Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1860-03-16
From the Kso.auou. Republican.

From the Ksosauqua Republican.
SORGHUM AND IMPHHH SUGAR.
Mr.. EDlToR:-The numerous letters
daily received by me, asking informa-
ton on the subject Of sugar making,
renders it necessary for me to ask the
privilege Of speaking to the public,
through your valuable paper = as q
great many are sending to me for the
"African Imphee" seed, quote the Ke-
ossuqua Republican as their author for
sending.
SUGAR FROM THR AFRICAN IMPHEE AND
SORGHUM CANE.
b i prefer planting as soon Is the 10Th
Of May, if the ground will permit. in
hills and rows, so as to pillow both ways.
It should be worked early, to give it
good start, thus enabling it to ripen
before frost although frost does not SO
seriously injure it as many suppose. l
now have sugar and molasses made of
soured cane. I prefer using wooden
boilers with thin sheet iron bottoms, as
this is q cheap and easily obtained fix
ture, and answers the purpose best of
any evaporators that I have yet seen.
I use them 7 feet long, % inches wide
and Is inches deep. add Il gallons
Of strong alkali, (clear lime water, to
each 40 or so gallons ofsap juice from
the mills, and previously strained.
I now fill my boilers about full Of
the sap, and raise good hot fire, and
as soon as the Chlorophyl Cor skim aS
| it is some times called) rises to the top
this is known by the sap changing
from green to q clear water COLOR
lower the fire a little, whilc I remove
the last remains Of skim, by the use of
a perforated busting pan, having a Icing
wooden handle. Now I increase the
fire to the hottest possible degree, with
dry wood, and keep the fire regular
until the sap has become quite sweet,
what is called by maple sugar makers,
syrup. Now add one gill Of Alcohol
| to each remaining 5 gallons Of sap ;
not lessening the fire for this process ;
now from the time it begins to look like
molasses, it must be stirred all the while
(bsst done with wooden rake having
teeth about 10 inches long, J thus cook
ing it, until when it is cool it would be
about as thick as thin tar in the sum-
mer. Now take it up in shallow wood
en- boxes, say 6 or 10 inches deep; and
set it in o warm room heated up to
about 80 degrees Fahrenheit, there let
it stand until it grains, and feels SINH
lar to thin corn meal dough, which it
will do in from 4 to 8 days, when it
has been skillfully managed ; it must
then be put into open barrels, boxes or
better into sacks made of coarse thin
cloth, as coffee sacks; in a room as
above mentioned, kept so warm as to
make the molasses remaining with the
sugar, flow freely.
The above rule will enable most of
persons to make their sugar and melas-
ses fair. -
I will here state that I made $50
! gallons of molasses and a. barrels OF
vinegar last fall, and did not get all Of
my cane worked up. l lost near two
acres Of excellent African Imphee which
grows larger stalks and not so high as
the Sorghum, but some ten days later
and much sweeter. Also, the top joints
ripen first, of cane, corn, wheat, oats
and all such plants. So does the top
most seed ripen first, and will grow
when the lower seeds on the same head
and stalk will be too green to grow
Farmers, look at this; and when an
early frost comes on your cane, save
the top seeds to plant, thereby securing
the earliest and best seed. Also fol
some cause, (not fully understood by
me, the sugar made from cane after
it has been frozen and soured, will
|, form large chrystals, and do itwith less
labor and without the aid Of Alcohol
more successful than if made Of sweet
cane. Farmers, do not fear making
molasses too thick, as this will enable
/ you to have good article, and some
sugar unlocked for.
ISAIAH HUMPHREY.
!, Iowaville, Iowa.