Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1833-1861, 1856-12-19
Sugar.

u
Sugar.
The following excellent practical
directions for the culture of the new
sugar cane, are from correspondent
Of the GRANVILLE Herald. 1t is suti-
cient to direct any farmer in the man
agement Of the crop:
Being requested by many to pub
lish statement, through the columns
Of your paper, of my experience with,
and the value of the Chinese Sugar
Cane. l therefore send you the follow
ing statement, which you will please
insert
On the a5th Of May l planted
about half an acre OF ground, one
year old, a portion Of the soil was
low and wet in the spring. IN fact I
covered the seed with mud, the 9TH
er part was high and sandy, the con-
sequence was when the dry season
set in, the wet part baked very hard
and the high burnt up for the want Of
rain. I plowed it when about ten inch
ess high and that was all the working
it got, with the exception Of slight
hoeing previous to plowing; my OBJ
ject was to ascertain the amount Of
ssccharine matter contained in the
stocks, and supposed enough would
grow to make the experiment-many
Of the stalks grew from l6 to 90 feet
hign. (in the low ground it only grew
i2 feet). Having made amill on
which to grind it, / commenced on the
cath Of September. the cane had then
received two or three frosts which
slightly injured the taste Of the water.
/ am convinced that the amount Of
stalks used can be grown on less
than quarter Of an acre, the amount
Of water obtained from the piece was
27o gallons, from which l made As
gallons Of aolasses which in favor
and beautiful bright red color, is far
superior to any molssses obtained in
the South. / did not try to grain any
Of it. as il will not grain after being
frosted; but am convinced there win
be no difficulty in granting it il tried
previous to frost. If 1t is planted by
the middle Of May it will ripen by
the end of August. and remain in
good condition until frost, and if
cut up and put in sheds Tin apprehen-
sion Of frost) It will keep we'll for a
month or more.
! will here give statement Of what
may be made per acre, judging from
the amount Of water obtained from
each stock. One of my neighbors,
Mr.. A. Degan, obtained from choice
stalks gallon Of water, and in an
other trial made by Mr.. McCleary.
Sen., and myself we pressed from 10
stalks one gallon and quart. The
number of stalks in a hill should be
from 4 to 6. In my calculations / on
ly estimate lquart Of water to the
hill. allowing Is hills per square rod,
which will make 1850 hills to the
acre, and this. at one quart per hill
will make 6d0 gallons of water, which
will make 10 gallons Of molasses;
valued at rs cents per gallon would
amount to S82.50 per acre, and / do
not hesitate in saying that the amount
may be doubled. would urge upon
the farmers Of the Western country to
try 1t, you will not only save bu. make
money by the operation. l am well
convinced that in 1860 the Southern
planter will have no sale for his su-
gar in the State Of Illinois. From
present indications there will be 100
acress raised in Wabash county Si0,-
600. The time TO commence working
the cane is when the seeds have chan
ged from green to dark red hue, al.
though It will remain good until fully
matured. ftf
Should any person wish to make
the experiment, l have some seed to
spare-one quart will plant an acre.
j. M. KROH.
McCleary's Bluff, Wabash Co., Ills.