The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1942-10-08
Sugar Rati0ning
Creates Demand For
Sorghum Molasses
Continued from page u

uuSITidl pidIltS III kiiAS Acid'
SUGAR SUBSTITUTE
Sorghum is being substituted ex-
tensively for sugar-both for baking
and table use-and many households
are discovering anew the possibili-
ties of this delectable sweet pro-
cessed every fall in their own neigh
borhood.
Although demand for the product
has set a new high mark this fall,
the growing season this year was
such that the cane produced less of
the finished product than at any time
since the mill has been in operation,
Miller stated.
Miller has been operating the
press for the past 80 seasons hav-
ing started it in 1909 when he rent
ed the mill from the late John Am
stutz. Several years later he pur-
chased the business and the farm.
The house on the farm was built
S3 years ago by Ulrich Amstutz,
father of John Amstutz w
4 Too WET
The growing season was much too
wet to produce cane with a high
content of sugar. Cane requires a
wet spring and dry summer to pro-
duce high sugar content. The pres
ent cane produces sorghum of as
high a quality but requires consid-
erably more boiling of the juice.
A growing season like the past
summer considerably increases the
overhead cost of production, Mr.. Mil
Ter stated. ~-~-~ ~ -~--sl-~.~
The demand for the product is
considerably greater than the supply
Most of the work at the mill is Gus
tom work for farmers in a 30 or 4C
mile area who bring in their cane
to be reduced to sorghum. There
are 400 regular customers who bring
in their cane yearly to have it con-
verted into molasses.
WIDE REPUTATION
Through the years many people
have become acquainted with the
quality product of the firm and pur'
chase quantities of it for home use
To take care of the retail business
Miller annually plants several acres
of cane. This year, with farm labor
scarce, he planted only two acres. A
large amount of labor is required tc
raise the cane and get it into condi,
ton to feed into the press.
Six men are employed on the day
shift and probably the same number
will work on the night shift which
starts this Wednesday night. EN-
ployed on the day shift are Chris
Schnegg, chief engineep; jacob
Schnegg, Jacob Beer, Richard Rus
misel, Rev. P. j. Boehr and Susar
Welty, bookkeeper.
The cane is prepared by stripping
the leaves and topping the stalk. L
is then stacked and brought to the
mill usually in wagons where it il
fed into the presses. The sap il
passed through straw strainer anc
then pumped into trough.
SKILL REQUIRED
In the first boiling trough the
scum is removed and then the liquie
goes to the finishing trough where
it is boiled down to the proper con,
sistency. In this operation Chris
Schnegg, veteran employe, knows the
exact moment when to place the mo-
lasses into the cooling trough. Some
of the larger firms haxe expensive
temperature and consistency measur-
ing equipment but many decades OF
experience have enabled the workers
in the Miller firm to know just when
to change operations.
Normally so gallons of juice will
produce eight to nine gallons of
molasses. This is due to the low
sugar content of the cane, Miller
said.
TRUCKED IN
A small auto trailer load of cane
will produce juice to fill a so gallon
barrel. Much Of the cane is brought