The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1903-12-18
YAKIMA SORGHUM SYRUP,
Farmers Of That Valley Experimenting
With New Cron


Joel Shoemaker writes as follows
from North Yakima, in the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer:
The making of sorghum syrup prom
ises to become a profitable industry in
the Yakima valley. Several farmers
of the cane and manufacturing a good
quality of marketable molasses. 1t is
claimed that an acre, under irrigation,
will yield $50 gallons of syrup and
forty to fifty bushels of seed. In addi-
ton TO that harvested, a second crop,
coming from the roots, makes excell-
ent pasture for sheep and cattle.
Sorghum is one Of the staple farm
crops in at least forty-four states The
plant is allied to the sugar cane Of the
south. 1t is large saccharine corn in
appearance, a hardy plant and an
American product. For the past fifty
years the manufacture of syrup from
this plant has increased every sea-
son. At present the people demand the
entire output which is over $4,000, 900
gallons annually. To supply the de-
mand for syrup many large factories
have been constructed to extract glu-
cOse from corn and other substances.
The sorghum growers of Yakima val
ley are from Minnesota and the Dako-
tas, where the crop is one of the best
grown on cultivated lands. In that
section of the northwest, say the
sorghum eXperimenters, an acre pro-
duces from $50 to 275 gallons of syrup
This sells throughout the northern
states at about so cents per gallon. A
ton of the corn yields twenty gallons
of molasses. The seed from an acre
averages about forty bushels and
sells for SO per ton on the stems. Cane
sells for 81 per ton.
Planting and Harvesting.
Two pounds of sorghum seed will
plant an acre. Some growers use
drills for seeding and others simply
SOW rows and thin until the plants
stand about six inches apart. The
rows are made about the same dis
lance apart as for ordinary corn. Cui-
tiVatiOn is the same as for corn. Those
who make a profitable business of the
sorghum use the disc harrOWs in cul-
tiva ting. AS with other crops the bet
ter a field of cane is cultivated the
more profitable it will be at harvest
time.
Harvesting of sorghum is often done
T., l. ti,,Cr
chine. When the stalks are cut the,
heads, containing the seed, are chopped
off with corn knives and left to dry on
the ground. The seed contains much
starch and is used for manufacturing
into that product in some sections
where starch factories are located.
A meal is made of the seed and fed
to horses, hogs and poultry. Many
poultrymen purchase the seed in the
heads and feed to their chickens. 1t
is fine fattening food for all varieties
Of poultry.
The Juice of sorghum is extracted
by feeding the cane through steel roll
lers. The density of the juice is deter
mined by means of an instrument
known as a saccharOmeter, and the
value in syrup reconed. With a gauge
of y degrees five gallons of juice VIII
make one gallon of syrup, while the
juice testing only 6 degrees requires
ten gallons to make one gallon of sy-
rup The syrup passes through diner
ent processes of boiling and evapora-
ton and comes out pure substance
having no artificial color or adulter-
ants of any nature.
As Forage Crop.
The growing of sorghum for forage
is one of the most profitable methods
Of handling this plant in stock rais-