The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-05-08
PLAN SUGGESTED
 FOR RELIEF OF
 SUGAR SHORTAGE
Increased Production Of Sorghum Syrup Is Urged
 As Remedy

AS a simple, pract1Cal means O. | helping relieve the acute sugar and l sirup shortage, the United States De- partment of Agriculture recommends l the increased production of sorghum sirup which, 1t is pointed out, re- quires neither unusual skill nor ex- pensive equipment to make. Fur thermore, the methods of growing sorghum are similar to those of corn and in that respect involve little that is new to many farmers. Sirup manufacture is so simple that it can be carried on with profit by ! individuals utilizing srr1aFfsized outfits of a daily capacity of 100 gallons or less. Where operations on a larger scale are feasible, community plants having g. daily capacity of several hundred gallons are suggested by the department.
 Sorghum sirup ig palatable and pleasant favored, and is an excel lent table Srup. It can also be used as substitute for other sirups or for sugar in making certain breads, cakes etc, and as a substitute for a part of the sugar used in making preserves and the like. The cost of producing it at home is relatively low and usu- ally an individual manufacturing it
 
 home needs to good advantage. Sor- ] ghum sirup produced during the 1919 season brought the producers from 90 cents to $1.50 a gallon, depending on the quality, marketing conditions, etc. Thus far the supply has fallen far short of the market demand. | Sweet Sorghum a Productive Source of SiIUp.
 The sorghum plant is similar in appearance to corn, growing about ! the same height and possessing about ] the same color. It may be grown i throughout the United States in prac- l tically all regions where corn is grown, though parts of the extreme ! northern tier of States have a. grow l ing season usually too short for 1 sweet sorghum to mature. In grow 1 ing sorghum for sirup, care should l be taken to secure seeds of a sweet sorghum variety, and for planting in 1 the North, one which natures l quickly.
 | Sweet sorghum is grown from seed and is planted in rows about 3 1-2 feet apart. The plants should stand l from four to six inches apart in the 1 row. Approximately from five to 1 eight pounds of seed is needed to the l acre. Ordinarily planting time fails 1 soon after corn planting, when the l soil has become thoroughly warm. l The stalks of the plants are ready l for sirup making when the seeds | which form heads at the top of the stalk are in the late dough stage; i that is, just before they become dry l and hard.
 The machinery necessary for mak- ! ing sirup consists of a mill for ex- 1 tracting the juice from the cane and 1 an ava nora tor radJIoir1cr Ia i1JiCa to sirup. The mill contains three iron rollers between which the sor- 1 ghum stalks are passed to press out l the juice. It may be operated by a | gasoline engine or by sweep drawn by horses.
 The usual type of evaporator con- sists of a rectangular, flat-bottomed l pan of galvanized iron or copper. | Evaporation may be produced by di- ! rect contact with fire or with steam l In the former case the pan is mount ed on a specially constructed fire box, If steam evaporation is employed the pan is provided with steam coils which lie on the bottom of the pan. l In some cases a double bottome d
 pan is used, the space so provided 1 being employed to carry the steam.
 Other Equipment Needed. Other articles needed are barrels
 or tubs for catching the juice, pipes
 for conducting it to the pan, skim
 mers for removing the scum, appar-
 atus for testing the sirup's consist
 ency and barrels or cans for holding
 the finished product.
 In making a sirup the blades of
 the plants are stripped off, the sor-
 ghum cut at about six inches from : the ground, the seed heads removed ) The sorghum is passed through the mill with as little delay as possible When the weather is cool or there : is danger of frost, the sorghum may ! be cut considerably in advance o1 pressing for when properly piled, il { will keep for several days. The
 juice extracted by the mill is strained and then run into the evaporating pan. As it passes through the pan ! it quickly comes to a boiling point :. and a scum rises to the surface. This should be constantly and carefully ! removed.
 Sirup should be evaporated to
 point where it contains not less thar
 70 per cent. solids; that is, has
 weight of not less than Il IA pound. to the gallon. If placed in contain
 CTS while boiling hot and properly
 sealed, it will keep indefinitely.
 The average yield of sirup is from
 75 to 200 gallons, although in som v cases it has been as high as 400 gal s Ions. The estimates on the yield O seed an acre vary from 500 to 1,60, s pounds.
 d @NEF EsnsRE Fn