The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1864-09-06
The Chinese Sugar Cane.
General Directions.

As the period for the maturing Of the
sorgho or Chinese sugar cane, is rapidly ap
preaching, it may hot be unintere-trnp TO n
portion of your readers 10 have some views
on the manufacture OF its several produc,s
sugar; syrup, alcohol, vinegar and a hev.
Sfage from the f,tmented juice Analogous
to cider" The Information il derived prin
'cipally from the reports Of Professor Jack.
son, OF Boston. Mas, and Professor Smith.
OF Louisville, Ky, in the agricultural Re
port OF the Patent Office FOR 1857, and
partly from other sources. That the val
uabls articles above enun,prated can b.. pro
duced from the .sorgho there is no, n shad
ow Of doubt, AID the quantity and excel
ience Of the product yall depend upon IN.
Care and skill with which tie Operations.
'are conducted
1T Is q matter OF some controversy ,t
what period of its growth the stalk begins
TO contain sugar, and conscq quently when i,s
manufacture should commence. NJ Vii
MORN, OF Paris, who has given much ntten
lion TO the subject, came. TO the conclnsion
That Il conceded with the putting forth of
the spikes. but the propurtion Of sugar con.
tinued to increase until the seeds were in n
milky state; and according to The renort Of
M. De. Benuregard, addressed TO the Comic
de Iou!on, the ripening of the soruho in
thai latitude had no unfav orable effect; and
ne considers the seeds and the sugar ma
Two products to be conformity attained. On
: thc other hand, Mr.. ,Urav, equally an,hori.
'nnve' says That the. Zonlous cnffres, to
whose country the sorgho is irdtpenous.
are IN the habit of breaking off the naniciss
the moment they appear, In oder to nm a..
ment the quantity Of saccaarine matter IN
the stalks. ; The question may be of some
importance Ia our section, and experiments
should be made for its acc urate determine
tisn.
10 suceeed well in making sugar, or sy.
rnp or the hfst quality, Ia essential that no
greater quantity OF the stalks should be cut
~ one time than. can be properly pressed,
and the juice boiled down 10 the pramln.
ting point, on the same dav. 7 am aware
that different opinion has been ter,ained
aud acted on, bot ] am also aware that the
result Of this action has been the failure
generally to make sugar Mt all, and the ma
King OF aver. large quantity Of inferior Nv.
rnP. Those who have not the means Of
pressing and boiling the. juice Of the canes
the same day they are cut hnd better con
hne their efforts to muking syrup vinegar,
and alcohol, as their attempts at making
sugar nnst result un>uccassfnliy nnd un
Trohtably. The cause of ,hs il that a. soon
'''c Sss"S ~ WV nv fittTdtNn commences
aimost Immediately, which gradual v creeps
from the cnt extremity into the ioint- of
ths,stalk. decreasing the amount Of crvstali .
Fable sugnr contained IN it. F. en- ih.-bro
ken and bruised canes Of a field will deter.
iorate the Juieeif passed through TIE mill
with the perfect canes. The Toulouse
caffres, when they have more cane cut than
can be espressed expeditiously, bury the sur
Plus ia the ground to prevent i, from the
effects Of tbs atmosphere. =
Z The juice should Re pressed from the
canes as thoroughly ~ possible, even If Il
should Be. necessary for this purpose to pass
them repeatedly through the roller, a. that
portion which 10 most difficut to be OK
pressed Is considered ths richest in -necha.
fine matter II Is necessary TO filter the
juice as IL comes from the mill In order 10
remove the ce!luiDse and 6brous matters,
and the starch, oil Of which w present in IL |
" hen expressed a bag filter, or enc mad.
Of blanket p'nced IN a basket will answer.
Next, add 10 zach gallon Of juice. three
ouhcss Of lime Stacked ip five orrix times It's |
weight Of water. The Juice should tfen
be bohed by application Of gradual heat,
Tor twenty, OF thirty minutes, when ihs irn.
parties will rapidly rise to the surface in
go gIselrisb scum, which can be- ensiIv
4hs skinner, and then the
Raio be Ht,exed. u wiii be