Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1857-04-02
farmm's s department.
From the Cotton Planter and Soil.
,un cHrNEsE s11eAR MILLET.

"Chinese Sugar Cane;" the kind of land
best suited to its production; the time of
planting the seed, and its cultivation, have
thought it best to submit, whatever [ may
have TO say in reply, to the public through
the columns of the "American Cotton Plant 1
er and ISoiz," thinking that to reach those
who have made the inquiries, and at the same
time the readers of your Magazine, who are
regarded as deeply interested in the intro
ductiou of field crop which, apart from its
other valuable qualities, is destined, in my
opinion, to become second to none in value
as forage crop.
I received some seed from. the Patent Of
fee in the winter of 1854 and 1856, under
the name of the French Sugar Millet. In
the following spring I planted two small pa
pers of seed in row. adjoining a new variety
of cotton. The millet and cotton received
the same work-the former making rapid
and vigorous growth, in some instances
reaching the height of ten feet-the pro-
duct of these two papers of seed was, l sup
pose, about two bushels. Not then know
ing the value of the seed, I neglected hav-
ing them gathered at the proper time, and
when, from accounts which [ saw of the
value of the Chinese Sugar Cane and that
the Sugar Millet was the same, I became de-
sirous to save the seed, I found that cane and
seed had been almost eaten up by my COWS.
I however succeeded in saving about quart
of seed, which added to like quantity saved
from few STALKS in Mrs. J.'s garden, gave
me half gallon of seed. Early in May last
spring, 1 planted these seed-the land was
prepared by laying it off in three feet rows,
bedding it up as for cotton, with half shovel
plows. Opening the top of the bed with as
small furrow as it was convenient to make,
two trusty servants performed the operation
of planting, in the following manner: They
dropped from six to ten seed at the begin
ming of row, placed one foot on it, and then
at the distance of an ordinary step, dropped
as many more seed, which in stepping for
ward was covered by the foot, and the
weight Of the body falling on them, pressed
them into the earth, and so on at the inter-
walls of steps to the end of the row. This was
all the covering given to the seed Wishing
to plant some melon seed on the piece OF
land, only planted alternate rows of the
cane seed and melon seed in the beds be-
tween the cane rows. In doing this, | did
not plant the cane according to instructions
accompanying them, which was to plant in
rows three feet apart Mine were six feet
apart. In this way I planted about two and
one.fourth acres of land, with my half gal
lon of seed. With regard to covering the
seed, they should be very lightly covered
I had in my garden lost some seed by cover
ing them too deep, though the dirt was sift-
ed on them from the hand. The soil was
stiff and baked on the seed, and but few
came up. 1t was owing to this failure that
I adopted the plan above detailed. The
spring was very dry, and I did not get a
good stand. The cane was worked twice
with the hoe and plow. 1t w.shstood the ef-
fects of the drought better than any corn l
had. In July I fed to my hogs and few
COWS, two wagon loads of the cane; this was
done when the heads were fully out; they
cat it voraciously, eating cane, fodder and
tops. Not being able to get mill at the
proper time, I did not grind any of my cane
till at the State Agricultural Fair I sent
wagon load of the cane to the Fair, part
of Which was ground and the juice boiled
to syrup. 1t appeared to give satisfaction
to every one who witnessed the operation.
I heard no one express doubt of its value as
new source of wealth to our country
When the seed ripened, I gathered from
this lot forty-eight bushels, forty three of
which, weighed forty pounds to the bushel,
I sold to r. Peters, of Atlanta, Ga. This
was after my own negroes and others had
discovered the sacharine qualities of the cane,
and had taken from the ground at least
the quantity grown on the excess over two'
acres. Planted in rows double the distance
apart recommended by those best informed,
with not more than half stand in the rows;
it is safe to calculate that an acre of cane, on
the same kind of land, having good stand
on it, would afford more cane, more fodder
and more seed, than my lot did. The cane
was as large and luxuriant in the few places
where there was stand, as where the stand
was imperfect.
After the State Fair at Montgomery, about
the Goth November I crushed out with Col.
Peters mill, the one exhibited and worked
at the Fair, which he was so good as to lend
me, $50 gallons of juice of the cane which,
when boiled down, made fifty gallons ofgood
syrup. At this stage the mill broke, and l
was unable to proceed with the grinding,
but from the experiment made by me, am
authorized to add, if it were necessary, my
testimony in favor of the results obtained by
Col. Peters, as published in former number
of your Magazine. When grinding my cane,
my COWS and hogs would leave corn and
puukins to feed upon the crushed cane
which had passed through the mill.
have thus given running history of the
Chinese Sugar Cane under my management
NV opinions and differences from experience
and observation will make up the remainder
of this paper.
I assume that the cane is valuable; that
no forage crop requiring plow and hoe cult
vation, is as much so on the same land. am
sustained in this by every notice taken of it
:, oror1 sootion of our country where it has