The Grenada sentinel., 1903-12-26
a VIEWED ~ An OUTSIDER.

CONTINUED from Last Week.)

11A&AAASRA~ANVSeA
er than an agricultural problem,
hence. of little interest to the aver
age Mississippi farmer, but because
Of the great and growing demand
for healthful, palatable syrup, such
as can be produced from tropical su-
gar cane on most Mississippi farms |
any by any Mississippi farmer, there |
is no reason why the production Of d
high priced syrup may not become
an important industry in this State.
One supposed obstacle in this busi-
ness is based on the impression that
the portion Of the crop which must
be reserved for seed is so large as to
seriously diminish the possibilities
of satisfactory financial returns.
A large part Of the commercial
crop of Louisiana and Of the sugar
cane crop of Florida and Georgia is
produced from the green tips or tops
which the Mississippi farmers inva-
riably throw away. The best seed
in the entire plant is found in these
tips. In preserving the tips for
seed,. carefully cut them from the
portion intended for syrup and bed
them for winter preservation exact
ly as ordinary seed cane is preserved,
the only precaution being that the
ground where the seed bed is made
should be thoroughly pulverized and
the butts of the tops carefully thrust
into the mellow soil to the depth OF
about two inches, and then covered
with litter or pine straw and then
with sufficient soil to keep out the
| frost, exactly as in the case OF ordi-
nary cane.
Another obstacle which has de-
tered many from the cultivation OF
cane for syrup making has been the
difficulty Of preserving the syrup, as
we'll as its tendency to deteriorate
by sugaring. Fermentation is the
cause of the first difficulty, the nat
ural crystallization Of the sugar
present the second. fermentation,
whether occurring in syrup or in
any other fluid, is the result of the
development Of living germs. The
process is rendered impossible by the
destruction Of these germs. Heat
effectively accomplishes this. The
germs of fermentation, however, ex--
list at all times in the air, so effective
preservation necessitates the exclu
sion OF, the air. This is easily ac-
complished by sealing the recepta-
cles containing the syrup while the
latter is hot Bottles and jugs. may
be used for this purpose when the
product is intended for home CON
sumption, but for market purposes,
the tin canis the only practicable
syrup package and should be insisted
upon as absolutely indispensable to
securing high prices, which may be
expected from superior product.
The character Of the product will
depend chiefly upon its purity.
Cane juice, like all vegetable juices,
contains coloring matter and other
impurities which must be removed
if first-class syrup is expected. The
best means of accomplishing this re-
} moxal is the straining of the syrup
as it comes from the mill through a
filter made of common Spanish
moss. The simplest device for this,
now practiced by cane growers all
over the South, is the mere straining
of the juice through common Gro
Gus sack The moss filter is as sim
pie, however, as the sack, and the
moss not only removes coloring mat.
ter. and the impurities, but to some
extent the causes of fermentation,
so that syrup made in this way il
not only better in quality, but keeps
, longer than that produced by any
other simple and practical methods
The filter consists, simply of a square
! box made of plank and as long as il
| possible, allowing the box to be SCI
! under the spout of the mill. The
box is packed full of the moss which
by natural or artificial means, ha,
shed its outer gray covering and il
in a condition known commercial,
4 as upholstery or mattress moss. Th'
j, box is packed as solidly as possible
: The juice flows from the mill int
] the top of the filter, percolate
d through the moss and flows out a
S the bottom through pipe that lead
i to the kettle or the. evaporator. Suf
ficient moss should be prepared t
fill the box twice. At the end o
the first days run, the moss shoul,
: be removed, thoroughly washed an,
/ summed for day, during which tim
: the second filling Of moss should b
e in use. Moss sufficient to fill th
q filter twice is enough for the maxim