The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1861-04-16
Sugar From Sorshum--HOw Made.

Sugar From Sorshum--How Made.
Eds. Rural Ney Yorker:-Since the
publication of my article on Sorghum in
your issue of Dec. LIST, | have received
host of letters, proposing the following
among other questions What did your
Evaporation cost? What is its size and
weight? How much syrup or sugar
will it make in day? What will an
acre of cane produce of molasses, or SUI
gar? When is the best time to plant the
cane, and how do you cultivate it? Is
the lmphee better than Sorghum i? &c.
answer, Fust-My Evaporation cost
sixty-fve dollars at Laporte, Ind, and
fifteen dollars freight. 1t is six feet in
dameter,-the rim six inches high
the bottom flat, one-halt inch thick, and
weighs one thousand pounds. 1t is a
circular. cast iron pan, with a division
through the centre making two semi
circular pans, each holding fifty gallons.
1t is supported on an iron post in the
centre of the straight wall OF the brick
furnace-the size and shape of one ofthe
semi circular pans-the whole rotating
horizontally, so that only one pan at a
time is over the furnace, or fire. For a
fuller description address A. H. MILLER.
Laporte. Ind, and get a circular free.
which will fully explain the invention.
Second-This Evaporator reduces so
gallons Of juice into molasses per hour,
or 600 gallons per day, making from IL
TO 16 gallons of molasses per hour, de-
pending upon the ripeness and purity of
the cane. My best yield was five gal
Ions of molasses from 90 of Juice; the
worst was 6 from 40 of juice. Ripe cane
gives larger yield of syrup than green,
and black seed cane more and better
than partly red seed, which is a mixture
of broom corn.
7hird-An acre of cane will produce
from 100 to 800 gallons of molasses ; this
is my own estimate, from four years ex.
perience in cultivating Sorg hum. A
good average yield to me is 900 gallons
per acre, and one gallon of syrup yields
ten pounds of dry sugar.
FouHh-The best time to plant the
cane is when you would plant corn, the
earlier the better, to ensure perfection.
My cane | planted last season on the cd
day Of May, but on account OF the drouth
it did not come up until the 10th of
June. 1t ripened by the LIST of October.
am certain it will ripen as early as corn,
and will grow where corn will grow.
| obtained my first seed from the Pat
ent Office in the Spring of 1856, and
have followed the directions given by the
Patent Office ever since, which is to
plant or 10 seeds in hill, 81 feet apart
each way. When the cane is large
enough to cultivate thin out to stalks
in a hill, then tend the cane like corn.
1t is important to sucker the cane once
during the season, at least, in order to
obtain large, heavy stalks.
Fifth made sugar simply by boil
ing the Juice down thicker than for mo
lasses and setting it away to grain. The
entire process is easy, certain, and may
be briefly described filled one of the
semi circular pans with juice, turning i
over the furnace and fire-got to boiling
as soon and as fast as possible. An in
tense and uniform heat while boiling i;
absolutely essential to disengage the
glucose, which if not burned out, viii
prevent the syrup from granting; here
Is the secret-when the green scum ri.
ses 10 the surface | skim it off with q
wire cloth skinner, which comes with
and belongs to the Evaporation, and bye
and bye numerous black flakes, resem.
bling the iron scales on and around q
blacksmilh's anvil, will boil up to the
surface. This is the disengaged glucose
and skim it off also. When the syrup
is thick enough for molassos, l use an
iron rake strrer along the bottom of the
pan to prevent scorchng, as that would
prevent our getting sugar. When the
mass is thick enough to string in water,
turn it off the fire and bring the other
pan on, containing fresh juice, which en-
dures the same fate as its predecessor
now draw the sugar syrup out of the
pan through faucet in the rim, and
place it in the buckets or tubs to cool
af-er which l pour it into an empty flour
or sugar barrel with small gimlet holes
in the bottom, and place this over mo-
lasses barrel to drain. Sometimes the
granting process begins in two hours az
ter il is off the fire, and sometimes moi
until after two days or more. If the
temperature of the room is warm and
nearly uniform, the sugar will be drain
ed dry in ten or twelve days.
The foregoing is the result Of my own
experiments, and ! hold myself RESPONSE
bic to the public for the proof of the
statements have made. A new impe-
tus has been given to the cultivation OF
Sorghum, and the invention of the Evap-
orator mentioned, is to us what Whit
ney's cotton gin was to the Cotton States
half century ago We, in this county,
know we can and will retain at home
thirty-thousand dollars which annually
is paid out and lost to us for sugar and
molasses.-J. WILLIAMS, Of Kingston,
Mo.
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