Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1860-03-14

Mn. EDlTcR tbs numerous letters
daiiy received by me, asking information
Oh the subject Of sugar making, renders
it necessary for me to ask the privilege
OF speaking to the public, through your
valuable paper-as . great manv send
ingto me for the "African Imphee' seed,
quote the Keosanqua Republican a.
their author for sending.
SUGAR FROM THE AFRICAN lMPHEE AND
SORGHUM CANE.
prefer planting as soon as the 10th
of May, if the ground will permit, in
bills and rows, SO as to pillow both ways.
1t should he worked carly, to give it q
good start, thus enabling it to ripen be-
fore frost; although frost does not so Sc
riously iojure it as many suppose. 1
now have sugar and molasses made Of
soelred cane. l prefer using wooden
boilers with thin sheet iron bottoms, as
this is a cheap and easily obtained FIX
ture, and answers the purpose best Of
any evaporators that have yet seen.
use them feet long, % inches wide and
l6 inches deep. add u gallons of
strong alkali, (clear lime water0 to each
40 or so gsllous of sap juice from the
mills, and previously strained.
| now gil my boilers about full of
the cap, and raise good hot fire, and as
soon as the Chloropbyl Tor skim as it is
sometimes called rises to the top-this
is known by the sap changing from
green, to clear water color-I lower
the fire little, while / remove the last
RENAME Of skim, by the use of perfo-
rated dust pan, having long wooden
handle. Now 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 remain
ing 5 gallons Of sap; not lesscning the
fire for this process; now from the time
it begins to look like molasses, it must
be stirred al, the while, (best done with
q wooden rake having teeth about 10
inches long, thus cooking it, until when
it is cool it would be about as thick az
thin tar in the summer. Now take it
up into shallow wooden boxes, say 6 or
10 inches deep, and set it in warm
room heated up to about 80 degrees
Farenheit, there let it stand until it
grains, and feels similar to thin corn
meal dough, which it will do in from 4
to 8 days, when it has been skillfally
managed; it must then be put into
open barrel,, boxes or letter sacks made
Of coarse thin cloth, as coffee sacks; in
q room as above mentioned, kept so
warm as to make tho molasses remaining
with the sugas, flow freely.
The above rule will enable most of
persons to make their sugar and molas-
ses fair.
l will here state that l made $50
gallons Of molasses and Al barrels Of
vinegar last fall, and did not get all of
my cane worked up. lost near two
acres Of excellent African Imphee which
grows larger stake and not so high a.
the Sorghum, but some ten days later
and much sweeter. Also, the top joints
ripen first, of cane, corn, wheat, oat.
and all such plants. So does the top
most seed ripen first, aud will grow
when the seeds on the same head and
stalk will be too green to grow. Farm
ers, look at this; and whom an early
frost comes on your cane save the top
seeds to plant, thereby securing the ear
Hest and best seed. Also for some
cause, (not fully understood by me,) the
sugar made from cane after it has been
frozen and soured, will form large chrys-
tails, and do it with less labor and with.
out the aid of Alcohol, more successful
than if made Of sweet cane. Farmers,
do not fear making molasses too thick,
IS this will enable you to have a good
article, and some sugar unlocked for.
ISAIAH HUMPHREY.
Iowaville, Iowa.