Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-10-12
A New Source OF Sugar.

Mexico has great sugar raising CO.
pacities, says the Findncier. and within
a few years the export of sugar will be-
come considerable, under the stimulus
to the industry given by the railways,
particularly if the reciprocity treaty
with the United States goes into effect.
Not only will the cultivation of the
sugar-cane be greatly extended, but it
is likely that one of the most character
istic vegetable growths of the country
can be utilized for sugar-making most
proiitably. We refer to the nopal, the
fruit Of which, the prickly pear, or tuna,
grows wild by the million all over, the
central table-land. This fruit is very
rich in saccharine matter, and, though
we have never heard of any expert
ments being tried, there can be little
doubt that much sugar could be made
from it. Experiments have been made
in the United States in making sugar
from watermelons with considerable
success, and the juice of the prickly
pear is much sweeter than that of wa
termelons. II might even pay to Guilt
vate the nopal for the purpose, since the
cultivated varieties are considerably
sweeter and juicer than the wild ones,
end they are grown with little trouble
along the boundaries of gardens and
fields. The prickly pear also makes a
most palatable dulce or conserve, which
would, if prepared for export, meet with
large demand in the United States,
where the fruit is unknown, and where
novel delicacies find large sale at high
prices.
The Interior Department is now pay
ing particular attention TO the promo
ton of the growing fruits and other
products of the country for export,
therefore it would be timely to consider
the latent possibilities of the nopal i'm
increasing the resources of this country.
There are many growths of American
soil, hitherto considered entirely useless,
which will turn out to be of great COM
mercial value when their capabilities
are discovered. One of the most emil
nent of modern philosophers, Emerson,
said that weeds are those plants the
uses of which have not been found out
yet. The truth of the saying is daily
becoming more and more evident, and
some of the most despised weeds, So
called. are taking rank among the most
useful gifts to mankind from nature.
Mexico has contributed conspicuous
example of this in the shape of the
henequen, which has added millions to
the resources of the country within q
few years. Possibly the nopal may be-
come growth of equal value.
The sugar-producing plants are get
ting more numerous year by year, but
the demand for sweets keeps pace with
the extension of the production. Tho
tropical sugar-cane is the greatest
known source of sugar, but large guam
titles are produced from various growths
in the temperate zones. Great amounts
of sugar are raised in France and Ger
many from the beet, and efforts are now
being made to produce sugar from the
same source in several of the Northern
States of the American Union. The
sorghum cane is also an important
sugar-producer, and is grown extensive
ly in the west of the United States.
Large amounts of sugar are also made
from the sap of the rock-maple tree, in.
digenous to the most northern of the
United States, and it has a flavor so
peculiarly agreeable that 1t is chiefly
consumed as delicacy in the season in
which it produced. 1t is not unlikely
that the nopal may turn out to be q
sugar-plant equal in Importance to any
of these rivals of the ne.-Chicdgo
Times.