Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1857-09-24
THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE.


Mesus. Editors AS the Chinese Sugar Cane
is attracting considerable attention among farm
srs, will give you my Experience with small
quantity planted by me this year. The manner
of culture, the process Of making the Syrup,
and the final result are the principal objects Of
interests to the planter. Ihad selected an acre Of
ground of light sandy, porous character, for the
purpose Of planting potatoes, butbsing disappont-
ed in getting stand of slips, Iprocured pack
age Of the Sorgho Sucre seed from Messrs. PLUMB
LEIrNER, Of Augusta, Georgia, for the recep-
ton of which appropriated one half Of the po-
tatoe patch The land had been previously pre-
pared by throwing up beds three feet wide,
which were now opened with small grab plow,
the seed deposited in the drill twelve inches
apart, two or three seed in place, and COW
cred lightly with the foot Of the dropper. In
the course of ten days the nlants were up to
half stand. The first working Was neglected for
some time with the hope that more would finally
come up, but seeing my mistake had it carefully
hoed, killing out all the grass and weeds and
drawing little soil around the tender stalks.
The young plant at this stage very nearly re-
sembed cork or crab grass, and in the first culture
care is required to prevent it from being mistaken
for grass and destroyed. After this first hoeing,
no labor was bestowed upon it for three weeks.
when it received four furrows with strait plow.
By this time the cane was knee-high When six
weeks DID, it was ploughed the second time with
the "eagle" or ''sveep"-passing only three times
in row. This was the last ploughing it received,
making with the first seven burrows for the culti-
tion Of the crop.
4 field of corn adjoining this Millet was seri-
ously injured by the drouth in July and August.
The character of the soil is the same with that of
the patch, yet while the cane retained its verdure
and freshness the blades of the corn were crisped
and dryed W. This led me to observe the remark
able ability of the Millet to endure drouth. When
the cene was in full bloom, cut and fed few
stalks to the hogs which they eagerly devoured.
Horses likewise appeared to relish it very much.
On the 9th of September, the seed having turned
black but not quite mature, and the stalk seeming
on the decline, had it cut as close to the ground
as possible, stripping off the blades and cutting
off the tops or ears, 1t was then hauled to the
mill where we began the process Of syrup-making.
The cane was passed through the mill but once
until we had expressed some forty gallons of juice,
which was poured into large cast pot. The fur
mace was fired and when the boiling commenced,
one teaspoon of lime was added for every FIVE gal
Ions of juice for the purpose of clarifying. The
green scum that gathered on the surface was re-
moved and the boiling continued four hours, when
the fire was removed and the contents of the pot
examined. The result was seven and quarter
gallons of very superior syrup. Owing to the very
bad stand the half acre produced only five thou
sand stalks, which yielded in all 220 gallons Of
juice and AZ gallons of syrup, pronounced by COM
petent judges equal to the best New Orleans Mo-
lasses sent on to DR.. ROBERT BArrY, Of Rome,
Ca, for Sorgho- o-Saccharometer, but the instru-
ment was broken on the way, and consequently,
the only means of judging the proper concentra-
ton was exposing in the air small quantities and
dropping it from q spoon until the proper consis-
tency was ascertained. The mill used was con-
structed by G.. B. GILL; of Chester, from model
in the August No. of the Southern Cultiuator, and
the same as that described BY Gov. HAMMOND In