Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1890-11-28
SUGAR AND MoLAssrs
Tho Part Filled by sorEnum
During fh. .p w Aor

sorghum Down
During the War. ssaA
AT home aud abroad soryh.
take ihe place of the vanisha cafneh
The children at home ate !, i, sugar
ger cakes, and the sold;a,. :" .lelr gn
drank It IN their rye CON- y cam
lasses ana sugar Of Louisiana v' ne NO
durable in degree till the fal n We were pro
burg; but the spirit of independa Nlcks
rife, and each state DESIRE, 'uenee sa
mined to rely as much anu deter
on its own products ~ Possible
OF state sovereignty was Theory
even to sorghum; and Extended
duction was hailed everywbers ~ nitro
OF the greatest boons Of lo,0ne
Providence. The juice of ,Jhu''eneer
extracted in primitive fashion y, cane
ing the stalks between wooda y crush
revolving upon wooden cogs AMI ~ !, roller
by horse-and- ittle-darkv a nlipellel
caught IN an ordinary trough Nv. Wa
down into proper consistency n n" n. oo'led
ing kettles. kitchen pots, or ai p''ser'
might be utilized for the n,rn "'ateva !
barreled for use as sorghum p mst and
The syrup thus produced y.a a'o''sses
palatable one, with slightly III iailea
and not disagreeable flavor b,. , ..'i.ls
unpleasant tendency 10 make tba ~" a az
sore. 1t was known as long -, s,n mouth
ing in contradistinction TO il, s' s
cessor, ''short sweetening," ibs psue
that was scarce. sugar
From its use in the place If
ghum soon leaped into high ranr. sai s0'
almost universal food staple I, @
warranted to cure any case Of bnn..s va
man or beast. Writers in the snca es u
daily press undertook in elaborstsss
exhaustive essays to show that so ,ss ana
syrup was nearly as nutritious a. s r,a
and an exceedingly good substitpts ~ a'es
while the seed of the sorghum cana !"
capable of being ground into meal Va, nS
made most excellent and wboIo.a aia'
brown bread. They claimed H., y.
problem of blockaded existence La'I ' ur
solved in the discovery of a plant NH M
produced in itself meat and hroa "'" y
the human family and proyender y.
cattle. Yet the average denizen of II.
Confederacy, whether at home or h n.
army, while rendering due credit II ~
ingenuity and skill with which the csn !"
OF the food staple was advocated 4
its champions, appealed to the higher q.
bitrament of his own digestion. .na
though willing to accord sorghum i.
real merit as serviceable and usefnl II
the place of something better he wa,
always ready to exchange ii for the mora
certain and familiar nutriment Of bocnN
and corn pone. To see it fulfill tbs
functions of sugar in the latest recipe frr
Confederate coffee and tea was wpD
enough; but quietly to submit to i,
usurpation of the high places of pork and
corn was more than the appetite a
hungry rebeldom would endure
There was a secondary use to which
sorghum was put, in which it met with
decided favor from select few. This
was its use in the manufacture Of black.
Ing. The manuscript recipe books Of
that day say that wonderful shoe black.
ing, as good as Mason best can b
made OF sorghum molasses, pinewod
SCOT, meats foot oil and vinegar.
Yet, on the theory of the survivald
the finest, the average Confederate must
have been right and the theoretic writers
in the newspapers wrong about the value
of sorghum, for bacon and corn bread
have long since regained their wontd
ascendency in the south, and sorghum
has vanished entirely from the fields
where it once flourished, save, perhaps,
where here and there some man and
brother cultivates it vet in his LITTLE
"truck patch" making 'long sweeten.
ing for the consumption of his family
in as primitive method as that in which
he helped his quondam owner to makeil
'endurin' o the wah."
In the hardest times of the war periol
when provisions were the scarcest, tie
latch to the larder of every southern
housekeeper hung out to each southern
soldier, no matter how ragged or humble.
For him the best viands about the place
were always prepared; and his was the
high prerogatIve of receiving the last cup
of real coffee, sweeteneI with the SOLITARY
remnant of sugar. With compassionate
pity the women recognized the hardshEs
in the army life of the Confederate soldier
and were always ungrudgingly ready TO
mitigate its seventies in every possible
manner. "A. c. Gordon in The Century
Methods of the KEY Filter"