The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1857-12-25
EXPERIMENTS WITH CHINESE SUGAR
CANE
KINGSTON. Tenn. Dec. l6. 1857.

der to embrace the yield oil SEED.
had one lot of about one acre, which
planted quite early, for the season, but had
the seed covered too deep, in consequence o
which, it was very bad stand-not more
than one fourth as thick as it ought to have
been. For that reason allowed all the suck
ers to grow. which caused the disadvantage
of unevenness in ripening.
AS to the yield of Syrup, can only make
comparative estimate with this lot; espe'
cially SO, as the mill was not well construct
ed, and operated rather badly.
One half-of my acre lot yielded about for
ty gallons; which, according to my estimate,
was equivalent to one eighth Of an acre,
DsH standing cane, making yield of 800 gal
Ions per acre. Had the mill been well con-
,trueted, l am satisfied the yield would have
been increased one tenth-maEing at the rate
of 400 gallons per acre.
The lot was laid off in rows feet apart,
| and drilled so as to have had stalk Of cane
to each inches but instead of this it would
not average, of original stalks, one to two
feet. From two to four suckers, however,
shot forth from each stalk, making the stand
proportionally about as above stated
In addition, planted small square in
my garden for the purpose of making some
special experiments. One half Of thisI put
in drills IA inches apart; the other feet
This drilled very thick-the cane standing
on an average one to two inches apart The
ground was very strong, and to my surprise
the cane reached height Of 10 to IL feet
In the narrow drills, the cane was inch di.
ameter; in the wider drills, about 4 inch.
| cultivated it with great care until it became
SO thick as to need no further culture, which
was in about 40 days-planting the 10th of
| April. / divided the lot in two parccls--one
for hay and the other for syrup and sugar
For hay, harvested when the grain reached
| the soft dough state, which think is the pro-
per time, as the saccharine matter is then
present, and the cane soft. Now, for the
yield. measured so square feet, from which
l cut 1873 lbs of green hay. This. according
to my figures, is at the rate Of STt tons per
acre. A second growth Immediately sprang
| from the old ROOTS to suckers from each
stalk-which in SO days reached the heighth
of feet-the stalks averaging from to !
inch in diameter. This crop, however,
was overtaken by the frost before reach.
ing sufficient maturity for harvesting, But l
am satisfied it would have weighed so much
or more than the first crop; and with an ear
ly spring and a reasonably late fall, two
crops can, certainly, be successfully grown.
The hay is eaten greedily by horses and cat
tie, and even by hogs. l fed mine to my
milch cows, and am fully satisfied that il is
preferable to clover or timothy. 1t is very
easily cured-may be slowed away as cut
without danger of moulding; which expert
| ment made successfully.
Let it then be granted that two crops are
grown per annum; which, at the above figure,
would give 10 tons green hay per acre. Es.
timatipg that it loses IN curing (Which from
my experiment, is an ample estimate) gives
26 tons dry hay per acre. This at $40 per
ton gives S250-at SIS, 1876. But let us turn
to the other part Of the lot This let grow
until late in the fall-standng near two
months after the grain was fully matured.-
From l75 square yards gathered bushels
Of clean seed which is at the rate Of ll01
bushels per acre. The cane | manufactured
into syrup of fine quality, and sugar too
When say sugar, mean sugar-a specimen
of which l send you, and which you may rely
upon as the genuine article. On inspecting
it, bear in mind that it is the result of first
experiment, made. not so much to determine
the quality, as the fact of its crystalizable
properties; and although it will compare.
think, with Orleans sugar yet it can be man.
ufactured, l believe, of superior quality. OF
my small lot measured off 200 square feet.
and the cane cut therefrom, passing through
an imperfect mill, yielded about l3 gallons Of
juice-thc juice yielded little more than 81
gallons of syrup of good thickness. This
would give a yield of 544 gallons per acre.
have made quite number of experiments
in manufacturing, an account of which have
not space now to give. fear havo already
been too tedious; but will take pleasure in
giving them at another time.
As matter of course, the results Of my
experiments, last rected, would not apply in
a regular field crop as the same care IN cul-
ture would not likely be taken, but the
figures may be closely approximated. ~
Respectfully, DC. N. A. PATTERSON.