Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1858-07-31

The Chinese SugaF-Cane as Food toF STOCK
It has been stated that stock has been killed By
feeding on the Sorghum Suchre or Chinese Sugar
Cane Mr.. D. TREzEvAxT writes to the Charleston
g CT O5ursr the following account Of his own ex-
perie1ce showing that 1t is both safe and superior
article to feed stock with;
In 1856 friend sent me some seeds; planted
without having any faith in If; and when it first
came I'D. 1 vas satisfied that 1t was a humbug.
However, IS it was planted at the end of some cot
ton rows, worked It when worked the cotton, and
was greatly surprised at the vigorous and quick
growth which followed the working
Il attained the height Of about six feet before
put out its seed. From about quarter acre Of land
gathered tEeniy-seven bushels Of seed
concluded to feed it to my hogs, and as the seed
ripened l had them gathered, cut down the stalks
and threw them 70 my hogs They began to thrive
Immediately, and perfectly satisfied that as far
IS hogs were concerned one acre OF cane was worth
Ave acres Of corn-that is, Of corn planted on the
same land and worked in the same way. fed some
of the cane to my carriage and riding horses, bat
had not enough Of Il to make a fair trial In 1857
planted two acres Of land that would not make
than FIVE bushels Of corn to the acre 1 gathered
about seventy five bushels Of seed and am confident
that did not cut more than tT0-thlrds.
stripped the blades from part and cured them.
Horses and mules eat them eagerly.
tried the green stalks then with all my horses
riding and carriage horses, brood mares and colts,
and my mules. They ate II eagerly, Just cut and
hauled from the field; aud then tried them with it
after it had been cut thirty-s and f1rtyegh hours
The result was the same My mules commenced
atteuinR on it. and fattened faster than they have
ever done on anything else I again fed it to my
hogs with the same result as the year previous.
This year 1 am feeding some hogs on the seeds.
My brood sows and pigs eat them eagerly, and APP
pear TO do WE'LL and have not as yet lost an animal
from it. or even had one sick.
plant the seed in drills three feet apart, on a
small bed, about the first of April and as soon as
the plants get about two inches high run two fur
rows with an eighteen inch sweep il each row. As
soon IS the plants get foot high | chop them out
with a seven inch hoe, and thin TO one stalk; then
pillow the rows out with a shovel pillow and draw up
fat bed If the is at all good it will need no
more work.
In good soil, or in poor one well MANFRED
believe it will make from 60 to IS bushels of seed
per acre and after that is gathered the stalks are
worth than twice that number Of acres in
II ought not TO be fed stock until the seeds become
ripe, for until that time the sap juice almost as
tssteless as water; but after that When the leaves
have turned yellow it is very sweet and thick. From
what have seen, I have concluded that most per
sons in trying make syrup and sugar, had cut the
cane entirely too green, and consequently the sap
had not the quantity of saccharine matter developed
which it would have attained by allowing the cane
to come TO maturity
Throwing aside all thoughts Of it as a sugar or
syrup making plant, consider it as the cheapest
and most easily made feed that we possibly plant
And as fed about twenty horses and mules upon it
last year, and about seventy five hogs think that
may say safely say that there is no more danger in
feeding stock it, than there is in feed pg on corn
and fodder.