The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1882-05-04

TINE CANE 000V0No oN0OSIWv.
We hope our readers will notice the
advertisement: Cane Wanted" In an
other column. Cane growing IL NO
new thing, for cane has been planted
ever since the nrst settlement Of the
county, but growing large fields ofcane
and manufacturing 1t In . large way
IL new feature here. The Bavaria
Syrup Works il the frst steam power
cane mill I'm the county. We hope to
see many more and larger ones There
are many who think cane growing
will soon be the most important agri.
cultural interest In western Kansas.
Cane mills can run here from August
Isl to the middle of November. or 100
days. In Minnesota and Wisconsin
where cane growing Is profitable they
can run only 20 to 50 days. In the
south the tropical cane has . working
season of 90 to 20 days. Cane furnish
e. its own fuel, which Is an essential
point in this country. There IL about
q ton of dry bagasse from an acre Of
cane, and this Is sufficient to grind and
boil the juice from an acre. Cane does
better in dry season than in wet one.
In q rainy season the juice Is weak and
deficient i'm sugar. 1t does better on
dry upland than on wet, swampy low
land Cane endures drouth better than
any other crop except broOm-corn and
and rice-corn. Where rice-corn does
well sorghum does well and its seed Is
as valuable for feed. In the dry west
ern counties sorghum, broom-corn and
rice-csrn are about the only crops that
do well. These belong to the same fam
lily and are really gigantic, solid stem
med grasses. They readily cross or mix
and should not be planted together.
They are deep rooted and strong rooted
As any who one has plowed cane stubble
can testify. Stock men are finding
that sorghum Is the most abundant and
reliable forage crop, and the present
scarcity of seed Is partly due to that
fact. II IL said the seed alone II worth
for feed all II costs to raise the cane,
and the cane is worth for syrup the
va lue Of the land on which il grows.
Sorghum has very near the same per-
centage Of sugar as tropical'cane. tits
probable that experience and capital
will make sugar growing the most prof
liable business in the state. An acre
Of good sorghum gains LOU pounds Of
sugar every day from the time ii flowers
until 1t Is ripe, then 1t loses the
longer it is kept. We do not now get
the sugar, but the business has future.
Southern capitalists believing they
could make more money out OF Kan
sas sorghu m than from their own trOp-
zeal cane, have invested $35, 900 In
cane factory In this state. Refineries
with ample capital and expensive ap-
paratus are now refining sorghum syr-
up and find q ready market for the
product. The glucose or corn syrup
factories dem and more sorghum syrup
than they can get. They use 1t simp-
ly for mixing. The extreme cold a
year ago and the recent floods In the
South have materially shortened the
crop of Southern cane. The prices Of
syrup and sugar haveadvanced When
corn is 80 cents bushel glucose or corn
syrup can be made for 80 cents gallon.
When corn is Us high rs it is now it
cannot compete with sorghum cane.
There is tariff or duty on foreign
sugar and syrup which is bonus to the
home producer. For these reasons the
prospect is very favorable now for
X ansas cane We believe our soil and
climate are suited TO it and that cane
can he grown cheaper in this state than
elsewhere. We are glad to know that
our bus mess men are disposed to assist
and enco urage. Our object in writing
this is to urge our farmers to try it and
test it; to plant some IL it Is only lit
tle-nnd give IL fair chance. Ifthey
decide that cane will pay them better
than corn or wheat they will soon have
cane factories enough 10 take all the
cane they can produce. Salina, Brook
willie and Bavaria will have first class
and complete cane factories ~ soon as
the farmers determine to have them.
Our business men can afford to devel-
op home industry. The prosperity Of
the farm is the prosperity Of the town.
There Is no agricultural interest which
requires 50 much capital per acre and
requires SO many men and teams as
the cane bushes. In Louisiana u plan
tation having from 800 to 800 acres Of
cane has from so, 900 TO 81, 900 iAvest-
ed, and employs from 50 to $50 hands.
The same number of acres I'm corn car
ries a smaller population, produces
less and has less taxable value: the
same extent Of grazing land or ranch
still less. There is little employ
ment for, or inducement to transient
iabOring men, or men with limited
capital to remain here, and they go
elsewhere. II cane of good quality
can he produced cheaply here, IL there
is a ready market ut fair price for
the product, sorghum cane may be
worth something to Kansas.
We hope the farmers will plant cane.
An acre of cane with fair stand and
chance yields from eight TO twelve
tons Of cane to the acre and from ten
to twenty bushels Of seed. A ton OF
good cane, cut and worked Mt the
proper time yields from eight to twelve
gallons Of syrup. These are not ex-
ceptional results, but we regard them
as fair and safe average. An acre Of |
cane frequently produces as high as
two or three hundred gsllens of syrup.
A PETITION one mile long asking |
the pardon Of Sergeant Mason was
presented to the President Monday
afternoon.