The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1863-06-13

Experiments with Chinese Sugar Cane !;
We have qnitc recently received ,
n treatise entitled combinations tol 4
the knowledge Of the Nature OF the I
Chinese Sugar Cane" BY Charles a..
Goessmann, Of Syracuse, NJ. The
Information furnished IN thistreatlsc
is scientific and valuable. la 1851.
while in Philadelphia, he made several
chemical experiments 70 ascertain me
analify and nature OF the juice OF the
sorghum cane. The results Of his in
vest cations, with Information regard
ing sugar cane, obtained While on
recent visit to Cuba. arc now given to
the public for the benefit Of those who
may engage in more complete clab-
Grafton Of the subject. Mr.. Goes !
marns experiments were made with
Chinese sugar. cane plants which had
been grown on soil consisting Oh
crumblcd sycnitc slate, previously
MANFRED with calcareous loam and
stable manure. According to his an
alysis fresh sorghum cane juice consists
Of water, 1891 parts; soluble IN mat
ter, 1923 parts (of which 80 parts
are cane sngar;) celiuose, $40 parts;
ccrosinc and insolnble earthly com
pounds, 1.25 parts; sibuminous mat
lao. 1t yields about as much sugar
rs beet root jnice, which consists OF
water, S3,5 parts, cane sugar, 100
parts. celluesc, O.S parts, albumen,
&C.. is parts, fat acids and saline
matter. 81 parts. The tropical sugar
cane Juice yields about 20 per cent. o.
cane sugar-doubIe the amount Of bee
root and sorghum. According to DR.
Gocssmann q full grown Chinese cane
deprived Of leaves, seed, head ane
root. weighs about two and Q hal
pounds. In estimating the produc
Of an acre, at Is, 900 stalks, the yiele
will be dry leaves, 4 ,425 pounds, cam
stalks S6, 600 pounds, from which 20,
200 pounds Of juice and 10 500 2
moist begaise will be obtained J.S
lowering, Of Philadelphia has mad
ut the rate Of l ,466 pounds OF suga
and "A gallons Of molasses from 1900
stalks per acre; more than half til
sugar in the Juice was thus obtainoc
When the first Silesian and Frenc
beet root sugar manufactures wer
started, only about five per cent, {
the sugar in the beet was extracted an
the rest left in unpalatable molassei
Sorghum molasses are sweet an
pleasant, and whatever sugar is le
IN them is not wasted as in the be-
root sugar manufacture. From sue
experiments and examinations 1t
evident that the manufacture Of sorl
hum sugar aud molasses affords Il
more encouragement to our poop
than the manufacture OF beet ro
sugar did in Europe when first intr
duced.
AS the juice OF sorghum contain
several organic and inorganic impuI
ties. these must be removed TO obta
the pure saccharine matter-sug
and syrup. According to DIR. Goes
mann, siaked lime added in smi
quantities to the fresh juice, is abo
the best substance that can be us
for this purpose. 1t was first apple
to beet root juice, and is equally val
able for sorghum juice. He stat
that when small quantity Of slak
lime was added to the fresh juice a.
then heated up to 167 degrees Fahre
heit. q bulky coagulryn was form
which increased in quantity until I
boiling point was reached. VIII
passed through a filter a limpid liqu
was obtained, which, when cones
trated, yielded crystals Of sugar.
On the other hand, fresh juice viii
had been concentrated without III
only yielded dark red syrup vii
out yielding crystals Of sugar at
standing some months. Cautiousn
is enjoined upon manufacturers Of >
ghum sugar in the use Of lime. II
excess Of it is employed; and the be
ing Of the juice continued TOO lo'
the color Of the juice will become v
dark.
The cultivation Of sorghum in
sections where it can be raised, r
SCENTS several advantages. 1t yield
large amount Of true cane sugar |
sweet syrup, and its leaves aft
good food for cattle, it's seed Q
yields . bright red dye and consid
able fatty acid, thus rendering tia