The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-03-13
Sugar From Corn Stalks.

sugar From Corn Stalks.
A correspondent Of the New York
He"ufd, writing from Washington,
makes some startling statements re-
garding the progress made at the agri-
cultural bureau in extracting well
granulatcd sugar of a high grade from
sorghum and from millct and corn
stalks. Professor Collycr is the
chemist in chargc of the experiments,
from whom, and from Professor LIE
Due. the following facts are obtained:
Previous to 1877 all methods to
manufacture sugar successfully from
bcets or sorghum had failed, and it
was believed that the only sugar-bcar-
ing products were the real ribbon-cane
and the sugar maple. OF the latter
only twcnty-cight million pounds arc
annually produced, a mere drop in
the bucket, and tho forests arc being
rapidly killed cut. The sugar pro-
ducing belt Oh the Gulf yielded two
hundred and fifty million pounds,
while the imports were seventeen hun
drcd million pounds Of sugar, besides
quantities Of molasscs, mclado and
different forms Of sucrosc, being ali
increase Of three hundred million
pounds over that Of the preceding
year. II Is estimated that The an
hnal consumption Of sugar in this
country is forty pounds per capita,
against sixty pounds per capita in
England, and much more i'll F,nncc,
showing that sugar is not yet cheap or
abundant enough in this country. At
sixty pounds each, our people would
consume three thousand million
pounds, costing, at seven cents a
pound, two hundred and ten million
dollars. Yet sorghum sugars last year
brought readily ten cents pound.
By means of improved methods,
Professor Collycr has produced the
following per ccntagc Of sugar: From
Louisiana cane sixteen per cent,
Amber sorghum seventeen per cent,
Chanesc sorghum fourteen per cent,
Libcrian cane fifteen per cent, Hon
duras cane fifteen per cent, and from
Pearl millct eleven per cent. One
acre OF Honduras cane has yielded
two tons of sugar, and from others
one ton each. But the most remarka-
bic results were from white field corn.
known as tho "horse TOOTH" of which
IN acre produced siXty-ninc bushels
OF corn, while the stalks, when ground,
yielded half a ton of sugar Of good
variety. The ground stalks made good
food for cattle.
The above facts furnish the founda-
tion for air castles Of the most mae-
hlflcent description. Taking the value
OF this corn crop for year at four
hundred million dollars, and tho pos
siblo yield Of sugar at half as much
more, the magnificent bonanza Of six
hundred million dollars year is pos
siblc.
The machinery for making sugar of
sorghum or corn is said to bc of sim
PIC and inexpensive nature, and al
though Commissioner LcDuc's dream
may never be realized to the extent of
corn-stalks, 1t Is nevertheless certain
that new impetus will be given to
the cultivation of tho better varieties
Of sorghum.
When the First Napoleon, when
France, under tho blockade Of tho
English navy, was cut of from her
foreign supplies, offered reward Of
loo.ooof. for home produced substi-
tute for the sugar of the West Indies
which could be produced equal to tho
wants of tho French people, he &C.
cured reward worth incidentally
more to France than all his Victories
in the battle ficld--a reward tho value
OF which cannot bo reached in tho
millions Of money saved to France IN
her beet root sugar. How, then, can
we estimate tho value Of these now ap-
pliances which render tho production
OF sugar from sorghum and corn
stalks more profitable industry on
our large Southern plantations than
cotton, and on our small Northern
farms yielding richer return than
corn, wheat, grass or potatoes?
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LIFE Is A PLEASURE. ,ybo,