Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-12-12
$as Smseles Herald.
sorghum Sugar.

The Chicago Tribune, one of the
most ably conducted, journals in
the United States, always on the
lookout for anything that will ben
efit the people, is urging the farm
ers Of Illinois and other Western
States to cultivate sorghum for
sugar. 1t explains that sorghum is
successfully grown wherever Indian
corn will grow, from Minnesota to
Texas. The cultivation Is the same
rs thatof corn. But while an av-
erage acre Of corn-say 40 bushels
on good land-is worth at home but
$l0rthe average product of an acre
of sorghum is, at what is claimed
to be low estimate, 1000 pounds
of raw sugar. The average price OF
raw sugar Qmported) is to cents
per pound; so that, unless the 1ri.
bune Is much in error, good
corn land in Illinois would
produce, planted and culti-
vsted il sorghum, SlG0 per
acre. OF course there is trouble
and expense In the expressment
and boiling of the sorghum Juice
and graining of the sugar; but
making due allowance for all this,
there still remains wide margin
for profit over any other Western
crop. As to the market, ii Is un.
limited. The United States is now
and for years has been importing
CSC, 600 tons of foreign-made sugar
at an average of above five cents
per pound. A hundred million dol
lars q year has not much more than
paid for our sugar imports during
the last ten years. If we can save
this by the cultivation of sorghum
in the corn-growing States, It will
amount to more for our farmers
than the entire gold and silver
yield of all our mines. Indeed, the
Washington Bureau of Agriculture
states as q fact that our foreign
sugar imports have cost us more
since 1S49 than all the money our
gold and silver mines have pro-
duced.
The point to which the Chronicle
directs the attention of its readers
is this, that if Illinois, or any
other of the corn States of the West,
can successfully cultivate sorghum
for sugar, there are tens of thous-
ands of acres in this State that
could be more profitably turned to
that account; and the home market
Is sufficient for all that can be pro-
duced for many years to come, at
rates above the average at the East.
In 1878 we had 10000 acres cul-
tivated in corn, the average per
acre being above that of the East
ern corn States. The leading corn
counties were: Sonoma, $4,000
acres; Los Angeles, $4,000, averag-
ing 40 bushels to the acre; Ventura,
5000 acres; with so bushels per acre;
San Bernardino, 5000 acres, 80
bushels to the acre. Amador, Sac
ramento, Santa Barbara, Napa,
Merced, Monterey, San Benito and
many other counties produced each
over 800 acres at fair average per
acre. Tulare, which, from its soil
and climate, should be great corn
county, had but l, 400 acres, with an
average above the State of Illinois;
and Fresno and Kern, also well
adapted in all respects to corn, pro-
duced none. There is reason to be-
live that the alluvial and irrigated
lands of Kern, Tulare, Fresno,
Merced and Los Angeles are as
good as the best OF the continent
for corn. This crop, like sorghum,
requires warm nights to perfect its
growth. Hence it does not do well
along the coast nor at attitudes
above 1900 feet, because there the
nights are cold throughout the
season of its growth. The same
law applies to sorghum. Wher-
ever-as in lone Valley, on Rus
sian River, at the Monte, Los An
geles, in San Bernardino, Ventura,
San Benito, the upper San Joaquin
and Tulare Lake country-corn
does well, sorghum would do we'll
and pay better than any other crop
now cultivated, without the least
danger of overstocking the market
with its product, sugar. One great
advantage in the cultivation of
this article in this State to the
farmer would be in the item of
transportation, 1t would cost no
more to get q ton of sugar worth
500 to market than ton of wheat
worth $50; and the domestic mar
ket would take all that could be
produced.-& F. Chronicle.