in a more 
 exposed position than the field which was prostrated, 
 not only were not thrown down by the wind, but ripened 
 their seed-heads; and from our own experience we 
 learned the useful lesson that the Chinese Sugar Cane, 
 like our common corn, should not be planted so near 
 together, as, when they acquire their development, 
 to partially exclude the free access of air and sunlight 
 to every portion of the stalk. In fact the planting and 
 cultivation should, in all their details, be similar to 
 that given in the most approved practice to the corn crop.
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 SOILS REQUIEEB CULTUKE MANURING 
 
 WHEN we say that the Chinese Sugar Cane can grow 
 upon all soils on which a fair crop of Indian corn can be 
 raised, we have almost covered the entire question, and 
 given the desired information; but inasmuch as upon 
 certain soils only can the best results, so far as the pro- 
 duction of sugar is concerned, be obtained, we deem it 
 expedient to record a few facts which have been gathered 
 from the observations of cultivators in all parts of the 
 world. The experiments which have been made upon it 
 in Algeria, France, and this country, have proved the 
 fact that the best results-are obtained on loose, deep soils; 
 but it has been demonstrated that the juices of plants 
 grown upon soils largely composed of vegetable detritus, 
 is more abundant in fecula, and the sugar manifests a 
 somewhat weaker propensity to crystallize than upon any 
 others ; but in such cases, as it contains a large quantity 
 of fecula, it can be readily converted into alcohol. There 
 seems to be a peculiar difference bet ween the juices of the 
 imphee and of the Chinese Sugar Cane, which is a fair 
 representation of the difference between the juices of 
 the Chinese Sugar Cane itself when produced under two 
 different conditions of soil ; and thus, for instance, in the 
 Chinese Sugar Cane there is a larger proportion of fecula 
 than in the imphee, and it is consequently necessary for 
 the planter to take more care in his attempts to produce 
 [46]
 
 SOILS BEQUIRED CULTURE MANURING. 47 
 
 the sugar. " The juice of the Imphee," says Mr. Wray, 
 "is naturally more limpid, more free from extractive 
 matter, and proportionably easier to defecate." In cases 
 where the Chinese Sugar Cane has been grown on 
 swampy land, very large plants have been produced ; 
 but the juice contains sometimes several per cent, less of 
 crystallizable sugar, than when grown upon dry, warm 
 uplands. The canes grown upon warm, dry soils, situ- 
 ated so that they can be irrigated at pleasure from a 
 neighboring brook, according as the summer heat be- 
 comes more or less severe, will give the desired develop- 
 ment of stalk, and they will also have much purer juices ; 
 and hence, as we before observed, the effects of the con- 
 stant rains of this season will doubtless be to produce the 
 results which have been mentioned by Professor Heuzd 
 of Grignon, as resulting from the practice of excessive 
 irrigation. 
 
 M. Paul Madinier says, in his little pamphlet, that for 
 it are especially suitable light, sandy soils, and calcareous 
 soils ; but particularly those formed from alluvial depos- 
 its. That in nearly every case, especially in Algeria and 
 the southern part of France, very excellent results will 
 be attained by the employment of irrigation during the 
 early stages of its growth, and when it is most rapidly 
 developing itself; but that if employed at a later date, 
 when it is approaching maturity, it proves deleterious, by 
 impeding the elaboration of the saccharine principle, and 
 rendering the canes too watery. M. Hardy, the intelli- 
 gent director of the Government Nursery in Algeria, 
 says that the sorgho flourishes extremely well on soils con- 
 taining carbonate of lime, and he advises frequent liming
 
 48 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 of such soils as are deficient in it. This recommendation 
 finds its explanation in the astonishing success of the 
 sorgho on the chalky soils of Champagne, where, other- 
 wise, they obtained very mediocre results ; but, says M. 
 Madinier, if calcareous applications seem desirable, it is 
 by no means the same of such other saline manures as 
 have been found by experience to be unfavorable for the 
 sugar cane and the sugar beet. 
 
 Lacoste urges upon his readers to avoid attempting the 
 sorgho culture on soils where the soluble, inorganic mat- 
 ters are very abundant, because, they would thus be ex- 
 posed to the undesirable perplexity of producing juice in 
 their plants of a saline character, and completely unsuit- 
 able to the extraction of sugar. 
 
 Count Beauregard says that the sorgho will nourish 
 well on almost all soils, if they be underdrained and irri- 
 gated ; but his experience shows him what would be sup- 
 posed by any sensible man, that the best results are ob- 
 tained on soils of the best quality that are best cultivated. 
 
 We may mention in respect to the soils, that one of 
 the French writers speaks of having procured fine crops 
 of sorgho from a soil on which he thinks he would not 
 have have got a fair crop of any other forage plant ; 
 and the acre of plants which I raised myself last year, 
 was on a coarse, gravelly loam, resting on a pure gravelly 
 subsoil, so hard that it was a matter of difficulty to plow 
 it, and subsoiling was almost impossible. From the ex- 
 perience of all the cultivators with whose writings I have 
 met, I should advise the choice of land of medium qual- 
 ity, and between a black loam and a pure gravel, and of 
 a moderate richness.
 
 SOILS REQUIRED CULTURE MANURING. 49 
 
 SHOULD HILLING BE PRACTICED? 
 
 There are in our own country, advanced by various 
 cultivators, conflicting opinions relative to the practice of 
 hilling corn. Some maintain its superior efficacy in 
 causing the appearance of extra roots, which serve to pro- 
 tect the plants from prostration by storms, and others as 
 strenuously urging that the very effort thus forced upon 
 the plant is an unnatural one, and is met by the penalty 
 of diminishing its strength. This same adversity of 
 opinion has been manifested in respect to the sorgho cul- 
 ture. Mr. Hardy, of Algiers, hills his plants three feet 
 apart, and irrigates them by making alongside each row a 
 slight surface furrow with a corn plow, and turning in it 
 a gentle streamlet of water from his brook or reservoir ; 
 but Dr. Sicard maintains that hilling is very unadvisable, 
 because the Chinese Sugar Cane has need of roots com- 
 mencing on the stalk above the surface of the ground ; 
 that, by their free contact with the atmosphere, there 
 may be absorbed carbonic acid and other nutritive gases, 
 and the just starting sap being thus early acted upon by 
 gases and sunbeam, is made more prone to crystallize at 
 a later period of its elaboration. His assumptions, he 
 maintains, were fully borne out by the comparative ex- 
 periments made on the hilled and flat cultivated plants 
 on his field. Without assuming the right or ability to 
 settle the vexed question as to the chemical principles 
 involved, I would merely give my preference to the sys- 
 tem of cultivating flat and in drills on fair soils, for with 
 the improved implements which are so easily obtainable 
 at this time, and without which no farmer can really 
 8
 
 50 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 afford to cultivate his crops, the whole ground can be 
 effectually stirred up to the very foot of each plant, and 
 the double labor of turning at the end of rows crossing 
 each other be avoided ; the plants being spaced in the 
 rows at a suitable distance apart, are not overcrowded as 
 they are in hills, and they thus have greater tendency to 
 ripen their seed-heads. I should recommend planting at 
 three and a half feet apart, the plants in the row thinned 
 out to twelve inches apart. 
 
 DEEP CULTURE-SUBSOIL PLOWING. 
 
 The land should, of course, be well worked and deeply 
 stirred, and the use of the subsoil plow has on our 
 farm been attended with the happiest results. By its 
 disturbing influence upon the subjacent particles of the 
 soil, not only are spaces made through which in infinite 
 numbers are insinuated the delicate radicles of the grow- 
 ing plant, but at the same time sunlight, and the trick- 
 ling dew drops, and the gases of the atmosphere, descend 
 through the interstices and conspire to assist the develop- 
 ments of vegetable life. To a plant which is so tardy in 
 acquiring a rapidity in growth as the sorgho, it is espe- 
 cially desirable to give assistance in its early stages. 
 The swelling of the parent seed, the putting forth of the 
 first radicle, and the progressive accretions of matter, 
 are all expedited by a sufficient contact with air, heat, 
 light, and moisture. When the soil remains quite com- 
 pact, by reason of much moisture present, the air, and 
 consequently warmth, is to a great extent excluded, and 
 the seed lying in the soil is not brought in contact with
 
 SOILS REQUIRED CULTURE MANURING. 51 
 
 the degree of warmth, which is necessary to aid the pro- 
 cess of germination, and thus, in many cases, will rot in 
 the ground. The subsoil plow, running as it does 
 deep beneath the surface, disturbs the relations of the 
 particles from the lowest portion of its path of travel up 
 to the topmost layers, and if its aid be called in when 
 the seed is first germinating, or when the tiny shoot is 
 but first above ground, the air, the dew, and the sun- 
 light are enabled to act directly upon its roots, and they 
 acquire great vigor and strength. 
 
 It is our practice at the Farm School to use a small 
 subsoil plow, with one horse* to mark out our rows of . 
 sorgho and corn in place of the small plow, marker, or 
 chain commonly employed. By so doing, we thoroughly 
 loosen the soil directly under our row of plants, and pre- 
 pare for the deposit of the seed in a most thorough and 
 excellent manner. If the subsoil plow be subsequently 
 run between the rows once or twice during the season, the 
 whole ground will have been disturbed. 
 
 SOAKING SEED. 
 
 I think very favorably of the practice of soaking the 
 seed of the sorgho for twenty -four hours before planting. 
 It has been found by direct experiment that seeds deprived 
 of the hulls will germinate much sooner than those planted 
 at the same time but not so treated. Dr. Sicard, to try 
 the experiment, planted two lots of seed, one with, the 
 other without the hulls, and the latter were out of the 
 
 * This admirable instrument is manufactured by Nourse, Mason, 
 & Co., of Boston, from plans furnished by Professor J. J. Mapes.
 
 52 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 ground in ten days, five days before the other. This 
 method of procedure will be specially commendable in 
 those latitudes where the warmth of summer is of brief 
 duration, and every day that can be saved in the earlier 
 stages of growth is highly valuable. In warm soils, 
 which are likewise moist, the greatest rapidity of germi- 
 nation will be observed, and it behoves us to in some 
 manner imitate these desirable conditions by soaking the 
 seed for twenty -four hours in tepid water, to which is 
 added a small quantity of saltpeter, say about one ounce 
 to six gallons of water. Previous to sowing, it should be 
 rolled in plaster. 
 
 COVERING LIGHTLY. 
 
 It is a well known fact that it is highly unadvisable to 
 cover the seeds of certain of our vegetables, the carrot 
 for instance, too deeply, lest they rot. The sorgho is not 
 an exception to the rule, and the planter should beware 
 lestrhis hands carelessly cover the seed with more than 
 a light covering of earth ; for if continued moist weather 
 follows the planting, the seed will certainly rot in the 
 ground. 
 
 MANURES. 
 
 In considering the question as to which manure is 
 most suitable for the sorgho, we must recall the fact pre- 
 viously noticed in this work, that if the canes be grown 
 on soils in which either naturally or by artificial appli- 
 cation there are present excessive quantities of soluble 
 saline matter, so much will be absorbed by the plant as
 
 SOILS REQUIRED C ULTURE MANURING. 
 
 53 
 
 to seriously impair the crystallizability of the sap. 
 Horse manure being violent in its action, and yielding a 
 large proportion of ammonia, is more unsuitable than 
 that of horned cattle, but the latter, even, is inferior 
 to the plowing in of clover, and other green crops. 
 From the analysis given by M. Avequin, of New 
 Orleans, which will be found in the Appendix, it will be 
 seen that the most important ingredients in the ash of 
 the sorgho are the phosphates of lime and magnesia, 
 acetate, muriate, and sulphate of potash, together with 
 hydrated silica and oxides of iron and manganese. 
 Lacoste gives in his pamphlet the following analysis by 
 M. Hetet, from the "Bevue Colouiale," 1856, page 164. 
 
 Water, 
 
 Salts, 
 Sugar, 
 
 Woody fibre, 
 Albumen, 
 Fatty matter, 
 Cerosie, 
 
 70-000 
 0-537 
 
 29-463 
 
 100-000 
 
 The 0-537 contains 
 Silica, 0-062 
 
 Chlorine, 
 Sulph. Acid, 
 j^Phosph. " 
 Carbonic " >0'47o 
 Potash, 
 Lime, 
 Magnesia, 
 
 > 0-537 
 
 The water given in the Sorgho analysis, he thinks some- 
 what less than it should be, say two per cent. 
 
 The bagasse, or crushed canes that have passed 
 through the mill, should be returned to the field and 
 plowed under, for like those of ordinary sugar cane they 
 will prove highly advantageous. Sicard mentions the 
 fact that one M. Lautier sowed some Chinese Suo^ar
 
 54 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 Cane in a field of potatoes, and with good results so far 
 as obtaining a crop of large canes was concerned. Each 
 potato had received, when planted, a handful of pigeon's 
 dung, and the sugar canes were planted when the po- 
 tatoes had attained the size of a pigeon's egg. The 
 canes given to the Doctor were of a fine size and ap- 
 pearance, but he found their juices quite unfit for sugar 
 making, because of the presence of foreign matters 
 therein contained ; thus clearly demonstrating the in- 
 jurious effects of an application of ammoniacal manure. 
 We have reason to regret that in sending the seed from 
 Shanghae, the Count de Montigny was not at the same 
 time able to advise us as to the details of cultivation 
 and manuring practiced by the Chinese. Probably no 
 country in the world can show such scientifically pur- 
 sued agriculture as China, and it is a most untoward 
 circumstance that during the present year anything 
 should have occurred in our relations with that country 
 to retard a closer intimacy with her people. It would 
 confer great riches upon our farmers if some explorers 
 could but report in detail upon the systems of 'husbandry 
 employed in China, for they would be shown so su- 
 perior to our own practices that they should necessarily 
 be imitated to a considerable extent. 
 
 CULTIYATIOX. 
 
 As soon as the rows can be seen and this would 
 be hastened by dropping a radish seed in each hill of 
 sorgho the cultivator, or horse-shoe, should be run 
 through the piece, to destroy any weeds while they are
 
 SOILS REQUIRED CULTURE MANURING. 55 
 
 small and tender, As soon after this as it is possible 
 to spare time, we run the one horse subsoil plow 
 twice between the rows, going up alongside one row, 
 and down by the other. The subsequent cultivation 
 is only a repetition of this practice. 
 
 HYBRIDIZATION. 
 
 It must be remembered, that the Chinese Sugar Cane is 
 a congener to broom corn, Guinea or chocolate corn, 
 Doura and Egyptian millet, and must not be planted 
 anywhere near any one of these, for in such case it 
 would most undoubtedly hybridize with them and lose 
 a great part of its sugar-bearing qualities. It is thought 
 by many extremely probable that the above varieties 
 are only hybridizations of the same original plant. 
 
 CURING- FODDER. 
 
 Considerable care should be taken in curing the fall 
 crop for stacking. Mr. D. Jay Browne recommends cut- 
 ting the stalks when the thermometer stands at 40 to 50 
 degrees Fahr., for it is then less likely to sour. The 
 method of cutting practiced by Dr. Eobert Battey, of 
 Georgia, is as follows : " The fodder (leaves) should be 
 stripped, as is corn, by the first set of hands; another set 
 cut off one and a half to two feet of the top of the stalk 
 with the seed, while others cut the cane at the ground 
 and throw it into piles, from whence it is hauled to the 
 press." It will scarcely be necessary, I trust, to urge 
 the necessit}'- of having got the mill and boilers in readi-
 
 56 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 ness to crush and boil, before commencing the harvest of 
 the crop. The canes should be allowed to lie but a 
 short time before being worked up, and hence it will be 
 advisable to commence by cutting and crushing the canes 
 which ripen before the major part of the crop, and each 
 day cutting up only as much as can be disposed of con- 
 veniently. 
 
 SAYING SEED. 
 
 The seed heads, with the two feet of stalk attached, 
 should be made into small bundles, and laid up or hung 
 up in the loft to dry. At a convenient season, the seed 
 should be stripped off with a broom-corn machine, a 
 comb, or by some other good method.* Mr. Wray has 
 removed his seed by putting the heads into a bag, and 
 threshing it with flails. There is a demand now created 
 for a sorgho seed threshing machine, and it will not be 
 long before it is supplied. The seed may be cleaned by 
 rubbing briskly between the hands, and winnowing in a 
 strong wind. The leaves stripped from the canes should 
 be cured and stored for fodder. 
 
 * A suggestion for a cylinder-hatchel, for stripping the seed, will be 
 found in the Appendix, in letter of Hedges, Free & Co.
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 VALUE AS A F< RAGE CROP TESTIMONY OF CULTIVATOES. 
 
 THE plan I purpose to pursue in discussing the claims 
 of the sorgho to the attention of our farmers, is entirely 
 different from those of other investigators who have pre- 
 ceded me; for I shall at first consider its value as a 
 forage crop and a cereal, and endeavor to show that, even 
 if we could not make from it sugar, syrup, alcohol, or any 
 other of its products, we still have reason for congratu- 
 lating ourselves upon its introduction. If this be success- 
 fully accomplished, it is plain that, whatever may be the 
 fluctuations in its other yields of profit, it will have a 
 regular commercial value as a means of fattening stock, 
 and in this single department be a source of large wealth 
 to the nation. It may possibly be that some of my more 
 speculative readers may prefer to omit the sober consid- 
 erations of this chapter, and at once pass over to the 
 more alluring phases of the following one ; but I have 
 too vivid a recollection of former vegetable wonders not 
 to seek to prove to our farmers that, in cultivating the 
 Chinese Sugar Cane, they will be more fortunate than 
 they were with the Morus mutticautis, which, after the 
 subsidence of the silk fever, was found to be unfit for 
 anything, except an application of the pick ax and plow. 
 Although I think the sorgho is destined to rank alongside 
 the sugar cane, Indian corn, cotton, and hemp, in the list 
 of our industrial plants, I firmly believe that it will be con-
 
 58 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 demned and abused by hundreds who are cultivating it 
 this year. Not because of any fault in the plant, but be- 
 cause the most extravagant notions of turning a small 
 garden patch into a rich sugar plantation have been en- 
 tertained, and the hope has been unwisely put forth by 
 some, that, without any of the proper apparatus, even 
 without the necessary conditions of growth, large quan- 
 tities of crystallized sugar could easily be obtained. As 
 I know by personal communication, in many instances 
 these dreams of inordinate wealth have been cherished 
 by persons of considerable intelligence, and I sincerely 
 trust that should these lines fall under the notice of any 
 such, they will not intemperately throw aside a really 
 wonderful plant after a single year's imperfect trial, but 
 with me be content to assume more conservative grounds. 
 
 SOWING FOE PODDER. 
 
 In cultivating the sorgho for its forage, it should be 
 sown in drills two feet apart, letting fall about fifteen to 
 twenty seeds to the foot. I think this method much pre- 
 ferable to sowing broadcast, for whilst I believe the 
 aggregate weight of fodder would be more considerable, 
 it gives a marked superiority in allowing a "root cleaner" 
 to be run between the drills, and the growth of enormous 
 crops of weeds, which might spring up in broadcast 
 sorgho, would be entirely prevented. In addition to this, 
 the field presents a more regular and orderly appearance, 
 the crop is easier to cut, not so liable to lodge, and in 
 cutting off a first crop, the sunlight and air is more freely 
 admitted to the roots and stubble, and the second crop of 
 rattoons, or new shoots, is more likely to be a full one.
 
 VALUE AS A FORAGE CEOP. 59 
 
 EATTOONING. 
 
 In speaking of rattooning, we have touched upon a 
 property of the sorgho, which materially distinguishes 
 it from corn fodder, and shows its superiority. The 
 life-principle of the sorgho is so active, that if the plants 
 be cut down when they are either small or large, and 
 the stubble is suffered to remain undisturbed, there will 
 immediately spriug up from the old stocks a new set of 
 canes, or rattoons, and if the season be long enough, the 
 new plants will, like their predecessors, run through all 
 the phases of growth, and bear and ripen seed. 
 
 CUTTING FODDER. 
 
 Hence, when cultivated for fodder, the crop should be 
 mowed down as soon as it is large enough to feed to 
 stock ; and according to the length of the season, two, 
 three, four, and even five crops can be obtained. Mr. D. 
 Jay Browne speaks of having known of five cuttings for 
 fodder, in Florida, last year; the last crop perfecting its seed. 
 
 M. Ch. d'lvernois says, in a letter addressed to the 
 President of the Imperial Zoological Acclimation Society, 
 that the result of 'his extended experiments satisfies him 
 that the sorgho is a plant of immense value. He has 
 taken at Hyeres, during the last season, five abundant 
 cuttings on a soil light and fertile, but not capable of 
 being irrigated, and upon which he claims that scarce 
 any other forage crop would have given a result at 
 nil analogous. The fodder was greedily eaten by all his 
 cattle. He thinks that the sorgho will be an acquisition 
 of surprising value as a fodder crop for the district of
 
 60 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 Provence, where so very few fodder plants can withstand 
 the four and a half months of absolute drought. He 
 believes that, as to the crop of seed, the more northern 
 districts of France cannot hope to compete with the 
 southern, but that it would be profitable if cut for fodder 
 before the ripening of the grain, as a cheap and abundant 
 supply of seed could always be obtained from more 
 southern latitudes. 
 
 TESTIMONY OF D. JAY BROWNE. ESQ. 
 
 Mr. Browne, at the last meeting, at Washington, of 
 the United States Agricultural Society, being called 
 upon by the Chair, gave a most interesting history of 
 his investigations and experience with the plant. He 
 mentioned that in Kentucky, he knew of nine tons of 
 fodder being raised on an acre, the weight taken after 
 three months drying. As a fodder crop, he thought its 
 geographical range would correspond to Indian corn, as it 
 had been grown as far north as St. Paul, Minnesota, and 
 fully ripened its seeds in Massachusetts and Illinois. He 
 cited instances of cows which had been fed upon this 
 cane exclusively, giving a diminished quantity of milk, 
 but of increased richness of quality. He had seen two 
 stock cows, not giving milk, which had subsisted en- 
 tirely upon it for six weeks, and were in good condition 
 for the butcher. Animals , fed upon it in the green 
 state throve remarkably well, affording excellent milk, 
 without exhibiting symptoms of "hoveu," or flatulency, 
 which are sometimes produced by feeding upon succu- 
 lent clover or corn.
 
 VALUE AS A FOEAGE CROP. 61 
 
 TESTIMONY OP ASA WHITNEY. 
 
 Mr. Whitney, "the Eailroad Napoleon," whose dairy 
 farm is near the city of Washington, found that if the 
 morning's milk of cows fed upon the sorgho were put in 
 a bottle or laid on the ice to keep it cool, by night it 
 would have become so thickened with cream as to be 
 removed from the bottle with some difficulty. A gentle- 
 man in Massachusetts informed me that he had experi- 
 mented with sorgho in feeding a number of cows, and 
 that it not only augmented the richness of the milk, but 
 the quantity likewise. 
 
 TESTIMONY OF AUTHOR. 
 
 We have on our farm a pair of large Conestoga horses, 
 which are kept constantly at hard work throughout the 
 season. Last year we fed them for about six weeks on 
 sorgho stalks, with nothing else except a little timothy 
 hay ; and we found that, although they were continually 
 plowing, hauling stones and lumber, and performing such 
 laborious duty, yet at the end of the time they were as 
 sleek and fat as could be desired. 
 
 TESTIMONY OE MR. GRATZ, OF KENTUCKY. 
 
 Benjamin Grratz, Esq., of Lexington, Kentucky, Presi- 
 dent of the County Agricultural Society, informs me in 
 a recent letter, that his son, a large planter, tried some 
 experiments in feeding his mules on sorgho, and that 
 " they consumed it with great avidity, leaving no residue. 
 He also gave a portion to his 1'ogs, with the same result.
 
 62 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 He is under the impression that it will prove very valu- 
 able for stock generally." 
 
 Mr. J. F. C. Hyde, of Newton Centre, Massachusetts, 
 says at page 32 of his book, " I used the seed cane stalks 
 and leaves for fodder ; cut up the stalks and fed to horses, 
 cows, and swine, and they would eat it with the greatest 
 avidity, even like shelled cor ." 
 
 Doctor Bowman, of Illinois, has fed the stalks to his 
 horses, and writes me in the most enthusiastic manner of 
 its value for forage. 
 
 MR. WRAY'S REMARKS AT THE PARSERS' CLUB. 
 
 At a recent meeting of the Farmers' Club of the Ameri- 
 can Institute, Mr. Wray gave some account of his discov- 
 ery of the imphee, and, among other things of his expe- 
 rience, mentioned the fact that it had been his practice to 
 feed the green plants to his animals. He cuts them into 
 pieces and sprinkles upon each mess a handful of salt. 
 Under this treatment he finds all descriptions of stock to 
 keep in good working condition, and increase in fat. 
 The Kaffirs told him not to feed to his animals the bag- 
 asse ; and, disregarding their advice, he lost several head 
 of cattle, from the fact, as he learned by opening their 
 bodies after death, that the bagasse when taken into the 
 stomach formed itself into large balls, from the succes- 
 sive accumulations of which death had ultimately been 
 caused. This undesirable result is not attained when the 
 planter takes the precaution of adding to the bagasse the 
 scum removed from the boilers.
 
 VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP. 63 
 
 COUNT BEAUREGARD'S EXPERIENCE. 
 
 The illustrious President of the Agricultural Assembly 
 of Toulon, Count Beauregard, mentions the fact that he 
 had " sustained for a month and a half sixty head of 
 stock with the produce of a hectare (about two acres), 
 which had yielded sugar sorgho the previous year, and 
 which, by a circumstance independent of my wish, had 
 not been resown this year, and had received but one light 
 plowing, and no manure. This hectare was so well pro- 
 vided with vigorous plants springing from the seeds 
 which had been spilled at the harvest, that I did not feel 
 willing to turn them under, and thus we were enabled 
 throughout the entire month July and half of August, to 
 give to our animals an excellent nourishment, and one on 
 which they throve marvelously well." And, further- 
 more, he says, " The only thing which my very consider- 
 able experience of the past three years constrains me to 
 add is, that this plant, contrary to what might be feared, 
 robs and deteriorates the soil to a much less extent than 
 many others with which I am acquainted; for I have 
 harvested three crops in three consecutive years from the 
 same field, with but a slight manuring in each case, and 
 the yields have been more and more excellent." 
 
 TESTIMONY OP G. DE LACOSTE. 
 
 Lacoste .says, p. 26 of his book, that if fed green to 
 cows, the sorgho will cause an increased flow of milk, 
 and that every portion of the saccharine stalk is eaten 
 with avidity by cattle, and that it seems specially adapted 
 to nourishing them.
 
 64 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 GOVERNOR GARDNER, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 Hon. H. J. Gardner, Governor of Massachusetts, in a 
 letter to Mr. J. F. C. Hyde, enumerates the following 
 facts : 
 
 " As a green fodder it produces more food for cattle 
 on the same space, and at the same cost as corn. Cattle 
 prefer it to corn fodder ; for I repeatedly gave it mixed 
 with corn stalks to cows, and it was amusing to see them 
 carefully select the sugar canes from the other. It is 
 more juicy and nutritious for milch cows than any other 
 fodder, for it is well known that sugar contains more 
 nourishment than almost any other vegetable production 
 in daily use." 
 
 EXPERIENCE OF C. I. FLINT, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 Chas. L. Flint, Esq., Secretary of the Massachusetts 
 State Board of Agriculture, in his letter to Mr. Hyde, 
 says that he knows instances where cattle picked it out, 
 stalk by stalk, from bundles of corn stalks ; and further, 
 " there seems every reason to believe that, as a forage 
 plant, it will very rapidly come into general favor, and 
 help us essentially through our summer drouths." 
 
 CURING. 
 
 Any one of my readers who has grown our common 
 corn for fodder, will understand that considerable care 
 must be taken in curing the green succulent stalks of the 
 sorgho. It should be cut in the morning, when the dew 
 is off the plants, and suffered to lie on the ground and
 
 VALUE AS A FOKAGL CEOP. 65 
 
 become well dried before it is bound up. The bundles 
 should be small, and before putting them in stack, or in 
 the barns, should be set up in groups in the field to cause 
 a further quantity of water to be evaporated. The stack 
 should, of course, be built on rails or other convenient 
 poles, to allow of a circulation of air beneath, and to 
 carry out this requisition to a greater extent, it is well to 
 build the stack around rails set up on end, and leaning 
 inwards towards the center ; by which plan, of course, 
 the interior of the stack is in direct contact with the 
 atmosphere, and thus heating will not so soon occur. 
 The extra trouble of curing is repaid by the increased 
 quantity of product, as compared with hay ; but even 
 taking considerable precautions, it may occur that an 
 inexperienced person will not be able to save his crop in 
 good condition on a first trial. 
 
 THE SORGHO IN TEXAS THIS TEAR. 
 
 The newspaper accounts from Texas, which have 
 recently appeared, state the fact, that in all parts of that 
 state the Chinese Sugar Cane has manifested its superi- 
 ority to sowed corn in withstanding the drouth. 
 
 ITS ABILITY TO WITHSTAND DROUTH. 
 
 This entirely agrees with my experience of it last 
 summer ; for the sorgho did not manifest its real rapidity 
 of growth until the commencement of the two months 
 " heated term" which we endured. "When our corn 
 plants drooped and curled their leaves, the sorgho was 
 not only unaffected b) the heat, but daily grew in beauty
 
 66 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 of appearance and height. When the great profits of 
 sowing a piece of corn for fodder, to be cut up and fed to 
 the stock in their stalls, shall have become generally 
 appreciated, we may confidently look for the universal 
 practice of replacing it in great part by the sorgho, both 
 because of its multiplied cuttings, its nutritive properties, 
 and its superior ability to withstand the scorching suns 
 of midsummer. 
 
 ITS NUTRITIVE QUALITIES. 
 
 It may perhaps be well in this connection to refer 
 to the fact that in Cuba the negroes, and the animals 
 employed on the sugar plantations, are at no time of 
 the year compelled to undergo more unremitting toil 
 than during the boiling season ; they are compelled to 
 keep mills and boilers at work night and day, for the 
 season allowed them to work up the crop of canes is 
 brief, and they must employ their time to the best ad- 
 vantage. It is customary to work the hands in " gangs," 
 who relieve each other alternately, one gang being at 
 work while the other rests. Yet with all this it is a fact 
 evident to every one who has visited an "Ingenio," or 
 sugar plantation, that both negroes and animals, by 
 reason of drinking the juice, and eating the stalks of 
 the cane, are more sleek and healthy than at any other 
 season of the year. Now this increase in fat is chemically 
 explained by the presence of large quantities of carbon 
 in the form of sugar, and as every one knows, sugar 
 and fat are made of ingredients entirely the same, viz., 
 carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. If this be borne in 
 mind, then it will be no more than fair to anticipate
 
 VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP. 67 
 
 what is really the fact, that animals fed upon the sorgho 
 stalks, should be quickly brought into a sleek, fat 
 condition. 
 
 SIZE OP STALKS IN NORTH AFRICA. 
 
 F. Bourdais, the distiller, at Constantine, Algeria, says, 
 and he calls upon Mr. Hardy to testify to the fact, that on 
 his place he has had a number of sorgho plants which sent 
 up sixteen and eighteen suckers to a height of twelve feet, 
 and measured four inches and three quarters in circum- 
 ference at the base. Numbers of others sent up ten and 
 twelve shoots; and the average of his field was six and 
 seven shoots from a single seed. 
 
 TESTIMONY OF DR. TURREL AND LACOSTE. 
 
 Dr. Turrel, in his article to the Bulletin Mensuel de la 
 Societe Imp. Zool. d? Acclimation, says, that his pigs 
 crunch the succulent and sweet stalks of the sorgho with 
 delight. They devour the seeds, and thrive on them. 
 Grellet Balquerie maintains that sorgho seed can be fed 
 to horses in place of oats. 
 
 Lacoste, in a lettter to the Imperial Society, says, that 
 "the seeds fattened poultry, and for feeding to horses, 
 will profitably replace barley; and for this one thing, 
 pay all costs of cultivation." According to Professor 
 Thompson,* of Glasgow, the barley contains 11.31 per 
 cent of nutritive matter. 
 
 * Thompson's " Food of An ; mals." N. T.. C. M. Saxton & Co-
 
 b THE CHINESE SUGAR CAtfE. 
 
 THE TOTE OF THE JURY OF ANIMALS. 
 
 Animal instinct is, after all, the best test of the com- 
 parative value of different substances for forage ; and, 
 taking this view of the case, we can establish beyond 
 cavil the fact that sorgho seed is good feed for poultry 
 and birds of all descriptions. Sundry of the French 
 experimenters lament their inability to protect their 
 sowings of seed from the voracious attacks of sparrows ; 
 and in one of our southern states the entire crop of seed, 
 on. a small plot in a gentleman's garden, was made way 
 with by his chickens and pigeons. 
 
 THE COLORING MATTERS IN THE SEED. 
 
 The coloring matter in the hulls is so easily separated, 
 and carried with the fluids of the animal body, that the 
 flesh, and even the minute cellular structure of the bones 
 of poultry, fed upon sorgho seed, becomes actually dyed 
 purple. Mr. Wray says, he has seen in Count Beaure- 
 gard's poultry-yard, the droppings of chickens fed on 
 the seeds, that could at once be distinguished, by their 
 purplish hue, from those of the other inmates of the yard. 
 I have been shown, by that gentleman, a piece of 
 pigeon's dung that had, by accident, been packed in a 
 case of his sorgho seed-heads, and been received in this 
 country, direct, from Hyeres, which was as purple as a 
 mulberry stain. Of course it will be understood, that 
 this coloring matter is entirely without taste, and no 
 raj ury is done to the fowl. In fact, it may become a 
 fashionable thing to pay extra for purple broiled chicken.
 
 VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP. 69 
 
 YIELD PER ACRE OP SEED AND FODDER. 
 
 In respect to the yield of seed per acre, the north, says 
 M. d'lvernois, cannot hope to equal the south, where 
 sixty bushels are produced. This result was obtained in 
 the neighborhood of Hye'res. In our own country, 
 Col. Peters, of Georgia, obtained twenty-five bushels per 
 acre, of thirty-six pounds per bushel. Gov. Hammond, 
 of South Carolina, weighed a peck after three days' 
 drying in the sun, and found the weight to be thirty- 
 eight pounds per bushel. I have weighed several lots 
 from Yilmorin, Andrieux, & Co., of Paris, and Count 
 Beauregard, and found the weight to vary from forty to 
 forty-eight pounds. Mr. Hyde says the yield is from 
 twenty-five to fifty bushels to the acre. 
 
 Thus we see that on partially exhausted wheat soils, 
 or alluvial soils, both of which are specially adapted to 
 the sorgho, instead of a poor yield of wheat, we may 
 plant the former, and, not taking anything else into con- 
 sideration, obtain a crop of from twenty-five to sixty 
 bushels of seed. 
 
 In the early portion of this chapter, I mentioned that 
 Mr. Brown said that nine tons of dry fodder had been 
 cut in Kentucky last season : Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, 
 president of the United States Agricultural Society, tells 
 me that he knows one instance where 19.844 Ibs. of 
 fodder had been obtained, the weight taken after a three 
 months' drying. The weight of the green stalks varies 
 from seven to forty tons, according to circumstances. 
 The Director of the Government Nursery at Hamma, 
 Algiers, in his report to the Minister of War (see
 
 70 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 appendix), says lie got a result of 83,250 Ibs. of green 
 forage, per acre. Our own Patent Office Keport, for 1855, 
 says, " Aside from other economical uses, its value for 
 feeding to animals alone, in every section of the Union 
 where it will thrive, cannot be surpassed by any other 
 crop, as a greater amount of nutritious fodder cannot be 
 obtained so cheaply in a given space within so short a 
 time ; and without wishing to present the question in an 
 extravagant light, it may be stated, that this crop is 
 susceptible of being cultivated within the territory of the 
 United States, to an extent equal to that of Indian corn, 
 say 25,000,000 acres per annum; and estimating the 
 average yield of dry or cured fodder to the acre at two 
 tons, the yearly amount produced would be 50,000,000 
 tons, which, to keep within bounds, would be worth at 
 least $500,000,000, besides the profits derived from the 
 animals in milk, flesh, labor, and wool." 
 
 SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO GROW MORE THAN ONE TEAR. 
 
 It is not at all desirable to suffer the stubble of canes 
 sown for fodder to remain all winter and throughout the 
 subsequent summer, to raise a second year's crop of 
 fodder or sugar ; for the experience of Mr. Hardy shows 
 that the shoots of the second year are not larger than 
 one's little finger, and attain only a feeble growth, the 
 third season they are contemptible in size. The farmer 
 may well be contented with the fodder of the first year's 
 production, for if it be thought profitable practice to 
 keep land in grass that cuts only a ton or a ton and a half 
 per acre, what should be our estimate of a fodder crop as
 
 VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP. 71 
 
 good as hay, and giving ten tons of dried nutritious matter, 
 with but light manuring ? 
 
 If a farmer has a field lying so that he can irrigate it 
 by damming tne waters of some small creek or brooklet, 
 and by means of a flood-gate turning the water at will 
 into small plow furrows, running alongside each row, 
 it certainly would be very judicious practice to put it 
 into sorgho fodder ; for as his desire is not to make 
 crystallized sugar, or other of the products of its sweet 
 juices, excessive irrigation will not only do no harm to 
 his crop, but will cause magnificent growths of plants in 
 every way suitable for nourishing his stock. 
 
 It must not be supposed that because Monsieur Hardy 
 and others have obtained ten tons of dried forage from an 
 acre of sorgho, the labor of every farmer, without res- 
 pect to peculiarities of practice, soil, or climate, will be 
 rewarded to an equal extent. If the proper soils be 
 selected, and the proper method of culture be pursued, it 
 lies within the reach of all to duplicate his success. With 
 this culture in all its phases, forage, syrup, sugar, or any 
 other, good judgment and perseverance will always win 
 the prize.
 
 CHAPTEE Y. 
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING-. 
 
 A WEST INDIAN SUGAR PLANTATIOX-CUTTING-CRUSHING-BOILLN 7 G. 
 
 IT is useless to conceal the fact, that, despite its great 
 excellence as a forage crop, and despite its other manifold 
 uses, the public are looking to the sorgho as a SUGAR 
 PLANT with more expectation and apprehension than in 
 any other light. Until the present feverish excitement 
 shall have subsided into more reasonable and practical 
 channels, it must be expected that when the vivid dreams 
 of sugar planting in garden spots and on five acre corn 
 fields, now, alas, so prevalent, are dispelled, and men 
 begin to realize that a good sugar plantation, with appro- 
 priate buildings and machinery, costs a vast deal of money, 
 much dissatisfaction will be experienced and publicly 
 manifested. For this reason, and to shield from blows 
 and insults a promising agricultural staple, I have chosen 
 to consider it, first, as a forage crop. 
 
 As yet, the sugar made from the juice of the sorgho 
 has been in a very small way not more than a few 
 ounces, at most, at one time and as this chapter is writ- 
 ten before the earliest of this season's crops have been 
 worked up, I cannot speak of sorgho sugar making on 
 a large scale, but must defer such remarks to appear in 
 the Appendix, after I have been to South Carolina and 
 
 [72]
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 73 
 
 witnessed the extensive operations on the place of Gover- 
 nor Hammond, which, I trust, will occur in time to per- 
 mit their insertion in the first edition of this work. 
 Should the season, however, continue as inauspicious as 
 it has been heretofore, it may be necessary to issue the 
 first edition to fill the numerous orders already received 
 in advance, and defer until the second edition the report 
 on the southern experiments. 
 
 I have given in this chapter full details for the best 
 processes of sugar making, and engravings of suitable 
 apparatus, furnished expressly for the work by Mr. John 
 W. Eeid, of No. 11 Old Slip, New York, and made from 
 drawings of articles which he furnishes to planters, so 
 that in case it is proved that on our soil and in our cli- 
 mate either the sorgho or the imphee may really rank as 
 sugar-producing plants, our farmers and planters may be 
 intelligently advised as to the steps necessary to pur- 
 sue to institute sugar making experiments on a large or 
 small scale. 
 
 THE CAUSE FOR PRESENT HIGH PRICES. 
 
 Speaking of the great need which is felt for a new 
 sugar plant, the "New York Tribune" remarks as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " The recent general enhancement of the current prices 
 of sugars, though stimulated and swelled by speculation, 
 has a genuine basis. In the first place, there is an in- 
 crease of several per cent, in the population of the civil- 
 ized world within the last quarter of n, century, insuring 
 a like increase in the natural demand lor sugar. Then it 
 is not doubtful that, in the general absence of wars, the 
 4
 
 74 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 proportion of people able to purchase and consume sugar 
 and other luxuries to the extent of their desires, has like- 
 wise increased. It is farther true that the general manu- 
 facture and use of preserved fruits, &c., is rapidly increas- 
 ing. But the successive failures of the grape for several 
 years past has led to the diversion of the beet crop of 
 France, which is very large and important, from the 
 production of sugar to that of brandy the French 
 brandies, formerly made of the juice of the grape, bear- 
 ing a reputation and a price throughout the world which 
 render this conversion highly profitable. Hence France, 
 which, from Napoleon's coronation to Louis Phillippe's 
 dethronement, had been steadily advancing toward the 
 point of producing her own sugar, has recently been fall- 
 ing rapidly back to a position of dependence for her 
 supply on the tropical, cane-growing Indies. It is under- 
 stood that the production of sugar in the British West 
 Indies has fallen off since emancipation ; the liberated 
 negroes finding employment more to their taste than the 
 severe labor of the cane-field and sugar-mill ; though in 
 British Guiana the production of sugar has recently been, 
 and is still, rapidly increasing. California and Australia 
 have had some part in producing the general result, those 
 countries producing little or no sugar while consuming 
 largely, and at the same time increasing the world's bul- 
 lion, and thereby enhancing the prices of nearly every- 
 thing but gold. 
 
 "It is clear that the annual production of sugar must 
 be increased ; but where, and how ? The severe cold 
 of last winter destroyed a great deal of cane, and practi- 
 cally diminished the area of tropical cane-growing soil
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 75 
 
 India, and the adjacent regions of Southern Asia, might 
 produce more sugar ; but their people are very slow to 
 change the direction of their industry, while those of 
 Spanish America have little industry of any sort. There 
 is more sugar land in the West Indies, but it is mainly 
 wilderness, which can only be converted into cane fields 
 at heavy cost and by severe labor of course, quite 
 slowly. 
 
 " In view of these facts, inquiry has very properly 
 been made for saccharine plants adapted to the temperate 
 zone, and which may be profitably employed in the pro- 
 duction of sugar. Until some plant of this sort is found 
 and extensively cultivated, it is not probable that the 
 price of sugar, as measured by that of wheat, beef, and 
 other edibles, will be essentially reduced. With the 
 prospect of an active demand and a high price for sugar 
 through several years ahead, it seems but reasonable that 
 the sugar-producing area should be enlarged, if that be 
 found practicable. 
 
 " That there is no lack of plants from which sugar may 
 be made, is well known. Indian corn, the rock maple, 
 and some other trees, the beet-root, and sundry other 
 esculents, contain and yield sugar, but generally at a cost 
 above that at which it can be extracted from the cane. 
 There is, therefore, a real and realized demand for a 
 sugar-producing plant which may be grown in temperate 
 latitudes, and which will yield nearly or quite as bounti- 
 fully, in view of their relative cost, as the cane."
 
 76 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 THE " AFRICAN APPRENTICE " SYSTEM. 
 
 There is another problem presented for solution to 
 the world, through the Government of the Emperor 
 Napoleon, and subsequently by the British Parlia- 
 ment, in which, it seems to me, the sorgho and imphee 
 are destined to have an important influence. "This 
 proposition, when calmly examined, turns out to be 
 nothing more or less than a project for developing the 
 resources of the French West Indian Colonies, by the 
 immediate introduction of large bodies of negro laborers, 
 to be engaged on terms similar to those under which 
 the coolies of China are now, and have for some time, 
 been transported in very considerable numbers to the 
 colonial territories of Great Britain." The cause for 
 this remarkable proposition, which in reality amounts 
 to a revival of the African slave trade, under a white- 
 washed exterior, is found in the greatly augmented 
 demand for sugars ; and the simple problem has been 
 forced upon the world: in what way can a sufficient 
 staff of producers be most speedily thrown upon the soil 
 of the great sugar-growing countries ? Now, if it can be 
 demonstrated that by cultivating the imphee and the 
 sorgho, the sugar fields can be so widened as to embrace 
 the countries throughout the whole Temperate Zone, 
 of course supply at once runs parallel with demand, 
 and the present alarming scarcity gives way to plenteous 
 abundance. Although it is warmly urged by sugar 
 planters, that free labor cannot compete with slave labor 
 in sugar growing, yet this assertion must be received cum 
 grano sails, for whilst tropical climates may raise sugar 
 to the exclusion of more northern ones, when prices
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 77 
 
 are so low as to make white labor more productive in 
 other branches of industry, yet if put in possession of 
 plants suited to their latitudes, the greatly augmented 
 price of sugar,. at any time, would withdraw these la- 
 borers from other employments to turn producers of 
 sugar, for their families first, and, from their surplus, to 
 supply neighbors and friends. Thus the strife between 
 the two is no longer one of latitude, but has become one 
 of prices. 
 
 The common sugar cane of the tropics, " Saccharum 
 officinarum," being of the same family with the plant 
 now treated of, and its juices for the manufacture of 
 syrup, or sugar, requiring almost an identity of treatment, 
 as illustrating this part of my subject I append the 
 following description, with illustrations, of the mode of 
 cultivating cane and manufacturing sugar on the island 
 of Cuba, from the pen of Mr. Reid, who has become 
 thoroughly conversant with the matter by a residence 
 in those countries. 
 
 THE CULTIVATION OP SUGAR IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA. 
 
 On the island of Cuba, farms or plantations, are di- 
 vided into three distinct classes: the "Ingenio," or sugar 
 estate, (pronounced Inhaneo) ; the " Cafetal," or coffee and 
 orange estate, (pronounced Caftal) ; and the " Potrero," or 
 farm, where stock, grain, or vegetables are produced. It 
 being with the first of these only that our subject has to 
 do, I will confine my remarks to the " Ingenio " alone ; 
 and if, in the sequel, I should at any time mention the 
 word "potrero," it is to be understood as referring,
 
 78 THE CHINESE SUGAB CAKE. 
 
 not to an estate exclusively set aside for the purposes 
 mentioned, but merely as relating to that portion of 
 every sugar estate, necessarily set apart for the raising of 
 cattle, and for such crops of grain or fodder as are 
 intended for its own consumption. 
 
 There are about two thousand five hundred sugar 
 estates, large and small, to be found on the island of Cuba 
 ranging in size from the one having only fifty, to the 
 one with over fifteen hundred acres of cane field under 
 cultivation. These are the extremes, however ; the aver- 
 age of the whole island would not exceed one hundred 
 and fifty to two hundred acres of growing cane to each 
 estate ; requiring to cultivate these, and carry on profita- 
 bly the business of the plantation, without overworking 
 the negroes, about one negro to every two acres. Many 
 planters, however, manage to get along with fewer hands 
 than this; but where a good field hand is worth from 
 eight hundred to one thousand dollars, it must be evident 
 that the over-work which ensues from planting mere cane 
 than the gang can conveniently handle, in the end proves 
 the most expensive economy the planter can adopt. 
 
 SOIL. 
 
 The soil of Cuba has two marked characteristics of 
 color, depending upon the locality where each is found : 
 the one, and most striking, is of a deep red or Spanish 
 brown hue, which pigment it much resembles, soiling 
 every thing which it touches of a ruddy tint the legs of 
 the horses and cattle, as well as the clothes of the culti- 
 vators ; the other soil is a rich black mould or humus,
 
 SUGAB AND SUGAB MAKING. 7<) 
 
 evidently the remains of old swamp or morass. This 
 latter is to be found chiefly in the valleys and level 
 tracts, while the other occupies more elevated ground. 
 The island is evidently of coral formation, upheaved by 
 some convulsion of nature from the depths of the ocean ; 
 and the red land, as it is called in contradistinction to the 
 Mack land, seems to consist of decomposed coral rock, 
 mixed with vegetable carbon and a metallic oxide, prob- 
 ably iron, which gives it the appearance referred to. 
 Cubans do not show preference for either soil, but in my 
 opinion, the black soil grows better sugar, the canes be- 
 ing in every way superior. 
 
 Although the soil of the island is Avonderfully fertile, 
 producing, without apparent diminution, crop after crop 
 of sugar, without other manure than the cane trash left 
 on the ground, yet even on " the ever faithful island " 
 this exhausting process cannot and does not go on for 
 ever. This is evidenced by the fact that the older plan- 
 tations are no longer what they were in the memory of 
 those still living ; they are beginning to wear out ; the 
 canes are becoming short, thin, and sparse ; and in a few 
 years will no doubt cease to yield sugar at all, unless 
 the proper remedy of manure be applied. But as an evi- 
 dence of the wonderful fecundity of these estates, it may 
 be interesting to know that some of them are over one 
 hundred years old. 
 
 CULTIVATION 
 
 As regards the agricultural processes followed by the 
 Creole planters, they are of the simplest kind; for, al-
 
 80 THE CHINESE SUGAR CAtfE. 
 
 though a few of the most enterprising, as well as a ffw 
 planters of foreign birth, use the subsoil plow and other 
 labor-saving machines, jet the great bulk merely scratch 
 the soil with hoes, or small, rude surface-plows ; giving as 
 a reason for going no deeper, that if the soil be turned 
 up, it will produce fever and cholera to destroy their 
 negroes. So strong is this belief, that when a friend of 
 the writer, some years ago, imported subsoil plows from 
 the United States for use on his plantation, his neighbors 
 remonstrated, and threatened a law suit ; he persisted, 
 however ; subsoiled an old patch nearly worn out, planted 
 his seed, and was rewarded with the finest crop of cane 
 that had been seen in the district for years ; no fever or 
 cholera resulted, and the prejudice was eradicated in that 
 part of the country at all events. 
 
 PLANTING RATTOONING. 
 
 It is not necessary in the West India Islands, as in 
 Louisiana, to plant canes every year ; there being no frost 
 there to kill the roots, they continue to throw up fresh 
 shoots for many years, which shoots are equally good, as 
 if sprung from canes planted each season. This habit is 
 called rattooning, the canes so growing are called rattoons, 
 and the roots, in favorable soil, will continue to rattoon 
 every season for a long time. As an instance of this, the 
 writer on one occasion, in Cuba, was riding with a planter, 
 viewing his estate ; we came to a fine field of cane, each 
 cane with at least seven to eight feet of sap, and thick in 
 proportion. The planter drew up his horse, and, point.
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 81 
 
 ing to the field, asked me what I thought of it. I exam- 
 ined it more critically, and although the joints were 
 pretty close, I came to the conclusion that it was cane of 
 the third or fourth year, and very good at that. I said 
 so to my friend, who commenced laughing, and told me 
 to guess its age, assuring me that it was more than three 
 years planted. I guessed seven, ten, fifteen, and even 
 twenty years, with no better success. It turned out that 
 this field had been planted by the father of my friend, 
 before he himself was born, and had yielded a good crop 
 every year since. My friend, at the time, was over 
 thirty years old. 
 
 In Louisiana, canes are planted generally in rows, six 
 feet apart between the rows. In Cuba, four feet is the 
 distance allowed between each row. A furrow, or series 
 of holes, is made, four or five inches deep, and two joints 
 of cane put in side by side, so that in case one joint fails 
 to germinate, the other may supply its place. The earth 
 is loosely drawn over the seed, and, with the exception 
 of occasional weeding till the plants are strong enough 
 to take care of themselves, little more is required either 
 for young plants or rattoons. Latterly the Louisiana 
 method of planting six feet apart has been introduced on 
 some estates with good results ; and there can be little 
 doubt but that, if the same energy and intelligence pre- 
 vailed in Cuba as are to be found in Louisiana, this 
 wonderfully fertile island might be made to produce 
 sufficient sugar to supply the whole world, so rich and 
 recuperative is its soil, and so admirable its climate. 
 This is owing, no doubt, to its situation in the middle of 
 that ocear current of warm water called the Gulf Stream. 
 Here frost never comes, and the thermometer is seldom
 
 82 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 known to descend lower than 65 Fahrenheit in the 
 open air. 
 
 BUILDINGS. 
 
 Situated as near as possible in the center of the planta- 
 tion, is found "the mill and boiling-house," with their 
 appurtenances of negro-house, cattle-sheds, bagasse 
 house, &c., &c. A central position for these is selected, 
 so as to be equally distant from all the cane fields, unless 
 some equally important objection against it should arise. 
 Such might be the absence of water, &c. This is first to 
 be looked for before putting up the buildings, which are 
 generally stone structures, with a large chimney, sixty to 
 ninety feet high, into which all the flues of the boiling- 
 house and engine lead. The chimney is the most im- 
 portant part of the whole establishment. If this should 
 be too small, or should not draw properly, it puts a stop 
 to everything. Steam cannot be got up in the boilers, 
 therefore the mill cannot work ; the sugar trains only 
 partially boil, and general consternation prevails. Such 
 a calamity, however, seldom happens, unless a planter 
 should have foolishly added an additional train of kettles 
 to an already overtaxed flue, or changed his machinery 
 from a cattle mill to a steam mill, without enlarging his 
 chimney, or building a separate one for his boilers. The 
 remedy in the first case is easy ; in the second, an ad- 
 ditional chimney has to be run up with all speed. Acci- 
 dents like these are great annoyances to planters, being 
 seldom discovered until the last moment, and when every 
 day is valuable.
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 83 
 
 PREPARING FOR CROP. 
 
 For a month or three weeks before the crop or grinding 
 season commences, the sugar-house presents an animated 
 scene. A general overhauling of the whole concern is 
 going on. The cattle pump is drawing water from the 
 river or large well, as the case may be, and it is being 
 used plentifully everywhere; the engine and mill are 
 being taken to pieces by the engineer (generally an 
 American), and carefully examined, to see that no 
 injury has been sustained during last crop. The kettles 
 are being scrubbed out ; the coolers tightened up and 
 cleaned ; the molasses tanks purified from the cock- 
 roaches and rats that have met an untimely end in them ; 
 and the whole buildings, so far as practicable, are being 
 whitewashed with lime. In short, the sugar house has 
 been in a state of slow fermentation since last crop, and 
 must be sweetened by plentiful closes of lime and water, to 
 render it fit for new operations. This being "effected, the 
 engineer informs the overseer, or mayoral, ' that he is 
 ready to commence grinding. The mayoral, on his part, 
 has examined the condition of the various cane fields, and 
 made up his mind what field he will cut first. A day is 
 appointed to commence grinding, probably the 10th to 
 the 20th November. Until then a general lull takes 
 place, and every one, from the " mayoral " to the latest 
 imported " Bozal nigger" enjoys himself according to his 
 taste. The negroes choose sleeping, dancing, or beating 
 the "gumbo," and the white Creoles gambling at monte, 
 or attending the nearest "baile," or ball. 
 4*
 
 84 
 
 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 COMMENCING WORK. 
 
 The important morning at length arrives. The field 
 gangs are told off by the mayoral, at daybreak, and, armed 
 with their machetes, or cane knives (Figures 1 and 2), they 
 
 start for the point decided upon, followed by a string of 
 bullock carts, to bring the cane to the mill as soon as it 
 is cut. Each field gang has its negro mayoral, or over- 
 seer, armed with a long, gayly mounted machete, in place 
 of a sword, and provided with a stout whip to keep 
 loafers in order, but which, I must say, is very little 
 used. The field being reached, those provided with 
 machetes (generally two thirds of the gang), attack the 
 canes. Seizing them with the left hand, they draw the 
 cane slightly towards them, and with one blow sever it 
 close to the root, strip off its leaves in a twinkling, top 
 it, and cut it into two or three lengths, as the case 
 requires, and throw it behind them, in less time than it 
 has taken to describe. Women and children gather the 
 scattered canes into heaps, from which they are loaded 
 into the bullock carts and carried off to the mill. Arriv- 
 ed there, they drive under the cane shed, and deposit 
 their loads close to the cane carrier, which is an endless 
 chain, carrying a series of slats, or boards, leading direct
 
 SUGAK AND SUGAR MAKING. 85 
 
 to the feed-board of the mill, and moving on rollers with 
 the motion of the machine, but so arranged as to be 
 stopped when required, independent of the mill. On the 
 other side of the mill which consists of three horizontal 
 iron rollers, set two alongside each other, and one on the 
 top, held in place by a very strong cast iron frame, which 
 is bolted down firmly to the foundation is seen another 
 similar arrangement, for carrying away the crushed canes, 
 or bagasse, after the juice has been crushed out. This is 
 called the bagasse-carrier, and delivers the crushed canes 
 Erectly into an ox or mule cart set beneath it, which 
 carries it away to its appropriate receptacle. An admirable 
 representation of the three roller horizontal cane mill, with 
 its cane and bagasse carriers, drawn from one actually in 
 use, may be seen by reference to the frontispiece 
 
 CRUSHING. 
 
 Nearly enough cane having been cut to yield juice 
 sufficient to fill all the kettles and clarifiers, fires are 
 lighted under the steam boilers for the purpose of pro- 
 curing the power to start the mill. 
 
 Steam is soon generated by the sharp, clear flame of 
 last year's bagasse, which has been stored away on pur- 
 pose, and is dry as tinder, and by this time there is a 
 sufficiency of cane under the shed to make a commence- 
 ment. The engine is set in motion, and with it the mill, 
 the rollers of which are brought very close together by 
 means of large screws fixed in the iron frame for that 
 purpose. The distance between the first and second is 
 generally one eighth or three sixteenths of an inch, while
 
 86 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 between the second and third, if the engineer can get the 
 blade of his knife between, he considers it about correct. 
 The negroes throw the canes on to the carrier, which 
 delivers them to the mill, they pass between the rollers 
 slowly, while the juice spurts and streams down between 
 and in all directions into the "juice pan," from whence 
 it flows by a canal either direct to the clarifiers. or is 
 pumped up into a receiver, and thence distributed where 
 required. ' Meanwhile, the canes that have been crushed 
 are no longer canes, but bagasse ; they are received from 
 the carrier as before stated, and spread to dry in the sun, 
 to be subsequently stored away in appropriate sheds for 
 the fuel of next year. 
 
 THE BATTERY. 
 
 We have now " commenced crop ;" the juice tank is 
 full, and we must commence boiling ; but, before doing 
 so, we must describe the u battery " or " train " of kettles, 
 how they are placed, and what is the object of each ; as 
 also the preliminary operation of "testing" the juice. 
 The juice generally stands at a strength of seven to eight 
 degrees in November, and ten to eleven in March and 
 April. 
 
 TESTING THE JUICE. 
 
 Immediately on the first juice running from the mill, 
 the planter, if he be a working man, and there are many 
 such even in Cuba, may be seen anxiously testing the 
 amount of saccharine matter, or sugar, in his juice, for
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 
 
 87 
 
 on this depends the value of his crop. To find out this, 
 he uses a small instrument called a "saccharometer," either 
 of brass or glass, as shown at figures 3 and 4, as al-o a 
 small copper test dipper, figure 5, in which he floats the 
 saccharometer. 
 
 
 
 ft/s.3. 
 
 The instrument most in use is that of Beaumd, of 
 Paris. This is marked in degrees from 0, which repre- 
 sents water, up to 50. Each degree represents, by 
 weight, nineteen parts in a thousand of the solution of 
 sugar and water in which it is placed. If, therefore, the 
 juice in November marks 8, it shows that we have 
 eight times nineteen parts in a thousand, or 15, 2 ff per 
 cent, of sugar. If in March it marks 11 on the saccha- 
 rometer, then we know that we have eleven times '019, 
 or 20 per cent, nearly, of sugar in the juice. When the 
 juice exceeds 11 or 12 by boiling, '018 is nearer the 
 amount of sugar to a degree Beaume than '019, and 
 ought to be taken instead as. a basis in making the cal- 
 culation. Thin cane juice, hot or cold, will mark the 
 same on the saccharometer, but when it is in the state of 
 syrup, it will mark much more cold than hot ; therefore, 
 when you test boiling syrup, add three degrees to the.
 
 88 'JHE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 saccharometer to represent the true density cold. With 
 molasses, add four degrees. 
 
 The range of open pans or kettles used to evaporate 
 the expressed juice of the cane to the necessary consist- 
 ency at which granulation takes place, and crystallized 
 sugar is formed, is termed "the train," and is either a 
 "steam," or an "ordinary" train, according as steam or 
 fire is the medium of evaporation. Steam trains are 
 arranged in such a variety of ways, that they possess no 
 general character, whereas the old fashioned sugar train 
 is the same as it was fifty years ago, with a few slight 
 alterations, and of this alone, shall I give a description ; 
 for, after all, when properly managed, it is as good as 
 the other for " Muscovado " sugar, and much more avail- 
 able in many situations. 
 
 SETTING THE TRAIN. 
 
 The latest and most improved method of setting a 
 train, is as follows : First, suppose a straight flue, say 
 forty feet long, one end entering the great chimney, and 
 the other end supplied with furnace, grate bars, ash pit, 
 and an opening, with or without doors, for pushing in 
 the bagasse used for fuel. This flue runs along one of the 
 side walls of the building, so that the mouth of the fur- 
 nace is outside ; the flue is so arranged that the upper 
 edges of the pans, when set, shall stand about two feet, 
 or thirty inches, above the floor of the boiling house ; 
 this puts the furnace under ground, so an area, as it 
 were, is cut round that side of the house, into which the 
 dry bagasse, for fuel, is discharged from a cart which
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 89 
 
 brings it from the bagasse house. It thus lies convenient 
 to be picked up by the fireman, and pushed, by the arm 
 full, into the furnace mouth. 
 
 The pans are arranged in a line along this flue, ex- 
 cepting the oblong sheet iron or copper defecators ; these 
 come last, and stand side by side. The flue, before 
 reaching them, spreads, and is divided by party walls 
 into three parts or parallel flues, each the size of the 
 main flue ; each of these passages is supplied with a 
 sliding damper, hung and balanced by a weight, so that 
 the fire on its way to the great chimney may be shut off 
 from one or other of them at will, by dropping the damper 
 in front of it. The center flue has nothing over it, and 
 is the regular course the fire would take in going direct 
 to the chimney. Over the other two flues the defecators 
 are set, so that by dropping the damper in the middle 
 flue, and raising one of the side ones, the fire is turned 
 aside, and passing under the defecator, the damper of 
 which has been raised, heats its contents. It may then 
 be turned under the other by the same means. When 
 both are heated, the fire may be shut off at the instant, 
 and allowed to follow its old course to the chimney. 
 
 It is well to understand the proper setting of these 
 defecators, as on them, in a great measure, depends the 
 success of future operations. The flue is so built as to 
 allow the defecators, which are shallow, never over 
 eighteen or twenty inches deep, to discharge their con- 
 tents, by a pipe, into the first "clarifier," which is dis- 
 tant sufficiently to allow of a free passage between it 
 and the defecators ; these have a platform of stone or 
 brick around them, to allow a man to walk about and
 
 90 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 remove the scum and feculencies. Each defecator ought 
 to contain as much as the clarifier into which it dis- 
 charges itself. 
 
 CLARIPIERS. 
 
 The first and second clarifiers are two iron pans set 
 deep in the brick work, which is lined with light sheet 
 copper ; so as to add to the size of the pans, a. sort of gut- 
 ter surrounds these two. The second, which may be a 
 little the smallest, should stand about two inches higher 
 than the first, so that when it overflows in boiling, its 
 contents may be able to flow back into the first kettle, 
 but none from the first flow forward into it ; the gutter 
 which surrounds these two isolates them from the two 
 next pans, and has an opening on one side leading to a 
 scum, or overflow kettle, set alongside the train and fur- 
 nished with a pump, but has no fire under it, being 
 merely intended as a recipient for the scum and feculen- 
 cies which have not been entirely removed in the 
 defecator, and which are swept and skimmed from these 
 two pans during rapid ebullition. The overflow is 
 pumped back into the clarifiers as soon as it settles, by 
 the pump referred to. The peculiar arrangement of the 
 the gutter, it is almost impossible to describe without 
 diagrams. 
 
 EVAPORATORS. 
 
 Next to the second clarifier comes the first evaporator, 
 placed deep in the brick work, and having a sort of curb
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAK MAKING. 91 
 
 or collar of jght copper, riveted to its rim ; this flares 
 considerably, and comes clear up to the level of the 
 brick work, which arrangement nearly doubles the 
 capacity of the vessel, and allows of the rise of the fluid 
 and froth during the strong ebullition which occurs in 
 this pan. 
 
 Last, and directly over the furnace, is placed the " ta- 
 cho," or teach, arranged precisely like the preceding, but 
 its copper curb raised an inch or an inch and a half higher ; 
 so that should it boil over, the syrup might run back 
 into the evaporator, while the thinner liquor of the 
 evaporator, should it in turn boil over, could not run for- 
 ward into it. 
 
 Lastly, the kettles being all set, the brick work is cov- 
 ered with a board frame work, like a billiard table or 
 bagatelle board, only the edges are not so high. Holes 
 are cut for the various pans, and the whole covered 
 nicely with light sheet copper ; the purpose of this 
 arrangement being, that suppose all the kettles to boil 
 over, one after the other, or all at once, the overflow from 
 the teach would run down the inclined plane into the 
 evaporator, the overflow from the evaporator would 
 run in turn into the second clarifier, and this into the first, 
 which would relieve itself into the scum kettle. 
 
 Leading from the juice pan of the mill which, for 
 convenience, should be raised high enough, to give the 
 necessary inclination a wooden canal conveys the j nice, 
 and delivers it into a wooden "juice receiver," sometimes 
 lined with copper or lead, placed somewhere near but 
 above the level of the defecators, to one or other of which 
 a connection may be made by a moveable trough, or suit-
 
 92 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 able pipes. This receiver should hold sufficient to fill 
 both clarifiers, as well as the evaporator and teach, al- 
 though, except at the start, it is only required to supply 
 the two defecators. 
 
 THE TRAIN AT WORK. 
 
 Suppose now that the juice tank is full, the movable 
 wooden gutter is directed to each pan in succession, and 
 fills them all nearly full of juice. The fire is lighted and 
 the train is started ; when the juice gets a little warm, a 
 small portion of shell lime, or cream of lime, is added, 
 according as the judgment of the sugar master may dic- 
 tate, in order to neutralize the free acid present in the 
 juice, and assist in coagulating the vegetable albumen, 
 which has been expressed from the canes along with the 
 juice, by the action of the mill. As the heat increases, 
 this forms a thick scum, which is taken oft as fast as it 
 rises, by a skimmer, while the froth is beaten down by a 
 long wooden instrument, like a cavalry saber on a large 
 scale, the handle being prolonged two or three feet. 
 
 Ebullition soon commences all over the train, but, of 
 course, most rapidly in those kettles nearest the furnace, 
 and which are, besides, the smallest. As the juice re- 
 duces in the teach, it is supplied by bailing from the 
 evaporator into it, which in turn receives from the second 
 clarifier, while the first is filled up from the defecator. 
 This is the mode of starting the train, but owing to the 
 kettles being all empty at the beginning, the juice has 
 had no regular defecation, and in consequence, should the 
 first strike not turn out well, little anxiety is felt by the 
 planter.
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 93 
 
 So far, neither of the defecators have come iiito play, 
 enough juice has been collected in the receiver to fill one 
 of them. The cock of the receiver is opened, and while 
 it is running in, the sugar master takes a little of the 
 juice in a glass, and tests it with litmus paper, which, 
 from a deep blue, changes in an instant to a deep red, 
 when dipped into the juice, should an excess of acid be 
 present. The juice is always acid, more or less, therefore 
 the question is not whether he will add lime or not, but 
 how much. Having before prepared lime water, or mixed 
 some cream lime on the spot, the damper being raised, and 
 the fire playing on the bottom of the defecator, he stirs in 
 small portions of the lime water or cream of lime, till the 
 litmus paper, which at first became bright red on being 
 immersed, now shows only a faint rose color. Here he 
 stops, the juice is nearly neutral, neither too acid nor too 
 alkaline, requiring but heat to make a good defecation, 
 or separation of its albuminous and other feculencies, 
 which, as the heat increases, rise to the top in the form of 
 a thick, dirty crust, leaving the clear juice underneath. 
 The moment the first signs of ebullition are perceived, 
 the damper is let down, and the juice allowed to rest for 
 fifteen or twenty minutes, when it may be drawn off un- 
 derneath, clear and bright, leaving the dirty scum to be 
 cleaned out when the defecator is washed for the next 
 charge. After the train has been started, one or other 
 of the defecators is always full, while the other is being 
 cleaned out, and so on during the crop. 
 
 Figure 7, represents the section of a train, such* 
 as has been described, viz., four pans and two defe- 
 cators.
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 95 
 
 A is the defecator, B the first clarifier, C the second 
 ditto, D evaporator, E teach, strike pan, or second evapo- 
 rator, P the damper of the defecator, G a small ridge in 
 the frame of the train, to prevent the concentrated juice 
 from the evaporator and teach, in cases of overflow, run- 
 ning back to the clarifiers ; H is the furnace, 1 1 1 1 the 
 flue leading to the general chimney. 
 
 The following cut (Figure 8) shows a transverse section 
 of the train, to illustrate the setting of the pans : 
 
 Fig. 8 
 
 When once the train is started it goes on night and 
 day, with an occasional stoppage of a day, now and 
 then, to wash up, clear out the juice tanks and gutters, 
 and do any little repairs that may be necessary, as well 
 also as to give the negroes a holiday, which at this time 
 they employ in sleep ; not getting too much of the latter 
 while crops last, especially if sugar is high, and it is an 
 object to get it soon to market. 
 
 Belonging to every estate there are a few old hands 
 experienced in sugar-boiling, who can make just as good' 
 a strike of sugar as any sugar master, and to them is in- 
 trusted the operations of the "battery," with the sugar
 
 96 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 master to overlook them. But, it may be said, if these 
 negroes boil so well, why employ a sugar master at so 
 much expense every year? The fact is, there is no 
 dependence to be placed on the negro, for just at the most 
 critical point when the sugar ought to be "struck" into 
 the cooler it is very probable, if left to themselves, they 
 would lie down and go to sleep, not from fatigue, but 
 laziness, or thoughtlessness, and yet they take consider- 
 able interest in their owner's concerns. 
 
 At the commencement of crop, when the first strike 
 is nearly finished, all the interest of the sugar-house cen- 
 ters in the lazy, rich, golden fluid in the teach, which has 
 ceased to froth or bubble, and from which the steam is 
 now escaping in short puffs. The old negro, who has 
 probably boiled at that train for twenty years, and knows 
 exactly how the juice of the estate works, after taking a 
 little of the syrup between his finger and thumb, and 
 watching what string it made, informs the sugar master 
 that the sugar is ready to strike into the coolers. He, 
 who probably has never boiled on the estate before, and 
 has yet to learn how its juice must be treated, has wisely 
 left the matter in the hands of the negro. However, it 
 will not do to let Sambo suppose that he knows more 
 than his master. So the sugar master, who knows that 
 half a minute will not make much difference, delays the 
 strike for that time, pulls out his watch, if he has one, 
 looking very wise, and at length consents to let Pancho 
 or Pedro adjust the gutter, from the kettle to the cooler 
 ten feet distant and discharge the pan. The fireman is 
 bawled to to stop the fire, and the sugar is bailed into the 
 gutter to be conducted to the cooler.
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 
 
 97 
 
 The annexed cuts represent the appliances for skim- 
 ming, dipping, bailing, and striking. 
 
 Figure 9 is the common dipper, used for almost all the 
 purposes of handling small portions of juice or syrup. 
 
 Figure 10 is the bailing dipper, holding five or six 
 gallons, and used to remove the charge of one kettle into 
 another, as also to strike the charge into the coolers. 
 
 Figure 11 represents the ordinary skimmer, for remov- 
 ng the scum from the clarifiers. 
 
 THK COOLERS. 
 
 These coolers are generally oblong wooden troughs, 
 made of two inch pine wood, ten feet long, five feet broad, 
 and ten to twelve inches deep. They are set parallel 
 with the train in a double row, six in each row. Each 
 cooler holds three " strikes," which are not made one 
 over the other directly, but as follows : three strikes are 
 made in three separate coolers, then commencing with 
 the first again. This is to give the first strike an oppor- 
 tunity to cool. "While the sugar is cooling, the sugar 
 master takes a light wooden instrument, like a small rake 
 without teeth, and hauls it up and down the cooler so as 
 to agitate the mass and promote crystallization; once 
 5
 
 98 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 after each strike is often enough to do this, and in a few 
 hours the sugar ought to set, or grain. 
 
 On the second or third day it is usual to empty the 
 coolers; two big stout negroes, bare all but a "breech 
 clout," get into them with shovels, and dig out the sugar: 
 not so easy a job, now that the crystal has got set. A 
 dozen women get their small copper basins or tubs 
 filled with the melado, or unpurged sugar, and carry it 
 on their heads to the purging house, where hogsheads, 
 with holes duly perforated in the bottom, have been pre- 
 pried beforehand. They empty their basins into the 
 nearest until it is full, and so on to the next. 
 
 PURGING. 
 
 The sugar when it goes into the cooler, is a dark, 
 brown-looking substance, being composed of sugar and 
 molasses, mixed in the proportion of say sixty of the for- 
 mer to forty of the latter. This, when put into a hogs- 
 head with a perforated bottom, soon begins to drip or 
 purge, provided the place be moderately warm. The 
 floor of the purging house is nothing more than joists 
 without boards, while underneath is a large tank or tanks 
 of wood or concrete, to receive the molasses as it drops 
 down as the hogshead purges. The sugar settles, and 
 this has to be supplied by fresh additions either of 
 purged sugar from other hogsheads, or by more melado 
 from the coolers. After about thirty days, it is headed 
 up, and taken out of the purging house, and either put 
 into the storehouse, or, with another hogshead on a bul- 
 lock-oart, it is sent to the nearest seaport.
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 
 
 THE CLAYING PROCESS. 
 
 On some estates only a portion of the sugar is made 
 into Muscovado, which is the process I have been de- 
 scribing. To make "clayed" sugar requires a little dif- 
 ferent treatment; it is a follows: 
 
 Conical moulds, of tin, zinc, or sheet iron, with an aper- 
 ture at the small end, are provided for large estates to 
 the extent of many thousands. These are set on -the 
 floor of the purging house, on perforated boards, which 
 receive the small end and keep them upright. The aper- 
 ture at the bottom, which is three quarters of an inch to 
 one inch wide, is stopped either with a piece of wood pre- 
 pared for the purpose, or, as is often done, a joint of cane 
 is used as a plug. The sugar, being boiled a little stiffer 
 than if intended for the cooler, is first put into a wooden 
 box running on wheels, rather deep and long, in which 
 it is agitated with a short oar for some time, until it has 
 cooled somewhat, and crystals have begun to form. It 
 is then filled into the moulds, the box being wheeled 
 alongside of them. These moulds contain from eighty to 
 one hundred and twenty pounds of hot sugar. In a day 
 or two, when the sugar master considers that the con- 
 tents of the moulds are well crystallized, the plugs are 
 removed, and the molasses soon begins to separate from 
 the crystals and run out. The operator to hasten this, 
 however, and, as it were, to wash the crystals as clean as 
 possible, gets some good porous clay, mixes it well into 
 a thin, creamy paste with water, and pours it over the 
 top of the sugar in the mould. The clay remains on the 
 top of the sugar, while it allows the water to percolate
 
 100 THE CHINESE SUGAB CANE. 
 
 down through the loaf, and thus wash the crystals free 
 from their mother liquor, or molasses. When the water 
 has all left, the clay may be lifted off the mould like a 
 large brown cake of gingerbread, without soiling the 
 hands or injuring the sugar. This is what is termed 
 "claying," and produces the "clayed" sugar of com- 
 merce. 
 
 If the sugar is desired to be very white, claying may 
 be repeated two or three times, but each time at the ex- 
 pense of the crystal, which is washed away just in pro- 
 portion as the sugar whitens. When well purged, the 
 sugar is got out of the moulds by knocking them upside 
 down on a clean floor. The loaf of sugar will be found 
 of three grades white at the top, yellow in the middle, 
 and brown towards the bottom, whilst the tip or extreme 
 end remains a " magma " of sugar and molasses. 
 
 DRYING-BOXTNG-SHIPPING TO MARKET. 
 
 As the moulds are knocked out, the different grades of 
 sugar are separated, by breaking the loaves across by a 
 blow with a machete, which is the instrument of all work 
 in the hands of the negro ; the broken loaves of sugar are 
 then either passed between rollers, or pounded with mal- 
 lets, to break up its consistence. After which, it is either 
 spread over hot tiles, in a room prepared for the purpose, 
 with fires underneath, or exposed, on boards, to the rays 
 of the sun. Here it is dried to powder, and afterward 
 packed in oblong boxes of rough pine board, held 
 together by strips of raw hide ; which being nailed on 
 the box when moist, contract on drying, and bind the
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 
 
 101 
 
 box together in the firmest manner. These are what are 
 known in trade as "boxed" or "clayed" sugars, and are 
 much sought after by refiners. 
 
 CATTLE MILL. 
 
 Besides the many sugar mills which are driven 
 by steam engines, there are a large number of the 
 original vertical cattle mills, with wooden frames, still 
 in use, in situations where water is scarce, or the crop 
 does not justify the expense of steam machinery. One 
 of these is represented at Figure 12. 
 
 A B C are the vertical iron rollers, and E the spout con- 
 ducting the juice from the pan to the canal or gutter
 
 102 THE CHINESE SUGAK CANE. 
 
 leading to the juice tank. In cattle mills this gutter is 
 put under ground, so that the cattle may pass over it 
 without obstruction. Attached to the upper part of the 
 center roller may be seen a cast iron cross-head with 
 sockets, into which wooden bars are fitted, to which are 
 harnessed the oxen, mules, or horses, as the case may be. 
 Large mills of this kind,. require sixteen oxen. 
 
 The frame of the mill being of wood, it necessarily 
 gives somewhat to the extreme strain upon it, conse- 
 quently the canes are never so thoroughly crushed as 
 with the iron frame mill, but the juice, though less 
 in quantity, is invariably better in quality. The reason 
 for this is, that the tissues of the cane not being so com- 
 pletely broken up, as in the former case, less of the 
 'albuminous and extractive matter is obtained in the 
 operation ; the juice is purer, clarifies easily, and makes 
 very bright sugar, commanding an advanced price. It 
 is a question, however, whether the advance in price 
 which such sugar generally commands, makes up for the 
 loss in the quantity of the juice, which the employment 
 of the cattle mill necessarily entails. 
 
 SMALL TWO ROLLER MILL. 
 
 A small two roller vertical mill, suitable for farmers 
 planting one or two acres of sorgho, and which may be driv- 
 en by two men, or one horse or mule is shown at Figure 
 13. This little mill is fastened securely in the ground by 
 means of its uprights, which renders it convenient for 
 farmers.
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 
 
 103 
 
 STEAM TRAIN. 
 
 Hitherto I have only treated of sugar trains which 
 evaporate over the naked fire, but there are a large num- 
 ber of the more extensive estates where steam is employ- 
 ed throughout, while there are others where the two 
 systems are united. I shall finish my remarks on sugar 
 boiling, therefore, by a brief notice of these methods. 
 
 I have observed, with others, that nearly the whole of the 
 color imparted to cane juice in the act of boiling over the 
 naked fire, is received in the two last pans, after the fluid 
 has become comparatively dense, and retaining but littlo 
 water to carry off the heat. Steam does not discolor the 
 sugar nearly so much as fire, therefore steam trains have 
 been extensively adopted, and great expense has fre- 
 quently been incurred in altering the arrangement of the
 
 104 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 boiling-house to suit the new regime. A steam train will 
 cost twice as much to run and keep in order as a com- 
 mon train will, to say nothing of first expense ; therefore, 
 to make use of only so much of the steam train as is 
 absolutely necessary to effect the end required must be 
 an object. 
 
 Cane juice, containing the large proportion of water 
 which it does, until it is evaporated to 30 or 32 of 
 Beaume's saccharometer, remains so lively and changes 
 its position so readily in the pan, in the act of boiling 
 
 over the naked fire, that no danger of discoloration need 
 be feared, till it reaches the stage referred to ; here, how- 
 ever, it should be changed to the steam pans and 
 finished. 
 
 I think the reasons given are sufficient for retaining 
 the old and inexpensive train, for the purpose of evapo- 
 rating the juice to 30 B., after which the process may be 
 continued in suitable pans having coils of copper steam 
 pipe in the bottom, as represented in section at Figure 14
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 
 
 105 
 
 Or " McCracken's Patent Evaporator" may be employed 
 in place of the worm or coil. These evaporators have 
 the property of boiling with immense rapidity, requiring 
 comparatively low pressure of steam, say 30 Ibs. to the 
 square inch, thus uniting in themselves those properties 
 which constitute the bes; sugar apparatus, viz., great 
 speed with low temperature. With the ordinary coil, 75 
 and 100 Ibs. are the usual figures. This system is shown 
 at Figure 15, of which A A is the pan, of iron or copper ; 
 
 B, the evaporator, consisting of a case, or cylinder, full 
 of tubes, into which the steam enters, and surrounds the 
 tubes ; C is the steam pipe from the boiler ; D the condense 
 water pipe, and B the cock where the sugar is discharged. 
 By means of this system the pipes are surrounded by the 
 steam, instead of surrounding or containing it, as in the 
 old way ; and s > the juice flows into those pipes both at 
 5*
 
 106 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 top and bottom. It will be perceived that tlie whole 
 force of the steam is applied to small portions or columns 
 of liquor at a time ; thus an immediate evaporation takes 
 place almost as soon as the steam enters the tube cylin- 
 der, while all danger of overheating is avoided, by the 
 well known tendency of liquids to rise when heated. 
 A current sets up through the tubes, the cooler portion 
 entering below, heating as it rises, and flowing out at the 
 top, until, when the whole mass gets thoroughly heated, 
 the juice in ebullition takes the form of a fountain, and 
 vaporization goes on with wonderful rapidity. This pan 
 is fast coming into favor, and that it will ultimately su- 
 persede all other methods of open evaporation by steam, 
 is the opinion of planters who have it in use. 
 
 BOILING IN VACUO. 
 
 . Besides the preceding, there is yet another method of 
 evaporating, the apparatus for which is more complicated 
 and expensive than either of the others ; this is boiling 
 "in vacuo," and was invented by Lord Howard, a scien- 
 tific Englishman, many years ago. So complete was the 
 apparatus he adopted, that, with a few minor additions, 
 his pan remains in principle unaltered to this day. 
 
 The principle involved in the vacuum pan is that by 
 which watery liquids may be made to vaporize in a 
 vacuum at a much lower temperature than in the open 
 air. Thus, water boils in the open air at 212, while in 
 vacuo the same takes place at 90. Advantage is taken 
 of this in sugar boiling to extract the water from solutions 
 of sugar at a low temperature, and so preserve its color.
 
 SUGAK AND SUGAR MAKING. 
 
 107 
 
 The vacuum pan is merely a closed metallic vessel, hav- 
 ing a coil of steam pipe in the bottom, and a condenser 
 to condense the steam as fast as it rises, while an air- 
 pump removes the atmospheric pressure and water of 
 condensation. This pan is shown in elevation at Fig. 
 16, of which A is the pan ; B, the belt ; C, the cover, or 
 K 
 
 dome ; D, the cap and collar ; E, the condenser, to which 
 a cold water pipe is attached at K, while the condenser 
 discharges at L, connecting by another pipe with the air 
 pump, which is worked by water power or steam engine. 
 F is the discharge valve, or gate ; G, a barometer, to 
 show the extent of the vacuum, and a thermometer to 
 indicate the heat of the pan : H is an eye glass, anoth r 
 being on the opposite side of the dome, for the purpose 
 of observing the ebullition of the " charge ; " I is a small 
 cup-faucet, or grease-cock, to introduce a little oil when
 
 108 THE CHINESE SUGAR CAXE. 
 
 it is required to check the froth in the pan, serving also 
 to admit air when the sugar is ready to be discharged; 
 J is the proof-stick, by which a small quantity of sugar 
 may be withdrawn from the pan at pleasure, so that the 
 operator may know, from time to time, how the charge is 
 progressing. 
 
 The method of operating with the vacuum pan to best 
 advantage on a sugar estate, is to boil the sugar as I 
 have before advised in the old train, till it reaches a 
 density of 30 or 32 Beauine*, after which, introduce 
 and boil in vacuo to the crystallizing point. It 
 would be too tedious, as well as too expensive, to boil 
 down raw cane juice in this way. Eellieux, however, 
 by means of three closed pans, operates on the raw juice 
 in this way; with what economy I cannot say, never 
 having examined the process thoroughly. His train is 
 very costly, of course. 
 
 Unlike boiling in the open air, owing to its low tem- 
 perature, granulation, to a considerable extent, takes 
 place in the vacuum pan, if the operation be properly 
 conducted, and the vacuum well preserved, to do which, 
 like everything else, requires practice in the operator. 
 The sugar, when discharged, instead of resembling thick 
 syrup, as it would if boiled in the open pan, resembles 
 thin mortar, being full of grain, and requiring but a 
 slight decrease of temperature to become solid. 
 
 THE FRENCH BASCULE PAN. 
 
 At figure 17, I give a representation of the old French 
 Bascule pan, which was superseded by Howard's process.
 
 SUGAR AXD SUGAR MAKING. 109 
 
 For the purpose of evaporating sorgho j nice, on a limited 
 
 Kg. /r. 
 
 scale, I think it would do good service ; the fire only 
 strikes the bottom, and the syrup, or sugar, is discharged 
 at a moment's notice. I should recommend it to such 
 farmers as do not intend putting up a full train. 
 
 BAG FILTERS. 
 
 Where white pure sugar is wanted direct from the cane, 
 a refining process is required, similar to that employed in 
 refineries in the city. The cane juice, after defecation and 
 clarification, at a density of 12 or 13 B. or even as 
 high as 24 or 25 B., is run through bag filters, which are 
 made of a peculiar kind of cotton duck ; they consist, 
 simply, of a large bag, usually a yard wide, and five or 
 six feet long. This is gathered together closely, and 
 drawn through a sheath of the same length, (like a cut 
 of leather hose pipe, only made of porous flax bagging,)
 
 110 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 the open end of the cotton bag being all " puckered up," 
 is tied on to a brass tube, which, being fitted with a 
 screw, is screwed into a small shallow cast iron or 
 wooden tank, large enough to contain twenty-five to 
 fifty of these brass tubes ; the tank, besides serving to 
 hang the filters, (which hang like so many sausages,) 
 serves to contain the syrup which is to pass through the 
 tubes into the bags, through which it percolates, and 
 emerges clear and bright, free from feculencies and ex- 
 traneous matters, and ready for the carbon filters. 
 
 BONE BLACK FILTERS. 
 
 These latter are large square or circular sheet iron 
 tanks, which should be at least five feet in diameter, and 
 six or eight feet deep. These have a false bottom per- 
 forated with holes ; over this a blanket is laid, and the 
 tank filled up evenly with animal charcoal or bone black. 
 A small air-tube generally runs from beneath the false 
 bottom to the top. Over the top of the bone black the 
 bag-filtered liquor is permitted to flow, which soon filters 
 down through the false bottom ; the cock of the filter is 
 then opened, and the first running kept apart, being 
 black and smutty from the small particles of charcoal 
 dust which it contains. This is thrown on again at the 
 top to be refiltered. The stream, however, soon runs 
 clear, and, according to the length of time the syrup is 
 left in contact with the bone black, does the decoloriza- 
 tion sought for take place. If the stream be kept small 
 the liquor may be drawn off colorless a? ater, and so
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. Ill 
 
 darker, in proportion to the speed with which it is run 
 off. 
 
 Filtering in this way is a very expensive process even 
 in large cities where labor is cheap, the bone black requir- 
 ing to be reburned as soon as it has filtered three times 
 its own weight of sugar. I would not, therefore, advise 
 the use of filters on a sugar estate or farm ; the true 
 policy of which ought to be to make good Muscovado, 
 and leave refining to the cities, where all the facilities 
 exist for doing it to advantage, and with an economy 
 which the planter or farmer may seek in vain to imitate. 
 The syrup, after passing through the filters, is ready for 
 the vacuum pan. 
 
 In the preceding remarks on the various apparatus for, 
 and processes of, manufacturing .sugar, I have not at- 
 tempted clothing my subject with any of the elegances 
 of language, but more to convey in as simple a manner 
 as possible the information required, in the hope that it 
 might assist in developing a new branch of industry in 
 the community, and so add to the wealth and prosperity 
 of the country at large. 
 
 GROUND PLAN FOR SUGAR ESTATE BUILDINGS. 
 
 The following cut represents the ground-plan of build- 
 ings for a sugar estate, with the engine house, boiling 
 house, cooling and purging house, arranged on a combi- 
 nation of the best features, gathered from various sugar 
 estates of Louisiana and Cuba ; 
 
 As will be seen in the cut, the engine house, boiling 
 house, and cooling and purging house, are all built sepa-
 
 112 
 
 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
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 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 113 
 
 rate, with, a space between each ; the gable walls of these 
 buildings ought to have no windows, and the doors com- 
 municating should be of iron, so that in case any one of 
 the buildings caught fire, the conflagration would be con- 
 fined to the place where it originated, and thus the valu- 
 able stock or machinery in the other buildings be saved. 
 
 CHEAP AND SDIPLE PROCESS FOR MAKING SUGAR, OR SYRUP ON A 
 SMALL SCALE. 
 
 For the benefit of a large class whose facilities or incli- 
 nations have this year induced them only to plant a 
 small patch of Chinese Sugar Cane, by way of experi- 
 ment, yet who, nevertheless, are desirous of making a 
 trial of syrup or sugar making on their own account, 
 without waiting for the voluminous reports which will 
 be forthcoming at the end of the season, I subjoin the 
 following description of a process by which, at a trifling 
 expense, both syrup and sugar may be manufactured in 
 a small way for family use, by any farmer or householder 
 who has but a few canes growing in his garden, and 
 which may be applied to any operation on from five to 
 twenty-five gallons of juice. 
 
 Of course, the first thing is to permit the sorgho to 
 fully ripen, as in that condition it makes the best syrup, 
 and will be free from the grassy flavor complained of in 
 previous experiments. This, as has been previously 
 said, is known by the seeds becoming black and hard. 
 When fully ripe, then, with a corn-cutter, a large carving 
 knife, or, what is better, a small hatchet, cut the canes off 
 close to the roots, strip off their leaves as far as the joints
 
 114 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 extend, and chop off the rest of the stalk, saving the 
 seeds for future planting, if the cane proves to be of good 
 quality ; if not, give them to the chickens. 
 
 The next thing is to extract the juice from the stalks 
 or canes. This must be done by pressing them between 
 rollers. If there is a cider mill on the premises, it will 
 be all-sufficient; pass tKem through it just as you would 
 crush apples, catching the juice in some clean vessel with 
 as few chips or dirt in it as possible. 
 
 A VERY CHEAP MILL. 
 
 If there be no cider mill in the neighborhood, you 
 must make a shift to construct one yourself, or get the 
 nearest carpenter to do so ; nothing but wood being re- 
 quired for all you have to do. The way to go about it 
 is as follows : Choose some straight pieces of maple, or 
 any hard wood, twelve or fourteen inches across, and 
 saw one piece off thirty inches long, and the other forty- 
 eight inches. These are to make your two rollers, and 
 as nearly round as you can get the log, so much less 
 trouble will there be to fashion the work. Having got 
 your wood, take the blocks to the nearest carpenter, and 
 tell him to make you two journals on the ends of the 
 shortest piece, two and a half inches less in diameter than 
 the block will be \?hen made perfectly round. If he has 
 a turning lathe he will be able to do it all in a couple of 
 hours. Let him make the axles or journals seven inches 
 long each. You have now one roller finished ; the other 
 is like it, only after making a journal on one end, he 
 measures along the same length as the other roller, which
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 115 
 
 will be sixteen inches, and then cuts into the block 
 another journal like the others, leaving beyond it 
 eighteen inches of sound wood to spare, of the same girth 
 or diameter as the roller part. Through this eighteen 
 inches that you have left over, cut a square hole or 
 socket, large enough to put a good stiff wooden lever in 
 or through it, so that when your rollers are set up on end 
 in a frame, like a windlass, you can walk round with the 
 lever, and so turn the mill. If there is a blacksmith in 
 the neighborhood, it would be well to get him to put 
 an iron hoop above and below the lever hole or socket, 
 to prevent the strain, which will be considerable, from 
 splitting the top. You have now the rollers complete ; 
 the next step is to make the frame that holds them 
 together. Take two pieces of timber, nine feet long and 
 nine inches square, if you have them ; if not, round, 
 barked timber will do ; dig two holes in the ground six 
 feet deep and four feet apart wherever you wish your 
 mill to stand. Put the posts into them, and fill the earth 
 in again, beating it down so as to hold these uprights as 
 stiff and immovable as possible. These are the supports 
 of your mill, and have to bear all the strain, so you must 
 see that they are strong and firm. Now, get a slab of 
 wood, six feet long, sixteen inches broad, and eight 
 inches thick, set your two rollers on it, standing upright, 
 and close together ; mark the two holes for the lower 
 journals, and cut them out six inches deep. You must 
 now cut a couple of notches at the ends of the slab, fit 
 these notches between the two posts, and pin them tight. 
 Now you have . the bed plate of your mill. Set the 
 rollers upright on it, with the journals in the holes you
 
 116 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 have cut for them, and proceed to fit the upper frame 
 plate in the same way, except that it must be made in 
 two halves, owing to the socket part where the lever 
 goes preventing your slipping it over both journals, as 
 was done in the other case. For the upper frame plate, 
 taking two pieces, six feet long, nine inches broad, and 
 seven inches thick, fit them nicely together round the 
 journals, and fix as before. To keep the two pieces from 
 spreading when the strain comes, either clamp them to- 
 gether with wooden clamps and wedges, or hold them 
 together with a dovetail tie. The mill is now complete ; 
 put in the lever, and you are ready to crush the canes. 
 Cut a small gutter round the roller in the wood of the 
 bed plate, leading to a spout, to prevent the juice from 
 running all round and being lost. The above need not 
 cost a farmer ten dollars where wood is plenty, is suf- 
 ficiently strong, and will crush a hundred gallons of juice 
 per day, if required. 
 
 Of course, it will be understood that a mill like that 
 described above, is merely a make-shift for experiment- 
 ing with, for you could only get one half the juice by it, 
 that an iron one of the same construction would yield. 
 Another mill, of simple construction, is figured on the 
 following page, and is the one used by Colonel Peters in 
 his syrup making experiments of last season. Instead 
 of being made of wood, the rollers are cast iron. 
 
 CRUSHING OUT THE JUICE. 
 
 Having brought your canes to the mill, and adjusted 
 your lever, either let a man walk round with it, or 
 attach a horse or pony. Pass the canes through, two at
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 
 
 117 
 
 
 a time, till you have suffic'ent juice for a boiling, say 
 ten gallons or fifteen gallons ; which should be crushed 
 out in half an hour. Now build a fire-place with stones, 
 or set up two forked poles, and put another across, on 
 which sling your pot, which may be of sheet tin, but had 
 better be of cast iron. Let it hold, say ten gallons. Get 
 a small tin skimmer at a tinsmith's shop, and you are 
 prepared to commence boiling. 
 
 BOILING AND CLARIFYINa. 
 
 Everything being ready, slack a teacup full of lime, 
 mix it to the consistency of cream, and set it by for use. 
 Light your fire, with charcoal if you have it, for it makes
 
 118 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 no smoke, but if you have none, use dry kindling wood. 
 If possible, so arrange your rude fire-place as to let the 
 fire reach no more than half way up the sides of the 
 pot. Put five or six gallons of juice into the pot, set it 
 on the fire, and when it becomes milk warm, add one 
 large tablespoonful of the cream of lime, and mix it 
 thoroughly through the juice. Now take the whites of 
 two fresh eggs, beat them up with a teacupful of the 
 juice from the pot, and when thoroughly mixed, pour 
 back, and stir them well through the mass, bring it to 
 the boil as soon as possible, but the moment you see the 
 first signs of boiling, lift the pot off the fire; set it on the 
 ground, and let it remain quiet for fifteen or twenty 
 minutes. You will have perceived that after adding the 
 cream of lime and eggs, as the simmering went on, a 
 thick scum began to rise ; this you must not disturb, but 
 allow to gather on the top, till you take the pot from the 
 fire as directed, and allow it to settle fifteen or twenty 
 minutes. At the end of this time, carefully remove the 
 scum, and you will find if you have carefully followed 
 these directions, that the juice has become clear and 
 bright, ready to boil down to the consistence you require, 
 whether of syrup or sugar. Having removed the scum, 
 empty the contents of your pot into some clean vessel, 
 which have convenient. Fill up your pot again with the 
 raw juice, and proceed as before. This is the process of 
 clarifying or defecating, and is absolutely necessary, if 
 you do not wish to have a dark, dirty syrup, tasting of 
 cane stalks, and almost unfit for use. 
 
 After clarifying and skimming the second pot full, as 
 directed, set it back on the fire, and boil down as rapidly
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 119 
 
 as possible. As the quantity reduces by boiling, keep 
 adding fresh juice from the first clarification, so as not to 
 let the syrup get too low in the pot, or it will get burned. 
 If any scum rises, remove it with your skimmer ; and 
 by following these directions, you cannot fail to make 
 good syrup. 
 
 The preceding remarks suppose that you have only one 
 pot to operate with ; but it is very much better to have 
 two, as it will save twenty minutes' time, and fuel, with 
 each kettle of syrup you make ; because, as I have shown, 
 you have to wait twenty minutes after taking the pot from 
 the fire, to allow the scum to rise and settle ; so, if you 
 have not another pot full of fresh juice to put on, it is 
 so much time and fire wasted. With two pots in use, 
 you replace the first on the fire as soon as you take the 
 other off, and proceed to boil down. 
 
 SYEUP OP EXTRA QUALITY. 
 
 Should you wish to make a very extra syrup for table 
 use, get a flannel bag, of almost any shape, sufficient to 
 hold two or three gallons, and filter the juice through it 
 after you have skimmed it, then boil down as before. 
 
 HOW TO KNOW WHEN THE JUICE IS BOILED ENOUGH. 
 
 It is a matter of importance with those who have never 
 boiled syrup to know when the juice is boiled enough. 
 There being nothing like experiments, I would advise 
 such to procure a cup full of molasses, heat it, and taking 
 up a small quantity on a spoon, to watch how it runs
 
 120 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 down, and when the drops come, how they elongate and 
 break in the middle, the upper half springing back with 
 a jerk, and the lower forming a ball and falling into the 
 cup again. Three cents in money, and the expenditure 
 of five minutes' time in this way, will go farther in edu- 
 cating the eye to a good judgment, than an elaborate 
 series of directions. 
 
 I will give one other method, however, of knowing 
 when syrup is cooked enough. Dip your skimmer into 
 the boiling liquid, take it out and allow the syrup to run 
 off it ; a few drops will remain on the edge, falling at in- 
 tervals. If these break with a long string between, which 
 at the break jerks back to the dipper again, and which 
 when taken between the finger and thumb feels like 
 molasses, it is fair to suppose your syrup is sufficiently 
 boiled, and you may take it from the fire. 
 
 REDUCING TO SUGAR. 
 
 For making sugar, it will be necessary to boil this 
 same syrup down till the steam escapes from it in little 
 puffs, and when the skimmer is dipped into it, the fall- 
 ing drops break short and fall solid. These simple tests, 
 and perhaps a few failures, will enable one to make good 
 sugar. When enough has been boiled, pour it into a 
 wooden box or tub to cool slowly, standing it in a warm 
 place. Let the box be large enough to allow of the 
 sugar standing only l inches deep; boil another lot, 
 and pour over the top of the first, and a third over the 
 top of the second, mix them all together, and allow the 
 contents to cool. If, by the next morning, there should
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 121 
 
 be no signs of crystals, take a handful of raw sugar and 
 stir it in ; in all probability it will start crystallization ; 
 but if it should not do so immediately, do not despair, for 
 it may stand for an entire fortnight, and then suddenly 
 strike into sugar. 
 
 The above simple and valuable directions have been 
 kindly furnished for this work by an experienced sugar 
 boiler, and will recommend themselves to those who de- 
 sire to experiment in sugar making on a limited scale. 
 
 To give my readers some idea of the amount of capital 
 requisite to carry on the operations of a large sugar plan- 
 tation in the State of Louisiana, I will, in concluding this 
 chapter, append the following extract from a valuable 
 article, written by rny friend, Colonel T. B. Thorpe, for 
 the November, (1853,) number of Harper's Magazine : 
 
 REFINERY AND PLANTATION OF ST. JAMES. 
 
 " The tract of land connected with this estate, contains 
 nine thousand acres, one thousand five hundred of which 
 are under cultivation, and divided as follows : eight 
 hundred acres in cane; two hundred and ninety -four 
 acres in corn ; one hundred and fifty acres cultivated by 
 the negroes for their own use ; ten acres in olives ; the 
 remainder of the fifteen hundred acres alluded to as un- 
 der cultivation, is taken up by potatoes, building lots, 
 pasturage, and gardens : remainder of the nine thousand 
 acres is in forest, from which is taken the fuel consumed 
 in manufacturing and refining, and the timber for the 
 casks used in packing the sugar for market. 
 
 "The buildings consist of the proprietor's dwelling 
 6
 
 122 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 amd out-houses ; twenty-four negro houses, with veran- 
 dahs in front, each cabin is forty feet square, and con- 
 tains four rooms, and has a garden and fowl house 
 attached ; a hospital sixty-four feet square, containing 
 seven rooms, and an immense verandah ; a nursery fifty 
 feet square, store-houses, overseer's or manager's house, 
 stables containing one hundred stalls, two wood houses, 
 each four hundred feet long by one hundred wide ; one 
 sugar house five hundred and seventy feet long, by 
 seventy-five feet wide, thirty-four feet high between the 
 floor and ceiling; and a ' double saw mill.' 
 
 "The machinery consists of steam saw mills and 
 pumping engine at the river for supplying the sugar 
 house with water, steam engine of eighty horse power, 
 and sugar mill for grinding cane ; engines, vacuum pans, 
 and a complete apparatus for making and refining 
 twenty -five thousand pounds of sugar every twenty-four 
 hours direct from the cane juice, and doing this entirely 
 by steam. 
 
 "The stock upon the plantation consists of sixty-four 
 mules, twelve horses, sixteen oxen, one hundred and 
 forty-five sheep, eighty head of cows and 'beeves,' two 
 hundred and fifteen slaves among winch are one hun- 
 dred and seven field hands, two coopers, one blacksmith, 
 two engineers, four carpenters, twenty house servants, 
 four nurses, eleven old men and women that attend to 
 the stables, and sixty -four children under five years of age. 
 
 "The cash expenses of this estate are twenty .thousand 
 dollars annually, paid to managers, sugar-makers, en- 
 gineers, and for food and clothing for the negroes, and 
 repairs of machinery and buildings. The weekly rations
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 123 
 
 of each negro are five and a half pounds of mess-pork, 
 best quality, with as much meal and potatoes as they 
 choose to take in addition to which every one has his 
 pigs and his poultry ; for all adults have not only the 
 chicken-yard, but also their garden, which they are 
 obliged to cultivate for their own benefit the surplus 
 of vegetables and poultry being purchased by their 
 master, and paid for in gold and silver, and amounted, 
 in the year just past, to one thousand five hundred and 
 sixty dollars this sum not including the money ob- 
 tained by sales of poultry, pigs, eggs, and fruits, to 
 chance customers. In addition still, the negroes annu- 
 ally receive two suits of clothes, two pairs of shoes, a 
 blanket, and hat. 
 
 " The value of the estate of St. James, and of its pro- 
 ductions for the year 1852, are as follows : 
 
 VALUE OF THE ESTATE. 
 
 Land, 9,000 acres, at $40, - - - $360,000 
 
 Buildings, 100,000 
 
 Machinery, 60,000 
 
 Slaves, 170,000 
 
 Stock, 11,000 
 
 Total, - - $701,000 
 
 PRODUCTIONS OP THE ESTATE IN 1852. 
 
 Sugar, 1,300,000 Ibs., at 6 cts., - - $78,000 
 Syrup, 60,000 gallons, at 36 cts., - 21,600 
 
 99,600
 
 124 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 Brought forward, - - $99,600 
 Corn, 9000 barrels for consumption on the es- 
 tate; wood: 3000 cords for the engine house. 
 Estimated value .... 14,400 
 
 Total products of the estate, - $114,000 
 " This plantation shows the average production of the 
 best class of sugar estates in Louisiana, the largest of 
 which, in 1852, yielded a revenue of one hundred and 
 fifty-two thousand and fifty dollars; but these estates 
 increase the value of their products by the aid of costly 
 machinery, not used on the ordinary plantations." 
 
 This article being written four years ago, does not, of 
 course, give a true idea of the profits of the same estate 
 the present season ; for, whereas the running expenses of 
 the estate are about equal to the above, the prices of sugar 
 and syrup have greatly increased, and the gross receipts 
 must be by so much the same augmented. 
 
 THE NEW SUGAR MILL OE MESSES. HEDGES, TREE, & CO. 
 
 Messrs. Hedges, Free, & Co. r of Cincinnati and Phila- 
 delphia, who so kindly forwarded to me the pamphlets 
 received by their house from the Honorable John Y. 
 Mason, and which have proved so extremely valuable to 
 the elaboration of this work, have recently invented a 
 three roller vertical mill for expressing the juice of the 
 sorgho and imphee, and in reply to a request to furnish 
 cuts to illustrate this work, I received the following :
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 125 
 
 " PHILADELPHIA, August 14th, 1857. 
 H. S. OLCOTT, 
 
 DEAR SIR, In reply to your inquiries as regards our 
 mills, boilers, &c., for the purpose of expressing and con- 
 centrating the juice of the Chinese and African Sugar 
 Canes, we take pleasure in saying that the cut we send 
 you represents our vertical three-roller horse-power mill, 
 that has met with very ready sale here, and at Cincin- 
 nati, Ohio. They are so simple of construction that they 
 can be set up in a single day by two hands, and are pro-, 
 vided with a convenient arrangement for feeding, so as to 
 spread the cane over the whole length of the roller 
 equally, causing it to pass through in a direct horizontal 
 line a desideratum never before attained, but very es- 
 sential to horse-power mills. As we construct our mills 
 with iron frame work entirely, we have not only strong 
 ones, but durable, and free from the bad effects that must 
 result where the juice comes in contact with woodwork. 
 We have mills differing in capacity, of the same general 
 construction, but greater length of roller. For steam- 
 power we furnish mills, with horizontal rollers, arranged 
 upon the approved plans of such mills. 
 
 " Our mills vary in prices from $100 to $500. 
 
 " We are prepared to furnish pans, clarifiers, niters, 
 ladles, skimmers, and all other apparatus and fixtures, 
 with diagrams and instructions complete. 
 
 " Those west of the mountains order from us at Cin- . 
 nati, Ohio ; those east, from this city. 
 
 "HEDGES, FEEE, & CO., 
 " Office, No. 633 Market Street, Philadelphia."
 
 126 
 
 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE.
 
 SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 
 
 127 
 
 For the more extensive operations of planters, Mr. 
 Hedges has constructed a more powerful mill, a repre- 
 sentation of which is given herewith. 
 
 HORIZONTAL THREE ROLLER 
 
 SUGAR MILL FOR PRESSING 
 
 CHINESE CANE. 
 
 MACHINE FOR STRIPPING THE SEED. 
 
 The following plan for a seed-stripping machine, offered 
 by Mr. Hedges, is doubtless a close approximation to 
 what is needed : 
 
 " For cleaning the seed, we would recommend the use 
 of a cylindrical hatchel, or hackel, (often used for broom 
 corn,) made of staves turned upon wooden heads, about 
 two feet diameter, and of a length to suit the amount to be 
 done and power to drive it. For teeth, use large wrought 
 spikes, set through the staves before putting on the 
 bands. These teeth may be about three inches apart, 
 and so distributed as to cover the whole surface in re-
 
 128 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 volvmg ; cast-iron flange, with stem for journal and 
 crank, bolted on the heads ; finish cylinder one four 
 feet long would, if turned by two hands, clean fifty to 
 seventy -five bushels per day. A plank breastwork should 
 be set up for the cleaners to rest their hands on while 
 grasping as much as convenient to hold, and the cylinder 
 rolling over from them will strip off rapidly all the seed. 
 This should be done before the boiling is commenced, so 
 that the seed can be mixed into the hot scum taken from 
 the clarifier and kettles, which combined, will fatten hogs 
 or cattle, beyond doubt, more rapidly than any other feed 
 known. The starch in the seed, added to the sugar in 
 the scum, must constitute capital food. Should there 
 prove to be a surplus, it may be preserved for a consider- 
 able time in cisterns well cemented and deep, where fer- 
 mentation will be slow ; but the mass must be allowed to 
 get cool before being put in. Such cisterns will become 
 useful for storing the syrup, should it prove profitable as 
 an alcohol crop, as they would be cheap and safe reposi- 
 tories for it until the season and market demanded it, 
 when it could be raised by pump, and with one set of 
 casks, hauled away and emptied, returned, and refilled, 
 thereby saving much expense for casks. In this manner 
 I learn syrups are often kept in the large sugar districts 
 of the West Indies."
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 SYEUP. 
 
 BEST METHODS OF MAKING IT-EXPERIENCE OP AMERICAN GROWERS. 
 
 WHILST contending chemists have alternately sung 
 the praises of, and decried against, the sorgho as a sugar 
 producing plant, and opulent sugar refiners have trem- 
 bled at the threatened invasion of their accustomed mo- 
 nopolies, all have united in the opinion that it is indeed 
 a plant capable of affording an abundant and excellent 
 crop of syrup. 
 
 The American public received a most unexpected and 
 agreeable surprise in the month of October last, by the 
 publication of a circular from Colonel Eichard Peters, of 
 Atlanta, Georgia, which gave the remarkable results he 
 had obtained in making syrup from the juice of the 
 sorgho. So complete, so triumphant was his success, and 
 so full was it of magnificent promise for the future, that 
 with one accord it was caught up from press to press and 
 scattered to every quarter of the Union. The papers of 
 Maine and Texas, of Maryland and Utah, discussed its 
 probable importance, and with but little delay Mr. Peters 
 became one of the most widely known men of the country. 
 The result was, that from that day to this, he is in the 
 receipt of a vast number of letters of inquiry, and in self- 
 defence was obliged to issue a pamphlet of directions for 
 
 [129]
 
 130 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 the cultivation of the plant and manufacture of its syrup 
 He has, beside? this, he informs me, written a thousand 
 or more letters of reply. Samples of his sorgho syrup 
 were given to him by a number of persons in all sections 
 of the country ; and amongst others, a keg of it was 
 kindly sent to myself. 
 
 The success of Mr. Peters being made known early in 
 the season, induced many farmers in the northern and 
 north-western states, who had small patches under culti- 
 vation, to endeavor to make a little syrup themselves ; 
 and in no case, so far as I have seen reported in the 
 public papers, was the attempt unsuccessful. By per- 
 sonal correspondence, I know of syrup having been made 
 in thirteen states and territories. And I doubt not that 
 Mr. D. Jay Browne, and Colonel Peters, could add con- 
 siderably to the list. 
 
 As might have been expected, when we consider the 
 rude method employed in expressing the juice and 
 boiling it, the syrups in some cases were of questionable 
 excellence; but where more care was taken, the most 
 gratifying results were attained. Colonel Peters' syrup 
 was boiled in a common iron " cow-pot," and from inex- 
 perience or carelessness of the hands employed in the 
 operation, it was not only suffered to become scorched, 
 but it was not properly neutralized with alkalies, and 
 kept from exposure to the air. Another reason for its 
 imperfect quality was, that the barrel from which the 
 specimen samples were taken, was made from frosted 
 canes. In fact, so imperfect was it compared to what it 
 might have been, that, judging from its quality, Mr. 
 Peters is now convi iced, that if he but takes ordinary
 
 SYRUP. 181 
 
 precautions with, this season's crop, he will be able to 
 make a syrup worth one dollar per gallon. The syrup 
 which we made at our own place, was of better color and 
 superior taste to the Georgia specimen ; and I have seen 
 samples from other states, which much surpassed our 
 own. One, especially, made by Mr. Boylston, Editor of the, 
 " Amherst Cabinet," New Hampshire, was equal, if not 
 superior to Stewart's syrup. 
 
 Doctor A. A. Hayes, of Boston, one of the Assayers to 
 the State of Massachusetts, told me, recently, that he was 
 convinced that excellent syrup could be made from the 
 sap in considerable quantities. And at a recent meeting 
 of the Farmers' Club of the American Institute, Doctor 
 Charles T. Jackson, of Boston, the associate Assay er with 
 Dr. Hayes, said "the syrup of this new sugar plant, prop- 
 erly refined, and mixed with a small per centage of honey, 
 is equally delicious as honey from the hive." This 
 gentleman informs me, that the specimens made by him 
 from the canes furnished by the General Government, 
 were completely colorless. 
 
 All these facts go to prove that the best results are 
 always obtained by careful management, and whilst tho 
 climate and soil of various localities doubtless exercise 
 no inconsiderable influence, yet we may rest assured, that 
 either at the North or South an intelligent and experi- 
 enced operator and a suitable apparatus, will always 
 command greater profit and better -quality of product, 
 than a shiftless experimenter.
 
 132 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 THE SEED MAY BE GATHERED WJ1EN CROWN FOR A SYRUP CROP. 
 
 It has been sufficiently well proved that the ripening 
 of the seed of the sorgho does not interfere with the ex- 
 traction of the full richness of the saccharine matters in 
 the juice, and the farmer who is desirous of growing 
 enough of a crop to make the molasses for his family 
 use, will be furnished with a further inducement to do so 
 from the fact, that at the same time he can be cultivating 
 a prolific crop of seed for feeding to his poultry, and a 
 large amount of green forage, in the leaves, for his 
 horses and stock. 
 
 APPARATUS NECESSARY. 
 
 To persons who merely desire to make a few gallons 
 of syrup for their family use, a complete apparatus is not 
 of paramount importance ; but if it is in contemplation 
 to duplicate such extensive practice as that of Mr. Peters, 
 it will be a matter of positive economy to procure a mill 
 and boilers that will extract the greatest possible amount 
 of sap from a given quantity of stalks. The juice last 
 expressed from the cane is the richest, and it is therefore 
 desirable to procure a mill of sufficient strength to ex- 
 stract nearly the whole sap. Small farmers and planters 
 can, of course, only approximate to this end, because of 
 the great grinding capacity and very large expense of 
 the more powerful mills ; but I do not think that a farmer, 
 with a crop of only five or ten acres, should use a wooden 
 roller mill when he can procure one with iron rollers for 
 twice or thrice the money. The canes of the sorgho are
 
 SYRUP. 133 
 
 hard, both because of being so very full of sap, and from 
 the large quantity of silex in their outer coating ; and a 
 wooden roller mill could scarcely be depended upon to 
 last through a season without breaking, or, if it should, 
 the rollers would most probably be crushed and badly 
 indented by the hard canes. Another argument in favor 
 of iron rollers is, that the saccharine juice of the sorgho, 
 when taken up by the pores of wood, is exceedingly 
 likely to become sour, and thus injures the portions of 
 juice successively passing through the mill. 
 
 M. D'iVERNOIS' SYRUP. 
 
 It is possible to make syrup from the sorgho without 
 the use of any mill or crushing apparatus whatever. 
 Thus, according to an article by M. d'lvernois, trans- 
 lated from the Bulletin of the Imperial (French) Accli- 
 mation Society, by Hon. H. Meigs, Secretary of the 
 American Institute, all that is necessary is to select the 
 butts of mature stalks, cut them into pieces of about an 
 inch in length, and boil them in pure water in an iron 
 pot. When the water has become charged with the 
 sweet juices of the cane clippings, it should be strained off 
 and clarified in the usual way, with a little cream of lime, 
 whites of eggs, bullock's blood, or skimmed milk. After 
 another boiling, to reduce it to proper consistency, it may 
 be put into stone jars or pots and tightly covered, like 
 ordinary preserves. This practice is at best an imperfect 
 one ; for, not only is the saccharine matter in the stalks 
 boiled out, but, at the same time, all the other soluble, 
 6*
 
 134 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 organic matters, such as wax and chlorophyl,* which 
 impart a disagreable taste to the syrup. 
 
 IRON ROLLERS BETTER THAN WOODEN ROLLERS. 
 
 An idea may be had of the imperfection of Colonel 
 Peters' mill, when we reflect that whilst with it he ob- 
 tained but fifty percent, of juice, Dr. Eobert Battey, by 
 pressing and subsequent evaporation, got 84^ per cent, of 
 sap and only 15 of woody fiber. It is found by numerous 
 experiments, that with proper machinery, seventy per 
 cent, should be obtained as an average product, and 
 when we consider that with only fifty per cent. Mr. Peters 
 actually worked up an average crop of 407 gallons of 
 syrup per acre, my reader will doubtless agree with me 
 that the difference on a single acre between the syrup 
 from thirty or forty and seventy per cent, of sap would 
 more than warrant the substitution of an iron roller for a 
 wooden roller mill. 
 
 AMOUNT OF SACCHARINE MATTERS VARY IN DIFFERENT CASES. 
 
 The different writers on the sorgho, who have experi- 
 mented with the sap, give various accounts of its richness. 
 
 * This Morophyl (green coloring matter) injures the quality of the 
 juice expressed from the sorgho in the large processes of manufacture, 
 and therefore as, both in the West Indian Cane and the Chinese Sugar 
 Cane, the greater saccharine richness lies in the lower parts of the 
 stalk, those nearest the butt, it is advisable to cut off about two 
 and a half or three feet of stalk, when the seed heads are removed : 
 and all the leaves of stalks inl andei for sugar or syrup making should 
 be removed. .
 
 SYRUP. 135 
 
 Thus, a sample grown near Washington gave Mr. Browne 
 fourteen per cent, of dry saccharine matter, but another 
 from the Arsenal, near Boston, yielded twenty -three per 
 cent. Vilmorin's proportions varied ten to sixteen per 
 cent. Dr. Turrel's from ten to twenty. Mr. W ray's 
 imphees sixteen per cent, of sugar. Mr. Avequin's, in 
 Louisiana, was a little over ten. The densities were also 
 different. Dr. Battey, of Georgia, found his superior to Vil- 
 morin's, the latter ranging from 1'050 to 1'075, whilst the 
 former's uniformly stood at 1*085. Avequin's was 1'064, 
 reaching almost to 9 Beaume. Mr. Hardy's, in Algiers, 
 stood at 8|. 
 
 If we accept even the lowest per centage shown above, 
 we still shall have a sacchariferous plant much superior to 
 the sugar beet, which in 1854, in France alone, employed 
 three hundred and thirty-two manufactories, producing 
 158,000,000 pounds of sugar, besides molasses. In this 
 same year (1854) there were consumed in the United 
 States over fourteen million gallons of molasses, which, 
 at thirty cents, cost us $4,200,000, and as we approach the 
 threshold of 1858, the price is doubled. Who, then, will 
 have the temerity to say that even if the sorgho had not 
 proved its capacity to furnish good, crystallized sugar, 
 that as a molasses-producing plant, it would not have 
 proved a source of vast wealth ? 
 
 SYRUP BOILING. 
 
 The process of reducing the sap to the consistency of 
 syrup, is so simple as scarcely to demand very protracted 
 instructions. The farmer, having cut his canes as near 
 the ground as possible, stripped off the leaves and remov-
 
 136 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 ed the tufts, carts them to the mill as fast as he can con 
 veniently grind them. The juice runs through a tin 
 pipe into a tub, or box, painted on the inside, or a large 
 wooden reservoir, lined with tin, lead, or sheet copper, 
 either of which should at all times be kept scrupulously 
 clean. In this, those only using Mr. Wray'.s patent can 
 add the lime to clarify the juice in the cold state, and from 
 thence pump or bail it into the boiler, where, as the heat 
 rises to from 120 to 180 Fah., the dilute infusion of pow- 
 dered nutgalls is introduced. The syrup is then carried to 
 the boiling point, when the fire is at once checked, the 
 syrup stands for about fifteen or twenty minutes, to give 
 the scum a chance to rise and be skimmed off ; the fire is 
 then urged again. The syrup then is kept boiling until 
 reduced to the proper consistency. This precise degree 
 is ascertained by the insertion of a little glass or metallic 
 instrument called a " syrup guage." These may be had 
 of Messrs. Pike and Son of New York, opticians, or Mr. 
 Jno. W. Reid, or any other respectable sugar-apparatus 
 maker. My friend, Dr. Eobert Battey, has prepared a 
 syrup guage, on which he has marked but one degree, 
 and it is thus rendered so extremely simple that any 
 farmer, or farmer's laborer, can always tell the exact 
 moment of its arriving at the " proof point." The draw- 
 back to it is that it is made of glass, and is thus liable, un- 
 less securely packed, to be broken in being transported, 
 and when in use, otherwise the idea is an excellent one. 
 
 For the benefit of such as do not wish to purchase 
 the right to use Mr. Wray's patent, which all should, 
 I subjoin the directions given by Dr. Battey in Mr. Red- 
 mond's pamphlet :
 
 SYEUP. 137 
 
 BOILING DOWN. 
 
 " The fires should be so arranged that they may be 
 under good control, to be forced or withdrawn, as occasion 
 may require. When the juice is placed in the boiler, the 
 fire should be gradually increased to a simmering heat, 
 (not to active boiling,) and maintained at this tempera- 
 ture until a thick green scum rises to the surface, and 
 forms into puffs, seeming ready to crack. This scum, 
 when fully formed, should be removed clean from the 
 surface. The heat may now be raised to boiling, and 
 kept in an active state of ebullition until the bulk is re- 
 duced one half. The fire may be removed from one 
 kettle, and its contents be transferred to the other, when 
 the heat must be gradually moderated, as the syrup be- 
 comes more concentrated, to avoid the danger of scorch- 
 ing, which injures the color and flavor. Should more 
 dirty green scum rise to the surface after the first skim- 
 ming, it should likewise be removed. 
 
 " In regard to the precise degree of concentration to 
 which the syrup should be brought, it is exceedingly dif- 
 ficult to lay down any precise and simple rule which 
 shall meet every case. The plan for determining it, in use 
 on the sugar plantation, and which was adopted by Gover- 
 nor Hammond and Mr. Peters, is based upon the judg- 
 ment of the eye, in respect to the consistence of the syrup, 
 when poured from the ladle, and cooled as it drops from 
 its edge. This test is evidently very defective, since the 
 temperature of the atmosphere regulates the consistence 
 which the syrup must assume on cooling down so that 
 a syrup boiled on a cold day will necessarily be thin and
 
 138 THE CHINESE SUGAK CANE. 
 
 watery as the weather moderates, and a syrup finished 
 at night will differ materially from that of the noon-day. 
 Although a good approximation, it is not exact enough 
 for the tyro to secure a desirable uniformity in the con- 
 sistence and value of the product, or to obviate the 
 danger of fermentation and loss. To remedy this uncer- 
 tainty, and secure a uniform result at all times, I have 
 constructed a simple instrument which determines readily, 
 and with certainty, the precise moment when the syrup 
 should be removed from the fire and transferred to the 
 barrels. 
 
 " It is a prevalent opinion that lime should always be 
 added to the juice, as soon as it is pressed out, and the 
 idea has been advanced that it could not be clarified 
 without lime. This is undoubtedly a mistake ; the juice 
 alone, under my hands, clarifies itself more readily with- 
 out lime than with it. The latter answers no useful pur- 
 pose, so far as the syrup is concerned, save to neutralize 
 the free acid (phosphoric) which exists naturally in the 
 cane. Lime darkens the color, and, to my taste, detracts 
 from the peculiar grateful flavor of the syrup. Many 
 would, perhaps, object to the slight acidity. To such I 
 would say, use the lime, but use it sparingly. To pre- 
 pare it for use, take a half peck of lime, slake it in a bucket 
 of water, gradually added, stir up well, and strain the 
 milk through a cloth ; let it settle for half a day, pour 
 off the water and dry the powder. Of the latter, you 
 may use from half a teaspoonful to two teaspoonful for 
 every five gallons juice, afte T the scum has been removed."
 
 SYRUP. 139 
 
 NECESSITY EOR CLEANLINESS AND SYSTEM. 
 
 One requisite to ensure the production of good, clean 
 syrup, is that the greatest cleanliness should be observed 
 throughout every stage of the manufacture. The mill, 
 boilers, ladles, buckets, troughs, reservoir, and every piece 
 of apparatus, and each implement used in the syrup mak- 
 ing should be cleaned off as soon as they are no longer in 
 actual use. The canes should be stripped clean of all dry 
 or green leaves, and when convenient, any lumps of dirt or 
 other impurities be knocked off, before the canes are passed 
 through the mill. Only ripe and sound canes should be 
 used ; and the ground about the mill should be neatly 
 swept, and all rubbish removed. If the boiling is done 
 under a shed, or in a building, it should be as neatly 
 maintained, and all things should be as systematically 
 arranged as if it were a private parlor ; for not only is 
 the introduction of impurities into the syrup prevented, 
 but the operator and his assistants can, at the desired 
 moment, at once lay hands upon any one of the instru- 
 ments needful at the various stages of the operation. 
 
 COLONEL PETERS' RESULTS. 
 
 The yield of juice and of syrup obtained by Colonel 
 Peters, were as follows. : 
 
 BEST EIGHTH OF AN ACEE. 
 
 Yield of juice from 3315 canes, - - 253 gallons. 
 Yield of syrup from 253 gallons juice, - 58 gallons. 
 
 Bate of syrup per acre, .... 468 gallons.
 
 140 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 POOREST EIGHTH OF AN ACRE. 
 
 Yield of juice from 2550 canes, - - 179 gallons. 
 Yield of syrup from 179 gallons juice, - 43| gallons. 
 Bate per acre, of syrup, - - - 346 gallons. 
 
 Weight of thirty select canes, - - - 49| pounds. 
 
 Weight of juice pressed out, - 25 1 pounds. 
 
 Weight of crushed cane, 23 pounds. 
 
 Loss in crushing, .... | pounds 
 
 Weight of crushed cane dried in sun, - 9| pounds. 
 
 Or, in other words, he made an average crop, four hundred 
 and seven gallons of syrup ; and even then obtained only 
 five sevenths of which he actually should, if he had been 
 in possession of perfect machinery. 
 
 With such results as these for consideration, how for- 
 tunate, nay, how providential must it seem, that just as 
 short crops, combination of capitalists, and increase of 
 consumers threaten us with an alarming advance in the 
 price of an article which is no longer a luxury, but a 
 necessary of life, a new sugar plant is given to us, of such 
 prolific resources as this Chinese Sugar Cane.
 
 CHAPTBE VII. 
 
 ALCOHOL. 
 
 ITS IMPORTANCE AS AN ARTICLE OP MANUFACTURE. 
 
 ALCOHOL, at the present day, occupies a very import- 
 ant place in the domestic economy of every family ; not, 
 it may be, in the form with which it comes to us from 
 the distillery, but disguised under the familiar cognomen 
 of many articles in daily consumption, it performs its 
 useful functions, unchallenged and unsuspected even by 
 the members of the Temperance Society. 
 
 In the materia medica we are indebted to it for chloro- 
 form and ether, and many of our most valuable vegetable 
 extracts and essences could not be obtained without it 
 In the arts we require its aid to dissolve the refractory 
 gums and resins; while in the shape of camphene, or 
 spirit gas, it yields, with other ingredients, a brilliant and 
 economic means of illuminating our dwelling-houses and 
 workshops. 
 
 It is true that alcohol, in its abuse as a beverage, is the 
 cause of much individual suffering from time to time ; 
 instances of this, however, are small compared with the 
 universal benefit which it affords ; and seeing that it is 
 not in the light of a beverage exclusively that I mean to 
 treat of it, but also as an important item in our national 
 economy, I trust that even the most fastidious will hold 
 me blameless if, in the course of my remarks, I endeavor 
 
 [141]
 
 142 THE CHINESE feUGAll CANE. 
 
 to impart to others what little knowledge and experience 
 I may possess in regard to this most important manufac- 
 ture. 
 
 THE CEREALS NO LONGER XEED BE EMPLOYED TO MAKE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Hitherto molasses from the cane, and the cereals, corn, 
 barley, and rye, have furnished the bulk of the spirit so 
 extensively needed, but a new era seems about to dawn 
 upon us ; the cereals may return to more legitimate chan- 
 nels of consumption, while a new plant, useful it would 
 seem, besides, for other purposes, supplies their place 
 the discovery of which, and introduction to our country, 
 deserves to be classed among the most important events 
 of the age, while every endeavor ought to be used to 
 develop, rather than to retard, through a mistaken and 
 narrow-minded philanthropy, its application to the manu- 
 facture of spirit, which, I have shown, has now become 
 an article of large consumption among us. 
 
 WHAT IS ALCOHOL ? HOW MADE ! 
 
 Alcohol may be termed, practically, pure spirit, the 
 result of vinous fermentation in certain bodies capable of 
 assuming this condition, from which it is obtained by dis- 
 tillation. A few of these bodies are wine, cider, beer, 
 and cane juice. When either of these liquids has under- 
 gone the vinous fermentation, and is subjected to vapor- 
 ization in a close vessel with a suitable condenser, alco- 
 hol is obtained as a result, more or less pure according to 
 the apparatus employed and the skill of the operator. 
 
 Rum, gin, brandy, and whiskey, are nothing but alco- 
 hol more or less dilute and flavored with the essential
 
 ALCOHOL. 143 
 
 oils, which give them character. Thus rum is alcohol 
 flavored with the essential oil of the sugar cane ; gin with 
 the oil of the juniper berry ; brandy with the oil of the 
 grape ; while whiskey owes its peculiarity to the well- 
 known fusil oil inherent in grain. By depriving either 
 of these liquors of the essential oils, coloring matters, and 
 volume of water they contain by means of rectification, 
 we obtain from them pure alcohol, or the well known 
 spirit of wine of the apothecaries' shops. 
 
 To obtain absolute alcohol, or a spirit perfectly free from 
 water, is impossible by any of the distilling apparatus yet 
 invented, alcohol having too great an affinity for water, 
 to be separated entirely by mechanical means. Yet a 
 spirit sufficiently pure for all commercial purposes may 
 be produced by a variety of distillatory arrangements, 
 which it shall be my duty to refer to in the proper place. 
 Spirit containing only five per cent, of water may be manu- 
 factured by a good apparatus. 
 
 It being the purpose of this work to treat only of the 
 sorgho and its products, it is to the manufacture of sorgho 
 spirit only that I shall refer. But as in the case of the 
 manufacture of sugar from the same source, I considered 
 a description of a West Indian plantation and apparatus 
 best calculated to elucidate the subject, so, as regards the 
 manufacture of sorgho rum or spirit, a short detail of. the 
 methods practiced in Cuba and the Windward Islands, 
 together with a few illustrations of improved apparatus, 
 will best serve the purpose, feeling assured judging 
 from a sample of sorgho syrup received from Mr. Olcott 
 that the products of the cane and sorgho are alike, and 
 required similar treatment to obtain like results.
 
 144 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 Distillation being an operation which requires prepar- 
 ation in the fluid to be operated upon, before proceeding 
 to distil we must first understand how to prepare the 
 wash so as to obtain the largest amount of alcohol from 
 a given amount of sweet liquor. Where grain is the 
 substance employed to form the wort or wash, the mani- 
 pulations are complex and various, requiring long expe- 
 rience to understand thoroughly ; but when, as in the 
 present case, the fluid is already in a forward state of 
 preparation, by reason of its nature, and requiring to 
 undergo but one preparative operation previous to distil- 
 lation, the subject becomes simplified, and less difficult to 
 describe or comprehend. 
 
 FERMENTATION. 
 
 To produce the vinous or alcoholic fermentation in a 
 fluid, it is a first requisite that that fluid be sweet. This 
 sweetness may either be the result of chemical combi- 
 nation, brought about by art, as in the case of worts made 
 from grain, or it may be the natural condition of the 
 fluid, as in the case of the expressed juice of the sorgho. 
 
 When fermentation takes place, several phenomena not 
 to be mistaken make their appearance. The juice seems 
 to boil, minute globules of carbonic acid gas come to the 
 surface, like the effervescence of champagne when viewed 
 through a glass, the temperature rises several degrees 
 above that of the atmosphere, an aromatic, rummy smell 
 is evolved, and a scum of yeast gathers on the top. To 
 the tongue, the previous sweet flavor has given place to 
 a slightly acid, pungent taste, and when the fermentation
 
 ALCOHOL. 145 
 
 has been brought successfully to a close, the wash, which 
 before fermentation was commenced marked 8 to 10 
 Beaume, will now be found to mark little over 1 
 Beaume', showing that nearly all the saccharine matter 
 has been changed into alcohol. If left twelve hours after 
 this, the acetic or vinegar fermentation commences, and 
 the alcohol gradually disappears, to the serious loss of 
 the distiller. 
 
 In the West Indies, the mixture of the materials, or 
 what is termed setting the wash, varies with the season. 
 When crop has just commenced, or just finished, it is 
 different from what it is in winter, as the rainy season is 
 called ; besides, the scientific distiller varies his mixtures 
 to suit circumstances. The same proportions that are 
 suitable for one state of the atmosphere may be unsuit- 
 able for another, and it is the capacity to judge what is 
 best for the season that constitutes the valuable overseer 
 to the still house. 
 
 Owing to its liability to conflagration, the still house 
 is generally set apart, but in the vicinity of the boiling 
 house, so that too much labor may not accrue from 
 having to carry to it the scum of the kettles and molasses 
 for conversion into alcohol. 
 
 If the still be a small one, the planter usually contents 
 himself with a mere shed for a still house, and a few 
 rum puncheons, with a square hole cut on the side where 
 the bung-hole has been, for fermenting vats. But if rum 
 is intended to be one of the regular products of the estate, 
 the matter is gone into more carefully. A regular stone 
 still house is built, and proper fermenting tuns of oak or 
 white pine provided. 
 7
 
 146 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 The still house is generally of two stories, each pretty 
 high ; the second story consisting of a floor extending 
 up to the place where the still is set. Here it is cut 
 away, and the space is left clear from the ground to the 
 roof; this is to allow of the various appurtenances of the 
 still being elevated to the proper height, free from ob- 
 struction from joists or other interferences. 
 
 In extensive distilleries, however, such as that of the 
 Messrs. Belchers, in Matanzas, Cuba, the still house is of 
 several stories, and special arrangements are made to suit 
 circumstances. Here as many as thirty or forty large 
 fermenting tuns are employed, each capable of contain- 
 ing from two to three thousand gallons, so arranged that 
 no more of the mosta, or wash, shall mature each day 
 than is capable of being distilled within twenty -four hours. 
 
 Underneath the ground floor of the still house a mixing 
 tub ought to be placed, and grated over with a wooden 
 grating level with the floor, so that a molasses puncheon 
 maybe rolled over it, the bung taken out, and its contents 
 let down through the bars, to save labor. This tub or 
 vat ought to contain a charge for one or more of the 
 fermenting vats employed. The mixture of the ingre- 
 dients for fermentation is made in it by agitating them 
 together by means of wooden rakes or oars. When 
 completed, the wash is pumped up into the fermenting 
 tubs, tuns, vats, or backs, as they are called irrespectively 
 according to local usage, where it undergoes the vinous 
 or alcoholic fermentation, and in turn is distilled into 
 rum or low wines. As many as twenty pipes of rum, of 
 one hundred and twenty gallons each, are made on some 
 large estates each day during crop.
 
 ALCOHOL. 147 
 
 So far the arrangements of West India still houses have 
 proved appropriate and applicable to the distillation of 
 the sorgho, but here the applicability ceases ; for the 
 West Indian mode of setting the wash, and the time 
 allowed for fermentation there, is quite unsuited to the 
 variety of the cane family we are at present considering. 
 I will, therefore, now proceed to describe the process 
 best suited to the new plant, so as to obtain the best 
 results, taking my data from the various French reports 
 which have been made on the subject. 
 
 THE ALCOHOLIZATION OF THE SORGHO. 
 
 In France there have been quite a number of experi- 
 ments made on the conversion of the sweet" juices of the 
 sorgho sucre into various liquors, such as rum, brandy, 
 wine, and beer. We find Vilmorin in 1854, Alphandery 
 in 1855, Bourdais, Sicard, and Madinier in 1856, and 
 Detur in 1857, publishing reports on the subject, to 
 which I shall refer. 
 
 Alphandery reports that he made very good brandy 
 by concentrating the juice of the sorgho slightly (12 B. ?) 
 and putting it into a barrel, where it fermented a week, 
 then distilling it. The eau de vie, says he, thus 
 obtained, is incontestibly superior to that made from 
 wine (real brandy.) Also, that if some of the juice be 
 taken during fermentation, and bottled close, it makes a 
 very agreeable drink. 
 
 It is evident from the above that the circumstances 
 under which M. Alphandery fermented his juice were 
 unfavorable, as the sorgho almost always, when properly
 
 148 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 cared for, finishes fermentation in three days at most. 
 Nevertheless, his testimony is valuable as to the quality 
 of the product. 
 
 M. Madinier endorses the statement of M. Hardy, 
 that the juice of the sorgho contains naturally a fermen- 
 tative principle, sufficient for perfect alcoholization, but 
 thinks it best to throw in with the juice a few of the fresh 
 crashed canes, which greatly accelerates the attenuation. 
 He also advises very wide and shallow fermenting 
 cisterns, so as to expose as much surface to the air as 
 possible, and to set the cisterns at a temperature of 
 twenty or twenty-five degrees centigrade, equal to 
 seventy-seven Fahrenheit. M. Sicard, in his work, 
 merely collates the experiences of others, among which 
 are Beauregard, Fissiaux, and Eaoul. One point, how- 
 ever, they all agree upon, that is, that the wash ought to 
 be kept in a room, the temperature of which is eighteen 
 degrees centigrade, or say sixty -four Fahrenheit. 
 
 M. F. Bourdais, however, a distiller in Algeria, at 
 length, in 1856, treats the matter in a thoroughly prac- 
 tical and scientific manner ; he gives us facts, not theories, 
 and proves most conclusively that the sorgho is perhaps 
 the best alcohol -producing plant yet discovered. 
 
 The operations on which he based his calculations and 
 deductions were all on a large scale, and therefore less 
 liable to error than the laboratory experiments of most 
 of his predecessors in this field. He planted five hectares, 
 say ten acres, with sorgho, and professes to give results 
 with scrupulous exactitude.
 
 ALCOHOL. 149 
 
 COST TO PRODUCE A GALLON ALCOHOL MOM SORGHO, NINETY-FOUR 
 PER CENT. STRENGTH. 
 
 He found that to cultivate and prepare for 
 grinding one hectare, or say two acres, of 
 sorgho cost him 685 francs, or say - - $137 00 
 
 But of the green fodder stripped from the canes 
 he sold seventy-eight quintals, or say 17,000 
 Ibs., at three francs for 100 kilogrammes, 
 which is sixty cents per 220 Ibs., - - 46 80 
 
 $90 20 
 
 Of prepared canes he obtained ready for the 
 mill, 520 quintals, or 114,920 Ibs., making 
 cost of production per quintal of 220 Ibs., 
 about 17 f cents. 
 
 Each quintal (220 Ibs.) yielded, on distillation, 
 5 litres 20 centolitres, or say 1} gallons, alco- 
 hol, at 94, thus costing per litre of If pints 
 15 1, or about 4 cents 
 
 To which add cost of crushing, maceration, fer- 
 mentation, yeast, distillation, and rectification, 10 cents 
 
 Cartage to town, l cents 
 
 Cost per litre (If pints) of alcohol, 94, 15^ cents 
 
 or say 71 cents per gallon, nearly. 
 
 DETAILS OF THE MANUFACTURE OF ALCOHOL FROM SAT FITE HECTARES, 
 OR TEN ACRES, OF SORGHO, AS GIVEN BY BOURDAIS. 
 
 The canes, stripped of their leaves, are passed through 
 a cane mill, the juics runs into a tank capable of holding
 
 150 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 forty hectolitres (eight hundred and eighty gallons), the 
 bagasse, or crushed canes, still retaining a considerable 
 quantity of juice, are steeped in hot water. Nine hundred 
 and fifty kilogrammes (two thousand six hundred Ibs.) 
 of these yield twenty hectolitres (four hundred and forty 
 gallons) of juice and water at 3 Beaume^ while the juice 
 first expressed stands 10 Beaum6. 
 
 On finding it was going to cost him too much to cut 
 and gather the grain from his sorgho, he determined not 
 to do so, but after choosing sufficient of the best seed for 
 next year, he left the grain attached to the stalks, and 
 crushed all together. 
 
 When he came to macerate with hot water, the heat 
 immediately acted upon the starch of the corn, and deter- 
 mined its transformation to sugar. He thus obtained, 
 by the same operation, both the saccharine of the grain 
 and the residue of the juice from the canes. 
 
 The juice, on leaving the steeping vats at 3 B., must be 
 enriched with pure juice till it marks 5 B. Eight hecto- 
 litres of this (one hundred and seventy-six gallons), at a 
 temperature of 30 centigrade (86 F.) are mixed in a fer- 
 menting vat with five litres (one and one eighth gallons) 
 brewers' yeast ; this he calls the foot. In an hour it is in a 
 high state of fermentation, and he then fills up the vat with 
 twenty-two hectolitres (four hundred and eighty-four 
 gallons) also at 30 cent. (86 F.) ; in another hour the whole 
 is fermenting. He states the above from his own expe- 
 rience, and remarks that the fermentation proceeds 
 regularly, requires no attention, is never too rapid, and 
 always falls to zero on the areometer in twenty, or at 
 most twenty-four hours It is then ready for distillation,
 
 ALCOHOL. 151 
 
 and will yield eignt litres (one and three fourths gallons) 
 alcohol for each hundred litres (twenty -two gallons) juice 
 at 10 B. 
 
 Prom these statements it would appear that, however 
 little success may attend the attempt to produce crystal- 
 lized sugar from the sorgho, that there need be no diffi- 
 culty, at all events, in making good domestic rum, 
 alcohol, and other kindred products from its juice. The 
 following instructions for setting a vat are not, however, 
 to be taken as based upon the result of my own expe- 
 rience, for as yet I have only been enabled to experiment 
 upon a small quantity of syrup, which was over a year 
 old, badly defecated and burned, and withal considerably 
 acid. I have nevertheless carefully perused the reports 
 of the French operators^ and extracted what I considered 
 best from each, which was applicable to our climate and 
 national habits. 
 
 TO SET A VAT. 
 
 If the farmer be manufacturing syrup from his cane, 
 let him select the most perfectly ripened and healthy 
 canes for this purpose, setting aside those which have 
 only partially ripened, or have been frosted, for the 
 manufacture of rum or alcohol ; by this means, and sav- 
 ing all the scum of the pans for the same purpose, he 
 may thus be enabled to use all his product to advantage, 
 and waste nothing. 
 
 Supposing him to have determined on making rum 
 or alcohol only, let him cut his canes, grind them, and 
 put his juice into a pan to evaporate slightly. If the juice
 
 152 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 marks 8 B. no evaporation need take place, but the pau 
 be used to raise the temperature of the liquid to say 80 3 
 Fahrenheit, then discharge the contents of the pan or pans 
 into a vat suited to the quantity the farmer desires to' 
 ferment, fill this vat to within a foot or nine inches of the 
 top, and, if you can get it, add by measure one gallon of 
 brewers' yeast to every hundred gallons in the vat, first 
 take four or five gallons of the warm juice, mix the yeast 
 well up in it, and return it to the vat, agitating the whole 
 well together. In a couple of hours or so, if the weather 
 be propitious, the contents of the vat will seem alive or 
 boiling, owing to the bubbles of gas which are rising to 
 the surface, and an aromatic flavor will begin to arise. 
 The vat is now fermenting. The door of the room or 
 shed where the vat or vats are placed, must be kept shut 
 or open, as the case may be, so as to keep the tempera- 
 ture of the air about 65 or 70. In winter a stove will 
 be necessary, for if the juice should get chilled, in all 
 probability it would stop fermentation, and give trouble. 
 Examine the vat from time to time, to see that all is 
 going on well ; in twenty-four hours after the fermen- 
 tation has begun, take out sufficient to float Beaume's 
 saccharometer, and insert a thermometer in the vat 
 You will find, in all probability, that the wash has be- 
 come attenuated to a certain degree, and has risen in tem- 
 perature to 80 or 82. That which yesterday marked 
 8 B. now perhaps marks only 5 or 4 B., in which 
 case you may be sure your vat is progressing as it ought 
 to do. Had you set your wash with common molasses, 
 instead of sorgho, it would not have attenuated one 
 degree in so short a time, and rhe fermentation would
 
 ALCOHOL. 153 
 
 only be commenced. This is a peculiarity in the sorgho 
 greatly to its advantage in making alcohol. 
 
 Attenuation is the term applied to that action in sac- 
 charine fluid mixtures by which they gradually lose part 
 of their gravity in fermentation, and it attains perfection, 
 if the wash can be brought to the same specific gravity, 
 or less, than water itself. Before fermentation, the mix- 
 ture being much heavier than water, is shown by the 
 areometer. This change in density is owing to the sugar, 
 which is denser than water, changing into alcohol, 
 which is lighter ; and as a mixture of alcohol with water 
 must, from the difference of gravity between the alcohol 
 and the water, render a given bulk of such mixture 
 lighter than the same bulk of pure water, it follows that 
 as the sugar in the wash changes into alcohol, the mass 
 changes its gravity, or attenuates. 
 
 In forty- eight hours, in warm weather, after the wash 
 commences to ferment, examine it by pushing the head 
 or scum on one side, if it has not already sunk to the 
 bottom, and if you find that the bubbles cease to rise, 
 and that the temperature has gone down to 70 or 75, get 
 your still ready and distil the spirit as soon as possible. 
 If you leave it twelve hours after this, the vat will have 
 commenced the acetic fermentation, and be in process of 
 making vinegar at the expense of your alcohol. 
 
 Since commencing this article on alcohol, I have been 
 enabled to test, to my own satisfaction, the capability of 
 sorgho syrup, even in an advanced state of acidity, foi 
 making spirit. The quantity experimented upon being 
 small was against the success of the operation, especially 
 in the fermentation. Yet, nevertheless I obtained a 
 7*
 
 154 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 very strong, well-flavored spirit, infinitely superior to 
 whiskey, and giving evidence that, had the syrup been 
 fresh, a sorgho brandy would have been made, which 
 would have compared favorably with any of the French 
 brandies in quality. I am not aware that sorgho spirit 
 has been previously made in America; it may, there- 
 fore, prove interesting to give the details of my experi- 
 ment. 
 
 On Tuesday, the 17th of August, I secured from 
 Mr. H. S. Olcott a little over a quart of sorgho syrup, 
 part of a small quantity sent to him by Mr. Peters, 
 of Georgia, the product of last year's experiment ; it was 
 extremely acid, having been imperfectly defecated and 
 clarified, burned in the boiling, and contained much 
 extraneous matter ; its color was a dirty yellowish-brown, 
 and its density, by Beaumd's saccharometer, was 35. 
 
 I commenced operations upon it at 2 P. M., on the 
 18th, by mixing in a pail five quarts of water, heated to 
 100 Fahrenheit, with one quart of the syrup ; when the 
 mixture was effected, the temperature of the whole stood 
 90. I set the temperature thus high, owing to the small- 
 ness of the quantity, being doubtful as to the fermenta- 
 tion proceeding fast enough. I also made the density, 
 which was 9, one or two degrees higher than would be 
 necessary in larger quantities. Having stirred the whole 
 thoroughly, I took out a small portion in a tumbler, into 
 which I put one quarter of a pint of fresh brewer's yeast; 
 this I beat up with a spoon, and when well mixed I 
 poured it into the pail with the rest, and stirred the whole 
 together. The temperature of the room being 75, I left 
 it undisturbed for a time. On examining it two hours
 
 ALCOHOL. 155 
 
 subsequently, T found that a lively fermentation had set 
 in, and that the temperature had fallen to 77 ; at ten 
 P.M. it was in a high state of fermentation, the tempera- 
 ture had risen 2, and the wash had attenuated 1| 
 Beaume. In twenty -four hours from the time of starting, 
 the temperature was 80 F., and the density 4 B. In 
 forty-two hours the temperature was 2 lower, the 
 density 2 B., and the fermentation less lively. In 
 forty-eight hours the temperature had fallen to 76 F. 
 Fermentation had almost ceased, and the wash marked 
 only Beaume", which was a very good attenuation 
 under the circumstances. 
 
 I now distilled the whole in a small copper still, a 
 model of Figure 3 of the distillery cuts. The foreshot, or 
 first runnings, I set aside ; as also the/amfc, or last run- 
 nings, the balance about 1-|- pints was a pleasant aro- 
 matic spirit, resembling brandy, containing 55 per cent, 
 alcohol. 
 
 This distillation having been made in nearly a simple 
 still, over the naked fire, was the severest test the sorgho 
 syrup could be put to ; for had there been any disagreea- 
 ble peculiarities inherent in it, they would have appeared 
 in the spirit run in this way. As was to be expected 
 by so imperfect a process of distillation as the simple still 
 and worm affords, a good deal of essential oil came over 
 with the spirit, as well as water. So I determined to re- 
 distil the 1 pints at a low heat, in order to see what 
 improvements could be effected. The small still I used 
 being intended for experiment, was so arranged as to 
 interpose, when required, a stratum of water between 
 the fire and the substance under distillation, which, by
 
 156 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 this means, was preserved during the operation at a tem- 
 perature not exceeding 212. 
 
 Having filled the bath of the still with water, and 
 urged the boiling, the spirit soon came over ; as before, 
 I rejected the foreshot and faints, in this case returning 
 the foreshot to the still ; the result was about | of a pint 
 of pure, well flavored spirit, of 72| strength. 
 
 Such results are encouraging and full of promise for 
 the future ; for it must be remembered the stock in this 
 case was imperfectly cured to begin with ; had been kept 
 in a demijohn over a year fermenting, and had thus lost 
 part of its alcohol before it came into my hands. Yet, 
 nevertheless, I will venture to say, that the spirit pro- 
 duced from Mr. Peters' first experiment in sorgho syrup, 
 will rank favorably with many samples of spirit in the 
 market. 
 
 Having got so far, the only question that remains, is 
 the important one of apparatus. Of course, the size must 
 be proportionate to the quantity of brandy, low wines or 
 alcohol, the planter intends to manufacture ; but, as many 
 circumstances have got to be considered in arranging a 
 distillery, besides the mere size of the still, I would recom- 
 mend that the planter, before taking steps in the matter, 
 state his case to some competent person and obtain his 
 advice. 
 
 To farmers and others, who do not intend to make a 
 regular business of distilling, except at times when no 
 other occupation occurs, as in winter, I would recom- 
 mend to defecate and clarify their juice as directed in the 
 chapter on syrup and sugar, using, say two pans, 
 when the juice is well cleaned. Then boil down to 35
 
 ALCOHOL. 
 
 157 
 
 or 36 B., allow to cool, and barrel it up for winter 
 distillation; the juice treated in this way will keep for 
 years, if well defecated and kept in a cool place. The 
 form of still they ought to use, should be the simple still 
 and worm, either with or without a wash heater. The 
 following cuts represent the common still ; Figure 1 in 
 elevation, Figure 2 in section : 
 
 Fif.J 
 
 In the above cut, the brick work, body and goose neck 
 of the still are shown. L, is the offshot of the worm ; 
 M, the worm tub, full of cold water ; it should have a 
 stream of water supplied to it, to prevent its getting too 
 hot; 1ST, is the drip pipe of the worm. A section of this 
 form of still is shown in the following page, at Figure 2, 
 of which A is the body of the still, B the cap or capital,
 
 158 
 
 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 C the goose neck, leading to the condenser worm D. B 
 is the discharge cock of the still, F the brick work, Or the 
 opening of the flue into the furnace, H the same flue 
 going round the still, I the furnace bars, J the ash pit, 
 
 Fiy. j.
 
 ALCOHOL. 
 
 159 
 
 This 
 
 and K the charging screw, where the still is filled, 
 still makes low wines. 
 
 By adding a wash heater to the above, a great saving 
 in time and fuel is effected, besides, a purer and stronger 
 spirit is obtained. This still is shown at Fig. 3, page 158, 
 of which A is the still, B the heater of the wash for the
 
 160 
 
 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 next charge, and C the worm. To operate with this 
 still, fill the still through the heater, and then fill the 
 heater. When the charge in the still is run over, draw 
 off the spent wash, and fill up again from the heater. 
 
 When a pure spirit, standing 80 to 90 D , is wanted, a 
 still like Fig. 4, on page 159, is required ; of which A is the 
 still, B the doubler, C the heater, D the check cylinder, 
 E the worm. 
 
 Alcohol 95 may be obtained by a distillery similar to 
 
 In this A is the still, B the heater, with a pecuiar 
 arrangement inside, C the doubler, D the separator, E 
 the pump to feed the heater with wash, F the separator 
 pipes, G the drip pipe, H a thermometer to tell tempera- 
 ture of wash. 
 
 Where the quantity of sorgho planted is large, a very
 
 ALCOHOL. 
 
 161 
 
 good rum or low wine still is shown at Fig. 6, together 
 with the general arrangement of the still house. 
 
 A is the mixing tub, B the pump to raise the wash to 
 the gutter C, which supplies the fermenting vats D. E is 
 the pipe leading from the vats to the heater shown at F, 
 G- is the still. This stil] may be so arranged as to run 
 very strong spirit. 
 11
 
 162 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 By means of stills without columns or separators, low 
 wines only are made with, advantage. These are named 
 in contradiction to high wines above 65. 
 
 The stills hitherto represented have been of the inter- 
 mittent kind, but in the cut on the opposite page a con- 
 tinuous brandy or alcohol distillery is shown. These stills 
 have a continuous stream of spent wash running out at 
 the bottom, while a corresponding stream of live wash 
 runs in at the top. They are rather expensive, and re- 
 quire some practice to operate. 
 
 The apparatus represented in the cut is on the princi- 
 ple of Durosne & Gail, of France, who got it up some 
 years ago for the purpose of distilling brandy from wine. 
 It is extensively used in France, and there are a few in 
 use in the United States. I refrain from any description^ 
 of this still, as it would be too tedious, and perhaps, after 
 all, prove incomprehensible in mere words. Suffice it to 
 say that it yields a pure spirit, and of any required proof 
 under 95. 
 
 To planters and farmers, many of whom will doubtless 
 this year order distilleries and other apparatus for their 
 various operations on sugar, I would advise that they 
 stipulate beforehand with the manufacturer, for a full 
 written description of the proper mode of erecting and 
 working each apparatus, otherwise there will be trouble 
 and expense before it is finished. 
 
 One half of the failures in apparatus on sugar estates, 
 are owing in tbe first place, to the mechanic who under- 
 takes to make a machine or a distillery, while, in the 
 meantime, he is ignorant of the first principles of the pur- 
 pose to whi?h such still or machine is to be applied ; and
 
 ALCOHOL. 
 
 163 
 
 Fig. 7
 
 164 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 in the second place, it is due to the person giving the 
 order, who, probably, is little able or willing to enlighten 
 him : in either case dissatisfaction and loss is the result. 
 
 In the manufacture of alcohols from the sorgho for the 
 market, it is well for the farmer to know what is required, 
 as regards strength and quality, so as to be guided in 
 making an article which will find ready sale ; and first 
 and foremost, doubtless, he would like to know what is 
 considered the market proof of spirits in America. By 
 proof is meant the strength in alcohol which a liquor in- 
 dicates on the areometer, and is derived from the English 
 excisemen, who proved each cask as it came from the dis- 
 tiller or importer, levying a heavy duty per gallon on 
 the amount of alcohol contained ; when it passed the 
 officer's hands, he gave a certificate of its strength, which 
 was proof to the customer, the bung being sealed up and 
 stamped. 
 
 In America usage has designated a certain per centage 
 of alcohol in liquors, as the standard strength on which 
 the price is to be calculated, and according as the per- 
 centages exceed or fall short of this, the spirit is above or 
 below proof. This standard is composed of one half 
 water and one half spirit, marking 50 on the guage or 
 areometer, at the temperature of 60 Fahrenheit. 
 
 Of course, if the farmer be far from his market, the 
 less water he transport in his casks the better, and he 
 ought in this case to make high wines or alcohol, now so 
 much used for camphene, c., whilst the one who is under 
 less charges for transportation, may be guided by the 
 demand, whether it shall be low wines, high wines, alco- 
 hol, brandy, or rum that he produces from his juice all
 
 ALCOHOL. 165 
 
 these various liquors being merely the result of a little 
 difference in the mqde of fermentation and. distillation. 
 
 Before taking leave of the subject, I would state that 
 the sample of Mr. Peters' syrup, referred to before, on 
 being offered in the market as rum, was appraised at 90 
 cents to $1 a gallon, Porto Eico rum being worth $1 10. 
 In the shape of brandy, $1 to $1 50 was offered, while in 
 the shape of 95, alcohol, 65 cents was the price. 
 
 Now, the farmer, so soon as he knows what it costs 
 him to make a gallon of syrup, can tell at once what these 
 prices indicate in the shape of profit, by adding eight 
 cents per gallon, which is an over estimate of the cost of 
 conversion into spirit. Supposing him to obtain only 
 200 gallons, whereas he ought to get 400 gallons syrup 
 per acre, and it costs him fifteen cents per gallon to make 
 it, his brandy would stand him in twenty-three cents, 
 and be a purer and more -wholesome article than most of 
 the trash palmed off upon us as French cognac. 
 
 Say, 200 gallons syrup, per acre, 15 c., $30 00 
 Cost to ferment and distil, 8 c., . 16 00 
 
 $4600 
 Eeturns 200 gallons proof brandy, at $1, 200 00 
 
 Profit per acre, . . $15400 
 
 Besides fodder and seed, worth, say, . 50 00 
 
 Net profit, . . . $204 00 
 
 On reading over the foregoing, I see that I have omitted 
 mention of the means by which, in the absence of yeast, 
 fermentation may be induced in the wash, or preserved
 
 166 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 from year to year, as also the use to which the spent wash 
 may be applied where water is scarce, or at a distance. 
 
 As a general thing, well water, if good, is better than 
 river water for mixing with syrup, or other substances to 
 be fermented, inasmuch as it holds in solution less vege- 
 table matter. Spring water, which has lime in solution, 
 is very good, provided it does not contain other minerals 
 unsuitable for the purpose. Trial in every case can 
 alone settle this authoritatively. 
 
 If the reports of the French chemists apply to the 
 sorgho of this country, there need be no anxiety as to 
 the success of its fermentation, possessing, as it does, a 
 strong tendency towards alcohol even unaided. In all 
 cases, however, I would add to the vat, as directed, one 
 quarter per cent, of fresh crushed canes as a ferment. 
 This, as in the case of grape stalks on wine, secures the 
 result. If a brewery be near,' by all means get fresh 
 yeast from that. 
 
 After one vat or cask has been put into fermentation, 
 it will be easy to inoculate all the others from it, for on 
 the bottom will be found, on drawing off, a grayish sub- 
 stance, which will induce fermentation wherever it is 
 applied to saccharine solutions. 
 
 By many, the best flavors of the West India rums are 
 attributed to the mixture with the wash of a certain 
 amount of spent wash of previous distillations ; this is 
 done generally in the proportion of one third or fourth ; 
 and in case this plan be found favorable to the sorgho, I 
 will give a few simple directions on this head, which 
 may be varied as experience dictates, when sorgho dis- 
 tillation has become an institution among ns.
 
 ALCOHOL. 167 
 
 The scum of the sugar train, during crop, is used to 
 mix in the vats, six gallons of scum, being considered 
 equal to one gallon of syrup or molasses. Twelve or 
 fifteen per cent, of saccharine matters, whether of scum 
 or syrup, is a common mixture, as, for instance, eighteen 
 gallons scum, ten gallons syrup, thirty-six gallons spent 
 wash, and thirty-nine gallons water, will do very well ; 
 say thirteen per cent, of saccharine, or twelve gallons 
 syrup, may be used, so as to make fifteen per cent, sac- 
 charine. 
 
 When the planter has got through with his distillation 
 for the year, he leaves his vats fall of spent wash, in order 
 to prevent their leaking, as well also as to preserve the 
 fermenting principle which the wash acquires before next 
 season. After standing a short time, the wash throws to 
 the surface a thick crust or scum, which protects it from 
 the air, leaving the fluid underneath clear as sherry wine. 
 This method I would advise our farmers or planters to 
 adopt with their vats for sorgho, or wash them well 
 with lime, and fill with pure water, which, if followed 
 with the other suggestions I have given, will no doubt 
 place us in a better position as regards alcohols than any 
 other country in the world, inasmuch as, for the produc- 
 tion of alcohol at all events, the sorgho will become suf- 
 ficiently ripe throughout the Union, from Maine to Texas, 
 and thus give us unrivaled facilities, not only for sup- 
 plying our own markets, but those of the world, with this 
 useful solvent. 
 
 For the preceding remarks on alcohol, I am indebted 
 to the same gentleman who furnished the illustrations 
 and descriptions of sugar-making. He, as well as my-
 
 168 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 self, takes great interest in the development of our new 
 plant, which, both as fodder, cereal, saccharine, spirit, 
 beer, and wine, seems destined to add so largely to our 
 wealth as a nation. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF GROUND PLAN. 
 See p. 112. 
 
 IN the cut representing the plan of a sugar house, A represents the 
 steam boilers outside of the building ; B the cane shed, built of brick 
 or stone, with wide archways ; C, the mill-house, having two floors, 
 the mill on second floor ; D, the boiling-houses, with two trains, and a 
 small office which overlooks both the mill and boiling houses ; E, the 
 cooling house ; and F the purgery. These two latter are in a separate 
 building connected by a railroad, both to avoid risk of fire and admit 
 of being kept locked up to prevent pilfering. G is the distillery, about 
 one hundred yards removed from the other buildings. 
 
 a shows the cane carrier ; b the mill and engine on the second floor, 
 supported on solid masonry ; c a shute which takes the place of the 
 bagasse carrier, and delivers the crushed canes into a mule cart under- 
 neath, outside ; d are juice tanks, to receive juice from mill ; e are 
 oblong defecators attached to the trains ; / are the trains of pans ; g 
 railroads to carry the syrup to the coolers, and the sugar from coolers 
 to purgery ; k are the coolers ; i are the alley ways, level with furnace 
 mouths ; k, furnace mouths ; I, sugar hogsheads in purgery.
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 VINEGAK. 
 
 Like all other saccharine juices, the sap of the sorgho, 
 raw, and the wines and cider made from it, will rapidly 
 pass into the acetous fermentation. As soon as the cut 
 end of the stalk is exposed to the atmosphere, the oxygen 
 attacks it, and the fermentation commences. I have 
 found the sap of stalks which had lain in stack on our 
 place for two months, to be as acid as the best vinegar, 
 and although I have had no personal experience in vine- 
 gar manufacture, I still should not be afraid to testify, 
 with no other facts corroborative, that the sorgho is a 
 vinegar-producing plant. 
 
 The Count Moigneric, says Dr. Turrel in the Imperial 
 Society's Bulletin, of September, 1856, made vinegar by 
 watering the bagasse, already crushed, with fresh juice 
 of the sorgho. He obtained the acetous fermentation 
 and a perfect vinegar. 
 
 Mr. D. Jay Browne, in his remarks before the United 
 States Agricultural Society, said that he believed fifteen 
 hundred gallons of vinegar could be made per acre from 
 the sorgho. He had a specimen at his house in Washing- 
 ton, and pronounced it very good. 
 
 Lacoste says likewise at page forty -four of his book, 
 
 "that the juice of the sugar sorgho submitted to the 
 
 acetous fermentation, will produce vinegar of excellent 
 
 quality; and it will also be profitable to submit to this 
 
 8 [1G9]
 
 170 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 transformation the weaker alcohols arising from the final 
 distillations." 
 
 The methods for the production of vinegar are so 
 simple, as to be familiar with almost every one of my 
 readers, and it will, consequently, be useless to occupy 
 much space in detailing them at length. I would simply 
 recommend that the practice usually employed in treating 
 the juice of apples, of the sugar maple, and the various 
 other saccharine fluids commonly employed for the manu- 
 facture of vinegar, be applied to the juices of the sorgho 
 and imphee as they come from the mill. 
 
 Sicard says that he has been in the custom of making 
 vinegar of the knots of the cane stalks, and of addi ng to 
 them such canes as were more or less spoiled. His pro- 
 cess is extremely simple, and is as follows : 
 
 " Bruise the pieces in the mill, put them in contact with 
 a sufficient quantity of water to cover them a few inches, 
 let them ferment then all alone until the liquid has ac- 
 quired the qualities desired for good vinegar. It is in- 
 dispensable to draw this vinegar off once or twice, with a 
 view to removing from it all foreign substances." He 
 says that his vinegar is of a yellowish white color, and of 
 a very agreeable acidity. He has sometimes allowed the 
 knots to ferment before covering them with water, and in 
 this way "has obtained a vinegar very deeply colored. 
 For the purpose of making vinegar, he has likewise made 
 use of the cider or piquette of the sorgho, by adding to it 
 a slight quantity of tartaric acid. He says vinegar can 
 likewise be obtained by putting into a barrel the residue 
 of canes from which the juice has been extracted for the 
 manufacture either of sugar or alcohol. In this case he
 
 VINEGAR. 171 
 
 left them without disturbance until they had acquired a 
 heat, of which he was made sensible by putting the hand 
 in the mess ; he then added to it water, and let it ferment 
 as before mentioned. 
 
 STARCH OP THE SEEft 
 
 The consumption of starch in the United States, at all 
 times large, has recently increased, owing to causes, 
 among which may be enumerated the present universally 
 prevalent custom of our females wearing stiff skirts ; and 
 much more starch is eaten than formerly, prepared in 
 various forms for the table, such as starch, farina, tapioca, 
 &c. The seed, deprived of its envelope, has been sub- 
 mitted to numerous experiments by Mr. Wray, Count 
 Beauregard, Dr. Sicard and others, chemists and amateurs, 
 and has been found to yield forty -five per cent, of pure 
 starch of very excellent quality. In fact, it only needs for a 
 person to cut in two a fully matured seed, to be convinced 
 of the possibility of causing starch manufacturers to be 
 considerably interested in this plant, when the area under 
 cultivation shall be such as to bring down the prices of 
 the seed to a moderate rate. On taking off the outside 
 envelope of the seed, the one in which is contained a 
 very deep purple dye tint, we see adhering to the starchy 
 matter, another of a clear brown color, and somewhat 
 unctuous to the touch. So intimately is it a part of the 
 composition of the seed proper, that we anticipate an im- 
 possibility to separate it, except by the process applied to 
 barley, which is known as pearling, and in this way the 
 desired result will be easily attained. What will be a
 
 172 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 cheap and expeditions method for removing the seed 
 hulls, we cannot at present say. If it can be shown that 
 the hulls, are valuable for the dyes which they will yield, 
 ingenuity at once will be stimulated to produce a hulling 
 machine ; and if, as we think very probable, it shall be 
 found the starch of the seed can be readily made use of, then 
 again the same causes in operation will demand such a 
 machine. But, at present, Dr. Sicard has made his ex- 
 periments, as I have made my own with the hulls, by 
 rubbing the seeds together in such a manner as to cause 
 the hulls to separate of their own accord. Dr. Sicard 
 made an experiment with about 175 Ibs. of the seed to 
 determine the proportions of coarse bran, middlings, and 
 fine flour, and obtained thirty -three pounds of each of the 
 two former, and about ninety-five pounds of the latter. 
 The coarse bran and middlings were both of a violet tint, 
 arising from the coloring matter impregnating the outer 
 lining of the hull. The fine flour itself offered to the eye 
 an appearance of violet slightly bordering upon a rose 
 color, and even after having been passed through a silken 
 sieve, was still of a very pale rose color. To assure him- 
 self that the coloring matter which thus tinted the fine 
 flour was merely contained in the outside covering of the 
 seed, he undertook very minute experiments, completely 
 removing all the hull and the two successive interior 
 coatings before passing the seed through the mill, and 
 even made use of chemical agents to remove the color. 
 The result, it is true, was the production of a starch of 
 very brilliant whiteness, but his experiments proved to 
 my mind that the production of pure white starch will 
 be a matter of considerable difficulty. It will have a pale
 
 VINEGAR. 173 
 
 rose color, which may, or may not, militate against its 
 general introduction. He made from the starch at diffe- 
 rent times bread and cakes, and in the different cases 
 varied success, some being palatable and others not. 
 The flour of the sorgho is of an inferior quality as com- 
 pared with wheat flour, and others of the finer grains, 
 and any mixture of that with wheat flour is a fraud upon 
 the stomach, giving a quantity of inferior aliment with 
 an accompaning bribe of a better one, as quack physicians 
 will make palatable to their patients nauseous pills by 
 surrounding them with a coating of sugar. In speaking, 
 however, of starch and the various forms of food to be 
 made from the Chinese Sugar Cane, I would not be 
 understood as embracing in the same category those 
 which the imphee may furnish, for, because of the absence 
 of any coloring matter from its hull, the peculiar plump- 
 ness of the seed, and the large quantity of starch found to 
 be present, I have reason to believe that it will indeed 
 be a valuable acquisition, and its culture be duly under- 
 taken with this simple object in view. Be that as it may, 
 we cannot alter the composition of the starch, nor of the 
 other components of the sugar. Whither tinted rose 
 color, or as white as the driven snow, it still will have its 
 own unchanging proportions of carbon, oxygen, and hy- 
 drogen, which will represent a certain nutritive value, and 
 for animals it cannot but prove, as indeed experience has 
 already proved it to be, a very excellent fodder crop. 
 
 Madinier says, at page 10, that the seed contains 10 to 
 12 per cent, of nitrogenous matter gluten and about 
 60 per cent, of starch, which would make it, so far as the 
 proportions of nitrogen are concerned, to resemble our
 
 174 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 common corn; but where lie obtained his analysis, I am 
 not informed. He says that the real use of the sorgho 
 is not for bread-making, but it should be eaten on the 
 farm in the form of broth and soups for the laborer, or to 
 be boiled up in quantities and given for fattening pigs 
 and cattle. 
 
 DYE STUPFS. 
 
 Previous to the receipt of the pamphlets from Messrs. 
 Hedges, Free, & Co., which were sent to them by his 
 Excellency our Minister at Paris, I had seen in my re- 
 searches after the facts collated by French experimenters 
 and published in the French journals, occasional mention 
 of the experiments of Dr. Sicard of Marseilles, in pro- 
 curing from the hulls of the seed a tint for dyeing ; but 
 not the slightest clue was given as to how the dye was 
 produced. Thinking it an interesting aspect of the 
 sorgho culture, I was anxious to duplicate, if possible, 
 his success ; and to this end made various laboratory 
 experiments with alcohol, sulphuric ether, the various 
 acids, boiling the hulls in a retort with oxalic acid, 
 muriate of tin, alum, dilate acids, and plain water, and 
 obtained a number of tints of greater or less brilliancy. 
 Of these one was a deep purple, obtained by simply 
 boiling the hulls in pure water for about fifteen minutes ; 
 another, a beautiful rose colored fluid, was made by 
 boiling the hulls of another sample (received from 
 France) in very dilute sulphuric acid, a few drops of the 
 acid to a pint of water being sufficient. And, by dropping 
 into the pure water in which the hulls were being boiled
 
 VINEGAR. 175 
 
 a few drops of nitric, muriatic, or acetic acids, as the case 
 might be, I obtained different shades of red. I inserted 
 in the liquid strips of cotton and silk fabrics, and set 
 them with alum. In one case, I took a piece of white 
 ribbon, and by boiling it in the tinted solution for a few 
 moments, obtained a very deep color. In another case, 
 in a weaker solution, a ribbon was colored pink. Being 
 entirely unacquainted with the principles of dyeing, of 
 course my experiments were but imperfect, and were 
 useful only as proving the fact, that in the hulls was 
 actually contained a tint, which might be very easily 
 separated. They led me to believe that, under proper 
 circumstances, this dye could be extracted and made into 
 pigments with profit. 
 
 In Dr. Sicard's " Monograph of the Chinese Sugar 
 Cane," he has introduced a specimen of twenty-one colors 
 obtained by him from the seed, and for which he has 
 received letters patent. They range through all tints, 
 from a light buff to a very deep purple, but do not, of 
 course, present the brilliancy which they do when repro- 
 duced on different fabrics. " In fact," as he says himself 
 in his Postscript, " it would be difficult, by these speci- 
 mens, to give the slightest idea of the beauty of the tints 
 which may be obtained on silk, woollen, or cotton 
 stuff. The first substance has especially a very great 
 affinity for the coloring matters obtained from the plant 
 which has occupied our attention; but if silk has more 
 affinity for all the colors in general, there are others 
 which show remarkable beauty on woollen and cotton 
 stuffs. The coloring principles which we have obtained 
 are to the number of nine, entirely independent from
 
 176 THE CHINESE STJGAK CANE. 
 
 each other, and capable of giving colored salts perfectly 
 crystallized. By combining our coloring principles with 
 different chemical substances, there are obtained not only 
 a number of known colors, but, furthermore, tints on the 
 stuffs which are unknown in Prance, and like which we 
 have no specimens except the beautiful embroideries 
 which we receive from China. We sincerely hope that 
 the Government, comprehending all the importance of 
 these discoveries, shall publish the results obtained. It 
 is impossible that a plant which, in the hands of a single 
 individual, has given results so extraordinary and so 
 varied, should not be called to play a great part in all 
 branches of industry." 
 
 I translate as follows the account of his curious 
 researches : " The hulls which envelope the seeds 
 of the sorgho are tinted with a reddish brown so 
 deeply that they appear black. The tint is due to a 
 complex coloring matter condensed in this part of the 
 seed, but which also exists in the radicular fibers at their 
 origin, and in the young suckers. This coloring matter 
 is insoluble in cold water. Boiling water dissolves it, 
 with a red violet color. Alcohol, even cold, takes it from 
 the hulls, and becomes colored with a deep red. Ether 
 dissolves it, and takes on a bright red tint. A boiling 
 solution of alum takes on a reddish lilac color. Concen- 
 trated sulphuric acid dissolves it with a deep reddish 
 color ; chlorohydric acid with a reddish orange color ; 
 the alkalies with a brown. 
 
 " The acid solutions in water, caused to precipitate a 
 substance of a deep reddish brown tint. Alkaline solu- 
 tions precipitated by acids brown flakes, which redden
 
 
 VINEGAR. 177 
 
 upon repeated washings. The supernatant fluids are 
 yellow. The alcoholic tincture evaporated, gives crys- 
 talline scales, which seem black when viewed in a mass, 
 and that a fatty substance renders brilliant ; the liquor 
 and the waters from the washings are of a yellow color. 
 
 "Tincture of ether gives, likewise, by evaporation and 
 an addition of water, a red precipitate, upon which floats 
 a yellow liquor. 
 
 " There are, then, in the hulls of the sorgho, two color- 
 ing principles ; the one red, slightly soluble in water, 
 and soluble in alcohol, ether, the acids, and alkalies; 
 the other, yellow, very soluble in water, and in the 
 other solvents, which is not precipitable from its solu- 
 tions like the red matter. 
 
 " The red matter, which we may call purpurholcine, 
 presents itself under the form of a reddish violet powder, 
 so deep in color that it appears black ; it has no smell ; 
 its taste (very weak) is a little bitter and astringent. 
 Heated in a closed tube it does not volatilize, but gives 
 empyreumatic vapors, which condense themselves into 
 yellow oily drops. In presence of potashed lime it 
 gives, under the influence of heat, alkaline vapors. It 
 is then an azotized substance, and of which we will, 
 further on, determine the atomic composition. The pur- 
 purholcine is but little soluble in water, but dissolves 
 readily in boiling water, in alcohol, cold and warm, and 
 in ether, with a reddish color ; sulphuric acid and chlo- 
 rohydric acid dissolve it with an orange color. Potash, 
 ammonia, lime water, and the water of baryta, communi- 
 cate to it an intense color ; alum, a red violet. It is not 
 soluble in fixed oils ; it can be prepared by several pro-
 
 178 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 cesses. First, treat the seeds with concentrated sulphuric 
 acid ; allow them to remain in contact with it one or two 
 days ; then it is mixed in a large quantity of water ; the 
 whole is thrown upon a filter and washed until the 
 liquor is no longer acid ; the carbon which remains upon 
 the filter, mixed with the coloring matter, is treated by 
 warm alcohol, and gives a tint, which it is only neces- 
 sary to distill, and add to it water, to obtain the purpur- 
 holcine, in brilliant scales, tinged with a little fatty mat- 
 ter. The liquid retains the yellow substances, and a 
 little of the purpurholcine. 
 
 " Second : The seeds can be treated directly by alcohol 
 and operated with, as above given for the alcoholic 
 tincture ; ether conduces to the same effect. 
 
 " Third : We can furthermore employ a solution of pot- 
 ash ; it makes a brown magma, which is to be filtered ; 
 and in the liquor put with care some chlorohydric acid; 
 brown flakes are precipitated, upon which will float a 
 yellow liquid. These are to be separated, washed well, 
 redissolved in alcohol, and the latter gives, by evapora- 
 tion, the purpurholcine. 
 
 "Uses: This coloring matter can be used for dyeing. 
 By varying the dissolvents and the mordants, are ob- 
 tained, upon cotton, woolen, and especially upon silk 
 stuffs, beautiful tints, which vary as much as can be de- 
 sired in the browns, the grays, the reds, the oranges, 
 and lilacs. Our conviction, in this respect, is based 
 upon dyeing experiments, on a small scale. 
 
 " The yellow matter, which we shall call xantholcine, is 
 very soluble in water, either cold or warm. Soluble in 
 acids, which cause it to become an orange yellow ; the
 
 VINEGAE. 179 
 
 alkalies preserve its colors. It forms with different 
 metallic oxides, red and orange lakes. 
 
 " The stuffs, with the use of mordants, take on various 
 tints of yellow and of orange, brown, and rose color It 
 is obtained at the same time as the red matter, and re- 
 mains in solution in the different liquids where the 
 purpurholcine is precipitated ; but it is not pure, and is 
 mixed with the red matter. The best process to isolate 
 it, is to make use of potash. It can be purified, by 
 making use of the process indicated by Kullmann, for 
 the yellow matter of the madder which this chemist has 
 named Xanthine. Thus the seeds of the sorgho contain 
 two coloring matters, which applied to dyeing, can re- 
 place madder and give all the shades which are ob- 
 tained from the roots of this plant. The purpurhol- 
 cine differs from the red matters of the madder by its 
 non-volatility. The Xantholcine seems identical with 
 the Xanthine." 
 
 Dr. Sicard's process having been made public, has 
 created considerable interest in the city of Lyons among 
 the large silk manufacturers, and experiments are being 
 made to test the value of his coloring matters, the result 
 of which will settle the question as to its practical 
 utility. 
 
 CEROSIE ; OR, THE VEGETABLE WAX ON THE STALKS OP THE 
 SORGHO. 
 
 In a previous place, I mentioned that as the plant ap- 
 proaches maturity, a white efflorescence makes its ap- 
 pearance upon the outside of the stalks, accumulating,
 
 180 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 in the greatest proportion, under the footstalks of the 
 leaves. This vegetable wax cerosie, the French call 
 it is similar in its composition to the wax produced by 
 bees ; it is, however, dry, hard, and may be pulverized ; 
 fusible at 90, and if mixed with purified tallow, and 
 made into candles, burns with a clear brilliant light. It 
 is employed for this purpose by the inhabitants of 
 the north of China. Mr. Hardy, the Director of the 
 Government Nursery in Algiers, makes a calculation as 
 to its value per acre, by which he shows a net profit of 
 thirty-six dollars, to be added to the other profits given 
 by the cultivation of the sorgho ; but I do not see how 
 we can, for a moment, adopt these views as applicable to 
 our conditions of climate and prices of labor. In Algiers, 
 Mr. Hardy could secure the service of Arab boys and 
 women at a very low price; and in China, the labor of 
 a man is remunerated with only a few cents per day ; 
 but in our country, we cannot hire a laborer for less 
 than a dollar a day. It seems to me that, taking into 
 consideration the fact that the cerosie is not secreted by 
 the stalks so abundantly as it is in Algiers, we cannot 
 spare the laborers from more important duties, to go over 
 the field and carefully scrape the wax from the outside 
 of the stalks. To obtain a small quantity, to illustrate 
 my lectures before the Legislatures last winter, I em- 
 ployed one of our pupils, for nearly half a day, and the 
 little success that he met with, convinced me at the time, 
 that any calculations of its becoming an important com- 
 mercial commodity in our own country, were futile, un- 
 less, perhaps, by either steaming the stalks in a vat after 
 they were cut, or by the use of some machinery, the wax
 
 VINEGAR. 181 
 
 could be removed more expeditiously, and in greater 
 quantity than it was in this instance. 
 
 Any one of my readers can satisfy himself that it is 
 indeed a wax, and burns exactly like wax candles, by 
 collecting a small quantity of it into a heap and setting 
 fire to it with a match. The flame is very white and 
 beautful, so long as it lasts. 
 
 Professor Gray, at page 60, section 86 of his " Botani- 
 cal Text-Book," supposes from the fact that bees produce 
 wax from sugar, and that the wax of the sugar cane 
 sometimes passes into sugar, that the vegetable wax found 
 in plants is formed of sugar, or similar products. The 
 Ceroxylum Andicola, or Wax-bearing Palm, is an instance 
 of the considerable secretion of wax by a vegetable. 
 Mr. Hardy has been attacked in various French journals 
 for his unwise championship of this novel product ; but 
 with a persistence either the result of constitutional pro* 
 clivity, or because warranted by the facts which he has 
 actually arrived at in his Algerian experience, he writes 
 to Count Gasparin that he desires his investigations to be 
 remembered, and his assertions to be put on record for 
 future reference, that he is more convinced than ever 
 that the wax of the sorgho will indeed be one of its most 
 valuable products. 
 
 SORGHO PAPE& 
 
 In the books of M. Duret and Dr. Sicard are pasted 
 specimens of paper, respectively obtained by them from 
 the pulpy sorgho stalks, of which that in Dr. Sicard's 
 book is, I think, the best. It presents the appearance
 
 182 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 and texture, to a great extent, of fine parchment, and is 
 naturally sized, so that it is pleasant to write upon. It 
 is quite strong, and for that reason suitable for wrapping 
 paper. Of it he says, excusing himself for its unfinished 
 quality, "I think it better to give this product in all its 
 primitive purity, rather than to color it. Its composition 
 presents doubtless defects, which explain themselves 
 easily when it is remembered that this paper has been 
 made by a person entirely unacquainted with paper- 
 making, in want of all objects necessary for this industry, 
 and aided simply by my little son ; it will be understood 
 by the result obtained, how much can be obtained under 
 proper conditions from this plant." 
 
 Duret gives the process for making paper from corn 
 stalks, as follows : " One hundred and twenty -five pounds 
 of pulp of the stalk, which is yet moist, and from which 
 the saccharine matter has been separated, are put in a 
 copper, with about fifteen pounds of quick lime and a 
 sufficient quantity of water to form of it a sort of clear 
 paste. The mixture is moistened from time to time, and 
 after several days of contact the pulp is triturated in a 
 cylinder mill, as is the custom with common rags. After 
 having reduced into paste the residue of the stalks, as we 
 have just explained, it was mixed with twelve and a half 
 pounds of paste of coarse rags, and the mixture was then 
 submitted to a new trituration. This one hundred and 
 twenty -five pounds of the stalk mixed with twelve and a 
 half pounds of coarse rags have yielded sixty-three 
 pounds of wrapping paper, well sized. 
 
 M. Hudelist thinks that, with fifty per cent, of com- 
 mon paste, he could have obtained a paper very strong
 
 VINEGAR. 188 
 
 and very well sized, by giving no more care to the tritu- 
 ration than in working on rags. 
 
 M. Felix Yospette has also made paper with the stalks 
 of corn by a process analogous to the preceding ; but in 
 place of ten per cent, of the pulp of rags, used in the 
 experiment made by M. Hudelist, he made use of 
 twenty per cent., and has obtained, with but little trouble, 
 the same proportion of paper. If, in the place of using 
 his corn pulp moist, that is to say, immediately after it 
 had been pressed, he had let it dry before turning it unto 
 paper, it would have been necessary to boil it to resoften 
 it, and submit it afterwards^ as we have above mentioned, 
 to the successive action of lime water and of the cylin- 
 der. The paper made by M. Vospette is pliant, close in 
 texture, very solid, of a pale shade, and made without 
 other odor than that of the stalk from which it was made ; 
 it is naturally sized, for, in writing on it, it is impenetrable 
 to common ink. 
 
 The quire of twenty-five sheets weighs one pound six 
 ounces ; consequently the ream, which has twenty quires, 
 gives a weight equal to twenty-seven pounds. The pulp 
 of the stalks loses by desiccation nearly two thirds of its 
 weight. Twenty pounds of this pulp, very dry, pro- 
 duced twenty pounds twelve ounces of manufactured 
 paper. There would then be an advantage in making 
 cornstalk paper with the moist pulp, which would be 
 impossible in a large manufacture, where the mass of 
 matter to be worked up should be dried in order that it 
 might be manufactured as it was wanted. For the mili- 
 tary service, cartridges have been made with this stalk 
 paper, and it has been proved that it resists humidity
 
 184 THE CHINESE SUGAE CANE. 
 
 more, and is less combustible than that which is usually 
 employed for the same purpose. 
 
 As yet, of course, no experiments have been made in 
 making paper from the sorgho stalks in this country, but 
 from the specimens in the books of Dr. Sicard and M. 
 Duret, I think it possible that our manufacturers will 
 apply themselves to experiments in this respect, and 
 doubtless improve upon the results of the French inves- 
 tigators. 
 
 Thus, through all its different aspects, have we traced 
 this wonderful plant ; which, although so lately introduced, 
 has created such very general interest with those who 
 have had any experience in its cultivation. It now only 
 remains for me to present the result of my labors to the 
 American farmers and planters, and to express the wish 
 that the Chinese Sugar Cane may realize the nattering 
 promise which it now gives, and prove itself worthy of 
 adoption into the list of our most valued economical 
 plants.
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 LEONAKD WBAY, OF LONDON, England. Letters Patent, 
 No. 17,713, Dated June 30, 1857. Patented in Belgi- 
 um, June 20, 1854. 
 To all whom it may concern: 
 
 Be it known unto all men, that I, Leonard Wray, of 
 the City of London, in the United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland, have discovered a new process or 
 method of making crystallized sugar, syrup and molasses, 
 from all the African and Chinese varieties of the " Im- 
 phee " or " Holcus saccharatus " of Linnaeus, often denom- 
 inated " Sugar millet, " " Sorghum saccharatum" " Sorgho 
 Sucre," etc. ; which process is also applicable to the man- 
 ufacture of the same products from the juice of the 
 maize, broom corn, the sugar maple, etc. 
 
 The process constituting my said invention, may 
 briefly thus be stated : I take the stalks of the said 
 plants, and obtain the juice contained in them by any 
 ordinary and well known method. This raw saccharine 
 juice I then treat with lime, or cream of lime, until it has 
 lost all trace of acidity, and even becomes sufficiently 
 alkaline to affect, in a slight degree, turmeric paper, or 
 other equally sensitive test paper ; when I at once remove 
 the said juice into a suitable filtering or other apparatus 
 for separating the feculencies or coagulated matters from 
 the juice, so as to obtain a clear bright liquor or juice, 
 without having subjected it to any heat whatever. This 
 
 [185]
 
 186 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 clear bright juice or liquor, I then put into a suitable 
 vessel, and apply heat until the temperature rises from 
 120 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit, when I treat it with a 
 dilute infusion of powdered nut galls, or other substance 
 containing tannin, neutralizing any excess of tannin that 
 may have been accidentally given, or any acid which 
 may have become liberated, by the addition of a little 
 lime, cream of lime, or lime in any other suitable com- 
 bination; I then urge the heat until the liquor has 
 arrived at the boiling point, at which it should be kept 
 for a few moments, when the heat is withdrawn, and the 
 liquor is again filtered and rendered clear. 
 
 This clear defecated liquor is next evaporated, and if 
 in open pans, the scum is taken off as it rises, and the 
 evaporation is continued, either in open pans or in any low 
 temperature apparatus, until the liquor is sufficiently con- 
 centrated to permit of its granulation or crystallization 
 taking effect in proper receptacles, into which it is placed 
 for that purpose. If it should so happen, that the said 
 concentrated juice exhibits a disinclination to granulate 
 or form crystals, then the addition of a few ounces of 
 well grained dry sugar may be had recourse to, which 
 will immediately cause a granulation of the concentrated 
 syrup. It must be well understood, that I make use of 
 charcoal once, twice, or thrice, in the filtration and decolor- 
 ization of the juice and syrup; or, on the other hand, I 
 do not use it at all, just as I may see fit and expedient. 
 When the new sugar is properly granulated, its molasses 
 is separated from it by the usual methods now employed. 
 
 It must be distinctly understood that the mere idea of 
 cold filtration is not unknown, because numerous attempts
 
 MB. WEAY'S PROCESS. 187 
 
 have from time to time been made to filter the raw juice 
 of the sugar cane, before applying heat thereto, and 
 small quantities of lime have been put into the said raw 
 juice, before filtration, in order to prevent the acidifica- 
 tion and fermentation of the juice during filtration, and 
 before it could reach the boilers and be boiled ; but my 
 distinct and well proved method, is that of adding lime, 
 or cream of lime, to the raw juice until it loses all traces 
 of acidity, and it becomes sufficiently alkaline to affect 
 slightly the color of turmeric paper, or other equally sen- 
 sitive alkaline test paper. The chemical principle in- 
 volved in this process, I will now explain, so as to 
 demonstrate the very peculiar and distinctive character 
 of my treatment; distinguishing it, therefore, from all 
 other methods. 
 
 The juice as it comes from the mill, I have always 
 found to be palpably acid; the first effect of the lime, 
 therefore, is to neutralize the juice; secondly, to regulate 
 (by a further addition of lime) as large % a quantity of the 
 feculencies as possible, by saturating the acids which 
 hold them dissolved in the juice. When the lime has in 
 this manner combined with the acids, and liberated the 
 feculencies, whatever lime may be in excess, tends to 
 make the juice alkaline, which the turmeric paper imme- 
 diately denotes, showing the necessity of instant filtration, 
 which yields a beautiful clean, clear bright juice, without 
 any heat having been used, leaving in the filtered juice, 
 besides the sugar and water, only a little dextrine, caseine 
 and saline matter. By this simple process, a host of 
 troublesome albuminous, glutinous, gummy, waxy, and 
 mucilaginous matters combined under the general head
 
 188 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
 
 offeculencies, are got rid of entirely, before they can act 
 injuriously upon the sugar contained in the juice, which 
 they infallibly do the moment we apply heat to the undef- 
 ecated mass. Having thus obtained this bright raw 
 juice, I next treat it in the manner already specified, 
 with heat, infusion of nut galls (or other analogous 
 substance containing tannin,) and cream of lime, lime 
 water, or other suitable combination of lime, and then 
 filter, so as to get rid of the dextrine and caseine, or 
 as much of them as is possible, previous to subjecting the 
 juice to continuous heat. 
 
 The mere idea of using an infusion of nut galls or 
 other tannin substances in sugar making, is not new; 
 inasmuch as these substances have been recommended 
 and even been tried by "W. J. Evans, M. D., of London, 
 in whose work, the " Sugar Planter's Manual," (1847,) 
 it may be found at page 101 ; but it will be at once ob- 
 served, that the manner of employing it, or them, as laid 
 down therein by Doctor Evans, is ENTIRELY DIFFERENT 
 from my own method ; for he applies the infusion of nut 
 galls to the raw green juice in the clarifier, just as it 
 comes from the mill, and previous to any other defecation 
 having taken place. Whereas, I, on the contrary, first 
 defecate the cold raw green juice, by means of lime, cream 
 of lime, or other suitable preparation of lime, (as herein 
 before set forth); and then filter the juice so treated, 
 thereby getting rid of the great mass of green feculent 
 matter contained in it, and obtaining a clear, bright and 
 almost colorless juice or liquor, previous to applying any 
 heat whatever, and previous to the venturing upon any 
 application of the infusion of nut galls or other tannic
 
 ME. WRAY'S PROCESS. 189 
 
 substances; thus forming a totally distinct method of 
 using and applying the said tannic substances to the juice. 
 
 My process, therefore, consists first in the cold defeca- 
 tion of raw juice by means of lime, or other suitable com- 
 bination of lirne, immediately followed by filtration, as 
 hereinbefore particularly detailed ; and secondly, the treat- 
 ment of the clear bright juice or liquor resulting from 
 this cold defecation, with infusion of nut galls or other 
 suitable tannic substances, aided by heat in suitable ves- 
 sels and subsequent filtration, as hereinbefore described : 
 together, making as a whole, one plain consecutive 
 process, which I have herein fully and faithfully ex- 
 plained and set forth; and which has never been sug- 
 gested nor employed by any one else before. 
 
 These comprise the whole of my treatment; and I 
 submit that they constitute an entirely distinct and new 
 process, being one whereby excellent crystallized sugar 
 has been, and can always be made from the plants I have 
 before named. And I therefore claim the process, as 
 herein set forth, and desire to secure the same by Letters 
 Patent. 
 
 L. WEAY. 
 
 CHAS. L. ALEXANDER, ) 
 THOMAS C. CONNOLLY, $
 
 PART II. 
 
 THE 
 
 ZULU-KAFFIR IMPHEE, 
 
 OR, 
 
 "SWEET REED/ ; 
 
 (THE Holcus Saccharatus OF LINNAEUS,) 
 
 COMPRISING A DESCRIPTION OF ITS NUMEROUS VARIETIES, ITS MODE 
 
 OF CULTIVATION, AND THE MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR 
 
 AND OTHER PRODUCTS FROM ITS RICH 
 
 SACCHARINE JUICE. 
 
 BY LEONAED WEAY, 
 
 AUTHOR OF " THE PRACTICAL SUGAR PLANTER,'' " THE SUGAR PLANTER* 8 
 COMPANION,'' ETC., ETC.
 
 THE IM:PHEE 9 
 
 AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 
 
 THERE can be no question that many useful arts and 
 manufactures, known and practiced by the ancients, have, 
 from certain untoward causes, been lost to the world, and 
 continue so to this day. Many, again, have been redis- 
 covered from time to time, and are thus restored to the 
 present generation; holding rank, however, more fre- 
 quently in the character of new and original discoveries 
 and inventions, than as mere restorations to human 
 knowledge. 
 
 Not a few have been restored to us by purely acci- 
 dental circumstances ; others have been strictly the dis- 
 coveries and inventions of practical and gifted men of 
 modern times, the results of sagacious observation, skill- 
 ful experiments, and practical deductions, apart from any 
 previous traditionary ideas on the subject ; whilst others, 
 again, have been the valued reward of intense study and 
 unwearied endeavors to obtain those results which tradi- 
 tion, or perhaps, even existing specimens, told them had 
 been accomplished in bygone ages, and by which they 
 were incited to attempt their rediscovery. 
 
 9 [193]
 
 194 THE Ai'IUCAX SUGAR CANE. 
 
 Amongst the many, t\vo articles, namely, glass and 
 iron, suffice to furnish us with numerous familiar instances 
 of lost processes rediscovered; and even of lost manufac- 
 tures not yet restored to us. although sought after by 
 many really practical men. We may, moreover, go beyond 
 these remarks, and assert that there are some, if not many, 
 arts and manufactures known and carried on by the 
 Chinese, which certainly are not understood and prac- 
 ticed by Europeans. 
 
 Not a few of their simple inventions and ingenious 
 contrivances are either totally unknown to us, or if 
 slightly mentioned by travelers rather more observant 
 than others, their accounts have been so inaccurate and 
 deficient in detail, that the principle and consequent value 
 of these inventions have remained unappreciated and un- 
 adopted. 
 
 Who would be so hardy as to assert that much valu- 
 able knowledge in various particular branches of art (of 
 which we ourselves are ignorant) does not exist in the 
 islands of Japan ? I fancy that no reasonable man would 
 venture upon such an assertion. All this serves to teach 
 us, that in bringing forward anything as a NEW DIS- 
 COVERY of our own, we must not be disconcerted if, on 
 careful examination, we find that we are, in reality, 
 merely rediscovering, and giving to our own generation 
 and country, in a practice form, that which has been 
 known and attempted, if not actually used, in by-gone 
 times ; or perhaps by a far distant and scarcely known 
 people of our own day. 
 
 It is a principle, however, most wisely recognized by the 
 law of almost every civilized nation of the present age, that
 
 INTKODUCTOKY OBSERVATIONS. 195 
 
 any individual making such a rediscovery, or reinvention, 
 or even introducing a useful invention, so as to utilize or 
 turn it to a useful purpose, should be, to all intents and 
 purposes, entitled to the benefits and advantages accruing 
 from a patent, or protective grant, during a period of 
 years, varying according to the laws of the different 
 countries wherein such patent is granted. 
 
 Were this wise and enlightened view of the case not 
 taken, how many hundreds of useful and important dis- 
 coveries and inventions would now still continue hidden 
 in the dormant state to which, in ages past, the accidental 
 death, even the poverty, of the original inventor and dis- 
 coverer, a slight mischance, or a local difficulty, might 
 perhaps have consigned them. We even see, in our own 
 day, how many really useful inventions are suffered to 
 languish and become inoperative for lack of energy, want 
 of encouragement, &c., or the thousand and one chances 
 and obstacles to the successful introduction of modern im- 
 provements and inventions. We can well understand, 
 therefore, how strongly all these, and other causes, may 
 have operated in less advanced, less enlightened, and less 
 enterprising ages. 
 
 I have been led to these few introductory observations 
 by the reflections which have been forced upon my mind 
 within the last few months, whilst following up the sub- 
 ject matter involved in the history of sugar manufacture, 
 from the earliest records to the present day ; and of t"he 
 plants from which the natives o various countries ex- 
 tracted a kind of sugar or jaggery, before the sugar cane 
 was so universally diffused over the globe. 
 
 In the year 1847, whilst I was engaged in writing my
 
 196 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 
 
 work, " The Practical Sugar Planter," my mind became 
 strongly impressed with the idea (an impression almost 
 amounting to conviction) that " the reed," the " sweet 
 reed," so frequently made mention of by ancient authors 
 as being used by the natives of Morocco, Ethiopia, 
 Egypt, Arabia, and India, for the purpose of making 
 sugar or jaggery, did not really in all cases mean, or apply 
 to, the sugar cane, but that some other reed-like plant 
 was more particularly referred to, which in process of 
 time had been gradually displaced by the true sugar cane. 
 But with no satisfactory authority, and with no corro- 
 borative evidence to support the idea I had formed, it by 
 degrees lost its hold upon my mind, and eventually was 
 scarcely remembered. However, on visiting a colony in 
 Natal, in Africa, in 1851, I found there, in the plant 
 called by the Zulu-Kaffirs Imphee, "the sweet reed," 
 which might well have been alluded to by the ancient 
 writers. My mind, at that time, was so occupied by other 
 subjects, that I paid but small attention to this interest- 
 ing plant, and some time elapsed before I directed my 
 thoughts to it, and thus became aware of its immense im- 
 portance to Europe and America, and, indeed, to the 
 world at large. 
 
 I heard that some very intelligent colonists had tried 
 to make sugar from its rich juice, but that they had, one 
 and all, entirely failed in doing so. 
 
 No way discouraged, I sent my most intelligent Kafir 
 servants long distances to collect me seed of all the dif- 
 ferent kinds of imphee known amongst themselves, and 
 thus obtained fifteen kinds, more or less differing from 
 each other, but all known under the general native name
 
 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 197 
 
 of Imphee, and comprised in botany under the name Hol- 
 cus saccharatus (Linnasus.) 
 
 All of the seeds I planted, and made sugar from the 
 whole fifteen different kinds, which enabled me to ascer- 
 tian not only the saccharine value of each, but likewise 
 the distinct peculiarities of the growth, seeding, etc., etc. 
 
 The results of my observations and long-continued study 
 of their habits and relative value will be found in the 
 succeeding pages ; but my manufacture was so complete- 
 ly successful, that I left Natal and came to Europe to 
 prosecute my discovery, and introduce to the notice of 
 the world the vast importance of the plants for sugar 
 manufacture. 
 
 In recently looking over various botanical works, I 
 find that attempts have been made by Signer Arduino 
 and others to introduce varieties of this plant into Euro- 
 pean cultivation, for the purpose of making sugar, but 
 from some cause or other they had hitherto been perfectly 
 unsuccessful. 
 
 Nor am I any way surprised at these failures, believing 
 that its success in Europe very essentially depends upon 
 the particular kind of imphee that is planted, and the 
 next, upon a peculiar method employed in treating the 
 juice. 
 
 I also find it stated that the inhabitants of northern 
 China use it in making a kind of sugar. 
 
 This really may or may not be the case, for, in point 
 of fact, almost the whole of northern China, together with 
 the major portion of the great interior of that immense 
 empire, may be fairly denominated a terra incognita to us ; 
 a country so effectually sealed up, that, as I before ob-
 
 198 THE AFRICAN SITIAi: CANE. 
 
 served, numerous arts and manufactures may be there 
 existent at the present moment, which are nevertheless 
 wholly unknown to us, or perhaps have been heard of 
 only through the medium of unauthenticated and unsatis- 
 factory rumors. 
 
 In the manufacture of crystallized sugar, and other 
 products, from the imphee and Holcus saccharatus, I have 
 had the most signal success, and in the following pages 
 I will endeavor to set the value of these plants in a true 
 light before the public, hoping very soon to present to 
 the attention of my kind readers, a much, larger and more 
 comprehensive edition of this work. 
 
 BOTANICAL NOTICE AND HISTORY. 
 
 It is indeed most difficult for me, not being a botanist, 
 to give a botanical description of the Zulu-Kaffir Imphee 
 that could be deemed altogether satisfactory ; for, after 
 the most careful research among the best botanical works, 
 and after consulting very eminent botanists personally, 
 I can come to no other conclusion than that the most sin- 
 gular uncertainty and confusion reign among them all 
 in their several accounts of this species, arising, evidently, 
 from the fact of no sufficiently competent botanist having 
 yet thoroughly investigated the differences existing be- 
 tween the several kinds of imphee and the several kinds 
 of Mabaalee or Kaffir corn. 
 
 This lamentable state of things will, however, be ter- 
 minated, I trust, in a few days, as I have now flowering 
 in England three kinds of real imphee, besides my dried 
 specimens, which will enable me to obtain from Dr.
 
 BOTANICAL NOTICE AND HISTORY. 199 
 
 Thompson (a distinguished botanist) their true botanical 
 description ; although we certainly have no plants of the 
 Kaffir corn, or Guinea corn, with which to contrast 
 them. 
 
 I will, however, venture to say, that I entirely agree 
 with Linnaeus, Brown, and others, in the botanical name 
 which they have bestowed upon the Imphee, namely, Hol- 
 cus saccharatus, the Kaffir or Guinea corn being /Sorghum 
 vulgare, or Sorghum, halapense, or Sorghum andropogon, 
 as its several kinds are called by various authors. 
 
 In a work entitled " Hortus Americanus," published very 
 many years ago, in Jamaica, by Dr. Barham, the Guinea 
 corn, so universally cultivated in the island for its grain, 
 is described as " Holcus /Sorghum, or /Sorghum vulgare; 
 native habitat, Coast of Guinea, Africa ; natural order, 
 Graminea; class, Polygamia ; order, Moncecia ;" and the 
 general account therein given of it agrees in every respect 
 with my own observations. 
 
 Many other sorts of the same grain are grown by the 
 Zulu-Kaffirs, on the south-east coast of Africa, but are all 
 comprised under the one general name of Mabaalee, al- 
 though much difference exists between them, not only in 
 the peculiarities of the seed-heads, etc., but likewise in the 
 juice of the stalks, being slightly sweet in some, whilst in 
 others scarcely a trace of sweetness can be detected. They 
 are all cultivated for their grain, and for that alone; 
 whereas, the imphee, or Holcus saccharatus, is grown only 
 for its sweet juice, and never, to my knowledge, for its 
 grain, which the Kaffirs say cannot be used as human 
 food, in explanation of which I must state that they never 
 grind their Mabaalec to extract the flour, but boil it whole.
 
 200 THE AFKICAN SUGAR CANE. 
 
 in which form they consider the grain of the imphee to 
 be highly deleterious. 
 
 The great and essential differences really existing be- 
 tween the Sorghum andropogon and the Holcus sacchara- 
 tus are certainly not those unluckily relied upon by some 
 of our modern botanists, and shown in the following : 
 
 " But most botanists seem to agree that there are only 
 two main types, to which all the others are subordinate. 
 Sorghum vulgare has an oval, rigid, more or less compact, 
 panicle or head of flowers, with ascending branches, while 
 Sorghum saccharatum* has a loose panicle, with lax, 
 elongated, weak, and sometimes pendulous, branches." 
 
 For at least three or four sorts of irnphee, namely, 
 Jbom-ba-na, Shla-goon-dee, and Oorn-see-a-na, have pani- 
 cles as rigid and compact, with branches erect, and as 
 short and stiff as can well be. 
 
 The "two main types" therefore, are entirely fanciful 
 and valueless, forming no criterion whatever. 
 
 Another writer says : " Millet seed, the produce of 
 Holcus saccharatum, is imported largely into this country 
 (England) from the East Indies, for the purpose chiefly 
 of making puddings ; and by many persons it is preferred 
 to rice." Of this I may simply say, that it is nothing of 
 the .kind ; it is quite a different millet. 
 
 To make confusion worse confounded, some botanical 
 writers likewise call the broom corn, Sorghum sacchara- 
 tum, making, upon the whole a nice medley of those 
 really simple distinctions. 
 
 In spite of all these scientific complexities, however, I 
 think we may safely hold the imphee (of all kinds) to be 
 * Meaning, of course, Holcus saccharatus. L. W.
 
 BOTANICAL NOTICE AND HISTORY. 201 
 
 actually the Holcus saccharatus, a perfectly distinct tribe 
 of plants, and not a Sorghum at all ! 
 
 It is said that seed of this plant was introduced (for 
 what purpose is not stated) into England in 1759 ; but 
 seeing the botanical confusion existing on the subject, I 
 very firmly disbelieve it, and consider that it was much 
 more likely to have been some kind of sorghum, intro- 
 duced for the sake of its grain. 
 
 There can be no doubt, however, that Professor Pietro 
 Arduino, of Florence, became acquainted with one or 
 more sorts of the Holcus saccharatus, perhaps as early as 
 1766 ; and 1786 he published an account of his experi- 
 ments in sugar making from it. It would seem that he 
 endeavored to establish its cultivation in Tuscany ; but 
 for causes which have never been clearly given, he did 
 not succeed in doing so. 
 
 From his time, it may be said to have remained in total 
 obscurity, (as far as Europe is concerned,) down to the 
 year 1854. 
 
 So much has this been the case, that although I have 
 been a sugar planter so many years of my life, and 
 have, as an author, had to look closely into all informa- 
 tion connected with the production of sugar, in both 
 ancient and modern times ; yet I can truly say, that I 
 knew nothing of this plant until I resided in the colony of 
 Natal, on the south-east coast of Africa, where it grows 
 in abundance. Nor was it until I reached England this 
 year, that I could obtain the works of scientific authors, 
 from which to learn its botanical character, and what 
 efforts had been made, if any, to introduce it to notice. 
 
 It was with the utmost, difficulty that I was enabled to 
 9*
 
 202 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 
 
 obtain the whole fifteen sorts of imphee that I now have; 
 and I never should have acquired anything like accurate 
 knowledge of the individual peculiarities and value, had 
 I not cultivated thei^ on a sufficiently large scale; 
 thoroughly studied them during their growth, and ulti- 
 mately made a large quantity of sugar from them. The 
 seed I obtained from this cultivation, T have now in Eng- 
 land with me ; and it is capable, with care, of planting 
 some hundreds of acres. Some plants grown in England 
 this year, have already ripened their seeds, which are 
 full and plump. 
 
 I have grown it in Belgium and several other parts of 
 the continent this year, and it has succeeded remark- 
 ably well. 
 
 But if we look back from our own times to very 
 remote ages, and search for any very authentic records 
 of the imphee or Holcus saccharatus among the writings 
 of ancient authors, we must confess the unsatisfactory 
 result of our inquiry ; for the notices of the "sweet reed,'' 
 contained in their writings, have long ago been seized by 
 Porter and other authors, and appropriated by them as 
 forming part and parcel of the history of the sugar cane. 
 
 But if we examine somewhat minutely into the mat- 
 ter, we shall find abundant reason for believing that the 
 Holcus saccharatus was frequently alluded to instead of 
 the sugar cane, more especially by the Koman writers ; 
 thus Lucian, (Book iii, page 237,) has the line 
 
 " Quique bibunt tener& dulces ab arundine succos."* 
 which can scarcely be supposed to apply to the large, 
 cocrse, hard stoclt of the sugar cane. 
 
 * " And those who drink sweet juices from the tender reed.'
 
 BOTANICAL NOTICE AND HISTORY. 203 
 
 Besides this, we all know that the Eomans had a very 
 excellent general knowledge of the products of Ethiopia, 
 in which varieties of the Holcus saccharatus are to be 
 found ; and they, no doubt, knew that the natives ate, or 
 rather chewed, its stalks, for the " sweet juices ," contained 
 in them. 
 
 The native traders who took a coarse kind of goor, or 
 jaggery, to Muciris and Ormus. always said that they ob- 
 tained it from a "reed;" and I have no doubt that they 
 did really obtain it from this reed-like plant, until the 
 sugar cane superseded it in their estimation, and was 
 cultivated in its stead. 
 
 I could enlarge much upon this interesting question, 
 had I the space to do so ; but the confined limits of this 
 treatise compels me to bring this chapter to a conclusion 
 as soon as possible. 
 
 I venture to consider the Holcus saccharatus as the 
 connecting link between the sugar cane and the grain- 
 yielding sorghums ; and so strong an impression did 
 my mind receive when I first saw the extremely tall 
 " Vim-bis-chu-a-pa" and " E-a-na-moo-dee,"* that I al- 
 most persuaded myself that they were in reality hybrids, 
 between the sugar cane and the Kaffir corn (Sorghum 
 vulgare.') 
 
 Such, however, is not the case ; but it remains to be 
 
 * The two largest of the imphee kind. 
 
 Note. Wilkinson says, that the Holcus saccharatus (Arabic name 
 Dokhn,) is grown about Assouan, in Nubia and the Oasis. 
 
 Of sorghums, there are, in Egypt, six kinds, namely, Doura sayfee, 
 or baalee ; D. humra, D. kaydee, D. byood, or dimeree ; D. 
 owaygeh, D. safira.
 
 204 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 
 
 seen whether we can, by adopting proper measures, 
 obtain hybrids between the imphee and the sugar cane. 
 
 DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF THE IMPHEE, ETC. 
 
 I am acquainted with fifteen varieties of the Holcus 
 saccharatus, although I doubt not there are yet others 
 in different parts of the world that have not come under 
 my notice. 
 
 I shall, therefore, confine my remarks to the fifteen 
 varieties ; and to prevent the constant repetition of their 
 botanical name, I shall, throughout these pages, use their 
 Zulu-Kaffir name of Imphee alone. 
 
 Among Europeans residing in South Africa no dis- 
 tinction is known in regard to the varieties, and there 
 they will be much surprised at learning that there are 
 really fifteen different kinds of imphee growing before 
 their eyes, and constantly being eaten by them. 
 
 There is certainly that degree of similarity between 
 them when seen growing together which is quite suffi- 
 cient to puzzle any one who has not thoroughly studied 
 them ; and this is so much the case that there are very 
 few male Kaffirs even who can discriminate between 
 some of the varieties ; in consequence of which I had 
 very frequently to call in the superior agricultural knowl- 
 edge of the old Kaffir women, until I had learned to dis- 
 tinguish between them with certainty myself. 
 
 When I had attained this first most desirable step, I 
 had next to learn their several peculiarities and value ; 
 which I was able to do with greater exactness by plant- 
 ing the seed watching them daily during their growth,
 
 VARIETIES OF THE IMPHEE. 205 
 
 and eventually testing the saccharine value of their 
 juices, and making sugar from them all in large 
 quantities. 
 
 " Vim-bis-chu-d-pa" This is the largest size, and the 
 tallest of the whole ; whilst it is full of juice, and very 
 sweet. When planted in rich alluvial soil it attains its 
 greatest size and most perfect development, requiring 
 from four to five months to arrive at maturity. It grows 
 to a height of from ten to fifteen feet, is from one and a 
 half to two inches in diameter at the lower end of the 
 stalk, and usually cracks or splits as it ripens. By 
 means of a most primitive and ill-constructed little wooden 
 mill, I obtained sixty per cent, of juice from the stalks. 
 This juice was clean and clear, and the saccharometer 
 showed it to contain fourteen per cent, of sugar, after I 
 had removed the feculas by means of cold defecation. 
 The sugar it yielded was fully equal to the best cane 
 sugar of the West Indies. The stalks, carefully weighed, 
 were found to vary from one and a half to two and a 
 half pounds English weight each, trimmed ready for the 
 mill. The seed-head, which is very large and beautiful, 
 is generally from twelve to eighteen inches in length, 
 containing many thousands of fine plump seeds, of a 
 sandy yellow color, strongly held by a sheath which 
 partially envelops them. 
 
 " E-a-na-moodee 1 " 1 is the next in size, and is very simi- 
 lar, both in habit and value, to the last. It attains a 
 height of twelve to thirteen feet, but is not so coarse in 
 appearance, nor does it contain so much woody fiber as 
 the Virn-bis-chu-a-pa, but it is rather softer and more 
 juicy, I having obtained from it sixty -four per cent, of
 
 206 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CAN,:. 
 
 juice, containing fourteen per cent, of sugar. The stalks 
 weigh from one to two pounds when trimmed ready for 
 the mill, and I have cut as many as eleven such stalks 
 from one root or stool. The seed-heads are large, but 
 stiff and erect, containing quantities of large round, 
 plump seeds, of a clear yellow color. In general, they 
 may be said to ripen two weeks earlier than the last 
 named. Like the Yim-bis-chu-a-pa, this variety rattoons 
 in about three to three and a half months after the first 
 cutting. 
 
 " E-englia" This is a fine, tall kind, being from ten to 
 twelve feet high when full grown, but it is more slender 
 than either of the foregoing, and exceedingly graceful in 
 appearance. It begins flowering in ninety days, and is 
 fully ripe three weeks after ; we w r ill therefore class it at 
 four months. I have had stalks weighing as much as 
 one pound fourteen ounces each. The largest commonly 
 obtained may then be estimated at two pounds weight ; 
 yielding, by my poor little mill sixty-eight per cent, of 
 juice, containing fourteen per cent, of sugar. I have 
 obtained ten stalks from one stool. They rattoon in 
 three months after cutting. The seed head of the 
 E-engha is large and very pretty, the seed being upon 
 long slender foot stalks, which are bent down by the 
 weight of the seed, forming a graceful drooping. The 
 seeds, which are of a dull, yellow color, are rather long 
 and flat than round and plump. 
 
 " Nee-d-zd-nd " is held, by the Zulu-Kaffirs, to be the 
 sweetest of all the imphee kind ; but I found the Boom- 
 vwa-na and the Oom-see-a-na quite as sweet, and, in 
 my estimation, their juices are superior to it in some
 
 VARIETIES OF THK IMPHEE. 207 
 
 points. My Zulus have told me, that under favorable cir- 
 cumstances, the Nee-a-za-na frequently ripens in seventy- 
 five days ; and my head man (a most intelligent native 
 plowman) declares that he has had them from his own 
 land as sweet as any sugar cane. From my own actual 
 experience, I found that they ripened in about three 
 months, and that they were the softest and most abound- 
 ing in juice of any. With my mill 1 obtained sev- 
 enty per cent, of juice, much still remaining in the trash, 
 and the saccharometer showed fifteen per cent, of sugar 
 after cold defecation. This then for European culture, 
 is a perfect gem of a plant, one which will be anxiously 
 sought after, and very generally cultivated, throughout 
 Europe at least. In two months after the first cuttings, 
 I have had the rattoons six feet high and in flower. The 
 ISTee-a-za-na is a very small sized variety, but tillers out 
 greatly, having sometimes fifteen stalks for one root. I 
 have had its stalks varying from four ounces to upwards 
 of twelve ounces in weight ; but they do grow rather larger 
 than this. It always appeared to me that their juice was 
 more mucilaginous and abounding in feculae than the two 
 varieties I have just mentioned. The seed-head is very 
 bushy and bunchy, and when thoroughly ripe, the seeds 
 are large, round and plump. 
 
 " Boom-vwa-na " is a most excellent and valuable va- 
 riety ; of which I have eaten single pieces, containing cer- 
 tainly two or three per cent, more sugar than the average 
 juice obtained from large bundles of stalks, taken as 
 they come. This average juice never contained less than 
 fifteen per cent, of sugar, as indicated by the saccharom- 
 eter, after the raw juice had been sold defecated; and
 
 208 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 
 
 there is a clearness, a brightness, and a genuine sugar- 
 cane sweetness in the juice of this variety, and of the 
 Oom-see-a na, that I very much admire. In its growth 
 and general appearance, it is very much like the E-en- 
 gha; but its stalks are brighter and more slender: its 
 leaves are not so broad, and its seed vessels are upon 
 shorter and stiffer foot stalks. The stalks have a pinkish 
 red tint, which increases as they approach maturity, and 
 the seed cases have a pink and purple hue mixed with 
 the general yellow ground. The Boom-vwa-na tillers 
 very much, giving from ten to twenty stalks for one root, 
 but they seldom weigh more than one pound each. I 
 have obtained seventy per cent, of juice, which is easily 
 clarified, and makes a beautiful sugar. The plant reaches 
 perfection in from three to three and a half months. 
 
 " Oom-see-a-na" is a peculiarly marked variety, in 
 consequence of the purple or black appearance of its 
 seed-heads, arising from the sheath or seed cases being 
 of this color, and not the seed itself. The seed head is 
 very stiff and erect, with short, strong foot stalks, and 
 the seed is large, round, and full. In time of growth, 
 and goodness of juice, it is very similar to the Boom-vwa- 
 na ; its stalks are small, but numerous. They both rat- 
 toon well, in three months, from first cuttings. 
 
 " tShla-goova " is slightly inferior to the three last men- 
 tioned varieties, but is nevertheless very valuable, and 
 much prized by the Zulus. It takes three and a half 
 months to ripen, and becomes a tall, good sized plant ; 
 but its chief distinction is the exceeding beauty and ele- 
 gance of its seed heads. The foot stalks are extremely 
 long, which causes them to have a graceful drooping,
 
 VARIETIES OF THE IMPHEE. 209 
 
 while the seed cases or sheaths, vary in color from a del- 
 icate pink to a red, and from a light to a very dark pur- 
 ple, but each color very bright and glistening, forming 
 on the whole an extremely beautiful appearance." 
 
 " Shla-goo-ndee" This is a sweet and good variety, 
 and under favorable conditions produces fine sized stalks. 
 The seed heads are very stiff and erect, and the seed 
 vessels are compact, and very close. It usually takes 
 three and a half months to reach maturity, and it rattoons 
 very quickly, as the following memorandum of my diary 
 will show : 
 
 " December 13th. Cut down a small patch of imphee, 
 and dug up the ground for the purpose of planting arrow- 
 root, but some of the imphee not being entirely eradicated 
 sprung up afresh, some roots having fifteen stalks each. 
 On the 18th of February, one of them (Shla-goon-dee) was 
 upwards of six feet in height, with a thick stalk, and the 
 seed head just thrown out, being only two months and five 
 days from its being cut down and apparently destroyed." 
 This bunch of seed I gathered during the first week in 
 March, and I have it now in England. 
 
 " Zim-moo-ma-na." This is likewise a sweet and good 
 variety, with seed heads upright and compact, and fine 
 plump seeds, very numerous. 
 
 "E-loih-la," " Boo-ee-ana," " Koom-ba-na," " &e-en-gla," 
 " Zimba-za-na" and " E-thlo-sa" form the remainder of 
 the fifteen varieties, each differing slightly from the others 
 in its saccharine qualities as well as in appearance, but 
 still easily distinguished from each other by any one 
 who has studied them. I do not see the necessity of 
 entering at present into further detail in regard to the
 
 210 THE AFEICAX SUGAR CAXE. 
 
 shades of difference, as the larger edition of this work 
 will contain all such particulars. . 
 
 I have before remarked, that all the varieties are 
 known (from the Cape Colony to Delagoa Bay) under 
 the general Zulu-Kaffir name of Imphee, which name is 
 likewise generally used by the Europeans, who some- 
 times also call it the Kaffir Sugar Cane, from the circum- 
 stance of the Kaffirs growing it round their kraals, to 
 eat, as they do the real sugar cane ; but I never met a 
 single European who could tell one description of imphee 
 from another, not even among those who have been 
 in the Colony ten or twenty years. 
 
 The following points are particularly striking, namely 
 1st. The Zulus never (to the best of my knowledge and 
 belief) cultivate it for its grain, or for any other pur- 
 pose than for its sweet juice, which they obtain by 
 chewing the stalk. 
 
 2d. Whilst ripening its seed the birds never attack it 
 whereas it requires great vigilance to preserve the 
 seeds of the Kaffir Corn (Guinea Corn) or Sorghum 
 vulgare, from their pertinacious voracity. So much is 
 this the case, that I do not think I lost a single seed 
 from the birds, whilst from the Kaffir Corn there is 
 no keeping them off. The Kaffirs say this is always 
 so. 
 
 As the Kaffirs cultivate the imphee merely for its 
 juice, they never allow any more to ripen than is neces- 
 sary for the next year's planting ; but soon after the seed 
 head appears, they pull it off, by giving it a smart jerk 
 upwards. By this means they argue that the plant per- 
 fects the elaboration of its juices and becomes much
 
 VARIETIES OF THE IMPHEE. 211 
 
 sweeter, instead of forming seed at the expense of its sac- 
 charine matter. 
 
 This, no doubt, is to a certain extent perfectly reason- 
 able, and would be very successful, if the plant could be 
 prevented from expending its saccharine strength in its 
 natural efforts to reproduce itself, but so imperative is the 
 great law of nature that immediately the seed is removed, 
 the eye or bud belonging to every joint along the stem 
 begins forthwith to swell, and in a few short days will 
 have shot out a foot or more in length, crowned with 
 small seed heads, having three or four, some three to six, 
 side-shoots with seed heads along the stalk, to replace the 
 one main head removed. 
 
 My own experience therefore led me to doubt very 
 much the expediency of thus running counter to nature's 
 laws ; and eventually I abstained altogether from remov- 
 ing the seed heads, fancying that I gained rather than 
 lost in saccharine quantity by my noninterference. I 
 then removed, in many instances, these eyes with my 
 penknife, but the plant forthwith sent up a number of 
 fresh sprouts from the roots to balk me, so I gave it up. 
 A knowledge of this fact is very important in studying 
 the subject of rattooning. 
 
 The description I have given will suffice to show the 
 comparative value of the different kinds of imphee, and 
 it will be apparent to the meanest capacity that the suc- 
 cessful cultivation of this plant for sugar making in the 
 greater portion of Europe, depends almost entirely upon 
 the selection of the proper variety. 
 
 The capricious character of the summer in Europe is 
 well known! Very hot and even tropical weather may
 
 212 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CAJSTE. 
 
 at times be suddenly varied by a few days of cold, raw, 
 wet, and windy weather, throwing back and greatly re- 
 tarding the growth of these plants, thereby changing the 
 three, and three and a half, or four months required 
 under altogether favorable circumstances into a much 
 longer time, and thus perhaps obtaining really no 
 thorough ripening of the plant after all. 
 
 But, on the other hand, if we plant only of those vari- 
 eties requiring from two and a half to three months of 
 continuous warm weather, we render the success of the 
 cultivation as nearly certain as we well can. 
 
 The introduction of unsuitable varieties into Europe 
 has been, in my estimation, the one great reason of their 
 failure hitherto ; and in this belief, I hold the Nee-a-za-na, 
 Boom-vwa-na, and Oom-se-a-na to be peculiarly valuable 
 for our European cultivation. 
 
 The imphee is a tall, slender, and very elegant plant, 
 its foliage being light and graceful, and its tints bright 
 and varied in the different stages of its growth. It ex- 
 hales a perfume at once strong and agreeable, with some- 
 thing approaching that of rich new honey. 
 
 CULTIVATION, INCLUDING SOILS, CLIMATE AND SEASONS. 
 
 CLIMATE. It may be safely stated as an indisputable 
 fact, that wherever maize or Indian corn will grow and 
 ripen its seed, imphee will likewise grow and elaborate 
 its juice so as to be suitable for sugar making, bearing in 
 mind always that in as much as the maize comprises va- 
 rieties which require five months, and others which 
 require only three months, so in like manner does the
 
 CULTIVATION. 213 
 
 imphee include those varieties requiring four and a half 
 months, and others again which ripen in two and a half 
 and three months only. 
 
 This is a very essential fact to be remembered in order 
 to adapt in all cases the variety to the peculiar character 
 of the locality ; and I believe that no explanation, how- 
 ever lengthy, could more accurately define the climatic 
 range of the imphee than simply classing it with maize 
 in this respect. 
 
 In Northern Europe, and in numerous other parts of 
 the world, no kind of maize can be profitably cultivated 
 but those which ripen their seed within ninety days 
 from planting ; and it will be found that in all such 
 localities no other variety of imphee can be successfully 
 employed but such as ripen their juices within the same 
 short period. But what truly enormous range does this 
 climatic adaptation give us ! It comprises, in fact, every 
 country of the earth that can afford three months of hot 
 summer weather. It does not even exclude Canada or 
 Russia. 
 
 But as we draw nearer and nearer to the equator, the 
 gradual lengthening of the summer season, until indeed 
 winter is unknown, affords a longer and longer growing 
 time, so that at last, instead of one crop, we can obtain 
 two, three, ay, and even four crops in one year. 
 
 It is evident, likewise, that the longer the summer or 
 warm weather extends, the greater scope exists for the 
 cultivation of the larger and more productive varieties 
 that require a longer time for their perfect development. 
 
 The small measure of temporary success which is said 
 to have attended the attempts made in 1785, by Signoi
 
 214 'I HE AFRICAN SI 'GAR CANE. 
 
 Ardumo, of Florence, to introduce varieties of the ffolcus 
 Saccharatus into European cultivation, and their ultimate 
 failure and consequent total disuse, arose from the simple 
 circumstance of his having unfortunately lighted upon 
 varieties which required too long a period for their per 
 feet maturity to suit the short and variable summer of 
 Europe. 
 
 I cannot impress this important point too strongly 
 upon the attention of my readers, for on it, in fine, de- 
 pends the success or failure of the whole cultivation for 
 the purposes of sugar making. In tropical climates the 
 planter is of course free to choose whichever variety his 
 fancy or his experience in time to come, may lead him 
 to prefer : nor can any set rule be laid down which he 
 must of necessity follow. 
 
 It is to be supposed that he will select those varieties 
 which will not only yield him a large return per acre, 
 but will afford him an extended period for his manufac- 
 turing operations, instead of all becoming ripe together. 
 
 SOIL. Imphee will grow well and produce sugar 
 abundantly in a great variety of soils ; and in this res- 
 pect it is very similar to the real sugar cane ; but among 
 the many advantages which it has over its great rival, 
 the perfect immunity it enjoys from the attack of white 
 ants is one much too important to pass over without 
 remark. 
 
 In the colony of Natal, on the south-east coast of 
 Africa, the white ant is as numerous, and fully as des- 
 tructive, as it is in India ; consequently, none but low- 
 lying, swampy grounds can be ;ised in that colony for 
 sugar cane cultivation ; and this fact places a restriction
 
 CULTIVATION. 215 
 
 upon its extensive culture in Natal, which no human art 
 can overcome. But such an affliction does not extend to 
 the imphee. On the contrary, the white ants (although 
 swarming in the soil) never touch these plants. I have 
 grown a fine crop of imphee on a sandy hill top, where 
 it would have been utterly impossible to grow sugar 
 cane, on account of the white ants. 
 
 This seems a small matter to dwell upon, but in reality 
 it is of the utmost importance to Natal, India generally, 
 the Straits (Malacca) settlements, and to every other 
 country wherein that insect scourge exists ; because it 
 admits of sugar being produced from the imphee on 
 millions and millions of acres which are totally unsuited 
 for the sugar cane. 
 
 This simple fact alone is calculated to enhance the 
 price of land in Natal and the Cape Colony to an immense 
 extent, and it will have the same effect in many other 
 countries. 
 
 I have introduced the subject of white ants in this 
 place, because in trying of soils suitable for the sugar 
 cane, it is absolutely necessary to exclude all those in- 
 fested by white ants, whereas in the culture of the imphee 
 their presence is of no consequence. 
 
 In rich alluvial soils, in good light brick mold, in 
 loamy soils, and, indeed, in almost every good soil in 
 which there is a fair admixture of vegetable mould, the 
 imphee delights, and will grow famously with sufficient 
 moisture. 
 
 Plenty of vegetable mold, strong heat and light, and 
 considerable moisture, form the great essentials to the full 
 development of the plant, and the perfect elaboration of
 
 216 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 
 
 its juice, so as to yield its maximum quantity of saccha- 
 rine matter. 
 
 If, after a season of long-continued showery weather, 
 a period of dry weather occurs just as it ripens, then 
 the juice is more especially abundant, and rich in 
 sugar. - 
 
 Soils highly manured with animal manure, or, in fact, 
 with any which abound in ammonia and other saline 
 substances, tend to the formation of a large, luxuriant 
 plant, but its juice under such circumstances is so muci- 
 laginous and saline as to render it extremely unsuitable 
 for sugar manufacture, hence such treatment should be 
 studiously avoided. 
 
 The same rule applies in the case of the sugar cane, 
 beet root, and other sugar-yielding plants ; and if it be 
 violated, the result is certain to be disappointment and 
 vexation. 
 
 MODE OF CULTURE. I have, in some instances, soaked 
 the seed of the imphee for twenty -four and even forty- 
 eight hours, in warm water, previous to planting them, 
 in order to expedite their germination, as seeds so treated 
 will, in warm, moist weather, be up in four -days after- 
 wards ; whereas, being planted (during showery weather) 
 without this assistance, they usually take six or seven 
 days for sprouting. If, after planting, dry weather sets 
 in, they will, however, require ten or even fourteen days 
 to appear above ground; but by being well soaked 
 beforehand this casualty is materially obviated. Hence 
 I hold the practice to be a prudent one. 
 
 The seed requires to be very lightly covered ; for, if 
 deeply set, it is liable to rot, should much rain occur
 
 CULTIVATION. 217 
 
 immediately after ; but lightly covered, it will not be 
 injured by even constant rain. 
 
 I have lost a great deal of seed by planting too deeply, 
 and I shall, therefore, be very cautious never to commit 
 the same error again. If soaked in warm water for 
 twenty -four hours, then planted in a bed, and care taken 
 to keep them properly moist, we may always calculate 
 with certainty on having them an inch above ground in 
 four days (warm weather.) 
 
 This first start is a great point wherever the warm 
 weather lasts only a short time ; but in no case is it alto- 
 gether unimportant ; and it becomes a question of no 
 small moment, whether in England and some parts of 
 Northern Europe it would not even be quite worth while 
 to sow the seed under glass in the first instance, and then 
 plant out the young plants, before they are a month old, 
 in the open ground, where it is intended they shall remain 
 for crop. 
 
 In this case, very little more labor is required than is 
 now universally bestowed on the Continent in making 
 the beet root nursery beds, and subsequent transplanting 
 of the young beets. My own experience this season, in 
 England, has shown me that even in a small greenhouse, 
 a prodigious number of young plants may be raised 
 without any artificial heat whatever, and the plants arc 
 so hardy that they bear transplanting admirably. 
 
 By this simple plan we get over the difficulties opposed 
 to us in England by late frosts and cold, nipping winds. 
 for we can commence transplanting in June, and thus 
 allow June, July, August, and part of September, it 
 needed, for their growth, which my experiments this 
 10
 
 218 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 
 
 season have clearly demonstrated to be quite sufficient. 
 If it be objected that this plan entails more than ordinary 
 trouble, I answer it also insures the safety of a valuable 
 crop, a consideration of no small importance. 
 
 It must be remembered that every seed will, under 
 favorable circumstances, " tiller " out so largely as to 
 have from ten to twenty stalks or canes (as I shall hence- 
 forth call them) forming a large stool, and occupying 
 a considerable space. 
 
 I have found that rows three feet apart, with plants 
 twelve inches from each other along the rows (being 
 about 14,000 per acre), inmost cases, was a very suitable 
 distance to plant them; but the ever- varying circum- 
 stances of soil, climate, and seasons, added to the differ- 
 ences between the larger and the smaller varieties of the 
 imphee, must naturally suggest corresponding differences 
 in the planting distances. 
 
 I have had the Nee-a-za-na in rows only two feet, and 
 again in rows two and a half feet apart ; but I will not 
 venture to say that in all cases such close planting is 
 proper. 
 
 In planting along the rows, wherever the plants are 
 too thick, they can always be thinned out during their 
 early growth. 
 
 The great objection to the adoption of close rows is the 
 very serious one arising from the difficulty of cleaning 
 and digging between them, which is so desirable and so 
 very conducive to their vigorous growth and perfect 
 development; for, in common with almost all other 
 plants, the imphee likes to have the soil loosened and 
 moved about around its roots.
 
 CULTIVATION". 219 
 
 I suppose that it is almost unnecessary to observe that, 
 although it likes abundance of moisture in the soils 
 whereon it is growing, yet it has a decided objection to 
 stagnant water being around its roots. As the plant 
 progresses towards maturity, it throws up its graceful 
 flower, which very speedily is transformed into a seed 
 head, most abundantly covered, or rather laden, with grain. 
 
 In the last chapter I alluded to the Kaffir custom of 
 removing these seed heads shortly after they appear, and 
 I can only repeat the doubt I there expressed, whether, 
 by so doing, we may not really lose more than we gain. 
 
 When allowed to perfect its seeds, the grain is gene- 
 rally plump and full of fine, white flour, which I believe 
 is wholesome and nutritious, and might enter largely 
 into general consumption. 
 
 This, in itself, constitutes a feature much in favor of 
 allowing it to ripen its seed; and, in a more general 
 sense, is highly important. 
 
 Notwithstanding my numerous unsuccessful attempts 
 some years ago to impregnate or fecundate the flowers of 
 the sugar cane, so as to obtain a seed which would ger- 
 minate and produce sugar cane, yet I cannot help cling- 
 ing to this plant (imphee) as the only remaining hope we 
 now have of effecting this interesting object. I have al- 
 ready taken measures to have new flowers of the sugar 
 cane brought into immediate and continued contact with, 
 those of the imphee, so as to ascertain for a certainty 
 whether the sugar cane will thereby be induced to perfect 
 its seed, and, on the other hand, whether the pollen of 
 the cane flowers will produce any beneficial or other 
 change hi the character of the imphee seed.
 
 220 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 
 
 This is a question of sufficient interest to engage the 
 attention of every scientific and inquiring mind, as it com- 
 prehends that which is interesting, and that which may 
 be of great practical utility to the world at large. 
 
 When the seeds of the imphee are ripe or perfectly 
 full, it is the custom of the Zulu-Kaffirs to string them up 
 in the sun and air for a few days, then to hang them up 
 in their huts, so that they may have the full benefit of 
 the smoke, which serves to keep them entirely dry, and 
 likewise preserves the seed from the attacks of insects, so 
 that they may be thus kept perfectly good for a series of 
 years, if necessary. I like this plan so much that I 
 adopted it in all its integrity, and can honestly recom- 
 mend it to others.* 
 
 THE PLANT : ITS PRODUCTION AND ITS VALUE. 
 
 It will seem, from what I have already said, that the 
 canes of the imphee are much smaller and much lighter 
 than the stalks of the real sugar cane ; but at the same 
 time, it must be remembered that the foliage is not nearly 
 so large nor so dense as that of the sugar cane ; conse- 
 quently, the plants can stand very much closer together 
 on the land, and thus make up in number for their 
 smaller weight individually. 
 
 Thus, on an acre, if we have only 14,000 roots or 
 stools, each stool will produce from five to twenty canes, 
 varying in weight from a quarter of a pound to 1 
 
 * It is worthy of remark that the natives of Upper Egypt call the 
 sorghums Baalee or Doura ; whereas, the Zulu-Kaffir name for the 
 same plant is Mabaalee, the ma being simply a prefix which they give 
 to a great number of their proper names.
 
 PRODUCTION AND VALUE. 221 
 
 pounds, each affording, on a low average, therefore, wo 
 will say, 84,000 canes, weighing 65,000 pounds, capable 
 of yielding seventy -five per cent, of juice ; but if taken at 
 only seventy per cent., then giving 44,100 pounds of 
 juice, containing fifteen per cent, of sugar. 
 
 If from this quantity of juice the manufacturer cannot 
 manage to produce two tons of good, dry, fair-colored 
 sugar, then he must be unskillful indeed. 
 
 One English acre of imphee, grown under favorable - 
 circumstances, will yield fully two tons of dry sugar, and 
 even more ; but I will not estimate the average return at 
 more than 1 tons of fair, dry sugar, per acre, which it 
 should most undoubtedly produce as an average crop. 
 
 For the information of those planters who are com- 
 pelled to use their cane trash or bagasse, I may say that 
 the trash of the imphee can be used precisely in the same 
 manner, although its proper use really is as a manure to 
 return to the soil. 
 
 The leaves and long tops of the plants form excellent 
 food for horned cattle, horses, mules, sheep, etc., being 
 much more delicate than the coarse leaves of the sugar 
 cane. 
 
 If the plants are suffered to mature their seed, an acre 
 of land would furnish a large quantity of grain, which 
 may be used merely as grain for feeding animals and 
 poultry, or in the form of flour, of excellent quality, as 
 food for mankind. 
 
 I c'onsider twenty bushels of this grain per acre a very 
 low average crop, but it is by no means an item to be 
 overlooked in calculating the value of the plant to Europe 
 and to the world generally.
 
 222 THE AFBICAN SUGAR CAXE. 
 
 Having shown the value of one crop of imphee, per- 
 haps it would be well to repeat that this one crop of im- 
 phee is off the ground in from three to four months from 
 the day the seed was planted ; and that, as this comes off, 
 another crop is immediately springing up from the same 
 roots, (if the weather will permit), to be ready in another 
 three months ; and even a third crop will be produced, 
 provided the weather is warm enough. 
 
 We must now compare the imphee with its European 
 rival, the beet root, which is at present so largely grown 
 for its sugar. 
 
 I find that there is now manufactured throughout the 
 whole continent of Europe about 160,000 tons of beet- 
 root sugar, obtained from about 400,000 English acres of 
 land, forming an average of something like eight hun- 
 dredweight of good sugar per English acre. 
 
 Besides the sugar obtained from the beet root, we must 
 take into consideration its other products, such as potash 
 and alcohol, yielded by its molasses, and the quantity of 
 food for cattle, furnished by its leaves and by its refuse 
 pulp. 
 
 France alone has now three hundred and thirty-two 
 manufactories of beet-root sugar, producing this year 
 about 75,000,000 kilogrammes, (rather more than 
 158,300,000 pounds English) of syrup, besides molasses. 
 M. Du Brontfaut declares, that by a certain process of his 
 own, there may be obtained from this molasses (after the 
 alcohol has been taken from it by distillation) a quantity 
 of potash equal in weight to one sixth of the sugar pro- 
 duced from the beet root. 
 
 It is, however, q-iite evident that this quantity of pot-
 
 PRODUCTION AND VALUE. 223 
 
 ash can only exist in these roots by reason of the excess 
 of saline matter in the soil whereon they are grown. In 
 the great majority of cases this injurious excess of saline 
 substance arises from the quantity of manure administered 
 to the soil, with a view of obtaining a very large and 
 heavy crop of beets a result certainly realized, but at a 
 great sacrifice of saccharine matter in the beets. 
 
 Viewing all these products, however, in the most favor- 
 able light possible, still no reasonable being can maintain 
 or one moment that the produce obtainable from one 
 acre of beet root is any way equal to that derivable from 
 an acre of imphee, namely 1^ tons of fair sugar, and its 
 proportionate quantity of molasses, equal in every respect 
 to the cane sugar molasses. 
 
 The next point of comparison is the expense of culti- 
 vation and manufacture ; and I am firmly convinced that 
 ,hese are entirely in favor of the imphee, for, at the pres- 
 3nt moment, the practice is almost universal on the con- 
 tinent of sowing the seed, in the first instance, in a seed 
 bed, or nursery, from which they are afterwards drawn 
 and planted out in the fields. I do not say that this 
 common practice is imperative, nor do I object to it on the 
 score of economy or any other grounds, but I merely state 
 that such is the usual custom. The period from sowing 
 che seed to harvesting the beets, varies, according to my 
 information, from seven to eight months, a space of time 
 just double that required for the perfect maturity of the 
 imphee. 
 
 This prolonged period naturally requires a correspond- 
 ing addition of labor in the cultivation over and above 
 that demanded by the latter.
 
 224 THE AFRICAN SUGAK CANE. 
 
 But in the manufacture of the two a still greater dif- 
 ference exists in favor of the imphee. The beets have to 
 undergo a careful washing, and have their crowns and 
 roots cut off before they are fit for the manufacturer's 
 operations ; then they are either rasped by machinery into 
 a complete pulp, which is afterwards put into a canvas 
 cloth and subjected to the action of a hydraulic or other 
 press, to get out all the juice ; or they are cut into very 
 thin slices, and these are treated by sundry peculiar pro- 
 cesses, in order to obtain the sugar they contain in as 
 pure a state as possible. The saccharine liquor, or ex- 
 pressed juice from the canvas bags, is next chemically 
 treated to effect its defecation, and is afterwards evaporated 
 to a certain density, run through animal charcoal filters, 
 and finally concentrated, but only to undergo a further 
 refining, or perhaps double-refining, as the raw beet root 
 sugar (such as we may call beet root muscovado) is unfit 
 for general purposes, and therefore cannot be used for 
 common consumption as sugar-cane muscovado sugars are. 
 
 There are certainly many other highly scientific modes 
 of obtaining the sugar from beets, among which the ele- 
 gant chemical process (at present only partially applied) 
 of Du Bronfaut is deserving of all honor ; but I confine 
 my remarks especially to those best known and so gene 
 rally used on the continent. 
 
 The manufacture of imphee is, on the other hand, ex- 
 tremely simple ; and the sugar produced, whether mus- 
 covado or white, is not distinguishable, even by the best 
 judges, from the cane sugar of similar qualities ; while 
 the expense of manufacture is much less than that of 
 beet root.
 
 PRODUCTION AND VALUE. 225 
 
 The main result of this comparison, apart from ex- 
 penses for cultivation and manufacture, may then be 
 stated : 
 
 Imphee. Time of growth, three to four months ; sugar, 
 per acre, thirty cwts. ; molasses equal to cane molasses. 
 
 Beet root. Time of growth, seven to eight months ; 
 sugar, per acre, ten cwts. ; molasses very inferior. 
 
 This, too, is on the broad supposition that the value 
 of the molasses, fodder, etc., of the one, equals that of the 
 other. I venture to say that the comparative value is so 
 entirely in favor of the former, that beet root culture will 
 gradually be relinquished until it becomes at length 
 totally neglected. 
 
 We next turn to the sugar cane as its great rival ; and 
 I dare say I shall be considered very bold in venturing 
 a comparison, but facts are stubborn things, and no really 
 sensible man will come to a decision until he has care- 
 fully weighed the evidence on both sides. 
 
 The sugar cane is a plant too well known to need any 
 description here ; but there are some peculiarities in re- 
 gard to it which must be recited, although they are actual 
 truisms : 
 
 1. It takes, according to circumstances, from twelve to 
 sixteen, to eighteen or to twenty months, from the crop 
 being planted to its ripening. 
 
 2. Some very soft, juicy canes, do really contain, 
 chemically speaking, only about ten per cent, of woody 
 fiber ; but an overwhelming majority of sugar canes do 
 most certainly contain, practically, a much greater pro- 
 portion, some eyei) as much as thirty per cent. 1 
 
 10*
 
 226 THE AFiUUAN SUGAli CANE. 
 
 3. Fine, average cane juice contains eighteen per cent, 
 of sugar, not more. 
 
 4. A good average crop of sugar canes will weigh from 
 twenty-five to thirty tons per acre. 
 
 5. Canes are apt to degenerate so fast, that constant 
 recourse is had to the expedient of exchanging plant 
 tops between estates very distant from each other. 
 
 6. The cane rattoons in twelve months, generally, from 
 the time of cutting; and each time it rattoons the canes 
 are less juicy, and contain a greater amount of woody 
 fiber in proportion. 
 
 These points must be well considered : 
 
 1. During the eighteen months' growth what casualties 
 may not occur to destroy, or, at least, very much injure, 
 the crop: storms, severe drouth, fire, and lastly, white 
 ants ! And what sugar planter knows not the dire ex- 
 tent of these liabilities ? 
 
 2. The large proportion of woody fiber contained in 
 rattoons, and even in plant canes, naturally reduces very 
 much the per centage of juice; but all rattoons do not so 
 abound in woody fiber. 
 
 3. So alarming was the degeneracy of the sugar cane 
 in Jamaica, that its Koyal Agricultural Society and the 
 Society of Arts in London sought all over the world for 
 sugar cane seed, in the hopes of remedying this threaten- 
 ing evil. 
 
 Now, on the other hand, let us look at the imphee in 
 respect to those identical points. 
 
 1. It takes, as I have already said, from three months 
 to four and a half months, according to the kind planted,
 
 PRODUCTION AND VALUE. 227 
 
 from the time of sowing the seed until it arrives at ma- 
 turity; and it will rattoon twice or three times after- 
 wards, at intervals of three months between each cutting, 
 provided, of course, that the warm weather permits their 
 continued rattooning. 
 
 2. It is much more juicy than the generalty of sugar 
 canes, and contains far less woody fiber, which does not 
 materially increase in the rattoons. 
 
 3. Fine, average imphee juice, contains fifteen percent, 
 of sugar. 
 
 4. A good average crop of imphee stalks or canes will 
 weigh twenty-five tons per acre. 
 
 5. Imphee is produced from the seed; therefore, no 
 deterioration can occur, as in the sugar cane ; and the 
 seed may be sown by means of a drill. 
 
 6. It will yield a crop of rattoons six to seven months 
 from the time of the seed being first sown, being, there- 
 fore, two crops in that space of time ; and will continue 
 rattooning, if the seasons are favorable. 
 
 All these points I have abundantly proved to be cor- 
 rect ; and, when they are acknowledged by the world at 
 large to be really true, what, may I ask, will become of 
 the sugar cane ? 
 
 What tropical planter will eventually refuse to lessen 
 his field risks arising from the casualties I have named, 
 and simplify his cultivation, knowing, at the same time, 
 that his crops come to bear a money value in the market 
 in the short space of three to four months ? 
 
 I venture to think that he will, of necessity, be com- 
 pelled to adopt the imphee and discard the sugar cane, 
 as a mere matter of self preservation ; for, although in
 
 228 THE AFEICAN SUGAR CANE. 
 
 Europe we can, perhaps, obtain only one crop from the 
 land each year, yet the cheap modes of cultivation and 
 the skillful manufacture which will be brought to bear 
 upon it, will be quite sufficient to run the sugar planter 
 off his legs. 
 
 From Canada to New Orleans, in America, we have a 
 magnificent range for the growth of the imphee ; and in 
 the southern states two crops a year will be obtained, in 
 lieu of the one miserable crop of cane sugar now realized. 
 
 I think that even these extremely brief remarks will 
 be sufficient, for the present, to show the comparative 
 value of the imphee, sugar cane, and beet root for sugar 
 making. 
 
 AMERICAN NOTES FOR 1857 
 ON THE IMPHEE. 
 
 THE history of the introduction of the imphee into the United 
 States has substantially been given in the historical portion of Part 1. 
 That it may be perfectly understood I will make a condensed state- 
 ment in this place. Mr. Wray arrived in this country in the month 
 of March last, bringing with him seed of each of his varieties of im- 
 phee, and samples of alcohol and sugars made from them. The 
 greater part of the seed he planted upon the estate of Governor J. H. 
 Hammond, of South Carolina ; but portions were put under cultiva- 
 tion by Mr. R. Peters and Mr. J. Eve, of Georgia ; Brutus J. Clay, 
 of Kentucky ; a gentleman in Canada ; and Mr. D. Jay Browne, of 
 the United States Patent Office. Of all these lots, the only one from 
 which any considerable part of the crop was saved was that of Mr. 
 Hammond. In Canada the seed did not ripen, Mr. Browne's lot but
 
 AMERICAN NOTES. 229 
 
 partially, that of Mr. Peters and of Mr. Eve were entirely mixed with 
 durra* corn, and consequently not saved. Of Mr. Clay's I give the 
 account published by himself. The imphee seed brought by Mr. 
 Wray was grown for him by the Count de Beauregard, on his 
 estate at Hyeres, France, and was there packed and shipped direct to 
 America. By some chance a large quantity of the seed of durra 
 was sent mixed with the imphee, and was unsuspectingly distributed 
 by Mr. Wray to his several partners in the adventure here. At Gov- 
 ernor Hammond's urgent solicitation, Mr. Wray sorted out enough 
 seed to plant several acres of some ten or more of the choicest 
 varieties, and these were planted separate and apart from each other. 
 The remainder, ovei* one hundred acres, was planted with the seed just 
 as sent from France. The result was that before the time of ripening, to 
 their great dismay they discovered that it would be necessary to sacri- 
 fice some six thousand five hundred bushels of this precious seed, and 
 the only crop which could with safety be disseminated, and conscien- 
 tiously recommended by Governor Hammond, was that harvested on 
 the assorted acres of the ten or more best varieties. The crop of Mr. 
 Peters was utterly ruined, as he had not taken the precaution to select 
 and plant separately. Before making arrangements with Mr. Wray, 
 he had imported directly from Vilmorin, Andrieux & Co., of Paris, 
 about fifteen pounds of what was supposed to be a variety of imphee 
 named Vim-bis-chu-a-pa, at a cost of $10 per pound ; but this turned 
 out to be nothing but worthless durra. 
 
 With that generosity which characterizes him, General Hammond 
 declined receiving any share of the profits from the sale of the seed, 
 and presented to Mr. Wray the entire crop of the pure seed, amount- 
 ing to about four hundred bushels. 
 
 To inform myself particularly as to the success of this first cultiva- 
 tion of the imphee, and to assist in making sugar from it, I visited in 
 October of 1857 the plantations of General Hammond, Mr. Peters, 
 
 * The word durra has been spelt dourah, dhurra, doura and donrrha by various 
 writers. In the preceding pages I have adopted the spelling doura ; and Mr. \\ ray, 
 
 London, 
 
 . 
 
 I perceive, has done likewise. The encyclopedias of London, Johnson, and Hooker, 
 make no mention whatever of the plant ; but Noah Webster, in his dictionary, spells 
 it durra, and as this is nearest to the Arabic derivative, and more correct on phonetic 
 principles, I shall in future adopt it.
 
 230 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 
 
 and Mr. Eve. A part of the imphees I found mixed as above 
 stated. On the separate lots I could see no signs of a hybridation 
 with durra ; but on one or two there were straggling plants of some 
 variety of imphee, the seeds of which resembled those of the lot with 
 which it was mingled. The appearance of the various plants is truth- 
 fully given by Mr. Wray. Of the comparative amounts of sugar 
 which they are capable of yielding I cannot speak, for our attempts 
 to produce it were not successful. 
 
 It is comparatively an easy thing for northern and western farmers, 
 living adjacent to lines of railroad, to provide themselves with any sort 
 of machinery or apparatus at a moment's notice ; and, if breakages 
 occur during their operations, a competent mechanic is speedily found 
 to repair them. But such is not the case on an inland southern plan- 
 tation ; and hence it resulted at Governor Hammond's that, what with 
 the novelty of the operations, breakages of the mill and steam engine, 
 quarrels of mechanics, the late arrival of Mr. Wray with his seed, and 
 other things combined, no attempt was made to " commence crop," to 
 use the West Indian phrase, until the canes were considerably past 
 maturity ; and, after operations were commenced, breakages and acci- 
 dents caused great confusion in the work, and fatal delays. Besides this, 
 the canes were grown upon a reclaimed swamp, thoroughly drained, 
 and so rich in soluble saline matters, that the crop of corn on an ad- 
 jacent lot was, on one measured acre, one hundred and eight bushels. 
 Those who have read my remarks upon the pernicious influence upon 
 the crystallization of sugar, of soluble mineral matters taken up by 
 the cane juice, will not be surprised to learn that, although the train 
 worked in the most satisfactory manner, and the boiling was superin- 
 tended by a negro sugar maker from Florida, no crystallization of im- 
 phee juice could be obtained. 
 
 Mr. Wray found that the proportion of salts of iron was so great 
 in the juice, that the single trial we made with nut galls gave us a 
 liquid nearly as black as ink. Suffice it to say that the sugar was not 
 made : but, as will be seen subsequently, it was not because crystal- 
 lized sugar does not exist in the imphee. 
 
 Governor Hammond, failing to produce sugar, turned his whole at-
 
 AMERICAN NOTES. 231 
 
 tention to the manufacture of syrup ; of which he made from the 
 imphee exactly three thousand gallons, which will be entirely con- 
 sumed on his own estate. 
 
 With Governor Hammond and Mr. Wray I frequently tested the 
 juice by the saccharometer. In one case the juice of the Boo-e-a-oa 
 I found to be 1 Op Beaume, which it will be remembered indicates no 
 less than nineteen per cent, of sugar in the juice. I am convinced 
 that on favorable soils, and in suitable climates, the juice of the im- 
 phee will mark nearly if not quite as high a saccharine richness as the 
 Saccharum officinarum, or tropical sugar cane. 
 
 Judging from my observation, the imphee is more succulent than 
 the sorgho. An experiment was made with ten stalks each of sorgho 
 and imphee, to test the respective quantities of juice. The result was 
 that the imphee gave sixteen pints, or two gallons; sorgho gave 
 eleven pints ; a very large per centage in favor of imphee. Imphee 
 starts off more rapidly in its spring growth, and will be valuable on 
 that account for northern latitudes. Many of the imphees have also 
 a larger stalk than the sorgho, and smaller seed heads, or panicles, and 
 will not only give more juice for distillation and sugar making, but 
 will not so readily be prostrated by the winds of our western prai- 
 ries. The outer covering of the imphee stalk is thinner than that of 
 sorgho, and is consequently easier to crush in the mill. 
 
 Frequent allusion is made in the preceding pages of this work to 
 the practice of cutting off the seed heads to increase the secretion of 
 sugar. I saw many stalks at Mr. Peters' thus treated, which had been 
 utterly ruined. The energy of the plant is so great, that when its 
 forces were diverted from the elaboration of starch in the seeds, the 
 bud at each joint of the stalk threw out short stems, which attained a 
 length of some eighteen inches, and attempted to produce miniature 
 seed heads. The result was, that the vitality which would in the 
 natural course of growth have produced a perfect plant, with a full 
 crop of ripe seed, was exhausted in the production of monstrosities. 
 It is sufficiently well attested that the ripening of the seed does not 
 interfere with a maximum yield of sugar. 
 
 Mr. Peters found that sorgho planted on the 15th March ripened
 
 232 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 
 
 within a week of that planted on the 15th May. He had some imphee 
 ripening which had been planted only ninety days. 
 
 On Governor Hammond's place the Boom-vwa-na and Nee-a-za-na 
 ripened the earliest. The former grows to a height of eleven feet, but 
 the latter only seven. This brevity of stalk is, however, compensated 
 for by the number of suckers which grow from the stool. The Oom- 
 se-a-na and En-ya-ma were thought to be best for syrup making. The 
 Koom-ba-na grows about ten feet high, and is very excellent. A new 
 variety, the Sorgho-ka-baie, promises to be very excellent. I should 
 be willing to plant, to a moderate extent, any one of eight or ten 
 varieties which were saved by Mr. Wray, and sold to Mr. Moore. 
 
 NEWS OF THE IMPHEE FEOM AFBICA. 
 
 In the month of September last there appeared in the New York 
 Journal of Commerce a letter from Eev. H. A. Wilder, an American 
 missionary at Umtwalume, in Caffraria, in which Mr. Wilder states, 
 that considerable quantities of excellent sugar have been made from 
 imphee in that colony during the past year. He also says that he 
 sent a small amount of the seeds to friends in this country some three 
 years ago ; but that nothing had resulted from it. 
 
 I have had further intelligence of the manufacture of imphee sugar 
 in Caflraria by Mr. Wray, from Mr. Charles H. Caldcott, a merchant 
 of Port Natal, who is at present in New York. This gentleman 
 informs me that he both saw and tasted imphee sugar in the colony, 
 and that it does not differ from the sugar made from the ordinary 
 cane. 
 
 BESEAECHES OF DB. JACKSON. 
 
 At the recent meeting of the United States Agricultural Society at 
 Washington, January 13th, 1858, Dr. Charles T. Jackson being called 
 upon to give histestimony upon the capability of the imphee to pro- 
 duce sugar, stated, that he had been employed by the United States 
 Patent Office to make experiments upon both sorgho and imphee. 
 Seed heads and stalks of imphee had been sent him for examination
 
 AMERICAN NOTES. 233 
 
 by Mr. Browne, of the Patent Office ; lie had given them minute study, 
 and had sent in an official report to the government. The juice of 
 imphee would give nine per cent, of true cane sugar, and six per cent, 
 additional of glucose. It would give twelve per cent, of alcohol or 
 proof spirits, which was peculiarly suitable for the manufacture of 
 brandy, because of an agreeable aroma which it contained. This very 
 large yield of alcohol which it and the sorgho would afford, would 
 materially affect a very important interest. Three fourths of the 
 alcohol made ic Massachusetts last year was consumed in the manu- 
 facture of burning fluids, and in mechanical and chemical operations ; 
 and if these plants can afford us a readier and cheaper supply of 
 alcohol than the cereals it is a very strong recommendation for their 
 culture. His official report will be found in the next Report of the 
 United States Patent Office. 
 
 The following letters, from Governor Hammond to Mr. Wray, will 
 fully explain his estimate of the value of the imphee. 
 
 LETTEE8 FEOM GOV. HAMMOND. 
 
 " DEAR SIR " EEDCLIFFE, November 26th, 1857. 
 
 " I received to-day, the Soutluern Cultivator for December. It con- 
 tains two letters from Mons. Vilmorin, denouncing your imphees in a 
 manner that appears to me malicious ; and, as I know his statements 
 are false as regards the imphee grown in this latitude, I deem it due 
 to truth and to you, to give my testimony against them. Tour imphee 
 came here too late to allow a perfectly satisfactory comparison to be 
 instituted between that and sorgho. But I do not remember that in 
 any attempt we made to compare them, the results were in favor of 
 the sorgho. Certainly, most of the varieties of imphee have a larger 
 stalk and produce more juice ; none, I believe, are smaller. As to 
 ' red rot,' which so seriously affected the sorgho, I do not think it ap- 
 peared at all in more than one kind of imphee, and that had ripened 
 long before we reached it in our operations. I am sure the im- 
 phee is not more subject to the ' red rot,' than the sorgho, and was 
 not so much affected by it this year here. As to the per centage of
 
 234 THE AFKICAN SUGAR CANE. 
 
 saccharine matter in the juice, I saw the saccharometer mark eighteen 
 once, and frequently fourteen to sixteen per cent, of sugar I believe 
 the sorgho never reached seventeen per cent. 
 
 " From my experience of this year, I should be unwilling to say that 
 the imphee is decidedly superior to the sorgho. But I am equally un- 
 prepared to say that any single variety of imphee is inferior to the 
 sorgho. I shall try all of them again and again before I determine 
 which is the very best. 
 
 " As you say Mr. Vilmorin obtained no pure imphee seed from you, 
 I am inclined to tnink he has not made his experiments with pure seed. 
 Certainly the seed he sent to this country last spring for imphee, at 
 $10 per pound, was thoroughly mixed with durra corn ; and one par- 
 cel that he sent as Vim-bis-chu-a-pa, was all durra, as I am informed. 
 
 " I have not, as you well know, any interest in the sale of imphee 
 seed, or anything made from imphee, and you are well aware of my 
 aversion to having my name in the papers, but you can show this letter 
 to any one you please, and, if absolutely necessary, publish it. I shall 
 probably put the substance in the next Cultivator. Tours very truly, 
 
 " L. WEAY, Esq." J. H. HAMMOND." 
 
 The following is an extract from a letter to my publisher from Gov. 
 Hammond, in answer to a request that he would give his opinion as to 
 the value of the different varieties of imphee. 
 
 " WASHINGTON, D. C., January 13th, 1858. 
 
 " * * * I think these seeds well worth distributing. They 
 produce a sugar cane at least equal to the sorgho in all respects, and 
 some of them are twice the size. I am inclined to think we shall ult- 
 imately find several of them (ripening at different periods,) supersed- 
 ing the sorgho altogether. 
 
 " I plant sixty acres of the cane this year of these, four will be 
 planted in sorgho, and the remainder in imphee. * * * 
 
 (Signed) " J. H. HAMMOND. " 
 LETTER FROM HON. BRUTUS J. CLAY. 
 
 " DEAR SIR " PARIS, KY., November 23d, 1857. 
 
 " I planted imphee on the 23d day of May last. I broke the ground
 
 AMERICAN NOTES. 235 
 
 twice, and planted the hills three by four feet apart, two and three seeds 
 in a hill ; about three fourths of it grew, hence it was rather thin on the 
 ground. It did not well mature before frost ; the middle of October. 
 
 " I think the average product of stalk was no more than eight feet. 
 They were, however, one third larger than the sorgho, and contained 
 much more juice, of a quality very similar to that of the latter. It stood 
 up well, large at the bottom and tapers to the top : is not liable to be 
 blown down by the wind. 
 
 " The sorgho I planted about the 13th of May. It came up well, 
 producing stalks small and slender, ten to twelve feet high, very apt to 
 be blown down by the wind ; but this and the imphee require a little 
 more care than corn. 
 
 " Of the two varieties of cane, I think the imphee will prove the 
 most valuable plant ; if planted earlier and upon a good soil, with a 
 southern exposure, I think it will ripen before frosts. The past season 
 has been a bad one for a fair experiment ; even our corn is not yet 
 dry enough to grind for bread, it has been so backward and late. 
 
 " Yours, &c. 
 
 " ISAAC A. HEDGES, Esq." "BRUTUS J. CLAY." 
 
 Despite the unfortunate result of the attempts to make sugar on 
 Governor Hammond's pla'ce, and the mixture of durra corn with all 
 of the immense crop of imphee seed, which otherwise would have 
 immediately supplied the country, which, from the few hundred 
 bushels saved pure by Mr. Wray, can only be accomplished in one or 
 two years, I think my readers will see in the facts above set forth 
 reason to believe that the year has not been entirely unproductive in 
 results, nor without a great promise for the future cultivation of the 
 imphee.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 AWARD OF MEDAL TO ME. LOVERING. 
 
 THE history of the sorgho in this country, from the first exhibition 
 by Mr. Peters of his syrup at the Fair of the United States Agricul- 
 tural Society in 1856, to the gratifying success of Mr. Joseph S. 
 Lovering, in producing sorgho sugar of all qualities, and their exhibi- 
 tion before the same society January 13th, 1858, is fraught with 
 interest to the American public. This society has conferred appro- 
 priate honors upon the two men who have been especially instrumental 
 in popularizing the sorgho in the United States ; first, by bestowing 
 its diploma upon Mr. Peters, and second, by awarding its large silver 
 medal to Mr. Lovering. As the matter has assumed historical inter- 
 est, it will perhaps be as well to transcribe from the minutes so much 
 of the proceedings as relates to the subject : 
 
 " The Chair next read a letter from Mr. Joseph S. Lovering, a sugar 
 refiner of Philadelphia, advising the society of the shipment to them 
 by him of several boxes of sugar made from the sorgho, or Chinese 
 sugar cane ; as also some pamphlets embodying the manner and 
 results of the experiments. 
 
 " Mr. Olcott, of New York, stated that he had seen and carefully 
 examined the samples referred to, and had studied the pamphlet that 
 morning, and congratulated the society that at last the fact was 
 established that excellent sugar could be made in the Northern States 
 in large quantity, and at a moderate price. Mr. Lovering had cut 
 the Gordian knot, and done it in so thorough and scientific a manner, 
 that there was no longer room for a doubt. He claimed that Mr. L. 
 had earned the thanks of the farmers of America, and as this society
 
 REPORT OF U. S. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 237 
 
 was the representative of its agricultural interests, he should move that 
 the large silver medal of the society be conferred upon Joseph S. 
 Levering. 
 
 " Senator Harlan, of Iowa, moved the reference of the matter to a 
 Special Committee, and this being seconded, the Chair appointed as 
 such committee Messrs. D. Jay Browne, of the Patent Office, Simon 
 Brown, of Massachusetts, and Olcott, of New Tork. 
 
 " The committee retired for consultation, and after a season report- 
 ed as follows . 
 
 " ' The committee appointed to consider the propriety of awarding 
 the large silver medal of the society to Mr. Joseph S. Levering, of 
 Philadelphia, respectfully report that, having examined the specimens 
 of sugar presented by him, and the scientific examinations set forth in 
 his published pamphlet, they recommend that the medal be awarded 
 to Mr. Lovering, for the care with which his experiments have been 
 made, and the sample presented ; but your committee do not wish to 
 be understood as certifying that the manufacture of sugar is as yet 
 demonstrated to be more profitable than other crops. 
 
 ' SIMON BROWN, Chairman" 
 
 " This report was adopted." 
 
 It must by no means be inferred that Mr. Lovering is the first per- 
 son who has made sugar of good quality from the sorgho. Two or 
 three years ago this was accomplished by Professor Avequin, of New 
 Orleans, as will be seen from an article from the See in another part 
 of this Appendix. In addition to these, Professors C. T. Jackson and 
 A. A. Hayes, of Boston, have both made it in small quantity, and re- 
 ports have been published during the past season of sugar making by 
 a great number of persons ; but Mr. Lovering is entitled to especial 
 honor because his experiments were conducted in a manner so intelli- 
 gent, careful, and satisfactory ; his results have been so cheering and 
 of such an available character, and so clearly demonstrate the practi- 
 cability of making sugar throughout the most northern portions of the 
 Temperate Zone. Mr. Lovering's pamphlet will be found in this Ap-
 
 238 APPENDIX. 
 
 pendix, as well as further practical directions to farmers based upon 
 
 Judge J. D. Oaton, of Ottawa, Illinois, has published an interesting 
 account of his experiments and successful sugar making. The sugar 
 he made is stated to be of good quality, but the quantity per acre 
 could not be practically demonstrated, because the amount produced 
 was on too small a scale to afford a useful basis for computation. This 
 has been the case in most of the instances reported, and the mere pro- 
 duction of these small quantities of sugar is useful only as corroborat- 
 ing the fact of its existence in the juice. Now that it has been proved 
 beyond the shade of a doubt that sugar can be made from sorgho and 
 Imphee, and that in large quantities ; of course this branch of industry 
 will be undertaken with greater or less profit, according to existing 
 conditions. Sugar may be a profitable crop in districts far removed 
 from the seaboard or from the great lines of transport ; but there 
 should be a careful scrutiny of many possible contingencies before 
 capital is extensively employed in this way. 
 
 If, however, it is a mooted question whether we should grow the new 
 canes for a sugar crop, it is much less questionable if, in almost any 
 locality, they would not be very remunerative as a source of alcohol. 
 In this case, all that is necessary is to have command of any desired 
 amount of fuel, either wood or coal, and then the nearer the seaboard, 
 or to large cities of the interior, the farm may lie, the more certain will 
 the cultivator be to have a profit from his crop. The cold rainy 
 seasons which injure the secretion of cane sugar in the stalk, operate 
 rather favorably than otherwise for the production of alcohol. The 
 sugar in the stalks will be in large proportion glucose, and thus one 
 step in its transformation towards alcohol is saved, for cane sugar must 
 change into glucose before it can pass into the alcoholic fermentation. 
 
 To afford some idea of the range of latitude in which the sorgho 
 will grow, the effects of manures and soils upon the height of stalk, the 
 varying time required in different localities to complete its growth, and 
 the height and diameter of stalk, I give the following tabular state- 
 ment from the American Agriculturist, of returns made to that paper 
 during the present season.
 
 TABULATED EXPERIMENTS. 
 
 239 
 
 pnnoiS raoij , -g ^^ 
 
 o g 
 
 a i^s^aa aaaaa 
 
 M MWM555 O 5SSSS 
 
 000 
 i-l <M 
 
 010 
 T-( iH 
 
 bfe-^bbobbc >>>>>> ^^b^clb 
 
 II^I^II^III Issss^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 S 

 
 240 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Suia9d[j 
 
 JO 801(1 
 
 B jnoqy 
 
 | if 
 
 11 '- 
 
 1 O OJ O - = - I- 
 
 iOO 
 
 OQ 02 02 cc <1 OQ OQ 
 
 ! ^J WjiHll Htnii:|i:!iiii 
 
 , StSSfillS^ SS ESS^SlSS Se S 
 
 5<1^S llljMjIl! MffllloWilMM W 
 
 . 
 
 J 
 
 : : : : : 
 
 yiti^j 
 
 
 til -i; 
 
 ^lilel 13 !! 
 
 -. - ~~ ^ r , S *Q 
 
 liiii
 
 HISTORY OF BEET SUGAR. 241 
 
 A careful study of these reports will, we think, lead to the following 
 conclusions : 
 
 1 . The Chinese Sugar Cane will flourish well wherever Indian corn 
 will grow ; it endures cold better than corn, but will not ripen its seed 
 in a cold season, like the past, further north than about the latitude 
 of 40 to 41. 
 
 2. Under favorable circumstances, and in good seasons, it may ripen 
 its seed as far north as 43 to 44 . See Report No. 43. 
 
 3. It promises to be superior to Indian corn for soiling (feeding 
 green) in any locality where corn is now cultivated, and entirely aside 
 from its value as a saccharine plant, it will be an acquisition to our 
 forage crops. 
 
 4. It will produce good syrup from the immature canes, and this 
 may be done in ordinary seasons as far north as 45, and even in 
 colder latitudes. 
 
 5. The best syrup is made from the ripe or nearly ripened canes. 
 
 6. Unlike the Southern Sugar Cane, its saccharine properties are 
 not materially injured at once by a moderate frost. 
 
 7. The trials, so far, do not show that sugar can be readily made, 
 but limited experiments seem to indicate that this will yet be the 
 case. 
 
 8. If it should finally be found impossible to make crystalized sugar, 
 still an excellent syrup can be profitably extracted from its juices. 
 
 9. The most profitable results will be obtained where the culture 
 and manufacture is carried on upon an extensive scale. 
 
 10. The manufacture of syrup is as easy and simple as ordinary 
 maple sugar making. 
 
 11. Unless " sweetening " of all kinds shall be produced much more 
 abundantly at the South, and sold at the North much cheaper than 
 the average prices of the past year or two, the culture of the Chinese 
 Sugar Cane will prove highly remunerative in the Middle and North- 
 ern States. 
 
 When it was first attempted to grow the common sugar cane in 
 Louisiana, the same objections were urged as have been used in regard 
 11
 
 242 APPENDIX. 
 
 to these new sugar canes. As poor success met the first attempts at 
 sugar making, and, as was recently said by the Ntw York Tribune, in 
 an able editorial upon the Sorgho and Imphee : 
 
 It 'was then said that the cane juice would not granulate; that if 
 planters could make molasses they could not make sugar. The fault 
 was charged to the soil, to the climate, to anything and everything but 
 the real cause the inefficient process of manufacture. 
 
 In a great measure, we presume, the reason why sugar has not 
 been made of the juice of the Chinese cane will be discovered to be 
 because people did not possess proper machinery, and did not under- 
 stand the art ; for so much of an art is it, that many who are en- 
 faged in the business in Louisiana do not understand it, and have to 
 ire experienced sugar makers to conduct the operations of the boiling 
 
 It often happens upon the sugar estates that one man can make 
 
 Another striking case in point is found in the history of the manu- 
 facture of beet sugar in France. The presence of a crystalizable 
 sugar in this vegetable was discovered by a Prussian chemist named 
 Margraff, who addressed a communication to the Academy of Berlin, 
 in the year 1747, announcing his discovery, but it was received so 
 coldly and was deemed of so little practical value, that it was not 
 until 1797, after a lapse of fifty years, that Achard, another Prussian 
 chemist, invented a method of making beet sugar on a large scale and 
 at a moderate expense. His discovery was by turns applauded and 
 derided in France. It was, however, borne in mind and experimented 
 upon by a few enterprising persons in different localities, until, in 1812, 
 Napoleon issued his celebrated decree providing for the establishment 
 of chemical schools and large manufactories, for the production of beet 
 sugar.* 
 
 If, therefore, it required sixty-Jive years to fairly establish the 
 important beet culture and make it popular with the masses, surely 
 we have little cause to complain, that it is not until the end of the 
 third year of the cultivation of the sorgho in the United States that 
 
 * See " Child's Culture of the Beet."
 
 PROFESSOR HAYES' GLUCOSE THEORY. 243 
 
 its great capacities for the production of sugar have been de- 
 monstrated. 
 
 The public are well aware that Doctor Augustus A. Hayes, of 
 Boston, published his opinion that no cane sugar existed in the juice 
 of the sorgho, but that, if any dry sugar had been produced, it was 
 nothing more than glucose combined with mineral salts, and this opinion 
 was widely quoted by opponents to the sorgho culture. Dr. Hayes 
 having satisfied himself, as he alleges, of the nature of the sugar, laid 
 aside his samples of syrup and slips of pith, and paid no attention to 
 them for several months. At a subsequent time, however, on again 
 examining them, he discovered, to his surprise, that there had been 
 made in his vials of syrup and on the surface of his slips of dried pith, 
 a deposit of beautiful crystals of cane sugar, and having satisfied him- 
 self thoroughly, by chemical, microscopic and polariscopic experiment 
 that it was indeed veritable cane sugar, he addressed to me a letter, 
 in which he claims to have discovered a transformation of glucose into 
 cane sugar, a process hitherto unknown to chemists. The same facts 
 he presented to the Boston Society of Natural History at its session 
 in December last, and as the paper then read does not materially 
 differ from the communication to myself, I give the official report, as 
 furnished by the Recording Secretary : 
 
 In a paper communicated to this Society some time since, I alluded 
 to the fact, that the glucose of Sorghum cultivated in New England, 
 like fluid fruit sugar, passes to the condition of dry, or crystalline 
 fruit sugar. 
 
 The subsequent more careful investigation of this change led to the 
 observation that the action was continuous, proceeding indeed during 
 many months, and resulting finally in the p -eduction, from pure glucose, 
 of sugar, having the Jiiglier grade of a variety of beet root or cane 
 sugar. 
 
 In the account which follows, the experiments were made on the 
 glucose of that variety of sorghum which has dark purple seed cover- 
 ings, the variety generally cultivated in our Northern States. 
 
 When we extract the saccharine matter of the stalk of the sorghum, 
 either by expression or through the aid of water, and purify the solu- 
 tion by means of animal charcoal, we obtain glucose, holding in solu- 
 tion some salts of potash, lime, and soda. This glucose does not afford 
 crystals by evaporation in dessicated air, nor does alcohol, saturated 
 with cane sugar, leave undissolved any sugar. 

 
 244 APPENDIX. 
 
 The perfectly formed cells of the plant, triturated with animal char- 
 coal, afford to boiling alcohol the same substance. The dry glucose is 
 abundantly soluble in alcohol of 86 per cent., and the dense syrup of 
 the same dissolves without limit in it. After exposure in warm air, 
 crystalline concretions, resembling dry grape sugar, form in isolated 
 masses. Analysis shows a large proportion of saline matter, composed 
 of phosphoric acid, chlorine, sulphuric acid, acetic acid and potash, 
 soda, lime and oxide of iron. 
 
 This saline matter forms a compound with the glucose, and thus 
 makes up the crystalline grains which first appear in the dense syrup. 
 
 Those are constant results in treating the plant which has been 
 cultivated the two past seasons, and they present no remarkable feature 
 in comparison with those obtained on glucose from other sources. 
 
 After the lapse of several weeks, however, the pure glucose which 
 has been withdrawn from the foreign aggregates exhibits the production 
 of crystalline points, which becoming numerous, soon assume the forms 
 of regular crystals. 
 
 These crystals increase in volume, but while forming in the glucose 
 they present skeletons rather than solid crystals of pure substance, and 
 are often grouped. Crude syrup, remaining after the concentration of 
 the juice by rapid boiling, undergoes the same modifications and 
 crystallized sugar slowly separates from samples which originally did 
 not contain any. 
 
 Slips of the pith of the plant, which have been carefully examined 
 under the microscope without any trace of crystals being found, after 
 some months show their cells filled with voluminous dry crystals. 
 
 Repeated trials prove that the chemical change resulting in the pro- 
 duction of the crystals from glucose, is not dependant on the exposure 
 to air and loss of water, but it takes place when the syrup is kept in 
 closed bottles. 
 
 As the glucose is abundantly soluble in alcohol at 90 per cent., this 
 agent enables us to learn at any moment the production of sugar in a 
 sample ; the sugar when formed being nearly insoluble in cold alcohol. 
 Thus, when a certain number of crystals have formed, if we withdraw, 
 by solution in alcohol, the unchanged glucose, and after dissipating the 
 alcohol, allow it to repose, crystallization recommences in the portion 
 removed, and repetitions of this experiment may be made until, after 
 about ten months, small portions only of the unaltered glucose remain. 
 
 Although the evidence of the conversion of the glucose, step by step, 
 into sugar, afforded by the action of alcohol, is important, the observa- 
 tions here recorded are based upon experiments made in a similar 
 manner with the alkaline solution of tartrate of copper, and acidulated 
 alcohol saturated with cane sugar ; they leave no doubt that the normal 
 saccharine juice of the plant becomes, per se, converted into sugar, 
 forming regular crystals of large size:
 
 FEEDING STOCK WITH SORGHO. 245 
 
 These crystals, by solution in water, are easily purified, losing their 
 porous structure and becoming solid, transparent and colorless modifi- 
 cations of the rhombic prism from an aqueous solution. They are 
 always apparently more voluminous than the crystals of cane sugar 
 formed under like circumstances, but they have all the brilliancy of 
 cane sugar. 
 
 In chemical characters, the most pure crystals yet obtained show 
 diversity when compared with cane or palm sugar. 
 
 They are less soluble in water ; in sulphuric acid they do not exhibit 
 the same depth of coloration that cane sugar does. With the copper 
 test, a partial reduction takes place, under the same conditions where 
 cane sugar does not produce change on this agent. 
 
 The conclusion reached is, that this sugar, wholly unlike any 
 variety of glucose, or fruit sugar, belongs to a higher class, and pro- 
 bably will rank with beet sugar in most "of its characters. 
 
 The present is the first instance, within my knowledge, of the con- 
 version of any variety of glucose into a sugar of high grade, after its 
 extraction artificially. 
 
 In reply to this paper, Dr. Jackson expressed his belief that the 
 syrup experimented upon by Dr. Hayes was from unripe canes. He 
 claimed that the sugar of the ripe sorghum has the crystalline form 
 and all the physical and chemical properties of cane sugar, and can- 
 not be classed with any other. It exists, ready formed, in the cells 
 of the plant, and may be seen by aid of the microscope in them when 
 the plant is dried rapidly. It is obtained immediately on expression 
 of a few drops of the juice upon a plate of glass, on which perfect 
 crystals of cane sugar are seen by the microscope. 
 
 Whatever be the results of this scientific controversy, both gentle- 
 men agree that cane sugar is present in the plant, and their experience 
 is fully substantiated by the practical operations of Mr. Lovering and 
 others. 
 
 With these remarks in preface, I present to my readers the valuable 
 statement of Mr. Lovering : 
 
 FEEDING STOCK WITH SORGHO. 
 
 UPON Gov. Hammond's plantation I saw five hundred hogs and a 
 large number of cattle fed upon stalks of the imphees, which had 
 been withheld from sale because it had been planted in the vicinity of
 
 246 APPENDIX. 
 
 durra. The sanimals eat the stalks with great avidity, the hog 
 especially. When once they commence crunching them, they scarcely 
 raise their heads until their appetite is entirely satisfied. 
 
 F. H. Gordon, M. D., of Rome, Tenn., writes as follows : 
 
 " I made a few hundred gallons of syrup, one hundred and fifty gal- 
 lons good vinegar, two barrels of very good cider, and have five barrels 
 of wine which promises to be a fine article when it shall have age. 
 The cane will fatten hogs, mules, horses, and cattle, as rapidly as any 
 other food ; in this lies its greatest value. I have slaughtered a por- 
 tion of my hogs fattened on the cane, and find the meat and lard in all 
 respects just like that of corn fed hogs, except that most persons who 
 have eaten of it pronounce the meat sweeter than corn fattened meat." 
 
 FEEDING HOGS. 
 
 G. D. Harmon, of Utica, Miss., writes to the Southern Cultivator, 
 that he took two shoats, weighed them, September 1st, No. 1 weighed 
 seventy-six pounds. He was fed on as much corn as he would eat, 
 and had the slops from the kitchen. No. 2 weighed seventy-three 
 pounds, and was fed exclusively on sorgho, canes and seed. The ex- 
 periment was continued for three weeks, and the result was : No. 1 
 weighed one hundred and fifteen pounds, and No. 2 one hundred and 
 ten pounds ; so that the simple cane and seed were nearly equal in 
 nutritive value to the swill from the house and an unlimited supply of 
 corn. 
 
 ITS EFFECTS ON MILK. 
 
 The following result of feeding a milch cow partially upon Chinese 
 sugar cane (from the Providence Journal), will be read with interest. 
 Lady Tempest, half Durham cow, was in pasture on the 22d September, 
 and yielded forty-one pounds of milk. On the evening of that day, gave 
 her ten short stalks of suckers of Sorgho, which, if cut up, would fill 
 half a bushel. After this, until the 28th, gave her same amount of 
 sorgho, night and morning, and kept her in same pasture. Yield of 
 milk : on 23d, forty-two and a half pounds ; 24th, forty-seven pounds ; 
 25th, forty-seven and three-fourth pounds ; 26th, forty-nine pounds ; 
 27th, fifty-one and a half pounds ; 28th, fifty and a half pounds. The 
 pasture was affected by no circumstance that would tend to increase
 
 FEEDING STOCK WITH SORGHO. 247 
 
 the feed from it during this time. The weather uniformly pleasant, 
 except the 23d, which was rainy, and without frost affecting the feed. 
 
 At an agricultural meeting at Indianapolis, Mr. Kaab, of Ohio 
 County, spoke of having used the blades and tops with success for 
 feeding to milch cows. Their yield of milk had been increased one- 
 fifth, and the butter was more yellow. 
 
 Mr. W. Dickson, of Oxford, Ga., has made experiments in stock 
 feeding. He says that on one acre, besides three hundred gallons of 
 syrup, he can gather fifty bushels of seed, which is good for hogs, or 
 can be ground into a dark but good flour. His family have used con- 
 siderable quantities for making batter cakes, and prefer the flour for 
 that purpose to buckwheat or wheat flour, it being softer and richer, 
 and containing, he thinks, more oil and gluten than the others. Mr. 
 Dickson says that the cane grown upon an acre of land is worth more 
 to feed hogs than the produce of the same land in corn, besides the 
 crop of seed. 
 
 A foolish opinion was at one time, during the past season, promul- 
 gated, that the seed of the sorgho was poisonous, and would destroy 
 animals if continuously fed to them. An application having been 
 made to Mr. Browne, of the Patent Office, for his opinion on the sub- 
 ject, he stated as follows : 
 
 " In answer to the inquiry as to the poisonous character of the 
 Chinese sugar cane, when eaten by animals, I would inform you, not 
 only from the authority of numerous persons who are in communica- 
 tion with this office, but from my own personal knowledge, that any 
 conjecture or statement to that effect is wholly unfounded. 
 
 " I have seen cattle, horses, poultry, and swine fed upon it freely, both 
 in an unripe and mature state, without the slightest symptoms of 
 injury or disease ; and I have witnessed for the last month several 
 tame pigeons of this city constantly in the habit of feeding upon the 
 seeds of some plants growing in the yard adjoining my residence, ap- 
 parently with impunity a fact that would also seem to be confirmed 
 by M. Vilmorin, of Paris, who says that the bones of poultry which 
 had continuously eaten the sorgho seed were colored red from the dye 
 stuff in their pellicles. 
 
 " I would further remark, that Mr. A. Marschalk, editor of the Belton 
 (Texas) Independent, has recently made some " excellent bread " from 
 flour ground from the seed of the Chinese sugar cane, which had a
 
 248 APPENDIX. 
 
 deep pink color imparted to it from the small particles of the pellicles 
 or hulls which the bolting cloth did not separate. 
 
 " Here there is positive evidence that the entire seed, including the 
 pellicle, has not only been devoured by poultry and other animals, but 
 has been employed as human food, so far as is known, without any 
 disagreeable effect." 
 
 Mr. H. A. Terry, of Crescent City, Iowa, says in Moore's Rural 
 New Yorker : 
 
 " As a forage crop, the Chinese cane has no equal ; our cattle eat it 
 in preference to corn or any thing else that we grow, and I have good 
 reason to believe that it contains a greater amount of nutriment than 
 corn fodder, or the best quality of hay. I find that cattle eat the 
 heads of seed with avidity, and I am of opinion that it would pay 
 well to raise it for the seed, even were the stalks worthless. I had 
 many canes which measured sixteen feet in height, and they were 
 planted much closer together than corn will bear to be planted at 
 that." 
 
 Geo. W. Kendall, who owns a ranch in Texas, and who has been 
 very successful in raising the Chinese sugar cane, writes to the New 
 Orleans Picayune as follows : 
 
 " Many of my friends in this section are sanguine that this new 
 grain or plant will drive all others out of the ground, or that it will 
 at least effect a perfect revolution in the way of farming in Western 
 Texas. They are saving the seed to plant for bread, and they are 
 making syrup and sugar of the juice of the stalk ; they are feeding it 
 out as green fodder, and saving it for dry. No part of it is wasted ; 
 cattle, horses, sheep and hogs eat it clean, from the ground upwards, 
 when the stalk is ripe, and gain strength and grow fat upon it. An 
 immense quantity will be planted next year. " 
 
 SOEGHO PAPEE. 
 
 Experiments for the manufacture of paper from the bagasse of the 
 sorgho have been made by the Hon. Jas. F. C. Hyde, of Mass., which 
 have resulted to his satisfaction. In answer to an inquiry by myself. 
 he sends the following : 
 
 NEWTON CENTRE, MASS., Dec. 22d, 1857. 
 " DEAB SIR 
 
 " Yours of the 18th has just come to hand. In regard to the man- 
 ufacture of paper from the bagasse of the sorgho, I would say, that
 
 SORGHO PAPER. ' 249 
 
 I expended sixty dollars cash to have the experiment tried, and I am 
 satisfied that it will pay. My paper maker says the waste or bagasse 
 will be worth $15 to $16 per ton for that purpose. I had about 
 700 Ibs. of paper made, which is worth about $35. You may ask 
 how it is that I got but $35 worth of paper when I paid $60 for the 
 work, &c. The fact is, that it was a new material, and they knew 
 not how to proceed with it. There were many unforeseen difficulties 
 to contend with, such as an improper engine to beat it with ; running 
 it off into the stuff box so thin that it would not run into paper, be- 
 cause there was so much water with the pulp, etc. Besides this, the 
 paper machine which you know is a very nicely adjusted machine, 
 and requires that everything should run smoothly or it will not run 
 at all did not work well, it being adjusted for another sort of paper. 
 The difficulties were almost without number. We tried boiling in 
 lime and soda ash as they boil other paper stock before beating it 
 but it had the effect the lime to harden rather than soften ; we tried 
 soda ash and potash, and this worked better ; we tried some without 
 bleaching powders, and some with, and that without yielded the 
 whitest paper. The bleaching powders had a different effect upon 
 this stock from any other. My experience thus far has taught me 
 that the pith of the bagasse is all waste, and only in the way, as it has 
 to be all washed out ; that the stock should be boiled in some sub- 
 stance perhaps soda ash and potash are the best that will soften it ; 
 that it should be beaten into pulp with a dull engine, and mashed or 
 drawn out rather than cut, to get rid of that strawy appearance in the 
 paper. Some other stock should be used with it such as manilla 
 hemp or gunny cloth, or other hard stock. It is of no use to employ 
 bleaching powders, such as are used to whiten other paper stock, in 
 the manufacture of paper from the sorgho, as it is only loss, the stock 
 being whiter without than with the powders. I think it would be 
 more profitable to make the bagasse into paper board than paper. 
 The bagasse is worth more in our neighborhood at least /or paper 
 than for any other purpose. I have stacked mine, and next summer 
 shall have it all made up, I think, into paper board. The first five 
 days I hired the paper mill scarcely a pound of paper was made, so 
 11*
 
 250 APPENDIX. 
 
 numerous were the troubles, but the sixth day we run off 700 Ibs. The 
 paper requires but little sizing, as there is a good deal in the waste. 
 " Tours respectfully, 
 
 "JAMES F. C. HYDE." 
 
 Mr. Hyde was good enough to send me at the same time several 
 specimens of his paper. They are all coarse wrapping papers, strong 
 in one direction, but too brittle for hard usage. They are satisfactory 
 so far as they go, but by no means as good in quality as specimens in 
 my possession, made by Dr. Sicard, of Marseilles, and M. Duret of 
 Paris. 
 
 Mr. P. O'Reilley, of Providence, E. I., has also made experiments 
 in this department of sorgho culture, and with fair success. He has 
 sent me a sample of fibre bleached and ready for the mill, together 
 with two specimens of the white paper made by him in a rude way. 
 The fibre is strong and capable of being employed either for making 
 paper or coarse textile fabrics. The method employed to produce it 
 is thus described in the Scientific American : 
 
 " It was produced by first steeping the cane, like flax, in water for 
 about six days to rot it ; then it was boiled in a keir among a caustic 
 lye of five degrees' strength (Beaume) for half an hour, but allowed to 
 steep in the same liquor maintained at 80 Fahr. for twelve hours 
 longer. After this, it was taken out and washed, then steeped in warm 
 liquor of chloride of lime for ten hours ; then washed again, and finally 
 treated with a liquor of Eothes' anti-chlorine, after which it was dried 
 in the sun. From one hundred pounds of the cane thus treated, sixty-two 
 pounds of fibre were secured. As this process for obtaining fibre from 
 the sorgho cane appears to be as cheap as that which straw undergoes 
 to form it into pulp, this fibre may be a good substitute for that of 
 straw, and we think a stronger wrapping paper may be made from it. 
 It is, at least, worth a trial for this purpose.
 
 BOTANICAL RANK OF SORGHO AND IMPHEE. 251 
 
 REPORT 
 
 ON THE 
 
 BOTANICAL BANK OP THE SOKGHO AND IMPHEE- 
 
 READ BEFORE THE BOSTON SOCIETY OP NATURAL HISTORY, 
 By CHAKLES J. SPRAGTTE, BotaMioal Curator of the Society. 
 
 DR. HAYES has placed in my hands a suite of specimens of the 
 Sorgho Sucre, Imphee, Durra, and Broom Corn, for examination, at the 
 request of Mr. H. S. Olcott, of Mount Vernon, Westchester county, 
 New York, who presents them to the Society. The points of inter- 
 est which Mr. Olcott desires to have examined are these : whether 
 these plants are or not of the same species, whether they will hy- 
 bridize, and whether they are likely to lose their peculiarities by 
 careless planting and management. Some varieties possess more of 
 the saccharine secretion than others. Is this excess a specific pecu- 
 liarity or the result of varied cultivation of the same species in diiferent 
 localities ? Will these peculiarities continue fixed, or will the varieties 
 lose their distinctness when grown in company with one another? 
 The specimens consist of portions of the panicles of eighteen varieties 
 of Zulu Kaffir Imphee, grown in South Carolina, on the plantation of 
 Gov. Hammond, from seeds ripened in France, and received from Mr. 
 Leonard Wray. These specimens were gathered in a field where they 
 grew promiscuously, by Mr. Olcott himself, in company with Mr 
 Wray, who identified the varieties, and furnished the Kaffir names. 
 
 There are four specimens of Durra, the seeds of which were received 
 from France in the same package with the Impliee, and planted in the 
 same field. Also four specimens of Durra, Brown corn, and their 
 hybrids with sorgho sucre, grown by Mr. Olcott, in Westchester. I 
 have added to these four specimens of Imphee grown in the District 
 of Columbia, and presented to the society by Dr. Jackson, that the 
 suite of specimens may be yet more full. My remarks upon these 
 specimens will be confined to the fruit alone, as I have not seen the
 
 252 APPENDIX. 
 
 growing plants, and cannot therefore speak of the differences which 
 may exist in their foliage and port. 
 
 Steudel enumerates, in his synopsis of the grasses, the following al- 
 lied species of the Andropogon, growing in Asia and Africa. A. 
 Sorghum, Auct. A. Rubens, Willd. A. Subglabrescus, Steud. A. 
 Saccharatus, L., (sub Holcus). A. Verticilliflorus, Steud. A. Niger 
 Kunth. A. Cernuus, Roxb. A. Bicolor, Roxb., and he implies that 
 most of these may be varieties of the Andropogon Sorghum. Besides 
 these is A. Drummondii, Nees, from New Orleans. These so called 
 species are, in all probability, founded OH permanent varieties of the 
 grass which has been grown for its grain and foliage for centuries in 
 the East Indies and Africa. It was placed first in the genus Holcus, 
 by Linn., but has been separated from it, and ranked iu that of An- 
 dropogc.n. It is still kept there by some of the best botanists of the 
 day, but by others it is placed in that of Sorghum, a genus separated 
 from Andropogon, mainly from its paniculate inflorescence and cori- 
 aceous glumes. The species named for Drummond, by Nees, is prob- 
 ably a form of the same plant, which had established itself at New 
 Orleans. An authentic specimen in Dr. Gray's herbarium does not 
 appreciably differ from some of the varieties grown in South Carolina. 
 
 The thirty-one specimens laid before you are thought to represent 
 four species and many varieties. The seeds came from France, but the 
 plants furnishing them originally came from widely separated localities. 
 The differences which they exhibit are in the color, shape and hairi- 
 ness of the glumes ; the color, shape and prpminence of the corn beyond 
 the glumes ; and the open or compact growth of the panicle. If these 
 differences were constantly exhibited together, if the difference in 
 shape were always attended by a difference of color, and that color 
 always accompanied by the same hairiness and exsertion of corn, there 
 would be strong ground to establish specific differences. But such is 
 not the case. The specimens placed side by side exhibit a complete 
 gradation between the extremes of the series. Those which vary most 
 in shape are similar in color. Those which differ in color are iden- 
 tical in shape. The hairiness and the degree of exsertion are coex- 
 istent with the extremes of shape and color.
 
 BOTANICAL BANK OF SORGHO AND IMPHEE 253 
 
 There are four which are especially interesting. Mr. Olcott grew 
 Broom Corn and Durra in rows, on each side of Sorgho Sucre. The 
 result was a plant partaking equally of the characteristics of the 
 parents on each side. The eighteen varieties of Imphees, thought to be 
 so distinct that different native names have been given them, exhibit 
 every intermediate form imaginable. Some glumes are nearly white ; 
 some are specked with brown and black ; some are all brown ; others 
 are all black. Some have ovate pointed glumes of every hue ; others 
 have obtuse glumes, with a broad scarious point or rounded glumes 
 with no point, through the same series of color. The corns are either 
 enclosed or exserted through the whole series, irrespective of color or 
 form. Some of the varieties of Imphee present a peculiar appearance 
 from the persistence and prominence of the sterile spikelets, some dif- 
 fering in no other respects have these scarce visible, and some have 
 them not at all. Color and hairiness are among the least reliable of 
 botanical characters, and should have but little weight in plants so 
 closely allied, and the other differences are exhibited almost as prom- 
 inently in different panicles of the same acknowledged variety. 
 
 The question of hybridity of species of plants, has lately received 
 close and careful attention. M. Charles Naudin has lately made a 
 series of interesting experiments on the cultivated pumpkins and 
 squashes. He has arrived at the conclusion that nearly all those grown 
 in our gardens may be referred to one single species. He has par- 
 ticularly examined the changes which artificial impregnation will 
 produce. We often hear that cucurbitaceous plants should not be 
 grown together, or they will injure each other. This gives rise to the 
 quastion whether the fruit of the same season can acquire another's 
 peculiarities without first having grown from the seed, the result of 
 such impregnation. Such has proved to be the case. The influence 
 of the pollen on the fruit of the same year is such as to communicate 
 to it the characteristics of the plant furnishing the pollen. But M. 
 Naudin finds that true species undoubtedly distinct can scarce be made 
 to hybridize, and that extensive and ready hybridization takes place only 
 among varieties of one species. Dr. Gray has shown me recently an 
 ear of corn exhibiting a hybridation more or less common. It was
 
 254 APPENDIX. 
 
 sweet corn, in which kernels of hard, smooth yellow corn were irregu- 
 larly distributed with the white wrinkled kernels of the sweet. Here 
 the mere impregnation of the germ of white corn by the pollen of the 
 yellow had been sufficient to convert those grains which it touched 
 into perfect yellow corn. The sports and varieties of corn have a 
 strong bearing upon the question of the specific identity of these 
 varieties of Sorghum ; though some botanists have made species out of 
 the varieties of Indian corn, it is generally believed that these are all 
 the results of cultivation on one species. One peculiarity of one form 
 claims attention here. The plant has been found growing, apparently 
 wild, with the grain entirely covered by the glumes which project far 
 beyond it ; but it is said, that after a little cultivation, these glumes 
 disappear, or become so abbreviated, as to allow the grain to be en- 
 tirely uncovered, as in our garden growths. This same difference is 
 to be seen in the varieties of Sorghum under consideration. The 
 Durra most exhibits this abbreviation of glume and prominence of 
 grain, and this variety is that which is known to have been longest 
 under cultivation. 
 
 The question then arises, whether the plants would so freely hybrid- 
 ize and exchange peculiarities were they of different species ? Does 
 not this hybridity point to identity ? We do not see other grasses 
 which grow broadcast in our fields, hybridizing naturally and so per- 
 fectly as to become diversified in an inextricable series of graduated 
 forms. The Poos, Panicums and Festucas which abound in our fields 
 and meadows, do not interchange their specific peculiarities, but grow, 
 side by side, and maintain their identity. But the Sorgho is no sooner 
 placed side by side with Broom Corn and Durra, than the three hy- 
 bridize and produce an offspring combining the peculiarities of ah 1 . 
 
 The Sorghum Yulgare has been cultivated for untold centuries as a 
 forage plant and food for animals and man. The question of its pro- 
 duction of syrup and sugar is by no means a recent one. Experiments 
 were made upon it more than half a century ago in Europe, and one 
 of its names arose from the saccharine secretion of its culm. Its na- 
 tive country is unknown, but it is supposed to have originated in the 
 some places where it has been so long cultivated. Tts grains have
 
 BOTANICAL RANK OF bOliGHO AND IMPHEE. 255 
 
 been found in Egyptian sarcophagi, and these are said to have pro- 
 duced plants identical with the modern Durra or Juari. After this 
 long cultivation in all kinds of soil and climate, and under such varied 
 treatment, it would be strange indeed if it did not exhibit a wide de- 
 parture from its normal type. If the Indian Corn has become so 
 astonishingly changed in a shorter period of time, we may well under- 
 stand that the Sorghum should wander into all the varieties upon which 
 botanists have sought to found distinct species. 
 
 I am induced to believe, therefore, that Broom Corn, Sorgho sucre, 
 Imphee and Durra are varieties of one primitive species, the Andropo- 
 gon Sorghum of authors, or allowing the genus Sorghum to stand, 
 SORGHUM VULGAKE. 
 
 The establishment of this fact will answer many of the questions 
 which have been asked regarding its economic value. If they are one 
 species, they will, of course hybridize and exchange whatever proper- 
 ties they possess. The saccharine secretions of one variety will be 
 diminished by hybridation with another not possessed of an equal 
 amouut, and the saccharine qualities peculiar to one may be lost by 
 planting in a soil 01? climate differing from that which has brought 
 them forth in an unusual quantity. If their cultivation as a forage 
 crop, or a syrup and sugar producing plant, shall prove profitable, the 
 use of the grain, in the form of flour, as well as food for cattle and 
 poultry, may considerably diminish the cost of cultivation. But the 
 question is yet to be decided whether other crops may not prove far 
 more profitable upon the same soil.
 
 J. S. LOVERIM'S EXPERIMENTS. 
 
 A DETAILED ACCOUNT of Experiments and Observations upon the Sor- 
 ghum Saccharatum, or Chinese Sugar Cane, made with the view of 
 determining its value as a sugar-producing plant, from September' 
 28, to December 20, 1857, at Oakhill, Philadelphia County, Pa. By 
 JOSEPH S. LOVERING. 
 
 THE introduction of this plant into the United States, and the hope 
 of producing sugar from it at the North, profitably, have excited such 
 universal interest, that it has this year been planted in almost every 
 State in the Union ; and as the season has advanced, the opinions 
 early expressed by many intelligent and scientific experimentalists, 
 that it contains no crystallizable sugar, have apparently been confirmed 
 by later trials. A few crystals, it is true, have been obtained in one 
 or two instances, but all hope of producing sugar from it profitably 
 seems to have been abandoned. 
 
 My object in making the following experiments has been to throw 
 what light I could upon this important question, and, in the event of 
 the result proving favorable, to give such a formula as would enable 
 the uninitiated to proceed with confidence of success. They have 
 been pursued without any attempt at extraordinary production, 
 either in the cultivation of the cane or the development of its proper- 
 ties ; on the contrary, the experiments were made upon small quanti- 
 ties, under many disadvantages that would not occur in large opera- 
 tions, and consequently with results less favorable. 
 
 The series being completed, perhaps the best method of communi- 
 cating the results and imparting the knowledge obtained to the public, 
 will be by giving the following extracts from my notes, made as the 
 work proceeded. They will show the progress of the development of 
 the sugar in the stalk, and its decline, with many other interesting 
 facts. 
 
 EXTRACTS. 
 
 On the 10th of May I planted about half an acre, on upland of good 
 quality, such as would yield, in ordinary seasons, fifty to sixty bushels 
 Indian corn to the acre. The rows four feet apart, and the plants in- 
 tended to be six inches apart in the rows, but which, on taking off the
 
 LOVERING'S EXPEBIMENTS. 257 
 
 crop, proved to be a little over seven inches apart. When the canes 
 were about eighteen inches in height, I had the suckers removed. 
 During the month of June I passed the hoe-harrow through it twice, a 
 man following with the hand-hoe, as in the case of Indian corn. It 
 was then left to take care of itself. It grew rapidly and evenly, and 
 attained the height of twelve to fourteen feet. 
 
 My apparatus and utensils for conducting the experiments consisted 
 of the following, viz. : 
 
 A pair of iron rollers, seven inches diameter and twelve inches long, 
 set in a frame one eighth of an inch apart, with spout to catch and 
 collect the juice, and a crank turned by hand ; a few sugar moulds 
 and pots ; some ivory black or animal carbon ; two filters, made of 
 common bed ticking, in the shape of an elongated pudding bag ; a 
 thermometer, Beaume's Pese-Sirop or saccharometer, and a polariscope. 
 All the other utensils I obtained from the kitchen, viz. ; a copper 
 kettle of ten gallons capacity, a ladle, some tin pans, bowls, buckets, 
 &c., to contain the juice. 
 
 FIEST POLARIS COPIC OBSERVATION. 
 
 Sept. 28. 
 
 Temperature, Qf two canes took the first joints above the stay 
 
 noon, 71 i . 
 
 Wind S. W. roots 
 
 Clear. 
 1st joint, 9 inches long, weighed - - - - - - 118.854 grammes. 
 
 2d " 8 " " " .-.-.-- 93.742 " 
 
 Weight of 1st joints of two canes, 212.596 " 
 
 After passing these three times through the rollers, the bagasse 
 
 weighed 64.380 " 
 
 Leaving, as weight of juice, (69.T per cent,) - - - - 148.216 " 
 Measured the juice, and found 135 fluid grammes specific gravity, 1 068 
 
 After precipitation by basic acetate of lead, of a voluminous green 
 colored flocculent substance, it filtered with difficulty, then completed 
 the decolorization by passing it through animal carbon, and found by 
 first observation in polariscope, 
 
 A deflection of the ray, right, 27 ) 7 . , . 
 
 Add 10 per cent, for dilution by precipitant 2.7 ) 
 
 After inversion by H.C1. left 12.0 ) + Arnn Ar.tnra 97 
 
 Add 10 per cent, as above, 1.2 f temperai ,27, 
 
 Sum of inversion,
 
 258 APPENDIX. 
 
 This sum of inversion, (42. 9) at temperature 27, indicates 54.35 
 grammes of pure dry sugar to the litre of juice, and by reference to 
 past results it is found that 204.24 grammes of sugar per litre, equal 
 18.82 grammes per 100, or 18.82 per cent. Then, as 204.24 : 18.82 
 :: 54.35 : 5.008 per cent, of sugar in the juice, and as 100 : 5.008 :: 
 69.7 : 3.49 per cent, of sugar in the cane. A second observation in 
 polariscope, of the juice from the two joints of the same canes next 
 above these, indicated 5.57 per cent, of sugar in the juice, proving them 
 to be richer than those nearer the ground. 
 
 FIEST PRACTICAL EXPERIMENT. 
 
 Sept. so. The f ac t of the presence of crystallizable sugar in the 
 
 40, M. 66. cane being established, I proceeded to cut and grind 
 twenty feet of a row, and passed the thirty canes which it produced 
 three times through the rollers ; about one fourth of the seed had 
 changed to a dark glistening brown color, but was still milky ; the 
 remainder was quite green ; ground six to eight of the lower joints, 
 which together yielded three and a half .gallons of juice, weighing 9 
 Beaume ; neutralized the free acid by adding milk of lime ; clarified 
 with eggs and boiled it down to 240 Fahrenheit. 
 
 This first experiment looked discouraging and unpromising at every 
 step ; its product was a very dark, thick, viscid mass, apparently a 
 caput mortuum ; it stood six days without the sign of a crystal, when 
 it was placed over a flue and kept warm four days longer, when I 
 found a pretty good crop of soft crystals, the whole very similar to the 
 Melada," obtained from Cuba, but of darker color. 
 
 SECOND EXPERIMENT. 
 
 Oct. 13, About two weeks having elapsed since the first experi- 
 
 T6 50^ M T2 H * meQ t> the weather in the interim having been quite warm, 
 8. E. cloudy, temperature at 8 A. M. 40 to 52, and at noon 66 to 
 75 Fahrenheit ; and about one half the seed being ripe, I determined 
 to try it again, but not being very sanguine of success, no polariscopic 
 observation was taken. 
 
 Cut and ground fifty feet of a row, which produced eighty-eight 
 canes, and yielded eight gallons of juice, weighing 10 Beaume (one
 
 LOVERING'S EXPERIMENTS. 259 
 
 degree more than the previous cutting), from the six and seven lower 
 joints ; juice slightly acid . First clarification four and three quarter 
 gallons, neutralized with three tablespoonsful of milk of lime, stirred in 
 one pound fine bone black, and three eggs, and placed it over a slow 
 fire; at 215 Fahrenheit took off a very dense, thick, green scum-, 
 when at 162 Fahrenheit it marked 1k Beaume. 
 
 A second parcel of juice from this grinding (three and a quarter 
 gallons) was treated in the same manner, and set aside, both having 
 been first boiled down to 22 Beaume. 
 
 Oct. 14, Cut and ground fifty feet ; eighty-one canes, produced 
 
 54 m n'oon A Vo' seven and a quarter gallons juice, 10 Beaume, which 
 N. w. clear. was treated as above, except that the eggs were 
 omitted. 
 
 Temp. 8 A. M. Cut and ground fifty feet, produced eight and a 
 N. ' E.heavy quarter gallons juice, weighing 10 Beaume. 
 
 rain. 
 
 Ten? C Y A M ^ ut an< * g roun d fi% feet > eighty-six canes, eight and 
 46, noon 60"! three eighths gallons, 10 Beaume. 
 
 N. W. stormy. 
 
 The whole of the foregoing four parcels were at this stage of the pro- 
 cess concentrated to 22 Beaume, and set aside until I had completed 
 the series on the 21st October ; they were then collected together, and 
 again clarified with eggs, and a second scum taken off; they were 
 then again placed over the fire, and when at the temperature of 225 
 Fahrenheit, clear lime water in small quantities was added to coagulate 
 the vegetable albumen, which is not disengaged at a lower temperature, 
 but which is then observed as a whitish scum, very tenacious and 
 glutinous, and is very detrimental to crystallization. After the vari- 
 ous delays, heatings and re-heatings consequent on my limited means 
 of working, (the great disadvantage of which, those acquainted with 
 the subject only can appreciate,) I commenced filtering the whole, but 
 found it so ropy and glutinous that it would not pass through ; diluted 
 it to 10 Beaume, when it came through tolerably bright ; then passed 
 it through five feet of animal black ; it parted with its coloring .matter 
 very freely.
 
 260 APPENDIX. 
 
 Temp VA M Divided the product into three parts, and boiled it as 
 
 
 
 First part to 230 Fahrenheit. This stood an hour without 
 crystallizing ; found it too low, although the thumb and finger proof 
 indicated otherwise. 
 
 Second part to 246 Fahrenheit ; which was added to the first, and 
 in a few minutes crystals began to appear. 
 
 Third part to 238 ; being the mean of the other two. On finishing 
 this, the two preceding had formed a thick, opaque mass of good 
 
 crystals. 
 
 Filled one mould, weight 20 Ibs. 
 Weight of mould, - - 4J 
 
 - net weight 15} Ibs. 
 
 Filled one mould, - 14* Ibs. 
 
 Uo ^ ', ; -3 - . __ibs. 
 
 Total net weight, - - - - 25} Ibs. 
 
 and next morning set them on pots to drain. Also boiled down the 
 juice from the tops, four and three quarters gallons, which produced 
 with the scum thirteen and a half pounds molasses. 
 
 Knocked out the proceeds of this experiment with the 
 
 8 Vctear 60 ' 1 f n wing results, viz. : 
 
 1 mould, gross weight, 20 Ibs. 
 tare, 4J " 
 net weight 15} 
 weight of molasses, 8} 
 
 1 " gross weight, 14* Ibs, 
 
 ;lbs. 
 Sugar. Molasses 
 net weight 7 Ibs. 8} Ibs. 
 
 net weight 10 Ibs. 
 weight of molasses, 5* 
 
 net weight 4i Ibs. 5Hbs. 
 
 Add molasses made from the tops, as above, 13* Ibs. 
 
 Total weight of product of two hundred feet of a row, Ibs. 11.50 27.25 
 
 Fifty rows, four feet apart and two hundred and eighteen 
 
 leet long, constitute an acre, and two hundred feet 
 
 of a row is less than one fiftieth part of an acre by 
 
 eighteen feet, therefore add pro rata, 1.08 2.45 
 
 Product of one fiftieth part of an acre in Ibs. 12.53 29.70 
 
 Multiply by 50 50 
 
 Product of an acre in Ibs. 625.50 1485.00 
 
 A gallon of molasses weighs twelve pounds, therefore, divide 1485 
 by 12, and we have, gallons, 123.75. 
 
 For the acre 625J pounds sugar, and 123f gallons molasses, pro-
 
 LOVERINGS EXPERIMENTS.. 261 
 
 duced from 18,148 canes, yielding 1,737 gallons juice, weighing nine 
 pounds per gallon, or 15,633 pounds, being four per cent, of sugar 
 and 9.50 per cent, of molasses, or 13.50 per cent, together. 
 
 This sugar is of a yellowish brown color, about as dry as, and about 
 the color of second quality Cuba sugar, such as is used by refiners. 
 (See sample No. 2.) 
 
 THIED EXPERIMENT. 
 
 Oct. 23, The foregoing favorable progress induced me to make 
 
 ^se^it 55 M ' an th er tr i a l on a larger scale. The weather looked 
 F ggy- threatening, and as a precaution, I cut five hundred feet 
 
 of canes, and stored it in the barn, to be used in quantities conforming 
 to my means of working. 
 
 Nearly a month having elapsed since the first polariscopic observation 
 was taken, and two weeks since the second practical experiment, having 
 had several heavy white frosts, and three nights of ice, one eighth to 
 three sixteenths of an inch in thickness, I concluded to have another 
 examination by polarized light, to see the effect of these changes, when 
 I was gratified to find the following results ; juice weighing full 10 
 Beaume : 
 3? teSertn? Cation, } 60.5 right 
 
 nt as above, 0.2 ) 
 
 Sum of inversion, 62.T 
 
 This sum of inversion, (62.7,) at temperature 25, indicated 79.06 
 grammes of sugar per litre of juice ; then, 
 As 204.24 : 18.82 :: 79.06 : 7.29 per cent, of sugar in the juice. 
 
 Oct. 24, Feet . Canes . Galls, juice. 
 
 54 e n'oon A 60 I ! G roun d 100 160 18f 10 B 
 
 Fog and rain. 
 
 Oct. 26, 
 
 Temp. 50-60. " 100 159 18* 10* B. 
 
 Heavy rain. 
 
 Oct. 27, 
 
 Temp.46'-52. 100 166 18 1-16 10 B. 
 
 Very stormy. 
 
 Oct. 23, 
 
 Temp. 40-52. " 100 149 16* 10 B. 
 
 Cloudy, N. W. 
 
 Temp. 43-48. 100 148 14J 
 
 Clear, N. E.
 
 262 APPENDIX. 
 
 These several parcels were clarified like the second experiment, 
 boiled to 15 and 18 Beaume, and set aside till November 2d, when 
 I found all but the last day's work had changed to a thick, liver-like 
 mass, resembling good soft soap, very acid, and totally ruined. The 
 last parcel, having stood a much shorter time than the rest, was but 
 partially affected. It was boiled to proof, and crystallized very well. 
 
 I regret this misfortune less for the trouble it cost me than for the 
 failure of the experiment, for it worked beautifully in the first stages, 
 and the last grinding crystallized freely. The juice weighed heavier 
 than previous or subsequent parcels, and would probably have pro- 
 duced better results. It taught me, however, the danger of delay, and 
 also that no injury had been sustained by the juice so long as the 
 canes remained unground, the last parcel having crystallized perfectly. 
 
 FOURTH EXPERIMENT. 
 
 Tenf 38-5o Since the 28th October ' the weather has been mild 
 N. E. clear. and foggy, with heavy rains ; temperature varying from 
 48 to 60. A very decidedly increased development of sugar in the 
 juice has been ascertained, viz. : 7.29 per cent., instead of five per 
 cent., and I have gained some experience ; so, instead of allowing the 
 syrup to remain from four to twelve days, still containing a great por- 
 tion of its fermentable impurities, gradually undergoing decomposition 
 and depreciation, I remedy this evil to some extent, as will be seen. I 
 also dispense with the fine ivory black and the filtering, thus simplify- 
 ing the process. 
 
 No ^- 2. Cut and ground fifty-eight feet of a row, one hundred 
 
 N. E. dear. ' canes, the upper portions of the stalks turning yellow, 
 leaves dead and dry ; ground six and seven of the lower joints, pro- 
 duced ten gallons juice, weighing 10 Beaume, much less acid than 
 previous samples, and barely changing litmus paper, neutralized with 
 milk of lime, and clarified at once perfectly with eggs, passed it imme- 
 diately through three and a half feet black, and boiled it to 234 
 Fahrenheit ; after standing an hour the crystals were large and sharp, 
 but not very abundant till morning, it being boiled too low.
 
 LOVERING'S EXPERIMENTS. 263 
 
 Cut and ground fifty-eight feet, one hundred canes, 
 ice. ' ' nine and fifteen sixteenths gallons, 10 Beaume, rather 
 more acid than the last, clarified it fully as above, passed it through 
 five feet black, and set it aside, as it is clear and bright, and contains 
 no feculent matter. 
 
 Ten?34.l62 Cut and ground fifty-eight feet, ninety-four canes, nine 
 s. ffi ' ' and three quarter gallons, 10 Beaume, treated as above, 
 and set it aside. 
 
 Tem r 5ol62 Weather changing, cut and ground fifty-eight feet, 
 s. cloudy. ninety-five canes, nine and five eighths gallons, 10 
 Beaume, treated as above ; also ground the tops of all the above 232 
 feet, which produced four gallons, two quarts, and three half pints of 
 juice, weighing 12 Beaume, more acid than the lower joints, treated 
 it the same, boiled it "to 238 Fahrenheit, and set it aside. In the 
 morning I found a good crop of crystals, but the mass thick and 
 viscid, added three tablespoonfuls clear lime water, heated it to 
 enable me to pour it into a mould ; gross weight nine and a half 
 pounds, tare four and a half pounds, net five pounds. On the 13th 
 knocked it out, and had three pounds good brown sugar, and two 
 pounds molasses. 
 
 Tom? 54^66 Boiled one half of the remainder of the proceeds of the 
 South. * above lower joints (one third of the whole having been 
 
 boiled on the 2d, as above stated) to 236 Fahrenheit, and added it to 
 that boiled on the 2d ; boiled the other half to 237 Fahrenheit 
 potted it at 176 Fahrenheit, very handsomely crystallized, and very 
 light colored. 
 
 Nov 8 
 
 Temp. 60-74. Withdrew the stops and set it on pots to drain. 
 
 tfov. 9, The full mould (fifteen pounds size) had run one and 
 
 sfw?' ' one eighth gallons molasses, or syrup ; if it had been 
 boiled a little higher it would have produced more sugar, and less 
 molasses. 
 
 NOV. 14, o The whole having now stood seven days, and being 
 N. E. ice. ' thoroughly drained, weighed as follows :
 
 264 APPENDIX. 
 
 1 small mould, 10 Ibs. 
 Tare, 4J 
 
 net weight sugar, 5i Ibs. 
 1 larger " 18} 
 Tare, 1 
 
 Hi 
 
 Sugar from tho tops, 
 
 Product of 282 feet canes, 19.75 Ibs. 
 
 1 pot molasses, 17 Ibs., tare 5 Ibs. 12 Ibs. net. 
 
 1 9 " 5 4 
 
 1 " 12}" 5 7.25 
 
 Molasses from the tops, 2 
 
 Product of molasses from 232 feet canes, 25 25 
 
 236 feet are more than one fiftieth part of 
 an acre by fourteen feet, therefore da- 
 duct pro rata .... 1.19 1-52 
 
 Product of one fiftieth part of an acre, 18.56 28.73 
 
 Multiply by 50 50 
 
 Product of an acre in Ibs. 928.00 1186.50 
 
 A gallon of molasses weighs 12 Ibs., therefore divided by 12 for gallons, 98.87 
 
 and we have 928 pounds sugar (first returns) and 98.87 gallons 
 molasses, made from one acre (18,277) of canes, which produced 1847 
 gallons juice, weighing at nine pounds per gallon, 16,623 pounds, or, 
 sugar, first crop, 5.58 per cent., molasses, 7.14 per cent. ; together, 
 12.72 per cent.* 
 
 This sugar is perfectly dry, as shown by Sample No. 4, it worked 
 perfectly, and without the slightest difficulty, at every stage. 
 Tem V 34 lo ^48 Boiled all the molasses from the above (except the 
 N. W. ' two Ibs. from the tops, which was too poor for recrystal- 
 
 lization) 23.25 Ibs. ; added clear lime water until it marked 35 
 Beaume when boiling ; took off a thick, glutinous scum, and boiled it 
 down to 243 Fahrenheit. In two hours it produced a copious crop of 
 very good crystals. Allowed it to stand till morning, when it was quite 
 solid. 
 
 Dec- \\ o Here an unfortunate accident occurred. Having 
 s. E. placed the crystallized mass over a slow fire, to render it 
 
 fluid enough to cast into a mould, I was called off to a case of illness, 
 leaving it over the fire, and being detained much longer than I antici- 
 pated, on returning I found all the grain melted and the molasses boil- 
 
 * Neither the scales in which this juice was weighed, nor the quart measure in 
 which it was measured were sufliciently delicate or accurate to give precise results,and 
 as they form the basis of these calculations, the per centages are probably not absolutely 
 exact, but they are sufficiently so for all pvactical purposes.
 
 LOVEEING'S EXPERIMENTS. 265 
 
 ng vehemently, and badly burned. Much discouraged, I however 
 proceeded. It crystallized the second time, and was put into a mould. 
 December 20. Weighed the sugar from the 23.25 Ibs. molasses boiled 
 on the 17th November, as follows, viz. : 
 
 Gross weight, 11 Ibs. 
 
 Tare, 4f 
 
 Second crop of crystals from the 28.25 Ibs. molasses, 6.25 Ibs. 
 
 Deduct pro rata for the fourteen feet excess over one fiftieth of an acre, .878 
 
 Second returns from one fiftieth of an acre, ...... 5.8T7 
 
 Multiply by 50 
 
 Product of an acre from the molasses, ....... 293.85 
 
 Then we have, as the whole final result of an acre of canes, 
 
 Sugar. Molasses. 
 
 1st returns, 928 Ibs. 1186.50 Ibs. 
 
 2d " (Sample IV.) 293.85 
 
 And deduct molasses converted, 293.85 
 
 1221.85 892.65 
 
 And 12 Ibs. molasses per gallon gives 74.89 gal. 
 
 Say sugar, per acre, 1221.85 Ibs. ; molasses, per acre, 74.39 gal- 
 lons ; sugar, per cent., 7.35 ; molasses, per cent., 5.37 ; sugar and 
 molasses, 12.72 per cent. 
 
 I will repeat here, that, owing to the accident before stated, this 
 sugar, (Sample No. IV.,) 2d returns, is not nearly of so good quality 
 as it otherwise would have been. 
 
 FIFTH EXPERIMENT. 
 
 November 9. I must now mention that the last experiment was in- 
 tended to have been on a considerably larger scale than those pre- 
 vious. Each day's work was, however, kept distinct and separate 
 from the others, thus enabling me to determine it at any point. 
 
 Having thus proceeded to, and finished the clarification of the 4tli 
 parcel, (Nov. 8th,) and the weather becoming and continuing very 
 warm, (thermometer as high as 74,) I observed a very sudden and 
 unfavorable change in the working of the juice. Instead of clarify- 
 ing perfectly and with great facility, as at first, the defecation was dif- 
 
 * It may, perhaps, appear inconsistent to the casual observer, to find 7.85 per cent, 
 of sugar obtained, when the juice only contained 7.29 per cent , as shown by the po- 
 lariscope. This is readily explained. 1st. by the causes stated in a previous note ; 
 and 2d the polariscope indicates pure sugar; whereas the sugar produced contains 
 about four per cent, free moisture, and about three per cent, of molasses adhering to 
 the crystals, also gum, &C., which would account for much more than the apparent 
 excess. 
 
 12
 
 266 APPENDIX. 
 
 ficult, the color many shades darker, the juice gradually fell off in 
 weight from full 10 Beaume to 9 Beaume, and required ten feet of 
 granulated black to bring it to the same color as that made six days 
 previously with five feet black. I however proceeded (keeping this 
 separate) to the crystallization. 
 
 Boiled it to 242 Fahrenheit, when it produced good, hard, sharp 
 crystals ; but finding the quantity, by measurement, had decreased 
 very considerably, I took no further note on that head, but gave it 
 white liquor until it was neat, (about the usual quantity,) and pro- 
 duced the sugar, (Sample No. 5,) being white sugar, directly from the 
 cane, without refining or re-melting. 
 
 SIXTH EXPERIMENT. 
 
 November 27. Since the canes for the fourth and most successful ex- 
 periment were cut, on the 6th inst., the weather has been very 
 changeable. We have had warm Indian summer weather, with heavy 
 rains, also very cold weather, making ice two inches in thickness- 
 thermometer having varied from 16 to 60. To try the effect of these 
 changes, I cut one hundredth part of an acre, which produced 11 
 15-16ths gallons of juice only, instead of nineteen or twenty gallons, 
 as before. It had, however, regained its former weight of full 10 
 Beaume, but was much more acid, rank, and dark colored than pre- 
 viously. It clarified without difficulty, but raised a much thicker 
 and denser scum, and when concentrated, was very dark and molasses- 
 like ; it however produced good, hard, sharp crystals, but the quantity 
 being much reduced, there was no inducement to pursue it further. 
 This experiment proves, however, that this cane will withstand very 
 great vicissitudes of weather, without the entire destruction of its 
 saccharine properties. 
 
 SEVENTH EXPERIMENT. 
 
 Took the proceeds of the experiments that were considered failures, 
 viz., all the third and the poorest portion of the second, viz. : thirty- 
 four pounds very indifferent sugar ; refined it in the open kettle, by the 
 old process, and produced fifteen pounds loaf sugar, (Sample No. 7,) 
 which is a very full yield for the quality used.
 
 LOVERING'S EXPERIMENTS. 267 
 
 The foregoing are all actual results produced by myself, (the polar- 
 iscopic observations having been taken on the spot, under the supervi- 
 sion of my partner, Mr. William Morris Davis) with no object in 
 view but the truth, and a desire to contribute whatever useful inform- 
 ation I could towards the solution of this interesting and important 
 question. They are, I think, sufficiently flattering in themselves to 
 warrant renewed exertions on the part of our agriculturists of the 
 Northern and Middle States especially, and perhaps those of the 
 South also, in the pursuit of this promising branch of industry, to 
 the full and profitable development of which it is certainly capable, 
 and which it is destined ultimately to attain (as before mentioned 
 they have been accomplished without the advantages of the powerful 
 sugar mill, the vacuum pan, and the many other improved imple- 
 ments and apparatus now in general use in Louisiana and else- 
 where) and they are also very important and interesting in many 
 respects, not apparent to those unacquainted with the subject ; it may 
 therefore not be superfluous to make some further explanatory re- 
 marks : 
 
 1st. The mill used and the power employed in these experiments 
 were much less efficient than those in general use on sugar planta- 
 tions, and the waste proportionally greater ; the loss from which 
 causes I estimate at not less than ten per cent. 
 
 2d. It is well known to all who are acquainted with sugar and sac- 
 charine solutions, that, by frequent heatings and coolings, a considera- 
 ble portion of the crystallizable is converted into uncrystallizable 
 sugar, and is consequently lost as sugar. In these experiments every 
 parcel was from necessity heated and re-heated from eight to twelve 
 different times. 
 
 3d. It is impossible to produce as good results, whether as regards 
 quantity or quality, from small as from large quantities. 
 
 4th. This sugar, (Sample No. 4,) is quite dry, and will lose compara- 
 tively nothing by drainage ; the yield would be considerably greater, 
 if it contained the usual quantity of footing that is contained in the 
 hogshead when sold at the plantation, one of which being weighed 
 there and re-weighed in Philadelphia, in the month of July, will be
 
 268 APPENDIX. 
 
 found to have lost by drainage from 100 to 150 Ibs., or from 10 to 15 
 per cent. 
 
 Assuming these propositions to be true, I make the following esti- 
 mate of the probable yield of an acre of canes of ordinary growth, 
 such as I have experimented upon, viz. : 
 
 Actual yield as per Experiment No. 4, 1221.85 Ibs. sugar, 74.39 molasses. 
 
 Add for Inefficiency of mill, 10 per cent 
 For heating and reheating, &c., 6 
 For footings, say but* 5 
 
 20 per cent. 244.87 
 
 Probable yield per acre, Ibs. 1466.22 sugar : galls. 74.39 molasses. 
 
 Further, it will be observed that my acre produced but 1847 gal- 
 lons of juice. I have, however seen published accounts of far greater 
 yield than this ; one, for instance, in this county, apparently well au- 
 thenticated, reaching 6,800 gallons per acre, which, according to my 
 actual results, would produce 4499 Ibs. of sugar, and 274 gallons mo- 
 lasses and according to the foregoing probable results, would yield 
 5389 Ibs. sugar, and 274 gallons to the acre. I do not pronounce 
 such yield of juice impossible, but it will certainly be of rare occur- 
 rence a mean between this and my yield would be a large return. 
 
 Another subject worthy of notice is the nature of the season. My 
 impression is, that owing to the lateness and coldness of the spring, 
 and the continued wet weather, the last has been quite an unfavorable 
 season for the ripening and development of the sugar in the juice, to 
 which cause I think a deficiency in the yield of at least ten per cent, 
 may be attributed, which would further increase the quantity to 
 1612 Ibs. of sugar, and 81 8-10 gallons molasses, a yield very nearly 
 corresponding with that of the best conducted plantations of Louisiana, 
 as will be seen by the following figures, which I have collated from a 
 minute statement furnished to me by the enterprising proprietor of one 
 of the most complete and costly establishments in that region, (it 
 being furnished with vacuum pans, and all the most approved ma- 
 chinery of later times, and conducted under his own personal super- 
 vision,) of the actual product of one of his plantations of 266 acres, 
 
 * These two latter gains in sugar would be made at the expense of the molasses, 
 taking from it the gain which would be realized by the use of a better mill, and there- 
 fore leaving the quantity of molasses unchanged.
 
 LOVERING'S EXPERIMENTS. 
 
 269 
 
 for eight consecutive years. These figures will also furnish useful data 
 for the estimation of the cost of production here, viz. : 
 
 Aggregate yield of juice from 266 acres for eight 
 
 consecutive years, 4,757,700 gallons. 
 
 Aggregate yield of sugar, .... 3,626,425 Ibs. 
 
 217,585 gallons. 
 
 COMPAEISON. 
 
 LOUISIANA. PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 1,847 gals. 
 
 10 
 
 0.66 Ibs. 
 
 I Actual, 1,221.85 Ibs. 
 
 Probable, 1,612.00 
 
 I Actual, T4.39 gals. 
 
 Probable, 81.88 
 
 Yield of juice per acre, 2,236 gals. 
 
 Density of juice,(Beaum6) 8.44 
 
 Yield of sugar per gall, of juice,. .0.76 Ibs. 
 
 Yield of sugar per acre, 1,704 " 
 
 Yield of molasses per acre, .102 gals. 
 
 Wood consumed per acre, 8.87 cords, at 
 
 $2 50 per cord. 
 
 Coal for engine, 0.41 tons at $2 50 per ton. 
 Labor, per acre, 3.70 days. 
 
 These details have been extended to a much greater length than 
 was at first intended, but perhaps not beyond a useful limit for those 
 interested. To the working farmer they may appear formidable and 
 prolix ; but he may, nevertheless, gain some grains of useful knowl- 
 edge from them to repay for their perusal. The conclusions to be 
 drawn from them will be seen by the following 
 
 SYNOPSIS. 
 
 1st. That it is obvious that there is a culminating point in the de- 
 velopment of the sugar in the cane, which is the best time for sugar 
 making. This point or season I consider to be, when most if not all 
 the seeds are ripe, and after several frosts ; say when the temperature 
 falls to 25 or 30 Fahrenheit. 
 
 2d. That frost, or even hard freezing, does not injure the juice nor 
 the sugar, but that warm Indian summer weather, after the frost and 
 hard freezing, does injure them very materially, and reduces both 
 quantity and quality.
 
 270 APPENDIX. 
 
 3d. That if the cane is cut and housed, or shocked in the field when 
 in its most favorable condition, it will probably keep unchanged for a 
 long time. 
 
 4th. That when the juice is obtained, the process should proceed 
 continuously and without delay. 
 
 5th. That the clarification should be as perfect as possible by the 
 time the density reaches 15 Beaume, the syrup having the appear- 
 ance of good brandy. 
 
 6th. That although eggs were used in these small experiments, on 
 account of their convenience, bullock's blood, if to be had, is equally 
 good, and the milk of lime alone will answer the purpose ; in the latter 
 case, however, more constant and prolonged skimming will be required 
 to produce a perfect clarification, which is highly important. 
 
 7th. That the concentration, or boiling down, after clarification, 
 should be as rapid as possible without scorching, shallow evaporators 
 being the best. 
 
 With these conditions secured, it is about as easy to make good 
 sugar from the Chinese sugar cane as to make a pot of good mush, 
 and much easier than to make a kettle of good apple butter.
 
 APPLICATION OF LOVEEING'S PKOCESS. 271 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS for the Domestic Manufacture of Sugar and Syrup, upon 
 a small scale, from the Juice of the Sorgho, being a Practical Applica- 
 tion ofJ.S. LOVERING'S Process. 
 
 For the use of persons unacquainted with the subject, we commence 
 with a brief statement of 
 
 GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 
 
 The juice of the ripe Sorgho is composed of 
 
 1. Crystallizable sugar, about seven and a quarter per cent. 
 
 2. Uncrystallizable molasses, about seven per cent. 
 
 3. Acid. 
 
 4. Vegetable mucilage, or gum. 
 
 5. Coloring matter. 
 
 6. Water. 
 
 Our object is to separate the sugar and molasses. 
 
 The acid and mucilage prevent the sugar from crystallizing. 
 
 1. Our first step will be to neutralize the acid in the juice by com- 
 bining it with an alkali (lime). 
 
 2. Our second step will be to remove the mucilage by the addition 
 of liquid albumen (blood, eggs, or milk) to the cold juice ; we then 
 apply heat ; the albumen, being heated, coagulates, and, rising in the 
 form of scum, carries the mucilage with it. This process is called 
 clarifying, and should be twice repeated at least. 
 
 3. Having now got rid of the acid and most of the mucilage, our 
 third step is to remove the coloring matter, by filtering the clarified 
 juice through granulated bone black. 
 
 But a peculiar mucilage still remains, inseparable at a lower heat 
 than about 225 Fahrenheit. 
 
 4. Our next step will be to boil the filtered juice to 225 Fahrenheit, 
 and then to add lime water. This mucilage then rises as a scum, and 
 is removed. 
 
 We now have left a solution composed of 1. Sugar. 2. Molasses. 
 3. Water. 
 
 5. To crystallize the sugar, we must evaporate the excess of water,
 
 272 APPENDIX. 
 
 by boiling. Most of the sugar will crystallize when the solution grows 
 cold. The uncrystallized part, we drain off as molasses. 
 
 These operations require the greatest exactness, for 
 
 If we do not boil enough, the sugar contained in the solution will 
 not crystallize when cold ; or, 
 
 If we boil too much, the molasses will become so thick when it cools, 
 as to impair the crystallizing of the sugar, and cannot be separated 
 from it. 
 
 But how shall we know when to stop the boiling? 
 
 By Hie heat of the boiling liquid, as marked by the thermometer. 
 
 Pure water boils at 212 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer. You 
 cannot make it hotter without changing it to steam. 
 
 The sorgho juice, being a solution of about fourteen per cent, of 
 sugar and molasses, &c., in water, becomes three degrees hotter before 
 boiling, and boils at 215 Fahrenheit. As the water evaporates, a 
 greater heat is required to keep the concentrated juice at a boil ; in 
 other words, the juice grows hotter and hotter. When it reaches the 
 heat marked on the thermometer 238 Fahrenheit, there is just enough 
 water left to enable the sugar to separate from the molasses when cold. 
 
 6. We now pour the concentrated juice into a mould, a keg, a bar- 
 rel, or other deep vessel, with a plug in the bottom, and allow it to cool. 
 
 7. When quite cold (say in twenty-four hours), we remove the plug. 
 The liquid portion, being molasses with a little sugar and water, 
 gradually drains out, leaving the sugar dry in from four to ten days. 
 
 It is also important to remember 
 
 That the juice begins to ferment almost as soon as it leaves the 
 cane, and therefore, should be neutralized, clarified, and boiled without 
 delay. A very few hours' delay will spoil it. 
 
 A long continued exposure to heat gradually converts crystallizable 
 sugar into uncrystallizable molasses, therefore, the evaporation should 
 be as rapid as possible. 
 
 A concentrated solution of sugar and molasses is very liable to burn, 
 and should, therefore, be carefully watched, and exposed to a more and 
 more moderate fire as the evaporation advances. 
 
 The use of a saccharometer is to indicate the relative weight or
 
 APPLICATION OF LOVERING'S PROCESS. 273 
 
 density of a liquid as compared with water. This density depends 
 upon the amount of sugar, or other heavy substances held in solution 
 Consequently, the degree of density indicated by the saecharometer is 
 an index of the proportion of sugar, &c., contained in the juice. 
 
 It is simply a hollow tube terminating in a bulb, loaded with shot) 
 to keep the bulb down and the tube upright. Floating in pure water, 
 the tube, at the point where it appears above the surface, marks 0. 
 But in proportion as the liquid is heavier, the bulb does not sink so 
 deep, and more of the tube appears above the surface. The density 
 of the sorgho juice, cold, is about 10 Beaume, so called from Beaume, 
 the inventor. 
 
 If your kettles or moulds are of iron, give them two good coats of 
 white paint inside, drying each coat thoroughly. This prevents the 
 sugar from being made dark by contact with iron, which will be the 
 case if the slightest acid be present. Before using them, scald them 
 thoroughly twice, letting boiling water stand in them until cold, to 
 remove the taste of the paint. 
 
 NECESSARY UTENSILS, MACHINERY, &c. 
 
 1. A thermometer marking 250 Fahrenheit. One without a case, 
 or which can be removed from the case. 
 
 2. A saecharometer, or Pese Sirop, scale of Beaume. 
 
 You had better get two of both the above, to provide against accident. 
 
 3. A few sheets of litmus paper. 
 
 4. Two kettles of copper, brass, or iron, holding twenty-five gallons 
 each ; one of these may be smaller than the other, but if so, should be 
 as large a diameter, only shallower. 
 
 5. Three, or more, large iron sugar moulds, holding twelve gallons 
 each. If you cannot get the sugar moulds, three long, narrow twelve 
 gallon kegs will answer. 
 
 6. Three five gallon pots of glazed earthen or stone ware, with 
 mouths somewhat smaller than the caps of the sugar moulds. If you 
 use kegs instead of moulds you can use pails instead of pots. 
 
 7. A barrel of granulated (not pulverized) bone black, such as is 
 used by sugar refiners. 
 
 12*
 
 274 APPENDIX. 
 
 8. Pour ten gallon tubs. (Two water-tight whiskey or cider bar- 
 rels, sawed across the center, will answer.) 
 
 9. A yard of thick heavy bed ticking. 
 
 10. A circular piece of coarse wire gauze, to fit the inside of the 
 sugar mould or keg, three inches above the lower end. 
 
 11. A circular piece of half inch board, full of gimblet holes, to fit 
 the inside of the sugar mould or keg, three inches above the lower end. 
 
 12. A shallow perforated iron or tin skimmer. 
 
 13. A large iron or tin dipper, or ladle. 
 
 14. A sugar mill ; if to work by hand, two parallel, horizontal iron 
 rollers, set firmly in a frame, one eighth of an inch apart, and turned 
 by a crank, with a spout to catch and collect the juice. If by horse 
 power, three rollers set closer together, will be more effective. The 
 greater the compression of the canes, the larger the yield of juice. 
 
 15. Two simple furnaces, or fire places of brfck, upon which to place 
 the two kettles. One larger furnace, with two holes, and one fire place 
 under both kettles, will do, if the kettles are movable. But as the 
 labor and delay of lifting them off and on is great, two separate arches 
 are better. These furnaces must have a flue, communicating with a 
 chimney, to create draft, and carry off the smoke. 
 
 16. A bushel of quick lime. 
 
 17. A gallon of fresh bullock's blood, or twelve dozen of eggs, or 
 twelve quarts of milk. Either will do, but one of the first two is pre- 
 ferable. 
 
 PEELIMINAEIBS. 
 
 Having your mill ready, your furnaces built, your kettles and other 
 utensils above described, on the spot ; you will need two men, if you 
 use a hand mill, to relieve each other at the crank, the one turning it, 
 while the other passes the canes, one at a time, twice through the 
 rollers, as you must work the mill without cessation throughout the day, 
 to keep the kettles constantly supplied. If you use horse power, two 
 boys will suffice, one to drive the horse, the other to pass the canes 
 through, several at a time. 
 
 1. Provide abundant dry fuel, close at hand, and ready for imme- 
 diate use.
 
 APPLICATION OF LOVERING'S PROCESS. 275 
 
 2. Cut and deposit at the mill enough canes for the day's work, say 
 ten canes for each gallon of juice required. Place two tubs (which we 
 will call tubs 1 and 2) at the mill ready to receive the juice. 
 
 3. Prepare a bone black filter as follows : 
 
 Take one of the sugar moulds (which we will call mould No. 1.) 
 About three inches from the small end, fit into it the circular piece of 
 half inch board full of small holes. Upon this, lay the circular piece 
 of wire gauze ; over the gauze lay a piece of heavy ticking (or blanket 
 of several thicknesses), laying the edges carefully round the sides of 
 the mould, so as to prevent the bone black from escaping ; stop the 
 hole at the small end of the mould, half fill the mould with hot water, 
 then pour in as much bone black as the mould will hold, leaving about 
 three inches of space on top. Set the filter, thus made, upon another 
 of the tubs (which we will call tub No. 3), to serve as a cistern to 
 receive the filtered juice. Or, a filter may be made of a tight keg or 
 barrel, set on end, with a hole in the bottom, stopped with a plug or 
 faucet, and having a wooden second, or false bottom, perforated witli 
 gimblet holes, three inches above the first ; cover this with a piece of 
 ticking or blanket, and on that put the bone black, as directed. 
 
 4. Prepare some milk of lime as follows : 
 
 Put about a gallon of quick lime into a pail, slacken it with water, 
 until it resembles milk in appearance and consistency. Set it asidCj 
 and stir it before using. 
 
 5. Prepare some lime water as follows : 
 
 Put a gallon of quick lime into another pail, slacken it, fill up the 
 pail with water, stir it thoroughly, let the lime settle. The clear water 
 will be a saturated solution of lime, and is called lime water. Do not 
 stir this again, but use it clear. , 
 
 PEOOESS OP MAKING THE SUGAR. 
 
 When the seeds of the sorgho are at least three fourths ripe, or if 
 in a cold climate, when a hard frost has come, cut your canes just above 
 the ground, strip off the leaves and seed heads, and cut each cane into 
 two parts, separating the eight lower joints from the upper ones. Lay 
 aside the upper joints, which contain but little sugar, but will make 
 good molasses.
 
 276 APPENDIX. 
 
 Pass the lower joints through the rollers twice ; let the juice flow 
 into tubs 1 and 2. When about twenty gallons of juice are ready, put 
 into one of the kettles, which we will call kettle No. 1, or the clarifier, 
 three gills of blood, or the whites of eight eggs, well beaten. If you 
 have neither, two pints of milk will answer, but not so well. Add six 
 tablespoonsful of milk of lime previously prepared, and stirred before 
 using. Add about a gallon of juice, and stir the whole thoroughly 
 together. 
 
 Now dip into one of the tubs of unmixed juice a small strip of the 
 blue litmus paper. It will immediately turn red, more or less vivid in 
 proportion to the acidity of the juice. Lay the strip of litmus paper 
 aside, and add to kettle No. 1 about nineteen gallons more of juice ; 
 stir the whole. Then dip the strip of reddened litmus paper into the 
 kettle. If it again become blue, the acid is entirely neutralized. If 
 not, continue to stir in milk of lime in small quantities, and to test 
 with the litmus paper, until its original blue color is restored. 
 
 Now light a fire under kettle No. 1. As the juice grows hot a 
 thick scum will rise. Do not disturb it, but bring the juice to a boil. 
 To be sure that it does boil, remove a little of the scum with the 
 skimmer, and insert your thermometer. When it marks 215 Fahren- 
 heit, and the scum begins to roll over, put out the fire immediately, or 
 remove the kettle. Let it stand ten or fifteen minutes. Then care- 
 fully remove the scum with the skimmer into a third pail. Then boil 
 again. 
 
 When the saccharometer marks 15 Beaume in the boiling juice, 
 extinguish the fire, or remove the kettle, and let it cool to 160 Fah- 
 renheit, or cooler. Now stir in six more eggs well beaten, or two 
 gills of blood, or one pint of milk. Omit the lime. Again bring it 
 to a boil, again extinguish the fire, or remove the kettle ; and, after 
 standing ten minutes, remove the scum as before. Then ladle the clear 
 juice into the bone black filter, (see preliminaries No. 3,) having first 
 withdrawn the stopper, allowing the warm water to flow out below, 
 as the juice is poured in above, being careful to keep the filter full of 
 liquid. When the water below begins to run sweet, marking 3 
 Beaum6, throw away what has previously run out, and receive the re- 
 mainder in tub No. 3.
 
 APPLICATION OF LOVERIN&'s PROCESS. 277 
 
 We tire now ready to continue evaporation, and it will be better to 
 do so in smaller quantities, as in a shallower mass the concentration 
 will be more rapid. Therefore, when about ten gallons have passed 
 through the filter into tub 3, ladle into kettle No. 2, which now first 
 comes into use, and which we will call the Evaporator. Boil to 225 
 Fahrenheit. Then put in a gill of clear lime water (see preliminaries 
 No. 5). If a dirty white scum arises, skim it off, and continue to add 
 a little more lime water every few minutes until no scum rises. Con- 
 tinue to boil to 238 Fahrenheit. If it boil over, put in a piece of 
 butter the size of a walnut ; then remove the kettle, or put out the 
 fire, and pour into a tub which we will call No. 4. 
 
 By this time ten gallons more will have passed through the filter. 
 Ladle it into kettle No. 2, which we have just emptied, boil to 225 
 Fahrenheit, clarify with lime water as before, boil to 238 Fahrenheit, 
 and add it to the contents of tub No. 4, stirring the two together. 
 
 Previously, however, as soon as kettle No. 1 has been emptied upon 
 the bone black filter, put into kettle No. 1 milk of lime and eggs, (or 
 blood, or milk,) as before, and neutralize and clarify twenty gallons 
 more of fresh juice from the mill, which has been grinding without 
 interruption. This second charge of kettle No. 1 should be neutral- 
 ized, tested with litmus paper, heated to 215 Fahrenheit, cooled, 
 skimmed, boiled to 15 Beaume, cooled again, a second time clarified 
 with eggs, skimmed again, and passed through the filter ; all this 
 being done simultaneously with the filtering and evaporation of the 
 first charge of kettle No. 1. It will then be put, in its turn, into ket- 
 tle No. 2, now again empty, ten gallons at a time, boiled to 225 
 Fahrenheit, clarified a third time with lime water, skimmed, evaporated 
 to 238 Fahrenheit, and added to the contents of tub No. 4. 
 
 While the second charge of kettle No. 1 is passing through the fil- 
 ter and kettle No. 2, a third charge of twenty gallons of fresh juice 
 will be neutralized and clarified in kettle No. 1. 
 
 While the third charge from kettle No. 1 is passing through the fil- 
 ter and kettle No. 2, a fourth charge of twenty gallons of fresh juice 
 will be neutralized and clarified in kettle No. 1, to follow the others, 
 when boiled down to 238 Fahrenheit, into tub No. 4.
 
 278 APPENDIX. 
 
 "When as much juice as can be boiled the same day has been ex- 
 pressed, stop the mill. 
 
 Eighty gallons of juice clarified and boiled down to 238 Fahren- 
 heit will be reduced to something over twelve gallons, or enough to fill 
 one of the sugar moulds. 
 
 When the day's boiling is completed, put the contents of tub No. 4 
 into a sugar mould or keg, having previously plugged the hole. Set 
 it in a warm place, in no case colder than 60 Fahrenheit, if 70 or 
 80, so much the better. This completes the day's work. 
 
 When cold, the next day, it will be a solid mass of crystallized 
 sugar. Then withdraw the stopper, set the mould on an earthen pot 
 or pail ; in from four to seven days the molasses will have ceased to 
 drain out ; then turn over the mould upon a clean board or table, 
 strike the rim smartly once or twice, and the sugar will slide from the 
 mould in a solid mass. Break it up with a shovel, and it is fit for 
 use. The contents of this mould should be from forty to fifty pounds 
 of dry, yellow sugar, and about four gallons of excellent molasses will 
 have dripped from it into the jar. 
 
 If preferred, the sugar making may here terminate ; but, as the 
 purifying power of the bone black filter is not yet exhausted, and as 
 the whole labor and expense of preparation have been already in- 
 curred, it will be best to continue at least a second and third day. 
 
 SECOND DAY. 
 
 The "process will be in all respects a repetition of the first day's 
 work, and the result will be to fill an additional sugar mould or keg. 
 
 THIRD DAT. 
 
 The process will be a repetition of the above ; but the filter being 
 now exhausted, after the third day, it will be necessary to change the 
 bone black. Before emptying the filter, or stopping the third day's 
 work, however, pass cold water through the filter, which, so long as it 
 runs sweet enough to mark 3 Beaume, is to be added to the juice of 
 the upper joints, of which we are about to speak.
 
 APPLICATION OF LOVEKING-'S PROCESS. 279 
 
 MOLASSES. 
 
 At the close of the sugar making, pass through the mill the upper 
 joints of the canes, previously laid aside. Add to the juice the liquid 
 portion of the scum in third pail, together with the washings of the 
 filter, of tub No. 4, and of other utensils. Neutralize the acid with 
 milk of lime, and test with litmus paper as before. Clarify twice with 
 eggs, (or blood, or milk,) but omit, if preferred, the filtering through 
 bone black. Boil finally only to 228 Fahrenheit, instead of 238 
 Fahrenheit, as for sugar. 
 
 The product, when cool, will be about eighteen gallons of excellent 
 syrup. From three days' work, of two hundred and forty gallons of 
 juice from say two thousand canes in all there should be a total 
 product of about one hundred and twenty-five pounds to one hundred 
 and fifty pounds of sugar, and twenty-seven gallons molasses. 
 
 This operation being on a very small scale, and with a hand mill, is 
 carried on under great disadvantages. The same labor on a larger 
 scale would produce much greater results. The process and routine 
 here given will answer for larger operations. It would be better, 
 however, especially if the quantity is increased, to have the second or 
 evaporating kettle of greater length and breadth, and as shallow as 
 possible to expedite the evaporation. A larger and longer bone black 
 filter will also be needed. 
 
 Either sugar or molasses of good quality, but of darker color, may 
 be made by the above process, omitting the bone black. If it be 
 desired to make syrup only, stop the boiling at 228 Fahrenheit. 
 
 If white sugar is desired, the following additional process will be 
 necessary. On the third day after the sugar has been put into the 
 moulds, the greater part of the molasses having drained from it, scrape 
 off, with a knife, the crust on top of the sugar, leaving a smooth granu- 
 lated surface, hollowing a little to the center. Moisten the scrapings 
 with cold water into a thin paste, and replace them on the sugar. 
 Next day dissolve enough refined sugar, the whiter the better, in six 
 quarts of water, to make a solution marking, when boiling hot, 32 
 Beaume. Pour one inch in depth of this solution, cold, on top of the 
 sugar. On each of the two following days, put on a similar quantity.
 
 280 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 After the sugar ceases to drain, knock out the loaf ; the upper portion 
 will be white, the lower part light yellow. Divide the loaf and crush 
 each portion separately. 
 
 If by any mistake, or carelessness, by burning or overboiling, or by 
 the immaturity of the canes, the molasses does not begin to drain from 
 the mould on the second or third day, run an awl, a large nail, or other 
 sharp iron instrument, into the hole at the foot of the mould some two 
 or three inches, and then withdraw it. If, after ten days longer in the 
 warmest place you have, it still fails to run, put the contents into a 
 kettle, add a little water, heat it to 228 Fahrenheit, and it will make 
 good syrup. 
 
 BD0AE MOtTLD. 
 
 DBAJNING POT 
 
 MOULD AND POT.
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 281 
 
 LETTER PROM LOUIS VILMORIN. 
 
 Translation.] PARIS, April 20, 1857. 
 
 TO M. .&LEXANDRE VATTEMAKE. 
 
 SIR, The crystallization of the sugar of the sorghum, it seems, 
 should be easily obtained in all cases where the cane can be sufficiently 
 ripened ; and as the proportion of the sugar is an unfailing index of 
 ripeness, it follows that we could always be sure of obtaining a good 
 crystallization of juices whose density exceeds 1-075, while weaker 
 ones would not yield satisfactory results after concentration. I 
 attribute this peculiarity to the fact that the sugar is preceded in the 
 juice by a gummy principle, which seems to be transformed at a late 
 date, for its proportion diminishes in exact correspondence with the 
 increase of the sugar. The uncrystallizable sugar, or glucose, under- 
 goes the same changes ; that is to say, it is more abundant before 
 than after the complete maturity, but its action seems less prejudicial 
 to the progress of crystallization. The gummy principle obstructs it 
 in two ways ; for, beside being a serious obstacle to the commence- 
 ment of crystallization, it afterwards renders it almost a matter of 
 impossibility to purge the crystals if obtained. However, as I 
 observed, this difficulty only presents itself in the employ of unripe 
 canes ; for, as soon as the juices acquire a density of 1-080 and more, 
 they contain but little else than crystallizable sugar, and their treatment 
 presents no difficulty. The lime employed, even to a slight excess, is 
 not detrimental, it seems to me, in practice, as theory would perhaps 
 indicate. Perhaps a slight fermentation, which is inevitable, may 
 disengage enough carbonic acid to destroy the uncrystallizable com- 
 pound formed by its union with the sugar. The fact is, that the best 
 crystallizations obtained have been had in those experiments in which 
 I feared to have used too much lime. I should remark that heretofore 
 my operations have been but on a small scale, and it is necessary to 
 be very prudent before applying the experiments of the laboratory to 
 practical operations ; but at all events, it seems to me, after all these 
 trials, that the crystallization will not meet with serious obstacles where* 
 ever the plant attains a complete maturity. 
 
 (Signed) VILMORIN.
 
 282 APPENDIX. 
 
 CHEMICAL RESEARCHES ON THE SORGHO SUCRE. 
 
 BY C. T. JACKSON, M. D., OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 ON the 29th of October, 1856, 1 received from the Patent Office a 
 bottle of expressed juice of the Sorghum saccharutum, procured from 
 plants raised upon the govern ment grounds in Washington. This 
 juice, after being strained through fine linen, had a specific gravity of 
 1-062 ; and, after boiling and the separation of an albuminous scum, 
 1'055. Three and a half fluid ounces of the strained juice, evaporated 
 at 212 F., until it became a dense straw-yellow syrup, too thick to 
 run, when cold gave 217 grains of saccharine matter. That portion 
 of the juice which had been freed from albuminous matter and filtered 
 through paper, gave, on evaporation of a fluid ounce, 78 grains of 
 thick yellow syrup, which, being dissolved in absolute alcohol, left 9 
 per cent, of mucilaginous substances containing starch. The alcohol 
 took up 69 grains of saccharine matter. This is equal to 14-36 per 
 cent, on the juice. 
 
 Other portions of the juice were operated upon by lime water and 
 bone black, and filtered and evaporated to syrup. A small proportion 
 of crystallized sugar was obtained from the bottom of the vessel, in 
 which the syrup had stood for some days. A part of the juice, 
 diluted with warm water, with the addition of a little yeast, fermented 
 and produced spirit, which, on being separated by distillation, was 
 found to be an agreeably flavored alcohol, having, as M. Vihnorin has 
 stated, a slight noyau taste. Good judges declared that it would 
 make excellent brandy spirit. According to the experiments of Vil- 
 morin, the amount of absolute alcohol obtained from the juice is a 
 fraction over 6 per cent. 
 
 On the 3d of November I also received from the Patent Office two 
 parcels of the sorghum plant, in different stages of ripeness. That 
 with quite ripe seeds was by far the sweetest ; while the green one, 
 which was just in flower, contained but very little saccharine matter. 
 One thousand grains, taken from the middle of the ripe stalk, when 
 peeled, gave 670 grains of pith, from which the juice was separated
 
 CHEMICAL KESKARCHEti. 283 
 
 The latter, on being evaporated to a thick syrup, gave 90 grains of 
 saccharine matter, or 9 per cent, on the weight of the stalk. Another 
 sample gave from 2J ounces of the pith, 217 grains of thick syrup, or 
 12 per cent. Thus we have from 180 to 240 pounds of saccharine 
 matter, in the form of a dense syrup, to a ton (2,000 pounds) of the 
 stalks. By means of a screw press, I separated the juice from some 
 of the canes, which had a specific gravity of 1-0987. 
 
 Being desirous of ascertaining the saccharine value of the sorghum 
 raised in Massachusetts, I obtained from Capt. R. A. Wainwright, of 
 the United States Arsenal, at Watertown, in this state, five plants, 
 which had been cultivated on the arsenal grounds. Sixteen ounces of 
 one of these plants, nearly ripe, gave 94 ounces of clear pith, which I 
 exhausted of its saccharine matter by means of boiling, distilled water, 
 and pressure. This liquid, on evaporation, gave 742 grains of thick 
 syrup, too dense to pour from the vessel when cold. The yield of 
 saccharine matter in this case was 10f per cent. 
 
 Another and riper sample, from the same parcel, yielded from 1,000 
 grains of the stalk 640 grains of pith, and 146 grains of thick syrup, 
 or 14| per cent, of saccharine matter. On expression, the plant 
 yielded a clear, sweet juice, having a specific gravity of 1-0975. 
 
 Analysis of the Bagasse. One hundred grains, dried at 212 F. and 
 burned in a platinum vessel, left 1 per cent, of gray ashes. Having 
 thus determined the proportion of inorganic matter in the bagasse, I 
 burned a larger quantity for further experiment. It was found that 
 the ash consisted of the following ingredients : 
 
 Per cent 
 
 Silicic acid - 14-40 
 
 Phosphoric acid 13-42 
 
 Sulphuric acid - - 28-70 
 
 Chlorine 3-70 
 
 Potash 8-10 
 
 Soda 9-60 
 
 Lime - 11-80 
 
 Magnesia g-80 
 
 Traces of oxyd of iron, a little carbonic acid, and loss 0-68 
 
 100-00
 
 28-i APPENDIX. 
 
 MONOGRAPH OF THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE, 
 CALLED THE SUGAR SORGHO. 
 
 BY DOCTOR ADRIEN SICAKD, 
 
 Secretary of the Marseilles Horticultural Society, Member of the Imperial 
 Acclimation Society, etc., etc. Marseilles, 1856. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Studies in the Structure and Intimate Composition of the Chinese 
 Sugar Cane. 
 
 LET us take a joint of the cane, deprived of the clasping part of 
 the leaf, designated by the name petiole or footstalk, and let us study 
 it from exterior to the interior. 
 
 Immediately beneath the footstalk we find a deposit of cerosie. 
 which completely covers the epidermis of the cane. This deposit, 
 which is but slightly apparent midway between the knots, under the 
 footstalks is considerable enough, on the contrary, from its being pro- 
 tected from the contact with the air. Some canes will even manifest 
 this same substance on their leaves. This is called cerosie because of 
 its resemblance to wax (cire.) 
 
 The cerosie being passed, we come to the epidermis, or outside coat ; 
 this is thin, very strong, tinted usually with colors of straw color, 
 yellow, apple green, and rose color, passing into a violet when the cane 
 is too ripe. If a piece of this epidermis be magnified to five hundred 
 diameters, it appears to the eye like the bark of the elm as seen in 
 nature by the naked eye, especially if the examination be made on the 
 portion covered with cerosie. If the fragment of epidermis be turned 
 so as to present the interior face, there will be seen angular protuber- 
 ances, which correspond with the joints of the cells, and filaments 
 running in a direction from above to below, or from knot to knot, of 
 the stalk. Whatever pains be taken to separate the epidermis of the 
 cane, some fragments of cells will always be seen adherent. 
 
 I submitted the epidermis to the action of pure sulphuric acid* ; 
 
 * All my studies of organic chemistry with the view of discovering the intimat* 
 structure of the Chinese Sugar Cane have been made under the microscope.
 
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION 285 
 
 it assumed in this liquid a deep yellowish color, and the appearance of 
 the very rough bark of a tree, marked with black spots and streaks. 
 By the addition of a drop of anhydrous alcohol, there was immediately 
 formed, in the liquid, a movement of oscillation ; the fragment of 
 epidermis was borne by the current in the liquid from left to right. 
 At the end of some minutes the yellow color had entirely disappeared, 
 but the piece preserved the original appearance. Submitted, then, 
 to the action of tincture of iodine, the epidermis preserved its trans- 
 parency ; except that the more deeply tinted parts assumed a very 
 light blue color, surrounding plates and cells which were completely 
 white. At a magnitude of one hundred diameters the objects of our 
 previous study can be seen, but in this case the piece of epidermis 
 looks like the bark of the plane tree. 
 
 It is difficult, at this magnitude, to recognize the details abova 
 mentioned ; still with a great experience in microscopic study it may 
 be done. 
 
 If the piece of epidermis belongs to a cane long time previously 
 ripened, or the experiments be made with the knots nearest the ground, 
 it will be found that the cerosie always will adhere to the epidermis, 
 even though it may have been scraped to remove the former ; the ad- 
 dition of sulphuric acid can determine the yellow color ; but anhydrous 
 spirit of wine subsequently added, does not produce so strong a sudden 
 oscillatory movement as in the former experiment. The decoloration 
 of the tissues does not take place ; they always preserve the yellow 
 color, and the disposition of the fibers is the same, except that the 
 most prominent tubes are particularly distinct. The tincture of iodine 
 added to the solution does not give any color changes, except that the 
 deep color of the epidermis becomes clearer. Some fragments of cells 
 are visible. 
 
 The epidermis is now removed. We next come to the dermis, or 
 inner coating.* Submitted to a glass of five hundred diameters, it pre- 
 sents an assemblage of tubes all disposed side by side in manner accord- 
 ing to the height of the plant. Submitted to the action of pure 
 sulphuric acid, the deep color soon passes into a red brown ; numerous 
 
 * This piece of derma was taken from the last joint of a cane of large size, and it had 
 remained on the stalk after its ripening.
 
 286 Al'PEXMX. 
 
 cells of rounded form show themselves under the tubes. The addition 
 of anhydrous alcohol causes a very slight movement of oscillation ; the 
 yellowish-red-brown color brightens up and becomes yellow ; but the 
 longitudinal tubes are perfectly apparent, and upon these are seen at 
 intervals rounded cells. These cells are unequal, and of three dimen- 
 sions ; large, medium sized, and small. In the liquid are seen floating 
 perfectly white crystals. 
 
 The addition of the tincture of iodine produces, in time, in certain 
 portions of the tubes, a slightly violet hue ; but the little cells have 
 become colored a deep violet. As to the crystals, of which we have 
 previously spoken, they preserve all their whiteness. 
 
 Let us continue our researches. The epidermis and dermis have 
 been removed. We next find between the knots long threads of a 
 yellowish color, running from one knot to the other, and which may 
 be easily removed by hand : they are united together by a kind of pith 
 A specimen of these threads was submitted to the microscope, (magni 
 fied to one hundred diameters,) and despite all my efforts, it was im- 
 possible to completely deprive it of its covering of pith. Under the 
 glass the appearance it presented was that of a magnificent column of 
 stalactite of the most beautiful whiteness. Sulphuric acid colors this 
 part of the plant yellow on the edges, and reddish brown throughout 
 the rest of its surface ; a continuance of about a quarter of an hour in 
 the liquid produces the disaggregation of little grains almost white, but 
 bordered with a more roseate hue. 
 
 The addition of anhydrous alcohol produces the complete decolora- 
 tion of the portion formed by the separation of the small grains above 
 mentioned ; they may be distinguished perfectly isolated from each 
 other, and preserving by their arrangement the form of the-bark of a 
 tree, or, rather, of a lace of dazzling whiteness. As to the portion 
 which has not been detached, it preserve^ its original form and color. 
 
 The addition of a strong proportion of tincture of iodine has not 
 changed the color of the grains of which we have spoken ; only the 
 liquid in which they are held, becomes strongly tinted yellow ; the 
 surface seems to have assumed a slightly bluish tint. As to the cells, 
 and the portion of the specimen which was not separated, they have 
 taken on a bluish violet. Besides this, there is seen the yellow color 
 in portions of the cell not changed to blue.
 
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. 287 
 
 If we remove with great care, by means of a piece of silk paper,* 
 the liquids in which we steeped the piece of sugar-cane used in our 
 experiments, and if we replace it by water, suffering the piece of cane 
 to steep for some minutes, we remark that the tissues become more 
 transparent ; but the violet color always remains in the thicker por- 
 tions, especially in the cells. These have a hole in their center. 
 
 If we deprive of water f the specimen of Chinese Sugar Cane under- 
 going experiment, and replace this water by anhydrous alcohol, we 
 observe a decoloration of the tissues and the separation of the portion 
 which had formed the lace ; this detaches itself from the piece, lets 
 escape a large number of entirely colorless crystals, and ends by taking 
 on the appearance of a hempen thread, which should be placed in the 
 field of the microscope and examined at the magnitude which was em- 
 ployed by us at the commencement. We shall find, floating in the 
 liquid, some violet cells, which have preserved their rounded form. As 
 to the piece which did not dissolve, it maintains the appearance indi- 
 cated in the preceding experiments. 
 
 Another piece of filament, taken from the same place, and submitted 
 to the same magnifying power of five hundred diameters, has seemed 
 to us organized ; it represents a fragment of hemp, with the exception 
 that the latter is white throughout the greater part of its length. 
 Submitted to the action of pure sulphuric acid for about an hour, we 
 observe the separation of the cells ; the filaments take the appearance 
 of threads of hemp seen by the naked eye, and placed beside each 
 other we observe some disaggregated cells ; the filaments have a black 
 color. 
 
 No change caused by the addition of anhydrous alcohol. The tinc- 
 ture of iodine added to the mixture, makes to appear slight violet or 
 bluish spots. The general tint is observed to be diminished in inten- 
 sity. The entire liquid is sprinkled with white crystals.* 
 
 The specimen which we are about to study is taken from the center 
 of the cane. We were at pains to separate it entirely from the threads 
 which we have just dissected ; it presents to the naked eye the appear- 
 
 * It will readily be conceived that it is impossible to accomplish the entire removal 
 of all foreign matter. 
 
 t We cannot AV but that a little water has actually remained after all our precau- 
 tions.
 
 288 APPENDIX. 
 
 ance of elder pith, except that on pressure it permits to escape a very 
 sweet juice. 
 
 Under the microscope, at a magnitude of one hundred diameters, the 
 specimen which is the object of our study resembles a grain of sugar 
 seen with the naked eye, and of which the appearance is of a brilliant 
 whiteness ; the crystallization is like that of the most beautiful sugar. 
 "We remark on the edges a whitish liquid which oozes from it ; in it 
 we see some small cells, which are doubtless those which have permit- 
 ted to escape the liquid which we have just noticed. 
 
 Some moments' rest in pure sulphuric acid changes the appearance 
 of the specimen which we study ; the edges are yellow, the center rep- 
 resents a bunch of grapes, of which the grains are peri'ectly distinct, 
 and of a violet red color ; some grains separated from the bunch have 
 an appearance identical to those which we have observed in the pre- 
 ceding experiments, except their violet red color ; they are all perfo- 
 rated with a hole in the middle. Some crystals are seen in the 
 liquid. 
 
 Anhydrous alcohol, added in the segment of sphere, produces a 
 slight movement of oscillation from right to left ; the violet red color 
 is unaltered ; the edges only have assumed a tint much less yellow, and 
 which has a tendency to disappear. As to the crystals disseminated 
 throughout the liquid, they are always incolorous. 
 
 The addition of the tincture of iodine gives, after a contact of some 
 minutes, a color less deep ; one would say that in place of coloring the 
 substance, the iodine had, on the contrary, lightened it. However, by 
 regarding it with the greatest attention, we distinguish little veins of 
 an infinitesimal dimension, which appear colored violet. 
 
 The piece of Chinese Sugar Cane submitted to the above experi- 
 ments, was now taken from the liquid, then placed in the segment of 
 a sphere, with' anhydrous alcohol that we had increased with water. 
 A portion of the fragment was dissolved ; at the bottom of the liquid 
 we see a great quantity of white crystals. As to the mass itself, it is 
 found at the bottom of the liquid, and presents the appearance of a 
 mixture of empty cells, of crystals and granules, the whole seeming 
 white by refraction, and tinted violet by reflection. 
 
 A fragment imperceptible to the naked eye, submitted to a magni- 
 tude of five hundred diameters, is completely identical with crystals of
 
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. 289 
 
 sugar in the perfect state ; they are surrounded by an mcolorous liquid. 
 This fragment has stripes very light and blackish in color. 
 
 Pure sulphuric acid has entirely changed the appearance of the 
 fragment which we are studying ; it has taken a blackish color in the 
 surface of the crystals, which have become more deep. 
 
 Anhydrous alcohol, added to the mixture, seems to dissect the crys- 
 tals. 
 
 An addition of tincture of iodine lessens the coloring. By refrac- 
 tion, the crystals are completely white. 
 
 We have taken at the center of a knot, a portion of the substance 
 which it contains, seeking to separate, as much as possible, from it the 
 filaments which, in this plant, run from the ground to the top of the 
 stalk, bending, it must be remarked, at each knot. It is, so to speak, 
 compressed, and in the experiments which I have made on these threads, 
 they have always broken at this part. 
 
 The portion above mentioned was placed under the microscope. At 
 a magnitude of one hundred diameters, it resembled a piece of certain 
 plants seen with the naked eye. Placed in concentrated sulphuric 
 acid, the specimen becomes broken apart, and takes on a black color, 
 bordered by a reddish tint. The cells are apparent, someof them sep- 
 arated. Anhydrous alcohol produces no other effect than to detach 
 some flakes of cells, and some rare white crystals, the whole floating 
 on the liquid. 
 
 We then took a portion of the knot which had served us for the 
 above experiments, and placed it in water, but its appearance did 
 not change from that of woody fiber, corroded by sulphuric acid. 
 
 A portion of knot which we endeavored to completely isolate from 
 the filaments, was magnified to five hundred diameters. Placed in 
 contact with sulphuric acid, it was disorganized, numerous cells made 
 their appearance, and the whole was colored black, mixed with deep 
 yellow ; the addition of anhydrous alcohol has made apparent to us 
 woody fiber, in the condition in which it is when it has been in contact 
 with sulphuric acid. 
 
 From the experiments which we have thus made, it follows : 
 
 That the Chinese Sugar Cane is composed from outside inwards, 
 first of a layer of cerosie or wax, and an inert epidermis. The dermin 
 contains gums, filaments, fecula, and some portions of sugar. 
 
 13
 
 290 APPENDIX. 
 
 The interior part of the cane is composed, in very great proportion, 
 of sugar and filaments. It is in the most central portion of all that 
 are found the sacchariferous products. 
 
 If the cane be deprived of its epidermis and dermis, it will be placed 
 in the best condition possible to furnish sugar of good quality, and of 
 easy extraction. Such, at least, is our opinion, which is based upon 
 the practical studies which we have made with this precious gramine- 
 ous plant. 
 
 FROM F. BOURDAIS, DISTILLER, AT CONSTANTINE, 
 ALGIERS. 
 
 BUT however great seem the probable results of the introduction of 
 the sorgho into France, and however great the enthusiasm which has 
 arisen in the minds of its cultivators, they still look upon the new 
 colony of Algiers as the country in which, both on account of climate, 
 soil and the peculiar adaptedness of the plant, the most remarkable 
 results can be obtained. There, it will be recollected, that M. 
 Hardy, the chief of the government nursery, at Hamma, in his report 
 to Marshal Yaillaint, certifies to having allowed his canes to stand upon 
 the ground where they grew, first having removed the tufts and leaves, 
 throughout the whole winter, the climate being so very mild. The 
 immense importance of such an aid to the manufacture will be seen 
 on a moment's reflection, for he may pursue his manufacture throughout 
 the whole year without interruption, and thus not be obliged to greatly 
 increase his expenditures for labor and considerable machinery to 
 harvest and work up his crop in the short space of time which is 
 absolutely required by the changes of the American climate. 
 
 M. Bourdais, a large distiller at Constantiue, in the province of 
 Algiers, has written a pamphlet called, " Guide to the Distiller of the 
 Sorgho Sucre," in which he gives the result of his extended experi- 
 ments. He seems to have been a careful experimenter, and his book is 
 entirely practical ; indeed, he says himself, " All the eloquence of our 
 writings, rests upon the figures offered." We quote his language, as 
 follows :
 
 H. BOURDAIS' STATEMENT. 291 
 
 My first experiments were most satisfactory, and I should not hesi- 
 tate a single moment to pursue with new zeal, in consideration of the 
 initiative taken by M. Hardy, and with the appearance of a new plant 
 capable of giving in alcoholic products according to the figure of this 
 philosophic experimenter, a net profit of about $1,662 64. Let us re- 
 mark in passing, that Messrs. Madinier & Lacoste, in the new pamphlet 
 which they have just published, under the title of " Guide to the Cnlti- 
 vator of the Sorgho," carry this figure as high as 9241 fr. Let us re- 
 mark the enormous discrepancy between these two computations, 
 amounting to $185 30. 
 
 " By taking this figure of 9241 fr. as a basis, it is evident that a 
 planter should, with a capital of $20,000, distil in six or seven months, 
 the product of fifty acres, and realize thus the enormous profit of 
 $37,000. Twelve acres were quickly planted by me. Agreements 
 with other persons permitted me likewise to count upon the yield of other 
 estates upon which the sorgho culture had been undertaken. One may 
 judge exactly by the following figures what are the results. The calcu- 
 lation has been made to a most scrupulous exactitude : 
 
 COST OF CULTIVATING ONE HECTARE (ABOUT 2 ACRES). 
 
 1. CULTIVATION 
 
 Plowing, - - $16 
 
 Hoeing, 8 
 
 Making irrigation furrows, * .4 
 
 Sowing, 9 
 
 Watering, - - 10 
 
 Manures, ..... 20 
 
 Hoeing, and subsequent cost of cultivation, - 20 
 
 "$87 
 2. FIRST COST OF MANUFACTURE. 
 
 Cutting the canes at maturity, - - $14 
 
 Stripping the leaves (done by Arab children, at 1 fr, per day) 28 
 Transportation of the canes to the manufactory, - - 8 
 
 "$50 
 $137
 
 292 APPENDIX. 
 
 By following successive weighings, made with conscientious exact, 
 ness, I learned the fact that 1\ acres well managed, with the desirable 
 conditions of good culture, yields 
 
 1,520 metrical quintals of canes, deprived of their leaves. 
 
 278 " " green leaves, very excellent. 
 
 For the nourishment of stock, and representing, at sixty 
 
 cents the 250 Ibs., a sum total of $47 
 
 Adopting, as a starting point, the first cost of culture and 
 
 manufacture, the result above given would be - 137 
 
 My expenses were thus reduced by - 47 
 
 Giving $90 
 
 I had already a sure basis. Ninety dollars was my entire expense 
 for the product of 520 quintals of cane. I obtained the sum of 84 c. 
 as a representative value for the production per metrical quintal. I 
 will detail in another place the different operations which preceded the 
 distillation. It will be sufficient to say that a metrical quintal of canes 
 yielded, on distillation, 5-2 quarts of alcohol at 94, being 0.15.1 of 
 raw material for a quart of alcohol at 94. 
 Thus, then 
 
 The cost of raw material being, - $0 03 
 
 The cost of crushing, maceration of the bagasse and of the 
 seeds, fermentation, yeast of beer, distillation, rectifica- 
 tion, about, - - 10 
 Cutting and transporting to the still, 02 
 
 I obtain, as the cost at Constantine, for the 3|6* reduced 
 
 to 94o, - $0 15 
 
 This will, doubtless appear a high price, but taking into considera- 
 tion the extravagant price for manual labor in the province of Con- 
 stantine, the explanation will be sufficient. In fact, a workman em- 
 ployed either on the farm or in the distillery does not have less wages 
 than seventy to eighty cents per day, for ten hours' work. I have been 
 
 * A technical expression, used in France to signify a certain strength of alcoholic 
 liquors. It cannot be translated.
 
 M. BOUBDAIS' STATEMENT. 293 
 
 compelled to raise the salary of the chief distiller to $1 60 a day, which 
 iii France is not higher than $1 . It is the same with respect to the fire- 
 man, whose wages here are forty cents higher than they are in France. 
 The English bituminous coal which I use costs me at the distillery about 
 $1 75 per 250 Ibs. It will be urged, doubtless, that the native labor 
 would be less costly. The objection would be a valid one, if it were 
 possible to employ the Arabs in any other department than that of 
 manual labor. At a later day, when the culture of the sorgho has 
 become much more extended, and when they have become familiar with 
 it, we may possibly find among them those who would be able to fill 
 the more important places. 
 
 I have shown that about a quart of " 3j 6 " reduced, costs me for 
 hand labor about ten cents. This price may appear a high one, but it 
 is not very remarkable. I will show by the following figures that a 
 very large profit can be realized from it in the Algiers market, because 
 of the economy of transportation and other expenses. This economy 
 is not less than 40J cents. Let us calculate upon the exportation of 
 a pipe of 3|G of about 150 gallons, to France, at sixty cents per gallon, 
 supposing it put in the hands of a commission merchant in Marseilles. 
 We will have, firstly, then, to deduct for commission, 3 per 
 
 cent,, - - - $6 48 
 
 Storage, carting, guaging, etc., 1 20 
 
 Insurance, - - - - - - - - -108 
 
 Freight by steam vessels, 3 80 
 
 Commission for transportation to Phillippeville, and various 
 
 expenses, - - - - - - - - -120 
 
 Leakage, and other accidents of the journey, 10 litres, at 
 
 $1 80, 3 62 
 
 Transportation, Phillippeville to Constantine, at $2 50 per 
 
 50 gallons, 9 20 
 
 $26 58 
 
 It will be seen that the expenses for an order of 150 gallons are 
 very rapidly increased, before the merchandise can be put into the 
 storehouse, to the enormous figure of $24 54, about 16 cents per gallon, 
 which would be an entire profit if sold in the interior of Algeria.
 
 294 APPENDIX. 
 
 In fact, the net price, which we know to have been fifteen cents, is 
 reduced four, and then stands at eleven cents. 
 
 For the same reason the price of hand labor is reduced to about 
 seven cents. 
 
 It will be remarked that I have abstained from speaking of the seed 
 of the sorgho, when detailing above the productions of this grain. I 
 have made the best employment of this seed -the object of a special 
 study, and I believe that I have discovered its most profitable use, 
 taking all things into consideration. It seems to me an undoubted 
 fact, that there is a large profit from changing into sugar the starch con- 
 tained in the seed of the sorgho, by submitting it to a vigorous and 
 warm maceration, along with the canes. 
 
 I previously said, that a metrical quintal of canes yielded me on dis- 
 tillation about five quarts of alcohol at 94. 
 
 In this was included the juices expressed from the seed of the sorgho 
 by means of maceration. 
 
 I have passed without notice the so-called product to be obtained 
 from the bagasse, because, like the seed, I submit them to the same 
 maceration, in order to extract from them all the saccharine matter 
 which has escaped the action of the cylinder. I find a further profit 
 in this, since the bagasse, deprived of all its nutritive matter, after the 
 completion of the process of maceration, should not be eaten by stock, 
 as I have proved in my experience. As to a second crop being able 
 to give an additional amount of alcoholic products, it seems to me 
 little probable. We may count certainly upon a second crop, which 
 can give a large quantity of forage to be cut up and eaten. 
 
 All the writers who have discussed the sorgho sucre, have also men- 
 tioned as one item of production, the cerosie, which covers the stalks of 
 the cane. To my mind it is not worth while to engage in an opera- 
 tion so costly by itself, when the profits resulting from it are very 
 problematical. 
 
 The computations I have given are the results of distillation under- 
 taken with about twelve acres of crops made on alluvial soils, or river 
 bottoms, which can be irrigated at high water, and naturally manured 
 by the detritus of the old swamp, where my distillery has been located 
 for a number of years. 
 
 The truly surprising results which I have obtained, have been ad-
 
 M. BOUEDAIS' STATEMENT. 295 
 
 mired by the Director of the Government Nursery of Algiers, on the 
 occasion of a visit which he was good enough to accord me. He has 
 frequently noticed the existence on my place, of hills of sorgho, tiller- 
 ing from sixteen to eighteen stalks of twelve feet in height, which 
 often were five and a half inches in circumference at their base. In 
 other instances ten to twelve stalks have been very commonly noticed : 
 the average is from six to seven. 
 
 It is commonly known that M. Hardy is one of the first who has 
 occupied his time with the culture of saccharine plants, and very espe- 
 cially with the Chinese Imphee. The intelligent experiments which h * 
 has undertaken, upon a small scale it is true, (about half an acre,) and 
 as he says himself, deprived of favorable conditions, that is to say, not 
 ' having at his disposition any other instrument for distillation than 
 Saleron's still retort ; these trials, I say, although not permitting him 
 to arrive at results completely satisfactory, have not however suffered 
 him to have any doubt upon the future of a culture which promises to 
 be an inexhaustible source of riches and prosperity for Algeria. 
 
 Although it has been necessary for me to cultivate my grounds at 
 great expense, (at first with the pick, to eradicate all the stumps and 
 stubble of the old swamp ; afterwards with the plow, to bury as deeply 
 as possible by very arduous labor ; and finally to make ditches and 
 drains, for the aeration of the soil,) the result has amply repaid me for 
 all these labors attending the first cultivation. I will now confinu 
 myself to the details relative to the fabrication of the wines of th'j 
 sorgho, to their distillation, and finally to the rectification of the bran- 
 dies which have been obtained from it. I will explain as clearly as 
 possible different methods I have employed ; and I shall deem myself 
 happy if these reflections can open the way to other investigators. 
 
 DETAILS OF MANUFACTURE. 
 
 The canes, stripped of their leaves, are submitted to the energetic 
 action of a cylinder, with three rollers moved by steam, and making fifl y 
 revolutions in a minute. The vesou, or juice, runs into a vat of a capacity 
 of about one thousand gallons, placed under the cylinder. This firs* 
 operation finished, the bagasse passed out of the cylinder contains still a 
 large quantity of saccharine matter, which can be extracted in scarcely
 
 296 APPENDIX. 
 
 any other way than by maceration. This new operation is, however, 
 more indispensable, as the saccharine part remaining in the bagasse 
 gives in maceration for 2500 Ibs. of these latter, 500 gallons of juice, 
 weighing 3 by the areometer of Cartier. 
 
 Thus, then, 260 Ibs. of canes yield, in reality, seventeen gallons of 
 vesou, at a density of 10, or, as we have already said, five quarts of 
 alcohol at 94, being two gallons of alcohol to twenty-five gallons of 
 juice. But it is impossible to obtain these results if recourse is not 
 had to maceration. Thus there will be seen the motives which have 
 induced me to seek for the better employment of the seed of the 
 
 When I perceived that the cutting and stripping cost me so much, 
 I caused to be made in the fields of the plants which were growing, a 
 choice of the finest grain for my sowings of the following year ; and I 
 left the panicles adhering to the stalk. Of the remainder, the panicles 
 and leaves should be crushed in the cylinder and afterwards subjected 
 to the process of maceration with the bagasse. The action of the warm 
 water determining immediately the transformation into sugar of the 
 starch contained in the grain, I was able to obtain by a single opera- 
 tion the saccharine residue escaped from the cylinder, and to save thus 
 the cutting off the seed, stripping, the grinding of the grain, and the 
 trouble of the preparation of a certain quantity of malt to assist in the 
 fermentation. The possibility of leaving for some time standing in the 
 field the plants of the sorgho, has considerably assisted me in this ex- 
 periment ; for, as M. Hardy judiciously observes, the stalks of the 
 sorgho preserve themselves not only uninjured for several months after 
 their maturity upon the ground as they grew, but even increase in the 
 proportion of sugar. I find proof of that in the specific weight of the 
 juice, which in September last weighed 9 and now has increased 
 to 10. 
 
 FERMENTATION. 
 
 The juice as it passes out from the vats from maceration, is enriched 
 by the addition of pure juice, and arrives in the fermenting vat with 
 a density of 5. I have made what is technically called the " foot ;" 
 that is to say, by turning into a vat 200 gallons of juice at a tempera- 
 ture of 30; with this 5 quarts of brewer's yeast should be mixed ; an
 
 M. BOURDAIS' STATEMENT. 297 
 
 hour afterwards this " foot" is in full fermentation. I then filled my 
 vat with 500 hectolitres, at a temperature of 30. An hour after these 
 quantities pass themselves into fermentation. Let us remark that this is 
 the result of our own experience ; that this fermentation progresses 
 regularly, has no need of being watched, is never violent, and falls 
 always to zero of the areometer, in 20 hours at least, and 24 hours at 
 most. It is very true that the juice of the sorgho contains naturally 
 its own ferment. M. Hardy has considered it sufficient to produce 
 the alcoholic fermentation without the addition of any stimulant ; and 
 in this latter case this fermentation progresses very gently, much 
 too gently even, since it requires less than 6 to 8 days to fill ; and 
 finally it often happens that it ceases before the sugar is entirely 
 transformed. Then the wines weigh still 1, and sometimes 1|, by the 
 areometer. 
 
 DISTILLATION. 
 
 I distil my wines by steam, and by means of a column still, after 
 the system of M. Dubrunfaut. 
 
 RECTIFICATION OF BRANDY. 
 
 The rectifying column of which I have made use is that of M. 
 Dubrunfaut, comprising two analyzers, whose purpose it is to spread 
 the liquid of the condensation and the vapors, which are obtained 
 simultaneously. The 3|6 obtained are of a strength of 94, and fine 
 in flavor. It now only remains to present a summary view of the 
 figures which have appeared in the foregoing remarks, and to draw 
 the attention of the reader to the following conclusions : they speak 
 for themselves, and have no need of comments. We have seen that 
 about 2J acres can produce 58,240 Ibs. of stripped stalks ; and that a 
 hundred" kilogrammes (225 Ibs.) of these same stalks may give about 1 
 gallons of alcohol at 940. The hectare (2 acres) yields then about 700 
 gallons 3|6 at 94, worth in the Constantine market about $1 50 per 
 
 gallon, say $1,081 60 
 
 We know that the litre of 3|6 costs, all expenses included, 
 
 0.74.1, say for 200 gals. 400 73 
 
 There remains, per hectare, a net profit of . . . $680 87 
 
 13*
 
 298 APPENDIX. 
 
 In the preceding calculations we have examined the question of the 
 sorgho in all its relations, both as to the process for the transforma- 
 tion of its product, and the farm which gives them. In a word, it is 
 certain that an establishment thus constituted can distil in the space of 
 six or seven months a crop of about 50 acres, and produce by an ex- 
 pense of $20,000, (in which is comprised about $17,000 fixed capital, 
 represented by the apparatus and works,) a profit of $12,000, or 
 thereabouts. We have said the sorgho not only furnishes to industry 
 a precious element ; but furthermore, it can profitably be employed 
 as a forage crop. One acre cultivated in sorgho costs less for culture, 
 and pays incomparably more than the best artificial meadow. They 
 have already comprehended this in the north of France, as is shown 
 in one of the pamphlets previously quoted ; but in those countries 
 where the sorgho does not ripen, planters have to overcome difficulties 
 which do not exist for us, and are far from being able to obtain, not- 
 withstanding all their efforts, results equivalent to those which come 
 in this country without other assistance than native labor. [From 
 " Guide du Distillateur du Sorgho a Sucre." F. Bourdais. 
 
 REPORT OF THE COUNT DE DAVID BEAUREGARD, 
 
 TO THE AGRICULTURAL ASSEMBLY OF TOULON, UPOX THE ALCOHOLIZA- 
 TION OP THE JUICE OF THE SORGHO SUCRE. TOULON, 1857. 
 
 WE are aware of the fact that the juice of the sorgho, whose intro- 
 duction we owe to M. Montigny, has within itself all the ferment 
 necessary for the transformation of its saccharine matter into alcohol. 
 It ferments with such activity under a sufficiently elevated tempera- 
 ture, the formation of a great quantity of alcohol is so rapid that this 
 reacts upon the ferment, of which a portion precipitates itself before 
 having had time to accomplish its useful transformation. 
 
 Thus it often happens that one, two, and even three degrees of sugar 
 remain still in the wine of the sorgho at the moment when the fermen- 
 tation ceases. To this first cause of loss there is frequently added 
 another, when large vats are made use of.
 
 REPORT 01'' COUNT BEAUREGARD. 299 
 
 The temperature, under the influence of this tumultuous fermenta- 
 tion, arises in these great masses, even so far as to acquire, in warm 
 weather, from 35 to 40 degrees centrigrade, which occasions a still 
 further loss of a considerable quantity of alcohol. 
 
 Desirous of avoiding the viscous fermentations which cause so much 
 loss in sugar beet distilleries, when the proper degree of heat for tha 
 ferment is wanting, I heated my juice to 25 before putting it in the 
 vat, which I rapidly filled, and added to its various ferments. I not 
 only accomplished my purpose, but even got more than I desired. 
 The fermentation proceeded with great violence. The imaginary 
 inconvenience which I wished to avoid occasioned me a serious and a 
 real one. The heat and ferment only aggravating the conditions of 
 the operation, and I was not slow in perceiving that we obtained as 
 much less alcohol as the fermentation had been more lively, and that 
 there remained finally in the wine as much more of sugar in an 
 unchanged state. 
 
 I have since then been led to follow an entirely opposite course, 
 seeking to render the fermentation as mild as possible, but however to 
 make it complete by sustaining it at every moment. I avoided all 
 use of ferment in the juice of the canes, and I have made my vat of a 
 temperature as near as possible from 10 centigrade to zero. 
 
 To obtain this temperature when the weather is warm enough, in 
 September or October, it is well to treat only the canes cut the even- 
 ing before, and which are stacked against the north side of a wall to 
 profit by the moisture of the night. The juice likewise should be 
 caused to run into the vat in a continuous thread. Into the vat is also 
 introduced, at the same time, a thread of fresh river or spring water, an 1 
 if this should not be had, water from clean well-built wells.* The diame- 
 ter of this thread of water should be calculated, so that the mixture of 
 the two liquors shall mark 60 on Beaume's Glucometer. If the 
 machine discharges more of juice than is necessary to obtain this 
 density and this temperature, the necessary number of vats to regulate 
 that should be simultaneously filled. When frost comes it is necessary 
 
 * The mode of feeding can be altered. After a first vat full, In place of water, 
 vinasse taken from the still retort can be used, or, better still, the results from tb-- 
 maceration of the bagasse.
 
 300 APPENDIX. 
 
 to warm the mixture to obtain this initial temperature of 10 centi- 
 grade. In this case the water added is heated, aud not the juice. It 
 is necessary also, when the temperature of the juice is below 10, to 
 elevate the temperature of the water, so that it shall exceed 10 above 
 zero as much as it lacked of arriving at this point during the night 
 preceding the filling of the vats. 
 
 Despite this low temperature, fermentation commences even on the 
 firrft day, and thanks to the manner in which it commences and to the 
 mode of feeding, it is maintained mild and regular, transforming every 
 day into alcohol a sixth part of the sugar contained in the mass, and 
 making it gain two degrees of heat from the initial temperature,* so 
 that on the seventh day, my vats, of a capacity of about 250 gallons, 
 contained nothing but a liquid marking zero on the glucometer of 
 Beaume, and 22 of heat on the centigrade thermometer. 
 
 If it has gained only two degrees of heat in twenty four hours, it 
 will be found that the transformation of the sugar into alcohol is 
 diminishing, and the water should be heated to cause the mass to arrive 
 at the desired temperature during that day. 
 
 This will only happen when the outside temperature is very low. It 
 will be seen that the thermometer and the spirit guage are two instru- 
 ments which must be employed, unless tfte operator wishes to go blindly 
 to work. 
 
 The sixth day, that is to say, as soon as my vat is filled, I stir up 
 the mass with the hand, to replace in suspension whatever portion of 
 the ferment remains unappropriated. The next morning the transform- 
 ation is perfect. My wine is made ; but to abstract from the alcohol 
 a slight peculiar taste, due to the presence of certain essential oils 
 which it contains, I throw that day into the vat two kilogrammes of 
 powdered quick lime, (about five and a half pounds, troy,) previously 
 slacked with twenty litres of water, (six gallons,) and again rapidly 
 stir it up with the hands. 
 
 The lime unites with the essential oils to form an insoluble com- 
 pound, which is precipitated. 
 
 We will let the fluid remain quiet for two days, and we then distil 
 
 * On the morning before recommencing the distillation, the state of the fermenta- 
 tion and the temperature of the vat should especially be examined
 
 EEPORT OF COUNT BEAUREGARD. 301 
 
 it in the Derosne apparatus, and obtain in alcohol " 3|6 " of an 
 agreeable taste, reminding one somewhat of kirsch, almost as strong 
 per cent, as the juices indicated of degrees on the Beaume glucomcter, 
 say usually from eight to ten per cent. 
 
 This result, which I invariably obtained since my change of system, 
 seems to me of such a nature as to give confidence to those who, up to 
 this time, have not dared to undertake the culture of the sorgho, and 
 also to favor the establishment of distilleries, where the profitable 
 manufacture, on a large scale, of the crops brought in by the farmers 
 of the neighborhood can be undertaken. 
 
 But in this regard, gentlemen, and to enlighten those who would be 
 tempted to organize an enterprise of this nature, I believe it is useful 
 to add some words on the method I have employed up to this time, to 
 extract the juice of the cane. By mentioning the advantages and dis- 
 advantages of my process, I can enable others to profit by the experi- 
 ence, and do better. 
 
 You already know, gentlemen, that to extract the juice of the canes, 
 I pass them between plate cylinders, as is done in the colonies with 
 tropical sugar cane. This mode of extraction, sanctioned by long 
 custom, has seemed to me, more prudent to use at first ; but in order 
 that none of the juice may be lost, it is requisite to key up the cylin- 
 ders very closely, which requires the employment of a strong motive 
 power. 
 
 When the operator can make use of a strong and natural force, a 
 fine waterfall, for instance, the inconvenience which we notice is no 
 longer met with ; but if this cannot be obtained, it would be well to 
 try some other mode of extraction, requiring less motive power. A 
 crusher, a stalk or straw cutter, or other similar instruments, can ac- 
 complish the end desired. 
 
 The state in which the canes are found, according to the mode 
 adopted for dividing them, will naturally necessitate particular ar- 
 rangements in the work for the extraction of the juice, their fermenta- 
 tion and their distillation ; but this is not the place to enter into the 
 details of the subject. I wish simply to guard you against the idea 
 that the crushing cylinders will be found to be, in all circumstances,
 
 302 APPENDIX. 
 
 and in every case, the most suitable method of extraction to be 
 employed. 
 
 ***** 
 
 Of the other aspects of the culture of the sorgho, I shall not speak 
 at present, but having confined myself to the particular department of 
 alcohol manufacture, on which much light was needed, I shall esteem 
 myself happy, gentlemen, if I can contribute to extend the culture of 
 a plant which, for many reasons, seems to be one of the most precious 
 which Providence has ever placed at our disposal. 
 
 COUNT DE DAVID BEAUREGARD, 
 President of the Agricultural Assembly of Toulon. 
 TOULON, Dec. 2, 1856. 
 
 LETTER FROM PROF. AVEQUIN. 
 
 To the Editor of the N. 0. Bee: 
 
 You have published at different times during the past year, some 
 facts concerning the sorgho sucre, Holcus saccharatus, called the 
 Chinese Sorgho. These communications failing to give anything 
 exact as to the value of this plant, as an object of culture in Louisiana, 
 or as to the amount of sugar to be extracted from it, allow me to add 
 something to what is already known of it, and thus assist in arriving 
 at definite conclusions. 
 
 For some two years past the seed has been sown by several planters 
 in small quantities, and with favorable results ; but I know of none 
 who have attempted to extract the sugar in large quantity. Still, this 
 plant is quite important ; it ripens three months before the sugar cane, 
 and it can be crushed from the early part of August, and throughout the 
 whole of September, or still later even. This is at once a decided 
 advantage. But those who have written upon the sorgho have, to my
 
 M. VILMORIN'S RESEARCHES. 303 
 
 mind, a little exaggerated its sugar producing qualities, and its yield 
 per acre. 
 
 ***** >phe sor g no that I examined towards the middle 
 of September, had arrived at full maturity, perhaps a little past ; it 
 had been sown in good season. 
 
 The expressed juice of the sorgho is somewhat more turbid than 
 cane juice, but it is clarified by milk of lime as readily as is the latter. 
 The green froths which arise from it are nearly analogous to those 
 from the juice of the cane. This sap had a density of 1064 ; it reached 
 almost 9 Beaume, and had an acid reaction similar to that of all the 
 juices of canes. This property it owes to the acid phosphate of lime 
 which it contains. This same salt exists to an equal degree in the 
 sugar cane. 
 
 The sap of the sorgho contains a trifle more of salts of potash, acid 
 phosphates of lime, and phosphate of magnesia, than any equal quan- 
 tity of cane juice at least I have found it so in the sap of the sorgho 
 which I analyzed ; it may possibly be that other specimens would 
 contain less. 
 
 A litre of the sap of the sugar sorgho contains 7-50 grammes of 
 salts of potash, acetate of potash, muriate of potash, and sulphate of 
 potash. A gallon of it contains 28-38 grammes, or little more than 
 an ounce. 
 
 A litre of the sap gives 2-18 grammes of acid phosphate of lime and 
 of phosphate of magnesia. A gallon contains 8'23 grammes. A litre 
 has given 0'12 grammes of hydrated silica, mixed with oxide of iroif 
 and manganese. A gallon contains 0'45 grammes. These matters are 
 all in solution in the sap of the sorgho, together with other organic 
 matter, such as albumen, vegetable fibrine, chlorophyl, &c. These 
 latter substances offer no impediment to the extraction of the sugar 
 from the sorgho. 
 
 The sorgho, from a given weight, affords less sap than the sugar 
 cane, at least such is indicated by my experiments. It may be that if 
 taken when less ripe, the sorgho would give a larger yield of sap. 
 From several stalks of sorgho of good quality and fully ripe, I have 
 only obtained 42 per cent, of juice by expression, whilst I have readily 
 obtained 64 per cent, from the cane by the same process.
 
 30-i APPENDIX. 
 
 When a litre of sap of the sugar sorgho weighs 1064 grammes, 
 aoout 9 Beaume, a gallon of this same sap weighs 4 kilogrammes 0'31 
 grammes, or 8 Ibs. 14 oz. 'L drachms 14 grains, English weight. This 
 gallon of sap contains 652 grammes of sugar, salts, and organic mat 
 ters, or 1 Ib. 7 oz. 4 gr , English weight. 
 
 It gives per 1000 parts, in weight : 
 
 Sugar 152 
 
 Salts and organic matters 10 
 
 Water 838 
 
 1000 
 
 To make one thousand Ibs. of unrefined sugar, cleansed and well 
 dropped, with sap of the sorgho of a density of 1064, requires 1250 
 to 1300 gallons of sap. This sugar is of the same kind as that ex- 
 tracted from the cane. 
 
 The sugar of the sorgho will give almost as much molasses as the 
 cane sugar in Louisiana, perhaps a little less, because it has a density 
 a trifle more than the average of the cane in Louisiana, at least that 
 which I have examined. 
 
 One thousand pounds of this sugar thoroughly clarified, will not 
 give less than fifty-five gallons of molasses ; in some instances the molasses 
 would be in much greater proportion. In this respect the sorgho will 
 share the vicissitudes of the sugar cane succeeding years would not 
 give equal results. 
 
 An arpent (six sevenths of an acre) of sorgho, well cultivated, with 
 a good yield, might give eight hundred to one thousand Ibs. of raw 
 sugar, clarified and saleable. The experiments which I have made 
 upon the subject show this clearly enough. Certainly the sorgho cannot 
 supersede the sugar cane in Louisiana ; but it has great advantage 
 over the cane, in that it can be crushed from the early part of August, 
 and throughout September, whilst the cane cannot be crushed until 
 about the first of November. It remains to be known if this ad- 
 vantage can reconcile itself with the other interests of the planter ; 
 this I have not sought to establish. 
 
 The sap of the sorgho, after having been clarified, as do all the
 
 M. VILMORIN'S RESEARCHES. 305 
 
 sugary juices, can take ou the alcoholic fermentation ; it is almost 
 needless to mention this here. It may be distilled, and will yield tafia, 
 the same as that from the sugar cane. The molasses dripping from 
 the raw sugar of the sorgho juice may likewise produce rum or 
 alcohol, as desired ; but these alcoholic liquors have nothing of the 
 flavor of Cognac brandies, and cannot replace them in their various 
 uses. 
 
 We will conclude this notice by saying that the sugar sorgho makes 
 an excellent forage for animals, preferable to corn stalks. Cows, 
 horses, mules and oxen devour the leaves and the entire stalk, even to 
 the last particle. We ask of the planters to make trial of this plant, 
 either as a green fodder, or for the extraction of sugar. An experi- 
 ment upon twenty-five or thirty acres would be no great expense for 
 them. 
 
 Agree, gentlemen, &c., AVEQUIN. 
 
 SEPT., 1855.
 
 800 APPENDIX. 
 
 ALCOHOLIZATION OF THE STALKS OF INDIAN 
 CORN AND THE SUGAR SORGHO. 
 
 BY DURET, CHEMIST, PARIS, 1857. 
 ***** *#* 
 
 THE plant known under the name of sorgho, has been cultivated for 
 a long time in France, but is not designated under that name in the 
 west. It has been known under the name of broom corn, and under 
 the name of millet, in Gascony and the department of Landes. In 
 the early stages of growth, our indigenous sorgho differs very little 
 from corn ; has the some appearance, same leaf, same rapidity of 
 growth. In proportion as the plant grows, the peculiar appearance 
 of each is manifested. The leaves of the sorgho are less developed, 
 its stalks more hardy, more woody, grow to a greater height, whilst 
 those of the corn, more tender and full, preserve the appearance of 
 the sugar cane. This circumstance, which is met equally in the new 
 sugar sorgho, causes us to think that it would be without doubt 
 preferable to corn for the manufacture of sugar, because its juice 
 should contain less mucilage. Every one knows that this vegetable 
 product is injurious in the manufacture of sugar. The following 
 article upon the sugar sorgho we find in the journal L'utile el 
 I'agreable, for the month of April, 1855 : 
 
 " The sugar sorgho (holcus saccharatus) has been introduced into 
 France by M. Montigny, who has brought this plant from China, 
 where it is cultivated like grain. It is there designated under the 
 name of sugar cane of the north of China. The Chinese Tartars 
 make great use of it. At the great exposition of Moscow, in 1852, 
 some of the stalks of this kind of sorgho were exhibited under the 
 title Precieux Gaoutlam de la Chine gramine. Various experiments 
 in the cultivation of this plant have been made in several of our depart- 
 ments, from which it has been proved that it ripens perfectly in the 
 south of France. 
 
 "A report of the Agricultural Assembly of Toulon, to the Minister 
 of War, has communicated curious details upon the sugar sorgho in 
 respect to the agricultural industry, and to the manufacture of sorgho,
 
 ALCOHOLIZATION. 307 
 
 and also of distillation. The different experiments made in Le Var 
 have given very important practical results, proving that the vesou or 
 juice obtained from the sorgho is endowed with an alcoholic richness 
 much superior to that of all other substitutes for the vine. 
 
 " The sugar beet contains 8 to 10 per cent, of saccharine matter. 
 The sorgho, as has been proved by the experiments at Verrieres, by 
 M. Vilmorin, have given 16 to 20 per cent., from which can be 
 obtained 8 to 10 litres of pure alcohol, appropriate for all industrial 
 and domestic use ; and as this precious cereal, an excellent nourishment 
 for the stock, which eat it greedily, developes itself with extreme 
 rapidity, the same where irrigation is rare and difficult, it will be 
 readily understood that this is destined to play an important part in 
 our cultivations, and especially in those of Algeria. M. Turrel, the 
 author of the report, says that in accepting for France the yield 
 obtained at Verrieres by M. Vilmorin, with the sorgho cultivated on 
 his estate, we would have the following result. The sorgho furnishes 
 at a minimum of 50 per cent, weight of its stalks in sweet juice. As 
 a minimum yield, calculated according to the result at Verrieres, would 
 be about 30,000 kilogrammes to the hectare. From it could be 
 extracted at least 21 hectolitres of alcohol of a value of 3,780 francs, 
 which would give to the hectare a yield that no other agricultural 
 product can hope to equal. Let us add, that the yield in Provence 
 and in Algeria would be probably more considerable than that 
 obtained at Verrieres. M. Vilmorin notices a remarkable superiority 
 of the sorgho : the purity of its juice is such that brandies of the 
 first quality coming from it are sufficiently pure to be directly put into 
 manufacture. M. De Beauregard, in a recent report to the Assembly 
 of Toulon, has shown that having distilled the juice of the sorgho 
 fermented by the assistance of the grape stems, or of the bagasse of the 
 cane itself, he has obtained an alcohol of excellent flavor, which has 
 been sold in the Marseilles market at the ordinary price of other 
 alcohols (200 francs the hectolitre of 316). Several cultivators, of 
 Haute Marne are also undertaking the extensive culture of the sorgho. 
 One of them, M. Ponsard, has made for three years experiments upon 
 this plant. ' From it,' says he, ' I have arrived at the conviction that 
 the holcus saccharatus cannot in the climate of Paris be cultivated 
 on a large scale for manufacture. It will have an enormous yield as
 
 308 APPENDIX. 
 
 a forage, but as a sugar plant it will only be very lucrative at the 
 south. This has been well understood by the seedsmen of Paris, who 
 have sowed in Provence their stocks of seed for sale. This plant is 
 very prolific in seed. It is probable that in a very little time it will 
 be sold at as low a price as that of the common sorghos. Of an 
 easy culture and extraordinary hardiness ; considerable yield iu three 
 different respects, seed, forage, and sugar ; these are the advantages 
 presented by this plant. 
 
 " Its syrup is without any unpleasant taste : its alcohol very pure, 
 and without a trace of empyreumatic oils, so abundant in the alcohol 
 of the beet. The fermented juice makes a very agreeable drink. M. 
 Vilmorin has made of it a cider quite analogous to the cider from 
 apples. He has mixed with it, in variable quantities, various other 
 ciders and drinks made from fruits, and always with a decided advan- 
 tage. 
 
 " From the necessity of not covering the seed of this plant too deep, 
 in order to facilitate the germination, the sowings should be made on a 
 hot-bed, to preserve them from the birds, and other thieving animals."* 
 
 M. Ponsard adds :" It is to be hoped, and I am shortly expecting 
 this result to happen, that the cultivation in the climate of Paris will 
 render this plant more precocious, and that some varieties will be dis- 
 covered which will perfectly ripen their seed in this latitude. Under 
 these conditions, the holcus saccharatus will take its appropriate and 
 important position. From the cultivation of a small plot of this seed, 
 a person could have seeds for his poultry, forage for his cow, and an 
 agreeable and abundant drink for himself." 
 
 We will mention, in concluding our remarks concerning the trials of 
 the cultivation of the sorgho, which have been made at Hyeres by M. 
 Rautonnet : " The plant, in ordinary conditions, has furnished 30,000 
 kilogrammes of juice to the hectare a yield which exceeds that of the 
 beet. One stalk, of 450 grammes, gives 150 grammes of juice, con- 
 taining 10 to 15 per cent, of sugar." 
 
 * We do not agree with M. Bcnsart, that the culture of the sorgho, which is entirely 
 like thaC of broom corn, should be protected in the same manner. The transplanting 
 of it will injure its ulterior development. To preserve the seed against birds, it is 
 much better to wateh the crops, as is the custom with other seeds, until the plant 
 comes out of the ground and has acquired sufficient strength to defend itself against 
 their voracity. To expedite this matter, the seed may be steeped before sowing.
 
 ALCOHOLIZATION. S09 
 
 Before going further, it appears to us useful to compare the different 
 sugar-bearing vegetables, to glance at their yield of sugar. 
 
 1. The sugar cane gives, by the old process - 14 per cent. 
 By the new apparatus, perfected by Derosne 
 
 &Kyle 20 " 
 
 2. The sorgho cultivated in the South - - 20 " 
 
 3. Maple tree - 4 " 
 
 4. The beet - .... 10 
 But, in practice, obtain only ... 6 " 
 
 5. The Jerusalem artichoke, from 15 to 16 per 
 
 cent. - - 15 " 
 
 6. Corn cultivated at Paris ... 10 " 
 
 7. Corn cultivated at New Orleans - - 17 " 
 
 If this last figure is reliable, which we do not greatly doubt, the 
 corn cultivated in the south of France will give a result almost equiv- 
 alent. It will be understood that their conditions of growth are 
 similar in the corn as in the sorgho. In rainy seasons, a juice con- 
 taining more of water, should, by that very fact, contain a less pro- 
 portion of sugar ; which explains the remarkable differences between 
 the analysis made by different experimenters. Here, then, we are in 
 possession of two plants equally interesting and equally productive of 
 sugar ; for there exists between them some differences upon the score 
 of yield. This would only be matter of greater or less quantity ; but 
 their expressed juices are, chemically, the same. These two varieties 
 have between them a relationship so similar, that it should not be an 
 astonishing matter to see them giving similar products. We have 
 seen, in the article extracted from the journal, L'utile et I' Agreeable, 
 that M. Vilmorin has made with the fermented juice of the sugar 
 sorgho a cider of good quality. The fermented liquor of corn would 
 be quite similar to it. What confirms this fact is, that in Chili, and 
 in a part of South America, according to the saying of travelers, 
 they make with the stalk of maize a species of fermented liquor called 
 chica, which has, they say, the appearance and taste of a real cider 
 from apples. They add, that it is in common use in the households ; 
 and that, distilled, it furnishes a brandy very agreeable, which has 
 quite a similarity to rum. With these facts before us, then, we advise
 
 310 APPENDIX. 
 
 the reader, that in the following considerations we will not distinguish 
 between the two plants in all that respects the time of their maturity, 
 their leafing, the grating of their stalks, the pressure of the pulp, and 
 the use of the residues. They should be treated in the same manner 
 
 throughout And seeing all the good that is said of the sugar 
 
 sorgho and the articles published in its praise, we do not understand 
 why maize is passed by unnoticed. Is this a matter of speculation, or 
 a furor for a new product, such as is produced every day with all new 
 things. We are ignorant on the subject. We are far from dissuad- 
 ing agriculturists from undertaking the cultivation of the sugar sorgho. 
 We are much pleased, on the contrary, to give it a decided support, 
 and we place it in the first rank among our recent agricultural acquisi- 
 tions ; but these advantages should not hinder us from rendering to 
 each other product, of a similar nature, the justice which is their due. 
 While awaiting, then, the generalization of the culture of the sorgho 
 in our southern provinces, we beg that the cultivators will distil the 
 stalks of the corn. Besides the product in brandy, they will find in 
 the residue the means of increasing the food for their stock, in a 
 country where it is generally scarce and dear. Let proper attention 
 be given to both maize and the sugar sorgho ; the results will be about 
 the same. The capital point to obtain complete success is to seize 
 the exact favorable moment for gathering the stalks. If too soon, 
 the plant contains too much mucilage and gum ; if too late, the seed 
 has consumed part of the sugar contained in the stalk ; at least, it is 
 so in the maize. 
 
 It is probable that, at a subsequent day, there will be erected in 
 the southern districts manufactories for treating the sugar sorgho, 
 which we believe fully to be more appropriate for the manufacture of 
 sugar than corn, because we judge that its juice contains less of 
 mucilage and gum.* The yield of the sugar sorgho being equal to 
 
 * Our author has here made a very important distinction between the maize and 
 the sorgho. The sugar'of the corn, after the ripening of the seed, is very rapidly and 
 considerably reduced; but -with the sorgho, if we may judge from the experiments 
 made in Algiers by M. Hardy, not only does it not lose in its proportion of sugar by 
 standing in the field after it has attained a complete maturity, but, if the tufts be cut 
 off, the juice will actually show on the saccharometer a perceptible increase in 
 strength. H. 8. O.
 
 ALCOHOLIZATION. 311 
 
 that of the sugar cane, the planters of the south can, with profit, 
 compete against the sugars from the beets and from the colonies. 
 Undertakings of this sort would give very large profits, doubtless. 
 Not only is the sugar sorgho more rich than the beet, but it ripens 
 much more rapidly than the sugar cane. The agreeable use that can 
 be made of the molasses and the pulps of this plant, place it, in this 
 regard, in a position uuequaled by others. 
 
 What we have said concerning the erection of manufactories of 
 sugar in the south of France for working up the crops of sugar sorgho, 
 should be considered more as a hope than as a prophecy to be immedi- 
 ately realized. In these unenlightened districts, ingenious ideas applied 
 to agriculture are so scarce that we have but small hope of a speedy 
 realization of enterprises such as these. * * * * 
 
 EXTRACTION OF THE JUICE OF THE MAIZE AND OF THE SUGAR SORGHO. 
 
 To extract juice of sugar bearing plants, there is, independent of the 
 pressure of which we have already spoken, an expeditious process. 
 This is maceration. This system has been applied with success in the 
 manufacture from the beet. It has been found that those treated thus 
 are purer, ferment better, and suffer less change than when they are 
 obtained by prolonged pressure. Independent of regularity, which is 
 the distinct property of maceration, the treatment of beets by this 
 method is an excellent one in more ways than one. On the one hand, 
 the acidulated liquid boiling increases the sugar in the beets, sacchari- 
 fying them. On the other hand, it raises the temperature of the juice, 
 and disposes them to undergo a good fermentation. Maceration, then, 
 is particularly advantageous and applicable to the beet distilleries, 
 nearly all of which are in operation at the North, and at work on the 
 coldest days of the year. But it is entirely different with the maize 
 and the sorgho, as to distillation. Being accomplished at the South, 
 and oftentimes with the greatest heat of weather, the warming of the 
 juice is not necessary, any more than saccharification. The sugar 
 being 1 entirely formed in these plants, maceration in cold water would 
 have the effect of weakeuin >; these juices. It is just upon these points 
 of consideration that the press is preferable for it, because they yield 
 then the sweetest and densest juices In this condition they present
 
 312 APPENDIX. 
 
 less obstacle to fermentation and distillation ; although, it may be known 
 that the more sugar is dissolved in water, the more prompt and complete 
 is its conversion into alcohol, nevertheless, this absence of water can be 
 compensated for by a temperature more elevated, with the addition of 
 an increase of ferment. As the still retorts already in operation in the 
 vine districts operate mildly, and as we do not wish to change them, 
 it is much preferable, it will be understood, to distil the juices ferment- 
 ed at ten to twelve degrees of the saccharometer, than liquors of five to 
 six degrees, like those of the beet, obtained by maceration. 
 
 FERMENTATION. 
 
 The juice of the sugar sorgho contains truly its ferment in but small 
 quantity. It is well, then, to add to it, and even to force the quantity 
 to operate with more rapidity. This celerity is especially necessary 
 when the liquor is destined to be put to immediate distillation. It 
 would be quite the contrary, though, if this kind of cider is desired to 
 be preserved for a long time. The quantity of the fresh yeast of beer 
 to use, is about 500 grammes to the hectolitre of juice in fermentation. 
 
 In those districts far removed from the cities, it will often be diffi- 
 cult to procure the yeast of beer fresh enough, because the brewers are 
 very scarce. To obviate this inconvenience, which may present itself 
 in spite of all possible precautions, we propose to replace it with 
 the lees of wine, red or white, pressed and putrified a little, that may 
 be dissolved in the juice in the same proportion as would be the yeast. 
 It is well to notice that white lees have less action than red ones, and 
 that, consequently, there would be needed a greater quantity of those 
 to produce the same effect. Yeast, when it can be procured, should 
 be preserved in a cool place until the moment of using it ; otherwise 
 it will pass into putrefaction, and will no longer be good for use. 
 
 The fermentation of the juice may be sufficiently well done in the 
 great tuns used for wine in distilling districts. It is well to remark 
 that fermentation is accomplished more readily and completely in ves- 
 sels of great capacity, than in those which are smaller. A more ele- 
 vated temperature is also necessary for this latter. However, in the 
 absence of the first, we may make use of the second, but it is necessary 
 to practice the method emp :>yed for wines destined for the boiler.
 
 ALCOHOLIZATION. 313 
 
 These wines are fermented naturally, and without the use of dregs, in 
 the large vats, which are partially filled. This process presents two 
 advantages : the first is escaping the loss of the liquid, which wastes 
 nothing at the bung during the tumultuous fermentation ; the second 
 is rendering the fermentation more prompt, by reason of the sweet, 
 liquid being found in contact with a larger mass of air. This circum- 
 stance is very important for the production of alcohol. Every one 
 knows that if wine preserves its sweetness at the moment of introduc- 
 ing it in the still retort, there is a loss for the distiller. This circum- 
 stance indicates that all the sugar is not decomposed, that is to say, not 
 converted into alcohol. When the tumultuous fermentation is termi- 
 nated, it is not proposed to distil the liquor immediately ; it may be 
 drawn from the tuns and transferred into- the casks, in order to escape 
 the evaporation which would take place in large vessels but partially 
 closed. 
 
 FERMENTING HOUSES. 
 
 We will say but little upon these fermenting rooms. Their tempera- 
 ture should be maintained at about twenty-five to thirty degrees. In 
 the summer it would be well to take certain precautions not to suffer 
 this to be exceeded. For this purpose, it will be well to open the 
 doors and windows during the night, and closing them at n early 
 hour in the morning. In order to maintain the fermenting room at ;: 
 constant temperature, it should not be entered except when absolutely 
 necessary, and kept tightly closed. It is well understood that all we 
 say here only applies to distilling practice in the summer time, upon 
 the maize and sugar sorgho, intended to be fed to cattle afterwards, 
 of which the juice are extracted previously to make them ferment and 
 distil This manufacture, beginning in the month of June, should con- 
 tinue throughout the months of July, August and September, and be 
 completed about the end of October. 
 
 As to the distillation of the maize and the sugar sorgho, from whicl; 
 the seed is removed, as it is doue in the fall, it will be no longer neces- 
 sary to guard against an excessive temperature. It may be useful in 
 certain cases to warm the place artificially, and even to warm the juice 
 14
 
 314 APPENDIX. 
 
 To avoid the constant purchase of new quantities of beer yeast, it 
 would be well to fit against the vats some box or receptacle iu such a 
 way that the ferment which escapes from the bunghole can be received 
 iu the vessel placed below it. This ferment will do for subsequent 
 fermentations, in place of wine lees or beer yeast. On the same princi- 
 ple, the i'erineut which floats on the surface, in the large vats, may be 
 employed ; and the whole of this should be kept in a cellar until the 
 moment of using them. When it is thought proper to wash the pulps, 
 or parenchymas, in place of pure water, vinasse, or others, should be 
 employed, and then the pulps should be again put in press. These 
 wines, and those cooled containing their ferment, will permit of 
 diminishing by so much as the quantity is judged necessary for a good 
 fermentation. To warm the juice of the maize and of the sugar sorgho 
 when it is judged necessary, a large cauldron will be suitable, such a 
 one as is frequently found on estates. In the opposite case, the caul- 
 dron which is used for distilling wines would be made use of, always 
 taking, however, the precaution of malpng it perfectly clean before 
 using it. 
 
 In place of selling the ciders of the sorgho manufactured for the 
 still retort, to professional distilleries, it will be much more profitable 
 for the planters to distil it themselves. We recommend, then, all wLo 
 shall undertake this industry, to purchase apparatus of the kind we 
 notice in another place. This practice is much preferable to that in 
 use at the South. There the planter is obliged to take care of his 
 wines, and experience the loss resulting from the presses up to the 
 very moment of giving them to the distiller. Furthermore, the costs 
 of transportation, even to the distillery, are to be met by him, all of 
 which diminish by so much his profits. The prices of the proper stills 
 are quite moderate, and they give excellent yields of brandy. As they 
 are not at all complicated, or liable to get out of order, the most 
 ordinary hands will usually be able to conduct them after ~a few days' 
 practice. 
 
 The method which we have adopted for the distilling of the sorgho 
 is so simple, that we really believe that its general adoption presents 
 but very slight difficulty. Each one can, with our work in his hand, 
 undertake this industry. A. reference to the list of utensils indis
 
 ALCOHOLIZATION. 315 
 
 pensable for the work, will show to our readers that tbe expenses to be 
 met are really insignificant. 
 
 List of Apparatus necessary for the Distillation of the Sorgho, in those 
 countries where the Still Retwts are already in operation. 
 
 1. A rasping mill, such as is used in the sugar b^et factories, 
 
 but supplied with stronger teeth, because of the stalks 
 of the sorgho being harder - 
 
 2. A centigrade thermometer ....... 
 
 3. A saccharometer ---.---. 
 
 4. An alcohol meter - 
 
 About - - - $52 00 
 
 Thus the principal expense will be confined to the rasping mill, of 
 which the price is moderate, and within .the reach of almost every one. 
 For small cultivators, a mill at the price of thirty dollars to thirty- 
 two dollars will be sufficient. 
 
 Agricultural Distilleries. 
 
 The still retorts, with which the cognac brandies are made, are, 
 with trifling alterations, those which have been used for a hundred 
 years past. They consume much fuel, and perform their work very 
 slowly. Still, in spite of these defects, it must be that they offer, in 
 practice, a real superiority as to the qualities of the brandies, sipce 
 the merchants, the supreme judges in these matters, continue to prefer 
 the products of these still retorts to those of more perfect apparatus. 
 What contributes to maintain and perpetuate the existence of these 
 alembics in the vine districts, is their simplicity and their low price 
 advantages which cover up all their defects. Thus, to these two cir- 
 cumstances, the distillation has taken a wide range in the departments 
 of which we speak. There is scarcely a single small operator making 
 50 to 60 casks of wine who does not purchase a little still, with which 
 he converts his wine into brandy. These circumstances have urged us
 
 316 APPENDIX. 
 
 to advise their general adoption ; but to do away with a portion of 
 the inconvenience attendant upon their use, we have caused the ap- 
 paratus to undergo an improvement which, without making them lose 
 anything of their primitive simplicity, procures two important results 
 an economy, more or less, of fuel ; and a double production of 
 brandy in the same space of time. By this new plan our still gives 
 brandy of 20 to 22 of the first quality, while the old way only 
 gives these results after two successive distillations of the same pro-" 
 duct. The capacity of the apparatus is thus doubled, by an expense 
 which does not exceed two hundred francs on an average. 
 
 Expense attending the purchase and erection of an Improved Agricul- 
 tural Distillery. 
 
 1. A cucurbite, or copper cauldron, containing 80 gallons, 
 
 about $92 00 
 
 2. A copper wine heater, of the same capacity - - 14 00 
 
 3. A copper condenser, of 150 quarts - - - - 54 00 
 
 4. A wooden cooler, bound with iron - - - - 12 00 
 
 5. A copper worm - 40 00 
 
 6. A little pump, to introduce the fermented juice into the 
 
 cauldron 8 00 
 
 7. A rasping mill and its apparatus - 50 00 
 B. Cost of erection 20 00 
 
 Total -.-- $290 00 
 
 With this apparatus, which should operate night and day, according 
 to established custom, three heatings a day of twenty-four hours would 
 oe made, and about 240 gallons of liquid distilled ; but, as our maize 
 and sorgho wines contain double the alcohol as those of the beet, it is 
 about 475 to 500 gallons that would be worked up in this lapse of 
 time. This quantity of fermented juice would give about 16 per cent, 
 of sugar ; an average for the sorgho of about 38 gallons of brandy, 
 at 50 degrees centesimal ; and for cor\ about 12 per cent., about 30 
 gallons of brandy of the same quality.
 
 ALCOHOLIZATION. 317 
 
 For the, Distillation of 2,500 Ibs. of Sorgho Stalks, per day of twenty-four 
 hours. 
 
 To gather the stalks, cleanse them, rasp them, press them, 
 ferment the juice, and carry on the retorts, there will 
 
 be needed an overseer - -$060 
 
 An intelligent workman 50 
 
 A laboring man - 40 
 
 Two women, at Li francs each 50 
 
 A little boy, 15 or 18 years old - - , - - - - .30 
 
 Interest on the material used, at 10 per cent., calculated on 
 $400, (the season being about 150 days,) an average, 
 
 per day 20 
 
 Wood or coal --------- 49 
 
 A hectare, (about 2i acres,) sown in sorgho, should give a 
 minimum of 160,000 Ibs. Troy of stripped stalks. We 
 value 2,500 Ibs. at - 4 00 
 
 Total expense per day ----- $6 
 
 265 Ibs. of stripped stalks would give, according as the 
 
 had been dry or wet, from 50 to 60 per cent, of juice 
 that is to say, 130 to 160 gallons, which, added to the 
 water necessary for liquefying the pulps, would carry 
 the quantity of liquid to about 275 gallons, which would 
 furnish 45 gallons of brandy, at 19 degrees of Cartier. 
 This brandy, by reason of its quality, may be estimated 
 at about 55 cents per gallon ----- 24 00 
 
 Deduct the expenses, $6 90, profit per day - - - - 17 10 
 Multiply by 150 days, the profit during the season - - $2565 00 
 
 Distillery of Cognac Brandies. 
 
 We have mentioned that the distillation of cognac brandies is done 
 with very simple and cheap apparatus. We give here the description
 
 318 APPENDIX. 
 
 and the price, to afford an idea of what may be done with very little 
 capital. 
 
 Cost of Purchase and Erection of the Distillenes in Saimtogne and 
 I'Angoumois. 
 
 A copper cauldron of about 65 gallons, .... $70 00 
 
 A wash heater, of same capacity, of wood bound with iron, 10 00 
 
 A copper worm, 30 00 
 
 A wooden cooler, bound with iron, 10 00 
 
 4 wooden tubs to receive the products of distillation, . 10 00 
 
 Cost of erection, 10 00 
 
 $140 00 
 
 With this apparatus, three charges a day of 24 hpurs can be made, 
 which is about three barrels of 46 gallons. For fuel, only wood or peat 
 can be used. Peat charcoal cannot be used for this purpose, because 
 in burning it throws a very large quantity of heat, and would burn, 
 on the bottom of the cauldron, the leaves, seeds, and other heavy 
 matters which it is the custom to leave in the wine. These foreign 
 matters, precipitated by their specific gravity to the bottom of the 
 still, would be carbonized, and would give to brandy an empyreumatic 
 taste. In spite of the evident imperfection of this apparatus, not- 
 withstanding the time and fuel which they require, they accomplish 
 their work in a satisfactory manner, and give good results results 
 which are generally appreciated : for all the Cognac brandies are 
 made with an apparatus of this sort. We, however, beg the planters to 
 avoid the use of the wooden wine heater, because of the loss of alcohol 
 which it would evidently suffer to be made by the escape of the 
 steam through the staves. It would be well to replace this with a 
 copper vessel, or at least one of iron, which would be more reasonable 
 in price. With this modification, this apparatus can be employed 
 wish profit in the small manufactories. They can distil three hun- 
 dred barrels of about sixty-five gallons in the space of a season of 
 about five months, or a hundred and fifty days in duration.
 
 ALCOHOLIZATION. 319 
 
 Price of an improved distillery for operators on a small scale. 
 
 Copper cauldron of about 55 gallons, - $50 00 
 
 Sheet-iron wine heater of the same capacity, - - 30 00 
 
 Copper worm, - - 30 00 
 
 Copper condenser of 14 gallons, - 20 00 
 
 A small pump, - - 10 00 
 
 A wooden cooler, - - 10 00 
 
 A rasping mill and its apparatus, - 40 00 
 
 Cost of erection, - - - - - 30 00 
 
 Total, - - $220 00 
 
 Thus for $200 to $240, a small distillery could be had, embracing 
 all the advantages of that which we propose in another place, but 
 which would do one third less work, in consequence of the reduced 
 size of the apparatus. 
 
 Cider of the Sugar SorgJw, or the Maize, for Consumption and 
 for Commerce. 
 
 Those who wish to undertake this manufacture, should give more 
 care to the production of these sorts of cider, in order to give them 
 the property of keeping, equal to that of wine. 
 
 Below we give our formula. We can be certain that it will give 
 good results. We suppose the juice at 8, 10, or 12 degrees of 
 density, and the cask of a capacity of about sixty gallons. In this case 
 especially, the operator should be provided with a thermometer and 
 saccharometer, to weigh the juice and to assure himself of their tem- 
 perature before putting them into fermentation. 
 
 1 kilogramme, 500 grannies (3 pounds) of good pulverised argols, (the 
 raw tartar scraped from ,he cask of either red or white wine) ; 500
 
 320 APPENDIX. 
 
 grammes, equal to about 1 Ib. of grapes coarsely bruised ; about 2 Ibs. 
 8 oz., Troy, of fresh yeast of beer, or an equal quantity of good wine lees, 
 white or red, a little putrefied. When the lees of wine are used for 
 supporting fermentation, the dose of raw tartar is lessened, and 
 in this case would be reduced one kilogramme, 2 Ibs. 8 oz. only. 
 
 METHOD OP MANUFACTURE. 
 
 Put the tartar and the rapes in a hundred quarts of juice, that you 
 carry to the boiling point, (in warm weather it is not necessary to make 
 the juice boil.) After some boilings throw the whole into a receptacle 
 of a capacity of 65 gallons, and finish by filling with cold sorgho juice. 
 Before putting it into the fermentation, let the temperature fall to 
 25 or 30 degrees centigrade. Assure yourself of the actual degree 
 by the use of the thermometer. The next step is to take from the 
 vessel two or three quarts of liquid, add to it the two. and two third 
 pounds Troy, of fresh yeast form a mixture of it and throw it back 
 into the vessel. With a stick stir it all up together. 
 
 Some days after the fermentation shall have ceased, it is necessary 
 to draw of the cider, which already will have fermented in the large 
 vat, and place it in the cask, which should be entirely filled. 
 
 A month, or two months afterwards, the cider should be sealed up 
 and then drawn off with care to deprive it of its lees. Under such 
 conditions these ciders will be of very excellent quality, and can be 
 preserved like white wines, to which they bear considerable resemblance. 
 Like them they will gain in quality by becoming older. 
 
 If it is desired to give these ciders a flavor which they do not have, 
 there may be introduced into the barrel, either before or after the 
 fermentation, two ounces of powdered iris,* to 65 gallons ; or four 
 ounces of elder berries, or some vanilla. Many farmers may possibly 
 find this method of manufacturing cider, complicated and embarrass- 
 ing. To boil a portion of the juice before putting it into fermentation, 
 seems to them a useless and superfluous thing. However, I insist 
 upon this portion of our recipe, if it is desirable to operate with cer- 
 tainty. We are of the opinion, that the same process should be 
 
 * Fieur de lis, flag flower.
 
 ALCOHOLIZATION. 321 
 
 employed for wines in cool seasons. It is evident that this trouble 
 may be avoided in the summer, because the end which it is proposed 
 to accomplish by carrying the juices to boiling, is to make them 
 ferment at 25 or 30 degrees, the temperature necessary for a good 
 fermentation. This degree, we repeat it, is especially necessary for 
 casks of a small capacity. The larger the vats are made, the less 
 elevated a temperature is necessary. Thus for tuns of a capacity 
 of twenty-five to thirty hectolitres, 14 to 15 degrees would be ne- 
 cessary for a good fermentation. 
 
 Recipe for making a very agreeable beer with the juice of the sorgho 
 or of Maize. 
 
 The juice is boiled with about one Ib. of hops per twenty-five gallons, 
 or ten oz., Troy, according as it is preferred to be more or less bitter. 
 The juices are cooled to 25 or 30 degrees centigrade. Then they are 
 put in contact with the yeast, (as we have mentioned for the cider,) 
 one Ib. of quite fresh yeast to the twenty-five gallons. 
 
 As soon as the tumultuous fermentation is quiet, the liquid is 
 drawn off, and the second operation is ready to proceed in the same 
 manner as for the cider. 
 
 Then it is clarified with gelatine, or the white of an egg, in the ordi- 
 nary matter. 
 
 As will be seen, this process is very simple, and nothing can be more 
 economical. In this manner will be obtained, at a very low price, a 
 fermented drink very healthy and agreeable, which will present the 
 appearance and flavor of the most approved white beers. It suffices 
 simply to add to it a little caramel. 
 
 New Process of Fermentation, and preservation to an indefinite time, 
 maturing after several 
 
 The manufacture of the cider at a low price, with a preservative 
 quality, and that is made by age like wine, will have so important 
 results for the well be'ng and richness of our agricultural public, that 
 we have decided to treat it with all the detail that it is deserving of.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 We have already mentioned elsewhere, that the beer manufacturers 
 of Bavaria were in possession of this secret. Chance, aided by the 
 very low and suitable temperature of the climate, seemed to have been 
 the accidental cause of this interesting discovery. Its practical ope- 
 ration is very simple. It consists in carrying on the fermentation of 
 the sweet juice at a temperature of nine or ten degrees centigrade, in 
 shallow vessels with large surface, which are left without any other 
 care than from contact with atmospheric air. 
 
 By these processes, beers, ciders, and wines, acquire a great preserva- 
 tive quality. They are not at all affected with the variations of the 
 temperature ; and what is remarkable, they are as perfect some weeks 
 after fermentation as if they were two or three years old. 
 
 To thoroughly comprehend upon what law these good results depend, 
 it is indispensable to know the phenomena which occur in the alcoholic 
 and acetic fermentations. The ferments, which are the producers of 
 the fermentations, are azotized substances, in condition to unite with 
 oxygen, for which they possess a great affinity. They have, further- 
 more, the faculty of transmitting the action with which they are 
 endowed, that is to say, the fermentation, to the sweet alcoholic 
 liquids with which they are placed in contact ; but the degrees of tem- 
 perature necessary for these transformations are not the same for these 
 two different fluids. The degree the most favorable for the conversion 
 of the alcohol into acetic acid (vinegar), by means of a ferment, lies 
 between twenty-five and thirty degrees of centigrade ; at nine and ten 
 it loses completely this faculty, and it is no longer in action upon the 
 alcohol. On the contrary, the oxidation of the ferment at this low 
 temperature, does not experience any obstacle not more than that of 
 the sweet liquid to which it imparts its action, converting it into alcohol 
 by means of oxidation or fermentation. 
 
 Let us now apply this principle, deduced from the attentive observa- 
 tion of facts, to the manufacture of wines, as it is practiced. As soon 
 as the expressed juice of the grapes comes in contact with atmospheric 
 air, its ferment combines with the oxygen, and it produces at the same 
 time in the sweet liquid a like phenomenon. A part of the carbon of 
 the sugar unites with the oxygen of the air, and escapes in the state 
 of carbonic acid gas. The other part in converted into alcohol. Thia
 
 ALCOHOLIZATION. 323 
 
 transformation is accomplished very rapidly at a temperature of twenty- 
 five to thirty degrees ; but to deprive the ferment of its power to pro- 
 voke in the alcohol, in ratio as it is formed, the acetous fermentation, 
 one is obliged to diminish the access of the exterior air, by using a 
 vessel more or less closed. The fermentation being completed, if one 
 should continue to keep the wine at this same temperature, the ferment 
 would react upon it, and produce acetous fermentation. To avoid this 
 result, we hasten to fill up the vessels and to place them in a room hav- 
 ing a low temperature. In the meanwhile, the ferment remaining in the 
 wine, not being able to satisfy its tendency to unite with oxygen when 
 contained in a partially closed vessel, continues to oxidize itself mildly 
 by means of the small quantity of air which comes to it through the 
 staves. This action continues thus two or three years ; and little by 
 little, in ratio as the wine grows old, the ferment which completes its 
 oxidation, falls into the insoluble condition, that is, the condition of 
 lees, at the bottom of the receptacle. 
 
 In the fermentations usually made, one is embarrassed, then, by two 
 opposing difficulties. On the one hand, it would be necessary to put 
 the ferment in contact with the greatest volume of air possible, to make 
 it arrive, in the shortest space of time, at a complete oxidation, and to 
 force it in this manner to precipitate itself in the insoluble condition 
 of lees. On the other hand, this measure would have the effect of pro- 
 voking in the liquor the acetic fermentation, that is to say, its conrer- 
 tion into acetic acid. By the employment of the new process, we are 
 about to see that in a very rational manner we will satisfy these two 
 essential conditions. 
 
 When the sweet juices are put to ferment at a temperature of nine 
 to ten degrees centigrade, in shallow vessels, exposing a large surface, 
 where free access of air could be obtained, the complete oxidation of 
 the ferment is accomplished in the shortest time, as well as that of the 
 sweet liquid in which it is merged. In proportion as this action goes 
 on, the ferment falls to the bottom of the vessel in the unsoluble state, 
 the state of lees. 
 
 Fermentation terminated, it is only necessary to decant the wine sepa- 
 rate from its lees, to have hasperfect, as old as it would have become by 
 the old process after two or three years of age. The act, the phenomenon
 
 824 APPENDIX. 
 
 which has been accomplished in a wine which has acquired some age, 
 in truth consists precisely in this complete precipitation of the ferment 
 in the insoluble state of lees. The only difference, we repeat it, which 
 exists, is that its precipitation is immediately accomplished in the new 
 process, at the same time with the conversion of the sugar into alcohol ; 
 while, in the old process, the deposit is only produced slowly, after a 
 long time, and with the great labors of repeated rackings, etc. This 
 new method of fermentation is applied even to red wines ; and what 
 facilitates it in practice, is that usually the temperature is sufficiently 
 low at the time of the vintages. The ciders and the beers made 
 according to these rules, are not liable to sour, nor to turn in warm 
 seasons very important results, which recommend themselves to the 
 attention of manufacturers. 
 
 As every one will be convinced, the new process is simple. It does 
 not offer any difficulty other than that of a choice of the place capable 
 of being maintained at a constant temperature of nine or ten degrees 
 centigrade. Vaulted cellars, on the north side, naturally present all 
 these conditions. We beseech wine growers, manufacturers of cider 
 and beer, to make experiments after the manner we have indicated. 
 They can thus assure themselves if the results by them obtained have 
 been those which are advanced as facts upon the testimony of the 
 celebrated Liebig. In truth, this chemist has first made known this 
 new process as practiced in Bavaria. It is applicable alike to all 
 fermented liquor. The high reputation of learning and responsibility 
 which attaches itself to this name, illustrious in the sciences, assures 
 us that the experiments I advise will not result in disappointment. 
 
 By way of recapitulation, we .say that, with the juice of the sugar 
 sorgho and the maize, we can, with small expense, obtain the following 
 ' products : 1. By distillation, a good brandy, or alcohols, of the first 
 quality. 2. Ciders and beers, for commerce and household use. 
 3. Syrups, capable of profitably replacing the syrups of fecula, and 
 for the improvement of the wines in bad seasons. 4. Artificial wines, 
 of the nature of those manufactured by the city of Cette. 5. Vine- 
 gars, of a remarkable quality, almost equal to the best wine vinegars. 
 G. The nourishment of cattle with the stalks used in the press. 
 7. The manufacture, from these same stalks o other pulp, of a good 
 wrapping paper, which is naturally sized.
 
 M. VILMORIN'S KESEAKCHES. 325 
 
 RESEAKCIIES ON THE SUGAR SORGHO * 
 
 BY M. LOUIS VILMOBIN. 
 Translated for the " "Working Farmer," by H. S. Olcott. 
 
 THIS grass, which seems destined to occupy an important position in 
 the list of our industrial plants, has, as well as the " Igname de la 
 Chine," been introduced by M. de Montigny, and was included in the 
 same package addressed to the Gcographichal Society.* We still 
 hesitate as to the botanical name by which it should be known. That 
 of Holcus sacckaratus is manifestly an error ; not but that the plant is 
 probably the same as the one previously known under this title, but 
 because the portion of this genus characterized by the presence of a 
 little male spikelet, pedimculated, by the side of each fertile spikelet, 
 has been rejected long since from the Holcus family, in the genus An- 
 dropogon or Sorghum. In all probability, the species Sorghum vul- 
 gare (Andropogon Sorghum,) should include iu the number of its varie- 
 ties, the plant in question, as well as the Andropogon, cafra, bicolor, 
 &c., of Kunth. A recent, and still unpublished work by Mr. Wray, 
 which he has had the kindness to send me, notices, as growing on the 
 south-west coast of Caffraria, about fifteen varieties of this plant ; and 
 we ourselves recollect, that in a collection of the grains of Abyssinia 
 sent to the Museum in 1840, by M. d'Abadie, and which contained 
 about thirty species or varieties of the sorgho that certain plants at- 
 tracted our particular attention by the sugary taste of their stalks. 
 Here, as you see, are many causes of confusion, and, at the same time, 
 the elements of a critical work, with which my colleague, M. Green- 
 land, is, at my instigation, occupying himself. 
 
 I trust that his researches, aided by the comparative cultivation of 
 different known varieties, will enable us to assign these different varie- 
 ties to the botanical types whence they are derived. In the meanwhile, 
 the name of Holcus Sacckaratus may be provisionally adopted, since, 
 
 *Sce the "Kevue Horticole," February, 1854, IMous Saccharatus ; July, 1854^ 
 " Ignamc do la Chine ;" "Bulletin du Cornice Agricolo de Toulon," 1853, "Liste de 
 1'euvoi Moutigny "
 
 82n APPENDIX. 
 
 although evidently inexact as to generic characteristics, it has the ad- 
 vantage of being known, and of never having been applied to other 
 plants. 
 
 The plant on which were undertaken the experiments made at Flor- 
 ence in 176G, by Pietro Arduiuo, for the manufacture of sugar, did, 
 very probably, belong to the same species, but must have been another 
 variety, since he describes the seeds as being of a clear brown, whilst 
 those of this newly imported plant are black, and in appearance en- 
 tirely identical with the black sorgho of the older collections. 
 
 The sugar sorgho is a tall and slender plant, attaining the height of 
 two or three metres, or more, in rich ground (a metre is thirty-nine 
 inches. 0.) The stalks are straight and smooth, the leaves flexible 
 and drooping ; in appearance it is much the same as the Indian corn, 
 but much more graceful. It ordinarily forms a top, composed of eight 
 or ten separate stems, each terminated by a tuft of conical shape, and 
 covered with blossoms, green at first, then passing through different 
 shades of violet, to acquire a deep purple hue when completely matured. 
 
 It is probably an annual, and its cultivation and time for ripening 
 agree with corn (maize). In the climate of Paris it must be sown as 
 soon as the ground is warm, that is, at the time for the first sowing of 
 beans (haricots) ; the maturity of the seeds will be more probable, if 
 the plant has been grown in a sheltered nursery, or, better still, in a 
 hot-bed ; but, for the extraction of sugar, it will be sufficient to sow it 
 in the open field, provided the soil be light and moderately warm. 
 
 The product of the sugar sorgho, consists in the sap contained in 
 abundance in the pith of the stalks, which furnishes three important 
 products : sugar, alcohol, and a fermented beverage similar to cider.* 
 
 In truth, this juice, when one has obtained it with care, in a small 
 quantity, by depriving the cane of its green envelope, is nearly color- 
 less, and contains, so to speak, simply water and sugar. Its density 
 varies from 1-050 to 1-075, and the proportion of sugar from ten to 
 sixteen per cent. I include here the total of the two sugars, crystal- 
 livable and uncrystallizable, of which the latter sometimes makes a 
 third of their mixture. It is to this quantity of uncrystallizable sugar, 
 
 See the " Moniteur Universel' 1 of 13th NovemU-r, 1854; " Keveue Horticole," 16tb 
 November; "Journal d'Agriculture Pratique." '-'wb November.
 
 M. VILMOEIN'S RESEARCHES. 827 
 
 that the juice of the sorgho owes the readiness with which it ferments, 
 and the large product in alcohol which it gives, compared to the 
 amount of sugar observed directly in the saccharometer. 
 
 Considered in relation to the manufacture of sugar, the sorgho seems 
 to me to have small chance of success in the northern and central por- 
 tions of France that is to say, in the tracts of country where the cul- 
 ture of the beet is entirely successful. The strong proportion of un- 
 crystallizable sugar which it contains, is not merely so much loss in 
 this manufacture, but it becomes an impediment to the extraction of 
 the other sugar. It is not, however, because the products of the sorgho 
 are poor or difficult to be obtained, but simply that their nature ren- 
 ders them, under similar circumstances, more prolific in alcohol than 
 sugar ; and if, in the present state of the market, it is profitable tc 
 distil the beet root, which, by the most skillful processes, does not 
 afford an amount of alcohol correspondent to the proportion of sugar 
 which may be extracted, how much more potent reasons are there in 
 favor of the sorgho, whose juice yields more than the equivalent of its 
 extractable sugar. 
 
 It will be the same if we consider the sorgho in those warmer regions 
 where the beet cannot grow in competition with it. Some experiments 
 made with the stalks of sorghos cultivated in Algeria, sent to me by 
 M. Peschard of Ambly, Mayor of Phillipeville, produced sugar decidedly 
 superior in quality to that yielded by my plants raised in the environs 
 of Paris. The long time occupied in the transmission of the package, 
 caused a partial change to occur, which prevented my determining 
 with accuracy the comparative values of the two kinds of sugar in 
 the sorgho of Algeria ; but the nature of the sap, as well as the obser- 
 vations communicated to me by Mr. Wray formerly a planter in 
 Natal, Caffraria lead me to think that the proportion of crystalliz- 
 able sugar will at once become greater where the climate permits the 
 sorgho to attain a complete maturity. This plant, therefore, will fill, 
 in the production of sugar, the void existing between the tropical 
 regions alone suitable for the cultivation of the sugar cane and the 
 fourty-fourth parallel, which seems to be the southern boundary to the 
 profitable cultivation of the bejet root. Beyond this limit, the latter
 
 328 APPENDIX. 
 
 will probably excel in the production of sugar, while the sorgho, par- 
 ticularly in the provinces of the west and northwest of France, will gain 
 decidedly upon it in the yield of alcohol. 
 
 .As a sugar producing plaiit, the sorgho will offer as a recommenda- 
 tion, the ease of its culture and treatment of its sap. Its raw product 
 is probably greater than the sugar cane in countries such as Louisiana, 
 where the latter is known as an annual plant. Like the cane, it fur- 
 nishes in its leaves and tops an abundance of excellent green fodder. 
 Finally, its molasses, similar to that from the cane, may be used in the 
 manufacture of rum, and the residuum for a similar but inferior liquor. 
 The great difficulties to be met are, the preservation of the stalks, and 
 especially the short season suitable for its manufacture. But beyond 
 these geographical limits which have been heretofore indicated, the 
 warmth of climate willl allow of successive plantings. I am told by 
 Mr. Wray, of whom previous mention has been made, that in the 
 vicinity of Natal, the Zulu-Kaffirs keep the stalks sound for a long 
 time by pitting them, as there the ground is warm and moist. 
 
 We have just seen tlat for the manufacture of alcohol the sorgho 
 had the advantage of large proportions of uncrystallizable sugar, which 
 in sugar making is entirely lost. Another advantage is the purity of 
 its sap, which accounts for the fact that the alcohol made from it, as 
 also brandy of first quality, is sufficiently pure for immediate use. 
 
 Alcohol, distilled but once, and that imperfectly, which I obtained 
 with very incomplete laboratory apparatus, was absolutely deprived 
 of all foreign flavors, and even my finest liquors, ranging from forty to 
 fifty per cent., have quite an agreeable taste, similar to our noyau, and 
 would doubtless be useful to take precedence over the similar products 
 of the beet. When pure, their taste is infinitely less coarse and dis- 
 agreeable than that of rum ; after becoming old they would be very 
 superior. 
 
 I have said above, that, besides alcohol and sugar, the sap of the 
 sugar sorgho might furnish a drink similar to cider. In an article in- 
 serted in the " Moniteur," November 13, 1854, I essayed to draw 
 attention to the advantages to be obtained from the manufacture of 
 these fermented drinks. This question is still entirely new, and on
 
 M. VILMOFJN'S RESEARCHES. 321) 
 
 can scarcely tell to what it may lead ; but after the results I Lave ar- 
 rived at in my experiments, made under most unfavorable circum- 
 stances, I can but think that it has a profitable future. 
 
 The cultivation of the sorgho will probably not be difficult, as it 
 closely resembles that of maize and some millets. The obstacles to be 
 encountered will probably arise in giving it its place in the rotation ; 
 in this repect, there is, I think, more to lose than gain in its introduc- 
 tion, while the beet has constantly increased the aggregate yield of the 
 districts where it has been introduced. The sorgho, as well as maize, 
 is thought to be an exhausting plant ; the experiments I have hitherto 
 made, have been too few to allow my deciding on it from personal ob- 
 servation, but I entirely coincide with the established opinion on the 
 subject, and certainly the species to which this plant belongs, makes it 
 improbable that it could fill the same place in a rotation as the beet. 
 
 The value of produce that we may expect from the sorgho is diffi- 
 cult to determine in this state of the question ; my experiments have 
 been made on quite a small scale. The following is the result furnished 
 to me, and the deductions we may draw from it. The small plot of 
 sorgho which I have cultivated open field at Verrieres, in a sandy soil 
 of medium quality, was harvested 30th October. We gathered from 
 it as often as we needed it for the different laboratory experiments, 
 besides which one corner was much stunted by the shade of a large 
 tree, and another spot was reserved for a comparison between topped 
 plants and others on which we had left the tufts. The area cut the 
 30th of October, was 58m40, the yield was (weighed the day after 
 cutting), 
 
 Stalks and leaves, - - 285k400 
 
 Stalks, without leaves or heads, - 179k250 
 
 The lot was so irregular, and so badly covered, that I wished to 
 make another trial ; so in the part farthest removed from the trees 1 
 measured a square plot, where, although the plants were not very tall, 
 they were of average growth and covered the ground well. The 
 dimensions of the square were about 5m32, the yield (weighed the day 
 after cutting) was, 
 
 Stalks and leaves, - - 41kllO 
 
 Stalks, without leaves or heads, - - 26k230
 
 830 APPENDIX. 
 
 I think that this latter portion may be considered as representing 
 a good average crop, equal to forty-five thousand kilogrammes of 
 beets to the hectare. It is on these figures that I institute my com- 
 parisons. 
 
 For this plot the plants had been raised in a bed, and the plantation 
 was made during the early part of May. 
 
 In another plot, which was sown broadcast on the 18th May, merely 
 a few blades made their appearance. They had greatly needed weed- 
 ing during the early stages of their growth, and had been, in conse- 
 quence, much retarded. The yield was on a basis of 38,000 kilo- 
 grammes to the hectare. 
 
 A third plot, raised in a bed, and planted in the garden, was not 
 weighed ; it was gathered from time to time, as wanted in the experi- 
 ments for determining the periods of the development of the sugar ; 
 but I do not fear to deceive myself, in rating its yield, according to 
 the appearance of the plants, at about half that of the 5m 32 lot before 
 mentioned. 
 
 I have obtained as a result from the stalks, without leaves, an 
 amount of juice equal to fifty or sixty per cent. Of course, if the 
 tops are closely trimmed, or if we experiment simply on the selected 
 stalks, a much larger proportion will be obtained. With proper ma- 
 chinery it should easily touch seventy per cent. In the trial of 
 October 30th, (made with the village cider press,) on 215 kilogrammes 
 of stalks, large and small, from which only the tops and last joints had 
 been trimmed, 106 litres of juice were obtained, showing a density of 
 1-052. I calculate at least fifteen litres as lost in dampening the sur- 
 faces of the stone and press. 
 
 I have none of the sugar from the sorgho ; have simply made some 
 trials with the saccharoineter, decided usually by an evaporation and 
 a comparison with alcohol. 
 
 The following is the proportion of sugar in the sap of the plant 
 gathered at Yerrieres : 
 
 13th Oct., 1853, - - 10-04 for 100 of sap. 
 
 28th Nov., 1853, - 13-08 
 
 Do. do., second trial, - 14-06
 
 M. VILMORIN'S RESEARCHES. 331 
 
 13th Oct., 1854, - - - 10-14 without inversion* 
 
 ) of which was uncrystal- 
 14th Nov., 1854, - 16 [ lizable llf. 
 
 ) crystallizable sugar 4|. 
 
 The amount of alcohol has been determined by a direct fermentation. 
 The following are the figures in the order of trial : 
 
 The figures express the absolute yield of alcohol per litre, in the 
 cubic centimetres. 
 
 Sorgho at Verrieres : 
 
 28th Sept., 1854, - 41. 
 
 4th Oct., 1854, ... - 54. 
 Sorgho of Algiers : 
 
 1st fermentation, 17th Oct., 1854, - 70. ) by the Salleron 
 
 2nd trial some hours afterwards - 74. ) apparatus. 
 
 70-52 on distill. 1 litre 20. 
 
 2nd fermentation 18th Oct., 1854, - 79-52 
 Sorgho at Yerrieres : 
 
 20th Oct., ... . 72-51 on distillation 1 litre 
 
 16th Nov., 63-26 tops removed. 
 
 17th Nov., - ... 60-67 tops not removed. 
 
 If we withdraw from this table the yield of the 28th September, 
 which applies to plants evidently too young, and the four others relat- 
 ing to the Algerian sorgho, I find as an average for our climate, 6.3 
 per cent, in value, or 63 cubic centimetres of alcohol to the litre of 
 sap : an amount which, as one may see, is very encouraging, especially 
 if we consider the excellent quality of the products. 
 
 Establishing our calculation for yield on the basis previously given, 
 we have for a hectare planted with sorgho : 
 
 Stalks and leaves, ... - 77-270k. 
 
 Stalks alone, 49-300 
 
 Sap at 55 per cent, of the weight of the 
 
 27-115 lit. or 271 hectols. 
 
 * Inversion. This word is left in the original, because we cannot translate it liter- 
 ally, and make proper sense. It means, in this case, without the addition of foreign 
 matter.
 
 332 APPENDIX. 
 
 Sugar, calculated at 8 per cent, of sap, 2-169k. 
 Absolute alcohol, calculated at (r3 per 
 
 cent, of the sap, - - - 1-708 lit. 
 The best will give, in proportion with these figures : 
 Roots, in weight per hectare, ----- 46-000 
 Sap, at 80 per cent, of weight of roots - - - 36-000 
 Sugar, at 6 per cent, of sap, - - - 2-160 
 
 Pure alcohol, at 3 per cent, of the bee; ; - - - 1-350 lit 
 
 The calculation of eight per cent., on which I base the relative pro- 
 portion of sugar in the sorgho, may be thought too moderate ; but it 
 here refers simply to the extractable and crystallizable sugar, and I do 
 not think I have valued it at too low a figure. If it were proposed to 
 establish a comparison between the sorgho, and the sugar cane of more 
 southern countries, I am convinced that the sum of products in sorgho 
 should be much raised ; but the conditions necessary for such com- 
 parison are not in my possession, nor for those which might be made 
 between the same plant and the grape vine, topinambour, f v e grains, 
 and even the asphodel, in respect to the production of alcohol. 
 
 After having examined the advantage that the general cultivation 
 of the sorgho presents, and the considerations which favor the adoption 
 of this plant, it remains to me to cite some of the results yielded by 
 our first experiments, and which may be suggestive for further studies, 
 or as an index for the first attempts in manufacture. 
 
 One of the first points that I have sought to determine, without 
 being able to do so in an entirely satisfactory manner, was to know at 
 what epoch in the growth the stalks commenced secreting sugar, and, 
 as a consequence, at what moment to commence to manufacture. It 
 seemed to me that this period coincided with the development of the 
 head ; but the proportion of sugar in the stalk continues on the in- 
 crease until the grain is in the milk. In a plant in flower, I have re- 
 marked, that the richness in sugar diminished between the joints in 
 proportion as we go higher up the stalk, and that, in like manner, the 
 lower portion of each joint was younger and less sugary than the upper 
 part. In this condition, because of the small dimensions and hardness 
 of the smaller joints, it is the central portion of the stalk which is 
 found to be the most rich. I suppose without having been able to
 
 M. VILMORIN'S RESEARCHES. 333 
 
 decide certainly that at a later stage of growth the lower joints be- 
 come poorer, or, at least, if the sap does not become poorer in quality, 
 it is manifestly less abundant. 
 
 The ripening of the seeds did not seem, at least in our climate, to 
 diminish the yield of sugar ; but as this does not happen with us until 
 the extreme limits of the season, and as our plants have been contin- 
 ually enriching themselves in proportion as their growth continues, 
 the influence of the ripening in these phenomena cannot be determined. 
 It is only in these countries where the plant can attain the maturity 
 of its grains in a continuously warm season, that the matter can be 
 definitely settled. According to the report addressed by M. de Beau- 
 regard to the Chamber of Toulon, the ripening did not have with his 
 plants an injurious effect, and he considered the seed and the sugar as 
 two products which may be obtained conjointly ; then, again, accord- 
 ing to Mr. Wray, the Zulu-Kaffirs are accustomed to break off, by 
 a slight rapid movement, the tuft of their plants at the time it makes 
 its appearance, and thus increase the saccharine quality of the stalks. 
 This matter, however, is of no importance in France, where the ripen- 
 ing does not ensue sufficiently early to prove at all unfavorable. 
 
 The saltish taste of the very lowest knots has led me to think that, 
 in some cases, the salts might accumulate in predominance ; I have 
 had the intention, but not the opportunity, to satisfy myself of this by 
 incinerations. The fact would be in conformity to analogies, and de- 
 serves attention. Of no importance as to the manufacture of alcohol, 
 it still would have very much in that of sugar. 
 
 The ability to determine as to the richness in sugar of the juice, is 
 quite limited when recourse is not had to a polarizing saccharometer, 
 and, even with this instrument, inversion is absolutely necessary for 
 the juice of the sorgho, which always contains a greater or less pro- 
 portion of poorly made or uncrystallizable sugar. However, if this 
 instrument cannot be made use of, a tolerably good approximation 
 may be arrived at by the following process : After having determined 
 the density of the sap as it passes from the press, it should be caused 
 to ferment with care, and as completely as possible, at a temperature of 
 25 to 30 degrees, by the use of a very small quantity of the yeast from 
 beer ; the original volume, baving been previously marked by a guage.
 
 334 APPEND! A". 
 
 should be renewed, after the fermentation, by pure (or better, distilled) 
 water ; then a new volume, measured, of the fermented liquid should 
 be reduced to one half by evaporation, in order to abstract all the 
 alcohol, and again brought to its original bulk by means of water. 
 The areometrical quality of this liquid, taken after the above pre- 
 cautions, will be very nearly a true indication to the amount of cor- 
 rection to give to the density of the juice, provided always that it 
 shows its amount of sugar. We should, at the same time, determine, 
 and separately, the correction due to the small amount of yeast 
 employed. 
 
 The process which consists in evaporating the sap to dryness at a 
 temperature of 100 to 110, in taking it back to the alcohol at 85, 
 and again evaporating (a simplification of the Peligo process) may, in 
 many cases, give results with sufficient exactness for general practice. 
 
 To know the amount of alcohol which the sap can furnish, no other 
 method has succeeded better with me than the direct experiment. In 
 operating upon a litre, and even a half litre, of sap, at a constant tem- 
 perature of 30, with the addition of eight to ten grammes of yeast of 
 new beer to the litre of sap, I have frequently had, in eighteen or 
 twenty hours, fermentations sufficiently marked to cause the density 
 of the sap to fall, in this space of time, from 1-060 to 0-997. These 
 figures at once show how easily the sap of the sorgho ferments, and 
 how small amounts of foreign matters it contains, since, during a 
 similar experiment, the juice of the beet root never goes lower than 
 1-007 or 1-008. This fermentation finished, the alcohol is determined, 
 either by means of Salleron's apparatus, or, what I consider more 
 reliable, by reducing a litre or half a litre of liquid. I have always 
 found the results obtained by this latter process perfectly concordant, 
 and I think we may look upon them as exact. If one has kept a 
 record of the different volumes, as is done in the Sallerou apparatus, 
 the residuum after evaporation, are sufficient, as we have shown, to 
 determine the influence which the foreign matters in the sugar exert 
 upon the original density of the sap, and thus we obtain two calcu- 
 lations which prove one another. 
 
 The extraction of the sap does not present any difficulties. When 
 it is proposed to determine its proportion, we may employ either of
 
 M. VILMOBIN'S UESEAUCHES. 335 
 
 two methods : 1st. Cut the stalks into small pieces, chop coarsely or 
 abrade, press them ; this process gives us figures which approximate 
 to the yield in manufacture^ 2nd. Cut into small pieces, wash and 
 dry ; this gives the exact figures by comparison. 
 
 The extraction of the juices for their treatment, may be accom- 
 plished in many ways. In my first trials I made use of a small 
 rolling mill (laminoir) of which the work was so imperfect that I was 
 compelled to repass the stalks under a small percussion press of 
 sufficient power. In this way I obtained from fifty-five to sixty per 
 cent, of juice, in proportion as I used canes more or less alike or hard. 
 In another experiment I made use of a cider mill and an ordinary 
 press. The action of the rollers upon the stalks had liberated much 
 chlorophyl, and my sap flowed out much charged with green feculous 
 matter ; the yield was the same as above shown ; but a considerable 
 loss (about fifteen per cent.) due to the size of the apparatus as com- 
 pared with thje mass of matter on which I operated, carried these 
 figures higher than they should have gone. Without doubt, the use 
 of more powerful methods, such as crushing or hydraulic presses, as at 
 present successfully employed with sugar cane, would give greater 
 results, and such as would quickly meet the considerable expense of 
 commencing them. In those cases where only the distillation is looked 
 to, maceration might perhaps be resorted to with success, as a very 
 economical method, as well as the process which consisted in causing 
 the direct fermentation of the coarsely crushed canes. This latter 
 process would, however, have greater probabilities of success, as will 
 be shown, the crushed stalks constitute an excellent ferment for the 
 juice of the sorgho. 
 
 In the laboratory experiments I have always used as a ferment the 
 yeast of beer, because this is the most rapid and the best process for 
 quantitative experiments ; it, however, has the inconvenience of im- 
 parting a disagreeable odor to the products of distillation . However, 
 the number of substances which are adequate to inducing fermentation 
 is almost illimitable. The Count de Beauregard, who has made, in the 
 neighborhood of Toulon, experiments on an extensive scale, employed 
 with complete success according to what I have been told' by Dr. 
 Turrel the crushed stalks of the sorgho itself to induce the fer- 
 mentation of the juice.
 
 836 APPENDIX. 
 
 All the fruits may be used for the same purpose ; a bunch of grapes 
 crushed between the hands is sufficient to ferment a large vat of several 
 hectolitres, the juice of the sorgho containing naturally a sufficiency of 
 azotized matters to cause fermentation to continue naturally after be- 
 ing thus started ; a ferment of paste, made of the inner part of bread, 
 may take the place of the yeast. In the case where juice largely 
 charged with sugar and derived from very dry stalks, (and of course 
 almost deprived of those younger parts which yield nitrogenous mat- 
 ter) experience a too mild or incomplete fermentation, a little of the 
 flour of French rice will be sufficient to give it all the activity desired. 
 
 Once let the movement be established, it is probable that the method 
 of continuous fermentation so happily applied to the distillation of the 
 beet, and which consists in the constant introduction of a fine thread- 
 like stream of sweetened liquid into a vat where fermentation is already 
 active, might be adopted, and thus dispense with all anxiety as to the 
 procuring of different ferments. This method has the additional ad- 
 vantage, that it can perfectly regulate the fermentation, and thus obvi- 
 ate, as much as it is possible, the formation of acetic acid. 
 
 It is requisite, in order that the fermentation may be regular, that 
 the temperature should be maintained between 18 to 25 centigrade. 
 This precaution is especially necessary in the small experiments of the 
 laboratory, for which a constant temperature of 25 has always suc- 
 ceeded with me. I have made mention of a process of purification based 
 upon the use of oak-wood shavings, and which entirely destroys the 
 taste of the green matter arising from the crushing of the bark of the 
 stalks by the rollers.* I have observed since then, that, if they are 
 used in excess, either by too prolonged an ebullition or by increasing 
 the proportion of shavings, (which should never exceed 200 grammes 
 to the hectolitre of juice,) this method actually opposes the fermenta- 
 tion. We should therefore give some attention to the proper method 
 of employing it, the more, because for distillation the juices obtained 
 from the rolling mill are 30 clear as not to have a disagreeable flavor, 
 even when they are put to ferment in their raw state. Perhaps other 
 processes, such as the use of white wood and the coal of wood, might 
 be successfully employed for the defecation or clarification of juices. 
 
 * See Journal d 1 Agriculture Pratique, (No. of 25th November, p. 420.)
 
 M. VILMORIN'S RESEARCHES. 337 
 
 Lime, which perfectly clarifies the juice, cannot be applied to distilla- 
 tion, because of the disagreeable odors which it develops 
 
 Relative to the cultivation, there will remain certain points to be 
 decided upon. According to the observation communicated to me by 
 M. Ponsart, the grain requires, for perfect germination, to be very 
 slightly covered, which requires some care in the field sowings ; for, iu 
 this case, a large number of seeds will be lost, because of the fact that 
 the harrow covers them with too thick a layer of earth. This explains, 
 perhaps, that in the countries where they cultivate the common sorgho, 
 it is customary to use one decalitre to one and a half decalitres for the 
 drill crops, and from five to six decalitres for broadcast sowing ; whilst 
 the enumeration of the seeds contained in a kilogramme would show, 
 by calculation, a quantity of grains five or six times less. 
 
 The plants should necessarily be cultivated in drills, in order to give 
 them thorough cultivation and proper care ; these are indispensable, 
 especially during the infancy of the plant,' which is sometimes quite 
 protracted. The plan proposed by M. Ledocte to associate with 
 the plant we cultivate, when it germinates or develops slowly, another 
 of rapid growth, such as colza, lettuce &c., so that in a very short time 
 the eye of the farmer may distinguish the lines or plots occupied by 
 the plants which his cultivator should spare seems worthy of being 
 recommended in this case ; because the fine sprouts of the sorgho, 
 being confounded with grass, renders the operation of the first cultiva- 
 tion very difficult. The layering of the branches proposed by M. 
 Heuze, seems to me but slightly practicable. It is only in September 
 that they have become strong enough to be layered, and the plants 
 thus procured would not attain, even in a year's time, a development 
 which would warrant their cultivation. I shall have an analogous 
 observation to make on the separation of the plant raised in a bed ; 
 by decreasing the branching, this process would oblige one to plant 
 closer, which would compensate for all the advantages to be derived 
 from it. 
 
 The experiments relative to the preservation of the stalks, merit 
 
 above all to be followed with attention. I have heretbtore noticed the 
 
 use of covered pits in Caff'raria ; a commencement of drying by the 
 
 sun, having the effect of concentrating the sap in the stalks, might. 
 
 15
 
 338 APPENDIX. 
 
 make their preservation more certain and easy ; finally, the prepara- 
 tion of small clippings artificially dried, might perhaps pay for the extra 
 expenses which their preparation would cause, by enabling us to manu- 
 facture throughout the entire year. All the questions which attach 
 themselves to this order of facts, are so much more important to study, 
 because if they obtain a good solution, they would result in remedying 
 what may at present be regarded as the weakest point of the sorgho^ 
 the preservation of the stalks during a sufficiently long time to accom- 
 plish a regular manufacture. 
 
 REPORT 
 
 Addressed to his Excellency ike Minister of War, upon the Culture of tlie 
 Sugar Sorgho, by M. HARDY, Director General of the Government 
 Nursery at Hamma, in Algeria, Member of the Imperial Society of 
 Acclimation. Translated for this work by II. S. OLCOTT, of the 
 Westchester Farm School, Mount Vernon, N. Y. 
 
 (From " SUGAB CANB AND SUGAB MAKING," by C. F. Stansbury A. O. Moore.) 
 
 ON the 18th of May last, I sowed plots of sorgho sucre, comprising 
 a total area of about sixty-five square rods, (Eug.,) of a nearly uniform 
 quality of soil. The ground had been deeply worked and fully man- 
 ured, The seed was sown in drills eighty centimetres apart. When 
 the young plants had become sufficiently strong, I thinned out, leaving 
 them at thirty to thirty-five centimetres apart in the drill. The plan- 
 tation received during the season three hoeings and three slight irriga- 
 tions, which consisted in turning a small stream of water through an 
 open trench running alongside each row. Not more than four hun- 
 dred cubic metres of water were necessary to the hectare. At the 
 last hoeing the dirt was drawn to the foot of the plants, in such man- 
 ner as to form a slight hill, both for the purpose of protecting the 
 plants against the wind and to favor the development of extra roots 
 which spring from the stalk, as is the case with Indian corn.
 
 EEPORT OF M. HARDY. 339 
 
 The majority of stalks attained a height of four or nve yards ; a 
 great number did not exceed a thickness of ten to eleven centimetres. 
 The seed ripens about the middle of September ; and despite the at- 
 tacks of sparrows, the sixty-five square rods gave me four hundred 
 and twenty-five kilogrammes of seed, which would equal two thousand 
 five hundred kilogrammes per hectare. 
 
 I have also cut the stalk, to make comparative weighings from 
 various marked portions of the three plots. It was noticed that the 
 plants had usually from three to seven stalks, (suckers,) or an average 
 of five. The stalks stripped clean of their leaves, then deprived of 
 the upper ends, which contain little or no saccharine matters, were 
 reduced to an average length of 2"5 metres (a little over eight 
 feet). From these pieces I obtained by weight a yield of 83,250 kilo- 
 grammes of saccharine stalks to the hectare. 
 
 The preceding year, in my first experiment with the sugar sorgho, I 
 had planted it in groups about two and a half feet apart each way. 
 The stalks grew nearly like the crop of the present year ; but, crowded 
 too much by this close planting, they did not attain the weight and 
 diameter of this year's stalks. Their yield per hectare was scarcely 
 forty to forty-five thousand kilogrammes.* The spacing and mode of 
 planting, in 1855, seemed entirely suitable for soils of good fertility, 
 the only ones on which the sorgho culture should be attempted, if it 
 is desired to obtain its full development and greatest possible yield. 
 This wide culture likewise enables us to make use of horse tools, such 
 as the horse-shoe for cultivation, and the light plow to make trenches 
 for irrigation. 
 
 The stalks bruised in a mortar after having been cut into small 
 pieces, and then submitted to strong pressure, yielded sixty-seven per 
 cent of sap. 
 
 The juices had at the end of September, at the time of gathering 
 the seed, a density of 8| Beaume, which would indicate an approxi- 
 mative saccharine richness of thirteen per cent. I distinctly say an 
 approximative richness, not actual, for I have no saccharometer at this 
 
 * NOTE BY TBANB. The crop of sorgho raised during the last season 1856 at tho 
 Farm School, was planted in this manner 2}x8 feet six stalks to tho hill. The 
 plants attained an immense height, but were so weak as to be prostrated by a wind 
 storm, and the beed did not ripen in consequence. H. 8. O.
 
 340 APPENDIX. 
 
 place ; and this is the only instrument which enables us to determine 
 the per ceutage of uncrystallizable or grape sugar. It is, therefore, 
 to the polarizing saccharometer that we must look to determine this 
 important point. But supposing the entire sugar to be crystallizable, 
 the hectare would give the following result : S3 ^ X 67 = 5 fffV 7 X 
 13 = 7254 kilogramme of sugar, or the equivalent for one portion of 
 uncrystallizable sugar. 
 
 The sap containing grape sugar, or uncrystallizable, is not less sus- 
 ceptible of alcoholization than if it had none but crystallizable. But 
 I will again refer to this matter. 
 
 The stalks which had been robbed of their seed heads having been 
 left standing in the field, I had the satisfaction to see them two months 
 after the gathering of the seed still standing, untouched by the wind, 
 and safe from the attacks of worms, and, moreover, retaining their 
 original sweet taste. Thus we see that not only does the sweet prin- 
 ciple develop itself at the time of ripening the seed, but it continues 
 to exist, unchanged, in the stalks long after the seed tops are removed ; 
 and it is absolutely proved that in Algeria we may use the seeds of the 
 sorgho when they are fully ripe, without lessening the crop of the sac- 
 charine matters contained in the stalk. 
 
 The sorgho seed has at present an inordinate value, because of its 
 rarity ; but this will be but of short duration, and the price will rap- 
 idly descend to a level with the ordinary cereals, the yield being so 
 very prolific as to quickly surpass even the most unusual demands for 
 planting. 
 
 Besides the foregoing uses, this seed will bear a certain industrial 
 value, and have other employment than the rearing of poultry or pigs, 
 like the seed of the broom corn. Doctor Sicard, of Marseilles, has 
 discovered, during the past year, that the seed of the sorgho sucre 
 contains in the outer coating a very beautiful red color, from which 
 he has obtained all the various tints ranging from red to violet. M. 
 Chevreul has likewise noticed the remarkable and entirely character, 
 istic facility of this dye for tinting silk.* 
 
 * I have repeated the experiment of Dr. Sicard and M. Chevroul with entire success. 
 The hulls, stripped from the seed, andboi'edfor about fifteen minutes in pure water, 
 yield a deep purplish red solution, in which I have dyed cotton and silk fabrics. The 
 tints range from deep purple to a splendid opal. The dye, I find on microscopic exam
 
 BEPOKT OF M. HARDY. oil 
 
 For my part, I have extracted from the stalks a product which will 
 not be without its uses, and of which I will speak again. 
 
 The sorgho Sucre is, so to speak, perennial, for I have plants which 
 are now at the end of their second year of growth and are commenc- 
 ing to grow for tlte third season, and giving every evidence of an in- 
 tention to again complete the maturity of their growth. But I dp 
 not suppose it would be useful to preserve a plantation throughout 
 several seasons. I believe that the attempt would prove more trouble- 
 some than profitable. The second year the stalks scarcely attain a 
 height of one and a half or two yards. 
 
 These first experiments which I lay before your Excellency are not 
 the only ones undertaken by me ; I have made diligent study of its 
 virtues, and obtain the following results : 
 
 The stalks which had been topped to gather the seed, were allowed 
 to stand as they grew until the month of February last. I made ex- 
 tractions of juice at various periods. 
 
 First attempt (made in the latter part of September at the gather- 
 ing of the seed). Obtained sixty-seven of juice for one hundred of 
 stalks ; this juice showed a density of eight and three caiarters. 
 
 November 28, 1 obtained fifty-two per cent, of juice ; density nin- 
 and a half. 
 
 January 31, obtained fifty-one per cent, of juice of a density of 
 eight and a half. 
 
 Finally, February 16, last trial, I obtained 49'5 per cent, of juice, 
 with a density of eight degrees. 
 
 Thus, from the end of September until the end of November, the 
 stalks standing in the field lost nothing of their proportion of saccha- 
 rine principle ; for if the quantity of juice had diminished some fifteen 
 per cent., representing 0'66 per cent, of alcohol, on the other hand, 
 this juice had gained some 0'75 per cent, in richness, representing 
 
 ination, is contained In the fibers which make up the inner part of the seed hull, and 
 in the compact silicious structure of the hull itself. The fibers look like hemp fibers 
 dyed. The hull, after boing subjected to prolonged boiling, is not unlike in appearance 
 a piece of sheet India rubber. The color of the seed covering is not black, as is gen- 
 erally supposed, but a very deep purple. From the readiness with -which the dye 
 separates f om the hull, it seems as if this feature of sorgho culture would prove far 
 from unimportant.
 
 342 APPENDIX. 
 
 nearly the equivalent of atCObol ; whence it follows, that the saccha- 
 rine or alcoholic richness had on the contrary increased. 
 
 From the close of November to the middle of February, the dimin- 
 ution in weight and quality has not arrjved^ at such a degree as to 
 prevent the economical manufacture of products throughout this long 
 lapse of time. This is of great moment. In fact, whilst in the mid- 
 dle of France the frosts have destroyed the stalks of the sorgho as 
 early as the end of October, in Algeria these stalks may be preserved 
 without alteration, so to speak, and without expense, throughout 
 almost the entire winter, for the use of the distilleries. 
 
 The trials for alcohol producing, were made on the juice extracted 
 January 31. I put in two globes of glass, two litres of juice, with 
 the addition of a little brewer's yeast, somewhat old and slightly sour ; 
 and two other litres, without yeast. Then I boiled some cuttings of 
 the sorgho, which I then peeled and pressed. This juice was put in a 
 third globe. The three glasses were put in the green house for young 
 plants (serre aux boutures) the temperature ranging from twenty-two 
 to thirty degrees centigrade. 
 
 The next day, the juice which had been mixed with no foreign ingre- 
 dient, and which I call the plain juice, commenced fermenting. Num- 
 erous bubbles of carbonic acid gas arose ; but neither in the boiled 
 juice, nor in that mixed with yeast, were any signs of fermentation 
 manifested 1 . 
 
 The 3d February, I made a trial with the Salleron apparatus. 
 The plain juice, gave two and a half per cent, of alcohol ; juice 
 with yeast, gave ; boiled juice gave 0. 
 
 February 6th, second trial made. Plain juice, gave 6-20 per cent, 
 of alcohol ; juice, with yeast, gave ; boiled juice, gave 0. 
 
 February 8th, third trial. Plain juice, gave 10-30 per cent, of 
 alcohol ; juice, with yeast, gave ; boiled juice gave 1 per cent. 
 
 February 10th, fourth trial. Plain juice, gave 9'90 per cent, of 
 alcohol ; juice with yeast, gave ; boiled juice, gave 3-20 per cent. 
 
 February 12th, fifth trial. Plain juice gave 9'30 per cent of alco- 
 hol ; with yeast gave 1 ; boiled, gave 5-40. 
 
 February 14th, sixth trial. Plain juice gave 8*60 per cent, of alco 
 hoi ; with yeast, gave ; boiled, gave 2-40.
 
 REPORT OF M. HARDY. 343 
 
 February I6th, seventh and last trial. Plain juice, gave 7'90 per 
 cent, of alcohol ; with yeast, gave ; boiled juice gave 1-90. 
 
 This series of experiments seems conclusive, and proves that the 
 juice of the sorgho carries in itself a fermentative principle ; and that 
 it is not necessary to add to it any yeast to obtain the alcoholic fer- 
 mentation, if it be simply submitted to the proper temperature. The 
 addition of yeast, which, besides being of bad quality, neutralized 
 the action of the natural ferment of the albuminous matter in the 
 juice, and hastened rapidly the acidulous fermentation. The boiled 
 juice did not experience a thorough fermentation, because the albumin- 
 ous fermentable principle was coagulated by the cooking. 
 
 At the end of eight days, the fermentation of the plain juice of the 
 sorgho arrived at its maximum of alcoholization, and at this point 
 it should be submitted to distillation ; two days after, its alcoholic 
 richness diminished, and it passed to acidification. 
 
 The seed of the sorgho is equally as susceptible of giving a notable 
 per centage of alcohol, as the other cereals ; I myself have, as yet, 
 made no experiment in this direction ; but, by analogy, one is natu- 
 rally led to conclude that it should be so. The seed of the common 
 sorghum, (broom corn,) according to M. Bassel, gives 24-75 per cent, 
 of its weight in alcohol ; that of the sugar sorgho should not yield 
 less ; whence it follows, that the two thousand five hundred kilo- 
 grammes that one hectare produces, should give six hundred and 
 eighteen kilogrammes, and seventy-five grammes of alcohol. This 
 would, perhaps, be the best use to put it to, whenever the supply shall 
 exceed the demand for planting. 
 
 When the sorgho stalk has arrived at perfect maturity, a waxy 
 efflorescence develops itself on the surface, similar to that of several 
 varieties of sugar cane, and which is simply cerosie. Cerosie, or vege- 
 table wax, is dry and hard, and may be pulverized ; it is fusible at 
 ninety degrees ; mixed with a little purified tallow, it may be made 
 into caudles, which give a beautiful bright light. 
 
 I scraped the cerosie from a number of stalks, and found that a 
 hectare should give one hundred and eight kilogrammes, four hundred 
 grammes of this substance costing an average price of two hundred 
 and fifty-two francs for hand labor in gathering it. Beeswax being
 
 34:4 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 sold at four francs per kilogramme cerosie should be worth three 
 francs fifty ceuts; this would give a receipt of three hundred and 
 thirty francs sixty-two cents, and a net profit of eighty-eight francs 
 sixty-two cents, to be added to the other net profits of the sorgho 
 culture. This item would moreover assume a new importance, if we 
 find (as I 'doubt not we shall) processes of extraction of the wax, 
 more economical than the one employed by me, which consists in 
 scraping the stalk with a knife, in a similar manner to the process 
 employed with the wax bearing palm tree. 
 
 The forage for stock which may be obtained on a hectare, both by 
 stripping the leaves and by the after-math, has a determined value, 
 and it is no exaggeration to estimate it at two hundred metrical 
 quintals* when the stalks have been dried, and this, at four francs 
 per quintal, would yield eight hundred francs. 
 
 The total profit and expense of a well cultivated hectare of sorgho 
 sucre (molasses and syrup not being considered) would be as follows : 
 
 7954 litres, 68 of alcohol, at 140 fr. per hectolitre, the actual 
 price in the principal markets of France, deducting 10 fr. per hecto- 
 litre for transportation, waste, and expenses of all kind, would be 130 
 fr. per hectolitre, 10,341 
 
 108 kil. 400 grammes cerosie, at 3 fr. 50 c. per kil. - 330 62 
 
 20,800 kilogrammes forage, at 4 fr. per quintal, - - 800 
 
 11,471 62 
 
 EXPENSES. 
 
 Labor, 80 fr. ; cultivation, 40 fr., 
 
 Sowing, . ... 
 
 Hoeing, weeding, thinning out, 
 
 Irrigations, - 
 
 Manure used, - ... 
 
 Harvesting, - 
 
 Rent of ground, 
 
 Cost of extracting wax, 
 
 120 fr. 
 
 30 
 
 90 
 
 40 
 
 6C 
 
 80 
 100 
 252 
 
 772 
 
 * Quintal, 112 Ibs.
 
 REPORT OF M. HARDY. 345 
 
 Cost of distilling, at 30 fr. per hectolitre, 
 including hand labor, fuel, casks, 
 general expenses, interest on capital 
 employed, keeping of material, &c., - - 2386-40 
 
 Total expenses to be deducted, ------ 3158 40 
 
 Net profit, Fr. 8313 22 
 
 Or, $1662 65 
 
 This enormous profit would be due to the actual high price of alco- 
 hols ; but, supposing even that this should fall to 70 francs per hecto- 
 litre, which is certainly the lowest point it could reach, the total net 
 profit per hectare would still be 3,350 40 francs. It is hence readily 
 seen that the production of alcohol from the sugar sorgho in Algeria 
 will be a leading industry of such nature as to resist all crises, and 
 which cannot be too sedulously fostered. 
 
 The sugar sorgho needs, to pass through all the phases of its vege- 
 tation from the planting of the seed to the maturity of its grain, 2,760 
 degrees of heat. The middle of the month of May is the most favorable 
 time for planting and to secure fine growth. If sown at that time, the 
 plant would ripen about the 15th September, and consume 122 days 
 from planting to ripening of seed. This period is, undoubtedly, the 
 most favorable to obtaining seed for planting. However, the growth 
 may be made at a lower temperature, say an average of 12 to 15 
 (cent.) ; this would enable us to commence planting about the 1st 
 April. The seed planted at this time would produce plants ripening 
 their seed towards the 13th August, at the end of 135 days of growth. 
 Thus successive plantings might be made until the middle of July ; the 
 latter would ripen seed in the latter part of November, after 143 days 
 of growth. 
 
 The last mentioned date is, I think, the very latest on which plant- 
 ing may be done, with any certainty of ripening the stalks. Judging 
 from the marked peculiarity possessed by the stalks of the sorgho, of 
 remaining unchanged for several months, it is certain that distilleries 
 can be kept working on them for six months of the year. 
 
 They have seemed to fear, in the south of France, that in the long 
 15*
 
 346 APPENDIX. 
 
 run the sugar sorgho, if propagated exclusively from its seed, would 
 surely degenerate, and it has been recommended to propagate by 
 suckers. Their fears might be realized if this species were cultivated 
 without any foresight, in the immediate vicinity of some of its con- 
 geners, broom corn for instance. Degeneration might hi some cases 
 result, but there is nothing to be apprehended if the sorgho be kept 
 entirely separate and distinct. The propagation by suckers and shoots 
 would scarcely be practicable on a large scale ; besides, such pro- 
 ceeding would result in producing a feeble offspring ; the new plant 
 would be less vigorous and profitable. Nevertheless, to test this point, 
 I have made a small plantation of suckers of the sorgho sucre, and 
 intend to make precise experiments during the coming season. 
 I am, your 'Excellency, &c., 
 
 HARDY, 
 
 Director of the Imperial Central Nursery, 
 Hamma, Algeria, 1856. 
 
 That our readers may make the necessary allowances in comparing 
 the results set forth by M. Hardy with those in our climate, it 
 would be well to remember that Hamma, in Algiers, lies near the 
 latitude 36, which corresponds with Raleigh, N. C., Nashville, Ten- 
 nessee, and Fayetteville, Arkansas. Inasmuch as in Algiers the 
 sorgho gives the largest yield of all its products, it follows that its 
 culture in the United States will probably be found most remunerative 
 in the territory lying between 40 and 29, bounded on either side by 
 Baltimore and New Orleans. TRANS.
 
 SOKGHO IN THE SOUTH. 347 
 
 HISTORY OF THE SORGHO IN THE SOUTHERN 
 
 STATES. 
 
 BY D. REDMOND, 
 Associate Editor of the "Southern Cultivator." 
 
 [The following valuable communication from D. Redmond, Esq., 
 was not received in time for insertion in the body of this work, which 
 accounts for its appearing in the Appendix.] 
 
 IN the winter of 1854-5, 1 obtained, per mail, through a seed im- 
 porting house in Boston, two ounces of what was then denominated 
 " Chinese Sugar Cane, or Holcus saccharatus." I am not aware that 
 any of this seed had been distributed from the Patent Office in this 
 neighborhood, up to that time ; nor had I then any other evidence 
 of its value than the newspaper advertisement which induced me to 
 send for it. I have since learned, however, that the Patent Office 
 distributed a small quantity of seed in the spring of 1854 ; and that, 
 prior even to that time, the plant had been tested to a limited extent 
 by a few gentlemen in the vicinity of New Orleans. Nothing satis- 
 factory, however, was known of the plant here at that time ; and 
 wishing to have it thoroughly tested, I sent small samples, per letter, 
 to various agricultural and horticultural friends in Georgia, and the 
 adjoining states, requesting them to communicate to me the result 
 of their experiments with it. For myself, I merely planted seven or 
 eight hills, in rather poor ground, in my garden, and watched its 
 growth with considerable interest. At first I was disappointed, and 
 quite ready to rank it among the many humbugs of the day, as it 
 came up very weakly, like grass or Egyptian millet, and grew off 
 quite slowly. In a few weeks, however, it began to shoot upward 
 with great rapidity, and in less than three months attained the height 
 of ten feet, with large and well-filled heads of seed. When these 
 seeds were nearly ripe, I incidentally cut one of the stalks, peeled off 
 the hard outer husk, and was quite surprised to find a solid pith or 
 core, of about three fourths of an inch in diameter, crisp, brittle, and
 
 34:8 APPENDIX. 
 
 of an exceedingly sweet and pleasant flavor entirely unlike any thing 
 of the corn stalk family that I had ever tasted. It was, in fact, ready 
 made candy ; and as soon as the younger members of the family and 
 the negroes " got the taste i; of it, I was obliged to interdict its further 
 use, in order to save seed. When the latter were fully ripe, I cut off 
 the heads and saved them carefully, noticing, with some surprise, that 
 the leaves or blades of fodder were still as fresh, green, and succulent 
 as ever. The stalks were then cut off near the ground, and fed, leaves 
 and all, to my horses, mules, and milch cows ; all of which ate of it 
 with the greatest apparent relish and avidity. Considering that crop 
 disposed of for the season, I paid no more attention to the stubble or 
 stumps, until I happened to notice that, millet-like, they were shooting 
 out anew, and pushing on for a second growth. This growth I 
 watched with some interest, until the first frosts checked it ; at which 
 time the stalks were six feet high, full of broad and juicy leaves, and 
 with the second crop of seed just making its appearance above the 
 "boot." 
 
 Convinced by this time that it was valuable at least for the produc- 
 tion of soiling forage and dried fodder, I next turned my attention to 
 its saccharine properties, and fortunately induced iny friend, Dr. Robt. 
 Battey, of Rome, Ga., who was at that time pursuing the study of 
 experimental chemistry in the well-known laboratory of Prof. Booth, 
 of Philadelphia, to test it. As the result of his experiments, Dr. 
 Battey sent me three small phials one containing a fine syrup ; one a 
 sample of crude, brown sugar, ; and the other a very good sample of 
 crystallized sugar. This, I believe, to be the first crystallized sugar 
 made in the United States, from the juice of the sorgho sucre ; and, 
 as Dr. Batty's opinion of its value as a sugar plant, fully agreed with 
 the reports of the French savans, who had investigated its properties, 
 and with my own convictions, I disseminated the seed more widely 
 during the year 1856, and planted nearly two acres, for the purpose of 
 raising the seed largely, and more fully testing he saccharine property 
 and the ability of the plant to bear repeated cuttings, like the Egyp- 
 tian and other varieties of millet. It was planted very late, on thin 
 land, and received but imperfect culture , and yet, I that year cut it 
 three times, and saved a late crop of fodder from it in addition. The
 
 SOKGrHO IN THE SOUTH. 349 
 
 present year (1857) I have cut it four times, up to the present date, 
 August 26. 
 
 During the summer of 1856, particular attention was called to the 
 syrup making properties of this plant, by the Report of Governor 
 Hammond, of South Carolina, whose experiments had been most ably 
 and carefully conducted. 
 
 This Report was read before the " Beach Island (S. C.) Farmers' 
 Club," and was followed by that of Colonel Peters, of Atlanta, and 
 others, all of which were published, and presented such satisfactory 
 results that the agricultural community generally were aroused to the 
 importance of the new " Sugar Cane," and desirous of giving it a trial. 
 The largest growers of the plant, at this time (1856) were, Absalom 
 Jackson, Esq., of Montgomery, Ala. ; Colonel R. Peters, of Atlanta ; 
 Dr. Whitten, of Hancock Co.; Dr. Daniell, of Decatur, Ga., 
 and the writer. The seed raised by these persons was, we believe, 
 nearly all saved, and very widely disseminated over the Union, but 
 principally through the southern states, where, unquestionably, the 
 plant attains its fullest and most perfect development. Twenty or 
 thirty thousand packages of the seed alluded to were scattered over 
 the country ; and, in the South alone, probably thousands of acres 
 are now growing. A large number of the growers are preparing to 
 convert the juice of the sorgho into syrup and sugar ; and if an easy 
 and economical process for crystallizing the latter can be employed, 
 this plant will at once become one of our most important staple pro- 
 ductions. I have, within the past two months, received letters from 
 gentlemen in nearly every one of the southern states, who were rais- 
 ing the cane from seed which I furnished, and the terms of praise, and 
 even enthusiasm, with which they dwell upon its good qualities, are 
 truly gratifying to me. Upon the whole, therefore, the sorgho may 
 be considered a decided success, in the South, and the results obtained 
 may be briefly summed up as follows : 
 
 1. An acre of the stalks, properly cultivated, on fair land, will 
 yield from three hundred to six hundred gallons of excellent syrup, 
 equal to the bestNew Orleans, and worth, at present prices, from 
 forty-five to seventy cents per gallon. 
 
 2. If planted early, it will fully ripen two crops of seed, and two
 
 350 APPENDIX. 
 
 crops of cane for crushing as new shoots are invariably thrown out, 
 from the r\ots, and attain full development after the first cutting, 
 which takes place about the 25th of July, in this latitude, in favorable 
 
 3. From 25 to 100 bushels of seed can be raised to the acre, which 
 seed, for all feeding purposes, is at least as valuable as oats. 
 
 4. It bears repeated cutting when green, and is inferior to no other 
 plant for " soiling." 
 
 5. The seed and fodder are fully equal in value to an ordinary corn 
 crop, thus leaving the canes and their juice a clear profit to the cul- 
 tivator. 
 
 6. It withstands our long droughts much better than common corn, 
 retaining its green color and succulence even after the seed matures. 
 
 The various economical uses to which the sorgho may be applied, 
 are so fully adverted to in other portions of this work, that it is. 
 unnecessary to enter farther into detail ; and I will close by expressing 
 the conviction that, wherever the climate is suitable to its proper 
 development, this plant will fully realize all its most sanguine friends 
 have ever claimed for it. D. REDMOND. 
 
 Augusta, Ga., August 26, 1857. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE EXPERIMENTS OF L'ECOLE 
 IMPERIALS DES FONTS ET CHAUSSEES. 
 
 Specimens of tlie Stalks, Seeds, and Products of the Sugar Sorgho sent 
 by M. Raoulx. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF SOIL ON WHICH THE PLANTS WERE GROWN. 
 
 Hygrometric water, lost at 130 - - 3-220 
 
 Water of combination, organic matters, and carbonic acid 10'320 
 
 Nitrogen 0-201 
 
 Silica and clay, insc'uble in chlorohydric acid - - 74-900 
 
 Alumina - . 3-250 
 
 Peroxide of iron - - - 0-320
 
 ANALYSES. 851 
 
 Lime - 6-750 
 
 Magnesia - - 0-190 
 
 Alkalies 0-034 
 
 Sulphuric acid ' - - 0-223 
 
 Phosphoric acid - a trace. 
 
 Chlorohydric acid - - - 0-041 
 
 Loss 0-551 
 
 100-OOJO 
 
 This composition denotes a good soil, but of which the fertility is 
 nothing remarkable. 
 
 2d. ANALYSIS OP THE STALKS. 
 
 The stalks were cut in small pieces, and the analysis made of a 
 mixture of all portions of the stalk- 
 
 Thus prepared, they gave 
 
 Hygrometric water lost at 130 - - - 26-07 
 
 Organic matters and water of combination - - 71-93 
 
 Ash ....... 2-00 
 
 100-00 
 
 The analysis of the ashes gave 
 . A. Water and Organic Matter. 
 
 Hygrometric water lost at 100 - - 26-070 
 
 Carbon - 37-529 
 
 Oxygen - - 28-330 
 
 Hydrogen - 5-269. 
 
 Nitrogen - - 0-802 
 
 98-000 
 B. Ashes. 
 
 Silica - - 0-082 
 
 Lime 0*021 
 
 Alkalies (partly in state of carbonate) - 0-463 
 
 Sulphuric acid O'OSO 
 
 Chlorohvdric acid .... 0-156
 
 352 APPENDIX. 
 
 2d . Matters soluble in Weak Azotic Acid. 
 
 Alumina and peroxide of iron - - 0-132 
 Lime - 0-209 
 
 Magnesia - 0*099 
 Alkalies - 0-102 
 
 Phosphoric acid - - 0'107 
 
 1st. Matters insoluble in Water or Nitric Acid. 
 Silica and a little clay 0-493 
 
 Carbonic acid and loss - - 0-086 2-000 
 
 100-000 100-000 
 
 3d. ACID OF THE SOEGHO. 
 
 Hygrometric water lost at 130 - - 14-850 
 Organic matters and water of combination ; not including 
 
 nitrogen - 79-298 
 
 Nitrogen - - 2-052 
 
 Ashes 3-800 
 
 100-000 
 
 By a treatment with ether, the seed was found to yield 3-13 per 
 cent, of oil. Signed, 
 
 HERVE MANGON. 
 Countersigned, 
 
 CAVALIER.
 
 All the Hooks on I/us Caialo/jue sent by mail, 10 any par \. of the Uiaoii,fre 
 of pos/age, upon receipt of Price. 
 
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 LECTURES ON THE APPLICATION OF CHEMISTRY AND GEOLOGY TO 
 
 Agriculture. New edition, with an Appendix, containing the Author's Experiment* 
 
 In Practical Agriculture. 
 
 THE; COMPLETE FARMER AND AMERICAN GARDENER, i 25 
 
 RURAL ECONOMIST AND NEW AMERICAN GARDENER : Contahiin.sr 
 n Compendious Epitome of the most Important Branches of Agriculture and Knrai 
 Economy ; with Practical Directions on the Cultivation of Fruits and Vegetables, in- 
 cluding Landscape and Ornamental Gardening. By THOMAS G. FESSENDEK . 2 >ola. 
 ' tn one. 
 
 fESSENDEN'S (I. G.) AMERICAN KITCHEN GARDENER, - 50 
 
 CONTAINING DIRECTIONS FOB THE CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES AND 
 Garden Fruits Cloth.
 
 Books Published by A. 0. MOORE. 
 
 SASH'S (J. A.) PROGKESSIVE FARMER, - - - - SO 60 
 
 A SCIENTIFIC TREATISE ON AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY, THE GE- 
 
 ology of Agriculture, on Plants and Animals, Manures and Soils, applied to Practical 
 
 Agriculture ; with a Catechism of Scientific and Practical Agriculture. By J. A. NABH 
 
 BEECK'S BOOK OF FLOWEES, 1 00 
 
 IN WHICH ARE DESCRIBED ALL THE VARIOUS HARDY HERBACEOUS 
 Perennials, Annuals, Shrubs, Plants Mid Evergreen Trees, with Directions for theli 
 Cultivation. 
 
 I KITE'S (C. H. J.) LANDSCAPE GAEDENING, PAEKS AND PIEASUEE 
 GEOUNDS. 125 
 
 WITH PRACTICAL NOTES ox COUNTRY RESIDENCES, VILLAS, PUBLIC 
 
 Parks and Gardens. By CHARLES H. J. SWTH, Landscape Gardener and Garden 
 Architect, &c. With Notes and Additions by LEWIS F. ALLEN, author of "Rural 
 Architecture." 
 
 THE COTTON PLANTEE'S MANUAL, .... 1 00 
 
 BEING A COMPILATION OF FACTS FROM THE BEST AUTHORITIES ON 
 the Culture of Cotton, ite Natural History, Chemical Analysis, Trade and Consumption, 
 and embracing a History of Cotton and the Cotton Gin. By J. A. TUKJOEK. 
 
 UOBBETT'S AMERICAN GAEDENEE, .... 50 
 
 A TREATISE ON THE SITUATION, SOIL, AND LAYING-OUT OF GARDENS, 
 and the making and managing of Hot-Beds and Green-Houses, and on the Propagation 
 and Cultivation of the several sorts of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits and Flowers. 
 
 ALLEN (J. FISK) ON THE CULTUBE OF THE GRAPE, - 1 00 
 
 A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE CULTURE AND TREATMENT OF THE 
 
 Grape Vine, embracing its History, with Directions for its Treatment in the United 
 
 States of America, in the Open Air and under Glass Structures, with and without 
 
 Artificial Heat By J. FISK ALLEN. 
 
 ALLEN'S (E. L ) DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS, 75 
 
 BEING A HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE HOKSE, MULE, CATTLE, 
 Sheep, Swine, Poultry, and Farm Dogs, with Directions for their Management, Breed, 
 ing, Crossing, Rearing, Feeding, and Preparation for a Profitable Market ; also, their 
 Diseases and Remedies, together with full Directions for the Management of the Dairy, 
 and the comparative Economy and Advantages of \\ orking Animals, the Horse, Mule, 
 Oxen, Ac. By E. L. ALLEN. 
 
 ALLEN'S (R. L.) AMEEICAN FAEM BOOK, - - - 1 00 
 
 THE AMERICAN FARM BOOK ; or, a Compend of American Aprri cul- 
 ture, being a Practical Treatise on Soils, Manures, Draining, Irrigation, Grasses, Grain, 
 Roots. Fruits, Cotton, Tobacco, Sugar Cane. Rice, and every Staple Product of the 
 United States; with the Best Methods of Planting, Cultivating and Preparation for 
 Market. Illustrated with more than 100 engravings. By It. L. ALLEN. 
 
 ALLEN'S (L. F.) EUEAL ARCHITECTURE ; 1 25 
 
 BEING A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF FARM HOUSES, COTTAGES, AND 
 
 Out Buildings, comprising Wood Houses, Workshops, Tool Houses, Carriage and 
 Wagon Houses, Stables, Smoke and Ash Houses, Ice Houses, Apiaries or Bee Houses. 
 Poultry Houses. Rabbitry, Dovecote, Piggery. Barns, and Sheds for Cattle, &c., .fee, 
 together with Lawns, Pleasure Grounds, and Parks ; the Flower, Fruit, and Vege- 
 table Garden; also useful and ornamental domestic Animals for the Country Resident, 
 &c., &c Also, the best method of conducting water into Cattle Yards and Houses. 
 Beautifully illustrated. 
 
 iff ARING'S ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE; ... 75 
 
 A BOOK TOR YOUNG FARMERS, WITH QUESTIONS FOR THE TOE OF
 
 Books Public/ted by A. O. MOOBE. 
 
 PAKDEE (E. G.) ON STRAWBERRY CULTURE ; $0 60 
 
 A COMPLETE MANUAL FOR THE CULTIVATION OF THE STRAWBERRY 
 with a description of the best varieties. 
 
 Also, notices of the Raspberry, Blackberry, Currant, Goosebeny, and Grape; with 
 directions for their cultivation, and the selection oi the best varieties. "Every process 
 here recommended has been proved, the plans of others tried, and the result is hert 
 given." "With a valuable appendix, containing the observations and experience ol 
 some of the most successful cultivators of these fruits In our country. 
 
 6UENON ON MILCH COWS ; 60 
 
 A TREATISE ON MILCH Cows, whereby the Quality and Quantity of 
 Milk which any Cow will give may be accurately determined by observing Nature' 
 Marks or External Indications alone; the length of time she will continue to give 
 Milk, &c., &c. By M. FRANCIS GUENON, of Libourne, France. Translated by NICHO- 
 LAS P. TBIST, Esq. ; with Inti eduction, Remarks, and Observations on the Cow and 
 the Dairy, by JOHN 8. SKINNEE. Illustrated with numerous engravings. Neatly 
 done up in paper covers, 37 cts. 
 
 AMERICAN POULTRY YARD ; 1 00 
 
 COMPRISING THE ORIGIN, HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION of the different 
 
 Breeds of Domestic Poultry, with complete directions for their Breeding, Crossing, 
 Rearing, Fattening, and Preparation for Market ; including specific directions for 
 Caponizing Fowls, and for the Treatment of the Principal Diseases to which they are 
 subject, drawn from authentic sources and personal observation. Illustrated wiih 
 numerous engravings. By D. J. BROWNE. 
 
 BKOWNE'S (D. JAY) FIELD BOOK OF MANURES; - - 125 
 
 OR, AMERICAN MUCK BOOK ; Treating of the Nature, Properties, 
 
 Sources, History, and Operations of all the Principal Fertilizers and Manures in Com- 
 mon Use, with specific directions for their Preservation, and Application to the Soil 
 and to Crops; drawn from authentic sources, actual experience, and personal observa- 
 tion, as combined with the Leading Principles of Practical and Scientific Agriculture- 
 By D. JAY BKOWNK. 
 
 RANDALL'S (H. S.) SHEEP HUSBANDRY; - - - 125 
 
 WITH AN ACCOUNT OK THE DIFFERENT BREEDS, and general direc- 
 tions in regard to Summer and Winter Management, Breeding, and the Treatment of 
 Diseases, with Portraits and other Engravings. By HENRY S. RANDALL. 
 
 THE SHEPHERD'S OWN BOOK ; 200 
 
 WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE DIFFERENT BREEDS, DISEASES AND MAN- 
 agement of Sheep, and General Directions in regard to Summer and Winter Man- 
 agement, Breeding, and the Treatment of Diseases ; with Illustrative Engravings, by 
 You ATT & RANDALL; embracing Skinner's Notes on the Breed and Management of 
 . v hep in the United . tates, and on the Culture of Fine WooL 
 
 YOU ATT ON SHEEP , 75 
 
 THEIR BREED, MANAGEMENT AND DISEASES, with Illustrative En- 
 
 graving^; to which are added Remarks on the Breeds and Management of Sheep ID 
 
 ' th Unit1 .-tales, and on the Culture of Fine Wool in Silesia. By WILLIAM YOUATT. 
 
 YOUATT AND MARTIN ON CATTLE; .... 1 25 
 
 BEING A TREATISE ON THEIR BREEDS, MANAGEMENT, AND DISEASE:-, 
 comprising a full History of the Various Races; their Orisin, Breeding and Merita; 
 their capacity for Beef and Milk. By W. TOUATT and W. C. L. MAKTIN. The whole 
 forming a Complete Guide for the Farmer, the Amateur, and the Veterinary Surgeon, 
 with 100 Illustrations. Edited by AMBROSE STEVENS. 
 
 8WATT ON THE HORSE ; 1 25 
 
 YOUATT ON THE STRUCTURE AND DISEASES OF THE HORSE, with 
 
 their Remedies. Also, Practical Rules for Buyers, Breeders, Smiths, &c. Edited by 
 W. C. SI-OONER, M.R.C V S. With an account of the Breeds In the United .-tates, by 
 HINRY s RANDALL
 
 Books Published by A. O. MOOEE. 7 
 
 XOUATT AND MARTIN ON THE HOG ; - - - - $0 75 
 
 A TREATISE ON THE BREEDS. MANAGEMENT, AND MEDICAL TKEAT- 
 
 ment of Swine, with Directions for Salting Pork, and Curing 1 aeon and Hams l!y 
 
 WM. YOUATT, Y.S , and W. L.MARTIN Edited by AJIJJKOSE STEVENS. Illustrated 
 
 with Engravings drawn from life 
 
 BLAKE'S (REV. JOHN I.) FAEJKER AT HOME; 1 25 
 
 A FAMILY TEXT BOOK FOR THE COUNTRY; being a Cyclopedia of 
 
 Agricultural Implements and Productions, and of the more important topics in Do* 
 
 mestic Economy, cience, and Literature, adapted to Eural Life. By Rev. JOHN L. 
 
 BIAKB.DD. 
 
 MUNN'S (B.) PRACTICAL LAND DRAINER; - 50 
 
 BEING A TREATISE ON DRAINING LAND, in which the most approved 
 systems of Drainage are explained, and their differences and comparative merits dis- 
 cussed; with full Directions for the Cutting and Making of Drains, with Remarks upon 
 the various materials of which they may be constructed . With many illustrations. I J 
 K. MUNN, Landscape Gardener. 
 ELLIOTT'S AMERICAN FRUIT GROWER'S GUIDE IN ORCHARD 
 
 AND GARDEN ; 1 25 
 
 BEING A COMPEND OF THE HISTORY, MODES OP PROPAGATION, CUL- 
 mre, &., of Fruit Trees and Shmbs, with descriptions of nearly all the varieties of 
 P ruits cultivated in this country ; and Notes of their adaptation to localities, soils, and 
 a complete list of t ruits worthy of cultivation, l.y K. E. ELLIOTT, Pomologist. 
 
 PRACTICAL FRUIT, FLOWER, AND KITCHEN GARDENER'S COM- 
 PANION; - 1 00 
 
 WITH A CALENDAR. By PATRICK NEILL, LL.D., F.R.S.E., Secre- 
 tary of the Eoyal Caledonian Horticultural Society. Adapted to the United States 
 from the fourth edition, revised and improved by the author. Edited by G. EMERSON, 
 M D., Editor of "The American Farmer's Encyclopedia.' 1 With Notes and Additions 
 by B. G PABDEE, author of "Manual of the Strawb'erry Culture." With illustrations 
 
 STEPHENS' (HENRY) BOOK OF THE FARM; 4 00 
 
 A COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE FARMER, STEWARD, PLOWMAN. CAT- 
 
 tleman, Shepherd. Field Worker, and Dairy Maid By HENRY STEPHENS. With Pour 
 Hundred and Fifty Illustrations ; to which are added Explanatory Notes, Eemarks, 
 Ac., by J- 8. SKINNER. Eeally one of the best books a farmer can possess. 
 
 FED DERS' (JAMES) FARMERS' LAUD MEASURER; - - 50 
 
 OR, POCKET COMPANION ; Showing at one view the Contents of am- 
 Piece of Land from Dimensions taken in Yards. With a set of Useful Agriculture. 
 Tables. 
 
 WHITE'S i W. N.) GARDENING FOR THE SOUTH; - - 125 
 
 OR, THE KITCHEN AND FRUIT GARDEN, with the best methods for 
 
 their Cultivation ; together with hints npon Landscape and Flower Gardening; con- 
 taining modes of culture and descriptions of the species and varieties of the Culinary 
 Vegetables, Fruit Trees, arid Fruits, and a select list of Ornamental Trees and Plants, 
 found by trial adapted to the States of the Union south of Pennsylvania, with Garden- 
 ing Calendars lor the same. By WM. N. WHTTB, of Athene, Georgia. 
 
 EASTWOOD (B.) ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE CRANBERRY ; 50 
 
 WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE BEST VARIETIES." BY B. EASTWOOD, 
 "Septimus" of the New York Tribune. 
 
 AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER'S MANUAL; .... 100 
 
 BEING A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE HISTORY AND DOMESTIC 
 
 Economy of the Honey Bee, embracing a frill Illustration of the whole subject, with 
 the most approved methods of managing this Insect, through every branch of it* 
 Cultu e; the resntt of many years' experience. Illustrated with many engravings 
 By T. B. MINJSB.
 
 Books Published by A. 0. MOORE. 
 
 IHAEE'S (ALBERT D.) AGRICULTURE - - - $2 CO 
 
 THE PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE, by ALBERT D. THAER ; trans- 
 lated by WILLIAM SHAW and CUTHBEBT W. JOHKSON, Esq., F.R.S. With a Memoir 
 of the Author. 1 vol. 8vo. 
 
 This work is regarded by those who are competent to judge as one of the most 
 beautiful works that has ever appeared on the subject of Agriculture. At the same 
 time that it is eminently practical, it is philosophical, and, even to the general reader, 
 remarkably entertaining. 
 
 BOUSSINGAULT'S (J. B.) RURAL ECONOMY, - 1 25 
 
 IN ITS RELATIONS TO CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, AND METEOROLOGY : 
 or, Chemistry applied to Agriculture. By J. B. BoussncGAUi/r. Translated, with 
 notes, etc., by GEORGE LAW, Agriculturist. 
 " The work is the fruit of a long life of study and experiment, and its 
 
 ill 
 
 " The work is the fruit of a long life of study and experiment, and its perusal >vil 
 id the farmer greatly in obtaining a practical and scientific knowledge of his profes 
 blon. v 
 
 MYSTERIES OF BEE-KEEPING EXPLAINED ; - - - 1 00 
 
 BEING A COMPLETE ANALYSIS OF THE WHOLE SUBJECT, consisting 
 
 of the Natural History ol Bees ; Directions for obtaining the greatest amount of Pure 
 
 Surplus Honey with the least possible expense; Remedies for losses given, and the 
 
 Bcience of Luck fully illustrated ; the result of more than twenty years' experience In 
 
 extensive -Apiaries. ByM QUINSY. 
 
 THE COTTAGE AND FARM BEE-KEEPER ; 50 
 
 A PRACTICAL WORK, by a Country Curate. 
 
 WEEKS ( JOHN M.) ON BEES.-A MANUAL; ... 50 
 
 OR, AN EASY METHOD OF MANAGING BEES IN THE MOST PROFITABLE 
 manner to their owner; with infallible rules to prevent their destruction by the Moth. 
 With an appendix, by WOOSTEB A. FLANDKBS. 
 
 THE ROSE ; 50 
 
 BEING A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE PROPAGATION, CULTIVATION, 
 and Management f the Rose in all Seasons; with a list of Choice and Approved Varie- 
 ties, adapted to the Climate of the United States; to which is addedfull directions for 
 the Treatment of the Dahlia. Illustrated by Engravings. 
 
 MOORE'S RURAL HAND BOOKS, 1 25 
 
 FIRST SERIES, containing Treatises on 
 
 THE HORSE, THE PESTS OF THE FABU, 
 
 THE HOG, DOMESTIC FOWLS, and 
 
 THE HONEY BEE, THE Cow, 
 
 SECOND SERIES, containing .... 1 25 
 
 VEP.Y LADY HEK own FLOWEE GABDENKB, ESSAY ON MANURES, 
 CLEMENTS OF AGBIOULTUBE, AMEKICAN KITCHEN GARDENEK, 
 
 BIRD FANCIER, AMERICAN ROSE CULTURE!. 
 
 THIRD SERIES, containing - 1 25 
 
 MILES ON THE HORSE'S FOOT, VINE DRESSEB'S MANUAL, 
 
 THE RABBIT FANCIER, BKE-KEETFE'S CHART, 
 
 WEEKS ON BEES, CHEMISTRY MADE EASY. 
 
 FOURTH SERIES, containing - ... 1 25 
 
 PERSOZ ON TUB VINE, HOOPER'S DOG AND Guir, 
 
 LIEBIG B FAMLIAB LETTERS, SKILLFUL HOUSEWIFE, 
 
 BROWNE'S MKMOIBS OF INDIAN CORN. 
 
 RICHARDSON ON DOGS : THEIR ORIGIN AND VARIETIES. . 50 
 
 DIRECTIONS AS TO THEIR GENERAL MANAGEMENT. With numerous 
 original anecdotes. Also. Complete Instructions as to Treatment under Disease. By 
 U D RICHARDSON. Illustrated with numerous wood engravings. 
 This is not only a cheap work, but one of the best ever published on the Dog
 
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