Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1857-02-13

The chair called up the subject of the Chi
neso sugar cane (sorgham saccharoiun) TO
discussion, and by unanimous consent Of tn
society
Mr.. d. j. Browne, of the Patent Office
was requested to give his experience in re
spect to this plant lie first observed tina
he could say but little more than was alread,
known to the public, but was willing to ans
wer any questions on the subject which NIGH
be put TO him. The main points elected il
relation TO this product from his remarks and
replies may be summed up as follows:
Mr. Browne had had three years expert
once in the culture of this plant. He first
saw it grow in France. in 1854, and had ex.
perimented with it in the District of Colum
bia the two succeeding seasons. II was cul
tivated in various localities, differing in tn,
character of the SOIL its exposure to the sun
its moisture, dryncss, degrees Of fertility, &c
The seed was planted at different distances
apart, and at several periods. He found that
it succeeded best when sown in rows or drills
three feet apart, with plants a foot asundcr
along the drills, or in hills, with correspond
ing number of stalks to each. The time OF
planting varied from the LIST of MAY to the
goth of June That sown early in May did
not terminate before two or three weeks but
matured its seeds somewhat earlier than that
| planted late, that sown on the 2Oth of June
matured some of its seeds nearly as soon as
that planted ON the 10th of the same month.
The seed rpcned between the 10th of Sep
TENDER and the 5th of October. but unequal
ly in the same fields. In some instances it
stood excessive drought, as well as the light
frosts Of September and October, without in
jury. Whom the stalks were cut or eaten off
near the ground by animals in July, new
oh a..
Other plants were suffered to stand after their
ripened seeds had been removed. and new pan
ielos put forth in October, at their uppermost
joints, but did not mature. He had been in !
formed that plants were left in South Carolina |
IN similar manner the stalks of each of |
which ripened several successive panicles of
seeds. The seeds will mature from eighty to |
one hundred daya after planting. He also |
said that five crops of fodder had been cult |
waited in Florida the past season from the
same roots. the last periecting seeds.
The amount of seeds produced to the acre
in the District of Columbia varied from fifty
to sixty bushels, yielding in many cases gill
to stalk, The weight of green matured
plants to the acre he estimated to be from
fourteen to thirty-three thousand pounds. lie
was informed that in one instance, in Ken
lucky, nine tons of fodder were raised to an
acre, as weighed after three months driving.
As a fodder plant he thought its geographical
range would correspond to that of Indian
corn, as it had been grown as far north as ST.
/ Paul, in Minnesota, and fully ripenod its
seeds in Massachusetts, and Illinois. It grew
with the greatest luxurance ina moist, loany
soil, well MANFRED with an aspect but par
TALLY exposed to the morning and evening
sun, having attained heigh of seventeen feet,
with stalks an inch and a half in diameter
On dry Indifferent soils unmanured, and fully
exposed to the sun during the day. the plants
did not attain more than half these dmon-
sons. He remarked that both strip and SUI
gar had been manufactured from the Juice in
this country as well as in France. The SUI
gar which he had seen was both in a crystali-
Fable and uncrystalizablo state, the latter tech
nically known as grape sugar" Sirup of a
superior quality had been presented to him
from New Hampshire, equally as good as that
extracted from the perennial cane Byadopt-
ing the usual process in this country of max
ing sugar from the maple, by boiling down the
juice in a single kettle one would rarely sue
eeed in making good article from the West
India cane.
In Cuba and elsewhere it was common
practice, in manufacturing ''muscuvado" SUI
gar, first to cut the canes near the ground.
deprive them of their tops and leaves, convey
them Immediately to the MILL crush out the
juice by means Of three cast-iron or wooden
rollers, and cause il to flow to a series of boil
ers of peculiar construction, to which are ap-
piled various degrees of heat In the first
boiler the juice is raised to temperature
somewhat above blood heat and a small
quantity of lime-watcr is added to neutralize
the acidity. 1t is then transferred success
lively into the other boilers, undergoing differ
ent degrees of ebullition, temporing. and
other manipulations, which can only be learn
ed by practice, until it reaches the point of
! capitalization From the last boiler il is
poured into a receptacle, in which, by grad
ually cooling, II undergoes the process of
granulation. 1t is next scooped out, and
poured into ungazod oarthern pots, with small
aportures in their bottoms, and conveyed IN
the dripping Hoor, where the molasses. or
uncrystalizablo portions, falls into gutter
below, and runs into receiver, preparatory
to putting it up into casks. As soon as the
dripping is completed, which lasts several
days, and the sugar becomes moderately dry.
the pots are carried to large wooden plat
forms, the sugar omptod out, pulvorized by
beating, and then packed into boxes or casks,
Tor Shipment or use. He thought that if this.
or some similar process, were applied to the
juice OF the Chinese cane in the United States.
we might succeed in making from il crys-
talized sugar but, as about one third part is
uncrystalizable, it might be questioned wheth-
er the attempt 70 separate il would be eco
nomical
1t was stated that, by means of optical in
strumen's' we may clearly distinguish the
pifeponderanee of crystalizable sugar of this
plant as wei as that of Indian corn, and that
there appears to be some relation between
their maturity and the facility with which
crystals can be obtained lie was of the o.
plnion that this cane contained the greatest
amount Of saecharine matter when the seeds
were IN their milky stage and that the rich
ness OF the juice mainly depended upon hot
sun, continued summer haat, and warm.
moueia'eiy rich soil but not upon the lati-