The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-10-09

sorghum syrup and gives it it's character
fstic and unacceptable qualities.
In generation no Improvement has
been made in quality of sorghum syrup.
The art of making fine syrup from sorghum
consists almost entirely of eXtraction-that
Is, extracting undesirable matter from the
juice. The SOrghum-Syrup maker has not
now, and has never had, full control of the
qualities of his syrup because he has not
been able to separate wen the excess of
vegetable matter from sorghum juice. He
mas control only of the quantity of syrup
and the density of his syrup. He is de-
pendent on the accidental purity of his
sorghum juice. When he has learned how
TO purify sorghum juice efficiently it will
make little difference whether the juice is
unusually pure or usually impure. He
will always make good syrup from ordi-
past fifty years shows plainly that this
cannot be done by merely boiling and
skimming sorghum juice. 1t will be done
by new and better ways of making syrup.
Progress in sorghum-syrup manufacture
is not possible until Improvement is made
in the quality of sorghum syrup. The
decline in the production can only be
checked by new and better ways of making
the syrup.
1T may seem absurd to some to suppose
that first-elass table syrup can be made in
small and poorly-equipped horse mills, but
1t is singular fact which has not been
explained that the best sugar cane syrup
ana the pest sorghum syrup mas, so 1ar,
been made in little horse mills with the
crudest appliances. and not i'm the best
equipped steam syrup factories. But it can
now be clearly demonstrated that Kansas
SOrghum-Syrup maker, with a horse mill,
an cooperating pan and a few second hand
barrels, with no chemicals, can always
make good syrup from unspoiled juice of
ordinary cane. This should be the turning
point from a discouraged and declining
syrup industry to growing and prosperous
manufacture.
For eight years an earnest effort has
been made to find, among hundreds of va
rieties of sorghum, a variety giving as pure
juice, naturally, as sugar cane gives. Such
variety has not yet been found. 1t seems
reasonable to suppose that among so many
varieties a few are especially adapted to
there is no generally agreed on choice of
varieties.
I'm the past three years the effort has
been to find ways to make sorghum juice
as pure, by purifying II. az sugar-cane juice
naturally is, and so make as good syrup
from sorghum as is made from sugar cane.
There is very great promise in this line
of work
less troubled with grass and weeds than in
humid States. On our level plains labor
saving implements plant, cultivate and har-
vest cane with less labor. Cane is, perhaps,
the surest crop we have. Though largely
planted. 1t has developed special insect
pest. Cane seed has value for seed and for
feed. The crushed canes have value for
fuel in the manufacture. With as good eX-
traction of Juice is mad from sugar beets
or sugar cane, a ton of ordinary sorghum
gives twenty gallons of syrup 1t is easy to
see that, at the present value of sugar-cane
syrup in New Orleans, ton of sorghum
cane should make syrup worth Sc. With
the cheap and weak horse mills now in use
giving but ten gallons of syrup to each ton
of cane, but with home market for really
good syrup at 40 cents gallon. each ton
of cane should yield 81. The cane grower
should get 81 ton and the syrup maker
should get 81 from a ton of cane"