The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1857-03-18
lgrlrultural.
EXPERIMENTS WITH THE CHI.
NESE SUGAR MILLET.

MEssRs. EDIroIs-kuowiug that YOU
take II deep interest in anything which
promises to be valuable Tor our country, |
send you the result of an experiment
which | made with the Chinese Sugar
Miliet- SOyghUm SuccA0tUm.
Having received from The patcut Office
a paper OF the seed, | painted it as Il mat
ter of curiosity, though not having the
east confidence that it would prove to be
worth anything. The seeds so resemble!
our common broom corn AS TO make me
feel quite sure they were these.
L planted it IN hills, about 2 ID feet
apart, with q To 10 seeds in IA hill. 1t
WAS greatly neglected du,iug its growth,
nom an impression Of its worlhlessness.
Some time in August there was a
chance frost which nearly terminated its
growth, and, III fact, completely destroyed
some sweet corn growing in the same car.
den. The miI'et WAS just putting forth
It's seed stalk, and the seed was, conse
q%uent'v, all destroyed. The stalks, how.
ever left standing until some time in DC.
tooer, when-su'l ]supposing them to be
worthless had them cut and thrown
INTO piles, TO get them out Of The way.
Ait"r they had lain upon the around
for some time. | took a handful of ia,
stalks aud gave them 10 my horse, who
ate t'em greedy, callag both leaves and
slalkS.
About this time | saw u statement in
the papers that some person had made
some molasSes RON this plant. This led
me 10 make Tie following experiment with
mime, although | had reason to p
that the frost AMI the exposure on the
ground would have DESTROYED any good
qualities which it might have originally
possessed.
took some of the canes and cut them
INTO pieces about three inches long, when
they were readily ground through one of
liIckoks Portable Cider Mills, with cast.
ron grinders, and then pressed with the
powerful p~ressers attached to the mill
The quantity ground WAS about half n
bnsheI Of the pieces, and the juice express
eel was about seven quarts. This Juice,
when evaroraled, made one quart of mo-
lasscs, that is pronounced. by those who
have tasted OF 1t, TO be superior 10 the New
Orleans moIasses, and some saw, equal to-
the flavor OF The maple syrup. 1t is, ut all
events, good mulasses.
f'om al estimate made, | Judged that
the square rod of ground pianted-if the
caneS had all been u>el-~,u have
produced 'onr gallons of molaSses, or at
the RAJ" Of $40 gallons per acre. Such
a crop would have proved valuable the
last Year, since sugar and moIasses are SO
high.
There is little doubt in my mind thai
any e"son Who has a small uiere
"t I"nl may manufacture his own .nolas
SEES, and, perhaps, sugar.
III cultivated on SO small q scale as not
to warrant the expense of erecting the
rollers for expressing the JUICE from the
cane, they may De cut up III u straw cut
ter, and ground in one of llickok's porra
bic cider mills, with such facilities that two
men coQ!d obtain five or SIX barrels of the
JUICE per day 10y hand, and proportionalIy
NOR" If horse or other power ~ used
This juice could be cheaply boiled IN one
OF the ev"poretors with which you are &C
quainted without burning the syrup or
wasting any fuel.
Besides, the molasscs obtained from the
stalks, the leaves will make good forage,
the seed vii! nearly equal that of u crop
OF corn or cats. and the tops will make
brOoms.
WIKI all Of these advantages, NAV rot
The sugar miiIet prove of great value to
Tho community? Every family in the
country can make their own Sugar and
mOlasSps. while. at the sauna ,ima tho s.oJ