San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1878-09-21
Sugar From C0rn.Stalks,

nv cOrn-Staihs. iHo prouucllOn Oh Sug-
ar from sugar-cane grown in the United
States has been liable to climatic re-
s,rictions, and we have been conpelled
to send abroad for nearly 100000 ,OO0
worth of crystallized saccharine matter.
per annum. The sugar-cane has both
decreased and deteriorated in quality.
and every year this tribute to sugar.pro.
ducing countries has been increasing.
Within the past year it has been demon.
strated satisfactorily that the ordinary
corn-stalk, grown in every part of the
United States, is sugar plant onlv
slightly inferior to the sugar-cane Of
Louisiana, and contains 20 per cent.
more saccharine juices than the beet
root from which so large part of Eu.
rope is supplied with sugar. This
knowledge is not exactly new, but Il
has hitherto been believed that it was
impossible to crystalline the juice of the
corn-stalk, and until 1877 chemistry
presented no solution of the difficulty.
In 1873 Mr.. F. S. Stewart, of West
moreland County, Pennsylvania, a
farmer and gentleman of scientific at
tainments, being graduate of Jefferson
College, had been making some expert.
ments with sorghum. He had a patch
of evergreen corn, and going throughit
one morning in October, cutting some
stems, he noticed that the cuttings were
quite Juicy. Taking some of the stalks
to his sugar mill, they yielded what
seemed to DO as much juice, in proper.
ton to weight, as sugar-cane itself
His interest was excited, and he treated
the extracted juice in the regular cane
process. In consequence of the stalks
having been badly frost-bitten no proper
crystallization of the juice took place.
But the result was such as to cause him
to believe that if cheap process could
be invented, the obstacles in the way Of
making sugar from corn-stalks would
not be great. Becoming engaged in
business, Mr.. Stewart thought no more
of the matter until in 1876, ut the Gen.
tennal Exposition, he had his attention
called to the French process of making
sugar from beet root. This revived his
interest in the corn-sugar question, and
he determined to make further expert.
ments. During that year he tested half
dozen varieties of corn, in different
conditions. Chemical tests indicated
the value to be as before estimated, and
it only remained to find Il process Of
crystallization. This Mr.. Stewart did
not find until late last year, but during
the time which has since elapsed he has
by repeated experiment demonstrated
it's thorough practicability.
The process does away with the use
of vacuum apparatus and the very ex-
pensive machinery necessary in the
manufacture of beet-root sugar. Simply
described, Mr.. Stewards process is as
follows: The stalks are cut after the
ear has arrived at an age suitable TOR
driving or canning the full value OF the
corn crop being thus obtained entirely
independent of the sugar growth-and
sent to an ordinary crushing-mill: Inc
Juice, placed in pans, after being heated
to $50 degrees, is then heavily lined, so
as to make it exceedingly alkaline
After being decanted and the precipit.at.
ed impurities removed, liquid dloSlde
of sui phur is then introduced in sEfh'
Gent quantities to make the sirup highly
acidulous. As impurities are precp-
itated, they continue to be removed
and more dioxide of sulphur added to
keen the strip in its acidulous condition,
until the strip is reduced to the density
necessary to form sugar. 1t is then
thrown into a cooler and allowed TO
crystalline, the draining being perform
ed by centrifugal machine or other
modern process.
The color of this sugar as it comes
from the draining machine IS much oe'-
ter than that of ordinary cane sugar, tle
sirup from which cane sugar is mace
being red, while the corn sugar is near
ly white. There are specimens OF tnese
corn sugars at the Agricultural Depal.t
mentwhich illustrate their equality WIN,
if not superiority over, the best cane
sugar. Gen. LIE Due, the Commissioner,
saws that he has no longer any doubt S
to the perfect feasibility of manufacIul.
ing sugar from corn at a price not "
exceed two and one half cents per pouhu.
He says that within the next SIX yea,S
he hopes to see the entire import trads
in sugars disappear, and the den i0na
supplied by our home production lrTu
the corn-stalk. Not only this, put 10
expects to see large export trade es.
tablished in this very article OF susa,
with European markets. The evidences ce
of Mr.. Stewards successes are SO cV.'
vincing that it is impossible to douus
We can only speculate upon the proSi.
perity which must be caused by the au
dition within few years OF one nuu
dred millions of dollars to our homo
products, and the decrease OF our lh
ports by corresponding sum; Loun
ing at it at this day, in the early da@a
of its introduction as one OF the 10
} industries, it is difficult to predict an 'nO
banat;ts GkeIv Tn accrue from sucn al