Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1880-03-31

HOic COluiuSlSldA euSal ludn tu6 SAINT
amount of the juice of the Louisiana cane
"A fact not the least astonishing of those
brought out by this interesting expert
ment.
TRIALS OF FIELD CORN,
such us grown south-coarse-g growing,
white field varieties-gave astonishing re-
suits, which Prof. Collier gives as follows
An old idea, to which he at first gave
credence, was that sugar could only be
made from corn stalks when the corn was
in the milk or earlier, but by experiment
with a small piece of ordinary dent corn,
which he was not growing for sugar pur
poses at all, he found that after yielding n
fully ripened crop at the rate of sixty nine
and one-tenth bushels of shelled corn to
the acre. the stalks yielded the best corn
stalk sugar at the rate of nine hundred
and fifty pounds to the acre. lie obtained
satisfactory results from sweet corn stalks
of which the corn had been sold seven OF
eight days before in Washington market.
Referring to Mr. Bailey's ensilage pits nj
Bilerica, Mass, DR.. Collier stated that
'hemical analyses showed that the stalks
were nearly if not quite as valuable for
fodder after they had passed through the
mill us before. While they lose 60 per cent
of sugar. they gain 80 per cent of starch
md retain four-iifths 10 iive-slXths of their
nitroLcnous substances.
Which comes about rs near eating
ones cake and having it, too" us we can
well imagine.
Prof Collier is most sanguine as to the
possible and probable results to be oh
tanned, and while other eminent agricul.
rural authorities doubted if the experiment
would succeed as IN economic production,
Dir, Collier stakes his reputation on getting
ten tons of sugar from ten acres of
sorghum, and in Washington he would
GIT tho tons from an acre.
In addition to Dr. Golfers work, Mr..
A. !. Russell OF Crystal Lake, His, began
last fall the manufacture of sugar from
sorghum raised from early amber cane by
farmers in his neiehborhood, much of it
from seed obtained from the agricultural
department. He made forty-six thousand
pounds of the sugar, which was of excel
lent quality, and he sold it in Chicago for
from nine to ten cents pound A barrel
of it was sent TO the commissioner OF ar-
and it has been pronounced by
experts, who have examined samples Of
it, to be first article. The conclu-
sions of DR. Collier, therefore. have in u
been sustained by the experience
of others. The greatest danger is from
frost, but with the early amber this risk is
no greater than Louisiana planters take
every year with their cane. The sugar
can be produced for about three cents per
was the actual cost in Mr..
Russel's case, and the machinery and
apparatus sufficient for ten acres of
sorghum can be bought for one hundred
and fifty dollars. Neither variety of the
sorghum cultivated by Prof Collier had
any advantage in the matter of crvstallza-
Lion over the other, nor is there any
Inference in this respect between sorghum
and corn stalk sugar. The early amber
sorghum was recommended ms the only
reliable carly ripening quality. He
secured sugar from all the sorghum
brought him, but some of that thus
brought him was very imperfoctly ripen-
ed. The crop should be harvested lust
AS soon as the plant has reached complete
the symptoms of which were
described.
From these results it would seem toll
erabIy certain that we might not only
raise all the sugar we consume. hut that
we might export quantities of it prolitably,
if the increased production did not dimin-
ish the price below profitable production
Competent authorities and &C ual eXpcr.
iment unite in demonstrating that sorghum
can be successfully grown on land which
will grow corn, and with this vast area at
our command it does not seem unreason
able that sufficient amount might be di-
vertcd to that purpose to individual profit
and national prosperity.
Another important feature in the case is
the one of exhaustion of tho coil C,r,,
and wheat, which we so largely export
t'ke from the soil large quantities of potash
and phosphoric acid, and these 90 abroad
from our soil, while we import sugar
which contains none of these valuable
materials, but which comes from the air
thus sending abroad our fertility, but
receiving none in return.
We have noted with much satiefaction
that our