St. Landry democrat., 1882-07-01
Sugar from Sorghum.

The subject of the profitable growth
of sorghum, and the manufacture of
sugar therefrom is one that has engaged
the attention Of experimenters during
the past three or four years. The pros
pect of opening up another industry to
our Northern and Western States, and
of making the United States the great
sugar-producing country of the world is
enough to warrant a reasonable expendi-
ture by the Government in investigating
this question. The Department of Ag
ricttIture at Washington has been con-
Quoting q series of experiments under
She direction of DR.. Peter Collier, the
chemist of the department. The report
For 1881 is not yet in print The Ma
tional Academy of Sciences last year APP
pointed committee to inquire into the
results of these experiments, and its
chairman, Prof. Silliman, now lets out
some of the information which he has
gathered, although the report of the
committee is not ready for publication.
In an open letter to friend in Louisiana,
he claims that the farmers whose land
has been devastated by floods,
and who thus will lose their
usual crop of sugar cane, have time
yet this season to nearly make
good their loss by cultivation of sor-
ghum. He recommends using seed of
several sorts of sorghum, which will
fully mature in periods varying from
three to six months from date of SOW
ing. No other treatment than is now
employed in working sugar cane need
be used, and as good a quality OF sugar
can be made. He cites the kind of sor-
ghum known as early Amber Cane,
which natures in ninety days, reaching
its perfect condition in the latitude Of
Washington by the middle of Septem-
Der and maintaining working period OF
two months, or until severe frosts. 1t
makes fully per cent. of available
sugar CATER deducting about Il per
cent of glucose and 3 per cent. of
solids not sugar), and has produced
over wide areas of the west 10 to 20
tons of cane per acre, yielding 40 gal
Ions of juice per ton. and of well-grained
sugar from 80 to 100 pounds per ton of
stalks and from 20 to 25 gallons Of sirup
of excellent quality, weighing from II
to liz pounds per gallon. The yield of
seed is from 20 to 30 bushels per acre,
an excellent grain for stock or hogs,
worth in the north from so cents to Is
cents per bushei.'
Prof Sillilnan also names ''Early
Orange as a good variety for the
southern planters to use now. 1t ma
lures in about III days from time OF
planting. and its available product of
sugar is 81 per cent. In the latitude of
Washington, he claims, it is good for
about 1900 pounds per acre of excellent
+'Cn sugar. 1924 @S@
Several other later varieties are named
that, in the Southern States, would prob
ably work in well with the earlier varie-
ties, and keep the sugar mills in opera
tion. The professor closes his letter
with few suggestion of a technical
nature understood by those versed in
.sugar-cane growing. The fourth may
be of interest to our readers: 4 For the
matter of culture, it is sufficient to say
that any soil that will raise good crop
of corn will do well for sorghum, which
is best drilled in with a common drilling
machine in rows 81 to 4 feet apart, the
plants to be thinned out to about four
inches apart in the row. During the
early weeks of growth sorghum is deli
cate and requires a little more care than
corn, but once well under way it requires
no extra care ssts-g
For the Southern planter there would
be little danger of great loss in an ex-
detrimental crop of sorghum. He has
all the appliances and the. necessary
knowledge of making the sugar after the
sorghum has been produced. And. for
the planter along the Mississippi whose
annual crop of sugar cane is lost, and
who thus has nothing to lose, this
scheme seems a very plausible one for
bridging over the year. Whether it re-
.sultedi in pecuniary gain or not, it GER
tainly would add greatly sto. our knowl-
edge of the value Of sorghum for sugar,
which, if once demonstrated by actual
experience in the South, could be taken
up readily by all with no increased ex-
pense. But in the. North the cultivation
of sorghum, even if known to be profit
able, will be but Slowly introduced, as
the farmers have everything to learn in
regard to it, and mills would have to be
made at great expense for the manu-
facture Of the sugar from the cane
Lansing Republican.