Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1857-01-30
Four Days Later from EUROPE.

81
The steamship America arrived at Halifax on the
18TH having left Liverpool on the Sd inst. .s
The political news contains confirmation of the
late accounts from China. .,5..r-,
The American ship Portsmouth destroyed one of
lie Chinese forts for insults offered TO the nag OF the
United States.
Swiss affairs had assumed more favorable aspect
towards the continuance of peace.
The Paris Congress is proceeding satisfactorily.
Chinese Sugar Cane.
Our attention has lately been called to descrip-
ton of the cultivation of the Chinese Sugar Cane,
repoted 10 the Patent Office and to be found in the
AGRICULTURAL volume of that department for the year
1885. page 279 We extract the following report
from amongst various others, (made to the Beach
Island Farmers Club of Barnwell District, S. c., by
j. H. Hammond. Esq Patent Office Report page
aS2:
A rule of this Club, requiring every member to
make and report each year, an agricultural expert
ment will take This opportunity to acqult myself
of that huty- One of our members, MT Redmond, OF
the Southern Cuivator' distributed among us last
winter some eeeds of what is commonly called 'Su
gar Millet" He very kindly gave me enough to
plant half an acre--about pint. prepared plat
of ground on a nothern slope, of OIL, stiff and worn
out land n such manner ard with as much ma
| nure as would probably haze made IL yield, with
average seasons about 20 bushels OF corn per acre.
I On the 22d of March, planted the seed in three
foot drills dropping every l8 or 20 inches some six
| or eight seeds. 1t ploughed and hoed often
enough keep the grass down. and about me lst OF
| july began to head. The heat had then been nnu-
sually intense for two weeks and has continued so
up to the present times and Ia,tery, the drought has
been very destructive. do not think this halt acre
would have yielded bushels had been planted in
corn Paving intended, however, to ascertain
whether The mlet wou make syrup, had rude
mill nut up with two beech-wood rollers
Finding that by the 22d of July the most advanced
heads had passed the milky stage had 1850 canes
cut, which supposed were fair sample Of the
patch Tie first 800 400 were passed through
The mill twice. the remainder four times, and the
Weld was 1914 quarts OF juice. But 10 canes, which
selected and passed several times through the mill,
yielded 3 quarts. The juice received in common
tubs and tested by thermometer, and saccharome
ter with a scale OF 40 degrees. The thermometer
stood in every instance at IS degrees F. The saccha-
romeer varied from 2lt 10 233 degrees. AT the lat
tel point the juice would float tresh-laid egg.
boiled it in deep, old fashioned cow.pot,' and
after six to hours boiling, obtained % quarts
of tolerabe syrup
The next Gay selected 10 canes The heads OF
which were fully developed and the top seed begin
ming to turn black, and again 10 comprising all these
stages, but from which | did not strip the leaves
r They were all passed through the mill times
and yielded nearly the same quantity of juice about
: quarts for every 10 canes. The juice, tested by
the saccharometer, showed that the youngest cane
had rather the most and the Oldest rather the leas
saccharne matter. The whole, together with thai
of few other good canes, exhibited at 80 degrees
the Thermometer "a degrees of the saccharometer
u From AZ pinls of the juice, obtained, after foul
! hours boiling, pints of rather better syrup thar
that made the day before In these bOings, miXet
with the cold juice about teaspoOnful of Iime-wate
r of the consistency of cream for every five gallons.
e These selected grew the best spots of thu
l. patch, ard where probably might have beer
produced tae present season, at the rate 20 bush
y els to the acre They inch in diameter, a
d the largest end and y feet long after cutting off The
Of head and foot ofthe stem. After this, cut dowI
lie all the inferior cane and cured it for forage.
On the 28th of July, two Of the members of h
y Club (Dr. Bradford and Mr. H. Lamar being al m,
house, remained to the result of pressing and boil
E. ing 400 canes had cut and stripped. Each of u
I'd seleced 0 canes, and put them through the pres
eight times the result being BEFORE about quart
e for every len canes But even after the pressure
&c juice could be wIung from the canes by The hands
he and agreed that at least fourth OF IT, and tina
the best, remained in the cane-so inefficient was m
mill. The Of the cane, | ordered to be presse
d times but we did not ourselves remain 10
done. nor did We count the 400 canes. The Yield 0
Il the whole, however, 373 quarts With the Their
Of momete at IS degrees in the juice, tie charomee
stood at 244 degrees boiled the Juice until it u
i'd together the rim of the ladle and hung in trans
parent shee! half inch below it before falling
~ And ibis in two and half hours The result wa
six quarts of choice syrup, The next day repeate
re the experiment larger scale, with equal success
as and have brought to the Club enough of the syru
!, to enable every member to try it and Judge Of ii
quality. All who have tasted it, agree that it
20 equal to the best that get from New Orleans. Il
y, these last bolngs put tablespoonful of lime
water, prepared BEFORE to every ten gallons. TIL
is whole process of clarifying and boiling carrie
through IN the same pot, ami that very unsuitabl
~ from its depth
81 measured the grain fro m number of heads, an
De the result was an average of gill from each.
tt weighed half peck of matured seed after severa
RS days exposure 10 the 1t weighed A pound
y, equal to 80 pounds 10 the bushel | weighed 20
G. the best cut for forage after it cured suf
ae GENTLY TO house. They weighed "a ounds, equal
bt 10000 pounds for 25, 900 canes per g? which
az az think might be grown land that would make
"a bushels of corn with average have trie
horses, cattle and hogs, and find they eat the
It's leaves and seed, greedlY and fowls and pigeon
bo the last. think, however, when allowed 10 mature
the cane should be cut up fine for animals as the GU
e er coat is hard
ey | did not attempt to make sugar, not having pre-
!" pared for that. There can, however, be no doul
n that ii Can be made from such syrup this Ant
ill they make syrup in The West Indies per ac
than they do in louisiana only because the cane mi
:; lures BETTER it is not unreasonable 10 infer that til
millet, which natures here perfectly, and will eve
D., make TWO crops in year, will yield and bette
of sugar than the Louisiana cane.
On On Beginning 70 cut the cane as soon as the head
de fully developed, it may be secured for month b.
lid fore it will all ripen-how long after that | 90 n
N, know. A succession of crops might be easily a
TX ranged 50 as to insure cutting and boiling from tt
he LIST OF July probably earlier-until frost | ha'
90 housed some stalks directly from the field 10
nE certain hereafter, whether thus treated it will vie
en- en- juice and make syrup next winter
nv A good sugar-mll, with three wooden rollers ma
be erected for less than $685. and sugar boiler III
,bt will make 80 gallons of syrup day. may be pu
' We chased in Augusta for less than $50.
ye. This millet will, of course, mix with any 9th
nd variety OF The family, if planted near it. Jnfort