The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1836-1851, 1842-05-25
From the Southern, Planter.
. CORN STALK SUGAR.

patents, tor avery interesting PailPliiet
published under the superintendence OF
lihe National Agricultural Society: At
contains two articles: one, on the subject
of making sugar from the stalks OF Indian
corn, and the other, upon the separation
! of the solid Constituent of fatty substances
for candles and other purposes.
!, Some time during the last year, Mr..
William Webb, of Wilmington, Della
ware, exhibited in Philadelphia some
specimens of sugar obtained from the
stalks of Indian c,rn, that attracted con-
siderable attention, and were much ad-
mil edf II their superiorq qaaflty. All vege-
tables contain more or less of saccharlnc
matter, and there are few substances in
nature out Of which sugar may not be
made We had thought, however, that
there was nothing yet discovered that
could compete with the sugar care. We.
therefore, ,iookcd upon Mr.. Webb'sopera-
tons rather as curious, than likely to lead
to any very practical results; and paid
very liftIesattention to the su ject. We
confess that this pamphlet, which is nel-
ther more nor less than the publication of
an address delivered by Mr.. Webb upon
the subject. places the matter in a new
light, and renders the subject one Of the
deepest interest to our readers.
Mr.. Webb claimsto have discovered
new, and practical use for our great crop
of Indian corn. If he is correct i'll his
estimates, we are destinedto become the
sugar growers of the world. Maize or
Indion cornis our peculiar product, and
Mr.. Webb thinlassthat@ sugar can be OBJ
tanned from it at less expense than from
any other article known to the world.
The many temptations offered by our
prosperous and happy government to the
cnslavcd population Of Europe, has al
ready produced tide Of emigration that
has filled the channels of industry at pre-
sent open. In almost every branch we
are producing to excess, and nothing is
more wanting than new resources for the
surplus labor that we have already collec-
ted. This desideratum, il his estimates
are correct, Mr.. Webb has obtained, and
he deserves to be ranked amongst the
benefactors who have added to the varic-
ty, and consequently, to,zthe extent of
the products of his country.
We have said, that the fact, that sugar
could be extracted from Indian corn, was
not new: but VIZ. Webb, by dint OF
sound reasoning and untiring experiment,
has discovered the mode of management,
by which the business may be made prof.
table. The corn should not be. permitted
to ear, nor the stalk to grow large. For
this purpose, the corn is sowed in drills,
and the ear nippcd off in the embryo
state, whereby the saccharlne juice of
the sap is retained in the stalk. BY the
bye, it seems, that M. Pallas, citizen
of that nation, which robs all others of
the merit of the discovery, had, as early
as 1889, demonstrated to the Polytechnic
Society Of Paris, the great saccharInc
properties Of Indian corn, and hemethod
of increasing them by separating the ear
from the plant Immediately after the tas-
selling. This essay Mr.. Webb had never
seen, and although he arrived at the same
results, he went far beyond the specula-
tions of the Frenchman: he has actually
made the sugar, Of aqna'ity pronounced
to be far superior to any thing obtained
from the beet with so imperfect an appa-
ratus. He has found that the r W juice
of maize is, in saccharine matter, to the
Juice of Louisiana cane, as 10 to s, and
to beet julc', as l0to3. He feels assur-
cd from calculations founded on expert
ments, that from 500 to 1000 lbs. of sli-
gar can be obtained from an acre proper
Iy cultivated in Indian corn. MIR. Webb
endeavors to demonstrate, in the Iirsl
place, that sugar must be made elsewhere
than in the tropics. Statistics, he says,
prove that a greater quantity Of labor isl
annually required in the West Indies for
the production Of the same amount of SILL
gar; that emancipation in some of the
Islands, and the unpopularity of the slave
trade, are daily lessening the only labor
that has been hitherto found for this la
borious and toilsomc production. So
that whilst the demand is hourly incrcas-
ing, causes are daily operating to lessen
the supply from the tropics. Out of the
tropics, The cane seldom natures, and
he therefore. cOmDareS the corn with the