Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1858-05-13
Mode of Culture of the Chinese Sugar


Cane, we copy the following commnaica-
ton to the State Board of Agriculture from
Mr.. David c. Rabb, of Ohio County. Ind:
Attic request Of the Secretary of the
State Board of Agriculture, and that of
many friends throughout the State, have
prepared the following statement of my ex-
perimcnts with the new sugar. producing
plant, the Sorgho, or Chinese cane. These
experiments began on the l 7th day of Sep
tember, 1857, and continued, with a few
intervals, until the 2d Of January, 1858:
will begin with statement of what L
think the best method of its
CULT IRE.
As early in the Spring as the dryncss of
the earth will admit, the field should be
deeply plowed and narrowed, and. if clod-
dy, it should be rolled. After remaining
in this situation until about the 10th of
May, it should be rc-broken and fursowed
Que way; in rows from three to four feet
apart, according to the fertility of the soil.
These burrows SHOULD run North and South,
in order that the earth about the roots may
receive the benefit of the suns light and
heat. The seed should be planted in drills,
from nine to twelve inches apart. putting
three seeds in a plasc. When the young
plants arc three or four inches high, thin
out, so that but two stalks will remain in
place, and plough deep with double
shovel, or bull-tongued piow. The plow-
ing should be repeated three or four times
during the season. The suckers should be
kept out by frequent pullin5s close to the
stalk
BY the close mole of planting above
named, raised the present season. a crop
Welding AZ, 100 pounds. gross. of cane to
the acre After being stripped of the fod-
der AMI seed, the net weight Of the cane
was 3l,4eG pounds. ..
Twenty pounls ofthc cane made twelve
pounds Of Juice, anil at the same rate. al,
lowing forty-fve poun'ls Of juice to make
one gallon of mol..sses, there was a yield
of four hundred and eighteen gallons OF
nolasscs to the acres ~.
The ground upon which l planted my
cane is situated on the Ohio river, one half
mile above Rising Sun. Ohio county. In
Llama, and is called Second Bottom" -
The soil is light sandy loan; an old clover
field was broken mp in the fall enriched with
eight cords Of well rotted stable manure to
the acre. and rcbroken in the spring.
USE o. TIE CANE AS FOOD FOR srocK.
find the fodder and tops. which weigh
el 5,703 pounds to the acre. to be the
.e,t food for horses AMI cattle; AMI that
they eat the seed in preference to corn or
oats. The statement male in the Mobile
.Nersury. and extensively copied by. the
papers throughout the country. that the
s,cd is poisonous, know by experience to
be incorrect 1 have feI it to my horses and
cattle for more than two months, and find
that upon it they thrive faster than | have
ever known stock to thrive upon corn.
give the following brief description of
the nccess rry fixtures and machinery for
the guidan:e 0f Others:
THE FURNACE.
The setting Of the boilers is one of the
most important preliminaries in the manu-
facturc of good sugar or molasses. or
more than one hundred samples OF molas-
,es, which have examined, the greater
them unfit for use. To boil the syrnp prop
erly four kettles Of different sizes should be
prepared; the first or receiving kettle may
contain fifty gallons, the scconl forty, the
third thirty, the fourth. or battery, twenty
gallons; those kettles should he set in the
furnace at distance of about one foot a.
part at the top. The foundation of the
furnace should he six feet longer than the
united width of the four kettles The
walls should Le built eighteen inches high,
the kettles then placed upon them, the first
b ling fixcd one foot from the door, and
the others as above mentioned, one foot
from each other; the masonry should be
solidly built with frebrick and clay, with
in two in hes of the bottom Of the kettles,
that the fire may come in contact with on
ly the bottom, thus preventing the syrup
from burning on the sides. The brick
work should extend six inches above the
boiler. and be male perfectly, tight with
cement. Boilers OF this size are. sufficient
to manufacture the product of ten acres.
-..a MANUFACTURE. ., &c.,.
The process pursued in my experiments,
the results of which are of sufficient i'm
portance to be given to the public. was as
follows; | placed the juice in all the kettles
at the commencement. and kept slow fire
un'ler them for two hours, when the syrup
generally commenced simmering or boiling
slowly, AMI continued to do so for on. hour.
during which time the scum was .constant-
Iy removed; at the end of this time the three
last kettles will usually hold the syrup, the
receiver being emptied ofits contents into
them and been rc-filled with juice; before
it boils the second time the second kettle
will have emptied its contents and the two
smaller kettles will hold the first syrup,
the second kettle is then to be filed from
the first. The juice is always to be PLACED
in the first kettle; the syrup from the first
being put in the second. that from the third
into thefosrlR orybsttcy, being careful not
to mix the juice with the syrup, or syrup
with molassess {Ehs >boilingr should in
crease from the receiving oy first kettle TO
the battery or fourth, this last being con-
stantly kept in foam.
THE PRESENTATION OF THE CANE ron WINTER
me3f rrsf'sar Use. ef rN - .is'4|
0nthc 18th Of October, 1 cut my cane
and placel it with the fodder ON, in win
rows on the ground where il grew. These
l. Il r n