Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-03-12
AGRICULTURAL.

CoRNsTALKs AND soRGHy-M-AS ADDRESS
BY PROF. PETER COLLIER, OF WASHING
TON, II. C., DELIVERED AT PROVIDENCE,
f..
At recent meeting. under the auspices
of the Rhode Island Society for the En-
| couragemcut of Domestic Industry. III
| Providence, Professor Peter Collier,
chemist of the United States Department
of Agriculture. gave very interesting
| lecture on the production OF sugar from
cornsialks and sorghum. The address
proper, says the Providence Journal, was
| prefaced 10y remarks in reference 10 the ex-
haustion of soils Between the years
| 1862 and 1877 the average acreage yield
of corn in the Western States fell OF over
/ twenty per cent. while in tho Eastern
| States il fell oil only niue-tenths of one
| per cent. I'm Illinois the falling off WAS
two and one-half per cent. During the
same period. the loss in the average acre
age of wheat was sixteen and nine-tenths
| per cent, and in the East only four and
two-tenths per cent The Fast is raising
more corn and wheat TO the acre to-day
than the West. through the Use Of com
mercial fertilizers. Great Britain annual
" imports over $50, 900, 900 worth of raw
commercial fertilizers, and has nearly if
not quite reached the point where every
dollars worth of added agricultural pro
duct will, or does, c-st doiiaI. Corn Is
oUr great crop. our annual y-,.I being
! 1870. 600, 0oO bushels,of which the potash
! and phosphoric acid taken from the soil
are worth 500, ,000,0
Sugar comes from the atmosphere We
could export 81 200, 10000 worth and
not reduce the fertility of our lands, for
/ the pressed stalks contain everything cf
| value taken from the soil, and the return
! to i: makes all loss good. 1t is a matter
| for wonder that so much has been known
/ and so little done in extracting sugarfrom
maize and sorghum. Many years ago
| cornstalks were tested and found TO con-
/ tain l2l and Is per cent. of sugar. Such
| production of sugar WAS resorted to dur
! ing the Rcvclutiun. In 1877, Abigail
Adams, wife Of President John Adams,
tells of the manufacture of sugar from
curnstalks. In 1862. John Stanton Gould,
quoting the conflicting opinions Of differ
tut men uu the sugar value Of maize and
sorghum, sad that q few experiments
would settle TIE question. Yet the costly
, importn'iuns Of cane sugar have gone on,
and ten times that value N corrstalks has
been thrown away.
Professor Collier exhibited four varic-
ties OF sorghum, the goose-necll OF Sihe-
rian, the sumac OF Chinese. tie Honduras
"r mastodon, which in hot climates grows
TO the height of seventeen feet. and Yields
thirty-three tons TO the acre. and the Min
nosot1 amber. The last named is the ear
licst, and natures in ninety days from
planting. Rows Of each variety. two
hundred feet in length, were planted by
Professor Collier. and carefully tested
through the season. the experiments be
ginning with the first appearance of bios
SONS. Beginning on the 18th Of July,
. few stalks were cut from the early ambor,
and the juice Of them. after being eX-
tracted, WAS carefully analyzed. After
wards, at short intervals, other stalks
were cut from that andthe other varieties,
and a record preserved of the constituent
| Juices These investigations showed III
every instance that the glucose. or I'M
crystalizablc sugar, contained i'll the juice.
was greatest in the early stages of the
development of the plant, and that 1t
steadily decreased until the stalks reached
full maturity. and that 1t began TO IN
crease again after the plant had been sub
iected to 4 hard frost On the other hand,
the converse Of this was true of the sue
rose or crystallizable sugar. This was ~
| its minimum when the cane WAS fully ripe,
and except in the case Of the first variety,
/ began to diminish after n hard frost. y
| given amount of sorghum would produce
more commercial sugar than the same
amount of Louisiana cane. lie (PrDf.
! Collier) would stake his reputation that
! from ten acres of sorghum he would get
ten tons Of gagar la Washington he
could get tws tons to the acre. As Il rule
farmers would not get ton to an acre,
but might after experience and acquiring
knowledge M rcg.Id to its cultivation.
The greatest danger is from frost. hut
with the Early Amber the risk is no great
er than Louisiana planters run every year
with the cane. The sugar can be pro
duced al q cost Of three, and possibly two
cents per pound. and will sell fornne and
ten cents. The machinery and apparatus
| for ten acres Of sorghum can be bought
/ fer $50
Professor Golfers experience with
cornstalks has been equally successful
From piece Of ordinary Dent corn,
which was not growing fer sugar purposes,
after Welding n ripened crop at the rate
| Of about seventy bushels to the acre OF
shellcd corn. the stalks produced sugal
at the rate of $50 pounds TO theacre. The
speaker referred to Il Virginia planter
who Lad 2j00 acres in sweet corn. The
stalks were thrown away after tho corn
WAS harvested. but if crushed, woult
have welded ms much as the corn brought
In reference to Mr. Bailey's eusilage pits
at Billerira, Mass, Professor Collier saic
that the stalks were valuable for fodder
after they had passed through the mill
While they lose sixty per cent. Of sugar
they gain fifty per cent. Of starch, and re
tain about four-sixths of their nitrogen
Gus substances. In answer to questions
the speaker explained in detail the har
, vestiuy and manipulation Of the crop