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SORGHO AND IMPHEE, 


THE 


CHINESE AND AFRICAN SUGAR CANES. 


A TREATISE UPON THEIR 


ORIGIN, VARIETIES AND CULTURE; 


THEIR VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP; AND THE MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR, 
SYRUP, ALCOHOL, WINES, BEER, CIDER, VINEGAR, STARCH AND DYE- 
STUFFS ; WITH A PAPER BY LEONARD WRAY, ESQ., OF 
CAFFRARIA, AND A DE: CRIPTION OF HIS PATENTED 
PROCESS FOR CRYSTALLIZING THE 
JUICE OF THE IMPHEE. 


TO WHICH ARE ADDED, 


COPIOUS TRANSLATIONS OF VALUABLE FRENCH PAMPHLETS. 


BY HENRY §, OLCOTT. 


Fully Clustrated With Drawirgs of the best Machinern. 


NEW YORK: 


A. 0. MOORE, AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHER, 
(LATE ©, M. SAXTON & CO.) 
No. 140 FULTON STREET. 


1857. 


Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, ty 
AUGUSTUS OO. MOORE, 


In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the 
Southern District of New York. 


EDWARD 0. JENKINS, 
ivinter and Stereotpper, 
26 Frankfort St. 


5 


“i Yj 


- 


rs 
i 


PREFACE. LIBRARY 


tta HW DEIN 


So many wonderful discoveries and inventions have, from time to 
time, been brought before the American public, and have been so 
puffed and belauded by their sanguine and imaginative introducers, 
that a really cautious and sober minded man, mindful of these constantly 
recurring illusions, is not unnaturally prone to receive with suspicion 
and even to disbelieve statements, however true they may be, should 
they seem to promise more than ordinary advantage and profit from 
the cultivation of a new crop. 

As I am well aware of this existing feeling, I am the more anxious 
to lay before my readers the fact, that the subject of this work, the 
Chinese Sugar Cane, has been fairly before the scientific world for 
some three or four years past; and its various claims have been sub- 
mitted to most rigid scrutiny. 

In Europe it has engaged the attention of the most eminent agri- 
culturists, chemists, sugar makers, and other competent authorities ; 
whilst in our own land it has been made the study of some of our 
most respected and trustworthy citizens, who have made fair trial of 
it, under various circumstances, and have stated the results obtained 
in various sections of the country, attaching to these statement their 


names, as a guaranty of their rigid exactness. So vouched for, then, 


~ the value of the “Holcus saccharatus” cannot reasonably be con- 


—_ sidered a doubtful fact, nor one fostered by sanguine minds for inter- 


[3] 


iv PREFACE. 


ested purposes. I have therefore addressed myself to the task of com- 
piling all the evidence as yet placed at our disposal, strengthening it 
by such new facts as have reached me, and thus completed down to 
the latest moment, present it to the public, in the confident hope that 
it may prove of some interest. 

Since the commencement of our existence as a nation, there has been 
no time more propitious to the introduction of a new sugar bearing 
plant, nor in which a more generous welcome would have been afford- 
ed to it, than the present ; for not only are our planters filled with ap- 
prehensions beeause of the rapid decline of the Antilles sugar cane in 
the southern states, but the article of sugar has become so generally 
an actual necessary of life, and the number of consumers is increasing 
in such accelerated ratio, as to cause the demand to far exceed the 
supply, and thus produce a very considerable enhancement in its 
price. Under the stimulus of this condition of affairs, the manufacture 
of sugar from the sap of the maple tree, has this year been largely in- 
creased ; and official statistics at the end of the year will undoubtedly 
show a crop of maple sugar to have been produced, such as was 
never before obtained in this country. But, although this crop will 
possibly amount to sixty millions of pounds, yet when we come to con- 
sider that in the year 1855, the amount of cane sugar consumed in the 
United States was nine hundred and nineteen millions of pounds, we 
are made sensible of the national interest in procuring an undiminished 
annual source of supply, beyond any that could be afforded by a natural] 


increase in the yield of maple sugar. 
The sugar crop of 1855, as compared with that of the previous year, 


showed a decrease of nearly two per cent., and the evil has since then 
assumed such magnitude as to influence cur General Government to ap- 
propriate a large sum of money, and to send a ship to the West 


Indies and other adjacent tropical countries, for the purpose of pro- 


PREFACE. Vv 


curing a stock of cuttings to renew the exhausted plantations of Lou- 
siana. 

It can scarcely be a matter of surprise, therefore, that when it be- 
came bruited abroad, through our public press, that there had been 
introduced from France, through the United States Patent Office, a 
new plant, which was said to have been in common use in North China 
for the production of sugar, and to be capable of immediate acclima- 
tion, even in ovr more northern states, one simultaneous desire should 
have possessed the farmers of all portions of the country to experiment 
for themselves with the precious seed, and produce, if not for sale, at 
least for themselves and their families, a supply of the agreeable sugar. 

Thus, then, we have seen the news passed with rapidity, from paper 
to paper, throughout the land; enterprising seedsmen have imported 
large quantities from France, issued their advertisements, and orders 
and letters of inquiry poured in upon them in one unbroken stream, 
until the season of planting had passed. The United States Patent 
Office has itself distributed one hundred thousand papers of the seed ; 
the large crop of Colonel Richard Peters, of Georgia, has been dis- 
posed of in a similar manner ; and considering the other amounts dis- 
tributed, I think to be entirely within the bounds of moderation in 
stating, that there are now under cultivation in the United States, fifty 
thousand acres of Chinese Sugar Cane. 

The interest in the question has been materially heightened, and the 
hopes of success considerably increased by the arrival in this country, 
from Europe, of Mr. Leonard Wray, formerly a planter at Natal. This 
distinguished sugar planter discovered, on the south eastern coast of 
Africa, fifteen varieties of the Holcus saccharatus, cultivated by the 
Zulu Kaffirs, under the name Im-Fé, or Imphee, from which he made 
sugar in large quantities ; and which, after considerable difficulty and 


expense, he succeeded in introducing to the notice of European agri- 


vl PREFACE. 


culturists. Having discovered an entirely new method, and the only 
practicable one, of making crystallized sugar from the juice of the im- 
phee, or African sorgho, he patented his process in Europe, and came 
to this country with the same object in view, and has recently obtained 
his letters patent from the Government Office at Washington. To 
Mr. Wray I am indebted for the very interesting treatise* upon the 
imphee, which will be found in the body of this work, as also for the 
letters and historical matter, which will be found accredited to him at 
the proper place. 

The success of the plant being no longer problematical then, there 
is immediately created a demand for some critical work upon its origin, 
culture, and uses; and to carry on its varied phases of manufacture 
will call into activity a large amount of capital and industry that has 
heretofore been diverted in other channels. With no hope of com- 
pletely filling the existing hiatus, but as having arranged all the avail- 
able materials to be found in our own, or French publications, this 
volume is offered to the public. The basis of it is derived from a 
lecture, written by myself, at the request of a distinguished friend, and 
delivered, on invitation, at agricultural meetings of the Legislatures of 
Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio, during the past winter. The 
flattering reception which it met, and the paucity of information as 
yet made public in this country, suggested the idea thaf, perhaps, if 
enlarged and illustrated with appropriate engravings, it might be of 
value in the present stage of our experience. 

In the Appendix will be found copious extracts, translated from 
French pamphlets, which were placed at my disposal by Messrs. 
Hedges, Free, & Co., of Cincinnati and Philadelphia ; and, accompany- 


ing them, the interesting correspondence between their house and the 


* This treatise was prinied, for private circulation, in London, 1864. 


PREFACE. vu 


Hon. John Y. Mason, our Minister at Paris. To Mr. John W. Reid 
of this city, I am indebted for electrotypes of the cuts of sugar and dis- 
tilling apparatus, and for much valuable information. D. Jay Browne, 
Ksq., of the United States Patent office, has kindly sent me an article 
on the crystallization of the juice of the sorgho, written by him for the 
next volume of the Agricultural Report, and furnished for this work, 
in advance of its publication ; and at various times he has assisted me, 
with advice and information. 

The Complete History of the Culture of the Chinese Sugar Cane in 
the Southern States, is from the pen of D. Redmond, Esq., Editor of 
the “Southern Cultivator,” to whose labors the American public are 
in a great measure indebted for the successful introduction of the 
plant into general cultivation, and for the valuable experiments of 
Governor Hammond and Colonel Peters, which have so fully sustained 
the enthusiastic assumptions of its European friends, as to its ability 
to yield a large quantity of saccharine matter. 

Mr. D. Jay Browne has also kindly placed at my disposal, the 
article containing the Chemical Researches on the Sorgho, by Dr. 
Charles 'T. Jackson, of Boston, one of the State Assayers. The anal- 
ysis of Dr. Jackson will be of interest to scientific agriculturists, as 
affording a clue to the proper manner to apply to the sorgho fields 
when taken in comparison with the quantitative and qualitative analy- 
ses made at the Imperial School of Engineering. 

The article by Aug. A. Hayes, Assayer to the State of Massa- 
chusetts, evinces an amount of research and scientific investigation 
into the composition of the sorgho, not previously equaled in this 
country, so far as I am aware of. 

Thus aided and encouraged by gentlemen of the highest scientific 
and practical attainments in their several professions, the author pre- 


sents this work to the agricultural public, in the sincere desire that 


Vill PREFACE. 


the plants of which it treats may prove to be what we are led to anti- 
cipate from the experience of Europe, most valuable acquisitions, and 


an enduring source of wealth to the American former. 


WESTCHESTER FARM SCHOOL, 
Mount VERNON, N. Y., 1857. 


CONTENTS. 


aart J. 


CHAPTER I. 


ORIGIN AND SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


The Cane in China—Accounts of Jesuit Missionaries—Extracts from Ja. 
panese Works—Its Exhibition at the Great Fair at Moscow—lIntro- 
duction into Europe—The appearance of Mr. Wray’s Imphee— 
Precarious position of the Sorgho—To whom is most Honor due—Sale 
of Eight Hundred Seeds to Vilmorin, Andrieux, & Co.—Various Ex- 
periments—Attempts of Pietro Arduino, inl 786—Mr. Leonard Wray 
—Introduction of the Sorgho into America—Sugar made by Professor 
Avequin, of Louisiana—How Patent Office Seeds should be Wed, 


CHAPTER II. 


DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT. 


The Confusion among Agricultural Writers—Appearance of the Plant — 
Height, &c.—Comparative Growth of the Sorgho and other similar 
Plants—Weight of the Stalk—Progressive Growth—Pulling out the 
Tufts —Ripening—Prostration by Wind Storms. 32-45 

Bee [9] 


x CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER ITI. 


SOIL REQUIRED—-CULTURE—MANURING. 


Should Hilling be Practiced?—Deep Culture—Subsoil Plow—Soaking 
Seed—Covering Lightly—Manures—Hybridization—Cultivation—Cur- 
ing Fodder—Saving Seed—Stripping—Stacking. 46-56 


CHAPTER IV. 


. VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP—TESTIMONY OF CULTIVATORS. 


Sowing for Fodder—Rattooning—Cutting Fodder—Testimony of D. Jay 
Browne, Esq.—Testimony of Author—Testimony of Mr. Gratz, of Ken- 
tucky—Mr. Wray’s Remarks at the Farmers’ Club—Count Beaure- 
gard’s Experience—Testimony of G. de Lacoste—Of Gov. Gardner, of 
Mass.—Experience of C. L. Flint, of Mass.—The Sorgho in Texas this 
year—Ability to withstand Drought—Curing—Its Nutritive Qualities— 
Size of Stalks in North Africa—Testimony of Doctor Turrel, and 
Lacoste—Coloring the Bones of Chickens—Yield per Acre of Seed 
and Forage—Should not be allowed to Grow more than one Year. 

57-71 


CHAPTER V. 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING—A WEST INDIAN SUGAR PLANTATION— 
CUTTING—CRUSHING—BOILING. 


Apparatus Required, Fully Illustrated—A West Indian Steam Mill— 
Cattle Mill—Horse Mills—Stream Trains— Ordinary Trains—Vacuum 
Pan—Bascule Pan—Making a Small Crop of Sugar—The Cause for 
Present High Prices—The “African Apprentice ’’ System. 72-128 


# 


CHAPTER VI. 


SYRUP—BEST METHODS OF MAKING IT. 


“Experience of American Growers—The Seed obtained as well as Syrup 
Apparatus Necessary—M. d’Ivernois’ Syrup made without a Mill—Iron 


CONTENTS. Xl 


Rollers better than Wooden Rollers—Amount of Saccharine Matter 
Varies in different Cases—Necessity of Cleanliness and System—Col. 
Peters obtains 468 Gallons on an Acre. 129-140 


CHAPTER VII. 


ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS. 


Most Approved Method of Making Sorgho Aleohols—The French Experi- 
ments—Brandies—The French Government Patronage—Enthusiasm 
of Dr. Turrel—J. W. Reid’s Experiments—Distillery—A pparatus II- 
lustrated with numerous Engravings. 141-168 


CHAPTER VIII. 
PAPER—VINEGAR—STARCH—DYE STUFFS+-CEROSIE OR WAX. 


The Quality of Vinegar—D. Jay Browne’s Testimony—Count Moig- 
nerie’s Process Described—Dr. Sicard’s Experiments, and his Method 
of Vinegar Making—The Value of the Starch—Pearling and Hulling 
the Seeds—The Flour—Author’s Experiments in making the Dye 
Stuffs—Coloring Ribbons—Dr. Sicard’s Samples of Colors—Chemical 
Treatment to Procure the Tints—Pigments—Cerosie or Vegetable 
Wax—Making Candles in China—Author’s Experiments—Monsieur 
Hardy’s Calculations—Corn Stalk Paper—Duret’s Specimens—Dr. 
Sicard’s Specimens—Process of Paper Making. 169-184 


CHAPTER IX. 


MR. WRAY’S PROCESS FOR MAKING EXCELLENT SUGAR FROM THE 
» 
IMPHEE, SORGHO, SUGAR MAPLE, BEET, AND ORDINARY SUGAR CANE 
DESCRIBED. 


qart da. 
TE Bi BE Te ee E. 
BY LEONARD WRAY, ESQ. 


Discovery of the Plant in Caffraria—Previous attempts to Make Sugar 
Unsuecessful—Botanical Position of the Imphee—The Different Varie. 


Xil CONTENTS. 


ties—Their Description and Yields of Sugar--Cultivation—Manuring— 


The Imphee Compared to the Sugar Beet and Sugar Cane. 
193-228 


Ae sais ay dX 


Correspondence with the American Minister at Paris—Letters of Vil 
morin and Vattemare, of Paris—Article by Mr. Browne, on Crystall 
lizing the Juice of the Sorgho—Analysis and Chemical Researches, by 
Charles T. Jackson, of Boston—French Analysis of Sorgho Stalks, Seed 
and Soil—Paper by Dr. A. A. Hayes, of Boston—Mr. Wray’s Letter 
to Author—Author’s Translations of Pamphlets of F. Bourdais—Count 
Beauregard—Dr. Turrel—Paul Madinier—Duret—Louis Vilmorin— 
The Reports to the French Minister of War, by Hardy and Dr. Turrel 
—History of the Sorgho in the Southern States, by D. Redmond, Editor 
of the “ Southern Cultivator ’’—The Sorgho at the South. 231-350 


PART I. 


a Ee oS OAR G B®, 


OR 


CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


Ne ea 


Fis sah Mbasitern Mee i ae cm ii ha z 


dy eats 
Nie 


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CO. cosh Sahel imi yeni hatte i‘ 
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or, Reet ean CR ie 
waite aint Uae es ie lls i Waa amis RG 
Arey rae BI 5! PARE iy aptega A 

tee 7 bias SS RM Penh id ma amt 
aha Fie OLE I te pbs it Teas amet eet 
ae {Pek ee FR cee Vinee, 5 aie aN: Wale Apia 
i elie itr, W eaiNisdines | wigan pe 


ol 


ey ree en oh ari pd: paneer 


: aK pe ay i ‘> py ‘ 
at ayers BP aLLt ae ech diet a} a 


eng = ONE 2 I ie 


CH A: PT Rea’: 


ORIGIN AND SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF THE CHINESE 
SUGAR CANE. 


INQUIRIES into the early history of the Chinese Sugar 
Cane, disclose the fact that we are indebted for this new 
addition to our agricultural riches, (as for the ordinary 
sugar cane,) to that mysterious country whose name it 
bears, and whose agricultural products are only by slow 
degrees being placed in the possession of the civilized 
nations of the world. When we consider the jealous 
exclusion of foreigners, the difficulty of pursuing investi- 
gations into either the literature, manners, customs, or 
statistics of China, and the comparatively late date at 
which any communication has been opened with it, there 
will be little cause for wonder that the plant concerning 
which our investigations are about to be made, should 
have but just been placed within the reach of the 
American farmer. Nor can we consider the objection as 
valid, that if it really be rich in a product which at the 
present day bears a high commercial value, we should 
certainly have been made acquainted with it before ; for 
our past experience with Chinese productions certainly 


warrants the belief, that not only may the Sorgho be 
[15] 


16 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


fully worthy of the encomiums which have been bestowed 
upon it by its various European cultivators, but that there 
may be in use in China other plants of inestimable value, 
which have not as yet been brought to our attention at all. 

As a corroboration of this position, we have only 
to remember the early history of the sugar cane cul- 
tivated in our southern states. The art of cultivating 
the sugar cane was practiced in China from the highest 
antiquity; and yet, so moderate were the means of 
intercourse with that nation, that it was unknown to the 
ancient Egyptians, Jews, Greeks, or Romans; and it 
was not until the end of the thirteenth century that it 
passed into Arabia. From Arabia it was carried by the 
merchants to Egypt, Nubia, and Ethiopia. 'The Moors 
obtained it from Egypt, and the Spaniards from the 
Moors. In the fifteenth century the cane was intro- 
duced into the Canary islands by the Spaniards, and 
subsequently into Madeira by the Portuguese; thence 
it found its way into the West India Islands and 
the Brazils. Previous to the year 1466, sugar was 
known in Kurope only as a medicine, brought, as were 
costly spices, from the East, and bearing the name of 
‘“‘Tndian salt;” and though it was cultivated in a few 
places on the shores of the Mediterranean sea, still it 
was not more generally used on the Continent. 

With these historical facts in view, how shall we be 
authorized in the assertion that the Chinese Sugar Cane 
should have of right been known to us before? The fact 
is, that were it not for the merest accident, even to this 
day we should not have been called upon to discuss its 
merits, or have been put in possession of its riches. 


ORIGIN AND HISTORY. 17 


From the venerable Father Du Halde we learn that 
there existed, even in his time, in China, in the province 
of Se Chuen, situated in the western part of the Empire, 
a cane which produced excellent sugar, and it is sup- 
posed by Dr. Sicard that this is the same plant which 
has been brought to Europe. Léon de Rosny, a dis- 
tinguished philologist of France, has, at the request of 
M.G. de Lacoste, searched the Chinese and Hgyptian 
Archives in the Imperial Library at Paris, and speaks 
as follows concerning the Chinese Sugar Cane or Sorgho: 


JAPANESE ACCOUNTS OF THE SORGHO. 


“The treatises on agriculture, and various other 
works, in the Chinese and Egyptian department of the 
Imperial Library, contain several chapters exclusively 
upon the sorghos; but their authors do not seem to 
have divided the varieties in such a manner as to make 
them correspond with those which we recognize in 
Kurope. Besides the common Chinese and Japanese 
names, Sorgho is attached successively to other 
graminea which should not be, according to our system, 
embraced in this species. The Japanese, who, in respect 
to Agriculture, are eminently more advanced than all 
other people, even than the Chinese themselves, cultivate 
the sorgho to extract from tt sugar and alcohol; but in 
the works which we possess, no mention is made of the 
coloring principle which is extracted from its seed. 
However, it is probable that it 1s not unknown to them, 
and that if we had at Paris a richer collection of 
Japancse books, we would find in them valuable and 


18 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


interesting investigations on this head. We must 
remember, however, that the Chinese and Japanese 
synonyms of the Holcus saccharatus are not yet clearly 
established by botanists and orientalists. Nevertheless 
it seems certain that under the name of Avbi the 
Japanese designate several species of the sorgho; that 


the Holeus sorghum corresponds to 7a (T'si) of the 
Chinese, and that xe (Chu) is probably a Holcus sac- 


charatus. 
ITS EXHIBITION AT THE FAIR AT MOSCOW. 


We have a further evidence of the fact that it 1s cul- 
tivated in China in an article which we find in the 
journal “ L’Utile et !Agréable,” in its number for the 
month of April, 1855. The writer says at Shanghae the 
plant is cultivated under the name of the North China 
Sugar Cane. The Chinese Tartars value it exceedingly ; 
and at the Great Exposition at Moscow, in the year 1852, 
some of the stalks of this same species of sorgho were ex- 
hibited under the title ‘‘ Preciewx Gaoutlam de la Chine.” 


FIRST APPEARANCE IN EUROPE. 


Its first appearance in Europe dates back no further 
than the year 1851, at which time the Count de 
Montigny, being at that time Consul of France at 
Shanghae, in China, sent, in compliance with official 
request, to the Geographical Society of Paris, a collec- 
tion of plants and seeds which he found in China, and 
which he thought would succeed in his own country. 


ORIGIN AND HISTORY. 19 


Among these was the cclebrated Chinese Yam (Dios- 
corea bataias) and the Iloleus saccharatus, under the 
name of “ The Sugar Cane of the North of China.” 


THE APPEARANCE OF MR. WRAY’S IMPHEE, 


Curiously enough, there was received in France at 
about the same time a quantity of seeds of a plant 
having apparently the same properties and almost the 
same appearance as the sorgho, which had been dis- 
covered on the south east coast of Africa, in the 
country of the Zulu Kaffirs, by Mr. Leonard Wray. The 
lucid, but truly surprising statements made concerning its 
virtues by this latter gentleman, at once stimulated ina 
most lively manner investigations into the properties 
of the Chinese Sugar Cane, and upon comparing the 
plants derived from these widely separate sources, the 
remarkable fact was made apparent, that in ability to 
yield crystallized sugar, to afford nourishment for stock, 
and in the requirements of cultivation, and other pecu- 
harities, they were almost identical, and much surprise 
was created that from this double source, and as if cor- 
roborative the one of the other, a greatly needed sugar 
plant, and one apparently of high value, should have 
been given to French agriculture. 


THLE PRECARIOUS POSITION OF THE SORGHO. 


It is a curious instance of how upon the slightest 
thread depend most momentous results, when we con- 
sider that, of the package of seeds sent by the Count 


20 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


de Montigny to the Geographical Society of Paris, one 
only, one single seed, germinated in a garden at Toulon ; 
and if by any attack of insects, by injudicious planting 
or manuring, by careless cultivation, or by any one of a 
thousand possible mischances, the pJant springing from 
this seed had been destroyed, France at this day would 
have been without the Chinese Sugar Cane, and it may 
be that the same opportunity would not have been again 
presented for a great number of years. 


TO WHOM IS MOST HONOR DUE? 


Much stress has been laid in the French works upon 
the fact that the Count de Montigny introduced the 
sugar cane into France, and the learned Dr. Turel, Secre- 
tary of the Comice of Toulon—struck with astonishment 
at the wonderful results which the sorgho can give in 
alcoholic products, its vast importance as filling a void 
made by the failure of the grape crop, and the gov- 
ernmental prohibition of the distillation of cereals—even 
goes so far as to claim that to the Count de Mortigny is 
due as much honor as is awarded to Jenner for his glo- 
rious discovery of Vaccination. Without wishing to de- 
tract from the honor due to the illustrious Ambassador, I 
would respectfully urge the fact that, so far as any account 
which we have at present goes, the Count sent the seed 
of the sugar cane as he sent other seeds, because they 
were said by the Chinese to be valuable, and because he 
supposed it possible that their excellences might be re- 
produced, upon experiment, in his own country. The 
gentlemen receiving the package of seeds planted them 


ORIGIN AND HISTORY. 21 


as our American farmers receive and plant the packages 
sent to them by the Patent Office at Washington, often- 
times ignorant and skeptical as to their value. It chanced 
that into the hand of M. Robert, Director of the Marine 
Gardens at Toulon, were confided a few seeds of the 
sorgho, and he being an intelligent and enterprising gen- 
tleman and a careful observer, was desirous of knowing 
if, indeed, the plant would bear out the assumptions of its 
endorsers. He planted the seeds with care, but, to his 
chagrin, but one single tiny sprout appeared above the 
sround; and from the interest which he took in it, it is 
to be supposed that he continued its cultivation, and fol- 
lowed it through the phases of vegetation with no little 
apprehensions against the chances of failure. His labors 
were rewarded by a plant of good size, strong and vigor- 
ous, from the roots of which sprang up six rattoons or 
suckers. The seeds attained a complete maturity, and 
were distributed to the Agricultural Comice of Toulon. 


SALE OF SEEDS TO VILMORIN, ANDRIEUX, & CO. 


A gardener of Hyéres, who had received part of these 
seeds, planted them with care, and the next year gathered 
eight hundred seeds, which were sold to the house of 
Vilmorin, Andrieux, & Co., seed merchants at Paris, for 
eight hundred francs! ‘They had now come into the 
hands of men fully sensible of their value, capable both 
by education and opportunity of investigating their worth, 
and determined to make them available to the public. 
The seeds were planted by the senior partner of this 
house, the illustrious M. Louis Vilmorin, and numerous 


22 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


experiments were made by him during the season of 
erowth, the results of which fully established the expecta- 
tions which he had been led to entertain, and gave him 
the basis for the work which was published by him in 
1854, under the title of “‘ Researches upon the Sorgho 
Sucré,” or Chinese Sugar Cane. 


VARIOUS EXPERIMENTERS, 


Experiments were likewise instituted by members of | 
the Imperial Acclimation Society; but by none were 
they more zealously pursued, nor more successfully 
carried on, than by the Compte de David Beauregard. 
This gentleman was so confident of its value, that he 
made strenuous efforts to increase his stock of seed, 
planted the greatest possible area of land with it, and 
succeeded so completely that it is from his third crop 
that has been derived the major portion of the immense 
amount that has been planted in the United States during 
the present year. In France we find it successively 
spreading in the provinces of: la Drdéme, les Pyrénées 
Orientales, la Haute-Marne, la Gironde, le Gers, etc., and 
everywhere exciting the greatest attention among the most 
distinguished agriculturists ; and thence it quickly finds its 
way to that prosperous, albeit lately acquired French 
province of Algeria, where, according to M. Paul 
Madinier, a company with acapital of several millions of 
francs is about to be formed to cultivate and manufacture 
the sorgho. In 1852 there was imported into France 
from Russia, by M. Masson, the seed of another sugar 
sorgho, but the plants which sprung from them were 
much inferior in every respect to those sent by M. 


ORIGIN AND HISTORY. pu 


Montigny. Dr. Sicard says that upon its appearance in 
Europe, the sorgho was supposed by various persons to 
be the millet of Caffraria, Pain des Anges, Sorghum 
saccharatum of Wil, Holcus docna of Forsk, Holews sac- 
charatus of Linneeus, Andropogon saccharatus of Kunth ; 
and somewhat later Mr. Leonard Wray gave to it the 
name of Imphee. 


THE ATTEMPT OF PIETRO ARDUINO. 


Frequent reference is made in all the French works 
which I have translated, to the attempt made in 1786 by 
the Signor Pietro Arduino to introduce the Lolcus sac- 
charatus from Kaffirland into Italy; and to his pub- 
lished accounts of his experiments in sugar mak- 
ing. Tis son collected these fragments of writing, 
added to them his own reminiscences of his father’s 
experiments, and issued them in aseparate volume, 
in 1808; but at the present day it is almost a matter of - 
impossibility to procure a copy of the work, it having 
passed out of print. Nothing is known, however, it 
seems to me, to distinctly show that the plants on which 
Dr. Arduino’s experiments were undertaken were the 
same as the sorgho introduced from China; for he speaks 
of the seeds being of a clear light brown color, while the 
seeds of our Chinese variety are of a very deep purple, 
almost black. His description, nevertheless, exactly cor- 
responds with the appearance of the seeds of Mr. Wray’s 
imphee; and hence we are led to believe that it was in 
reality the African, and not the Chinese sugar cane which 
was cultivated by him at Florence. Whether it was be- 


24. THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


cause of the troubles which at that time convulsed Italy 
from one end to the other, because of want of means on 
his part for continuing the experiments, or because the 
plants were not adapted to the manufacture of sugar, I 
am not able to say; itis probable that all these con- 
spired to militate against the prosecution of his studies. 
But I think it very possible that Dr. Arduino procured 
from Africa the seeds of some one of the varieties of the 
imphee, which required too long time to ripen to allow 
of its being grown in the climate of Italy; and that the 
small amounts of sugar obtained. by him from the plants 
arose from the fact that the maximum of saccharine mat- 
ter is only made present in the Chinese or African sugar 
canes at the moment of their complete maturity. 

M. Louis Vilmorin, in his ‘“‘ Researches,” mentions that 
in a package of seeds from Abyssinia, sent to the Museum 
in 1840, by M. D’Abadie, which contained about thirty 
species or varieties of the sorgho, he had noticed that 
some of the plants were particularly distinguished from 
the others by the sweet flavor of their stalks; but to all 
intents and purposes, and so far as any practical result 
has eventuated, from 1786 until the introduction of the 
Montigny seed and of that of Mr. Wray from Kaffirland, 
there is a complete void in European experience with the 
plant. Considering the question as to whom is due the 
honor of giving the plant to European agriculturists, 
there should be no cause for strife between the partisans 
of the Count de Montigny and Mr. Wray; for it ap- 
pearing, upon the testimony of M. Vilmorin, Dr. Sicard, 
M. Lacoste, and Mr. Wray himself, that the sorgho and 
imphee are not different varieties of the same plant, but 


ORIGIN AND HISTORY. 25 


two different species, the introducer of each plant may be 
duly credited without in the least depriving the other of 
appropriate honor. If indeed we base our gratitude 
upon the amount of research and labor given by the indi- 
vidual previous to the introduction of the plants, we cer- 
tainly must agree that Mr. Wray is entitled to greater 
thanks at the hands of the agricultural world than the 
Count de Montigny, who took no great labor to dis- 
cover the properties of the sorgho, but merely sent 
the seed, as he sent others, to be experimented upon in 
France. 


MR. LEONARD WRAY. 


Mr. Wray is widely known to the sugar planters of the 
world, from his authorship of the ‘Sugar Planters’ Com- 
panion,” published in Calcutta in 1848, and the “ Practi- 
cal Sugar Planter,” published in London in 1848, and 
republished in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch. 
In 1850, he left the East Indies for the Cape of Good 
Hope, whence he went to Kaffirland, and found the 
Zulu Kaffirs cultivating the imphee around their huts, 
not for the purpose of manufacturing crystallized sugar 
or obtaining any other of its products with a commercial 
view, but merely for the purpose of chewing and sucking 
the stalks. He quickly saw of what value such plants 
were likely to become to Hurope and America, and ap- 
plied himself to their study, their culture, and manufac- 
ture into sugar, ete. After having fully satisfied himself 
on these points, he returned to Europe, and planted 
patches in England, France, and Belgium; applied for 

2 


26 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


patents in various countries; addressed the French goy- 
ernment through Marshal Vaillant, Minister of War; 
exhibited specimens of sugar and the plants to Mr. 
Buchanan, then American Minister at London; and subse- 
quently established the culture of the imphee in Turkey, 
Egypt, the West Indies, the Brazils, the Mauritius, Aus- 
tralia, and finally in this country. Instead of one variety 
as we have of the Chinese Sugar Cane, he has discovered 
among the Kaffirs no less than sixteen distinct kinds of 
imphee, of various degrees of saccharine richness, and 
differing very widely in the time required for their ma- 
turity. 

The gift that he has thus made to our agriculture may 
be estimated when we reflect that we have almost every 
range of climate known in the world—from the torrid and 
fervent heats of the tropical zone to the most rigorous 
winters of the North; and his plants requiring in some 
instances but ninety days to run through the whole course 
of vegetation and,ripen their seeds, others of greater 
saccharine richness requiring a more lengthened season 
than is necessary for the ordinary sugar cane, he has 
thus given to the farmers of every section of the country 
the opportunity to select from out his collection of varie- 
ties some one peculiarly adapted to the latitude in which 
he resides. Sugar, by this means, supposing his anticipa- 
tions to be realized, and the experience of Governor Ham- 
mond and other southern gentlemen to be a prestige of 
what we can anticipate in future, will become no longer 
even such a luxury as it is at present, but rather will as- 
sume its proper position as a cheap, readily obtainable 
article of common use. It is well to remark in this place, 


ORIGIN AND HISTORY. 27 


that in the year 1854, in the month of September, an 
application from Mr. Wray for a patent on his process 
was filed at our Government Patent Office by Charles F. 
Stansbury, Esq., acting in his name; but an error having 
been made in his application, it was withdrawn until a 
more favorable occasion should present itself In the 
year 1856, Mr. Wray obtained the large silver medal of 
the Haposition Universelle at Paris, for his imphee sugar, 
alcohol, seeds, and plants, and the French government, 
moreover, granted to him twenty-five hundred acres of 
land in Algeria,to encourage in that colony the establish- 
ment of this important cultivation. 


INTRODUCTION OF TUE SORGHO INTO AMERICA. 


In the month of November, 1854, D. Jay Browne, Esq., 
of the United States Patent Office, returned to America 
from Europe, bringing with him a quantity of the seed 
of the Chinese Sugar Cane, which he had procured from 
M. Vilmorin, the gentleman previously referred to. 
These seeds were distributed to various persons through- 
out this country; but the feeling of suspicion with 
which all new things are more or less viewed, tended to 
confine this experiment of cultivation to a few of the 
more enterprising farmers, until the formal report, ad- 
dressed by Gen. J. H. Hammond, late Governor of South 
Carolina, to the Secretary of the Beach Island, South 
Carolina, Farmers’ Club, awakened general attention, 
by showing the successful results of his own cultivation 
and manufacture. Upon its history, in the southern 
states, I do not propose to dwell at length, because the 


28 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


full details are given in the excellent report which has 
been furnished to me, through the politeness of Mr. 
Redman. Suffice it to say, that upon the publication of 
\ circular, containing the experiments of Colonel Peters, 
.nd the notice of the syrup which was exhibited by him 
.t the Fair of the United States Agricultural Society, 
a October of the past year, the general excitement upon 
he subject was at once considerably augmented; and 
jhe subsequent appearance of the reports to the French 
Minister of War, the experience of American farmers in 
lifferent parts of the country, the excellent pamphlets 
of Mr. J. F. C. Hyde, of Massachusetts, and Mr. Charles 
F. Stansbury of Washington, all have united in lending 
this increase to the all-prevalent interest; and the result 
has been, that during the present year, the seed of the 
Chinese Sorgho has been imported by the ton by differ- 
ent seedsmen, and by the agencies which we have here- 
tofore mentioned, it has been scattered throughout the 
length and breath of the land. 

In 1855, I received from Paris, the “ Researches on the 
Sugar Sorgho,” by M. Vilmorin, and although at that 
time but very little attention had been directed to the 
plant, yet presuming, from a perusal of it, that it might 
have some future value, I translated it, entire, for the 
“ Working Farmer.” 


SUGAR MADE BY PROFESSOR AVEQUIN OF LOUISIANA. 


Whilst 1t was in course of publication, I corresponded 
with persons in different parts of the United States, de- 
siring to call their attention to its merits; and having 


ORIGIN AND HISTORY. “19 


ascertained from Messrs. Parker, White, & Gannett, 
seedsmen, of Boston, that the editors of the “‘ New Or- 
leans Bee” had received samples of sugar from Professor 
Avequin, of Louisiana, I opened a correspondence 
with that distinguished gentleman, and received from 
him the editorial notice of the ‘Bee,’ and an article, 
written by himself, for that paper, which I translated, 
and which will be found in subsequent pages of this 
work. The editors of the “Bee” clearly acknowledge 
the receipt of a loaf of sorgho sugar made by Professor 
Avequin; and I regret much at not having been able, 
during the past two years, to have communicated with 
this gentleman, and thus have been enabled to place my 
readers in possession of all the facts concerning his ex- 
periments. 


HOW THE PATENT OFFICE SEEDS SHOULD BE USED. 


We have thus narrowed down the circle of our in- 
quiries to the introduction of the plant, and its domes- 
tication among us. Inconsidering the slight contingency 
upon which hung the chance of its having been put in the 
possession of the French agriculturists, it seems to me a 
useful lesson may be derived to guide us in our practice at 
home. Although the General Government makes but very 
shght appropriations to the cause of agriculture, barely 
begrudging a miserable pittance out of the superfluous 
revenues which it has collected, yet it does appropriate a 
sum, however small it may be, for the purchase of seeds and 
cuttings for distribution to our farmers, and every year 
this service is performed by the department of the Patent 


30 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


Office. Now if we really, as American farmers, desire to 
have the Government not only continue its present appro- 
priations but increase them, we certainly should not take 
the seeds and cuttings which it now gives to us, and by 
the most culpable carelessness allow them to be utterly 
lost, thrown away, and rendered unproductive of any 
benefits to our farmers. In the majority of cases, seeds 
received from the Patent Office, with foreign names 
printed upon the packages, are looked at as curiosities, 
bitten to see how they taste, placed upon the mantel- 
shelf for the examination of visitors, and subsequently 
put into the fire, or thrown into the top of some old 
closet, because the farmer cannot find time to plant them 
with care, and investigate their qualities. It is highly 
possible that among the seeds distributed for the last few 
years by the Patent Office, there may have been a number 
which, if they had been properly planted and taken care 
of, would have been productive of the greatest good to 
this country. Are we not confined as to cotton-growing 
to asmall section of the southern states? Would it not 
be a source of immense wealth to our country if we could 
find some plant which would be a substitute for the cotton, 
and which could be produced in the northern and north- 
western states, as in this instance we have found a new 
sugar cane having a number of varieties, and some of 
them specially adapted to the cold climates of the north? 
and who can say but that among these seeds which have 
thus been lost to our farmers, there may not have been 
some one or more which would have produced a substi- 
tute for the cotton plant? Many of the seeds are brought 
home by the officers of our Exploring Expeditions, and 


ORIGIN AND HISTORY. on 


those connected with ships of war cruising in various 
parts of the world. They are sometimes obtained by 
them without the slightest knowledge of their properties 
or value; and it may be that from some distant island in 
the Pacific, or some rarely-visited portion of the African 
coast, seeds have been brought to this country which 
would have given us enduring sources of revenue. 


CH ALP? +11. 


DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT. 


CONFUSION AMONG AGRICULTURAL WRITERS. 


In proceeding to consider the botanical rank of the 
Chinese Sugar Cane, we find ourselves at once involved 
in the midst of conflicting assumptions on the part of 
various investigators. So much confusion has arisen in 
regard to the plant, that M. Grcenland, an associate of 
M. Vilmorin, has endeavored to extricate us from this 
confusion, and is at the present time engaged in the pro- 
duction of an agricultural work, which will set the mat- 
ter at rest; in the mean time, from the testimony of all 
observers, we are authorized to accord to the plant the 
name Hfoleus saccharatus. Although, as M. Vilmorin | 
says, 1t is inexact as to its generic character, yet it has 
the advantage of being known, and of not having been 
applied to other plants. Our seedsmen and agricultural 
writers seem bent upon not only maintaining this confu- 
sion of names, but also of increasing the list of synonyms, 
by giving to the Sorgho sucré in turn the names of half a 
dozen other plants. We must expect this, however; 
but in the meanwhile, and until. the result of M. Grcen- 
land’s labors are known, we are probably authorized to 
call it the Holcus saccharatus.* 


* Since writing the above, we have received from Dr. Charles T: 
Jackson, one of the State Assayers to the State of Massachusetts, the 
32] 
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THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
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DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT. 3a 
APPEARANCE OF THE PLANT. 


In comparing the appearance of the sorgho with that 
of our common maize or Indian corn, we are struck with 
the superiority of the former, in respect to the exceeding 
grace of appearance which it presents. Like the latter, 


following paper upon the botanical position of the plant, which was 
read by Mr. Charles J. Sprague, Botanist to the Boston Society of 
Natural History, at its meeting of April 15th. By it, it will be seen, 
that although the plant was by Linnzeus termed the Holcus sacchar- 
atus, it had undergone subsequent subdivisions; and, as he says him- 
self, the specific name is a matter of some doubt, so that it is as well, 
perhaps, to allow it to retain the name of Holcus saccharatus, until 
we obtain further advices. 

“The plant was called Holeus saccharatus by Linneus ; but when 
this genus underwent a subdivision by subsequent botanists, this spe- 
cies was placed by some in that of Andropogon, by others in that of 
Sorghum. These two genera are closely allied. Some of the best 
authorities consider the difference so slight as to warrant their union 
into one. Steudel arranges Andropogon, Sorghum, and Trachypegon 
all under one head—Andropogon. Lindley italicizes Sorghum in the 
last edition of his “ Vegetable Kingdom,” and places it beneath Trachy- 
pogon, evidently considering them equivalent. Dr. Gray retains Sor- 
ghum for our only native species (S. nutans) in his last edition of the 
Manual, considering the genus a good one. 

“Tt is between Andropogon and Sorghum, therefore, that we must 
choose in reference to this particular species. 

“The differences between them are these— 


Andropogon. Sorghum. 
“ Inflorescence spicate. “ Inflorescence paniculate. 
Spikelets in pairs, only one be- Spikelets in twos or threes, een- 
ing fertile. tral one only being fertile. 
Glumes herbaceous or mem- Glumes hard, coriaceous, or in- 
branaceous. durated. 
Rachis hairy. Rachis smooth. 


93 
Q* 


84 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


it presents a tall straight stalk, marked at intervals with 
knots or nodes, and from these, on alternate sides of the 
plant, spring long, spreading, tapering, and drooping 
leaves. The stalk very gradually decreases in diameter 
from the base to the top. Its outer coating is smooth 
and silicious, like the stalks of the maize, which becomes 
harder as the water and starch and the sugar of the plant 
become converted into woody fiber, and more silex is 
deposited on the outside. The seed grows upon the 
eight or ten separate stems which group together to 
form the tuft at the top of the plant; and, unlike the 
maize, this is the only fruit produced by the plant. When 
the tassel first emerges from its sheath, the seeds are 
nothing but a soft green husk, which by degrees, and in 


“Tf these differences shall eventually render the genera sufficiently 
distinct to establish a universally recognized separation, then this plant 
must be placed under that of Sorghum. 

“The specific name is a matter of some doubt. Both S. vulgare 
and S. saccharatum are recorded as distinct species ; but there is fre- 
quently a query appended to the latter. Some of our best authorities 
incline to the opinion that these two are identical, the differences be- 
tween them being due to the long cultivation which the plant has un- 
dergone. We know that some of the grasses have sported into nume- 
rous varieties ; and it is very probable that the Broom Corn, Doura 
or Guinea Corn, and the Chinese Sugar Cane, are all descended from 
one and the same stock. 

“Tf we accept this as a fact, then the plant should be called Sor- 
GHUM VULGARE, Pers. var. saccharatum, L. ; but as the latter name is 
so extensively known, and as there is still some doubt as to the ident- 
ity, it may be as well to continue the name Sorghum saccharatum. 

“The true Sugar Cane, Saccharum officinarum, belongs to the same 
tribe of grasses, differing in the ample inflorescence, which is paniculate, 
and drooping with downy pedicles and florets.” 


DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT. 35 


like manner to wheat, becomes filled with farinaceous 
matter, and the grains are plump and hard. The soft 
sreen pulp, as the plant approaches maturity, undergoes 
transitions in color, changing to violet, brown, and 
finally, to a purple, almost black. When this latter color 
appears, the plant has reached its last stage of vegeta- 
tion, and will give its greatest amount of sugar. The 
stalk, as compared with that of the maize, is more slender 
and soft. The adhesion of the parts above and below 
the knots is not so firm, for I have found in the crops 
which we have cultivated at the Farm School, that a 
eust of wind would break the plants off at the knots 
when they attained considerable height, in a wet season. 
Another peculiarity distinguishing the sorgho stalk from 
that of the corn, is, that as the plant approaches maturity, 
we see a whitish effloresence appear upon the parts un- 
derneath the foot-stalks of the leaf. This is a dry, hard 
powder, and is known to the French, under the name 
of cerosie, or vegetable wax. Of its uses and probable 
value, we will speak in the appropriate place. 


HEIGHT, ETC, 


The sorgho attains different heights as the circum- 
stances controlling its growth are more or less favorable, 
and on some soils, the deep black loam for instance, grows 
toan enormous height, as high as sixteen or eighteen feet, 
while on poorer soils, on gravels or gravelly loams, or 
colder soils, it is shorter; but on dry, poor soils its juices 
have a greater tendency to crystallize. My own crop 
averaged the last season eleven feet in height. Some of the 


36 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


stalks were full fifteen feet, and but a small proportion were 
nine and ten. The leaves of the plants being more slender 
than those of the corn, and the joints being farther 
apart, it will not give the same amount of green fodder 
to the acre, if the plants are allowed to attain their com- 
plete maturity; but this is only a comparative loss, for 
by suffering them to stand until this time, we procure 
what we cannot obtain from the corn—a full crop of 
sugar; therefore all the forage which we obtain is so 
much actual profit. The root of the sorgho is exceed- 
ingly hard and strong. Where the ground has been well 
disturbed, the roots run to a great depth, and acquire 
very great strength; so much so, that it was a matter of 
oreat difficulty for a man to pull up a stand of sorgho on 
our place, even after the plants had been cut off from it, 
and they had stood for amonth or two. There is a very 
marked difference between the tuft of the Chinese Sugar 
Cane and some of the varieties of the Imphee; but there 
is a curious resemblance between the Shla-goo-va and the 
sorgho tufts, The stems of the tufts of the Chinese Sugar 
Cane are some of them four or five inches in length, and 
when covered with seeds, plump and ripe, by degrees, 
of course, droop over towards the ground, thus giving 
the tuft a feathery appearance; but the seed heads of the 
Vim-bis-chu-a-pa present a compact bunch of upright 
growing stems, albeit they are all laden with seeds, and 
resemble more the pompon of a military cap. 


In judging of the ripeness of the imphee seed, of - 
course the cultivator will not be misguided by any 
previous experience with the Chinese Sugar Cane; for 
while in one case he would wait for the seeds to turn 


DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT. 37 


black before he would feel authorized to harvest the 
stalks, on the other hand, the seeds of some varieties of 
the African Sugar Cane, when they are fully ripe, are not 
darker in color than a light buff, and its only distinction 
then would be their plumpness and hardness. 


It would be a matter of impossibility for any body but 
a most experienced hand to distinguish between a field 
of sorgho and one of ordinary broom corn in the early 
stages of its growth; for in appearance, size of leaves, 
covering, and general characteristics, it is identical. A 
difference will be found, however, if rows of corn and 
rows of sorgho should be planted together. So far as 
rapidity of growth is concerned, the sorgho is not a fast 
grower at first, and for this reason it would be very apt 


to discourage persons experimenting with it for the first 
time, as it did myself. 


COMPARATIVE GROWTH OF THE SORGHO AND OTHER SIMILAR PLANTS. 


An instance of the comparative rapidity of growth 
will be found at page 11 et seg. of the excellent work of 
Dr. Sicard.* We quote as follows: 

‘We sowed, in a warm bed, upon the same day, at 
the same hour, on the same kind of soil, seeds of the 
white sorgho, the Kaffir sorgho, broom corn, and the 
Chinese Sugar Cane. The seventh day the sorgho was 
out of the ground, the broom corn appeared in the after- 
noon of the same day. On the following morning we 


* «“ Monographie de la Canne a’ Sucre de la Chine, dite Sorgho a 
Sucre,” par le Docteur Adrien Sicard, Secretary of the Horticultural 
Society of Marscilles, etc. Marseilles, 1856. 


88 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


saw appear the Kaffir sorgho; and two days later the 
Chinese Sugar Cane.” 


Once out of the ground, the plants develop their leaves. 
It was not thesame with the Chinese Sugar Cane. The lat- 
ter remained for a long time before developing its leaves, 
its increase was very slow. Thus wé see that, as compared 
with broom corn, the Chinese Sugar Cane requires three 
days more to make its appearance above the ground. A 
sreat difference is observable in the comparative flexi- 
bility of the leaves of the sugar cane and those of others. 
of its congeners. The Chinese Sugar Cane leaves can be 
bent and rebent into perfect circles without breaking 
them, whilst the others will snap in two. 


WEIGHT OF THE STALK. 


Dr. Sicard, from a desire to relieve the questionings in 
regard to the comparative weight of the Chinese Sugar 
Cane and the broom corn, took from each one of these of 
the same length, about twenty-nine inches, and that there 
might be no mistake as to the identity of their period of 
development, measured their diameter. These precau- 
tions taken, he weighed them, and found that the broom 
corn weighed thirty-five grammes, and the sugar cane one 
hundred and thirty-seven grammes. Let those, then, who 
say that the Chinese Sugar Cane is no more than broom 
corn, that the juice of the one is as good as the other, 
compare this result, which, from our experience of the 
comparative weight of the two plants, (though we have 
made no precise experiment,) we should think would be 
a faithful indication of the differences, in the vast majority 


DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT. 89 


ofcases. Dr. Sicard gives in his book a very interesting 
and minute account of the growth of the sugar cane, from 
the putting forth of the first radicle until the complete 
maturity of the plant. Our space prevents our following 
him in. detail, as we should be pleased to do. 


PROGRESSIVE GROWTH. 


The first effort at vegetation is, of course, the swelling 
of the seed, the separation of the valves enclosing the 
germ of the plant, and the putting forth of a little root. 
This root, unlike the others surrounding it, is of a violet 
hue. Its covering is impregnated with a tint on the in- 
side of the hull. The surrounding roots are of a yellow- 
ish color. The plant rarely springs up on a single stalk. 
A short time after the appearance of the stalk, suckers 
are formed, which commence to grow upwards. The 
cane throws out in rudiments each one of the internodes 
that 1t must subsequently develop, and each one of these 
bears a leaf, which acquires dimensions larger or smaller, 
according to the soil upon which it is grown. The time 
required for the cane to acquire its full development, is 
about five months; but it will be more protracted or 
brief, as the soil is suited to its nature. In this respect, 
the planter will be subject to the same vicissitudes as he 
now has in the cultivation of the ordinary sugar cane ; 
and we opine that, like this latter plant, the Chinese cane 
will be found to grow exceedingly well on the soil of a 
certain plantation, and on the one immediately adjoining 
it, give but meager results. 

The present season is, perhaps, as unfavorable a one 


40 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


for the institution of experiments with the new plants as 
we could have had; for, whereas, the plant requires a 
warm, dry, season to develop its excellences, and to 
attain a rapidity of growth, we have this year been 
subjected, since the earliest portion of spring, to a con- 
tinued series of drenching rains and untimely showers. 
The soil, in consequence, has been kept cool and moist, 
and the temperature of the air has been so reduced that 
even the corn crop in the vicinity of our farm is very 
much more backward than it should be at this season of 
the year. One of the largest planters in the southern 
states informed me, a short time since, that he had 
frequently seen corn in the month of June, so tall that 
the tassels would be above his head when he rode 
through the field on horseback; but that in July of the 
present year, his crop was but four feet high. 

There will, therefore, necessarily be much apprehen- 
sion existing among the experimenters of the sorgho, as to 
its maturity, andit may even be that, in case the frosts set 
in earlier than usual in the fall, a large proportion of the 
plants throughout the United States will not ripen their 
seed-heads; but because they do not, it is no index of 
what we must expect, were the season but auspicious. 
The experiment has been tried in France of using 
excessive irrigation to produce an increased growth of 
stalks; and as in that case, although the growth was 
obtained, yet the proportion of the sugar in the juice 
was in consequence materially reduced, we may like- 
wise expect that the rain of the present season will pro- 
duce, should we have warm and favorable weather till 
the close of the season, a great growth of stalks, but a 


DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT 41 


diminished richness in the juice. Wher che panicle 
commences to put forth its flowers, the portion of the 
stalk, immediately under it, contains a quantity of sugar, 
equal to that which may be found later in the lower 
portions of the plant; but in ratio, as maturity of the 
seed is produced, this upper part of the stalk loses its 
sweet principle, which seems to descend by its specific 
eravity toward the root, slowly, it is true, but surely, 
and at the time of harvesting the cane, there is a marked 
difference between the comparative saccharine richness 
of the upper and lower portions. In noticing this fact, 
Dr. Sicard shows the analogy between it, and what 
occurs in the case of grapes. ‘The latter in fact com- 
mence by giving verjuice. In proportion as the ripen- 
ning advances, they become more and more sweet; and 
if you only know enough to gather them at the proper 
epoch, and the temperature of the atmosphere is pro- 
pitious, you will obtain wines of a quality, by as much 
more superior as the juices of the grape are more 
elaborated, that is to say, arrived at a more perfect 
maturity.” 


PULLING OUT THE TUFTS, ETC—RIPENING. 


It has been observed by Mr. Wray, as quoted by the 
French authors, that it is the practice among the Zulu 
Kaffirs to pull out the panicles on the stalk, at the time 
that they are appearing, for the purpose of concentrating 
the juices and obtaining more sugar; but upon this sub- 
ject, Dr. Sicard says, that in taking off the panicle of the 
seed, when it commences to show itself, we will arrive 


42, THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


at an effect contrary to what is desired. He says, that 
he had some canes of which the stalk was broken, at 
different periods of its development, and that he had re- 
marked, that according to the color of the seed, that is 
to say, according to the more or less continued progress 
of the process of ripening, the internodes the nearest to 
the upper portion of the plant, were more or less sweet. 
Thus, he says, the colors most removed from that of the 
ripe seed coincided with the greater quantity of sugar 
in the internodes nearest the panicle; but the more the 
plants approached the term of maturity, the more did the 
saccharine matter travel downwards in the stalk. In 
ripening, the Chinese sugar-cane takes on a yellowish 
tint, striped in places with red. Some of them continue 
to preserve an apple-green color, marked likewise with 
red. ‘These colors generally indicate the term of matur- 
ity; if the red passes into carmine the cane is too ripe, 
and cultivators should notice this thing, In connection 
with the color of the seeds. At the commencement of 
our experience with this new plant, it is well to mention 
the fact, that it is subject to different maladies, some of 
which attack the root, and some the pith of the stalk. 
Dr. Sicard has made, upon this point, extensive in- 
vestigations, and at page 65 of his book says, ‘The 
roots, especially the upper ones, those which we have 
called secondary, take on sometimes a deep violet color. 
Tf you cut these roots thus degenerated, they present in 
the interior the appearance of a purplish red color, 
which continues even as far as the radicles. The plants 
which have these roots, languish, take on a chlorotic tint, 
and end by their dying, or producing insignificant 


DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT. 48 


panicles; they contain scarcely any sugar. If we ex- 
press the juice from these canes, and allow it to stand 
for a while, there will be found at the bottom of the 
vessel a considerable portion of fecula, with a reddish 
tint, which subsequently passes into a violet tint by con- 
tact with the air. There is developed, sometimes, on the 
plant, much before its maturity, reddish points. If we 
cut into this part of the cane, it will be found to be pass- 
ing from a red into a violet; having no more sweet 
juice, but a species of vinegar, of a very disagreeable 
flavor, (which is due to the ferments which are developed 
from the juice under the influence of the air). We have 
found, likewise, the larvee of insects in the interior of 
the cane. Unfortunately they were lost before I could 
experiment upon them. We are in possession of a stallx 
which had received a bruise at the middle of one of its 
internodes. This wound, which only seemed to the 
naked eye a simple dot or point, controlled the violet 
color in all the internodes which had acquired the defects 
above indicated; but what is most remarkable is, that 
the principal nodes did not participate In any way 
in this alteration. This same coloring was observed 
upon all the canes injured by hailstones.” 


= 


PROSTRATION BY WIND-STORMS. 


It unfortunately happened to us, that as our crop of the 
last season was just approaching the time of the putting 
forth of the panicles, a violent storm prostrated the 
whole field. In our dilemma, ignorant of what was 
best to be done, we tried various methods of raising 


44 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


them. We straightened up a number on opposite rows, 
inclined them towards the center, and bound them 
together by wisps of straw, or by strings, thinking that 
by treating the whole field in this manner, we might 
save a considerable portion of our crop; but we soon 
found that the knots on the canes were so tender that 
a very large number of them broke in two at the joints, 
and were thus rendered entirely useless. We discon- 
tinued the experiment, after having satisfied ourselves of 
its inefficacy. On the portions of the field which we 
left untouched, the plants were mingled together in 
much confusion upon the ground, and we found to our 
surprise, that no fermentation occurred ; nor did the plants 
beneath die out because of the superincumbent masses, 
but like corn under similar circumstances, the: stalks 
began to grow with a curve upward. In some cases, 
the upper ones partly elevated themselves. The ones 
beneath struggled to get to the light and air, in some 
cases protruding their panicles where an opening occurred. 
But Dr. Sicard, who met with a similar accident at the 
time when they had not thrown out their seed-heads, 
says, ‘‘ At the end of several days they made efforts to 
raise themselves. The canes which were on top were 
nearly successful; but not so those which were buried. It 
seemed as if cofiscious that they could not overcome the 
weight which rested upon them, they twisted their stalks 
upwards, and in that prostrated condition developed 
their flowers in the usual way. One of them which was 
completely buried, and which could not reach the light, 
had thrown out from each one of its nodes, shoots which 
formed large panicles and yielded a rich harvest of 


DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT. 45 


seeds. The canes have suffered nothing from this un- 
propitious position. It was only those which were com- 
pletely flat upon the ground and in contact with the 
soil, which were unfit for the extraction of sugar. They 
had been almost completely converted into feculent 
matter. We should observe that we had taken the 
precaution to hill these sugar canes, which were thus 
thrown upon the soil by storm. It is to be remarked 
that the plants which were sown alone by themselves, 
which were not hilled, had not been thrown down by 
the wind, which corroborates the opinion previously 
advanced by us of the uselessness of hilling. It now 
seems tous proved that in letting the plant take care 
of itself, without coming to its aid by artificial appliances, 
the cultivation would be easier, and the harvest more 
sure. Too much care given to certain products of the 
soil are oftentimes more hurtful than useful.” Unlike 
Dr. Sicard’s plants, my own were not in hills, but were 
sown in drills at two, and two and a half feet apart. 
I find that some rows of canes which were planted at 
a distance of about a foot apart, in the row, in a more 
exposed position than the field which was prostrated, 
not only were not thrown down by the wind, but ripened 
their sced-heads; and from our own experience we 
learned the useful lesson that the Chinese Sugar Cane, 
like our common corn, should not be planted so near 
together, as, when they acquire their development, 
to partially exclude the free access of air and sunlight 
to every portion of the stalk. In fact the planting and 
cultivation should, in all their details, be similar to 
that given in the most approved practice to the corn crop. 


CHAPTER III 
SOILS REQUIRED—CULTURE—MANURING. 


WHEN we say that the Chinese Sugar Cane can grow 
upon all soils on which a fair crop of Indian corn can be 
raised, we have almost covered the entire question, and 
given the desired information; but inasmuch as upon 
certain soils only can the best results, so far as the pro- 
duction of sugar is concerned, be obtained, we deem it 
expedient to record a few facts which have been gathered 
from the observations of cultivators in all parts of the 
world. The experiments which have been made upon it 
in Algeria, France, and this country, have proved the 
fact that the best results are obtained on loose, deep soils; 
but it has been demonstrated that the juices of plants 
grown upon soils largely composed of vegetable detritus, 
is more abundant in fecula, and the sugar manifests a 
somewhat weaker propensity to crystallize than upon any 
others; but in such cases, as it contains a large quantity 
of fecula, it can be readily converted into alcohol. There 
seems to be a peculiar difference between the juices of the 
imphee and of the Chinese Sugar Cane, which is a fair 
representation of the difference between the juices of 
the Chinese Sugar Cane itself when produced under two 
different conditions of soil; and thus, for instance, in the 
Chinese Sugar Cane there is a larger proportion of fecula 
than in the imphee, and it is consequently necessary for 


the planter to take more care in his attempts to produce 
[46] 


SOILS REQUIRED—CULTURE—MANURING. AT 


the sugar. ‘ The juice of the Imphee,” says Mr. Wray, 
“is naturally more limpid, more free from extractive 
matter, and proportionably easier to defecate.” In cases 
where the Chinese Sugar Cane has been grown on 
swampy land, very large plants have been produced ; 
but the juice contains sometimes several per cent. less of 
crystallizable sugar, than when grown upon dry, warm 
uplands. The canes grown upon warm, dry soils, situ- 
ated so that they can be irrigated at pleasure from a 
neighboring brook, according as the summer heat be- 
comes more or less severe, will give the desired develop- 
ment of stalk, and they will also have much purer juices; 
and hence, as we before observed, the effects of the con- 
stant rains of this season will doubtless be to produce the 
results which have been mentioned by Professor Heuzé 
of Grignon, as resulting from the practice of excessive 
irrigation. 

M. Paul Madinier says, in his little pamphlet, that for 
it are especially suitable light, sandy soils, and calcareous 
soils; but particularly those formed from alluvial depos- 
its. That in nearly every case, especially in Algeria and 
the southern part of France, very excellent results will 
be attained by the employment of irrigation during the 
early stages of its growth, and when it is most rapidly 
developing itself; but that if employed at a later date, 
when it is approaching maturity, it proves deleterious, by 
impeding the elaboration of the saccharine principle, and 
rendering the canes too watery. M. Hardy, the intelli- 
gent director of the Government Nursery in Algeria, 
says that the sorgho flourishes extremely well on soils con- 
taining carbonate of lime, and he advises frequent liming 


48 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


of such soils as are deficient in it. This recommendation 
finds its explanation in the astonishing success of the 
sorgho on the chalky soils of Champagne, where, other- 
wise, they obtained very mediocre results; but, says M. 
Madinier, if calcareous applications seem desirable, it is 
by no means the same of such other saline manures as 
have been found by experience to be unfavorable for the 
sugar cane and the sugar beet. 

Lacoste urges upon his readers to avoid attempting the 
sorgho culture on soils where the soluble, inorganic mat- 
ters are very abundant, because they would thus be ex- 
posed to the undesirable perplexity of producing juice in 
their plants of a saline character, and completely unsuit- 
able to the extraction of sugar. 

Count Beauregard says that the sorgho will flourish 
well on almost all soils, if they be underdrained and irri- 
gated; but his experience shows him what would be sup- 
posed by any sensible man, that the best results are ob- 
tained on soils of the best quality that are best cultivated. 

We may mention in respect to the soils, that one of 
the French writers speaks of having procured fine crops 
of sorgho from a soil on which he thinks he would not 
have have got a fair crop of any other forage plant; 
and the acre of plants which I raised myself last year, 
was on a coarse, gravelly loam, resting on a pure gravelly 
subsoil, so hard that it was a matter of difficulty to plow 
it, and subsoiling was almost impossible. From the ex- 
perience of all the cultivators with whose writings I have 
met, I should advise the choice of land of medium qual- 
ity, and between a black loam and a pure gravel, and of 
a moderate richness. 


/ 
SOILS REQUIRED—CULTURE—MANURING. 49 


SHOULD HILLING BE PRACTICED! 


There are in our own country, advanced by various 
cultivators, conflicting opinions relative to the practice of 
hilling corn. Some maintain its superior efficacy in 
causing the appearance of extra roots, which serve to pro- 
tect the plants from prostration by storms, and others as 
strenuously urging that the very effort thus forced upon 
the plant is an unnatural one, and is met by the penalty 
of diminishing its strength. This same adversity of 
opinion has been manifested in respect to the sorgho cul- 
ture. Mr. Hardy, of Algiers, hills his plants three feet 
apart, and irrigates them by making alongside each row a 
slight surface furrow with a corn plow, and turning in it 
a gentle streamlet of water from his brook or reservoir ; 
but Dr. Sicard maintains that hilling is very unadvisable, 
because the Chinese Sugar Cane has need of roots com- 
mencing on the stall above the surface of the ground; 
that, by their free contact with the atmosphere, there 
may be absorbed carbonic acid and other nutritive gases, 
and the just starting sap being thus early acted upon by 
gases and sunbeam, is made more prone to crystallize at 
a later period of its elaboration. His assumptions, he 
maintains, were fully borne out by the comparative ex- 
periments made on the hilled and flat cultivated plants 
on his field. Without assuming the right or ability to 
settle the vexed question as to the chemical principles 
involved, I would merely give my preference to the sys- 
tem of cultivating flat and in drills on fair soils, for with 
the improved implements which are so easily obtainable 
at this time, and without which no farmer can really 


8 


50 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


afford to'cultivate his crops, the whole ground can be 
effectually stirred up to the very foot of each plant, and 
the double labor of turning at the end of rows crossing 
each other be avoided; the plants being spaced in the 
rows at a suitable distance apart, are not overcrowded as 
they are in hills, and they thus have greater tendency to 
ripen their seed-heads. I should recommend planting at 
three and a half feet apart, the plants in the row thinned 
out to twelve inches apart. 


DEEP CULTURE.—SUBSOIL PLOWING. 


The land should, of course, be well worked and deeply 
stirred, and the use of the subsoil plow has on our 
farm been attended with the happiest results. By its 
disturbing influence upon the subjacent particles of the 
soil, not only are spaces made through which in infinite 
numbers are insinuated the delicate radicles of the grow- 
ing plant, but at the same time sunlight, and the trick- 
ling dew drops, and the gases of the atmosphere, descend 
through the interstices and conspire to assist the develop- 
ments of vegetable life. To a plant which is so tardy in 
acquiring a rapidity in growth as the sorgho, it is espe- 
cially desirable to give assistance in its early stages. 
The swelling of the parent seed, the putting forth of the 
first radicle, and the progressive accretions of matter, 
are all expedited by a sufficient contact with air, heat, 
light, and moisture. When the soil remains quite com- 
pact, by reason of much moisture present, the air, and 
consequently warmth, is to a great extent excluded, and 
the seed lying in the soil is not brought in contact with 


SOILS REQUIRED—CULTURE— MANURING. 51 


the degree of warmth which is necessary to aid the pro- 
cess of germination, and thus, in many cases, will rot in 
the ground. The subsoil plow, running as it does 
deep beneath the surface, disturbs the relations of the 
particles from the lowest portion of its path of travel up 
to the topmost layers, and if its aid be called in when 
the seed is first germinating, or when the tiny shoot is 
but first above ground, the air, the dew, and the sun- 
light are enabled to act directly upon its roots, and they 
acquire great vigor and strength. 

It is our practice at the Farm School to use a small 
subsoil plow, with one horse,* to mark out our rows of 
sorgho and corn in place of the small plow, marker, or 
chain commonly employed. By so doing, we thoroughly 
loosen the soil directly under our row of plants, and pre- 
pare for the deposit of the seed in a most thorough and 
excellent manner. If the subsoil plow be subsequently 
run between the rows once or twice during the season, the 
whole ground will have been disturbed. 


SOAKING SEED. 


I think very favorably of the practice of soaking the 
seed of the sorgho for twenty-four hours before planting. 
It has been found by direct experiment that seeds deprived 
of the hulls will germinate much sooner than those planted 
at the same time but not so treated. Dr. Sicard, to try 
the experiment, planted two lots of seed, one with, the 
other without the hulls, and the latter were out of the 


* This admirable instrument is manufactured by Nourse, Mason, 
& Co., of Boston, from plans furnished by Professor J. J. Mapes. 


52 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


ground in ten days, five days before the other. This 
method of procedure will be specially commendable in 
those latitudes where the warmth of summer is of brief 
duration, and every day that can be saved in the earlier 
stages of growth is highly valuable. In warm soils, 
which are likewise moist, the greatest rapidity of germi- 
nation will be observed, and it behoves us to in some 
manner imitate these desirable conditions by soaking the 
seed for twenty-four hours in tepid water, to which is 
added a small quantity of saltpeter, say about one ounce 
to six gallons of water. Previous to sowing, it should be 
rolled in plaster. 


COVERING LIGHTLY. 


It is a well known fact that it is highly unadvisable to 
cover the seeds of certain of our vegetables, the carrot 
for instance, too deeply, lest they rot. The sorgho is not 
an exception to the rule, and the planter should beware 
lest his hands carelessly cover the seed with more than 
a light covering of earth; for if continued moist weather 
follows the planting, the seed will certainly rot in the 
ground, 


MANURES. 


In considering the question as to which manure is 
most suitable for the sorgho, we must recall the fact pre- 
viously noticed in this work, that if the canes be grown 
on soils in which either naturally or by artificial appli- 
cation there are present excessive quantities of soluble 
saline matter, so much will be absorbed by the plant as 


SOILS REQUIRED—CULTURE—MANURING. 53 


to seriously impair the crystallizability of the sap. 
Horse manure being violent in its action, and yielding a 
large proportion of ammonia, is more unsuitable than 
that of horned cattle, but the latter, even, is inferior 
to the plowing in of clover, and other green crops. 
From the analysis given by M. Avequin, of New 
Orleans, which will be found in the Appendix, it will be 
seen that the most important ingredients in the ash of 
the sorgho are the phosphates of lime and magnesia, 
acetate, muriate, and sulphate of potash, together with 
hydrated silica and oxides of iron and manganese. 

Lacoste gives in his pamphlet the following analysis by 
M. Hetet, from the “ Revue Coloniale,” 1856, page 164. 


Water, 70-000) The 0:537 contains 
Salts, 0°587 | Silica, 0-062 
Sugar, Chlorine, 
Woody fibre, bane Acid, 0:537 
Albumen, 29-463 +} Phosph. “ 
Fatty matter, Carbonic “ \40°475 
Cerosie, Potash, 
——— | Lime, 


100-000 } Magnesia, 


The water given in the Sorgho analysis, he thinks some- 
what less than it should be, say two per cent. 

The bagasse, or crushed canes that have passed 
through the mill, should be returned to the field and 
plowed under, for like those of ordinary sugar cane they 
will prove highly advantageous. Sicard mentions the 
fact that one M. Lautier sowed some Chinese Sugar 


54 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


Cane in a field of potatoes, and with good results so far 
as obtaining a crop of large canes was concerned. Hach 
potato had received, when planted, a handful of pigeon’s 
dung, and the sugar canes were planted when the po- 
tatoes had attained the size of a pigeon’s egg. The 
canes given to the Doctor were of a fine size and ap- 
pearance, but he found their juices quite unfit for sugar 
making, because of the presence of foreign matters 
therein contained; thus clearly demonstrating the in- 
jurious effects of an application of ammoniacal manure. 
We have reason to regret that in sending the seed from 
Shanghae, the Count de Montigny was not at the same 
time able to advise us as to the details of cultivation 
and manuring practiced by the Chinese. Probably no 
country in the world can show such scientifically pur- 
sued agriculture as China, and it is a most untoward 
circumstance that during the present year anything 
should have occurred in our relations with that country 
to retard a closer intimacy with her people. It would 
confer great riches upon our farmers if some explorers 
could but report in detail upon the systems of husbandry 
employed in China, for they would be shown so su- 
perior to our own practices that they should necessarily 
be imitated to a considerable extent. 


CULTIVATION. 


As soon as the rows can be seen—and this would 
be hastened by dropping a radish seed in each hill of 
sorgho—the cultivator, or horse-shoe, should be run 
through the piece, to destroy any weeds while they are 


SOILS REQUIRED—CULTURE—MANURING. 55D 


small and tender. As soon after this as it is possible 
to spare time, we run the one horse subsoil plow 
twice between the rows, going up alongside one row, 
and down by the other. The subsequent cultivation 
is only a repetition of this practice. 


HYBRIDIZATION. 


It must be remembered, that the Chinese Sugar Cane is 
a congener to broom corn, Guinea or chocolate corn, 
Doura and Kgyptian millet, and must not be planted 
anywhere near any one of these, for in such case it 
would most undoubtedly hybridize with them and lose 
a great part of its sugar-bearing qualities. It is thought 
by many extremely probable that the above varieties 
are only hybridizations of the same original plant. 


CURING FODDER. 


Considerable care should be taken in curing the fall. 
crop for stacking. Mr. D. Jay Browne recommends cut- 
ting the stalks when the thermometer stands at 40 to 50 
degrees Fahr., for it is then less likely to sour. The 
method of cutting practiced by Dr. Robert Battey, of 
Georgia, is as follows: ‘The fodder (leaves) should be 
stripped, as is corn, by the first set of hands; another set 
cut off one and a half to two feet of the top of the stalk 
with the seed, while others cut the cane at the ground 
and throw it into piles, from whence it is hauled to the 
press.” It will scarcely be necessary, I trust, to urge 
the necessity of having got the mill and boilers in readi- 


56 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


ness to crush and boil, before commencing the harvest of 
the crop. The canes should be allowed to lie but a 
short time before being worked up, and hence it will be 
advisable to commence by cutting and crushing the canes 
which ripen before the major part of the crop, and each 
day cutting up only as much as can be disposed of con- 
veniently. 


SAVING SEED. 


The seed heads, with the two feet of stalk attached, 
should be made into small bundles, and laid up or hung 
up in the loft to dry. At a convenient season, the seed 
should be stripped off with a broom-corn machine, a 
comb, or by some other good method.* Mr. Wray has 
removed his seed by putting the heads into a bag, and 
threshing it with flails. There is a demand now created 
for a sorgho seed threshing machine, and it will not be 
long before it is supplied. The seed may be cleaned by 
rubbing briskly between the hands, and winnowing in a 
strong wind. The leaves stripped from the canes should 
be cured and stored for fodder. 


* A suggestion for a cylinder-hatchel, for stripping the seed, will be 
found in the Appendix, in letter of Hedges, Free & Co. 


CHAPTER IV. 
VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP—TESTIMONY OF CULTIVATORS. 


THE plan I purpose to pursue in discussing the claims 
of the sorgho to the attention of our farmers, is entirely 
different from those of other investigators who have pre- 
ceded me; for I shall at first consider its value as a 
forage crop and a cereal, and endeavor to show that, even 
if we could not make from it sugar, syrup, alcohol, or any 
other of its products, we still have reason for congratu- 
lating ourselves upon its introduction. If this be success- 
fully accomplished, it is plain that, whatever may be the 
fluctuations in its other yields of profit, it will have a 
regular commercial value as a means of fattening stock, 
and in this single department be a source of large wealth 
to the nation. It may possibly be that some of my more 
speculative readers may prefer to omit the sober consid- 
erations of this chapter, and at once pass over to the 
more alluring phases of the following one; but I have 
too vivid a recollection of former vegetable wonders not 
to seek to prove to our farmers that, in cultivating the 
Chinese Sugar Cane, they will be more fortunate than 
they were with the Morus multicaulis, which, after the 
subsidence of the silk fever, was found to be unfit for 
anything, except an application of the pick ax and plow. 
Although I think the sorgho is destined to rank alongside 
the sugar cane, Indian corn, cotton, and hemp, in the list 
of our industrial plants, I firmly believe that it will be con- 

[57] 


58 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


demned and abused by hundreds who are cultivating it 
this year. Not because of any fault in the plant, but be- 
cause the most extravagant notions of turning a small 
garden patch into a rich sugar plantation have been en- 
tertained, and the hope has been unwisely put forth by 
some, that, without any of the proper apparatus, even 
without the necessary conditions of growth, large quan- 
tities of crystallized sugar could easily be obtained.. As 
I know by personal communication, in many instances 
these dreams of inordinate wealth have been cherished 
by persons of considerable intelligence, and I sincerely 
trust that should these lines fall under the notice of any 
such, they will not intemperately throw aside a really 
wonderful plant after a single year’s imperfect trial, but 
with me be content to assume more conservative grounds. 


SOWING FOR FODDER. 


In cultivating the sorgho for its forage, it should be 
sown in drills two feet apart, letting fall about fifteen to 
twenty seeds to the foot. I think this method much pre- 
ferable to sowing broadcast, for whilst I believe the 
ageregate weight of fodder would be more considerable, 
it givesa marked superiority in allowing a “root cleaner” 
to be run between the drills, and the growth of enormous 
crops of weeds, which might spring up in broadcast 
sorgho, would be entirely prevented. In addition to this, 
the field presents a more regular and orderly appearance, 
the crop is easier to cut, not so liable to lodge, and in 
cutting off a first crop, the sunlight and air is more freely 
admitted to the roots and stubble, and the second crop of 
rattoons, or new shoots, is more likely to be a full one. 


VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP. 59 
RATTOONING. 


In speaking of rattooning, we have touched upon a 
property of the sorgho, which materially distinguishes 
it from corn fodder, and shows its superiority. The 
life-principle of the sorgho is so active, that if the plants 
be cut down when they are either small or large, and 
the stubble is suffered to remain undisturbed, there will 
immediately spring up from the old stocks a new set of 
canes, or rattoons, and if the season be long enough, the 
new plants will, like their predecessors, run through all 
the phases of growth, and bear and ripen seed. 


CUTTING FODDER. 


Hence, when cultivated for fodder, the crop should be 
mowed down as soon as it is large enoweh to feed to 
stock ; and according to the length of the season, two, 
three, four, and even five crops can be obtained. Mr. D. 
Jay Browne speaks of having known of five cuttings for 
fodder, in Florida, last year; the last crop perfecting tts seed. 

M. Ch. d’Ivernois says, in a letter addressed to the 
President of the Imperial Zodlogical Acclimation Society, 
that the result of his extended experiments satisfies him 
that the sorgho is a plant of immense value. He has 
taken at Hyéres, during the last season, five abundant 
cuttings on a soil light and fertile, but not capable of 
being irrigated, and upon which he claims that scarce 
any other forage crop would have given a result at 
ull analogous. ‘The fodder was greedily eaten by all his 
cattle. He thinks that the sorgho will be an acquisition 
of surprising value as a fodder crop for the district of 


60 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


Provence, where so very few fodder plants can withstand 
the four and a half months of absolute drought. He 
believes that, as to the crop of seed, the more northern 
districts of France cannot hope to compete with the 
southern, but that it would be profitable if cut for fodder 
before the ripening of the grain, as a cheap and abundant 
supply of seed could always be obtained from more 
southern latitudes. 


TESTIMONY OF D. JAY BROWNE. ESQ. 


Mr. Browne, at the last meeting, at Washington, of 
the United States Agricultural Society, being called 
upon by the Chair, gave a most interesting history of 
his investigations and experience with the plant. He 
mentioned thagin Kentucky, he knew of nine tons of 
fodder being raised on an acre, the weight taken after 
three months drying. As a fodder crop, he thought its 
geographical range would correspond to Indian corn, as it 
had been grown as far north as St. Paul, Minnesota, and 
fully ripened its seeds in Massachusetts and Illinois. He 
cited instances of cows which had been fed upon this 
cane exclusively, giving a diminished quantity of milk, 
but of increased richness of quality. He had seen two 
stock cows, not giving milk, which had subsisted en- 
tirely upon it for six weeks, and were in good condition 
for the butcher. Animals fed upon it in the green 
state throve remarkably well, affording excellent milk, 
without exhibiting symptoms of “ hoven,” or flatulency, 
which are sometimes produced by feeding upon succu- 
lent clover or corn. 


VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP. 61 
TESTIMONY OF ASA WHITNEY. 


Mr. Wlutney, “the Railroad Napoleon,” whose dairy 
farm is near the city of Washington, found that if the 
morning’s milk of cows fed upon the sorgho were put in 
a bottle or laid on the ice to keep it cool, by night it 
would have become so thickened with cream as to be 
removed from the bottle with some difficulty. A gentle- 
man in Massachusetts informed me that he had experi- 
mented with sorgho in feeding a number of cows, and 
that it not only augmented the richness of the milk, but 
the quantity likewise. 


TESTIMONY OF AUTHOR. 


We have on our farm a pair of large Conestoga horses, 
which are kept constantly at hard work throughout the 
season. Last year we fed them for about six weeks on 
sorgho stalks, with nothing else except a little timothy 
hay; and we found that, although they were continually 
plowing, hauling stones and lumber, and performing such 
laborious duty, yet at the end of the time they were as 
sleek and fat as could be desired. 


TESTIMONY OF MR. GRATZ, OF KENTUCKY. 


Benjamin Gratz, Esq., of Lexington, Kentucky, Presi- 
dent of the County Agricultural Society, informs me in 
a recent letter, that his son, a large planter, tried some 
experiments in feeding his mules on sorgho, and that 
‘they consumed it with great avidity, leaving no residue. 
He also gave a portion to his hogs, with the same result, 


62 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


He is under the impression that it will prove very valu- 
able for stock generally.” 

Mr. J. F. C. Hyde, of Newton Centre, Massachusetts, 
says at page 32 of his book, “‘I used the seed cane stalks 
and leaves for fodder; cut up the stalks and fed to horses, 
cows, and swine, and they would eat it with the greatest 
avidity, even like shelled corn.” 

Doctor Bowman, of Illinois, has fed the stalks to his 
horses, and writes me in the most enthusiastic manner of 
its value for forage. 


MR. WRAY’S REMARKS AT THE FARMERS’ CLUB. 


At a recent meeting of the Farmers’ Club of the Ameri- 
can Institute, Mr. Wray gave some account of his discov- 
ery of the imphee, and, among other things of his expe- 
rience, mentioned the fact that it had been his practice to 
feed the green plants to his animals. He cuts them into 
pieces and sprinkles upon each mess a handful of salt. 
Under this treatment he finds all descriptions of stock to 
keep in good working condition, and increase in fat. 
The Kaffirs told him not to feed to his animals the bag- 
asse; and, disregarding their advice, he lost several head 
of cattle, from the fact, as he learned by opening their 
bodies after death, that the bagasse when taken into the 
stomach formed itself into large balls, from the succes- 
sive accumulations of which death had ultimately been 
caused. This undesirable result is not attained when the 
planter takes the precaution of adding to the bagasse the 
scum removed from the boilers, 


VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP. 63 


COUNT BEAUREGARD’S EXPERIENCE. 


The illustrious President of the Agricultural Assembly 
of Toulon, Count Beauregard, mentions the fact that he 
had “sustained for a month and a half sixty head of 
stock with the produce of a hectare (about two acres), 
which had yielded sugar sorgho the previous year, and 
which, by a circumstance independent of my wish, had 
not been resown this year, and had received but one light 
plowing, and no manure. This hectare was so well pro- 
vided with vigorous plants springing from the seeds 
which had been spilled at the harvest, that I did not feel 
willing to turn them under, and thus we were enabled 
throughout the entire month July and half of August, to 
give to our animals an excellent nourishment, and one on 
which they throve marvelously well.” And, further- 
more, he says, “‘ The only thing which my very consider- 
able experience of the past three years constrains me to 
add is, that this plant, contrary to what might be feared, 
robs and deteriorates the soil to a much less extent than 
many others with which I am acquainted; for I have 
harvested three crops in three consecutive years from the 
same field, with but a slight manuring in each case, and 
the yields have been more and more excellent.” 


TESTIMONY OF G. DE LACOSTE. 


Lacoste says, p. 26 of his book, that if fed green to 
cows, the sorgho will cause an increased flow of milk, 
and that every portion of the saccharine stalk is eaten 
with avidity by cattle, and that it seems specially adapted 
to nourishing them. 


64 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
GOVERNOR GARDNER, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 


Hon. H. J. Gardner, Governor of Massachusetts, in a 
letter to Mr. J. F. C. Hyde, enumerates the following 
facts : 

“ As a green fodder it produces more food for cattle 
on the same space, and at the same cost as corn. Cattle 
prefer it to corn fodder; for I repeatedly gave it mixed 
with corn stalks to cows, and it was amusing to see them 
carefully select the sugar canes from the other. Itis 
more juicy and nutritious for milch cows than any other 
fodder, for it is well known that sugar contains more 
nourishment than almost any other vegetable production 
in daily use.” 


EXPERIENCE OF OC. L. FLINT, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 


Chas. L. Flint, Esq., Secretary of the Massachusetts 
State Board of Agriculture, in his letter to Mr. Hyde, 
says that he knows instances where cattle picked it out, 
stalk by stalk, from bundles of corn stalks; and further, 
‘there seems every reason to believe that, asa forage 
plant, it will very rapidly come into general favor, and 
‘help us essentially through our summer drouths.” 


CURLNG. 


Any one of my readers who has grown our common 
corn for fodder, will understand that considerable care 
must be taken in curing the green succulent stalks of the 
sorgho. It should be cut in the morning, when the dew 
is off the plants, and suffered to lie on the ground and 


VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP. 65 


become well dried before it is bound up. The bundles 
should be small, and before putting them in stack, or in 
the barns, should be set up in groups in the field to cause 
a further quantity of water to be evaporated. The stack 
should, of course, be built on rails or other convenient 
poles, to allow of a circulation of air beneath, and to 
carry out this requisition to a greater extent, it is well to 
build the stack around rails set up on end, and leaning 
inwards towards the center; by which plan, of course, 
the interior of the stack is in direct contact with the 
atmosphere, and thus heating will not so soon occur. 
The extra trouble of curing is repaid by the increased 
quantity of product, as compared with hay; but even 
taking considerable precautions, it may occur that an 
inexperienced person will not be able to save his crop in 
good condition on a first trial. 


THE SORGHO IN TEXAS THIS YEAR. 


The newspaper accounts from Texas, which have 
recently appeared, state the fact, that in all parts of that 
state the Chinese Sugar Cane has manifested its superi- 
ority to sowed corn in withstanding the drouth. 


ITS ABILITY TO WITHSTAND DROUTH. 


This entirely agrees with my experience of it last 
summer ; for the sorgho did not manifest its real rapidity 
of growth until the commencement of the two months 
“heated term” which we endured. When our corn 
plants drooped and curled their leaves, the sorgho was 
not only unaffected by the heat, but daily grew in beauty 


66 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


of appearance and height. When the great profits of 
sowing a piece of corn for fodder, to be cut up and fed to 
the stock in their stalls, shall have become generally 
appreciated, we may confidently look for the universal 
practice of replacing it in great part by the sorgho, both 
because of its multiplied cuttings, its nutritive properties, 
and its superior ability to withstand the as, suns 
of midsummer. 


ITS NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, 


It may perhaps be well in this connection to refer 
to the fact that in Cuba the negroes, and the animals 
employed on the sugar plantations, are at no time of 
the year compelled to undergo more unremitting toil 
than during the boiling season; they are compelled to 
keep mills and boilers at work night and day, for the 
season allowed them to work up the crop of canes is 
brief, and they must employ their time to the best ad- 
vantage. It is customary to work the hands in “ gangs,” 
who relieve each other alternately, one gang being at 
work while the other rests. Yet with all this it is a fact 
evident to every one who has visited an “ Ingenio,” or 
sugar plantation, that both negroes and animals, by 
reason of drinking the juice, and eating the stalks of 
the cane, are more sleek and healthy than at any other 
season of the year. Now this increase in fat is chemically 
explained by the presence of large quantities of carbon 
in the form of sugar, and as every one knows, sugar 
and fat are made of ingredients entirely the same, viz., 
carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. If this be borne in 
mind, then it will be no more than fair to anticipate 


VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP. 67 


what is really the fact, that animals fed upon the sorgho 
stalks, should be quickly brought into a sleek, fat 
condition. 


SIZE OF STALKS IN NORTH AFRICA. 


F. Bourdais, the distiller, at Constantine, Algeria, says, 
and he calls upon Mr. Hardy to testify to the fact, that on 
his place he has had a number of sorgho plants which sent 
up sixteen and eighteen suckers to a height of twelve feet, 
and measured four inches and three quarters in circum- 
ference at the base. Numbers of others sent up ten and 
twelve shoots; and the average of his field was six and 
seven shoots from a single seed. 


TESTIMONY OF DR. TURREL AND LACOSTE. 


Dr. Turrel, in his article to the Bulletin Mensuel de la 
Societé Imp. Zodl. d’Acclimation, says, that his pigs 
crunch the succulent and sweet stalks of the sorgho with 
delight. They devour the seeds, and thrive on them. 
Grellet Balquerie maintains that sorgho seed can be fed 
to horses in place of oats. 

Lacoste, in a lettter to the Imperial Society, says, that 
“the seeds fattened poultry, and for feeding to horses, 
will profitably replace barley; and for this one thing, 
pay all costs of cultivation.” According to Professor 
Thompson,* of Glasgow, the barley contains 11.31 per 
cent of nutritive matter.. 


* Thompson’s “ Food of Animals.” N. Y., C. M. Saxton & Co. 


68 (THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


THE YOTE OF THE JURY OF ANIMALS. 


Animal instinct is, after all, the best test of the com- 
parative value of different substances for forage; and, 
taking this view of the case, we can establish beyond 
cavil the fact that sorgho seed is good feed for poultry 
and birds of all descriptions. Sundry of the French 
experimenters lament their inability to protect their 
sowings of seed from the voracious attacks of sparrows; 
and in one of our southern states the entire crop of seed, 
on a small plot in a gentleman’s garden, was made way 
with by his chickens and pigeons. 


THE COLORING MATTERS IN THE SEED. 


The coloring matter in the hulls is so easily separated, 
and carried with the fluids of the animal body, that the 
flesh, and even the minute cellular structure of the bones 
of poultry, fed upon sorgho seed, becomes actually dyed 
purple. Mr. Wray says, he has seen in Count Beaure- 
gard’s poultry-yard, the droppings of chickens fed on 
the seeds, that could at once be distinguished, by their 
purplish hue, from those of the other inmates of the yard. 
I have been shown, by that gentleman, a piece of 
pigeon’s dung that had, by accident, been packed in a 
case of his sorgho seed-heads, and been received in this 
country, direct, from Hyéres, which was as purple as a 
mulberry stain. Of course it will be understood, that 
this coloring matter is entirely without taste, and no 
injury is done to the fowl. In fact, it may become a 
fashionable thing to pay extra for purple broiled chicken. 


VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP. 69 


YIELD PER ACRE OF SEED AND FODDER. 


In respect to the yield of seed per acre, the north, says 
M. d’Ivernois, cannot hope to equal the south, where 
sixty bushels are produced. This result was obtained in 
the neighborhood of Hyéres. In our own country, 
Col. Peters, of Georgia, obtained twenty-five bushels per 
acre, of thirty-six pounds per bushel. Gov. Hammond, 
of South Carolina, weighed a peck after three days’ 
drying in the sun, and found the weight to be thirty- 
eight pounds per bushel. I have weighed several lots 
from Vilmorin, Andrieux, & Co., of Paris, and Count 
Beauregard, and found the weight to vary from forty to 
forty-eight pounds. Mr. Hyde says the yield is from 
twenty-five to fifty bushels to the acre. 

Thus we see that on partially exhausted wheat soils, 
or alluvial soils, both of which are specially adapted to 
the sorgho, instead of a poor yield of wheat, we may 
plant the former, and, not taking anything else into con- 
sideration, obtain a crop of from ee to sixty 
bushels of seed. 

In the early portion of this chapter, I mentioned that 
Mr. Brown said that nine tons of dry fodder had been 
cut in Kentucky last season: Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, 
president of the United States Agricultural Society, tells 
me that he knows one instance where 19.844 lbs. of 
fodder had been obtained, the weight taken after a three 
months’ drying. The weight of the green stalks varies 
from seven to forty tons, according to circumstances. 
The Director of the Government Nursery at Hamma, 
Algiers, in his report to the Minister of War (see 


70 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


appendix), says he got a result of 83,250 lbs. of green 
forage, per acre. Ourown Patent Office Report, for 1855, 
says, ‘‘ Aside from other economical uses, its value for 
feeding to animals alone, in every section of the Union 
where it will thrive, cannot be surpassed by any other 
crop, as a greater amount of nutritious fodder cannot be 
obtained so cheaply in a given space within so short a 
time; and without wishing to present the question in an 
extravagant light, it may be stated, that this crop is 
susceptible of being cultivated within the territory of the 
United States, to an extent equal to that of Indian corn, 
say 25,000,000 acres per annum; and estimating the 
average yield of dry or cured fodder to the acre at two 
tons, the yearly amount produced would be 50,000,000 
tons, which, to keep within bounds, would be worth at 
least $500,000,000, besides the profits derived from the 
animals in milk, flesh, labor, and wool.” 


SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO GROW MORE THAN ONE YEAR. 


It is not at all desirable to suffer the stubble of canes 
sown for fodder to remain all winter and throughout the 
subsequent summer, to raise a second year’s crop of 
fodder or sugar; for the experience of Mr. Hardy shows 
that the shoots of the second year are not larger than 
one’s little finger, and attain only a feeble growth, the 
third season they are contemptible in size. The farmer 
may well be contented with the fodder of the first year’s 
production, for if it be thought profitable practice to 
keep land in grass that cuts only aton ora ton and a half 
per acre, what should be our estimate of a fodder crop as 


VALUE AS A FORAGE CROP. a2 


good as hay, and giving ¢en tons of dried nutritious matter, 
with but light manuring ? 

If a farmer has a field lying so that he can irrigate it 
by damming the waters of some small creek or brooklet, 
and by means of a flood-gate turning the water at will 
into small plow furrows, running alongside each row, 
it certainly would be very judicious practice to put it 
into sorgho fodder; for as his desire is not to make 
crystallized sugar, or other of the products of its sweet 
juices, excessive irrigation will not only do no harm to 
his crop, but will cause magnificent growths of plants in 
every way suitable for nourishing his stock. 

It must not be supposed that because Monsieur Hardy 
and others have obtained ten tons of dried forage from an 
acre of sorgho, the labor of every farmer, without res- 
pect to peculiarities of practice, soil, or climate, will be 
rewarded to an equal extent. If the proper soils be 
selected, and the proper method of culture be pursued, it 
lies within the reach of all to duplicate his success. With 
this culture in all its phases, forage, syrup, sugar, or any 
other, good judgment and perseverance will always win 
the prize. 


CHAPTER V. 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 


A WEST INDIAN SUGAR PLANTATION—CUTTING—CRUSHING—BOILING. 


It is useless to conceal the fact, that, despite its great 
excellence as a forage crop, and despite its other manifold 
uses, the public are looking to the sorgho as a SUGAR 
PLANT with more expectation and apprehension than in 
any other light. Until the present feverish excitement 
shall have subsided into more reasonable and practical 
channels, it must be expected that when the vivid dreams 
of sugar planting in garden spots and on five acre corn 
fields, now, alas, so prevalent, are dispelled, and men 
begin to realize that a good sugar plantation, with appro- 
priate buildings and machinery, costs a vast deal of money, 
much dissatisfaction will be experienced and publicly 
manifested. or this reason, and to shield from blows 
and insults a promising agricultural staple, I have chosen 
to consider it, first, as a forage crop. 

As yet, the sugar made from the juice of the sorgho 
has been in a very small way—not more than a few 
ounces, at most, at one time—and as this chapter is writ- 
ten before the earliest of this season’s crops have been 
worked up, I cannot speak of sorgho sugar making on 
a large scale, but must defer such remarks to appear in 


the Appendix, after I have been to South Carolina and 
[72] 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 73 


witnessed the extensive operations on the place of Gover- 
nor Hammond, which, I trust, will occur in time to per- 
mit their insertion in the first edition of this work. 
Should the season, however, continue as inauspicious as 
it has been heretofore, it may be necessary to issue the 
first edition to fill the numerous orders already received 
in advance, and defer until the second edition the report 
on the southern experiments. 

Ihave given in this chapter full details for the best 
processes of sugar making, and engravings of suitable 
apparatus, furnished expressly for the work by Mr. John 
W. Reid, of No. 11 Old Slip, New York, and made from 
drawings of articles which he furnishes to planters, so 
that in case it is proved that on our soil and in our cli- 
mate either the sorgho or the imphee may really rank as 
sugar-producing plants, our farmers and planters may be 
intelligently advised as to the steps necessary to pur- 
sue to institute sugar making experiments on a large or 
small scale. 


THE CAUSE FOR PRESENT HIGH PRICES. 


Speaking of the great need which is felt for a new 
sugar plant, the ‘New York Tribune” remarks as fol- 
lows: 

“The recent general enhancement of the current prices 
of sugars, though stimulated and swelled by speculation, 
has a genuine basis. In the first place, there is an in- 
crease of several per cent. in the population of the civil- 
ized world within the last quarter of a century, insuring 
a like increase in the natural demand for sugar. Then it 
is not doubtful that, in the general absence of wars, the 


4 


74 - THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


proportion of people able to purchase and consume sugar 
and other luxuries to the extent of their desires, has hke- 
wise increased. It is further true that the general manu- 
facture and use of preserved fruits, &c., is rapidly increas- 
ing. But the successive failures of the grape for several 
years past has led to the diversion of the beet crop of 
France, which is very large and important, from the 
production of sugar to that of brandy—the French 
brandies, formerly made of the juice of the grape, bear- 
ing a reputation and a price throughout the world which 
render this conversion highly profitable. Hence France, 
which, from Napoleon’s coronation to Louis Phillippe’s 
dethronement, had been steadily advancing toward the 
point of producing her own sugar, has recently been fall- 
ing rapidly back to a position of dependence for her 
supply on the tropical, cane-growing Indies. It is under- 
stood that the production of sugar in the British West 
Indies has fallen off since emancipation; the lberated 
negroes finding employment more to their taste than the 
severe labor of the cane-field and sugar-mill; though in 
British Guiana the production of sugar has recently been, 
and is still, rapidly increasing. California and Australia 
have had some part in producing the general result, those 
countries producing little or no sugar while consuming 
largely, and at the same time increasing the world’s bul- 
lion, and thereby enhancing the prices of nearly every- 
thing but gold. 

“Tt is clear that the annual production of sugar must 
be increased; but where, and how? The severe cold 
of last winter destroyed a great deal of cane, and practi- 
cally diminished the area of tropical cane-growing soul. 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. TD 


India, and the adjacent regions of Southern Asia, might 
produce more sugar; but their people are very slow to 
change the direction of their industry, while those of 
Spanish America have little industry of any sort. There 
is more sugar land in the West Indies, but it is mainly 
wilderness, which can only be converted into cane fields. 
at heavy cost and by severe labor—of course, quite 
slowly. 

‘In view of these facts, inquiry has very properly 
been made for saccharine plants adapted to the temperate 
zone, and which may be profitably employed in the pro- 
duction of sugar. Until some plant of this sort is found 
and extensively cultivated, it is not probable that the 
price of sugar, as measured by that of wheat, becf, and 
other edibles, will be essentially reduced. With the 
prospect of an active demand and a high price for sugar 
through several years ahead, it seems but reasonable that 
the sugar-producing area should be enlargéd, if that be 
found practicable. 

“That there is no lackof plants from which sugar may 
be made, is well known. Indian corn, the rock maple, 
and some other trees, the beet-root, and sundry other 
esculents, contain and yield sugar, but generally at a cost 
above that at which it can be extracted from the cane. 
There is, therefore, a real and realized demand for a 
sugar-producing plant which may be grown in temperate 
latitudes, and which will yield nearly or quite as bounti- 
fully, in view of their relative cost, as the cane.” 


76 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
THE “AFRICAN APPRENTICE” SYSTEM. 


There is another problem presented for solution to 
the world, through the Government of the Emperor 
Napoleon, and subsequently by the British Parlia- 
ment, in which, it seems.to me, the sorgho and imphee 
‘are destined to have an important influence. “This 
proposition, when calmly examined, turns out to be 
nothing more or less than a project for developing the 
resources of the French West Indian Colonies, by the 
immediate introduction of large bodies of negro laborers, 
to be engaged on terms similar to those under which 
the coolies of China are now, and have for some time, 
been transported in very considerable numbers to the 
colonial territories of Great Britain.” The cause for 
this remarkable proposition, which in reality amounts 
to a revival of the African slave trade, under a white- 
washed exterior, is found in the greatly augmented 
demand for sugars; and the simple problem has been 
forced upon the world: in what way can a sufficient 
staff of producers be most speedily thrown upon the soil 
of the great sugar-growing countries? Now, if it can be 
demonstrated that by cultivating the imphee and the 
sorgho, the sugar fields can be so widened as to embrace 
the countries throughout the whole Temperate Zone, 
of course supply at once runs parallel with demand, 
and the present alarming scarcity gives way to plenteous 
abundance. Although it is warmly urged by sugar 
planters, that free labor cannot compete with slave labor 
in sugar growing, yet this assertion must be received cum 
grano salis, for whilst tropical climates may raise sugar 
to the exclusion of more northern ones, when prices 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 77 


are so low as to make white labor more productive in 
other branches of industry, yet if put in possession of 
plants suited to their latitudes, the greatly augmented 
price of sugar, at any time, would withdraw these la- 
borers from other employments to turn producers of 
sugar, for their families first, and, from their surplus, to 
supply neighbors and friends. ‘'hus the strife between 
the two is no longer one of latitude, but has become one 
of prices. 

The common sugar cane of the tropics, “ Saccharum 
officinarum,” being of the same family with the plant 
now treated of, and its juices for the manufacture of 
syrup, or sugar, requiring almost an identity of treatment, 
as illustrating this part of my subject I append the 
following description, with illustrations, of the mode of 
cultivating cane and manufacturing sugar on the island 
of Cuba, from the pen of Mr. Reid, who has become 
thoroughly conversant with the matter by a residence 
in those countries. 


THE CULTIVATION OF SUGAR IN THE ISLAND OF CUBA, 


On the island of Cuba, farms or plantations, are di- 
vided into three distinct classes: the ‘ Ingenio,” or sugar 
estate, (pronounced Inhaneo); the “ Cafetal,” or coffee and 
orange estate, (pronounced Caftal); and the “ Potrero,” or 
farm, where stock, grain, or vegetables are produced. It 
being with the first of these only that our subject has to 
do, I will confine my remarks to the “ Ingenio” alone; 
and if; in the sequel, I should at any time mention the 
word “potrero,” it is to be understood as referring, 


78 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


not to an estate exclusively set aside for the purposes 
mentioned, but merely as relating to that portion of 
every sugar estate, necessarily set apart for the raising of 
cattle, and for such crops of grain or fodder as are 
intended for its own consumption. 

There are about two thousand five hundred sugar 
estates, large and small, to be found on the island of Cuba, 
ranging in size from the one having only fifty, to the 
one with over fifteen hundred acres of cane field under 
cultivation. ‘These are the extremes, however ; the aver- 
age of the whole island would not exceed one hundred 
and fifty to two hundred acres of growing cane to each 
estate ; requiring to cultivate these, and carry on profita- 
bly the business of the plantation, without overworking 
the negroes, about one negro to every two acres. Many 
planters, however, manage to get along with fewer hands 
than this; but where a good field hand is worth from 
eight hundred to one thousand dollars, it must be evident 
that the over-work which ensues from planting more cane 
than the gang can conveniently handle, in the end proves 
the most expensive economy the planter can adopt. 


& 


SOIL. 


The soil of Cuba has two marked characteristics of 
color, depending upon the locality where each is found: 
the one, and most striking, is of a deep red or Spanish 
brown hue, which pigment it much resembles, soiling 
every thing which it touches of a ruddy tint—the legs of 
the horses and cattle, as well as the clothes of the culti- 
vators; the other soil is a rich black mould or humus, 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 79 


evidentiy the remains of old swamp or morass. This 
latter is to be found chiefly in the valleys and level 
tracts, while the other occupies more elevated ground. 
The island ig evidently of coral formation, upheaved by 
some convulsion of nature from the depths of the océan ; 
and the red land, as it is called in contradistinction to the 
black land, seems to consist of decomposed coral rock, 
mixed with vegetable carbon and a metallic oxide, prob- 
ably iron, which gives it the appearance referred to. 
Cubans do not show preference for either soil, but in my 
opinion, the black soil grows better sugar, the canes be- 
ing in every way superior. 

Although the soil of the island is wonderfully fertile, 
producing, without apparent diminution, crop after crop 
of sugar, without other manure than the cane trash left 
on the ground, yet even on ‘the ever faithful island” 
this exhausting process cannot and does not go on for 
ever. ‘T'his is evidenced by the fact that the older plan- 
tations are no longer what they were in the memory of 
those still living; they are beginning to wear out; the 
canes are becoming short, thin, and sparse; and in a few 
years will no doubt cease to yield sugar at all, unless 
the proper remedy of manure be applied. But as an evi- 
dence of the wonderful fecundity of these estates, it may 
be interesting to know that some of them are over one 
hundred years old. 


CULTIVATION 


As regards the agricultural processes followed by the 
Creole planters, they are of the simplest kind; for, al- 


80 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


though a few of the most enterprising, as well as a few 
planters of foreign birth, use the subsoil plow and other 
labor-saving machines, yet the great bulk merely scratch 
the soil with hoes, or small, rude surface-plows; giving as 
a reason for going no deeper, that if the soil be turned 
up, it will produce fever and cholera to destroy their 
negroes.. So strong is this belief, that when a friend of 
the writer, some years ago, imported subsoil plows from 
the United States for use on his plantation, his neighbors 
remonstrated, and threatened a law suit; he persisted, 
however; subsoiled an old patch nearly worn out, planted 
his seed, and was rewarded with the finest crop of cane 
that had been seen in the district for years; no fever or 
cholera resulted, and the prejudice was eradicated in that 
part of the country at all events. 


PLANTING—RATIOONING. 


It is not necessary in the West India Islands, as in 
Louisiana, to plant canes every year; there being no frost 
there to kill the roots, they continue to throw up fresh 
shoots for many years, which shoots are equally good, as 
if sprung from canes planted each season. This habit is 
called ratiooning, the canes so growing are called rattoons, 
and the roots, in favorable soil, will continue to rattoon 
every season for a long time. As an instance of this, the 
writer on one occasion, in Cuba, was riding with a planter, 
viewing his-estate; we came to a fine field of cane, each 
cane with at least seven to eight feet of sap, and thick in 
proportion. ‘The planter drew up his horse, and, point- 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 81 


ing to the field, asked me what I thought of it. I exam- 
ined it more critically, and although the joints were 
pretty close, I came to the conclusion that it was cane of 
the third or fourth year, and very good at that. I said 
so to my friend, who commenced laughing, and told me 
to guess its age, assuring me that it was more than three 
years planted. I guessed seven, ten, fifteen, and even 
twenty years, with no better success. It turned out that 
this field had been planted by the father of my friend, 
before he himself was born, and had yielded a good crop 
every year since. My friend, at the time, was over 
thirty years old. 

In Louisiana, canes are planted generally in rows, six 
feet apart between the rows. In Cuba, four feet is the 
distance allowed between each row. A furrow, or series 
of holes, is made, four or five inches deep, and two joints 
of cane put in side by side, so that in case one joint fails 
to germinate, the other may supply its place. The earth 
is loosely drawn over the seed, and, with the exception 
of occasional weeding till the plants are strong enough 
to take care of themselves, little more is required either 
for young plants or rattoons. Latterly the Louisiana 
method of planting six feet apart has been introduced on 
some estates with good resulis; and there can be little 
doubt but that, if the same energy and intelligence pre- 
vailed in Cuba as are to be found in Louisiana, this 
wonderfully fertile island might be made to produce 
sufficient sugar to supply the whole world, so rich and 
recuperative is its soil, and so admirable its climate. 
This is owing, no doubt, to its situation in the middle of 
that ocean current of warm water called the Gulf Stream. 
Here frost never comes, and the thermometer is seldom 


82 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


known to descend lower than 65° Fahrenheit in the 
open air. 


BUILDINGS. 


Situated as near as possible in the center of the planta- 
tion, is found “the mill and boiling-house,” with their 
appurtenances of negro-house, cattle-sheds, bagasse 
house, &c., &. A central position for these is selected, 
so as to be equally distant from all the cane fields, unless 
some equally important objection against it should arise. 
Such might be the absence of water, &c. This is first to 
be looked for before putting up the buildings, which are 
generally stone structures, with a large chimney, sixty to 
ninety feet high, into which all the flues of the boiling- 
house and engine lead. The chimney is the most im- 
portant part of the whole establishment. If this should 
be too small, or should not draw properly, it puts a stop 
to everything. Steam cannot be got up in the boilers, 
therefore the mill cannot work; the sugar trains only 
partially boil, and general consternation prevails. Such 
a calamity, however, seldom happens, unless a planter 
- should have foolishly added an additional train of kettles 
to an already overtaxed flue, or changed his machinery 
from a cattle mill to asteam mill, without enlarging his 
chimney, or building a separate one for his boilers. ‘The 
remedy.in the first case is easy; in the second, an ad- 
ditional chimney has to be run up with all speed. Acci- 
dents like these are great annoyances to planters, being 
seldom discovered until the last moment, and whenevery 
day is valuable. 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 83 


PREPARING FOR CROP. 


For a month or three weeks before the crop or grinding 
season commences, the sugar-house presents an animated 
scene. <A general overhauling of the whole concern is 
going on. ‘The cattle pump is drawing water from the 
river or large well, as the case may be, and it is being 
used plentifully everywhere; the engine and mill are 
being taken to pieces by the engineer (generally an 
American), and carefully examined, to see that no 
injury has been sustained during last crop. The kettles 
are being scrubbed out; the coolers tightened up and 
cleaned; the molasses tanks purified from the cock- 
roaches and rats that have met an untimely end in them; 
and the whole buildings, so far as practicable, are being 
whitewashed with lime. In short, the sugar house has 
been ina state of slow fermentation since last crop, and 
must be sweetened by plentiful doses of lime and water, to 
render it fit for new operations. This being effected, the 
engineer informs the overseer, or mayorél, that he is 
ready to commence grinding. . The mayordl, on his part, 
has examined the condition of the various cane fields, and 
made up his mind what field he will cut first. A day is 
appointed to commence grinding, probably the 10th to 
the 20th November. Until then a general lull takes 
place, and every one, from the “ mayoral” to the latest 
imported ‘ Bozal nigger,” enjoys himself according to his 
taste. ‘The negroes choose sleeping, dancing, or beating 
the “ gumbo,” and the white creoles gambling at monte, 
or attending the nearest ‘‘baile,” or ball. 

4% 


84 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


COMMENCING WORK. 


The important morning at length arrives. The field 
gangs are told off by the mayoral, at daybreak, and, armed 
with their machétes, or cane knives (Figures 1 and 2), they 


Hig. I 


A eee 


Pig. 2.. 


start for the point decided upon, followed by a string of 
bullock carts, to bring the cane to the mill as soon as it 
is cut. Each field gang has its negro mayoral, or over- 
seer, armed with a long, gayly mounted machéte, in place 
of a sword, and provided with a stout whip to keep 
loafers in order, but which, I must say, is very little 
used. The field being reached, those provided with 
machétes (generally two thirds of the gang), attack the 
canes. Seizing them with the left hand, they draw the 
cane slightly towards them, and with one blow sever it 
close to the root, strip off its leaves in a twinkling, top 
it, and cut it into two or three lengths, as the case 
_requires, and throw it behind them, in less time than it 
has taken to describe. Women and children gather the 
scattered canes into heaps, from which they are loaded 
into the bullock carts and carried off to the mill. Arriv- 
ed there, they drive under the cane shed, and deposit 
their loads close to the cane carrier, which is an endless 
‘chain, carrying a series of slats, or boards, leading direct 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 85 


to the feed-board of the mill, and moving on rollers with 
the motion of the machine, but so arranged as to be 
stopped when required, independent of the mill. On the 
other side of the mill—which consists of three horizontal 
iron rollers, set two alongside each other, and one on the 
top, held in place by a very strong castiron frame, which 
is bolted down firmly to the foundation—is seen another 
similar arrangement, for carrying away the crushed canes, 
or bagasse, after the juice has been crushed out. This is 
called the bagasse-carrier, and delivers the crushed canes 
directly into an ox or mule cart set beneath it, which 
carriesit away to its appropriate receptacle. An admirable 
representation of the three roller horizontal cane mill, with 
its cane and bagasse carriers, drawn from one actually in 
use, may beseen by referenee to the frontispiece. 


CRUSHING. 


Nearly enough cane having been cut to yield juice 
sufficient to fill all the kettles and clarifiers, fires are 
lighted under the steam boilers for the purpose of pro- 
curing the power to start the mill. 

Steam is soon generated by the sharp, clear flame of 
last year’s bagasse, which has been stored away on pur- 
pose, and is dry as tinder, and by this time there is a 
sufficiency of cane under the shed to make a commence- 
ment. The engine is set in motion, and with it the mill, 
the rollers of which are brought very close together by 
means of large screws fixed in the iron frame for that 
purpose. The distance between the first and second is 
generally one eighth or three sixteenths of an inch, while 


86 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


between the second and third, if the engineer can get the 
blade of his knife between, he considers it about correct. 
The negroes throw the canes on to the carrier, which 
delivers them to the mill, they pass between the rollers 
slowly, while the juice spurts and streams down between 
and in all directions into the ‘juice pan,” from whence 
it flows by a canal either direct to the clarifiers or is 
pumped up into a receiver, and thence distributed where 
required. Meanwhile, the canes that have been crushed 
are no longer canes, but bagasse ; they are received from 
the carrier as before stated, and spread to dry in the sun, 
to be subsequently stored away in appropriate sheds for 
the fuel of next year. 


THE BATTERY. 


We have now “commenced crop;” the juice tank is 
full, and we must commence boiling; but, before doing 
so, we must describe the “ battery” or “train” of kettles, 
how they are placed, and what is the object of each; as 
also the preliminary operation of “testing” the juice. 
The juice generally stands at a strength of seven to eight 
degrees in November, and ten to eleven in March and 
April. 


TESTING THE JUICE. 


Immediately on the first juice running from the mill, 
the planter, if he be a working man, and there are many 
such even in Cuba, may be seen anxiously testing the 
amount of saccharine matter, or sugar, in his juice, for 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 87 


on this depends the value of his crop. To find out this, 
he uses a small instrument called a “saccharometer,” either 
of brass or glass, as shown at figures 8 and 4, as also a 
small copper test dipper, figure 5, in which he floats the 
saccharometer. 


SSS 
Sj ey 
fe =: 


= Soe 
Satie epee 


pe 


ee 


Figs.3. 4. 5. 


The mstrument most in ‘use is that of Beaumé, of 
Paris. This is marked in degrees from 0°, which repre- 
sents water, up to 50°. Each degree represents, by 
weight, nineteen parts in a thousand of the solution of 
sugar and water in which it is placed. If, therefore, the 
juice in November marks 8°, it shows that we have 
eight times nineteen parts in a thousand, or 152, per 
cent. of sugar. Ifin March it marks 11° on the saccha- 
rometer, then we know that we have eleven times ‘019, 
or 20 per cent. nearly, of sugar in the juice. When the 
juice exceeds 11° or 12° by boiling, :018 is nearer the 
amount of sugar to a degree Beaumé than °019, and 
ought to be taken instead as a basis in making the cal- 
culation. Thin cane juice, hot or cold, will mark the 
same on the saccharometer, but when itis in the state of 
syrup, it will mark much more cold than hot; therefore, 
when you test boiling syrup, add three degrees to the 


88 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


saccharometer to represent the true density cold. With 
molasses, add four degrees. 

The range of open pans or kettles used to evaporate 
the expressed juice of the cane to the necessary consist- 
ency at which granulation takes place, and crystallized 
sugar is formed, is termed “the train,” and is either a 
“steam,” or an “ordinary” train, according as steam or 
fire is the medium of evaporation. Steam trains are 
arranged in such a variety of ways, that they possess no 
general character, whereas the old fashioned sugar train 
is the same ‘ts it was fifty years ago, with a few slight 
alterations, and of this alone, shall I give a description ; 
for, after all, when properly managed, it is as good as 
the other for “‘ Muscovado” sugar, and much more avail- 
able in many situations. 


SETTING THE TRAIN. 


The latest and most improved method of setting a 
train, is as follows: First, suppose a straight flue, say 
forty feet long, one end entering the great chimney, and 
the other end supplied with furnace, grate bars, ash pit, 
and an opening, with or without doors, for pushing in 
the bagasse used for fuel. This flue runs along one of the 
side walls of the building, so that the mouth of the fur- 
nace is outside; the flue is so arranged that the upper 
edges of the pans, when set, shall stand about two feet, 
or thirty inches, above the floor of the boiling house; 
this puts the furnace uncer ground, so an area, as it 
were, is cut round that side of the house, into which the 
dry bagasse, for fuel, is discharged from a cart which 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 89 


brings it from the bagasse house. It thus lies convenient 
to be picked up by the fireman, and pushed, by the arm 
full, into the furnace mouth. 

The pans are arranged in a line along this flue, ex- 
cepting the oblong sheet iron or copper defecators ; these 
come last, and stand side by side. The flue, before 
reaching them, spreads, and is divided by party walls 
into three parts or parallel flues, each the size of the 
main flue; each of these passages is supplied with a 
sliding damper, hung and balanced by a weight, so that 
the fire on its way to the great chimney may be shut off 
from one or other of them at will, by dropping the damper 
in front of it. The center flue has nothing over it, and 
is the regular course the fire would take in going direct 
to the chimney. Over the other two flues the defecators 
are set, so that by dropping the damper in the middle 
flue, and raising one of the side ones, the fire is turned 
aside, and passing under the defecator, the damper of 
which has been raised, heats its contents, It may then 
be turned under the other by the same means. When 
both are heated, the fire may be shut off at the instant, 
and allowed to follow its old course to the chimney. 

It is well to understand the proper setting of these 
defecators, as on them, in a great measure, depends the 
success of future operations. The flue is so built as to 
allow the defecators, which are shallow, never over 
eighteen or twenty inches deep, to discharge their con- 
tents, by a pipe, into the first “clarifier,” which is dis- 
tant sufficiently to allow of a free passage between it 
and the defecators; these have a platform of stone or 
brick around them, to allow a man to walk about and 


90 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


remove the scum and feculencies. Hach defecator ought 
to contain as much as the clarifier into which it dis- 
charges itself. 


CLARIFIERS. 


The first and second clarifiers are two iron pans set 
deep in the brick work, which is lined with light sheet 
copper; so as to add to the size of the pans, a sort of gut- 
ter surrounds these two. The second, which may be a 
little the smallest, should stand about two inches higher 
than the first, so that when it overflows in boiling, its 
contents may be able to flow back into the first kettle, 
but none from the first flow forward into it; the gutter 
which surrounds these two isolates them from the two 
next pans, and has an opening on one side leading toa 
scum, or overflow kettle, set alongside the train and fur- 
nished with a pump, but has no fire under it, being 
merely intended as a recipient for the scum and feculen- 
cies which have not been entirely removed in the 
defecator, and which are swept and skimmed from these 
two pans during rapid ebullition. The overflow is 
pumped back into the clarifiers as soon as it settles, by 
the pump referred to. The peculiar arrangement of the 
the gutter, it is almost impossible to describe without 
diagrams. 


EVAPORATORS. 


Next to the second clarifier comes the first evaporator, 
placed deep in the brick work, and having a sort of curb 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 91 


or collar of ight copper, riveted to its rim; this flares 
considerably, and comes clear up to the level of the 
brick work, which arrangement nearly doubles the 
capacity of the vessel, and allows of the rise of the fluid 
and froth during the strong ebullition which occurs in 
this pan. 

Last, and directly over the furnace, is placed the “ ta- 
cho,” or teach, arranged precisely like the preceding, but 
its copper curb raised an inch or an inch and a half higher ; 
so that should it boil over, the syrup might run back 
into the evaporator, while the thinner liquor of the 
evaporator, should it in turn boil over, could not run for- 
ward into it. 

Lastly, the kettles being all set, the brick work is coy- 
ered with a board frame work, like a billiard table or 
bagatelle board, only the edges are not so high. Holes 
are cut for the various pans, and the whole covered 
nicely with light sheet copper; the purpose of this 
arrangement being, that suppose all the kettles to boil 
over, one after the other, or all at once, the overflow from 
the teach would run down the inclined plane into the 
evaporator, the overflow from the evaporator would 
run in turn into the second clarifier, and this into the first, 
which would relieve itself into the scum kettle. 

Leading from the juice pan of the mill—which, for 
convenience, should be raised high enough, to give the 
necessary inclination—a wooden canal conveys the juice, 
and delivers it into a wooden “juice receiver,” sometimes 
lined with copper or lead, placed somewhere near but 
above the level of the defecators, to one or other of which 
a connection may be made by a moveable trough, or suit- 


92, THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE, 


able pipes. This receiver should hold sufficient to fill 
both clarifiers, as well as the evaporator and teach, al- 
though, except at the start, 1t is only required to supply 
the two defecators. 


THE TRAIN AT WORK. 


Suppose now that the juice tank is full, the movable 
wooden gutter is directed to each pan in succession, and 
fills them all nearly full of juice. The fire is lighted and 
the train is started; when the juice gets a little warm, a 
small portion of shell lime, or cream of lime, is added, 
according as the judgment of the sugar master may dic- 
tate, in order to neutralize the free acid present in the 
juice, and assist in coagulating the vegetable albumen, 
which has been expressed from the canes along with the 
juice, by the action of the mill. As the heat increases, 
this forms .a thick scum, which is taken off as fast as it 
rises, by a skimmer, while the froth is beaten down by a 
long wooden instrument, like a cavalry saber on a large 
scale, the handle being prolonged two or three feet. 

Ebullition soon commences all over the train, but, of 
course, most rapidly in those kettles nearest the furnace, 
and which are, besides, the smallest. As the juice re- 
duces in the teach, it is supplied by bailing from the 
evaporator into it, which in turn receives from the second 
clarifier, while the first is filled up from the defecator. 
This is the mode of starting the train, but owing to the 
kettles being all empty at the beginning, the juice has 
had no regular defecation, and in consequence, should the 
first strike not turn out well, little anxiety is felt by the 
planter. 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. GS 


So far, neither of the defecators have come into play, 
enough juice has been collected in the receiver to fill one 
of them. The cock of the receiver is opened, and while 
it is running in, the sugar master takes a little of the 
juice in a glass, and tests it with litmus paper, which, 
from a deep blue, changes in an instant to a deep red, 
when dipped into the juice, should an excess of acid be 
present. The juice is always acid, more or less, therefore 
the question is not whether he will add lime or not, but 
how much. Having before prepared lime water, or mixed 
some cream lime on the spot, the damper being raised, and 
the fire playing on the bottom of the defecator, he stirs in 
small portions of the lime water or cream of lime, till the 
litmus paper, which at first became bright red on being 
immersed, now shows only a faint rose color. Here he 
stops, the juice is nearly neutral, neither too acid nor too 
alkaline, requiring but heat to make a good defecation, 
or separation of its albuminous and other feculencies, 
which, as the heat increases, rise to the top in the form of 
a thick, dirty crust, leaving the clear juice underneath. 
The moment the first signs of ebullition are perceived, 
the damper is let down, and the juice allowed to rest for 
fifteen or twenty minutes, when it may be drawn off un- 
derneath, clear and bright, leaving the dirty scum to be 
cleaned out when the defecator is washed for the next 
charge. After the train has been started, one or other 
of the defecators is always full, while the other is being 
cleaned out, and so on during the crop. 

Figure 7, represents the section of a train, such 
as has been described, viz., four pans and two defe- 
cators. 


asc 

eee 

i oe 
Se 


—o 
eet 
(Long J , 


\ i oS eo x 


‘NIVUL AUVNIGHYO NV 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 95 


A is the defecator, B the first clarifier, C the second 
ditto, D evaporator, E teach, strike pan, or second evapo- 
rator, F the damper of the defecator, G a small ridge in 
the frame of the train, to prevent the concentrated juice 
from the evaporator and teach, in cases of overflow, run- 
ning back to the clarifiers; H is the furnace, [III the 
flue leading to the general chimney. 

The following cut (Figure 8) shows a transverse section 
of the train, to illustrate the setting of the pans: 


When once the train is started it goes on night and 
day, with an occasional stoppage of a day, now and 
then, to wash up, clear out the juice tanks and gutters, 
and do any little repairs that may be necessary, as well 
also as to give the negroes a holiday, which at this time 
they employ in sleep; not getting too much of the latter 
while crops last, especially if sugar is high, and it is an 
object to get it soon to market. 

Belonging to every estate there are a few old hands 
experienced in sugar-boiling, who can make just as good 
a strike of sugar as any sugar master, and to them is in- 
trusted the operations of the “battery,” with the sugar 


96 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


master to overlook them. But, it may be said, if these 
negroes boil so well, why employ a sugar master at so 
much expense every year? The fact is, there is no 
dependence to be placed on the negro, for just at the most 
critical point when the sugar ought to be “struck” into 
the cooler it is very probable, if left to themselves, they 
would lie down and go to sleep, not from fatigue, but 
laziness, or thoughtlessness, and yet they take consider- 
able interest in their owner’s concerns. 

At the commencement of crop, when the first strike 
is nearly finished, all the interest of the sugar-house cen- 
ters in the lazy, rich, golden fluid in the teach, which has 
ceased to froth or bubble, and from which the steam is 
now escaping in short puffs. The old negro, who has 
probably boiled at that train for twenty years, and knows 
exactly how the juice of the estate works, after taking a 
little of the syrup between his finger and thumb, and 
watching what string it made, informs the sugar master 
that the sugar is ready to strike into the coolers. He, 
who probably has never boiled on the estate before, and 
has yet to learn how its juice must be treated, has wisely 
left the matter in the hands of the negro. However, it 
will not do to let Sambo suppose that he knows more 
than his master. So the sugar master, who knows that 
half a minute will not make much difference, delays the 
strike for that time, pulls out his watch, if he has one, 
looking very wise, and at length consents to let Pancho 
or Pedro adjust the gutter, from the kettle to the cooler 
ten feet distant, and discharge the pan. ‘The fireman is 
bawled to to stop the fire, and the sugar is bailed into the 
gutter to be conducted to the cooler. 


SUGAR: AND SUGAR MAKING. 97 


The annexed cuts represent the appliances for skim- 
ming, dipping, bailing, and striking. 

Figure 9 is the common dipper, used for almost all the 
purposes of handling small portions of juice or syrup. 

Figure 10 is the .bailing dipper, holding five or six 
gallons, and used to remove the charge of one kettle into 
another, as also to strike the charge into the coolers. 

Figure 11 represents the ordinary skimmer, for remoy- 
ng the scum from the clarifiers. 


Til COOLERS. 


These coolers are generally oblong wooden troughs, 
made of two inch pine wood, ten feet long, five feet broad, 
and ten to twelve inches deep. They are set parallel 
with the train in a double row, six in each row. Each 
cooler holds three “strikes,” which are not made one 
over the other directly, but as follows: three strikes are 
made in three separate coolers, then commencing with 
the first again. This is to give the first strike an oppor- 
tunity to cool. While the sugar is cooling, the sugar 
master takes a light wooden instrument, like a small rake 
without teeth, and hauls it up and down the cooler so as 
to agitate the mass and promote crystallization; once 


5 


98 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


after each strike is often enough to do this, and in a few 
hours the sugar ought to set, or grain. 

On the second or third day it is usual to empty the 
coolers; two big stout negroes, bare all but a “breech 
clout,” get into them with shovels, and dig out the sugar: 
not so easy a job, now that the crystal has got set. A 
dozen women get their small copper basins or tubs 
filled with the melado, or unpurged sugar, and carry it 
on their heads to the purging house, where hogsheads, 
with holes duly perforated in the bottom, have been pre- 
pared beforehand. They empty their basins into the 
nearest until it is full, and so on to the next. 


PURGING. 


The sugar when it goes into the cooler, is a dark, 
brown-looking substance, being composed of sugar and 
molasses, mixed in the proportion of say sixty of the for- 
mer to forty of the latter. This, when put into a hogs- 
head with a perforated bottom, soon begins to drip or 
purge, provided the place be moderately warm. The 
floor of the purging house is nothing more than joists 
without boards, while underneath is a large tank or tanks 
of wood or concrete, to receive the molasses as it drops 
down as the hogshead purges. The sugar settles, and 
this has to be supplied by fresh additions either of 
purged sugar from other hogsheads, or by more melado 
from the coolers. After about thirty days, it is headed 
up, and taken out of the purging house, and either put 
into the storehouse, or, with another hogshead on a bul- 
lock-cart, it is sent to the nearest seaport. 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 99 


THE CLAYING PROCESS, 


On some estates only a portion of the sugar is made 
into Muscovado, which is the process I have been de- 
scribing. Tio make “clayed” sugar requires a little dif- 
ferent treatment; it is a follows: 

Conical moulds, of tin, zine, or sheet iron, with an aper- 
ture at the small end, are provided—for large estates to 
the extent of many thousands. These are set on the 
floor of the purging house, on perforated boards, which 
receive the small end and keep them upright. The aper- 
ture at the bottom, which is three quarters of an inch to 
one inch wide, is stopped either with a piece of wood pre- 
pared for the purpose, or, as is often done, a joint of cane 
is used asa plug. The sugar, being boiled a little stiffer 
than if intended for the cooler, is first put into a wooden 
box running on wheels, rather deep and long, in which 
it is agitated with a short oar for some time, until it has 
cooled somewhat, and crystals have begun to form. It 
is then jilled into the moulds, the box being wheeled 
alongside of them. These moulds contain from eighty to 
one hundred and twenty pounds of hot sugar. In a day 
or two, when the sugar master considers that the con- 
tents of the moulds are well crystallized, the plugs are 
removed, and the molasses soon begins to separate from 
the crystals and run out. The operator to hasten this, 
however, and, as it were, to wash the crystals as clean as 
possible, gets some good porous clay, mixes it well into 
a thin, creamy paste with water, and pours it over the 
top of the sugar in the mould. ‘Tne clay remains on the 
top of the sugar, while it allows the water to percolate 


100 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


down through the loaf, and thus wash the crystals free 
from their mother liquor, or molasses.. When the water 
has all left, the clay may be lifted off the mould like a 
large brown cake of gingerbread, without soiling the 
hands or injuring the sugar. This is what is termed 
‘“claying,” and produces the “clayed” sugar of com- 
merce. 

If the sugar is desired to be very white, claying may 
be repeated two or three times, but each time at the ex- 
pense of the crystal, which is washed away just in pro- 
portion as the sugar whitens. When well purged, the 
sugar is got out of the moulds by knocking them upside 
down on a clean floor. The loaf of sugar will be found 
of three grades—white at the top, yellow in the middle, 
and brown towards the bottom, whilst the tip or extreme 
end remains a “magma” of sugar and molasses. 


DRYING—BOXING—SHIPPING TO MARKET. 


As the moulds are knocked out, the different grades of 
sugar are separated, by breaking the loaves across by a 
blow with a machéte, which is the instrument of all work 
in the hands of the negro; the broken loaves of sugar are 
then either passed between rollers, or pounded with mal- 
lets, to break up its consistence. After which, it is either 
spread over hot tiles, in a room prepared for the purpose, 
with fires underneath, or exposed, on boards, to the rays 
of the sun. Here it is dried to powder, and afterward 
packed in oblong boxes of rough pine board, held 
together by strips of raw hide; which being nailed on 
the box when moist, contract on drying, and bind the 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 101 


box together in the firmest manner. These are what are 
oO 
known in trade as “boxed” or “clayed” sugars. and are 
} 
much sought after by refiners. 


CATTLE MILL, 


Besides the many sugar mills which are driven 
by steam engines, there are a large number of the 
original vertical cattle mills, with wooden frames, still 
in use, in situations where water is scarce, or the crop 
does not justify the expense of steam machinery. One 
of these is represented at Figure 12. 


A B Care the vertical iron rollers, and E the spout con- 
ducting the juice from the pan to the canal or gutter 


102 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


leading to the juice tank. In cattle mills this gutter is 
put under ground, so that the cattle may pass over it 
without obstruction. Attached to the upper part of the 
center roller may be seen a cast iron cross-head with 
sockets, into which wooden bars are fitted, to which are 
harnessed the oxen, mules, or horses, as the case may be. 
Large mills of this kind, require sixteen oxen. 

The frame of the mill being of wood, it necessarily 
gives somewhat to the extreme strain upon it, conse- 
quently the canes are never so thoroughly crushed as 
with the iron frame mill, but the juice, though less 
in quantity, is invariably better in quality. The reason 
for this is, that the tissues of the cane not being so com- 
pletely broken up, as in the former case, less of the 
albuminous and extractive matter is obtained in the 
operation ; the juice is purer, clarifies easily, and makes 
very bright sugar, commanding an advanced price. It 
is a question, however, whether the advance in price 
which such sugar generally commands, makes up for the 
loss in the quantity of the juice, which the employment 
of the cattle mill necessarily entails. 


SMALL TWO ROLLER MILL. 


A small two roller vertical mill, suitable for farmers 
planting one or two acres of sorgho, and which may be driy- 
en by two men, or one horse or mule is shown at Figure 
13. This little mill is fastened securely in the ground by 
means of its uprights, which renders it convenient for 
farmers. 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 103 


STEAM TRAIN. 


Hitherto I have only treated of sugar trains which 
evaporate over the naked fire, but there are a large num- 
ber of the more extensive estates where steam is employ- 
ed throughout, while there are others where the two 
systems are united. I shall finish my remarks on sugar 
boiling, therefore, by a brief notice of these methods. 

_ [have observed, with others,that nearly the whole of the 
color imparted to cane juice in the act of boiling over the 
naked fire, is received in the two last pans, after the fluid 
has become comparatively dense, and retaining but little 
water to carry off the heat. Steam does not discolor the 
sugar nearly so much as fire, therefore steam trains have 
been extensively adopted, and great expense has fre- 
quently been incurred in altering the arrangement of the 


104 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


boiling-house to suit the new regime. A steam train will 
cost twice as much to run and keep in order as a com- 
mon train will, to say nothing of first expense; therefore, 
to make use of only so much of the steam train as is 
absolutely necessary to effect the end required must be 
an object. 

Cane juice, containing the large proportion of water 
which it does, until it is evaporated to 30° or 82° of 
Beaumé’s saccharometer, remains so lively and changes 
its position so readily in the pan, in the act of boiling 


over the naked fire, that no danger of discoloration need 
be feared, till it reaches the stage referred to; here, how- 
ever, it should be changed to the steam pans and 
finished. 

I think the reasons given are sufficient for retaining 
the old and inexpensive train, for the purpose of evapo- 
rating the juice to 30° B., after which the process may be 
continued in suitable pans having coils of copper steam 
pipe in the bottom, as represented in section at Figure 14. 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 105 


Or “ McCracken’s Patent Evaporator’”’ may be employed 
in place of the worm or coil. These evaporators have 
the property of boiling with immense rapidity, requiring 
comparatively low pressure of steam, say 80 lbs. to the 
square inch, thus uniting in themselves those properties 
which constitute the best sugar apparatus, viz., great 
speed with low temperature. With the ordinary coil, 75 
and 100 lbs. are the usual figures. ‘This system is shown 
at Figure 15, of which A A is the pan, of iron or copper ; 


Fig. £5. 


B, the evaporator, consisting of a case, or cylinder, full 
of tubes, into which the steam enters, and surrounds the 
tubes; Cisthe steam pipe from the boiler; D the condense 
water pipe, and KH the cock where the sugar is discharged. 
By means of this system the pipes are surrounded by the 
steam, instead of surrounding or containing it, as in the 
old way ; and so the juice flows into those pipes both at 
5x 


106 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


top and bottom. It will be perceived that the whole 
force of the steam is applied to small portions or columns 
of liquor at atime; thus an immediate evaporation takes 
place almost as soon as the steam enters the tube cylin- 
der, while all danger of overheating is avoided, by the 
well known tendency of liquids to rise when heated. 
A current sets up through the tubes, the cooler portion 
entering below, heating as it rises, and flowing out at the 
top, until, when the whole mass gets thoroughly heated, 
the juice in ebullition takes the form of a fountain, and 
vaporization goes on with wonderful rapidity. This pan 
is fast coming into favor, and that it will ultimately su- 
persede all other methods of open evaporation by steam, 
is the opinion of planters who have it in use. 


BOILING IN VACUO. 


Besides the preceding, there is yet another method of 
evaporating, the apparatus for which is more complicated 
and expensive than either of the others; this is boiling 
‘in vacuo,” and was invented by Lord Howard, a scien- 
tific Englishman, many years ago. Socomplete was the 
apparatus he adopted, that, with a few minor: additions, 
his pan remains in principle unaltered to this day. 

The principle involved in the vacuum pan is that by 
which watery liquids may be made to vaporize in a 
vacuum at a much lower temperature than in the open 
air. ‘Thus, water boils in the open air at 212°, while in 
vacuo the same takes place at 90°. Advantage is taken 
of this in sugar boiling to extract the water from solutions 
of sugar at a low temperature, and so preserve its color. 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 107 


The vacuum pan is merely a closed metallic vessel, hav- 
ing a coil of steam pipe in the bottom, and a condenser 
to condense the steam as fast as it rises, while an air- 
pump removes the atmospheric pressure and water of 
condensation. ‘This pan is shown in elevation at Fig. 
16, of which A is the pan; B, the belt; C, the cover, or 


i 
{ oO) OO 7 
) > | 
E C 
ros © 3 
H 


fig. 1. 


dome; D, the cap and collar; E, the condenser, to which 
a cold water pipe is attached at K, while the condenser 
~ discharges at L, connecting by another pipe with the air 
pump, which is worked by water power or steam engine. 
Fis the discharge valve, or gate; G, a barometer, to 
show the extent of the vacuum, and a thermometer to 
indicate the heat of the pan; H is an eye glass, another 
being on the opposite side of the dome, for the purpose 
of observing the ebullition of the “charge;” Tis a small 
cup-faucet, or grease-cock, to introduce a little oil when 


108 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


it is required to check the froth in the pan, serving also 
to admit air when the sugar is ready to be discharged; 
J is the proof-stick, by which a small quantity of sugar 
may be withdrawn from the pan at pleasure, so that the 
operator may know, from time to time, how the charge is 
progressing. 

The method of operating with the vacuum pan to best 
advantage on a sugar estate, is to boil the sugar as I 
have before advised in the old train, till it reaches a 
density of 30° or 82° Beaumé, after which, introduce 
and boil in vacuo to the crystallizing point. It 
would be too tedious, as well as too expensive, to boil 
down raw cane juice in this way. Rellieux, however, 
by means of three closed pans, operates on the raw juice 
in this way; with what economy I cannot say, never 
having examined the process thoroughly. His train is 
very costly, of course. 

Unlike boiling in the open air, owing to its low tem- 
perature, granulation, to a considerable extent, takes 
place in the vacuum pan, if the operation be properly 
conducted, and the vacuum well preserved, to do which, 
hike everything else, requires practice in the operator. 
The sugar, when discharged, instead of resembling thick 
syrup, as it would if boiled in the open pan, resembles 
thin mortar, being full of grain, and requiring but a 
slight decrease of temperature to become solid. 


THE FRENCH BASCULE PAN. 


At figure 17, I give a representation of the old French 
Bascule pan, which was superseded by Howard’s process. 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 109 


For the purpose of evaporating sorgho juice, on a limited 


scale, I think it would do good service; the fire only 
strikes the bottom, and the syrup, or sugar, is discharged 
at a moment’s notice. I should recommend it to such 
farmers as do not intend putting up a full train. 


BAG FILTERS, 


Where white pure sugar is wanted direct from the cane, 
a refining process is required, similar to that employed in 
refineries in the city. The cane juice, after defecation and 
clarification, at a density of 12° or 13° B. or even as 
high as 24° or 25° B., is run through bag filters, which are 
made of a peculiar kind of cotton duck; they consist, 
simply, of a large bag, usually a yard wide, and five or 
six feet long. This is gathered together closely, and 
drawn through a sheath of the same length, (like a cut 
of leather hose pipe, only made of porous flax bagging,) 


110 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


the open end of the cotton bag being all “ puckered up,” 
is tied on to a brass tube, which, being fitted with a 
screw, is screwed into a small shallow cast iron or 
wooden tank, large enough to contain twenty-five to 
fifty of these brass tubes; the tank, besides serving to 
hang the filters, (which hang like so many sausages,) 
serves to contain the syrup which is to pass through the 
tubes into the bags, through which it percolates, and 
emerges clear and bright, free from feculencies and ex- 
traneous matters, and ready for the carbon filters. 


BONE BLACK FILTERS. 


These latter are large square or circular sheet iron 
tanks, which should be at least five feet in diameter, and 
six or eight feet deep. These have a false bottom per- 
forated with holes; over this a blanket is laid, and the 
tank filled up evenly with animal charcoal or bone black. 
A small air-tube generally runs from beneath the false 
bottom to the top. Over the top of the bone black the 
bag-filtered liquor is permitted to flow, which soon filters 
down through the false bottom; the cock of the filter is 
then opened, and the first running kept apart, being 
black and smutty from the small particles of charcoal 
dust which it contains. This is thrown on again at the 
top to be refiltered. The stream, however, soon runs 
clear, and, according to the length of time the syrup is 
left in contact with the bone black, does the decoloriza- 
tion sought for take place. If the stream be kept small 
the liquor may be drawn off colorless as water, and so 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 114 


darker, in proportion to the speed with which it is run 
off. 

Filtering in this way is a very expensive process even 
in large cities where labor is cheap, the bone black requir- 
ing to be reburned as soon as it has filtered three times 
its own weight of sugar. I would not, therefore, advise 
the use of filters on a sugar estate or farm; the true 
policy of which ought to be to make good Muscovado, 
and leave refining to the cities, where all the facilities 
exist for doing it to advantage, and with an economy 
which the planter or farmer may seek in vain to imitate. 
The syrup, after passing through the filters, is ready for 
the vacuum pan. 

In the preceding remarks on the various apparatus for, 
and processes of, manufacturing sugar, I have not at- 
tempted clothing my subject with any of the elegances 
of language, but more to convey in as simple a manner 
as possible the information required, in the hope that it 
might assist in developing a new branch of industry in 
the community, and so add to the wealth and prosperity 
of the country at large. 


GROUND PLAN FOR SUGAR ESTATE BUILDINGS. 


The following cut represents the ground-plan of build- 
ings for a sugar estate, with the engine house, boiling 
house, cooling and purging house, arranged on a combi- 
nation of the best features, gathered from various sugar 
estates of Louisiana and Cuba: 

As will be seen in the cut, the engine house, boiling 
house, and cooling and purging house, are all built sepa- 


112 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


==) 


* 
— 


[‘sor ‘d 009 ‘uonsunldxy 10,7] 
‘TLV.LSA UVYDNOS WOL SONIGTIIOG JO NVId GNOOUD 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. ite 


rate, with a space between each; the gable walls of these 
buildings ought to have no windows, and the doors com- 
municating should be of iron, so that in case any one of 
the buildings caught fire, the conflagration would be con- 
fined to the place where it originated, and thus the valu- 
able stock or machinery in the other buildings be saved. 


CHEAP AND SIMPLE PROCESS FOR MAKING SUGAR OR SYRUP ON A 
SMALL SCALE. 


For the benefit of a large class whose facilities or incli- 
nations have this year induced them only to plant a 
small patch of Chinese Sugar Cane, by way of experi- 
ment, yet who, nevertheless, are desirous of making a 
trial of syrup or sugar making on their own account, 
without waiting for the voluminous reports which will 
be forthcoming at the end of the season, I subjoin the 
following description of a process by which, at a trifling 
expense, both syrup and sugar may be manufactured in 
a small way for family use, by any farmer or householder 
who has but a few canes growing in his garden, and 
which may be applied to any operation on from five to 
twenty-five gallons of juice. 

- Of course, the first thing is to permit the sorgho to 
fully ripen, as in that condition it makes the best syrup, 
and will be free from the grassy flavor complained of in 
previous experiments. This, as has been previously 
said, 1s known by the seeds becoming black and hard. 
When fully ripe, then, with acorn-cutter, a large carving 
knife, or, what is better, a small hatchet, cut the canes off 
close to the roots, strip off their leaves as far as the joints 


114 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


extend, and chop off the rest of the stalk, saving the 
seeds for future planting, if the cane proves to be of good 
quality ; if not, give them to the chickens. 

The next thing is to extract the juice from the stalks 
or canes. ‘This must be done by pressing them between 
rollers. If there is a cider mill on the premises, it will 
be all-sufficient; pass them through it just as you would 
crush apples, catching the juice in some clean vessel with 
as few chips or dirt in it as possible. 


A VERY CHEAP MILL. 


If there be no cider mill in the neighborhood, you 
must make a shift to construct one yourself, or get the 
nearest carpenter to do so; nothing but wood being re- 
quired for all you have to do. The way to go about it 
is as follows: Choose some straight pieces of maple, or 
any hard wood, twelve or fourteen inches across, and 
saw one piece off thirty inches long, and the other forty- 
eight inches. These are to make your two rollers, and 
as nearly round as you can get the log, so much less 
trouble will there be to fashion the work. Having got 
your wood, take the blocks to the nearest carpenter, and 
tell him to make you two journals on the ends of the 
shortest piece, two and a half inches less in diameter than 
the block will be when made perfectly round. If he has 
a turning lathe he will be able to do it all in a couple of 
hours. Let him make the axles or journals seven inches 
long each. You have now one roller finished; the other 
is like it, only after making a journal on one end, he 
measures along the same length as the other roller, which 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 115 


will be sixteen inches, and then cuts znito the block 
another journal like the others, leaving beyond it 
eighteen inches of sound wood to spare, of the same girth 
or diameter as the roller part. Through this eighteen 
inches that you have left over, cut a square hole or 
socket, large enough to put a good stiff wooden lever in 
or through it, so that when your rollers are set up on end 
in a frame, like a windlass, you can walk round with the 
lever, and so turn the mill. If there is a blacksmith in 
the neighborhood, it would be well to get him to put 
an iron hoop above and below the lever hole or socket, 
to prevent the strain, which will be considerable, from 
splitting the top. You have now the rollers complete ; 
the next step is to make the frame that holds them 
together. ‘l'ake two pieces of timber, nine feet long and 
nine inches square, if you have them; if not, round, 
barked timber will do; dig two holes in the ground six 
feet deep and four feet apart wherever you wish your 
mill to stand. Putthe posts into them, and fill the earth 
in again, beating it down so as to hold these uprights as 
stiff and immovable as possible. These are the supports 
of your mill, and have to bear all the strain, so you must 
see that they are strong and firm. Now, getaslab of 
wood, six feet long, sixteen inches broad, and eight 
inches thick, set your two rollers on it, standing upright, 
and close together; mark the two holes for the lower 
journals, and cut them out six inches deep. You must 
now cut a couple of notches at the ends of the slab, fit 
these notches between the two posts, and pin them tight. 
Now you have the bed plate of your mill. Set the 
rollers upright on it, with the journals in the holes you 


116 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


have cut for them, and proceed to fit the upper frame 
plate in the same way, except that it must be made in 
two halves, owing to the socket part where the lever 
goes preventing your slipping it over both journals, as 
was done in the other case. For the upper frame plate, 
taking two pieces, six feet long, nine inches broad, and 
seven inches thick, fit them nicely together round the 
journals, and fix as before. ‘To keep the two pieces from 
spreading when the strain comes, either clamp them to- 
gether with wooden clamps and wedges, or hold them 
together with a dovetail tie. The mill is now complete; 
put in the lever, and you are ready to crush the canes. 
Cut a small gutter round the roller in the wood of the 
bed plate, leading to a spout, to prevent the juice from 
running all round and being lost. The above need not 
cost a farmer ten dollars where wood is plenty, is suf- 
ficiently strong, and will crush a hundred gallons of juice 
per day, if required. 

Of course, it will be understood that a mill like that 
described above, is merely a make-shift for experiment- 
ing with, for you could only get one half the juice by it, 
that an iron one of the same construction would yield. 
Another mill, of simple construction, is figured on the 
following page, and is the one used by Colonel Peters in 
his syrup making experiments of last season. Instead 
of being made of wood, the rollers are cast iron. 


ORUSHING OUT THE JUICE. 


Having brought your canes to the mill, and adjusted 
your lever, either let a man walk round with it, or 
attach a horse or pony. Pass the canes through, two at 


a 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 117 


—— iF 
| === || } 
mi) | 


il 


HA ig Pees Hees r 


il 


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ii 


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| 


a time, till you have suffic ent juice for a boiling, say 
ten gallons or fifteen gallons; which should be crushed 
out in half an hour. Now build a fire-place with stones, 
or set up two forked poles, ant put another across, on 
which sling your pot, which may be of sheet tin, but had 
better be of cast iron. Let it hold, say ten gallons. Get 
asmall tin skimmer at a tinsmith’s shop, and you are 
prepared to commence boiling. 


BOILING AND CLARIFYING. 
Everything being ready, slack a teacup full of lime, 
mix it to the consistency of cream, and set it by for use. 
Light your fire, with charcoal if you have it, for it makes 


118 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


no smoke, but if you have none, use dry kindling wood. 
If possible, so arrange your rude fire-place as to let the 
fire reach no more than half way up the sides of the 
pot. Put five or six gallons of juice into the pot, set it 
on the fire, and when it becomes milk warm, add one 
large tablespoonful of the cream of lime, and mix it 
thoroughly through the juice. Now take the whites of 
two fresh eggs, beat them up with a teacupful of the 
juice from the pot, and when thoroughly mixed, pour 
back, and stir them well through the mass, bring it to 
the boil as soon as possible, but the moment you see the 
first signs of boiling, lift the pot off the fire; set it on the 
ground, and let it remain quiet for fifteen or twenty 
minutes. You will have perceived that after adding the 
cream of lime and eggs, as the simmering went on, a 
thick scum began to rise; this you must not disturb, but 
allow to gather on the top, till you take the pot from the 
fire as directed, and allow it to settle fifteen or twenty 
minutes. At the end of this time, carefully remove the 
scum, and you will find if you have carefully followed 
these directions, that the juice has become clear and 
bright, ready to boil down to the consistence you require, 
whether of syrup or sugar. Having removed the scum, 
empty the contents of your pot into some clean vessel, 
which have convenient. Fill up your pot again with the 
raw juice, and proceed as before. ‘This is the process of 
clarifying or defecating, and is absolutely necessary, if 
you do not wish to have a dark, dirty syrup, tasting of 
cane stalks, and almost unfit for use. 

After clarifying and skimming the second pot full, as 
directed, set it back on the fire, and boil down as rapidly 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 119 


as possible. As the quantity reduces by boiling, keep 
adding fresh juice from the first clarification, so as not to 
let the syrup get too low in the pot, or it will get burned. | 
If any scum rises, remove it with your skimmer; and 
by following these directions, you cannot fail to make 
good syrup. 

The preceding remarks suppose that you have only one 
pot to operate with; but it is very much better to have 
two, as it will save twenty minutes’ time, and fuel, with 
each kettle of syrup you make; because, as I have shown, 
you have to wait twenty minutes after taking the pot from 
the fire, to allow the scum to rise and settle; so, if you 
have not another pot full of fresh juice to put on, it is 
so much time and fire wasted. With two pots in use, 
you replace the first on the fire as soon as you take the 
other off, and proceed to boil down. 


SYRUP OF EXTRA QUALITY. 


Should you wish to make a very extra syrup for table 
use, get a flannel bag, of almost any shape, sufficient to 
hold two or three gallons, and filter the juice through it 
after you have skimmed it, then boil down as before. 


HOW TO KNOW WHEN THE JUICE IS BOILED ENOUGH. 


It is a matter of importance with those who have never 
boiled syrup to know when the juice is boiled enough. 
There being nothing like experiments, I would advise 
such to procure a cup full of molasses, heat it, and taking 
up a small quantity on a spoon, to watch how it runs 


120 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


down, and when the drops come, how they elongate and 
break in the middle, the upper half springing back with 
a jerk, and the lower forming a ball and falling into the 
cup again. Three cents in money, and the expenditure 
of five minutes’ time in this way, will go farther in edu- 
cating the eye to a good judgment, than an elaborate 
series of directions. 

I will give one other method, however, of knowing 
when syrup is cooked enough. Dip your skimmer into 
the boiling liquid, take it out and allow the syrup to run 
off it; afew drops will remain on the edge, falling at in- 
tervals. If these break with a long string between, which 
at the break jerks back to the dipper again, and which 
when taken between the finger and thumb feels lke 
molasses, it is fair to suppose your syrup is sufficiently 
boiled, and you may take it from the fire. 


REDUCING TO SUGAR. 


For making sugar, it will be necessary to boil this 
same syrup down till the steam escapes from it in little 
puffs, and when the skimmer is dipped into it, the fall- 
ing drops break short and fall solid. These simple tests, 
and perhaps a few failures, will enable one to make good 
sugar. When enough has been boiled, pour it into a 
wooden box or tub to cool slowly, standing it in a warm 
place. Let the box be large enough to allow of the 
sugar standing only 14 inches deep; boil another lot, 
and pour over the top of the first, and a third over the 
top of the second, mix them all together, and allow the 
contents to cool. If, by the next morning, there should 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 121 


be no signs of crystals, take a handful of raw sugar and 
stir it in; in all probability it will start crystallization ; 
but if it should not do so immediately, do not despair, for 
it may stand for an entire fortnight, and then suddenly 
strike into sugar. 

The above simple and valuable directions have been 
kindly furnished for this work by an experienced sugar 
boiler, and will recommend themselves to those who de- 
sire to experiment in sugar making on a limited scale. 

To give my readers some idea of the amount of capital 
requisite to carry on the operations of a large sugar plan- 
tation in the State of Louisiana, I will, in concluding this 
chapter, append the following extract from a valuable 
article, written by my friend, Colonel 'l’. B. Thorpe, for 
the November, (1853,) number of Harper’s Magazine: 


REFINERY AND PLANTATION OF ST. JAMES. 


“The tract of land connected with this estate, contains 
nine thousand acres, one thousand five hundred of which 
are under cultivation, and divided as follows: eight 
hundred acres ifi cane; two hundred and ninety-four 
acres in corn; one hundred and fifty acres cultivated by 
the negroes for their own use; ten acres in olives; the 
remainder of the fifteen hundred acres alluded to as un- 
der cultivation, is taken up by potatoes, building lots, 
pasturage, and gardens: remainder of the nine thousand 
acres is in forest, from which is taken the fuel consumed 
in manufacturing and refining, and the timber for the 
casks used in packing the sugar for market. 

“The buildings consist of the proprietor’s dwelling 

6 


122 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


and out-houses; twenty-four negro houses, with veran- 
dahs in front, each cabin is forty feet square, and con- 
tains four rooms, and has a garden and fowl house 
attached; a hospital sixty-four feet square, containing 
seven rooms, and an immense verandah; a nursery fifty 
feet square, store-houses, overseer’s or manager’s house, 
stables containing one hundred stalls, two wood houses, 
each four hundred feet long by one hundred wide; one 
sugar house five hundred and seventy feet long, by 
seventy-five feet wide, thirty-four feet high between the 
floor and ceiling; and a ‘double saw mill.’ 

“The machinery consists of steam saw mills and 
pumping engine at the river for supplying the sugar 
house with water, steam engine of eighty horse power, 
and sugar mill for grinding cane; engines, vacuum pans, 
and a complete apparatus for making and refining 
twenty-five thousand pounds of sugar every twenty-four 
hours direct from the cane juice, and doing this entirely 
by steam. 

“The stock upon the plantation consists of sixty-four 
mules, twelve horses, sixteen oxen, one hundred and 
forty-five sheep, eighty head of cows and ‘beeves,’ two 
hundred and fifteen slaves—among which are one hun- 
dred and seven field hands, two coopers, one blacksmith, 
two engineers, four carpenters, twenty house servants, 
four nurses, eleven old men and women that attend to 
the stables, and sixty-four children under five years of age. 

“The cash expenses of this estate are twenty thousand 
dollars annually, paid to managers, sugar-makers, en- 
gineers, and for food and clothing for the negroes, and 
repairs of machinery and buildings. The weekly rations 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 128 


of each negro are five and a half pounds of mess-pork, 
best quality, with as much meal and potatoes as they 
choose to take—in addition to which every one has his 
pigs and his poultry; for all adults have not only the 
chicken-yard, but also their garden, which they are 
obliged to cultivate for their own benefit—the surplus 
of vegetables and poultry being purchased by their 
master, and paid for in gold and silver, and amounted, 
in the year just past, to one thousand five hundred and 
sixty dollars—this sum not including the money ob- 
tained by sales of poultry, pigs, eggs, and fruits, to 
chance customers. In addition still, the negroes annu- 
ally receive two suits of clothes, two pairs of shoes, a 
blanket, and hat. 

“The value of the estate of St. James, and of its pro- 
ductions for the year 1852, are as follows: 


VALUE OF THE ESTATE. 


Land, 9,000 acres, at $40, - : - $860,000 
Buildings, - - - - - 100,000 
Machinery, -_ - - - - - 60,000 
Slaves, - : - : . - 170,000 
Stock, - - . . . - 11,000 

Total, - - $701,000 


PRODUCTIONS OF THE ESTATE IN 1852, 


Sugar, 1,300,000 lbs., at 6 cts., - - $78,000 
Syrup, 60,000 gallons, at 86 cts. - 21,600 
99,600 


124 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


Brought forward, - - $99,600 
Corn, 9000 barrels for consumption on the es- 
tate; wood: 8000 cords for the engine house. 
Kistimated value j - - - - 14,400 


Total products of the estate, - $114,000 


“This plantation shows the average production of the 
best class of sugar estates in Louisiana, the largest of 
which, in 1852, yielded a revenue of one hundred and 
fifty-two thousand and fifty dollars; but these estates 
increase the value of their products by the aid of costly 
machinery, not used on the ordinary plantations.” 


This article being written four years ago, does not, of 
course, give a true idea of the profits of the same estate 
the present season ; for, whereas the running expenses of 
the estate are about equal to the above, the prices of sugar 
and syrup have greatly increased, and the gross receipts 
must be by so much the same augmented. 


THE NEW SUGAR MILL OF MESSRS. HEDGES, FREE, & CO. 


Messrs. Hedges, Free, & Co., of Cincinnati and Phila- 
delphia, who so kindly forwarded to me the pamphlets 
received by their house from the Honorable John Y. 
Mason, and which have proved so extremely valuable to 
the elaboration of this work, have recently invented a 
three roller vertical mill for expressing the juice of the 
sorgho and imphee, and in reply to a request to furnish 
cuts to illustrate this work, I received the following: 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 125 


“ PHILADELPHIA, August 14th, 1857. 
H. 8. Otcort, 

DEAR S1r,—In reply to your inquiries as regards our 
mills, boilers, &c., for the purpose of expressing and con- 
centrating the juice of the Chinese and African Sugar 
Canes, we take pleasure in saying that the cut we send 
you represents our vertical three-roller horse-power mill, 
that has met with very ready sale here, and at Cincin- 
nati, Ohio. ‘They are so simple of construction that they 
can be set up in a single day by two hands, and are pro- 
vided with aconvenient arrangement for feeding, so as to 
spread the cane over the whole length of the roller 
equally, causing it to pass through in a direct horizontal 
line—a desideratum never before attained, but very es- 
sential to horse-power mills. As we construct our mills 
with iron frame work entirely, we have not only strong 
ones, but durable, and free from the bad effects that must 
result where the juice comes in contact with woodwork. 
We have mills differing in capacity, of the same general 
construction, but greater length of roller. For steam- 
power we furnish mills, with horizontal rollers, arranged 
upon the approved plans of such mills. 

“Our mills vary in prices from $100 to $500. 

-“ We are prepared to furnish pans, clarifiers, filters, 
ladles, skimmers, and all other apparatus and fixtures, 
with diagrams and instructions complete. 

‘Those west of the mountains order from us at Cin- 
nati, Ohio ; those east, from this city. . 

“HEDGES, FREE, & CO., 
“ Office, No. 633 Market Street, Philadelphia.” 


126 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


“s, Hl iN MG . 


VERTICAL THREE ROLLER SUGAR MILL, FOR PRESSING 
CHINESE CANE. 


SUGAR AND SUGAR MAKING. 127 


For the more extensive operations of planters, Mr. 
Hedges has constructed a more powerful mill, a repre- 
sentation of which is given herewith. 


HORIZONTAL THREE ROLLER 
SUGAR MILL FOR PRESSING 
CHINESE CANE. 


ill TL a 


he TMi ill pirat pu 7 eg 
iil ALUN 
oo : |! 
Miz i WBN fy ; 
i Kitab) Wy z AYE Tip Mi oe 
NS ia Ta Al i TNs ee Yr oe 
ES x il way 
\i ills er 
\ ae 
WS f ; ss “7p, 


MACHINE FOR STRIPPING THE SEED. 


The following plan for a sced-stripping machine, offered. 
by Mr. Hedges, is doubtless a close approximation to 
what is needed: 

_ “ For cleaning the seed, we would recommend the use 
of a cylindrical hatchel, or hackel, (often used for broom 
corn,) made of staves turned upon wooden heads, about 
two feet diameter, and of a length to suit the amount to be 
done and power to drive it. For teeth, use large wrought 
spikes, set through the staves before putting on the 
bands. These tecth may be about three inches apart, 
and so distributed as to cover the whole surface in re- 


128 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


volving; cast-iron flange, with stem for journal and 
crank, bolted on the heads; finish cylinder—one four 
feet long would, if turned by two hands, clean fifty to 
seventy-five bushels perday. A plank breastwork should 
be set up for the cleaners to rest their hands on while 
erasping as much as convenient to hold, and the cylinder 
rolling over from them will strip off rapidly all the sced. 
This should be done before the boiling is commenced, so 
that the seed can be mixed into the hot scum taken from 
the clarifier and kettles, which combined, will fatten hogs 
or cattle, beyond doubt, more rapidly than any other feed 
known. The starch in the seed, added to the sugar in 
the scum, must constitute capital food. Should there 
prove to be a surplus, it may be preserved for a consider- 
able time in cisterns well cemented and deep, where fer- 
mentation will be slow; but the mass must be allowed to 
get cool before being put in. Such cisterns will become 
useful for storing the syrup, should it prove profitable as 
an alcohol crop, as they would be cheap and safe reposi- 
tories for it until the season and market demanded it, 
when it could be raised by pump, and with one set of 
casks, hauled away and emptied, returned, and refilled, 
thereby saving much expense for casks. In this manner 
I learn syrups are often kept in the large sugar districts 
of the West Indies.” 


CL Ae Pe Vie 


na BUTE. 


BEST METHODS OF MAKING IT—EXPERIENCE OF AMERICAN GROWERS. 


WuHILst contending chemists have alternately sung 
the praises of, and decried against, the sorgho as a sugar 
producing plant, and opulent sugar refiners have trem- 
bled at the threatened invasion of their accustomed mo- 
nopolies, all have united in the opinion that it is indeed 
a plant capable of affording an abundant and excellent 
crop of syrup. 

The American public received a most unexpected and 
agreeable surprise in the month of October last, by the 
publication of a circular from Colonel Richard Peters, of 
Atlanta, Georgia, which gave the remarkable results he 
had obtained in making syrup from the juice of the 
sorgho. So complete, so triumphant was his success, and 
so full was it of magnificent promise for the future, that 
with one accord it was caught up from press to press and 
scattered to every quarter of the Union. The papers of 
Maine and Texas, of Maryland and Utah, discussed its 
probable importance, and with but little delay Mr. Peters 
became one of the most widely known men of the country. 
The result was, that from that day to this, he is in the 
receipt of a vast number of letters of inquiry, and in self- 


defence was obliged to issue a pamphlet of directions for 
[129] 


130 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


the cultivation of the plant and manufacture of its syrup, 
He has, besides this, he informs me, written a thousand 
or more letters of reply. Samples of his sorgho syrup 
were given to him by a number of persons in all sections 
of the country; and amongst others, a keg of it was 
kindly sent to myself. 

The success of Mr. Peters being made known early in 
the season, induced many farmers in the northern and 
north-western states, who had small patches under culti- 
vation, to endeavor to make a little syrup themselves; 
and in no case, so far as I have seen reported in the 
public papers, was the attempt unsuccessful. By per- 
sonal correspondence, I know of syrup having been made 
in thirteen states and territories. And I doubt not that 
Mr. D. Jay Browne, and Colonel Peters, could add con- 
siderably to the list. 

As might have been expected, when we consider the 
rude method employed in expressing the juice and 
boiling it, the syrups in some cases were of questionable 
excellence; but where more care was taken, the most 
gratifying results were attained. Colonel Peters’ syrup 
was boiled in a common iron ‘“cow-pot,” and from inex- 
perience or carelessness of the hands employed in the 
operation, it was not only suffered to become scorched, 
but it was not properly neutralized with alkalies, and 
kept from exposure to the air. Another reason for its 
imperfect quality was, that the barrel from which the 
specimen samples were taken, was made from frosted 
canes. In fact, so imperfect was it compared to what it 
might have been, that, judging from its quality, Mr. 
Peters is now convinced, that if he but takes ordinary 


SYRUP. 131 


precautions with this season’s crop, he will be able to 
make a syrup worth one dollar per gallon. The syrup 
which we made at our own place, was of better color and 
superior taste to the Georgia specimen; and I have seen 
samples from other states, which much surpassed our 
own. One, especially, made by Mr. Boylston, Editor of the 
‘‘ Amherst Cabinet,” New Hampshire, was equal, if not 
superior to Stewart’s syrup. 

Doctor A. A. Hayes, of Boston, one of the Assayers to 
the State of Massachusetts, told me, recently, that he was 
convinced that excellent syrup could be made from the 
sap in considerable quantities. And at a recent meeting 
of the Farmers’ Club of the American Institute, Doctor 
Charles T. Jackson, of Boston, the associate Assayer with 
Dr. Hayes, said “the syrup of this new sugar plant, prop- 
erly refined, and mixed with a small per centage of honey, 
is equally delicious as honey from the hive.” This 
gentleman informs me, that the specimens made by him 
from the canes furnished by the General Government, 
were completely colorless. 

All these facts go to prove that the best results are 
always obtained by careful management, and whilst the 
climate and soil of various localities doubtless exercise 
no inconsiderable influence, yet we may rest assured, that 
either at the North or South an intelligent and experi- 
enced operator and a suitable apparatus, will always 
command greater profit and better quality of product, 
than a shiftless experimenter. 


182 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


THE SEED MAY BE GATHERED WHEN CROWN FOR A SYRUP CROP. 


It has been sufficiently well proved that the ripening 
of the seed of the sorgho does not interfere with the ex- 
traction of the full richness of the saccharine matters in 
the juice, and the farmer who is desirous of growing 
enough of acrop to make the molasses for his family 
use, will be furnished with a further inducement to do so 
from the fact, that at the same time he can be cultivating 
a prolific crop of seed for feeding to his poultry, and a 
large amount of green forage, in the leaves, for his 
horses and stock. 


APPARATUS NECESSARY. 


To persons who merely desire to make a few gallons 
of syrup for their family use, a complete apparatus is not 
of paramount importance; but if it is m contemplation 
to duplicate such extensive practice as that of Mr. Peters, 
it will be a matter of positive economy to procure a mill 
and boilers that will extract the greatest possible amount 
of sap from a given quantity of stalks. The juice last 
expressed from the cane is the richest, and it is therefore 
desirable to procure a mill of sufficient strength to ex- 
stract nearly the whole sap. Small farmers and planters 
can, of course, only approximate to this end, because of 
the great grinding capacity and very large expense of 
the more powerful mills; but I do not think that a farmer, 
with a crop of only five or ten acres, should use a wooden 
roller mill when he can procure one with iron rollers for 
twice or thrice the money, The canes of the sorgho are 


SYRUP. 133 


hard, both because of being so very full of sap, and from 
the large quantity of silex in their outer coating; and a 
wooden roller mill could scarcely be depended upon to 
last through a season without breaking, or, if it should, 
the rollers would most probably be crushed and badly 
indented by the hard canes. Another argument in favor 
of iron rollers is, that the saccharine juice of the sorgho, 
when taken up by the pores of wood, is exceedingly 
likely to become sour, and thus injures the portions of 
juice successively passing through the mill. 


M. D’IVERNOIS’ SYRUP, 


It is possible to make syrup from the sorgho without 
the use of any mill or crushing apparatus whatever. 
Thus, according to an article by M. d’Ivernois, trans- 
lated from the Bulletin of the Imperial (French) Accli- 
mation Society, by Hon. H. Meigs, Secretary of the 
American Institute, all that is necessary is to select the 
butts of mature stalks, cut them into pieces of about an 
inch in length, and boil them in pure water in an iron 
pot. When the water has become charged with the 
sweet juices of the cane clippings, it should be strained off 
and clarified in the usual way, with a little cream of lime, 
whites of eggs, bullock’s blood, or skimmed milk. After 
another boiling, to reduce it to proper consistency, it may 
be put into stone jars or pots and tightly covered, like 
ordinary preserves. This practice is at best an imperfect 
one; for, not only is the saccharine matter in the stalks 
boiled out, but, at the same time, all the other soluble, 

G* 


134 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


organic matters, such as wax and chlorophyl,* which 
impart a disagreable taste to the syrup. 


TRON ROLLERS BETTER THAN WOODEN ROLLERS. 


An idea may be had of the imperfection of Colonel 
Peters’ mill, when we reflect that whilst with it he ob- 
tained but fifty per cent. of juice, Dr. Robert Battey, by 
pressing and subsequent evaporation, got 84} per cent. of 
sap and only 153 of woody fiber. It is found by numerous 
experiments, that with proper machinery, seventy per 
cent. should be obtained as an average product, and 
when we consider that with only fifty per cent. Mr. Peters 
actually worked up an average crop of 407 gallons of 
syrup per acre, my reader will doubtless agree with me 
that the difference on a single acre between the syrup 
from thirty or forty and seventy per cent. of sap would 
more than warrant the substitution of an iron rollerfor a 
wooden roller mill. 


AMOUNT OF SACCHARINE MATTERS VARY IN DIFFERENT CASES. 


The different writers on the sorgho, who have experi- 
mented with the sap, give various accounts of its richness. 


* This chlorophyl (green coloring matter) injures the quality of the 
juice expressed from the sorgho in the large processes of manufacture, 
and therefore as, both in the West Indian Cane and the Chinese Sugar 
Cane, the greater saccharine richness lies in the lower parts of the 
stalk, these nearest the butt, it is advisable to cut off about two 
and a half or three feet of stalk, when the seed heads are removed; 
and all the leaves of stalks intended for sugar or syrup making should 
be removed. 


SYRUP. 135 


Thus, asample grown near Washington gave Mr. Browne 
fourteen per cent. of dry saccharine matter, but another 
from the Arsenal, near Boston, yielded twenty-three per 
cent. Vuilmorin’s proportions varied ten to sixteen per 
cent. Dr. Turrel’s from ten to twenty. Mr. Wray’s 
imphees sixteen per cent. of sugar. Mr. Avequin’s, in 
Louisiana, was a little over ten. The densities were also 
different. Dr. Battey, of Georgia, found his superior to Vil- 
morin’s, the latter ranging from 1:050 to 1-075, whilst the 
former’s uniformly stood at 1:085. Avequin’s was 1:064, 
reaching almost to 9° Beaumé. Mr. Hardy’s, in Algiers, 
stood at 82.° 

If we accept even the lowest per centage shown above, 
we still shall have a sacchariferous plant much superior to 
the sugar beet, which in 1854, in France alone, employed 
three hundred and thirty-two manufactories, producing 
158,000,000 pounds of sugar, besides molasses. In this 
same year (1854) there were consumed in the United 
States over fourteen million gallons of molasses, which, 
at thirty cents, cost us $4,200,000, and as we approach the 
threshold of 1858, the price is doubled. Who, then, will 
have the temerity to say that even if the sorgho had not 
proved its capacity to furnish good, crystallized sugar, 
that as a molasses-producing plant, it would not have 
proved a source of vast wealth ? 


SYRUP BOILING. 


The process of reducing the sap to the consistency of 
syrup, 1s so simple as scarcely to demand very protracted 
instructions. ‘The farmer, having cut his canes as near 
the ground as possible, stripped off the leaves and remoy- 


136 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


ed the tufts, carts them to the mill as fast as he can con 
veniently grind them. The juice runs through a tin 
pipe into a tub, or box, painted on the inside, or a large 
wooden reservoir, lined with tin, lead, or sheet copper, 
either of which should at all times be kept scrupulously 
clean. In this, those only using Mr. Wray’s patent can — 
add the lime to clarify the juice in the cold state, and from 
thence pump or bail it into the boiler, where, as the heat 
rises to from 120° to 180° Fah., the dilute infusion of pow- 
dered nutgallsis introduced. The syrup is then carried to 
the boiling point, when the fire is at once checked, the 
syrup stands for about fifteen or twenty minutes, to give 
the scum a chance to rise and be skimmed off; the fire is 
then urged again. The syrup then is kept boiling until 
reduced to the proper consistency. This precise degree 
is ascertained by the insertion of a little glass or metallic 
instrument called a “syrup guage.” These may be had 
of Messrs. Pike and Son of New York, opticians, or Mr. 
Jno. W. Reid, or any other respectable sugar-apparatus 
maker. My friend, Dr. Robert Battey, has prepared a 
syrup guage, on which he has marked but one degree, 
and it is thus rendered so extremely simple that any 
farmer, or farmer’s laborer, can always tell the exact 
moment of its arriving at the ‘proof point.” The draw- 
back to it is that itis made of glass, and is thus liable, un- 
less securely packed, to be broken in being transported, 
and when in use, otherwise the idea is an excellent one. 

For the benefit of such as do not wish to purchase 
the right to use Mr. Wray’s patent, which all should, 
I subjoin the directions given by Dr. Battey in Mr. Red- 
mond’s pamphlet : 


SYRUP. 137 


BOILING DOWN. 


“The fires should be so arranged that they may be 
under good control, to be forced or withdrawn, as occasion 
may require. When the juice is placed in the boiler, the 
fire should be gradually increased to a simmering heat, 
(not to active boiling,) and maintained at this tempera- 
ture until a thick green scum rises to the surface, and 
forms into puffs, seeming ready to crack. This scum, 
when fully formed, should be removed clean from the 
surface. The heat may now be raised to boiling, and 
kept in an active state of ebullition until the bulk is re- 
duced one half. The fire may be removed from one 
kettle, and its contents be transferred to the other, when 
the heat must be gradually moderated, as the syrup be- 
comes more concentrated, to avoid the danger of scorch- 
ing, which injures the color and flavor. Should more 
dirty green scum rise to the surface after the first skim- 
ming, it should likewise be removed. 

“In regard to the precise degree of concentration to 
which the syrup should be brought, it is exceedingly dif- 
ficult to lay down any precise and simple rule which 
shall meet every case. The plan for determining it, in use 
on the sugar plantation, and which was adopted by Gover- 
nor Hammond and Mr. Peters, is based upon the judg- 
ment of the eye, in respect to the consistence of the syrup, 
when poured from the ladle, and cooled as it drops from 
its edge. This test is evidently very defective, since the 
temperature of the atmosphere regulates the consistence 
which the syrup must assume on cooling down—so that 
a syrup boiled on a cold day will necessarily be thin and 


we THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


watery as the weather moderates, and a syrup finished 
at night will differ materially from that of the noon-day. 
Although a good approximation, it is not exact enough 
for the tyro—to secure a desirable uniformity in the con- 
sistence and value of the product, or to obviate the 
danger of fermentation and loss. ‘To remedy this uncer- 
tainty, and secure a uniform result at all times, I have 
constructed a simple instrument which determines readily, 
and with certainty, the precise moment when the syrup 
should be removed from the fire and transferred to the 
barrels. 

“Tt is a prevalent opinion that lime should always be 
added to the juice, as soon as it is pressed out, and the 
idea has been advanced that it could not be clarified 
without hme. This is undoubtedly a mistake; the juice 
alone, under my hands, clarifies itself more readily with- 
out lime than with it. The latter answers no useful pur- 
pose, so far as the syrup is concerned, save to neutralize 
the free acid (phosphoric) which exists naturally in the 
cane. Lime darkens the color, and, to my taste, detracts 
from the peculiar grateful flavor of the syrup. Many 
would, perhaps, object to the slight acidity. To such I 
would say, use the lime, but use it sparingly. To pre- 
pare it for use, take a half peck of lime, slake it in a bucket 
of water, gradually added, stir up well, and strain the 
milk through a cloth; let it settle for half a day, pour 
off the water and dry the powder. Of the latter, you 
may use from half a teaspoonful to two teaspoonful for 
every five gallons juice, after the scum has been removed.” 


SYRUP. - ie 


NECESSITY FOR CLEANLINESS AND SYSTEM. 


One requisite to ensure the production of good, clean 
syrup, is that the greatest cleanliness should be observed 
throughout every stage of the manufacture. The mill, 
boilers, ladles, buckets, troughs, reservoir, and every piece 
of apparatus, and each implement used in the syrup mak- 
ing should be cleaned off as soon as they are no longer in 
actual use. The canes should be stripped clean of all dry 
or green leaves, and when convenient, any lumps of dirt or 
other impurities be knocked off, before the canes are passed 
through the mill. Only ripe and sound canes should be 
used ; and the ground about the mill should be neatly 
swept, and all rubbish removed. If the boiling is done 
under a shed, or in a building, it should be as neatly 
maintained, and all things should be as systematically 
arranged as if it were a private parlor; for not only is 
the introduction of impurities into the syrup prevented, 
but the operator and his assistants can, at the desired 
moment, at once lay hands upon any one of the instru- 
ments needful at the various stages of the operation. 


COLONEL PETERS’ RESULTS. 


The yield of juice and of syrup obtained by Colonel 
Peters, were as follows: 


BEST EIGHTH OF AN ACRE. 


Yield of juice from 8315 canes, : - 253 gallons. 
Yield of syrup from 2538 gallons juice, - 58 gallons. 
Rate of syrup per acre, - - - - 468 gallons. 


140 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


POOREST EIGHTH OF AN ACRE. 


Yield of juice from 2550 canes, - : 179 gallons. 
Yield of syrup from 179 gallons juice, - 48% gallons. 
Rate per acre, of syrup, . - . 346 gallons. 
Weight of thirty select canes, - - - 494 pounds. 
Weight of juice pressed out, ; - 25? pounds. 
Weight of crushed cane, - - - - 28 pounds. 
Loss in crushing, . - . . 2 pounds 
Weight of crushed cane dried in sun, - 94 pounds. 


Or, in other words, he made an average crop, jour hundred 
and seven gallons of syrup; and even then obtained only 
five sevenths of which he actually should, if he had been 
in possession of perfect machinery. 

With such results as these for consideration, how for- 
tunate, nay, how providential must it seem, that just as 
short crops, combination of capitalists, and increase of 
consumers threaten us with an alarming advance in the 
price of an article which is no longer a luxury, but a 
necessary of life, a new sugar plant is given to us, of such 
prolific resources as this Chinese Sugar Cane. 


GH a Por Hh BV EB. 


ALCOHOL. 


ITS IMPORTANCE AS AN ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE. 


ALCOHOL, at the present day, occupies a very import- 
ant place in the domestic economy of every family ; not, 
it may be, in the form with which it comes to us from 
the distillery, but disguised under the familiar cognomen 
of many articles in daily consumption, it performs its 
useful functions, unchallenged and unsuspected even by 
the members of the Temperance Society. 

In the materia medica we are indebted to it for chloro- 
form and ether, and many of our most valuable vegetable 
extracts and essences could not be obtained without it 
In the arts we require its aid to dissolve the refractory 
gums and resins; while in the shape of camphene, or 
spirit gas, it yields, with other ingredients, a brilliant and 
economic means of illuminating our dwelling-houses and 
workshops. 

It is true that alcohol, in its abuse as a beverage, is the 
cause of much individual suffering from time to time; 
iustances of this, however, are small compared with the 
universal benefit which it affords; and seeing that it is 
not in the light of a beverage exclusively that I mean to 
treat of it, but also as an important item in our national 
economy, I trust that even the most fastidious will hold 


me blameless if, in the course of my remarks, I endeavor 
(141) 


142 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


to impart to others what little knowledge and experience 
I may possess in regard to this most important manutfac- 
ture. 


TILE CEREALS NO LONGER NEED BE EMPLOYED TO MAKE ALCOHOL. 


Hitherto molasses from the cane, and the cereals, corn, 
barley, and rye, have furnished the bulk of the spirit so 
extensively needed, but a new era seems about to dawn 
upon us; the cereals may return to more legitimate chan- 
nels of consumption, while a new plant, useful it would 
seem, besides, for other purposes, supplies their place— 
the discovery of which, and introduction to our country, 
deserves to be classed among the most important events 
of the age, while every endeavor ought to be used to 
develop, rather than to retard, through a mistaken and 
narrow-minded philanthropy, its application to the manu- 
facture of spirit, which, I have shown, has now become 
an article of large consumption among us. 


WHAT IS ALCOHOL? HOW MADE? 


Alcohol may be termed, practically, pure spiriz, the 
result of vinous fermentation in certain bodies capable of 
assuming this condition, from which it is obtained by dis- 
tillation. A few of these bodies are wine, cider, beer, 
and cane juice. When either of these liquids has under- 
gone the vinous fermentation, and is subjected to vapor- 
ization in a close vessel with a suitable condenser, alco- 
hol is obtained as a result, more or less pure according to 
the apparatus employed and the skill of the operator. 

Rum, gin, brandy, and whiskey, are nothing but alco- 
hol more or less dilute and flavored with the essential 


ALCOHOL. 143 


oils, which give them character. ‘hus rum is alcohol 
flavored with the essential oil of the sugar cane; gin with 
the oil of the juniper berry; brandy with the oil of the 
grape; while whiskey owes its peculiarity to the well- 
known fusil oil inherent in grain. By depriving either 
of these liquors of the essential oils, coloring matters, and 
volume of water they contain by means of rectification, 
we obtain from them pure alcohol, or the well known 
spirit of wine of the apothecaries’ shops. 

To obtain absolute alcohol, or a spirit perfectly free from 
water, is impossible by any of the distilling apparatus yet 
invented, alcohol having too great an affinity for water, 
to be separated entirely by mechanical means. Yet a 
spirit sufficiently pure for all commercial purposes may 
be produced by a variety of distillatory arrangements, 
which it shall be my duty to refer to in the proper place. 
Spirit containing only five per cent. of water may be manu- 
factured by a good apparatus. 

It being the purpose of this work to treat only of the 
sorgho and its products, it is to the manufacture of sorgho 
spirit only that I shall refer. But as in the case of the 
manufacture of sugar from the same source, I considered 
a description of a West Indian plantation and apparatus 
best calculated to elucidate the subject, so, as regards the 
manufacture of sorgho rum or spirit, a short detail of the 
methods practiced in Cuba and the Windward Islands, 
together with a few illustrations of improved apparatus, 
will best serve the purpose, feeling assured—judging 
from a sample of sorgho syrup received from Mr. Olcott 
—that the products of the cane and sorgho are alike, and 
required similar treatment to obtain like results. 


144. THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


Distillation being an operation which requires prepar- 
ation in the fluid to be operated upon, before proceeding 
to distil we must first understand how to prepare the 
wash so as to obtain the largest amount of alcohol from 
a given amount of sweet liquor. Where grain is the 
substance employed to form the wort or wash, the mani- 
pulations are complex and various, requiring long expe- 
rience to understand thoroughly ; but when, as in the 
present case, the fluid is already in a forward state of 
preparation, by reason of its nature, and requiring to 
undergo but one preparative operation previous to distil- 
lation, the subject becomes simplified, and less difficult to 
describe or comprehend. 


FERMENTATION. 


To produce the vinous or alcoholic fermentation in a 
fluid, it is a first requisite that that fluid be sweet. This 
sweetness may either be the result of chemical combi- 
nation, brought about by art, as in the case of worts made 
from grain, or it may be the natural condition of the 
fluid, as in the case of the expressed juice of the sorgho. 

When fermentation takes place, several phenomena not 
to be mistaken make their appearance. ‘The juice seems 
to boil, minute globules of carbonic acid gas come to the 
surface, like the effervescence of champagne when viewed 
through a glass, the temperature rises several degrees 
above that of the atmosphere, an aromatic, rummy smell 
is evolved, anda scum of yeast gathers on the top. To 
the tongue, the previous sweet flavor has given place to 
a slightly acid, pungent taste, and when the fermentation 


ALCOHOL. 145 


has been brought successfully to a close, the wash, which 
before fermentation was commenced marked 8° to 10° 
Beaumé, will now be found to mark little over 19 
Beaumé, showing that nearly all the saccharine matter 
has been changed into alcohol. If left twelve hours after 
this, the acetic or vinegar fermentation commences, and 
the alcohol gradually disappears, to the serious loss of 
the distiller. 

In the West Indies, the mixture of the materials, or 
what is termed setting the wash, varies with the season. 
When crop has just commenced, or just finished, it is 
different from what itis in winter, as the rainy season is 
called; besides, the scientific distiller varies his mixtures 
to suit circumstances. ‘'he same proportions that are 
suitable for one state of the atmosphere may be unsuit- 
able for another, and it is the capacity to judge what is 
best for the season that constitutes the valuable overseer 
to the still house. 

Owing to its lability to conflagration, the still house 
is generally set apart, but in the vicinity of the boiling 
house, so that too much labor may not accrue from 
having to carry to it the scum of the kettles and molasses 
for conversion into alcohol. 

Hf the still be a small one, the planter usually contents 
himself with a mere shed for a still house, and a few 
rum puncheons, with asquare hole cut on the side where 
the bung-hole has been, for fermenting vats. Butif rum 
is intended to be one of the regular products of the estate, 
the matter is gone into more carefully. A regular stone 
still house is built, and proper fermenting tuns of oak or 
white pine provided. 


7 


146 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


The still house is generally of two stories, each pretty 
high; the second story consisting of a floor extending 
up to the place where the still is set. Here it is cut 
away, and the space is left clear from the ground to the 
roof; this is to allow of the various appurtenances of the 
still being elevated to the proper height, free from ob- 
struction from joists or other interferences. 

In extensive distilleries, however, such as that of the 
Messrs. Belchers, in Matanzas, Cuba, the still house is of 
several stories, and special arrangements are made to suit 
circumstances. Here as many as thirty or forty large 
fermenting tuns are employed, each capable of contain- 
ing from two to three thousand gallons, so arranged that 
no more of the mosta, or wash, shall mature each day 
than is capable of being distilled within twenty-four hours. 

Underneath the ground floor of the still house a mixing 
tub ought to be placed, and grated over with a wooden 
grating level with the floor, so that a molasses puncheon 
may be rolled over it, the bung taken out, and its contents 
let down through the bars, to save labor. This tub or 
vat ought to contain a charge for one or more of the 
fermenting vats employed. The mixture of the ingre- 
dients for fermentation is made in it by agitating them 
together by means of wooden rakes or oars. When 
completed, the wash is pumped up into the fermenting 
tubs, tuns, vats, or backs, as they are called irrespectively 
according to local usage, where it undergoes the vinous 
or alcoholic fermentation, and in turn is distilled into 
rum or low wines. As many as twenty pipes of rum, of 
one hundred and twenty gallons each, are made on some 
large estates each day during crop. 


ALCOHOL, . 147 


So far the arrangements of West India still houses have 
proved appropriate and applicable to the distillation of 
the sorgho, but here the applicability ceases; for the 
West Indian mode of setting the wash, and the time 
allowed for fermentation there, is quite unsuited to the 
variety of the cane family we are at present considering. 
I will, therefore, now proceed to describe the process 
best suited to the new plant, so as to obtain the best 
results, taking my data from the various French reports 
which have been made on the subject. 


THE ALCOHOLIZATION OF THE SORGHO. 


In France there have been quite a number of experi- 
ments made on the conversion of the sweet juices of the 
sorgho sucré into various liquors, such as rum, brandy, 
wine, and beer. We find Vilmorin in 1854, Alphandéry 
in 1855, Bourdais, Sicard, and Madinier in 1856, and 
Detur in 1857, publishing reports on the subject, to 
which I shall refer. 

Alphandéry reports that he made very good brandy 
by concentrating the juice of the sorgho slightly (12 B.?) 
and putting it into a barrel, where it fermented a week, 
then distilling it. The eau de vie, says he, thus 
obtained, is incontestibly superior to that made from 
wine (real brandy.) Also, that if some of the juice be 
taken during fermentation, and bottled close, it makes a 
very agreeable drink. 

It is evident from the above that the circumstances 
under which M. Alphandéry fermented his juice were 
unfavorable, as the sorgho almost always, when properly 


~ 


148 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


cared for, finishes fermentation in three days at most. 
Nevertheless, his testimony is valuable as to the quality 
of the product. 

M. Madinier endorses the statement of M. Hardy, 
that the juice of the sorgho contains naturally a fermen- 
tative principle, sufficient for perfect alcoholization, but 
thinks it best to throw in with the juice a few of the fresh 
crushed canes, which greatly accelerates the attenuation. 
He also advises very wide and shallow fermenting 
cisterns, so as to expose as much surface to the air as 
possible, and to set the cisterns at a temperature of 
twenty or twenty-five degrees centigrade, equal to 
seventy-seven Fahrenheit. M. Sicard, in his work, 
merely collates the experiences of others, among which 
are Beauregard, Fissiaux, and Raoul. One point, how- 
ever, they all agree upon, that is, that the wash ought to 
be kept in a room, the temperature of which is eighteen 
degrees centigrade, or say sixty-four Fahrenheit. 

M. F. Bourdais, however, a distiller in Algeria, at 
length, in 1856, treats the matter in a thoroughly prac- 
tical and scientific manner ; he gives us facts, not theories, 
and proves most conclusively that the sorgho is perhaps 
the best alcohol-producing plant yet discovered. 

The operations on which he based his calculations and 
deductions were all on a large scale, and therefore less 
liable to error than the laboratory experiments of most 
of his predecessors in this field. He planted five hectares, 
say ten acres, with sorgho, and professes to give results 
with scrupulous exactitude. 


ALCOHOL. 149 


COST TO PRODUCE A GALLON ALCOHOL FROM SORGHO, NINETY-FOUR 
PER CENT. STRENGTH. 
He found that to cultivate and prepare for 
grinding one hectare, or say two acres, of 
sorgho cost him 685 francs, or say -  - $187 00 
But of the green fodder stripped from the canes 
he sold seventy-eight quintals, or say 17,000 
Ibs., at three francs for 100 kilogrammes, 
which is sixty cents per 220 lbs., - - 46 80 


$90 20 


Of prepared canes he obtained ready for the 

mill, 520 quintals, or 114,920 Ibs., making 

cost of production per quintal of 220 lbs., 

about 172 cents. 
Kach quintal (220 Ibs.) yielded, on distillation, 

5 litres 20 centolitres, or say 11 gallons, alco- 

hol, at 94°, thus costing per litre of 12 pints 

0 15 1, or about : : - . - 4 cents 
To which add cost of crushing, maceration, fer- 

mentation, yeast, distillation, and rectification, 10 cents 
Cartage to town, - - - - - 14 cents 


Cost per litre (12 pints) of alcohol, 94°, 154 cents 
or say 71 cents per gallon, nearly. 


DETAILS OF THE MANUFACTURE OF ALCOHOL FROM SAY FIVE HECTARES, 
OR TEN ACRES, OF SORGHO, AS GIVEN BY BOURDAIS. 


The canes, stripped of their leaves, are passed through 
a cane mill, the juice runs into a tank capable of holding 


150 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


forty hectolitres (eight hundred and eighty gallons), the 
bagasse, or crushed canes, still retaining a considerable 
quantity ofjuice, are steeped in hot water. Nine hundred 
and fifty kilogrammes (two thousand six hundred Ibs.) 
of these yield twenty hectolitres (four hundred and forty 
gallons) of juice and water at 3° Beaumé, while the juice 
first expressed stands 10° Beaumé. 

On finding it was going to cost him too much to cut 
and gather the grain from his sorgho, he determined not 
to do so, but after choosing sufficient of the best seed for 
next year, he left the grain attached to the stalks, and 
crushed all together. 

When he came to macerate with hot water, the heat 
immediately acted upon the starch of the corn, and deter- 
mined its transformation to sugar. He thus obtained, 
by the same operation, both the saccharine of the grain 
and the residue of the juice from the canes. 

The juice, on leaving the steeping vats at 8° B., must be 
enriched with pure juice till it marks 5° B. Eight hecto- 
litres of this (one hundred and seventy-six gallons), at a 
temperature of 30° centigrade (86° I.) are mixed in a fer- 
menting vat with five litres (one and one eighth gallons) 
brewers’ yeast ; this he calls the foot. In an hour it is ina 
high state of fermentation, and he then fills up the vat with 
twenty-two hectolitres (four hundred and eighty-four 
gallons) also at 830° cent. (86° F.) ; in another hour the whole 
is fermenting. He states the above from his own expe- 
rience, and remarks that the fermentation proceeds 
regularly, requires no attention, is never too rapid, and 
always falls to zero on the areometer in twenty, or at 
most twenty-four hours. It isthen ready for distillation, 


ALCOHOL. 151 


and will yield eignt litres (one and three fourths gallons) 
alcohol for each hundred litres (twenty-two gallons) juice 
at 10° B. 

From these statements it would appear that, however 
little success may attend.the attempt to produce crystal- 
lized sugar from the sorgho, that there need be no diffi- 
culty, at all events, in making good domestic rum, 
alcohol, and other kindred products from its juice. The 
following instructions for setting a vat are not, however, 
to be taken as based upon the result of my own expe- 
rience, for as yet I have only been enabled to experiment 
upon a small quantity of syrup, which was over a year 
old, badly defecated and burned, and withal considerably 
acid. I have nevertheless carefully perused the reports 
of the French operators, and extracted what I considered. 
best from each, which was applicable to our climate and 
national habits. 


TO SET A VAT. 


If the farmer be manufacturing syrup from his cane, 
let him select the most perfectly ripened and healthy 
canes for this purpose, setting aside those which have 
only partially ripened, or have been frosted, for the 
manufacture of rum or alcohol; by this means, and sav- — 
ing all the scum of the pans for the same purpose, he 
may thus be enabled to use all his product to advantage, 
and waste nothing. 

Supposing him to have determined on making rum 
or alcohol only, let kim cut his canes, grind them, and 
put his juice into a pan to evaporate slightly. Ifthe juice 


152 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
> 


marks 8° B. no evaporation need take place, but the pan 
be used to raise the temperature of the liquid to say 80° 
Fahrenheit, then discharge the contents of the pan or pans 
into a vat suited to the quantity the farmer desires to 
ferment, fill this vat to within a foot or nine inches of the 
top, and, if you can getit, add by measure one gallon of 
brewers’ yeast to every hundred gallons in the vat, first 
take four or five gallons of the warm juice, mix the yeast 
well up in it, and return it to the vat, agitating the whole 
well together. In a couple of hours or so, if the weather 
be propitious, the contents of the vat will seem alive or 
boiling, owing to the bubbles of gas which are rising to 
the surface, and an aromatic flavor will begin to arise. 
The vat is now fermenting. The door of the room or 
shed where the vat or vats are placed, must be kept shut 
or open, asthe case may be, so as to keep the tempera-. 
ture of the air about 65° or 70°. In winter a stove will 
be necessary, for if the juice should get chilled, in all 
probability it would stop fermentation, and give trouble. 
Examine the vat from time to time, to see that all is 
going on well; in twenty-four hours after the fermen- 
tation has begun, take out sufficient to float Beaumé’s 
saccharometer, and insert a thermometer in the vat 
You will find, in all probability, that the wash has be- 
come attenuated to a certain degree, and has risen in tem- 
perature to 80° or 82°. That which yesterday marked 
8° B. now perhaps marks only 5° or 4° B., in which 
case you may be sure your vat is progressing as it ought 
todo. Had you set your wash with common molasses, 
instead of sorgho, it would not have attenuated one 
degree in soshort a time, and the fermentation would 


AT.COHOL. 153 


only becommenced. ‘This is a peculiarity in the sorgho 
greatly to its advantage in making alcohol. 

Attenuation is the term applied to that action in sac- 
charine fluid mixtures by which they gradually lose part 
of their gravity in fermentation, and it attains perfection, 
if the wash can be brought to the same specific gravity, 
or less, than water itself. Before fermentation, the mix- 
ture being much heavier than water, is shown by the 
areometer. This change in density is owing to the sugar, 
which is denser than water, changing into alcohol, 
which is lighter; and as a mixture of alcohol with water 
must, from the difference of gravity between the alcohol 
and the water, render a given bulk of such mixture 
lighter than the same bulk of pure water, it follows that 
as the sugar in the wash changes into alcohol, the mass 
changes its gravity, or attenuates. 

In forty-eight hours, in warm weather, after the wash 
commences to ferment, examine it by pushing the head 
or scum on one side, if it has not already sunk to the 
bottom, and if you find that the bubbles cease to rise, 
and that the temperature has gone down to 70° or 75°, get 
your still ready and distil the spirit as soon as possible. 
If you leave it twelve hours after this, the vat will have 
commenced the acetic fermentation, and be in process of 
making vinegar at the expense of your alcohol. 

Since commencing this article on alcohol, I have been 
enabled to test, to my own satisfaction, the capability of 
sorgho syrup, even in an advanced ‘state of acidity, for 
making spirit.. The quantity experimented upon being 
small was against the success of the operation, especially 
in the fermentation. Yet, nevertheless, I obtaimed a 


7* 


154 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


very strong, well-flavored spirit, infinitely superior to 
whiskey, and giving evidence that, had the syrup been 
fresh, a sorgho brandy would have been made, which 
would have compared favorably with any of the French 
brandies in quality. Jam not aware that sorgho spirit 
has been previously made in America; it may, there- 
fore, prove interesting to give the details of my experi- 
ment. 

On Tuesday, the 17th of August, I secured from 
Mr. H. 8. Olcott a little over a quart of sorgho syrup, 
part of a small quantity sent to him by Mr. Peters, 
of Georgia, the product of last year’s experiment; it was 
extremely acid, having been imperfectly defecated and 
clarified, burned in the boiling, and contained much 
extraneous matter; its color was a dirty yellowish-brown, 
and its density, by Beaumé’s saccharometer, was 39°. 

I commenced operations upon it at 2 P. M.,on the 
18th, by mixing in a pail five quarts of water, heated to 
100° Fahrenheit, with one quart of the syrup; when the 
mixture was effected, the temperature of the whole stood 
90°. Iset the temperature thus high, owing to the small- 
ness of the quantity, being doubtful as to the fermenta- 
tion proceeding fast enough. I also made the density, 
which was 9°, one or two degrees higher than would be 
necessary in larger quantities. Having stirred the whole 
thoroughly, I took out a small portion in a tumbler, into 
which I put one quarter of a pint of fresh brewer’s yeast; 
this I beat up with a spoon, and when well mixed I 
poured it into the pail with the rest, and stirred the whole 
together. The temperature of the room being 75°, I left 
it undisturbed fora time. On examining it two hours 


ALCOHOL. | 155 


subsequently, I found that a lively fermentation had set 
in, and that the temperature had fallen to 77°; at ten 
P.M. it was in a high state of fermentation, the tempera- 
ture had risen 2°, and the wash had attenuated 11 
Beaumés* In twenty-four hours from the time of starting, 
the temperature was 80° F., and the density 4° B. In 
forty-two hours the temperature was 2° lower, the 
density 2° B., and the fermentation less lively. In 
forty-eight hours the temperature had fallen to 76° F. 
Fermentation had almost ceased, and the wash marked 
only $° Beaumé, which was a very good attenuation 
under the circumstances. 

I now distilled the whole in asmall copper still, a 
model of Figure 3 of the distillery cuts. The foreshot, or 
first runnings, I set aside; as also the faints, or last run- 
nings, the balance—about 14 pints—was a pleasant aro- 
matic spirit, resembling brandy, containing 55 per cent. 
alcohol. 

This distillation having been made in nearly a simple 
still, over the naked fire, was the severest test the sorgho 
syrup could be put to; for had there been any disagreea- 
ble peculiarities inherent in it, they would have appeared 
in the spirit run in this way. As was to be expected 
by so imperfect a process of distillation as the simple still 
and worm affords, a good deal of essential oil came over 
with the spirit, as well as water. So I determined to re- 
distil the 1} pints at a low heat, in order to see what 
improvements could be effected. The small still I used 
being intended for experiment, was so arranged as to 
interpose, when required, a stratum of water between 
the fire and the substance under distillation, which, by 


156 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


this means, was preserved during the operation at a tem- 
perature not exceeding 212°. 

Having filled the bath of the still with water, and 
urged the boiling, the spirit soon came over; as before, 
I rejected the foreshot and faints, in this case returning 
the foreshot to the still; the result was about 2 of a pint 
of pure, well flavored spirit, of 724° strength. 

Such results are encouraging and full of promise for 
the future; for it must be remembered the stock in this 
case was imperfectly cured to begin with ; had been kept 
in a demijohn over a year fermenting, and had thus lost 
part of its alcohol before it came into my hands. Yet, 
nevertheless, I will venture to say, that the spirit pro- 
duced from Mr. Peters’ first experiment in sorgho syrup, 
will rank favorably with many samples of spirit in the 
market. 

Having got so far, the only question that remains, is 
the important one of apparatus. Of course, the size must 
be proportionate to the quantity of brandy, low wines or 
alcohol, the planter intends to manufacture; but, as many 
circumstances have got to be considered in arranging a 
distillery, besides the mere size of the still, I would recom- 
mend that the planter, before taking steps in the matter, 
state his case to some competent person and obtain his 
advice. 

To farmers and others, who do not intend to make a 
regular business of distilling, except at times when no 
other occupation occurs, as in winter, | would recom- 
mend to defecate and clarify their juice as directed in the 
chapter on syrup and sugar, using, say two pans, 
when the juice is well cleaned. Then boil down to 35° 


ALCOHOL. 157 


or 86° B., allow to cool, and barrel it up for winter 
distillation; the juice treated in this way will keep for 
years, if well defecated and kept in a cool place. The 
form of still they ought to use, should be the simple still 
and worm, either with or without a wash heater. The 
following cuts represent the common still; Figure 1 in 
elevation, Figure 2 in section: 


LT 


i 


Ss 
SSS 

—SS 

SS 


& 


a 
— i 


= aim 


In the above cut, the brick work, body and goose neck 
of the still are shown. JL, is the offshot of the worm; 
M, the worm tub, full of cold water; it should have a 
stream of water supplied to it, to prevent its getting too 
hot; N, is the drip pipe of the worm. A section of this 
form of still is shown in the following page, at Figure 2, 
of which A is the body of the still, B the cap or capital, 


158 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


Fig. 2 
C the goose neck, leading to the condenser worm D. EH 
is the discharge cock of the still, F the brick work, G the 


opening of the flue into the furnace, H the same flue 
going round the still, I the furnace bars, J the ash pit, 


ALCOHOL. 159 


and K the charging screw, where the stillis filled. This 
still makes low wines. 

By adding a wash heater to the above, a great saving 
in time and fuel is effected, besides, a purer and stronger 
spirit is obtained. This still is shown at Fig. 3, page 158, 
of which A is the still, B the heater of the wash for the 


160 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


next charge, and C the worm. To operate with this 
still, fill the still through the heater, and then fill the 
heater. When the charge in the still is run over, draw 
off the spent wash, and fill up again from the heater. 

When a pure spirit, standing 80° to 90°, is wanted, a 
still like Fig. 4, on page 159, 1s required ; of which A is the 
still, B the doubler, C the heater, D the check cylinder, 
EK the worm. 

Alcohol 95° may be obtained by a distillery similar to 


F 
= 
Fig 5 

In this A is the still, B the heater, with a pecw iar 
arrangement inside, C the doubler, D the separator, E 
the pump to feed the heater with wash, F the separator 
pipes, G the drip pipe, H a thermometer to tell tempera- 


ture of wash. 
Where the quantity of sorgho planted is large, a very 


ALCOHOL. 161 


good rum or low wine still is shown at Fig. 6, together 
with the general arrangement of the still house. 


ime 
th 
ib! 


| 
2) l 
isl 


1 ee en 
| 


UL | >| By] 


| 


ul 


A is the mixing tub, B the pump to raise the wash to 
the gutter C, which supplies the fermenting vats D. His 
the pipe leading from the vats to the heater shown at F, 
Gis the still. This still may be so arranged as to run 
very strong spirit. 


162 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


By means of stills without columns or separators, low 
wines only are made with advantage. ‘These are named 
in contradiction to high wines above 65°. 

The stills hitherto represented have been of the inter- 
mittent kind, but in the cut on the opposite page a con- 
tinuous brandy or alcohol distillery is shown. These stills 
have a continuous stream of spent wash running out at 
the bottom, while a corresponding stream of live wash 
runs in at the top. They are rather expensive, and re- 
quire some practice to operate. 

The apparatus represented in the cut is on the princi- 
ple of Durosne & Cail, of France, who got it up some 
years ago for the purpose of distilling brandy from wine. 
It is extensively used in France, and there are a few in 
use in the United States. I refrain from any description 
of this still, as it would be too tedious, and perhaps, after 
all, prove incomprehensible in mere words. Suffice it to 
say that it yields a pure spirit, and of any required proof 
under 95°. 

To planters and farmers, many of whom will doubtless 
this year order distilleries and other apparatus for their 
various operations on sugar, I would advise that they 
stipulate beforehand with the manufacturer, for a full 
written description of the proper mode of erecting and 
working each apparatus, otherwise there will be trouble 
and expense before it is finished. 

One half of the failures in apparatus on sugar estates, 
are owing in the first place, to the mechanic who under- 
takes to make a machine or a distillery, while, in the 
meantime, he is ignorant of the first principles of the pur- 
pose to which such still or machine is to be applied; and 


ALCOHOL. 


164 TIE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


in the second place, it is due to the person giving the 
order, who, probably, is little able or willing to enlighten 
him: in either case dissatisfaction and loss is the result. 

In the manufacture of alcohols from the sorgho for the 
market, it is well for the farmer to know what is required, 
as regards strength and quality, so as to be guided in 
making an article which will find ready sale; and first 
and foremost, doubtless, he would like to know what is 
considered the market proof of spirits in America. By 
proof is meant the strength in alcohol which ‘a liquor in- 
dicates on the areometer, and is derived from the English 
excisemen, who proved each cask as it eame from the dis- 
tiller or importer, levying a heavy duty per gallon on 
the amount of alcohol contained; when it passed the 
officer’s hands, he gave a certificate of its strength, which 
was proof to the customer, the bung being sealed up and 
stamped. 

In America usage has designated a certain per centage 
of alcohol in liquors, as the standard strength on which 
the price is to be calculated, and according as the per- 
centages exceed or fall short of this, the spirit is above or 
below proof. This standard is composed of one half 
water and one half spirit, marking 50° on the guage or 
areometer, at the temperature of 60° Fahrenheit. 

Of course, if the farmer be far from his market, the 
less water he transport in his casks the better, and he 
ought in this case to make high wines or alcohol, now so 
much used for camphene, &c., whilst the one who is under 
less charges for transportation, may be guided by the 
demand, whether it shall be low wines, high wines, alco- 
hol, brandy, or rum that he produces from his juice—all 


ALCOHOL. 165 


these various liquors being merely the result of a little 
difference in the mode of fermentation and distillation. 

Before taking leave of the subject, I would state that 
the sample of Mr. Peters’ syrup, referred to before, on 
being offered in the market as rum, was appraised at 90 
cents to $1 a gallon, Porto Rico rum being worth $1 10. 
In the shape of brandy, $1 to $1 50 was offered, while in 
the shape of 95°, alcohol, 65 cents was the price. 

Now, the farmer, so soon as he knows what it costs 
him to make a gallon of syrup, can tell at once what these 
prices indicate in the shape of profit, by adding eight 
cents per gallon, which is an over estimate of the cost of 
conversion into spirit. Supposing him to obtain only 
200 gallons, whereas he ought to get 400 gallons syrup 
per acre, and it costs him fifteen cents per gallon to make 
it, his brandy would stand him in twenty-three cents, 
and be a purer and more wholesome article than most of 
the trash palmed off upon us as French cognac. 


Say, 200 gallons syrup, per acre, 15¢, $3000 


Cost to ferment and distil, 8 «., ; 16 00 
$46 00 

Returns—200 gallons proof brandy, at $1, 200 00 
Profit per acre, . $154 00 

Besides fodder and seed, worth, say, : 50 00 
Net profit, . ; . $204 00 


On reading over the foregoing, I see that I have omitted 
mention of the means by which, in the absence of yeast, 
fermentation may be induced in the wash, or preserved 


166 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


from year to year, as also the use to which the spent wash 
may be applied where water is scarce, or at a distance. 

As a general thing, well water, if good, is better than 
river water for mixing with syrup, or other substances to 
be fermented, inasmuch as it holds in solution less vege- 
table matter. Spring water, which has lime in solution, 
is very good, provided it does not contain other minerals 
unsuitable for the purpose. ‘Trial in every case can 
alone settle this authoritatively. 

If the reports of the French chemists apply to the 
sorgho of this country, there need be no anxiety as to 
the success of its fermentation, possessing, as it does, a 
strong tendency towards alcohol even unaided. In all 
cases, however, I would add to the vat, as directed, one 
quarter per cent. of fresh crushed canes as a ferment. 
This, as in the case of grape stalks on wine, secures the 
result. If a brewery be near, by all means get fresh 
yeast from that. 

After one vat or cask has been put into fermentation, 
it will be easy to inoculate all the others from it, for on 
the bottom will be found, on drawing off, a grayish sub- 
stance, which will induce fermentation wherever it is 
applied to saccharine solutions. 

By many, the best flavors of the West India rums are 
attributed to the mixture with the wash of a certain 
amount of spent wash of previous distiliations; this is 
done generally in the proportion of one third or fourth; 
and in case this plan be found favorable to the sorgho, I 
will give a few simple directions on this head, which 
may be varied as experience dictates, when sorgho dis- 
tillation has become an znstitutvon among us. 


ALCOHOL. 167 


The scum of the sugar train, during crop, is used to 
mix in the vats, six gallons of scum being considered 
equal to one gallon of syrup or molasses. ‘T'welve or 
fifteen per cent. of saccharine matters, whether of scum 
or syrup, is a common mixture, as, for instance, eighteen 
gallons scum, ten gallons syrup, thirty-six gallons spent 
wash, and thirty-nine gallons water, will do very well; 
say thirteen per cent. of saccharine, or twelve gallons 
syrup, may be used, so as to make fifteen per cent. sac- 
charine. | 

When the planter has got through with his distillation 
for the year, he leaves his vats full of spent wash, in order 
to prevent their leaking, as well also as to preserve the 
fermenting principle which the wash acquires before next 
season. After standing a short time, the wash throws to 
the surface a thick crust or scum, which protects it from 
the air, leaving the fluid underneath clear as sherry wine. 
This method I would advise our farmers or planters to 
adopt with their vats for sorgho, or wash them well 
with lime, and fill with pure water, which, if followed 
with the other suggestions I have given, will no doubt 
place us in a better position as regards alcohols than any 
other country in the world, inasmuch as, for the produc- 
tion of alcohol at all events, the sorgho will become suf- 
ficiently ripe throughout the Union, from Maine to Texas, 
and thus give us unrivaled facilities, not only for sup- 
plying our own markets, but those of the world, with this 
useful solvent. 

For the preceding remarks on alcohol, I am indebted 
to the same gentleman who furnished the illustrations 
and descriptions of sugar-making. He, as well as my- 


168 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


self, takes great interest in the development of our new 
plant, which, both as foddet, cereal, saccharine, spirit, 
beer, and wine, seems destined to add so largely to our 
wealth as a nation. 


DESCRIPTION OF GROUND PLAN. 
See p. 112. 


In the cut representing the plan of a sugar house, A represents the 
steam boilers outside of the building ; B the cane shed, built of brick 
or stone, with wide archways; C, the mill-house, having two floors, 
the mill on second floor ; D, the boiling-houses, with two trains, and a 
small office which overlooks both the mill and boiling houses; E, the 
cooling house ; and F the purgery. These two latter are ina separate 
building connected by a railroad, both to avoid risk of fire and admit 
of being kept locked up to prevent pilfering. G is the distillery, about 
one hundred yards removed from the other buildings. 

a shows the cane carrier ; } the mill and engine on the second floor, 
supported on solid masonry ; c a shute which takes the place of the 
bagasse carrier, and delivers the crushed canes into a mule cart under- 
neath, outside; d are juice tanks, to receive juice from mill; e are 
oblong defecators attached to the trains; f are the trains of pans; g 
railroads to carry the syrup to the coolers, and the sugar from coolers 
to purgery ; / are the coolers; 7 are the alley ways, level with furnace 
mouths ; k, furnace mouths ; /, sugar hogsheads in purgery. 


CH APDBRR wV ib be 


VINEGAR. 


Like all other saccharine juices, the sap of the sorgho, 
raw, and the wines and cider made from it, will rapidly 
pass into the acetous fermentation. As soon as the cut 
end of the stalk is exposed to the atmosphere, the oxygen 
attacks it, and the fermentation commences. I have 
found the sap of stalks which had lain in stack on our 
place for two months, to be as acid as the best vinegar, 
and although I have had no personal experience in vine- 
gar manufacture, I still should not be afraid to testify, 
with no other facts corroborative, that the sorgho is a 
vinegar-producing plant. 

The Count Moigneric, says Dr. Turrel in the Imperial 
Society’s Bulletin, of September, 1856, made vinegar by 
watering the bagasse, already crushed, with fresh juice 
of the sorgho. He obtained the acetous fermentation 
and a perfect vinegar. 

Mr. D. Jay Browne, in his done before the United 
States Agricultural Society, said that he believed fifteen 
hundred gallons of vinegar could be made per acre from 
the sorgho. He had a specimen at his house in Washing- 
ton, and pronounced it very good. 

Lacoste says hkewise at page forty-four of his book, 
“that the juice of the sugar sorgho submitted to the 
acetous fermentation, will produce vinegar of excellent 


quality; and it will also be profitable to submit to this 
8 [169] 


170 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE, 


transformation the weaker alcohols arising from the final 
distillations.” 

The methods for the production of vinegar are so 
simple, as to be familiar with almost every one of my 
readers, and it will, consequently, be useless to occupy 
much space in detailing them at length. I would simply 
recommend that the practice usually employed in treating 
the juice of apples, of the sugar maple, and the various 
other saccharine fluids commonly employed for the manu- 
facture of vinegar, be applied to the juices of the sorgho 
and imphee as they come from the mill. 

Sicard says that he has been in the custom of making 
vinegar of the knots of the cane stalks, and of adding to 
them such canes as were more or less spoiled. His pro- 
cess is extremely simple, and is as follows: 

‘ Bruise the pieces in the mill, put them in contact with 
a sufficient quantity of water to cover them a few inches, 
let them ferment then all alone until the liquid has ac- 
quired the qualities desired for good vinegar. It is in- 
dispensable to draw this vinegar off once or twice, with a 
view to removing from it all foreign substances.” He 
says that his vinegar is of a yellowish white color, and of 
avery agreeable acidity. He has sometimes allowed the 
knots to ferment before covering them with water, and in 
this way has obtamed a vinegar very deeply colored. 
For the purpose of making vinegar, he has likewise made 
use of the cider or piquette of the sorgho, by adding to it 
a slight quantity of tartaric acid. He says vinegar can 
likewise be obtained by putting into a barrel the residue 
of canes from which the juice has been extracted for the 
manufacture either of sugar or alcohol. In this case he 


VINEGAR. 17 


left them without disturbance until they had acquired a 
heat, of which he was made sensible by putting the hand 
in the mess; he then added to it water, and let it ferment 
as before mentioned. 


STARCH OF THE SEED. 


The consumption of starch in the United States, at all 
times large, has recently increased, owing to causes, 
among which may be enumerated the present universally 
prevalent custom of our females wearing stiff skirts; and 
much more starch is eaten than formerly, prepared in 
various forms for the table, such as starch, farina, tapioca, 
&e. The seed, deprived of its envelope, has been sub- 
mitted to numerous experiments by Mr. Wray, Count 
Beauregard, Dr. Sicard and others, chemists and amateurs, 
and has been found to yield forty-five per cent. of pure 
starch of very excellentquality. In fact, it only needs for a 
person to cut in twoa fully matured seed, to be convinced 
of the possibility of causing starch manufacturers to be 
considerably interested in this plant, when the area under 
cultivation shall be such as to bring down the prices of 
the seed to a moderate rate. On taking off the outside 
envelope of the seed, the one in which is contained a 
very deep purple dye tint, we see adhering to the starchy 
matter, another of a clear brown color, and somewhat 
unctuous to the touch. So intimately is it a part of the 
composition of the seed proper, that we anticipate an im- 
possibility to separate it, except by the process applied to 
barley, which is known as pearling, and in this way the 
desired result will be easily attained. What will be a 


172 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


cheap and expeditious method for removing the seed 
hulls, we cannot at present say. If it can be shown that 
the hulls, are valuable for the dyes which they will yield, 
ingenuity at once will be stimulated to produce a hulling 
machine; and if, as we think very probable, it shall be 
found the starch of the seed can be readily made use of, then 
again the same causes in operation will demand such a 
machine. But, at present, Dr. Sicard has made his ex- 
periments, as I have made my own with the hulls, by 
rubbing the seeds together in such a manner as to cause 
the hulls to separate of their own accord. Dr. Sicard 
made an experiment with about 175 lbs. of the seed to 
determine the proportions of coarse bran, middlings, and 
fine flour, and obtained thirty-three pounds of each of the 
two former, and about ninety-five pounds of the latter. 
The coarse bran and middlings were both of a violet tint, 
arising from the coloring matter impregnating the outer 
lining of the hull. 'The fine flour itself offered to the eye 
an appearance of violet shghtly bordering upon a rose 
color, and even after having been passed through a silken 
sieve, was still of a very pale rosecolor. To assure him- 
self that the coloring matter which thus tinted the fine 
flour was merely contained in the outside covering of the 
seed, he undertook very minute experiments, completely 
removing all the hull and the two successive interior 
coatings before passing the seed through the mill, and 
even made use of chemical agents to remove the color. 
The result, itis true, was the production of a starch of 
very brilliant whiteness, but his experiments proved to 
my mind that the production of pure white starch will 
be a matter of considerable difficulty. Itwill havea pale 


VINEGAR. 173 


rose color, which may, or may not, militate against its 
general introduction. He made from the starch at diffe- 
rent times bread and cakes, and in the different cases 
varied success, some being palatable and others not. 
The flour of the sorgho is of an inferior quality as com- 
pared with wheat flour, and others of the finer grains, 
and any mixture of that with wheat flour is a fraud upon 
the stomach, giving a quantity of inferior aliment with 
an accompaning bribe of a better one, as quack physicians 
will make palatable to their patients nauseous pills by 
surrounding them with a coating of sugar. In speaking, 
however, of starch and the various forms of food to be 
made from the Chinese Sugar Cane, I would not be 
understood as embracing in the same category those 
which the imphee may furnish, for, because of the absence 
of any coloring matter from its hull, the peculiar plump- 
ness of the seed, and the large quantity of starch found to 
be present, I have reason to believe that it will indeed 
be a valuable acquisition, and its culture be duly under- 
taken with this simple object inview. Be that as it may, 
we cannot alter the composition of the starch, nor of the 
other components of the sugar. Whither tinted rose 
color, or as white asthe driven snow, it still will have its 
own unchanging proportions of carbon, oxygen, and hy- 
drogen, which will represent a certain nutritive value, and 
for animals it cannot but prove, as indeed experience has 
already proved it to be, a very excellent fodder crop. 
Madinier says, at page 10, that the seed contains 10 to 
12 per cent. of nitrogenous matter—eluten—and about 
60 per cent. of starch, which would make it, so far as the 
proportions of nitrogen are concerned, to resemble our 


174 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


common corn; but where he obtained his analysis, I am 
not informed. He says that the real use of the sorgho 
is not for bread-making, but it should be eaten on the 
farm in the form of broth and soups for the laborer, or to 
be boiled up in quantities and given for fattening pigs 
and cattle. 


DYE STUFFS. 


Previous to the receipt of the pamphlets from Messrs, 
Hedges, Free, & Co., which were sent to them by his 
Excellency our Minister at Paris, I had seen in my re- 
searches after the facts collated by French experimenters 
and published in the French journals, occasional mention 
of the experiments of Dr. Sicard of Marseilles, in pro- 
curing from the hulls of the seed a tint for dyeing; but 
not the slightest clue was given as to how the dye was 
produced. Thinking it an interesting aspect of the 
sorgho culture, I was anxious to duplicate, if possible, 
his success; and to this end made various laboratory 
experiments with alcohol, sulphuric ether, the various 
acids, boiling the hulls in a retort with oxalic acid, 
muriate of tin, alum, dilute acids, and plain water, and 
obtained a number of tints of greater or less brilliancy. 
Of these one was a deep purple, obtained by simply 
boiling the hulls in pure water for about fifteen minutes ; 
another, a beautiful rose colored fluid, was made by 
boiling the hulls of another sample (received from 
France) in very dilute sulphuric acid, a few drops of the 
acid toa pint of water being sufficient. And, by dropping 
into the pure water in which the hulls were being boiled 


VINEGAR. 175 


a few drops of nitric, muriatic, or acetic acids, as the case 
might be, I obtained different shades of red. I inserted 
inthe liquid strips of cotton and silk fabrics, and set 
them with alum. In one case, I took a piece of white 
ribbon, and by boiling it in the tinted solution for a few 
moments, obtained a very deep color. In another case, 
in a weaker solution, a ribbon was colored pink. Being 
entirely unacquainted with the principles of dyeing, of 
course my experiments were but imperfect, and were 
useful only as proving the fact, that in the hulls was 
actually contained a tint, which might be very easily 
separated. They led me to believe that, under proper 
circumstances, this dye could be extracted and made into 
pigments with profit. 

In Dr. Sicard’s “ Monograph of the Chinese Sugar 
Cane,” he has introduced a specimen of twenty-one colors 
obtained by him from the seed, and for which he has 
received letters patent. They range through all tints, 
from a light buff to a very deep purple, but do not, of 
course, present the brilliancy which they do when repro- 
duced on different fabrics. ‘In fact,” as he says himself 
in his Postscript, ‘it would be difficult, by these speci- 
mens, to give the slightest idea of the beauty of the tints 
which may be obtained on silk, woollen, or cotton 
stuff. The first substance has especially a very great 
affinity for the coloring matters obtained from the plant 
which has occupied our attention; but if silk has more 
affinity for all the colors in general, there are others 
which show remarkable beauty on woollen and cotton 
stuffs. The coloring principles which we have obtained 
are to the number of nine, entirely independent from 


176 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


each other, and capable of eiving colored salts perfectly 
crystallized. By combining our coloring principles with 
different chemical substances, there are obtained not only 
a number of known colors, but, furthermore, tints on the 
stuffs which are unknown in France, and like which we 
have no specimens except the beautiful embroideries 
which we receive from China. We sincerely hope that 
the Government, comprehending all the importance of 
these discoveries, shall publish the results obtained. It 
is impossible that a plant which, in the hands of a single 
individual, has given results so extraordinary and so 
varied, should not be called to play a great part in all 
branches of industry.” 

I translate as follows the account of his curious 
researches: ‘The hulls which envelope the seeds 
of the sorgho are tinted with a reddish brown so 
deeply that they appear black. The tint is due to a 
complex coloring matter condensed in this part of the 
seed, but which also exists in the radicular fibers at their 
origin, and in the young suckers. This coloring matter 
is insoluble in cold water. Boiling water dissolves it, 
with a red violet color. Alcohol, even cold, takes itfrom 
the hulls, and becomes colored with a deep red. Ether 
dissolves it, and takes on a bright red tint. <A boiling 
solution of alum takes on a reddish lilac color. Concen- 
trated sulphuric acid dissolves it with a deep reddish 
color; chlorohydric acid with a reddish orange color; 
the alkalies with a brown. 

“The acid solutions in water, caused to precipitate a 
substance of a deep reddish brown tint. Alkaline solu- 
tions precipitated by acids brown flakes, which redden 


VINEGAR. “77 


upon repeated washings. The supernatant fluids are 
yellow. The alcoholic tincture evaporated, gives crys- 
talline scales, which seem black when viewed in a mass, 
and that a fatty substance renders brilliant; the liquor 
and the waters from the washings are of a yellow color. 

“Tincture of ether gives, likewise, by evaporation and 
an addition of water, a red precipitate, upon which floats 
a yellow liquor. 

“There are, then, in the hulls of the sorgho, two color- 
ing principles; the one red, slightly soluble in water, 
and soluble in alcohol, ether, the acids, and alkalies; 
the other, yellow, very soluble in water, and in the 
other solvents, which is not precipitable from its solu- 
tions like the red matter. 

“The red matter, which we may call purpurholcine, 
presents itself under the form of a reddish violet powder, 
so deep in color that it appears black; it has no smell; 
its taste (very weak) is a little bitter and astringent. 
Heated in a closed tube it does not volatilize, but gives 
empyreumatic vapors, which condense themselves into 
yellow oily drops. In presence of potashed lime it 
gives, under the influence of heat, alkaline vapors. It 
is then an azotized substance, and of which we will, 
further on, determine the atomic composition. The pur- 
purholeine is but little soluble in water, but dissolves 
readily in boiling water, in alcohol, cold and warm, and 
in ether, with a reddish color; sulphuric acid and chlo- 
rohydric acid dissolve it with an orange color. Potash, 
ammonia, lime water, and the water of baryta, communi- 
cate to it an intense color; alum, a red violet. It is not 
soluble in fixed oils; it can be prepared by several pro- 

Qe 


178 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


cesses. First, treat the seeds with concentrated sulphuric 
acid ; allow them to remain in contact with it one or two 
days; then it is mixed in a large quantity of water; the 
whole is thrown upon a filter and washed until the 
liquor is no longer acid; the carbon which remains upon 
the filter, mixed with the coloring matter, is treated by 
warm alcohol, and gives a tint, which it is only neces- 
sary to distill, and add to it water, to obtain the purpur- 
holcine, in brilliant scales, tinged with a little fatty mat- 
ter. The liquid retains the yellow substances, and a 
little of the purpurholcine. 

‘Second: The seeds can be treated directly by alcohol 
and operated with, as above given for the alcoholic 
tincture; ether conduces to the same effect. 

“Third: We can furthermore employ a solution of pot- 
ash; it makes a brown magma, which is to be filtered; 
and in the hquor put with care some chlorohydric acid; 
brown flakes are precipitated, upon which will float a 
yellow liquid. These are to be separated, washed well, 
redissolved in alcohol, and the latter gives, by evapora- 
tion, the purpurholcine. 

“Uses: This coloring matter can be used for dyeing. 
By varying the dissolvents and the mordants, are ob- 
tained, upon cotton, woolen, and especially upon silk 
stuffs, beautiful tints, which vary as much as can be de- 
sired in the browns, the grays, the reds, thé oranges, 
and lilacs. Our conviction, in this respect, is based 
upon dyeing experiments, on a small scale. 

“The yellow matter, which we shall call xantholcine, is 
very soluble in water, either cold or warm. Soluble in 
acids, which cause it to become an orange yellow; the 


VINEGAR. 179 


alkalies preserve its colors. It forms with different 
metallic oxides, red and orange lakes. 

“The stuffs, with the use of mordants, take on various 
tints of yellow and of orange, brown, and rose color It 
is obtained at the same time as the red matter, and re- 
mains in solution in the different liquids where the 
purpurholcine is precipitated; but it is not pure, and is 
mixed with the red matter. The best process to isolate 
it, is to make use of potash. It can be purified, by 
making use of the process indicated by Kullmann, for 
the yellow matter of the madder which this chemist has 
named Xanthine. Thus the seeds of the sorgho contain 
two coloring matters, which applied to dyeing, can re- 
place madder and give all the shades which are ob- 
tained from the roots of this plant. The purpurhol- 
cine differs from the red matters of the madder by its 
non-volatility. The Xantholcine seems identical with 
the Xanthine.” 

Dr. Sicard’s process having been made public, has 
created considerable interest in the city of Lyons among 
the large silk manufacturers, and experiments are being 
made to test the value of his coloring matters, the result 
of which will settle the question as to its practical 
utility. 


CEROSIE ; OR, THE VEGETABLE WAX ON THE STALKS OF THE 
SORGHO. 


In a previous place, I mentioned that as the plant ap- 
proaches maturity, a white efflorescence makes its ap- 
pearance upon the outside of the stalks, accumulating, 


180 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


in the greatest proportion, under the footstalks of the 
leaves. This vegetable wax—cerosie, the French call 
it—is similar in its composition to the wax produced by 
bees; it is, however, dry, hard, and may be pulverized ; 
fusible at 90°, and if mixed with purified tallow, and 
made into candles, burns with a clear brilliant ight. It 
is employed for this purpose by the imhabitants of 
the north of China. Mr. Hardy, the Director of the 
Government Nursery in Algiers, makes a calculation as 
to its value per acre, by which he shows a net profit of 
thirty-six dollars, to be added to the other profits given 
by the cultivation of the sorgho; but Ido not see how 
we can, for a moment, adopt these views as applicable to 
our conditions of climate and prices of labor. In Algiers, 
Mr. Hardy could secure the service of Arab boys and 
women at a very low price; and in China, the labor of 
a man is remunerated with only a few cents per day; 
but in our country, we cannot hire a laborer for less 
than a dollar a day. It seems to me that, taking into 
consideration the fact that the cerosie is not secreted by 
the stalks so abundantly as it is in Algiers, we cannot 
spare the laborers from more important duties, to go over 
the field and carefully scrape the wax from the outside 
of the stalks. T’o obtain a small quantity, to illustrate 
my lectures befcre the Legislatures last winter, I em- 
ployed one of our pupils, for nearly half a day, and the 
little suecess that he met with, convinced me at the time, 
that any calculations of its becoming an important com- 
mercial commodity in our own country, were futile, un- 
less, perhaps, by either steaming the stalks in a vat after 
they were cut, or by the use of some machinery, the wax 


VINEGAR. 181 


could be removed more expeditiously, and in greater 
quantity than it was in this instance. 

Any one of my Yeaders can satisfy himself that it is 
indeed a wax, and burns exactly like wax candles, by 
collecting a small quantity of it into a heap and setting 
fire to it with a match. The flame is very white and 
beautful, so long as it lasts. 

Professor Gray, at page 60, section 86 of his ‘“ Botani- 
cal Text-Book,” supposes from the fact that bees produce 
wax from sugar, and that the wax of the sugar cane 
sometimes passes into sugar, that the vegetable wax found 
in plants is formed of sugar, or similar products. The 
Ceroxylum Andicola, or Wax-bearing Palm, is an instance 
of the considerable secretion of wax by a vegetable. 
Mr. Hardy has been attacked in various French journals 
for his unwise championship of this novel product; but 
with a persistence either the result of constitutional pro- 
clivity, or because warranted by the facts which he has 
actually arrived at in his Algerian experience, he writes 
to Count Gasparin that he desires his investigations to be 
remembered, and his assertions to be put on record for 
future reference, that he is more convinced than ever 
that the wax of the sorgho will indeed be one of its most 
valuable products. 


SORGHO PAPER. 


In the books of M. Duret and Dr. Sicard are pasted 
specimens of paper, respectively obtained by them from 
the pulpy sorgho stalks, of which that in Dr. Sicard’s 
book is, I think, the best. It presents the appearance 


182 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


and texture, to a great extent, of fine parchment, and is 
naturally sized, so that it is pleasant to write upon. It 
is quite strong, and for that reason suitable for wrapping 
paper. Of it he says, excusing himself for its unfinished 
quality, ‘‘I think it better to give this product in all its 
primitive purity, rather than to color it. Its composition 
presents doubtless defects, which explain themselves 
easily when it is remembered that this paper has been 
made by a person entirely unacquainted with paper- 
making, in want of all objects necessary for this industry, 
and aided simply by my little son; it will be understood 
by the result obtained, how much can be obtained under 
proper conditions from this plant.” 

Duret gives the process for making paper from corn 
stalks, as follows: ‘‘One hundred and twenty-five pounds 
of pulp of the stalk, which is yet moist, and from which 
the saccharine matter has been separated, are put in a 
copper, with about fifteen pounds of quick lime and a 
sufficient quantity of water to form of it a sort of clear 
paste. The mixture is moistened from time to time, and 
after several days of contact the pulp is triturated in a 
cylinder mill, as is the custom with common rags. After 
having reduced into paste the residue of the stalks, as we 
have just explained, it was mixed with twelve and a half 
pounds of paste of coarse rags, and the mixture was then 
submitted to a new trituration. This one hundred and 
twenty-five pounds of the stalk mixed with twelve and a 
half pounds of coarse rags have yielded sixty-three 
pounds of wrapping paper, well sized. 

M. Hudelist thinks that, with fifty per cent. of com- 
mon paste, he eould have obtained a paper very strong 


VINEGAR. 183 


and very well sized, by giving no more care to the tritu- 
ration than in working on rags. 

M. Felix Vospette has also made paper with the stalks 
of corn by a process analogous to the preceding; but in 
place of ten per cent. of the pulp of rags, used in the 
experiment made by M. Hudelist, he made use of 
twenty per cent., and has obtained, with but little trouble, 
the same proportion of piper. If, in the place of using 
his corn pulp moist, that is to say, immediately after it 
had been pressed, he had let it dry before turning it unto 
paper, it would have been necessary to boil it to resoften 
it, and submit it afterwards, as we have above mentioned, 
to the successive action of lime water and of the cylin- 
der. The paper made by M. Vospette is pliant, close in 
texture, very solid, of a pale shade, and made without 
other odor than that of the stallx from which it was made; 
itis naturally sized, for, in writing on it, it is impenetrable 
to common ink. 

The quire of twenty-five sheets weighs one pound six 
ounces; consequently the ream, which has twenty quires, 
gives a weight equal to twenty-seven pounds. The pulp 
of the stalks loses by desiccation nearly two thirds of its 
weight. ‘T'wenty pounds of this pulp, very dry, pro- 
duced twenty pounds twelve ounces of manufactured 
paper. ‘There would then be an advantage in making 
cornstalk paper with the moist pulp, which would be 
impossible in a large manufacture, where the mass of 
matter to be worked up should be dried in order that it 
might be manufactured as it was wanted. For the mili- 
tary service, cartridges have been made with this stalk 
paper, and it has been proved that it resists humidity 


184 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


more, and is less combustible than that which is usually 
employed for the same purpose. 

As yet, of course, no experiments have been made in 
making paper from the sorgho stalks in this country, but 
from the specimens in the books of Dr. Sicard and M. 
Duret, I think it possible that our manufacturers will 
apply themselves to experiments in this respect, and 
doubtless improve upon the results of the French inves- 
tigators. 


Thus, through all its different aspects, have we traced 
this wonderful plant; which, although so lately introduced, 
has created such very general interest with those who 
have had any experience in its cultivation. It now only 
remains for me to present the result of my labors to the 
American farmers and planters, and to express the wish 
that the Chinese Sugar Cane may realize the flattering 
promise which it now gives, and prove itself worthy of 
adoption into the list of our most valued economical 
plants. 


CHAPTER IX. 


LEONARD WRAY, OF Lonpon, England. Letters Patent, 
No. 17,718, Dated June 30, 1857. Patented in Belgi- 
um, June 20, 1854. 

To all whom wt may concern: 

Be it known unto all men, that I, Leonard Wray, of 
the City of London, in the United Kingdom of Great 
Britain and Ireland, have discovered a new process or 
method of making crystallized sugar, syrup and molasses, 
from all the African and Chinese varieties of the “ Jm- 
phee” or ‘* Holcus saccharatus” of Linnzeus, often denom- 
inated “ Sugar millet,” “ Sorghum saccharatum,” “ Sorgho 
sucré,” ete.; which process is also applicable to the man- 
ufacture of the same products from the juice of the 
maize, broom corn, the sugar maple, etc. 

The process constituting my said imvention, may 
briefly thus be stated: I take the stalks of the said 
plants, and obtain the juice contained in them by any 
ordinary and well known method. ‘This raw saccharine 
juice I then treat with lime, or cream of lime, until it has 
lost all trace of acidity, and even becomes sufficiently 
alkaline to affect, in a slight degree, turmeric paper, or 
other equally sensitive test paper ; when I at onee remove 
the said juice into a suitable filtering or other apparatus 
for separating the feculencies or coagulated matters from 
the juice, so as to obtain a clear bright liquor or juice, 
without having subjected it to any heat whatever. This 

[185] 


186 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


clear bright juice or liquor, I then put into a suitable 
vessel, and apply heat until the temperature rises from 
120 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit, when I treat it with a 
dilute infusion of powdered nut galls, or other substance 
containing tannin, neutralizing any excess of tannin that 
may have been accidentally given, or any acid which 
may have become liberated, by the addition of a little 
lime, cream of lime, or lime in any other suitable com- 
bination; I then urge the heat until the liquor’ has 
arrived at the boiling point, at which it should be kept 
for a few moments, when the heat is withdrawn, and the 
liquor is again filtered and rendered clear. 

This clear defecated liquor is next evaporated, end if 
in open pans, the scum is taken off as it rises, and the 
evaporation is continued, either in open pans or in any low 
temperature apparatus, until the liquor is sufficiently con- 
centrated to permit of its granulation or crystallization 
taking effect in proper receptacles, into which it is placed 
for that purpose. If it should so happen, that the said 
concentrated juice exhibits a disinclination to granulate 
or form crystals, then the addition of a few ounces of 
well grained dry sugar may be had recourse to, which 
will immediately cause a granulation of the concentrated 
syrup. It must be well understood, that I make use of 
charcoal once, twice, or thrice, in the filtration and decolor- 
ization of the juice and syrup; or, on the other hand, I 
do not use it at all, just as I may see fit and expedient. 
When the new sugar is properly granulated, its molasses 
is separated from it by the usual methods now employed. 

It must be distinctly understood that the mere idea of 
cold filtration is not unknown, because numerous attempts 


MR. WRAY’S PROCESS. 187 


have from time to time been made 10 filter the raw juice 
of the sugar cane, before applying heat thereto, and 
small quantities of lime have been put into the said raw 
juice, before filtration, in order to prevent the, acidifica- 
tion and fermentation of the juice during filtration, and 
before it could reach the Lozlers and be boiled; but my 
distinct and well proved method, is that of adding lime, 
or cream of lime, to the raw juice until it loses all traces 
of acidity, and it becomes sufficiently alkaline to affect 
slightly the color of turmeric paper, or other equally sen- 
sitive alkaline test paper. The chemical principle in- 
volved in this process, I will now explain, so as to 
demonstrate the very peculiar and distinctive character 
of my treatment; distinguishing it, therefore, from all 
other methods. 

The juice as it comes from the mill, I have always 
found to be palpably acid; the first effect of the lime, 
therefore, is to neutralize the juice; secondly, to regulate 
(by a further addition of lime) as large a quantity of the 
feculencies as possible, by saturating the acids which 
hold them dissolved in the juice. When the lime has in 
this manner combined with the acids, and liberated the 
feculencies, whatever lime may be in excess, tends to 
make the juice alkaline, which the turmeric paper imme- 
diately denotes, showing the necessity of instant filtration, 
which yields a beautiful clean, clear bright juice, without 
any heat having been used, leaving in the filtered juice, 
besides the sugar and water, only a little deatrine, caseine 
and saline matter. By this simple process, a host of 
troublesome albuminous, glutinous, gummy, waxy, and 
mucilaginous matters combined under the general head 


188 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 


of feculencies, are got rid of entirely, before they can act 
injuriously upon the sugar contained in the juice, which 
they infallibly do the moment we apply heat to the undef: 
ecated mass. Having thus obtained this bright raw 
juice, I next treat it in the manner already specified, 
with heat, infusion of nut galls (or other analogous 
substance containing tannin,) and cream of lime, lime 
water, or other suitable combination of lime, and then 
filter, so as to get rid of the dextrine and caseine, or 
as much of them as is possible, previous to subjecting the 
juice to continuous heat. 

The mere idea of using an infusion of nut galls or 
other tannin substances in sugar making, is not new; 
inasmuch as these substances have been recommended 
and even been tried by W. J. Evans, M. D., of London, 
in whose work, the ‘Sugar Planter’s Manual,” (1847,) 
it may be found at page 101; but it will be at once ob- 
served, that the manner of employing it, or them, as laid 
down therein by Doctor Evans, is ENTIRELY DIFFERENT 
from my own method; for he applies the infusion cf nut 
galis to the raw green juice in the clarifier, just as it 
comes from the mill, and previous to any other defecation 
having taken place. Whereas, I, on the contrary, first 
defecate the cold raw green juice, by means of lime, cream 
of lime, or other suitable preparation of lime, (as herein 
before set forth); and then filter the juice so treated, 
thereby getting rid of the great mass of green feculent 
matter contained in it, and obtaining a clear, bright and 
almost colorless juice or liquor, previous to applying any 
heat whatever, and previous to the venturing upon any 
application of the infusion of nut galls or other tannic 


MR. WRAY’S PROCESS. 189 


substances; thus forming a totally distinct method of 
using and applying the said tannic substances to the juice. 

My process, therefore, consists first in the cold defeca- 
tion of raw juice by means of lime, or other suitable com- 
bination of lime, immediately followed by filtration, as 
hereinbefore particularly detailed; and secondly, the treat- 
ment of the clear bright juice or liquor resulting from 
this cold defecation, with infusion of nut galls or other 
suitable tannic substances, aided by heat in suitable ves- 
sels and subsequent filtration, as hereinbefore described : 
together, making as a whole, one plain consecutive 
process, which I have herein fully and faithfully ex- 
plained and set forth; and which has never been sug- 
gested nor employed by any one else before. 

These comprise the whole of my treatment; and I 
submit that they constitute an entirely distinct and new 
process, being one whereby excellent crystallized sugar 
has been, and can always be made from the plants I have 
before named. And I therefore claim the process, as 
herein set forth, and desire to secure the same by Letters 
Patent. 

L. WRAY, 
Cuas. L. ALEXANDER, ! 
THomAs C. ConNOLLY, Witnesses, 


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FAR? ff. 


THE 


ZULU-KAFFIR IMPHEE, 


OR, 


“SWEET REED,” 


(THe Holcus Saccharatus or Linn xvs,) 


COMPRISING A DESCRIPTION OF ITS NUMEROUS VARIETIES, ITS MODE 
OF CULTIVATION, AND THE MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR 
AND OTHER PRODUCTS FROM ITS RICH 
SACCHARINE JUICE. 


BY LEONARD WRAY, 


AUTHOR OF ‘‘ THE PRACTICAL SUGAR PLANTER,’’ ‘‘ THE SUGAR PLANTER S 
COMPANION,”’ ETC., ETC. 


a Fr Pe Peer a es 


OR 


AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


THERE can be no question that many useful arts and 
manufactures, known and practiced by the ancients, have, 
from certain untoward causes, been lost to the world, and 
continue so to this day. Many, again, have been redis- 
covered from time to time, and are thus restored to the 
present generation; holding rank, however, more fre- 
quently in the character of new and original discoveries 
and inventions, than as mere restorations to human 
knowledge. 

Not a few have been restored to us by purely acci- 
dental circumstances; others have been strictly the dis- 
coveries and inventions of practical and gifted men of 
modern times, the results of sagacious observation, skill- 
ful experiments, and practical deductions, apart from any 
previous traditionary ideas on the subject; whilst others, 
again, have been the valued reward of intense study and 
unwearied endeavors to obtain those results which tradi- 
tion, or perhaps, even existing specimens, told them had 
been accomplished in bygone ages, and by which they 
were incited to attempt their rediscovery. 

9 [193] 


194 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


Amongst ithe many, two articles, namely, glass and 
éron, suffice to furnish us with numerous familiar instances 
of lost processes rediscovered; and even of lost manufac- 
tures not yet restored to us, although sought after by 
many really practical men. Wemay, moreover, go beyond 
these remarks, and assert that there are some, if not many, 
arts and manufactures known and carried on by the 
Chinese, which certainly are not understood and prac- 
ticed by Europeans. : 

Not a few of their simple inventions and ingenious 
contrivances are either totally unknown to us, or if 
slightly mentioned by travelers rather more observant 
than others, their accounts have been so inaccurate and 
deficient in detail, that the principle and consequent value 
of these inventions have remained unappreciated and un- 
adopted. 

Who would be so hardy as to assert that much valu- 
able knowledge in various particular branches of art (of 
which we ourselves are ignorant) does not exist in the 
islands of Japan? I fancy that no reasonable man would 
venture upon such an assertion. All thisserves to teach 
us, that in bringing forward anything as a NEW DISs- 
COVERY of our own, we must not be disconcerted if, on 
careful examination, we find that we are, in reality, 
merely rediscovering, and giving to our own generation 
and country, in a practical form, that which has been 
known and attempted, if not actually used, in by-gone 
times; or perhaps by a far distant and scarcely known 
people of our own day. 

Itisa principle, however, most wisely recognized by the 
law of almost every civilized nation of the present age, that 


~~ 


INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 195 


any individual making such a rediscovery, or reinvention, 
or even introducing a useful invention, so as to wézlize or 
turn it to a useful purpose, should be, to all intents and 
purposes, entitled to the benefits and advantages accruing 
from a patent, or protective grant, during a period of 
years, varying according to the laws of the different 
countries wherein such patent is granted. 

Were this wise and enlightened view of the case not 
taken, how many hundreds of useful and important dis- 
coveries and inventions would now still continue hidden 
in the dormant state to which, in ages past, the accidental 
death, even the poverty, of the original inventor and dis- 
coverer, a slight mischance, or a local difficulty, might 
perhaps have consigned them. Weeven see, in our own 
day, how many really useful inventions are suffered to 
languish and become inoperative for lack of energy, want 
of encouragement, &c., or the thousand and one chances 
and obstacles to the successful introduction of modern im- 
provements and inventions. We can well understand, 
therefore, how strongly all these, and other causes, may 
have operated in less advanced, less enlightened, and less 
enterprising ages. 

I have been led to these few introductory observations 
by-the reflections which have been forced upon my mind 
within the last few months, whilst following up the sub- 
ject matter involved in the history of sugar manufacture, 
from the earliest records to the present day; and of the 
plants from which the natives of various countries ex-— 
tracted a kind of sugar or jaggery, before the sugar cane 
was so universally diffused over the globe. 

In the year 1847, whilst I was engaged in writing my 


196 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


work, ‘ The Practical Sugar Planter,” my mind became 
strongly impressed with the idea (an impression almost 
amounting to conviction) that ‘‘the reed,” the “sweet 
reed,” so frequently made mention of by ancient authors 
as being used by the natives of Morocco, Kthiopia, 
Egypt, Arabia, and India, for the purpose of making 
sugar or jaggery, did not really in all cases mean, or apply 
to, the sugar cane, but that some other reed-like plant 
was more particularly referred to, which in process of 
time had been gradually displaced by the true sugar cane. 
But with no satisfactory authority, and with no corro- 
borative evidence to support the idea I had formed, it by 
degrees lost its hold upon my mind, and eventually was 
scarcely remembered. However, on visiting a colony in 
Natal, in Africa, in 1851, I found there, in the plant | 
called by the Zulu-Kaffirs Jmphee, “the sweet reed,” 
which might well have been alluded to by the ancient 
writers. My mind, at that time, was so occupied by other 
subjects, that I paid but small attention to this interest- 
ing plant, and some time elapsed before I directed my 
thoughts to it, and thus became aware of its immense im- 
portance to Europe and America, and, indeed, to the 
world at large. 

I heard that some very intelligent colonists had tried 
to make sugar from its rich juice, but that they had, one 
and all, entirely failed in doing so. 

No way discouraged, I sent my most intelligent Kafir 
servants long distances to collect me seed of all the dif- 
ferent kinds of imphee known amongst themselves, and 
thus obtained fifteen kinds, more or less differmg from 
each other, but all known under the general native name 


INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 197 


of Imphee, and comprised in botany under the name Hol- 
cus saccharatus (Linnzeus.) 

All of the seeds I planted, and made sugar from the 
whole fifteen different kinds, which enabled me to ascer- 
tian not only the saccharine value of each, but likewise 
the distinct peculiarities of the growth, seeding, etc., etc. 

The results of my observations and long-continued study 
of their habits and relative value will be found in the 
succeeding pages; but my manufacture was so complete- 
ly successful, that I left Natal and came to Hurope to 
prosecute my discovery, and introduce to the notice of 
the world the vast importance of the plants for ae 
manufacture. 

In recently looking over various botanical works, I 
find that attempts have been made by Signor Arduino 
and others to introduce varieties of this plant into Euro- 
pean cultivation, for the purpose of making sugar, but 
from some cause or other they had hitherto been perfectly 
unsuccessful. 

Nor am I any way surprised at these failures, believing 
that its success in Kurope very essentially depends upon 
the particular kind of imphee that is planted, and the 
next, upon a peculiar method employed in treating the 
juice. 

T also find it stated that the inhabitants of northern 
China use it in making a kind of sugar. 

This really may or may not be the case, for, in ibis 
of fact, almost the whole of northern China, together with 
the major portion of the great interior of that immense 
empire, may be fairly denominated a terra incognita to us ; 
a country so effectually sealed up, that, as I before ob- 


198 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


served, numerous arts and manufactures may be there 
existent at the present moment, which are nevertheless 
wholly unknown to us, or perhaps have been heard of 
only through the medium of unauthenticated and unsatis- 
factory rumors. 

In the manufacture of crystallized sugar, and other 
products, from the imphee and Holcus saccharatus, I have 
had the most signal success, and in the following pages 
I will endeavor to set the value of these plants in a true 
light before the public, hoping very soon to present to 
the attention of my kind readers, a much larger and more 
comprehensive edition of this work. 


BOTANICAL NOTICE AND HISTORY. 


It is indeed most difficult for me, not being a botanist, 
to give a botanical description of the Zulu-Kaffir Jmphee 
that could be deemed altogether satisfactory; for, after 
the most careful research among the best botanical works, 
and after consulting very eminent botanists personally, 
T can come to no other conclusion than that the most sin- 
gular uncertainty and confusion reign among them all 
in their several accounts of this species, arising, evidently, 
from the fact of no sufficiently competent botanist having 
yet thoroughly investigated the differences existing be- 
tween the several kinds of imphee and the several kinds 
of Mabaalee or Kaffir corn. 

This lamentable state of things will, however, be ter- 
minated, I trust, in a few days, as I have now flowering 
in England three kinds of real imphee, besides my dried 
specimens, which will enable me to obtain from Dr. 


BOTANICAL NOTICE AND IIISTORY. - 199 


Thompson (a distinguished botanist) their true botanical 
description; although we certainly have no plants of the 
Kaffir corn, or Guinea corn, with which to contrast 
them. 

I will, however, venture to say, that I entirely agree 
with Linnzus, Brown, and others, in the botanical name 
which they have bestowed upon the Imphcee, namely, /ol- 
cus saccharatus, the Kaffir or Guinea corn being Sorghum 
vulgare, or Sorghum halapense, or Sorghum andropogon, 
as its several kinds are called by various authors. 

Inawork entitled ‘‘ Wortus Americanus,” published very 
many years ago, in Jamaica, by Dr. Barham, the Guinea 
corn, so universally cultivated in the island for its grain, 
is described as ‘ Holcus Sorghum, or Sorghum vulgare ; 
native habitat, Coast of Guinea, Africa; natural order, 
Graminea ; class, Polygamia ; order, Monecia;” and the 
general account therein given of it agrees in every respect 
with my own observations. 

Many other sorts of the same grain are grown by the 
Zulu-Kaffirs, on the south-east coast of Africa, but are all 
comprised under the one general name of Mabaalee, al- 
though much difference exists between them, not only in 
the peculiarities of the seed-heads, ete., but likewise in the 
juice of the stalks, being slightly sweet in some, whilst in 
others scarcely a trace of sweetness can be detected. They 
are all cultivated for their gram, and for that alone; 
whereas, the imphee, or Holeus saccharatus, is grown only 
for its sweet juice, and never, to my knowledge, for its 
erain, which the Kaflirs say cannot be used as human 
food, in explanation of which I must state that they never 
grind their Mabaalee to extract the flour, but boil it whole, 


200 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


in which form they consider the grain of the imphee to 
be highly deleterious. 

The great and essential differences really existing be- 
tween the Sorghum andropogon and the Holcus sacchara- 
tus are certainly not those unluckily relied upon by some 
of our modern botanists, and shown in the following: 

‘‘ But most botanists seem to agree that there are only 
two main types, to which all the others are subordinate. 
Sorghum vulgare has an oval, rigid, more or less compact, 
panicle or head of flowers, with ascending branches, while 
Sorghum saccharatum* has a loose panicle, with lax, 
elongated, weak, and sometimes pendulous, branches.” 

For at least three or four sorts of imphee, namely, 
Koom-ba-no, Shla-goon-dee, and Oom-see-a-na, have pani- 
cles as rigid and compact, with branches erect, and as 
short and stiff as can well be. 

The “two main types,” therefore, are entirely fanciful 
and valueless, forming no criterion whatever. 

Another writer says: “ Millet seed, the produce of 
Holcus saccharatum, is imported largely into this country 
(England) from the East Indies, for the purpose chiefly 
of making puddings; and by many persons it is preferred 
to rice.” Of this I may simply say, that itis nothing of 
the kind; it is quite a different millet. 

To make confusion worse confounded, some botanical 
writers likewise call the broom corn, Sorghum sacchara- 
tum, making upon the whole a nice medley of those 
really simple distinctions. 

In spite of all these scientific complexities, however, I 
think we may safely hold the imphee (of all kinds) to be 


* Meaning, of course, Holcus saccharatus.—L. W. 


BOTANICAL NOTICE AND HISTORY. 201 


actually the Holcus sacchdratus, a perfectly distinct tribe 
of plants, and not a Sorghum at all! 

It is said that seed of this plant was introduced (for 
what purpose is not stated) into England in 1759; but 
seeing the botanical confusion existing on the subject, I 
very firmly disbelieve it, and consider that it was much 
more likely to have been some kind of sorghum, intro- 
duced for the sake of its grain. 

There can be no doubt, however, that Professor Pietro 
Arduino, of Florence, became acquainted with one or 
more sorts of the LHolcus saccharatus, perhaps as early as 
1766; and 1786 he published an account of his experi- 
ments in sugar making from it. It would seem that he 
endeavored to establish its cultivation in Tuscany; but 
for causes which have never been clearly given, he did 
not succeed in doing so. 

From his time, it may be said to have remained in total 
obscurity, (as far as Europe is concerned,) down to the 
year 1854. 

So much has this been the case, that although I have 
been a sugar planter so many years of my life, and 
have, as an author, had to look closely into all informa- 
tion connected with the production of sugar, in both 
ancient and modern times; yet I can truly say, that I 
knew nothing of this plant until I resided in the colony of 
Natal, on the south-east coast of Africa, where it grows 
in abundance. Nor was it until I reached England this 
year, that I could obtain the works of scientific authors, 
from which to learn its botanical character, and what 
efforts had been made, if any, to introduce it to notice. 

It was with the utmost difficulty that I was enabled to 

g* 


202 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


obtain the whole fifteen sorts of imphee that I now have; 
and I never should have acquired anything like accurate 
knowledge of the individual peculiarities and value, had 
I not cultivated them on a sufficiently large scale; 
thoroughly studied them during their growth, and ulti- 
mately made a large quantity of sugar from them. The 
seed I obtained from this cultivation, I have now in Eng- 
land with me; and it is capable, with care, of planting 
some hundreds of acres. Some plants grown in England 
this year, have already ripened their seeds, which are 
full and plump. 

I have grown it in Belgium and several other parts of 
the continent this year, and it has succeeded remark- 
ably ‘well. 

But if we look back from our own times to very 
remote ages, and search for any very authentic records 
of the imphee or Holceus saccharatus among the writings 
of ancient authors, we must confess the unsatisfactory 
result of our inquiry ; for the notices of the “sweet reed,” 
contained in their writings, have long ago been seized by 
Porter and other authors, and appropriated by them as 
forming part and parcel of the history of the sugar cane. 

But if we examine somewhat minutely into the mat- 
ter, we shall find abundant reason for believing that the 
Holcus saccharatus was frequently alluded to instead of 
the sugar cane, more especially by the Roman writers; 
thus Lucian, (Book i, page 237,) has the line— 

“ Quique bibunt tenera dulces ab arundine succos.’”’* 


which can scarcely be supposed to apply to the large, 
coarse, hard stock of the sugar cane. 


* « And those who drink sweet juices from the tender reed.’ 


BOTANICAL NOTICE AND HISTORY. 203 


Besides this, we all know that the Romans had a very 
excellent general knowledge of the products of Ethiopia, 
in which varieties of the //olcus saccharatus are to be 
found; and they, no doubt, knew that the natives ate, or 
rather chewed, its stalks, for the “sweet juices,” contained 
in them. 

The native traders who took a coarse kind of goor, or 
jaggery, to Muciris and Ormus, always said that they ob- 
tained it from a “reed ;” and I have no doubt that they 
did really obtain it from this reed-like plant, until the 
sugar cane superseded it in their estimation, and was 
cultivated in its stead. 

I could enlarge much upon this interesting question, 
had I the space to do so; but the confined limits of this 
treatise compels me to bring this chapter to a conclusion 
as soon as possible. 

I venture to consider the Holcus saccharatus as the 
connecting link between the sugar cane and the grain- 
yielding sorghuws; and so strong an impression did 
my mind receive when I first saw the extremely tall 
‘“'Vim-bis-chu-a-pa” and “ K-a-na-moo-dee,”* that I al- 
most persuaded myself that they were in reality hybrids, 
between the sugar cane and the Kaffir corn (Sorghum 
vulgare.) 

Such, however, is not the case; but it remains to be 


* The two largest of the imphee kind. 


Note-—Wilkinson says, that the Holcus saccharatus (Arabic name 
Dokhn,) is grown about Assouan, in Nubia and the Oasis. 

Of sorghums, there are, in Egypt, six kinds, namely, Doura sayfee, 
or baalee; D. humra, D. kaydee, D. byood, or diméree ue: 
owaygeh, D. saffra. 


204 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


seen whether we can, by adopting proper measures, 
obtain hybrids between the imphee and the sugar cane. 


DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF THE IMPHEE, ETC. 


I am acquainted with fifteen varieties of the Holcus 
saccharatus, although I doubt not there are yet others 
in different parts of the world that have not come under 
my notice. 

I shall, therefore, confine my remarks to the fifteen 
varieties ; and to prevent the constant repetition of their 
botanical name, I shall, throughout these pages, use their 
Zulu-Kaffir name of Imphee alone. 

Among Europeans residing in South Africa no dis- 
tinction is known in regard to the varieties, and there 
they will be much surprised at learning that there are 
really fifteen different kinds of imphee growing before 
their eyes, and constantly being eaten by them. 

There is certainly that degree of similarity between 
them when seen growing together which is quite suffi- 
cient to puzzle any one who has not thoroughly studied 
them ; and this is so much the case that there are very 
few male Kaffirs even who can discriminate between 
some of the varieties; in consequence of which I had 
very frequently to call in the superior agricultural knowl- 
edge of the old Kaffir women, until I had learned to dis- 
tinguish between them with certainty myself. 

When I had attained this first most desirable step, I 
had next to learn their several peculiarities and value ; 
which I was able to do with greater exactness by plant- 
ing the seed, watching them daily during their growth, 


VARIETIES OF THE IMPHEE. 205 


and eventually testing the saccharine value of their 
juices, and making sugar from them all in large 
quantities. 

“ Vim-bis-chu-a-pa.”—This is the largest size, and the 
tallest of the whole; whilst it is full of juice, and very 
sweet. When planted in rich alluvial soil it attains its 
greatest size and most perfect development, requiring 
from four to five months to arrive at maturity. It grows 
to a height of from ten to fifteen feet, is from one and a 
half to two inches in diameter at the lower end of the 
stalk, and usually cracks or splits as it ripens. By 
means of a most primitive and ill-constructed little wooden 
mill, I obtained sixty per cent. of juice from the stalks. 
This juice was clean and clear, and the saccharometer 
showed it to contain fourteen per cent. of sugar, after I 
had removed the fecule by means of cold defecation. 
The sugar it yielded was fully equal to the best cane 
sugar of the West Indies. The stalks, carefully weighed, 
were found to vary from one and a half to two and a 
half pounds English weight each, trimmed ready for the 
mill. The seed-head, which is very large and beautiful, 
is generally from twelve to eighteen inches in length, 
containing many thousands of fine plump seeds, of a 
sandy yellow color, strongly held by a sheath which 
partially envelops them. 

‘* H-a-na-moodee” is the next in size, and is very simi- 
lar, both in habit and value, to the last. It attains a 
height of twelve to thirteen feet, but is not so coarse in 
appearance, nor does it contain so much woody fiber as 
the Vim-bis-chu-a-pa, but it is rather softer and more 
juicy, I having obtained from it sixty-four per cent. of 


206 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


juice, contaming fourteen per cent. of sugar. The stalks 
weigh from one to two pounds when trimmed ready for 
the mill, and I have cut as many as eleven such stalks 
from one root or stool. The seed-heads are large, but 
stiff and erect, containing quantities of large round, 
plump seeds, of a clear yellow color. In general, they 
may be said to ripen two weeks earlier than the last 
named. Like the Vim-bis-chu-a-pa, this variety rattoons 
in about three to three and a half months after the first 
cutting” 

“ H-éngha.”—This is a fine, tall kind, being from ten to 
twelve feet high when full grown, but it is more slender 
than either of the foregoing, and exceedingly graceful in 
appearance. It begins flowering in ninety days, and is 
fully ripe three weeks after; we will therefore class it at 
four months. I have had stalks weighing as much as 
one pound fourteen ounces each. The largest commonly 
obtained may then be estimated at two pounds weight ; 
yielding, by my poor little mill sixty-eight per cent. of 
juice, containing fourteen per cent. of sugar. I have 
obtained ten stalks from one stool. They rattoon in 
three months after cutting. The seed head of the 
E-éngha is large and very pretty, the seed being upon 
long slender foot stalks, which are bent down by the 
weight of the seed, forming a graceful drooping. The 
seeds, which are of a dull, yellow color, are rather long 
and flat than round and plump. 

“\ Nee-d-zi-né” i8 held, by the Zulu-Kaffirs, to be the 
sweetest of all the imphee kind; but I found the Boom- 
vwa-na and the Oom-see-a-na quite as sweet, and, in 
my estimation, their juices are superior to it in some 


VARIETIES OF THE IMPHEE. 207 


points. My Zulus have told me, that under favorable cir- 
cumstances, the Nee-a-za-na frequently ripens in seventy- 
five days; and my head man (a most intelligent native 
plowman) declares that he has had them from his own 
land as sweet as any sugar cane. From my own actual 
experience, I found that they ripened in about three 
months, and that they were the softest and most abound- 
ing in juice of any. With my mill I obtained sey- 
enty per cent. of juice, much still remaining in the trash, 
and the saccharometer showed fifteen per cent. of sugar 
after cold defecation. This then for Huropean culture, 
is a perfect gem of a plant, one which will be anxiously 
sought after, and very generally cultivated, throughout 
Kurope at least. In two months after the first cuttings, 
I have had the rattoons six feet high and in flower. The 
Nee-a-za-na is a very small sized variety, but tillers out 
greatly, having sometimes fifteen stalks for one root. I 
have had its stalks varying from four ounces to upwards 
of twelve ounces in weight ; but they do grow rather larger 
than this. It always appeared to me that their juice was 
more mucilaginous and abounding in feculze than the two 
varieties I have just mentioned. The seed-head is very 
bushy and bunchy, and when thoroughly ripe, the seeds 
are large, round and plump. 

‘‘ Boom-vwa-na” is a most excellent and valuable va- 
riety; of which I have eaten single pieces, containing cer- 
tainly two or three per cent. more sugar than the average 
juice obtained from-large bundles of stalks, taken as 
they come. This average juice never contained less than 
fifteen per cent. of sugar, as indicated by the saccharom- 
eter, after the raw juice had been sold defecated; and 


208 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


there is a clearness, a brightness, and a genuine sugar- 
cane sweetness in the juice of this variety, and of the 
Oom-see-a na, that I very much admire. In its growth 
and general appearance, it is very much like the E-en- 
gha; but its stalks are brighter and more slender: its 
leaves are not so broad, and its seed vessels are upon 
shorter and stiffer foot stalks. The stalks have a pinkish 
red tint, which increases as they approach maturity, and 
the seed cases have a pink and purple hue mixed with 
the general yellow ground. The Boom-vwa-na tillers 
very much, giving from ten to twenty stalks for one root, 
but they seldom weigh more than one pound each. I 
have obtained seventy per cent. of juice, which is easily 
clarified, and makes a beautiful sugar. The plant reaches 
perfection in from three to three and a half months. 

‘“ Oom-see-d-na” is a peculiarly marked variety, in 
consequence of the purple or black appearance of its 
seed-heads, arising from the sheath or seed cases being 
of this color, and not the seed itself. The seed head is 
wery stiff and erect, with short, strong foot stalks, and 
the seed is large, round, and full. In time of growth, 
and goodness of juice, it is very similar to the Boom-vwa- 
na; its stalks are small, but numerous. They both rat- 
toon well, in three months, from first cuttings. 

“* Shla-goova”’ is slightly inferior to the three last men- 
tioned varieties, but is nevertheless very valuable, and 
much prized by the Zulus. It takes three and a half 
months to ripen, and becomes a tall, good sized plant; 
but its chief distinction is the exceeding beatity and ele- 
gance of its seed heads. The foot stalks are extremely 
long, which causes them to have a graceful drooping, 


VARIETIES OF THE IMPHER. 209 


while the seed cases or sheaths, vary in color from a del- 
icate pink to a red, and from a light to a very dark pur- 
ple, but each color very bright and glistening, forming 
on the whole an extremely beautiful appearance.” 

 Shla-go0-ndee.”—This is a sweet and good variety, 
and under favorable conditions produces fine sized stalks. 
The seed heads are very stiff and erect, and the seed 
vessels are compact, and very close. It usually takes 
three and a half months to reach maturity, and it rattoons 
very quickly, as the following memorandum of my diary 
will show: 

“December 18th. Cut down a small patch of imphee, 
and dug up the ground for the purpose of planting arrow- 
root, but some of the imphee not being entirely eradicated 
sprung up afresh, some roots having fifteen stalks each. 
On the 18th of February, one of them (Shla-goon-dee) was 
upwards of six feet in height, with a thick stalk, and the 
seed head just thrown out, being only two months and five 
days from its being cut down and apparently destroyed.” 
This bunch of seed I gathered during the first week in 
March, and I have it now in England. 

‘* Zim-moo-ma-na.” —This is likewise a sweet and good 
variety, with seed heads upright and compact, and fine 
plump seeds, very numerous. 

* E-both-la,” “ Boo-ce-ana,” ‘ Koom-ba-na,” “' See-en-gla,” 
“ Zimba-zd-na,” and “ #-thlo-sa,” form the remainder of 
the fifteen varieties, each differing slightly from the others 
in its saccharine qualities as well as in appearance, but 
still easily distinguished from each other by any one 
who has studied them. I do not see the necessity of 
entering at present into further detail in regard to the 


210 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


shades of difference, as the larger edition of this work 
will contain all such particulars. 
I have before remarked, that all the varieties are 
known (from the Cape Colony to Delagoa Bay) under 
the general Zulu-Kaffir name of Jimphee, which name is 
- likewise generally used by the Europeans, who some- 
times also call it the Kaffir Sugar Cane, from the circum- 
stance of the Kaffirs growing it round their kraals, to 
eat, as they do the real sugar cane; but I never meta 
single European who could tell one description of imphee 
from another, not even among those who have been 
in the Colony ten or twenty years. 
The following points are particularly striking, namely 
Ist. The Zulus never (to the best of my knowledge and 
belief) cultivate it for its grain, or for any other pur- 
pose than for its sweet juice, which they obtain by 
chewing the stalk. 

2d. Whilst ripening its seed the birds never attack it, 
whereas it requires great vigilance to preserve the 
seeds of the Kaffir Corn (Guinea Corn) or Sorghum 
vulgare, from their pertinacious voracity. So much is 
this the case, that I do not think I lost a single seed 
from the birds, whilst from the Kaffir Corn there is 
no keeping them off. The Kaffirs say this is always 
SO. . 

As the Kaffirs cultivate the imphee merely for its 
juice, they never allow any more to ripen than is neces- 
sary for the next year’s planting ; but soon after the seed 
head appears, they pull it off, by giving it a smart jerk 
upwards. By this means they argue that the plant per- 
fects the elaboration of its juices and becomes much 


VARIETIES OF THE IMPHEE. Zt 


sweeter, instead of forming seed at the expense of its sac- 
charine matter. 

This, no doubt, is to a certain extent perfectly reason- 
able, and would be very successful, ¢f the plant could be 
prevented from expending its saccharine strength in its 
natural efforts to reproduce itself, but so imperative is the 
great law of nature that immediately the seed is removed, 
the eye or bud belonging to every joint along the stem 
begins forthwith to swell, and in a few short days will 
have shot out a foot or more in length, crowned with 
small seed heads, having three or four, some three to six, 
side-shoots with seed heads along the stalk, to replace the 
one main head removed. 

My own experience therefore led me to doubt very 
much the expediency of thus running counter to nature’s 
laws; and eventually I abstained altogether from remov- 
ing the seed heads, fancying that I gained rather than 
lost in saccharine quantity by my noninterference. I 
then removed, in many instances, these eyes with my 
penknife, but the plant forthwith sent up a number of 
fresh sprouts from the roots to balk me, so I gave it up. 
A knowledge of this fact is very important in studying 
the subject of rattooning. 

~The description I have given will suffice to show the 
comparative value of the different kinds of imphee, and 
it will be apparent to the meanest capacity that the suc- 
cessful cultivation of this plant for sugar making in the 
greater portion of Europe, depends almost entirely upon 
the selection of the proper variety. 

The capricious character of the summer in Europe is 
well known. Very hot and even tropical weather may 


212 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


at times be suddenly varied by a few days of cold, raw, 
wet, and windy weather, throwing back and greatly re- 
tarding the growth of these plants, thereby changing the 
three, and three and a half, or four months required 
under altogether favorable circumstances into a much 
longer time, and thus perhaps obtaining really no 
thorough ripening of the plant after all. 

But, on the other hand, if we plant only of those vari- 
eties requiring from two and a half to three months of 
continuous warm weather, we render the success of the 
cultivation as nearly certain as we well can. 

The introduction of unsuitable varieties into Europe 
has been, in my estimation, the one great reason of their 
failure hitherto ; and in this belief, I hold the Nee-a-za-na, 
Boom-vwa-na, and Oom-se-a-na to be peculiarly valuable 
for our Kuropean cultivation. 

The imphee is a tall, slender, and very elegant plant, 
its foliage being light and graceful, and its tints bright 
and varied in the different stages of its growth. It ex- 
hales a perfume at once strong and agreeable, with some- 
thing approaching that of rich new honey. 


CULTIVATION, INCLUDING SOILS, CLIMATE AND SEASONS. 


CLIMATE.—It may be safely stated as an indisputable 
fact, that wherever maize or Indian corn will grow and 
ripen its seed, imphee will lkewise grow and elaborate 
its juice so as to be suitable for sugar making, bearing in 
mind always that in as much as the maize comprises va- 
rieties which require five months, and others which 
require only three months, so in like manner does the 


CULTIVATION. 248 


imphee include those varieties requiring four and a half 
months, and others again which ripen in two and a half 
and three months only. 

This is a very essential fact to be remembered in order 
to adapt in all cases the variety to the peculiar character 
of the locality; and I believe that no explanation, how- 
ever lengthy, could more accurately define the climatic 
range of the imphee than simply classing it with maize 
in this respect. 

In Northern Europe, and in numerous other parts of 
the world, no kind of maize can be profitably cultivated 
but those which ripen their seed within ninety days 
from planting; and it will be found that in all such 
localities no other variety of imphee can be successfully 
employed but such as ripen their juices within the same 
short period. But what truly enormous range does this 
climatic adaptation give us! It comprises, in fact, every 
country of the earth that can afford three months of hot 
summer weather. It does not. even exclude Canada or 
Russia. 

But as we draw nearer and nearer to the equator, the 
gradual lengthening of the summer season, until indeed 
winter is unknown, affords a longer and longer growing 
time, so that at last, instead of one crop, we can obtain 
two, three, ay, and even four crops in one year. 

It is evident, likewise, that the longer the summer or 
warm weather extends, the greater scope exists for the 
cultivation of the larger and more productive varieties 
that require a longer time for their perfect development. 

The small measure of temporary success which is said 
to have attended the attempts made in 1785, by Signo1 


214 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


Arduino, ot Florence, to introduce varieties of the [Zoleus 
Saccharatus into European cultivation, and their ultimate 
failure and consequent total disuse, arose from the simple 
circumstance of his having unfortunately lighted upon 
varieties which required too long a period for their per 
fect maturity to suit the short and variable summer of 
Hurope. 

I cannot impress this important point too strongly 
upon the attention of my readers, for on it, in fine, de- 
pends the success or failure of the whole cultivation for 
the purposes of sugar making. In tropical climates the 
planter is of course free to choose whichever variety his 
fancy or his experience in time to come, may lead him 
to prefer: nor can any set rule be laid down which he 
must of necessity follow. 

It is to be supposed that he will select those varieties 
which will not only yield him a large return per acre, 
but will afford him an extended period for his manufac- 
turing operations, instead of all becoming ripe together. 

Sort.—Imphee will grow well and produce sugar 
abundantly in a great variety of soils; and in this res- 
pect it is very similar to the real sugar cane; but among 
the many advantages which it has over its great rival, 
the perfect immunity it enjoys from the attack of whzte 
ants is one much too important to pass over without 
remark. 

In the colony of Natal, on the south-east coast of 
Africa, the white ant is as numerous, and fully as des- 
tructive, as it isin India; consequently, none but low- 
lying, swampy grounds can be used in that colony for 
sugar cane cultivation: and this fact places a restriction 


CULTIVATION. 215 


upon its extensive culture in Natal, which no human art 
can overcome. But suchan affliction does not extend to 
the imphee. On the contrary, the white ants (although 
swarming in the soil) never touch these plants. I have 
grown a fine crop of imphee on a sandy hill top, where 
it would have been utterly impossible to grow sugar 
cane, on account of the white ants. 

This seems a small matter todwell upon, but in reality 
it is of the utmost importance to Natal, India generally, 
the Straits (Malacca) settlements, and to every other 
country wherein that insect scourge exists; because it 
admits of sugar being produced from the imphee on 
millions and millions of acres which are totally unsuited 
for the sugar cane. 

This simple fact alone is calculated to enhance the 
price of land in Natal and the Cape Colony to an immense 
extent, and it will have the same effect in many other 
countries. 

I have introduced the subject of white ants in this 
place, because in trying of soils suitable for the sugar 
cane, it is absolutely necessary to exclude all those in- 
fested by white ants, whereas in the culture of the imphee 
their presence is of no consequence. 

In rich alluvial soils, in good light brick mold, in 
loamy soils, and, indeed, in almost every good soil in 
which there is a fair admixture of vegetable mould, the 
imphee delights, and will grow famously with sufficient 
moisture. 

Plenty of vegetable mold, strong heat and light, and 
considerable moisture, form the great essentials to the full 
development of the plant, and the perfect elaboration of 


216 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


its juice, so as to yield its maximum quantity of saccha- 
rine matter. 

If, after a season of long-continued showery weather, 
a period of dry weather occurs just as it ripens, then 
the juice is more especially abundant, and rich in 
sugar. 

Soils highly manured with animal manure, or, in fact, 
with any which abound in ammonia and other saline 
substances, tend to the formation of a large, luxuriant 
plant, but its juice under such circumstances is so muci- 
laginous and saline as to render it extremely unsuitable 
for sugar manufacture, hence such treatment should be 
studiously avoided. . 

The same rule applies in the case of the sugar cane, 
beet root, and other sugar-yielding plants; and if it be 
violated, the result is certain to be disappointment and 
vexation. 

MopE oF CULTURE.—I have, in some instances, soaked 
the seed of the imphee for twenty-four and even forty- 
eight hours, in warm water, previous to planting them, 
in order to expedite their germination, as seeds so treated 
will, in warm, moist weather, be up in four days after- 
wards; whereas, being planted (during showery weather) 
without this assistance, they usually take six or seven 
days for sprouting. If, after planting, dry weather sets 
in, they will, however, require ten or even fourteen days 
to appear above ground; but by being well soaked 
beforehand this casualty is materially obviated. Hence 
I hold the practice to be a prudent one. 

The seed requires to be very lightly covered; for, if 
deeply set, it is liable to rot, should much rain occur 


CULTIVATION. 217 


immediately after; but lightly covered, it will not be 
injured by even constant rain. 

I have lost a great deal of seed by planting too deeply, 
and I shall, therefore, be very cautious never to commit 
the same error again. If soaked in warm water for 
twenty-four hours, then planted in a bed, and care taken 
to keep them properly moist, we may always calculate 
with certainty on having them an inch above ground in 
four days (warm weather.) 

This first start is a great point wherever the warm 
weather lasts only a short time; but in no case is it alto- 
gether unimportant; and it becomes a question of no 
small moment, whether in England and some parts of 
Northern Europe it would not even be quite worth while 
to sow the seed under glass in the first instance, and then 
plant out the young plants, before they are a month old, 
in the open ground, where it is intended they shall remain 
for crop. 

In this case, very little more labor is required than is 
now universally bestowed on the Continent in making 
the beet root nursery beds, and subsequent transplanting 
of the young beets. My own experience this season, in 
England, has shown me that even in a small greenhouse, 
a prodigious number of young plants may be raised 
without any artificial heat whatever, and the plants are 

so hardy that they bear transplanting admirably. 

By this simple plan we get over the difficulties opposed 
to us in England by late frosts and cold, nipping winds, 
for we can commence transplanting in June, and thus 
allow June, July, August, and part of September, if 
needed, for their growth, which my experiments this 

10 


218 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


season have clearly demonstrated to be quite sufficient. 
If it be objected that this plan entails more than ordinary 
trouble, I answer it also insures the safety of a valuable 
crop, a consideration of no small importance. 

It must be remembered that every seed will, under 
favorable circumstances, “tiller” out so largely as to 
have from ten to twenty stalks or canes (as I shall hence- 
forth call them) forming a large stool, and occupying 
a considerable space. 

I have found that rows three feet apart, with plants 
twelve inches from each other along the rows (being 
about 14,000 per acre), in most cases, was a very suitable 
distance to plant them; but the ever-varying circum- 
stances of soil, climate, and seasons, added to the differ- 
ences between the larger and the smaller varieties of the 
imphee, must naturally suggest corresponding differences 
in the planting distances. 

I have had the Nee-a-za-na in rows only two feet, and 
again in rows two and a half feet apart; but I will not 
venture to say that im all cases such close planting is 
proper. 

In planting along the rows, wherever the plants are 
too thick, they can always be thinned out during their 
early growth. 

The great objection to the adoption of close rows is the 
very serious one arising from the difficulty of cleaning 
and digging between them, which is so desirable and so 
very conducive to their vigorous growth and perfect 
development; for, in common with almost all other 
plants, the imphee likes to have the soil loosened and 
moved about around its roots. 


CULTIVATION. 219 


I suppose that it is almost unnecessary to observe that, 
although it likes abundance of moisture in the soils 
whereon it is growing, yet it has a decided objection to 
stagnant water being around its roots. As the plant 
progresses towards maturity, it throws up its graceful 
flower, which very speedily is transformed into a seed 
head, most abundantly covered, or rather laden, with grain. 

In the last chapter I alluded to the Kaflir custom of 
removing these seed heads shortly after they appear, and 
I can only repeat the doubt I there expressed, whether, 
by so doing, we may not really lose more than we gain. 

When allowed to perfect its seeds, the grain is gene- 
rally plump and full of fine, white flour, which I believe 
is wholesome and nutritious, and might enter largely 
into general consumption. 

This, in itself, constitutes a feature much in favor of 
allowing it to ripen its seed; and, in a more general 
sense, 1s highly important. 

Notwithstanding my numerous unsuccessful attempts 
some years ago to impregnate or fecundate the flowers of 
the sugar cane, so as to obtain a seed which would ger- 
minate and produce sugar cane, yet I cannot help cling- 
ing to this plant (mphee) as the only remaining hope we 
now have of effecting this interesting object. I have al- 
ready taken measures to have new flowers of the sugar 
cane brought into immediate and continued contact with 
those of the imphee, so as to ascertain for a certainty 
whether the sugar can¢@will thereby be induced to perfect 
its seed, and, on the other hand, whether the pollen of 
the cane flowers will produce any beneficial or other 
change in the character of the imphee seed. 


220 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


This is a question of suflicient interest to engage the 
attention of every scientific and inquiring mind, asit com- 
prehends that which is interesting, and that which may 
be of great practical utility to the world at large. 

When the seeds of the imphee are ripe or perfectly 
full, it is the custom of the Zulu-Kaffirs to string them up 
in the sun and air for a few days, then to hang them up 
in their huts, so that they may have the full benefit of 
the smoke, which serves to keep them entirely dry, and 
likewise preserves the seed from the attacks of insects, so 
that they may be thus kept perfectly good for a series of 
years, if necessary. I like this plan so much that I 
adopted it in all its integrity, and can honestly recom- 
mend it to others.* 


THE PLANT: ITS PRODUCTION AND ITS VALUE. 


It will seem, from what I have already said, that the 
canes of the imphee are much smaller and much lighter 
than the stalks of the real sugar cane; but at the same 
time, it must be remembered that the foliage is not nearly 
so large nor so dense as that of the sugar cane; conse- 
quently, the plants can stand very much closer together 
on the land, and thus make up in number for their 
smaller weight individually. 

Thus, on an acre, if we have only 14,000 roots or 
stools, each stool will produce from five to twenty canes, 
varying in weight from a quarter of a pound to 1} 

* Itis worthy of remark that the natives of Upper Egypt call the 
sorghums Baalee or Doura; whereas, the Zulu-Kaffir name for the 


same plant is Mabaalee, the ma being simply a prefix which they give 
to a great number of their proper names. 


PRODUCTION AND VALUE. ok 


pounds, each affording, on a low average, therefore, we 
will say, 84,000 canes, weighing 65,000 pounds, capable 
of yielding seventy-five per cent. of juice; but if taken at 
only seventy per cent., then giving 44,100 pounds of 
juice, containing fifteen per cent. of sugar. 

If from this quantity of juice the manufacturer cannot 
manage to produce two tons of good, dry, fair-colored 
sugar, then he must be unskillful indeed. 

One English acre of imphee, grown under favorable 
circumstances, will yield fully two tons of dry sugar, and 
even more; but I will not estimate the average return at 
more than 14 tons of fair, dry sugar, per acre, which it 
should most undoubtedly produce as an average crop. 

For the information of those planters who are com- 
pelled to use their cane trash or bagasse, I may say that 
the trash of the imphee can be used precisely in the same 
manner, although its proper use really is as a manure to 
return to the soil. 

The leaves and long tops of the plants form excellent 
food for horned cattle, horses, mules, sheep, ete., being 
much more delicate than the coarse leaves of the sugar 
cane. 

If the plants are suffered to mature their seed, an acre 
of land would furnish a large quantity of grain, which 
may be used merely as grain for feeding animals and 
poultry, or in the form of flour, of excellent quality, as 
food for mankind. 

I consider twenty bushels of this grain per acre a very 
low average crop, but it is by no means an item to be 
overlooked in calculating the value of the plant to Europe 
and to the world generally. 


222, THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


Having shown the value of one crop of imphee, per- 
haps it would be well to repeat that this one crop of im- 
phee is off the ground in from three to four months from 
the day the seed was planted; and that, as this comes off, 
another crop is immediately springing up from the same 
roots, (if the weather will permit), to be ready in another 
three months; and even a third crop will be produced, 
provided the weather is warm enough. 

We must now compare the imphee with its Kuropean 
rival, the beet root, which is at present so largely grown 
for its sugar. 

I find that there is now manufactured throughout the 
whole continent of Europe about 160,000 tons of beet- 
root sugar, obtained from about 400,000 English acres of 
land, forming an average of something like eight hun- 
dredweight of good sugar per English acre. 

Besides the sugar obtained from the beet root, we must 
take into consideration its other products, such as potash 
and alcohol, yielded by its molasses, and the quantity of 
food for cattle, furnished by its leaves and by its refuse 
pulp. 

France alone has now three hundred and thirty-two 
manufactories of beet-root sugar, producing this year 
about 75,000,000 kilogrammes, (rather more than 
158,300,000 pounds English) of syrup, besides molasses. 
M. Du Brontfaut declares, that by a certain process of his 
own, there may be obtained from this molasses (after the 
alcohol has been taken from it by distillation) a quantity 
of potash equal in weight to one sixth of the sugar pro- 
duced from the beet root. | 

tis, however, quite evident that this quantity of pot- 


"PRODUCTION AND VALUE. 223 


ash can only exist in these roots by reason of the excess 
of saline matter in the soil whereon they are grown. In 
the great majority of cases this injurious excess of saline 
substance arises from the quantity of manure administered 
to the soil, with a view of obtaining a very large and 
heavy crop of beets—a result certainly realized, but ata 
great sacrifice of saccharine matter in the beets. 

Viewing all these products, however, in the most favor- 
able light possible, still no reasonable being can maintain 
for one moment that the produce obtainable from one 
acre of beet root is any way equal to that derivable from 
an acre of imphee, namely 13 tons of fair sugar, and its 
proportionate quantity of molasses, equal in every respect 
to the cane sugar molasses. 

The next point of comparison is the expense of culti- 
vation and manufacture; and I am firmly convinced that 
these are entirely in favor of the imphee, for, at the pres- 
ent moment, the practice 1s almost universal on the con- 
tinent of sowing the seed, in the first instance, in a seed 
bed, or nursery, from which they are afterwards drawn 
and planted out in the fields. I do not say that this 
common practice is imperative, nor do I object to it on the 
‘score of economy or any other grounds, but I merely state 
that such is the usual custom. The period from sowing 
the seed to harvesting the beets, varies, according to my 
information, from seven to eight months, a space of time 
just double that required for the perfect maturity of the 
imphee. 

This prolonged period naturally requires a correspond- 
ing addition of labor in the cultivation over and above 
that demanded by the latter. 


224 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


But in the manufacture of the two a still greater dif- 
ference exists in favor of the imphee. The beets have to 
underga a careful washing, and have their crowns and 
roots cut off before they are fit for the manufacturer’s 
operations; then they are either rasped by machinery into 
a complete pulp, which is afterwards put into a canvas 
cloth and subjected to the action of a hydraulic or other 
press, to get out all the juice; or they are cut into very 
thin slices, and these are treated by sundry peculiar pro- 
cesses, in order to obtain the sugar they contain in as 
pure a state as possible. The saccharine liquor, or ex- 
pressed juice from the canvas bags, is next chemically 
treated to effect its defecation, and is afterwards evaporated 
to a certain density, run through animal charcoal filters, 
and finally concentrated, but only to undergo a further 
refining, or perhaps double-refining, as the raw beet root 
sugar (such as we may call beet root muscovado) is unfit 
for general purposes, and therefore cannot be used for 
common consumption as sugar-cane muscovado sugars are. 

There are certainly many other highly scientific modes 
of obtaining the sugar from beets, among which the ele- 
gant chemical process (at present only partially applied) 
of Du Bronfaut is deserving of all honor; but I confine 
my remarks especially to those best known and so gene 
rally used on the continent. 

The manufacture of imphee is, on the other hand, ex- 
tremely simple; and the sugar produced, whether mus- 
covado or white, is not distinguishable, even by the best 
judges, from the cane sugar of similar qualities; while 
the expense of manufacture is much less than that of 
beet root. 


PRODUCTION AND VALUE. 225 


The main result of this comparison, apart from ex- 
penses for cultivation and manufacture, may then be 
stated : 

Imphee.—Time of growth, three to four months; sugar, 
per acre, thirty cwts.; molasses equal to cane molasses. 

Beet root—Time of growth, seven to eight months; 
sugar, per acre, ten cwts.; molasses very inferior. 

This, too, is on the broad supposition that the value 
of the molasses, fodder, etc., of the one, equals that of the 
other. I venture to say that the comparative value is so 
entirely in favor of the former, that beet root culture will 
gradually be relinquished until it becomes at length 
totally neglected. 

We next turn to the sugar cane as its great rival; and 
I dare say I shall be considered very bold in venturing 
a comparison, but facts are stubborn things, and no really 
sensible man will come to a decision until he has care- 
fully weighed the evidence on both sides. 

The sugar cane is a plant too well known to need any 
description here; but there are some peculiarities in re- 
gard to it which must be recited, although they are actual 
truisms : 

1. It takes, according to circumstances, from twelve to 
‘sixteen, to eighteen or to twenty months, from the crop 
being planted to its ripening. 

2. Some very soft, juicy canes, do really contain, 
chemically speaking, only about ten per cent. of woody 
fiber; but an overwhelming majority of sugar canes do 
most certainly contain, practically, a much greater pro- 
portion, some even as much as thirty per cent. ! 

10% 


226 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


3. Fine, average cane juice contains eighteen per cent. 
of sugar, not more. 

4, A good average crop of sugar canes will weigh from 
twenty-five to thirty tons per acre. 

5. Canes are apt to degenerate so fast, that constant 
recourse is had to the expedient of exchanging plant 
tops between estates very distant from each other. 

6. The cane rattoons in twelve months, generally, from 
the time of cutting; and each time it rattoons the canes 
are less juicy, and contain a greater amount of woody 
fiber in proportion. 

These points must be well considered : 

1. During the eighteen months’ growth what casualties 
may not occur to destroy, or, at least, very much injure, 
the crop: storms, severe drouth, fire, and lastly, white 
ants! And what sugar planter knows not the dire ex- 
tent of these liabilities ? 

2. The large proportion of woody fiber contained in 
rattoons, and even in plant canes, naturally reduces very 
much the per centage of juice; but all rattoons do not so 
abound in woody fiber. 

3. So alarming was the degeneracy of the sugar cane 
in Jamaica, that its Royal Agricultural Society and the 
Society of Arts in London sought all over the world for 
sugar cane seed, in the hopes of remedying this threaten- 
ing evil. 

Now, on the other hand, let us look at the imphee in 
respect to those identical points. 

1. It takes, as I have already said, from three months 
to four and a half months, according to the kind planted, 


PRODUCTION AND VALUE. ’ 22.7 


from the time of sowing the seed until it arrives at ma- 
turity; and it will rattoon twice or three times after- 
wards, at intervals of three months between each cutting, 
provided, of course, that the warm weather permits their 
continued rattooning. 

2. It is much more juicy than the generalty of sugar 
canes, and contains far less woody fiber, which does not 
materially increase in the rattoons. 

3. Fine, average imphee juice, contains fifteen per cent. 
of sugar. 

4. A good average crop of imphee stalks or canes will 
weigh twenty-five tons per acre. 

5. Imphee is produced from the seed; therefore, no 
deterioration can occur, as in the sugar cane; and the 
seed may be sown by means of a drill. 

6. It will yield a crop of rattoons six to seven months 
from the time of the seed being first sown, being, there- 
fore, two crops in that space of time; and will continue 
rattooning, if the seasons are favorable. e 

All these points I have abundantly proved to be cor- 
rect; and, when they are acknowledged by the world at 
large to be really true, what, may I ask, will become of 
the sugar cane? 

What tropical planter will eventually refuse to lessen 
his field risks arising from the casualties I have named, 
and simplify his cultivation, knowing, at the same time, 
that his crops come to bear a money value in the market 
in the short space of three to four months? 

I venture to think that he will, of necessity, be com- 
pelled to adopt the imphee and discard the sugar cane, 
as a mere matter of self preservation; for, although in 


228 " THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 


Europe we can, perhaps, obtain only one crop from the 
land each year, yet the cheap modes of cultivation and 
the skillful manufacture which will be brought to bear 
upon it, will be quite sufficient to run the sugar planter 
off his legs. 

From Canada to New Orleans, in America, we have a 
magnificent range for the growth of the imphee; and in 
the southern states two crops a year will be obtained, in 
lieu of the one miserable crop of cane sugar now realized. 

I think that even these extremely brief remarks will 
be sufficient, for the present, to show the comparative 
value of the imphee, sugar cane, and beet root for sugar 
making. 


APPENDIX. 


In the following appendix will be found a number of 
papers which, by reference to the table of contents, on 
the preceding page, will be seen to be of much value, 
coming as they do from some of the most distinguished 
American and French investigators. 

The very interesting work of Doctor Adrien Sicard, of 
Marseilles, has been so embodied in the foregoing pages 
that it has seemed to me useless to occupy space in fur- 
nishing a complete translation of its contents. I have 
contented myself by giving a most valuable chapter, 
embracing his minute and philosophical studies into the 
intimate composition of the stalk of the Chinese Sugar 
Cane, which will commend itself to the attention of every 
intelligent reader. 

The French weights and measures of kilogrammes, 
hectares, metres, litres, &c., have been reduced into the 
American weights and measures, so as to be readily 
understood by all. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


Copy.] Lecation or THE Unitep Stars, 
Paris, May 13, 1857. 
GENTLEMEN,— Your esteemed favor of the 28th March last was 
received and submitted to M. Alexandre Vattemare, the indefatigable 
friend of international exchange, especially with our country. 
He has addressed to me a letter, and placed in my hands eight 
[231] 


232 APPENDIX. 


pamphlets, which Isend you. I hope that you will find that they con- 
tain all the information which you desire. I cannot add to it. With 
best wishes for your complete success in your laudable efforts to 
introduce into the United States a plant which will add to the valuable 
products of the country, 
Iam very respectfully, 
Your obedient servant, 


J. Y. MASON. 
Messrs. Hepczs, Mocxsre & Co., Philadelphia. 


Copy.] Paris, April 20, 1857. 
His Excellency Jonny Y. Mason, United States Minister. 


Dear Sir,—Immediately on the receipt of your favor, containing 
inquiries relative to the sorgho sugar plant, and the possibility of 
crystallizing its sugar, I called on the gentlemen here who could give 
me the best information upon this important subject. I enclose copy 
of a letter I received last night from M. Louis Vilmorin, one of the 
most learned (theoretically and practically) agriculturists of Europe, 
who has made a particular study of the sorgho plant, and is the best 
authority, I think, upon which we may rely. 

To his letter, M. Vilmorin has added the accompanying eight 
pamphlets relative to the cultivation and extraction of alcohol, sugar, 
etc., which were published at Paris, Marseilles, Toulon, and also at 
Constantine, in Algiers, in 1855, 1856, and 1857. I trust that these will 
answer your purpose. Should you want further explanations, I will 
be most happy to procure them for you; yet I think that these will 
be sufficient to prove that sorgho sugar can be crystallized, and that the 
sorgho in its other products also is destined to render immense services 
to mankind. 

Placing myself at your disposal for any information tending to the 
spread of useful knowledge and international courtesy, 

I have the honour to be your Excellency’s 
Very humble and obd’t serv’t, 


ALEXANDRE VATTEMARE. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 235 


Translation. ] Paris, April 20, 1857. 


To M. ALEXANDRE VATTEMARE. 


Srr,—The crystallization of the sugar of the sorghum, it seems, 
should be easily obtained in all cases where the cane can be sufficiently 
ripened ; and as the proportion of the sugar is an unfailing index of 
ripeness, it follows that we could always be sure of obtaining a good 
crystallization of juices whose density exceeds 1:075, while weaker 
ones would not yield satisfactory results after concentration. I 
attribute this peculiarity to the fact that the sugar is preceded in the 
juice by a gummy principle, which seems to be transformed at a late 
date, for its proportion diminishes in exact correspondence with the 
increase of the sugar. The uncrystallizable sugar, or glucose, under- 
goes the same changes; that is to say, it is more abundant before 
than after the complete maturity, but its action seems less prejudicial 
to the progress of crystallization. The gummy principle obstructs it 
in two ways; for, beside being a serious obstacle to the commence- 
ment of crystallization, it afterwards renders it almosta matter of 
impossibility to purge the crystals if obtained. However, as I 
observed, this difficulty only presents itself in the employ of unripe 
canes ; for, as soon as the juices acquire a density of 1-080 and more, 
they contain but little else than crystallizable sugar, and their treatment 
presents no difficulty. The lime employed, even to a slight excess, is 
not detrimental, it seems to me, in practice, as theory would perhaps 
indicate. Perhaps a slight fermentation, which is inevitable, may 
disengage enough carbonic acid to destroy the uncrystallizable com- 
pound formed by its union with the sugar. The fact is, that the best 
crystallizations obtained have been had in those experiments in which 
I feared to have used too much lime. I should remark that heretofore 
my operations have been but on a small scale, and it is necessary to 
be very prudent before applying the experiments of the laboratory to 
practical operations ; but at all events, it seems to me, after all these 
trials, that the crystallization will not meet with serious obstacles where- 
ever the plant attains a complete maturity. 


(Signed) VILMORIN. 


234 APPENDIX. 


CRYSTALLIZATION OF THE JUICE OF THE 
SORGHO SUCRE. 


BY D. JAY BROWNE. 


Tuer sugar of commerce, it is well known, is a crystalline substance 
principally obtained by evaporating the juice of a gigantic grass 
(gramen) called “ Sugar-cane,” which is extensively cultivated for 
this purpose in regions within and adjacent to the tropics, where the 
climate admits of advantageous cultivation to the plant; although 
sugar, nearly identical in character, is manufactured in considerable 
abundance from the beet-root and maple, in countries of the northern 
temperate zone; and there is a fair prospect of success in producing 
an article of equal, if not superior quality, in the same regions, from 
another gramineous plant, the Sorgho sucré, already introduced. As 
doubts have been entertained by some as to the susceptibility of 
crystallizing the latter, the following facts and principles are pre- 
sented, not only to throw light upon the subject, but to dispel the 
skepticism of those who are thus willfully or ignorantly groping in 
the dark. 

The manufacture of sugar from the sorgho, as well as from the 
tropical cane, is beset with difficulties arising not only from the 
extreme liability and rapid change of the juice from exposure to the 
atmosphere, as it runs from the crushing mill, but often from the 
unripe state of the plant itself. Hence, in order to insure success, it 
is necessary that the process be conducted under certain conditions of 
temperature, modes of neutralizing the free acids contained in the 
juice, and the removal of the albuminous matter previous to evapora- 
tion and crystallization. 

A fresh, thin, transverse section of ripe cane is diaphanous, resem- 
bling a similar slice of an apple or turnip, when seen by the naked 
eye. Under the microscope, it exhibits a cellular structure, the 
cells containing a transparent fluid, but presenting no appearance of 
crystals nor opaque matter. If the slice be dried, it becomes altered 
in its appearance, being no longer homogenous, as seen through a 
common magnifying glass or with the unaided eye; little dots of 
opaque, whitish matter are visible, protruding, apparently, from the 


CRYSTALLIZATION OF THE JUICE. 2385 


divided longitudinal tubes and transparent cells, as seen surrounding 
these opaque dots, in which, when placed in sunshine, glittering 
erystals are observable, which it may be inferred are sugar, formed 
in consequence of the evaporation of the aqueous part of the juice 
of the cells. These facts would seem to prove that the saccharine 
matter of the cane exists in it, in a state of solution, according to the 
commonly received opinion. 

In the manner in which cane juice is usually obtained by the pres- 
sure of rollers, it consists of a compound, not. only of what it holds 
in solution, but whatever it contains in suspension. However care- 
fully expressed, it is never at this time transparent, but colored and 
turbid, in a slight degree. If viewed under a microscope of high 
power, innumerable granules will be seen floating in the fluid, vary- 
ing in diameter from -00010 to -00015 of an inch. By careful 
filtration through bibulous paper, most of these granules will be 
separated, and the liquid will be rendered nearly transparent. The 
matter of which they chiefly consist, it is believed, is of the nature 
of gluten, and has the power of exciting fermentation, even if kept 
ayear. It isa question not fully determined whether this glutinous 
matter exists suspended in the juice, when contained in the cells ; 
whether it is separated from the walls of the cells, or is produced by 
the minute fragments of the longitudinal tubes of the cane, by the 
pressure employed. It may here be remarked that, besides gluten, 
there may be other proximate principles suspended in fresh cane- 
juice, such as starch, gum, wax, &c.; but their presence, in the 
minute quantities in which they occur, is probably of little importance 
in practice. 

' As to the question whether the saccharine matter contained in 
cane juice is altogether susceptible of being crystallized into sugar, 
or in part consists of other varieties of sugar, which are not crystal- 
lizable, or only so with difficulty, it may be stated that various 
epinions have been expressed by chemists in this respect. M. Hervey, 
of France, contends that there is no uncrystallizable sugar in pre- 
existence in the cane, and that the formation of glucose (grape sugar) 
or molasses is only owing to the action of the salts contained in the 
liquid during the manufacturing process. Be this as it may, it is 


236 APPENDIX. 


certain that the greater portion of the saccharine matter of the juice 
is crystallizable, and may be obtained in the state of crystals, if, after 
rapid boiling and filtering, the clear fluid be quickly evaporated, the 
latter operation being a condition of absolute necessity in sugar 
making, as, by slow boiling, at a temperature of 212°, or even 
exposure for a considerable time to a temperature below the boiling 
point, glucose may be formed from the purest crystallized sngar dis- 
solved in water. On the contrary, if the concentrated solution of 
sugar be heated beyond 230° F., it undergoes alteration, and is 
changed, at least in part, into uncrystallizable sugar, or saccharine 
mucilage. When we consider how nearly allied these varieties of 
sugar are, and likewise how nearly allied in their composition they 
are to other substances, such as gum, starch, woody fiber, &c., we 
cannot be surprised either at the conversion of one kind of sugar into 
another, or into these substances, or at the formation of sugar from 
them. The above-named substances are chemically zsomeric ; that is, 
nearly identical in composition, so far as their elements are concerned, 
and the proportions of these elements, though the substances, gum 
and sugar, are so different in their properties. These reflections 
may be applied with as much force to the results obtained in the 
elementary analysis of various kinds of sugar, presented in the follow- 


ing table: 
Carbon. Oxygen. Hydrogen. 
42-47 50°63 6°90 Gay-Lussac and Thenard. 
Cane sugar, . . 42:22 51:17 6°60 SBerzelius.* 
42°85 50°71 6°44 Prout. 
Grapesug.(glucose,) 36°71 56°51 6°78 Saussure. 


teenage ger MS 1 37°29 55°87 6°84 do. 
& > *\).36°20° -56°75. - 7-05 Prout. 
Sugar of honey, . 36°36 56°58 17-06 do. 
38°53 54:60 6°87 Saussure. 
Sugar of manna, .<{ 38°70 54:50 6:80 Prout. 
44:10 49:76 6:13 Henry and Plisson 
Glycerin,. . . . 40°08 51:00 8-92 Chevreul. 
38°82 53°83 724 Gay-Lussac and Thenard. 


Sugar of milk, . .< 45:26 4834 6:38 Berzelius. 
40°00 53:36 6°63 Prout. 


* The first analysis published by Berzelius differs considerably from this, being 
carbon, 442; oxygen, 4001; hydrogen, 6-78; Berthellot and Saussare obtained 
results corresponding with those of Guy-Lussac. 


CRYSTALLIZATION OF THE JUICE. psy 


In comparing these numbers, it will be seen that cane sugar, which 
can be considered as the prototype, may be represented chemically by 
an atom of carbon and an atom of water ; and that the proportion of 
water increases as the sugar becomes less capable of compact crystal- 
lization. Accordingly, the sugar of grapes, of starch, of honey, &c., 
has less carbon and more water than cane sugar. The results of the 
different analyses are also the more discordant as the sugar is less 
regularly crystallizable and associated with a greater number of 
foreign substances, as in the sugar of manna and the sugar of milk. 
And the analysis which exhibits the greatest proportion of hydrogen 
is precisely that of the sweet matter, (glycerin,) which is procured 
from the most highly hydrogenated of all these substances, namely, 
oil and fatty matters. 

Although the principles of sugar making are simple, the practice, 
as before stated, is beset with difficulties and attended with loss and 
injury of material, arising from the extreme susceptibility to change 
of the cane juice itself. The latter, as it runs from the crushing mill, 
is nearly colorless ; but a very brief exposure to the atmosphere, in 
warm weather, hastens decomposition, which, unless checked, rapidly 
advances, and in a short time converts this sweet-tasted, bland liquid 
into a spiritous or acescent product, turbid from insoluble suspended 
matter, and wholly unfit for the purpose to which it was intended to 
be applied. To guard against this evil, the operator always endeavors 
to conduct the first part of the process, at least, as expeditiously as 
possible. But instead of heating the freshly expressed juice of the 
sorgho, in order to insure its crystallization, in a large vessel to blood- 
heat, or upward, and adding a little slaked lime, as is usually the 
case, to neutralize the free acids, which are always present in the juice 
of the sugar cane, the lime should be applied while the liquid is cold, 
conformably to the method discovered by Leonard Wray, of London, 
and recently patented by him in Europe and elsewhere. The lime is 
employed for the purpose of saturating these acids, which should be 
done as quickly as possible, in order to restore the gluten contained in 
the liquid to its original insolubility, so that it may immediately coag- 
ulate, and, in this manner, envelope in its volume all those substances 
consisting of green and gummy matters. Let it be borne in mind, in 


238 APPENDIX. 


connection with this process, that the lime will absorb a greater 
quantity of free acid, aud this more rapidly, in a cold than in a warm 
state, in a similar manner as cold water will dissolve more lime than 
warm. After this proceeding, the liquid is strained through cloths, 
and then clarified with nut-galls, or other tannic substances, aided 
by the action of heat, when it is again strained or filtered, and then 
boiled down to a proper consistency for granulation, conformably to 
the method patented by Mr. Wray. 

In a letter from M. Louis Vilmorin, of Paris, bearing date of April 
20, 1857, he says: “ The crystallization of the sugar of the sorgho, it 
seems, should be easily obtained in all cases where the cane can be 
sufficiently ripened ; and, as the proportion of the sugar is an unfailing 
index of ripeness, it follows that we could always be sure of obtaining 
a good crystallization of juices the density of which exceeds 1-075, 
whilst weaker ones could not yield satisfactory results after concen- 
tration. 

“T attribute this peculiarity to the fact that the sugar is preceded in 
the juice by a gummy principle, which seems to be transformed, at a 
later date, for its proportion diminishes in exact correspondence with 
the increase of the saccharine matter. 

“The uncerystallizable sugar, or glucose, undergoes the same 
change ; that is to say, it is more abundant before than after the 
complete maturity ; but its action seems less unfavorable to the pro- 
gress of crystallization. The gummy principle obstructs it in two 
ways ; for, besides being a serious obstacle to the commencement of 
crystallization, it afterward renders it almost a matter of impossibility 
to purge the crystals,if obtained. 

“ However, as I observed, this difficulty only presents itself in the 
employment of unripe canes; for, as soon as the juices attain the 
density of 1-080 and more, they contain but little else than erystalli- 
zable sugar, and their treatment presents no difficulty. 

“The lime employed, even to a slight excess, is not so detrimental, 
it seems to me, in practice, as theory would perhaps indicate. Per- 
haps a slight fermentation, which is inevitable, may disengage enough 
carbonic acid to destroy the uncrystallizable compound formed by its 
union with the sugar. The fact is, that the best crystallizations 


CRYSTALLIZATION OF THE JUICE. 239 


obtained have occurred in those experiments in which I feared to 
have used too much lime.” 

Subjoined is an extract of another letter from M. Madinier, of 
Paris, on the same subject : 

“ Up to the present time, the making of sugar from the sorgho has 
received but little attention, in France, owing to the present state of 
commerce, which makes it much more advantageous to convert the 
cane into alcohol than into sugar. Aside from this fact, it is certain, 
that from this plant crystallizable sugar can be extracted similar in 
every respect to that made from the cane of the tropics. Of this, I 
entertain the highest conviction, which is supported by authentic, 
though not very numerous, facts. * * * * * The stalks of the 
sorgho contain crystallizable sugar, without furnishing a greater 
quantity of molasses than the cane. An experiment made at Ver- 
riéres, with Clerget’s apparatus, showed the juice to contain 16 per 
cent. of sugar, of which there are only 103 per cent. crystallizable, 
and 5% per cent. uncrystallizable ; yet we can by no means depend 
upon aresult gained from plants grown in the Department of the 
Seine and Oise, in a climate altogether beyond the range adapted to 
the sorgho.” 

Thus it will be seen that the making of sugar has been much aided 
by science. It was a philosophical chemist who first introduced the 
vacuum-pan method into use, by which such facility was given, with a 
remarkable reduction of the price of the article, to the refining of 
sugar. It has been by the application of chemical science in France 
that the sugar from the beet root, the produce of that country, has 
been able to compete with cane sugar, affording a remarkable instance 
of the conquest, and it may be said, the triumph, effected by science, 
as the proportion of saccharine juice of that root is only about half 
as much as that of the cane, and is mixed with substances more diffi- 
cult of separation, and more injurious in their reaction. Let the 
same skill, directed by science, be applied to the making of sugar 
from the Sorgho sucré, and we may reasonably expect the happiest- 
results. 


240 APPENDIX. 


CHEMICAL RESEARCHES ON THE SORGHO SUCRE. 


BY ©. T. JACKSON, M.D., OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. 


On the 29th of October, 1856, I received from the Patent Office a 
bottle of expressed juice of the Sorghum saccharatum, procured from 
plants raised upon the government grounds in Washington. This 
juice, after being strained through fine linen, had a specific gravity of 
1-062 ; and, after boiling and the separation of an albuminous scum, 
1-055. Three and a half fluid ounces of the strained juice, evaporated 
at 212° F., until it became a dense straw-yellow syrup, too thick to 
run, when cold gave 217 grains of saccharine matter. That portion 
of the juice which had been freed from albuminous matter and filtered 
through paper, gave, on evaporation of a fluid ounce, 78 grains of 
thick yellow syrup, which, being dissolved in absolute alcohol, left 9 
per cent. of mucilaginous substances containing starch. ‘The alcohol 
took up 69 grains of saccharine matter. This is equal to 14°36 per 
cent. on the juice. 

Other portions of the juice were operated upon by lime water and 
bone black, and filtered and evaporated to syrup. A small proportion 
of crystallized sugar was obtained from the bottom of the vessel, in 
which the syrup had stood for some days. A part of the juice, 
diluted with warm water, with the addition of a little yeast, fermented 
and produced spirit, which, on being separated by distillation, was 
found to be an agreeably flavored alcohol, having, as M. Vilmorin has 
stated, a slight noyau taste. Good judges declared that it would 
make excellent brandy spirit. According to the experiments of Vil- 
morin, the amount of absolute alcohol obtained from the juice is a 
fraction over 6 per cent. 

On the 3d of November I also received from the Patent Office two 
parcels of the sorghum plant, in different stages of ripeness. That 
with quite ripe seeds was by far the sweetest; while the green one, 
which was just in flower, contained but very little saccharine matter. 
One thousand grains, taken from the middle of the ripe stalk, when 
peeled, gave 670 grains of pith, from which the juice was separated 


CHEMICAL RESEARCHES. 241 


The latter, on being evaporated to a thick syrup, gave 90 grains of 
saccharine matter, or 9 per cent. on the weight of the stalk. Another 
sample gave from 23 ounces of the pith, 217 grains of thick syrup, or 
12 per cent. Thus we have from 180 to 240 pounds of saccharine 
matter, in the form of a dense syrup, to a ton (2,000 pounds) of the 
stalks. By means of a screw press, I separated the juice from some 
of the canes, which had a specific gravity of 1:0987. 

Being desirous of ascertaining the saccharine value of the sorghum 
raised in Massachusetts, I obtained from Capt. R. A. Wainwright, of 
the United States Arsenal, at Watertown, in this state, five plants, 
which had been cultivated on the arsenal grounds. Sixteen ounces of 
one of these plants, nearly ripe, gave 94 ounces of clear pith, which I 
exhausted of its saccharine matter by means of boiling, distilled water, 
and pressure. This liquid, on evaporation, gave 742 grains of thick 
syrup, too dense to pour from the vessel when cold. The yield of 
saccharine matter in this case was 10? per cent. 

Another and riper sample, from the same parcel, yielded from 1,000 
grains of the stalk 640 grains of pith, and 146 grains of thick syrup, 
or 143 per cent. of saccharine matter. On expression, the plant 
yielded a clear, sweet juice, having a specific gravity of 1-0975. 

Analysis of the Bagasse——One hundred grains, dried at 212° F. and 
burned in a platinum vessel, left 12 per cent. of gray ashes. Having 
thus determined the proportion of inorganic matter in the bagasse, I 
burned a larger quantity for further experiment. It was found that 
the ash consisted of the following ingredients : 


Per cent. 

Silicic acid - : - . 3 4 EAD 
SONNE CUD nw a YL AS 
Sulphuric acid - - - 2 i - 28-70 
Chlorine - : e : . z 7 bs 3-70 
Potash - = = “ e * Mi 3 5 Sag 
Soda. - - - - = = “3 R £ 9-60 
Lime - - - ~ - s = 2 ~ Et-80 
Magnesia - - - x S 3 _ 9-80 


Traces of oxyd of iron, a little carbonic acid, and loss 0°68 


100-00 
11 


242, APPENDIX. 


This analysis shows that gypsum (sulphate of lime) will operate 
favorably as a fertilizer on this plant; and it is evident that the 


bagasse ashes would serve as a good manure for the crop. 


THE CRYSTALLIZED SUGAR QUESTION. 


My readers will perhaps remember, that in the chapter on Soils and 
Manures, the proposition was distinctly laid down, that in cases where 
the sorgho had been grown on soils containing large proportions of sol- 
uble saline matters, or when manures of a nitrogenized nature had 
been applied to the plant, the juices were rendered averse to crystal- 
lization, but were not deteriorated, so far as the production of alcohol 
or syrup is concerned. I mention these facts in this connection, as, 
perhaps, affording some light upon the vexed question as to whether or 
no the sorgho juice will give perfect crystals of cane sugar, and as 
prefatory to the conflicting opinions of Doctors Hayes and Jackson, 
both gentlemen of the highest acknowledged ability as chemists, and 
one of them, at least, practically acquainted with sugar making. 

I have the highest respect for the professional position of Dr. Hayes, 
and esteem him as a private gentleman, but cannot print his very able 
paper without expressing the hope that future experience may prove 
that the canes and syrup upon which his experiments were undertaken 
were raised under the unfavorable application of manures containing 
much nitrogen, or on soils of the character above indicated ; and, from 
personal communication with that gentleman, I know he would rejoice 
as much as any one if success shall prove my supposition to have been 
a just one. 

From the “ New Orleans Bee” we have most unequivocal testimony 
as to the actual presentation to the editors of crystallized sugar made 
by Prof. Avequin; and as corroborative of that fact, I append the 
following extract from the official report of the meeting of the Comice 
Agricole of Toulon, held December 5th, 1854: 

“The honorable President presented to the Assembly a detailed re- 
port upon the Culture of the Sorgho, its Uses and Products. This 
report, of a very high degree of interest, will be inserted in the follow- 


CRYSTALLIZED SORGHO SUGAR. 243 


ing number of the Report of the Assembly. M. De Breaurscarp (the 
President) PRESENTED TO THE AssEMBLY Rum aNnp ORysTALLIZED 
SUGAR EXTRACTED FROM THE SoRGHO. A. PELLICOT.” 

The report of the Count made its appearance according to the above 
announcement, and the Count speaks as follows : 

“T have likewise been able, gentlemen, (thanks to the obliging and 
intelligent assistance of M. Verignon, a chemist at Hyéres,) to make 
attempts to obtain the crystallization of the syrup from the juice of 
the holcus saccharatus.. ... After practical boiling, losing the 
hope of seeing in form the crystals, we left upon a shelf the con- 
centrated syrup without disturbance for a while, and we have been 
most agreeably surprised to find, on again looking at it, that the entire 
inside surface of the vessel containing it was studded with very beautiful 
crystals, which I have the pleasure of exhibiting before you to-day.” 

At the sitting of May Ist, 1855, was presented a paper, entitled, 
“Documents Nouveaux sur la Culture du Sorgho a Sucré,” in which 
occurs the following : 

“We have recently learned from a manufacturer at Lyons, M. 
Doney, that he has, the past year, obtained from a small quantity of 
sorgho stalks, treated by him, beautiful cubic crystals of sugar. His 
process is as follows: The clippings of sorgho stalks are submitted to 
maceration ; then they are pressed, and the juice obtained is reduced 
by boiling. ‘Treated by lime which is purified of salts, defecated by 
means of ox blood, clarified with animal black, the juice evaporated 
gave BEAUTIFUL CRYSTALS OF CANE SUGAR.” 

Testimony stronger than this could not be made. In his official re- 
port to the Minister of War, Dr. Turrel distinctly states, that experi- 
ments made by a Commission of the Imperial Acclimation Society had 
“resulted in their obtaining magnificent cubic crystals of sugar.” 

Thus supported, then, my readers will, doubtless, unite with me in 
the previously expressed wish, that indeed by the lst of January we 
may be able to offer a complete refutation to the opinion advanced by 
- Dr. Hayes. It must be remembered that, in making beet-sugar, the 
manufacturer is sometimes obliged to wait as long as a fortnight before 
the syrup will strike into crystals. 

Doubtful as has been the question as to the crystallization of the 


244. APPENDIX. 


sorgho juice, the paper of Mr. Wray entirely sets at rest any doubt as 
to the possibility of sugar making with the imphee juice; and if the 
former be found wanting in this season’s trials, the effect will be, to 
augment the demand for the imphee, and largely extend its culture. 


ON THE SACCHARINE MATTER FOUND IN THE 
VARIETY OF SORGHUM, CULTIVATED IN NEW 
ENGLAND AS A SOURCE OF SUGAR. 


By AUGUSTUS A. HAYES, M.D, Assayer to the State of Massachusetts. 


Ear ty after the ripening of this plant the stalks were sent to me for 
a chemical examination of the kind of sugar produced from the juice. 
Samples of the syrup, from several places in the northern states, and 
one sample made by Colonel Peters, of Georgia, were also given to me. 

The research was deemed important in its economical bearings, and 
interesting in a chemical view. The course was, therefore, made to 
embrace a knowledge of the sugar as it naturally existed in the stalk, 
in its appropriate cells, and of the sugar extracted by the refined 
methods of modern chemistry. 

Sugar in the Cells—The horizontal and angular sections of the 
pith of various samples of the sorghum plant, produced from the 
black, or French variety of seed, were found, when viewed by_the 
microscope, to show perfectly-formed cells, with every character of 
maturation. 

In these cells, isolated from other principles, a fluid sugar could be 
seen and experimented on easily. 

When withdrawn from the cells it did not crystallize, even after long 
exposure. Recent pith, carefully dried by absorbents, did not exhibit 
pe crystallized sugar. Slips of the common sugar cane, under the 

ame exposure, showed crystals of sugar formed, and, as it dried, bril- 
ie colorless, and beautiful groups formed in the cells, without the 
apparent presence of any other matter. A minute drop of the fluid in 
the cells of the common sugar cane, soon after exposure, became a 


CRYSTALLIZED SORGHO SUGAR, 245 


mass of crystals; and no two secretions are more unlike than the fluid 
sugar of the sorghum and the crystallizable juice of the common sugar 
cane. ‘The fluid sugar of the sorghum in the cells became brown when 
treated with potash. It did not become dark in sulphuric acid. It 
readily dissolved in alcohol, and left, by evaporation, a syrup; no 
crystals. A minute drop, when warmed, instantly reduced the tartrate 
of copper, dissolved in potash, to protoxide of copper. These are the 
characters of glucose; and so far as observation and tests can serve 
us, we must conclude that the saccharine matter in the cells of the 
sorghum plant is glucose, in the state of a syrup, without the presence 
of true sugar. 

At this point of the examination I supplied Prof. John Bacon, of 
the Medical College, with samples of the stalk, who, with his usual 
accuracy and skill, after a minute examination, failed in detecting any 
cane sugar, and pronounced the matter to be glucose, as secreted by 
the plant. 

Sugar Extracted—The clean pith was bruised in contact with 
pure animal charcoal, and the saccharine part extracted by cold 
and pure alcohol, which was evaporated at the ordinary temperature 
of the air, and left a fluid, colorless, sweet glucose. This could be 
dried over sulphuric acid to a paste; but it attracted moisture from 
the air, and returned to the state of a syrup on exposure. It contained 
a trace of a lime salt, but was neutra!. The animal charcoal was then 
boiled in successive portions of alcohol, and the solutions obtained 
afforded only the syrup of glucose; no crystallized sugar. 

A quantity of the pith was crushed in mixture with some pure car- 
bonate of lime, animal charcoal, and water, at the common temper- 
ature of the air. The colorless, neutral syrup, was rapidly withdrawn, 
and one portion evaporated, by the heat of steam, to a thick syrup, 
and closed from the air. It remained a syrup after fourteen days, and 
when spread thin on plates of glass, gave a few microscopical crystals 
of saline matter united to glucose. Another portion of the colorless, 
pure juice, was evaporated in a current of warm air; it dried toa 
thick varnish, without a trace of any crystals being seen. 'These are 
the characters of glucose, physically. 

An analysis of a portion of the pure juice was made by reducing 
it to a nearly dry mass and treating it with alcohol saturated with 


246 APPENDIX. 


cane sugar, in which it dissolved, excepting a mere trace of a lime 
salt; proving that no true sugar exists in the juice, chemically. 

Samples of Sorghum Sugar.—These, as specimens of the product 
obtained by boiling to the state of a dense syrup the expressed 
juice of the plant, were all impure; differing much, in this respect. 
They exhibited, after repose, some brilliant grains as a deposit. After 
separation, these grains proved to be in large part, transparent, mi- 
nute fragments of pith cells mixed with some crystals, which, contain- 
ing chlorine, sulphuric acid, lime, and alkaline base, were considered to 
be compounds of sugar and alkaline salts. The fluid sugar was, in 
every case, acid, and exhibited a strong tendency to ferment, after it 
had becn afew hours mixed with water. It was, therefore, in every 
case subjected to the usual process of refining before the application 
of the tests was made. Neither of the samples, when subjected to 
the tests which have been named, exhibited any traces of true sugar ; 
and the characters of solubility, and freedom from tendency to crys- 
tallize, place the fluid sugar obtained in the usual way, among the fruit 
sugars, as varieties of glucose. 

After long exposure to air, the pure glucose, chemically obtained, 
forms mammilary concretions made up of radiating prisms, and then 
becomes the variety of glucose called dry fruit sugar : adding another 
distinctive character of fruit sugar. 

I purposely excepted from my trials all unripe or decayed stalks. 
Some subsequent observations show that the unripe stalks afford much 
saline matter which mixes with the syrup. 

When we consider the definiteness and reliability of the chemical 
tests for glucose, the clear and certain manner in which they distin- 
guish all its varieties from ordinary sugar, we may conclude that, as 
far as physical and chemical means permit, the question in relation to 
the kind of secretion in the sorghum of the northern states is settled. 
This plant cannot, by any known process, be made to yield any other 
saccharine matter than glucose, and there is no method known to 
chemists by which glucose has been converted into sugar. 

Generally, those persons skilled in the manufacture of sugar from 
the maple sap, who have failed in producing sugar from the sorghum, 
have attributed their want of success to a difference of composition in 


LETTER FROM MR. WRAY. 9AT 


the juice, as compared with maple sap. This is the true view, and 
reflects no discredit on the ability or judgment of those enterprising 
persons who have endeavored to add another to our resources of an 
agricultural kind. Some few persons have boldly asserted that they 
have obtained sugar from the sorghum of the northern states, and an 
impression has been fostered that some new process of manufacture 
would enable us to obtain a supply of sugar from this source. It isa 
part of the duty of men of science to point out what can be done, and 
thus direct attention to resources around us; it is no less a duty on 
their part to draw the broad line of distinction between what can and 
what cannot be accomplished. No dairy man or dairy woman would 
accept the proposition of converting at will butter into cheese, or 
cheese into butter; yet this may be done as easily as the glucose of 
the sorghum can be converted into sugar. 

While the variety of sorghum produced from the French seed in our 
northern states contains in its cells only glucose, which can be easily 
separated and exhibited with all its properties, we have before us a 
positive fact : those who suppose sugar to exist in the plant are sup- 
porting a negative, until they present us that product in a tangible 
form. 

16 Boylston Street, Boston, April, 1857. 


LETTER FROM MR. WRAY TO THE AUTHOR. 


Canapa, July 4th, 1857. 
Henry S. Oxcort, Esa. 

_My Dear Sir,—In reply to your inquiry, I beg leave te make the 
following remarks upon the statements put forth in Boston by Doctors 
Hayes and Bacon, relative to the character of the sugar contained in 
the Chinese Sorgho, which is now so generally denominated the 
Chinese Sugar Cane. 

That small quantities of crystallized sugar (identical in all po 
to that of the sugar cane, and not grape sugar) haye from time to 
time been produced in France, and even in this country (North 
America) is an established fact, admitting of no denial, and, as such, 
quite sufficient to prove that the Chinese Sorgho docs, under certain 


948 APPENDIX. 


favorable conditions, contain, and will, by a peculiar mode of manu- 
facture, yield a proportion of real cane sugar, however small that 
proportion may be. 

The remarkable assertions of Messrs. Hayes and Bacon must, there- 
fore, in my opinion, have arisen from two causes, of which those gentle- 
men were not aware, viz., 

Ist. The sorgho stalks, or canes, which they examined were, in all 
probability, either unripe, or past the stage at which crystallizable 
sugar existed in their juice ; or, again, those canes might have been 
grown on such rich lands as did not permit of their juices being per- 
fectly elaborated. 

2d. The “very carefully prepared syrup of Col. R. Peters, of 
Georgia ” had, in reality, been boiled down in the rudest manner, in a 
large iron cow-pot, after a constant exposure to a great heat for a 
period of from seven to eight hours. 

It might be an interesting and highly instructive experiment to 
such chemists (and others who know nothing of sugar making) if they 
would try the effect of from seven to eight hours continuous boiling 
(or simmering) on a simple solution of pure lump sugar and water ; 
always remembering that a large iron cow-pot (hung in a very primi- 
tive manner) is the vessel to be employed. What do these gentlemen 
imagine would be the product resulting from the action of such a 
long continued heat on this simple solution of pure cane sugar? What 
would be the proportion of crystallizable sugar remaining, and how 
much glucose would they have achieved? I should like them to 
make this trial, and favor the public with a statement of their results. 

I beg you, my dear, Sir, to believe that I do not for a moment call 
in question the ability and honest purpose of such well educated and 
respectable men as Doctors Hayes and Bacon; but asa dabbler in 
chemistry, and as an old sugar planter, I well know how easily men 
of the highest order of intelligence may be deceived in such investi- 
gations, and may omit to make due allowance for unknown circum- 
stances, which may, nevertheless, exercise an entire controlling influ- 
ence on the result of their experiments. 

So far, therefore, in answer to your inquiries respecting the Chinese 
Sorgho, which I hope may be satisfactory ; but in speaking of the 


LETTER FROM MR. WRAY. 249 


real “ Imphee ” of Kaffirland, which I have introduced to the notice of 
the world from south-eastern Africa, you must be good enough to 
understand that I draw a very marked distinction between them and 
the plants known under the name of Chinese Sorgho, in regards to 
their value as sugar producing plants. 

The juice of the Zulu-Kaffir imphee is much more limpid, and much 
less mucilaginous than that of the Chinese sorgho; and is conse- 
quently very easily induced to crystallize. 

The African plant, under ordinarily favorable circumstances, so 
perfectly elaborates its juice that I have generally found it to contain 
almost as large a proportion of cane sugar as that of the real sugar 
cane itself grown in the tropics. 

The samples of sugar made from the imphee, and in your possession, 
have been pronounced to be equal to the best clayed Havanas ; but, 
farther than this, I may tell you that I have submitted them to my 
honored and revered friend Justus Liebig, the great chemist of our 
age, and he has found them identical in all respects to the sugar from 
the West Indian and Javanese canes. 

I do not think I necd say more, for in a month hence I shall com- 
mence manufacturing my imphee crop, and I hope then to give you 
the fullest proofs ,that whatever the Chinese Sorgho may yield, my 
African Imphee will at least come up to the character it has earned, 
and yield sugar abundantly: 

And I remain, my dear Sir, 
Very faithfully yours, 
Lp. WRAY. 


250 APPENDIX. 


MONOGRAPH OF THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE, 
CALLED THE SUGAR SORGHO. 


BY DOCTOR ADRIEN SICARD, 


Secretary of the Marseilles Horticultural Society, Member of the Imperial 
Acclimation Society, etc., ete. Marseilles, 1856. 


CHAPTER V. 


Studies in the Structure and Intimate Composition of the Chinese 
Sugar Cane. 


Let us take a joint of the cane, deprived of the clasping part of 
the leaf, designated by the name petiole or footstalk, and let us study 
it from exterior to the interior. 

Immediately beneath the footstalk we find a deposit of cerosie, 
which completely covers the epidermis of the cane. This deposit, 
which is but slightly apparent midway between the knots, under the 
footstalks is considerable enough, on the contrary, from its being pro- 
tected from the contact with the air. Some canes will even manifest 
this same substance on their leaves. This is called cerosze because of 
its resemblance to wax (c7re.) 

The cerosie being passed, we come to the epidermis, or outside coat ; 
this is thin, very strong, tinted usually with colors of straw color, 
yellow, apple green, and rose color, passing into a violet when the cane 
is too ripe. If a piece of this epidermis be magnified to five hundred 
diameters, it appears to the eye like the bark of the elm as seen in 
nature by the naked eye, especially if the examination be made on the 
portion covered with cerosie. If the fragment of epidermis be turned 
so as to present the interior face, there will be seen angular protuber- 
ances, which correspond with the joints of the cells, and filaments 
running in a direction from above to below, or from knot to knot, of 
the stalk. Whatever pains be taken to separate the epidermis of the 
cane, some fragments of cells will always be seen adherent. 

I submitted the epidermis to the action of pure sulphuric acid* ; 


* All my studies of organic chemistry with the view of discovering the intimate 
structure of the Chinese Sugar Cane have been made under the microscope. 


CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. 251 


it assumed in this liquid a deep yellowish color, and the appearance of 
the very rough bark of a tree, marked with black spots and streaks. 
By the addition of a drop of anhydrous alcohol, there was immediately 
formed, in the liquid, a movement of oscillation; the fragment of 
epidermis was borne by the current in the liquid from left to right. 
At the end of some minutes the yellow color had entirely disappeared, 
but the piece preserved the original appearance. Submitted, then, 
to the action of tincture of iodine, the epidermis preserved its trans- 
parency ; except that the more dceply tinted parts assumed a very 
light blue color, surrounding plates and cells which were completely 
white. Ata magnitude of one hundred diameters the objects of our 
previous study can be seen, but in this case the piece of epidermis 
looks like the bark of the plane tree. 

It is difficult, at this magnitude, to recognize the details above 
mentioned ; still with a great experience in microscopic study it may 
be done. 

If the piece of epidermis belongs to a cane long time previously 
ripened, or the experiments be made with the knots nearest the ground, 
it will be found that the cerosie always will adhere to the epidermis, 
even though it may have been scraped to remove the former; the ad- 
dition of sulphuric acid can determine the yellow color ; but anhydrous 
spirit of wine subsequently added, does not produce so strong a sudden 
oscillatory movement as in the former experiment. The decoloration 
of the tissues docs not take place; they always preserve the yellow 
color, and the disposition of the fibers is the same, except that the 
most prominent tubes are particularly distinct. The tincture of iodine 
added to the solution docs not give any color changes, except that the 
deep color of the epidermis becomes clearer. Some fragments of cells 
are visible. 

The epidermis is now removed. We next come to the dermis, or 
inner coating.* Submitted to a glass of five hundred diameters, it pre- 
sents an assemblage of tubes all disposed side by side in manner accord- 
ing to the height of the plant. Submitted to the action of pure 
sulphuric acid, the deep color soon passes into a red brown; numerous 


* This piece of derma was taken from the last joint of a cane of large size, and it had 
remained on the stalk after its ripening. 


252 APPENDIX. 


cells of rounded form show themselves under the tubes. The addition 
of anhydrous alcohol causes a very slight movement of oscillation ; the 
yellowish-red-brown color brightens up and becomes yellow; but the 
longitudinal tubes are perfectly apparent, and upon these are seen at 
intervals rounded cells. These celis are unequal, and of three dimen- 
sions ; large, medium sized, and small. In the liquid are seen floating 
perfectly white crystals. 

The addition of the tincture of iodine produces, in time, in certain 
portions of the tubes, a slightly violet hue; but the little cells have 
become colored a deep violet. As to the crystals, of which we have 
previously spoken, they preserve all their whiteness. 

Let us continue our researches. The epidermis and dermis have 
been removed. We next find between the knots long threads of a 
yellowish color, running from one knot to the other, and which may 
be easily removed by hand: they are united together by a kind of pith. 
A specimen of these threads was submitted to the microscope, (magni- 
fied to one hundred diameters,) and despite all my efforts, it was im- 
possible to completely deprive it of its covering of pith. Under the 
glass the appearance it presented was that of a magnificent column of 
stalactite of the most beautiful whiteness. Sulphuric acid colors this 
part of the plant yellow on the edges, and reddish brown throughont 
the rest of its surface ; a continuance of about a quarter of an hour in 
the liquid produces the disaggregation of little grains almost white, but 
bordered with a more roseate hue. 

The addition of anhydrous alcohol produces the complete decolora- 
tion of the portion formed by the separation of the small grains above 
mentioned ; they may be distinguished perfectly isolated from each 
other, and preserving by their arrangement the form of the bark of a 
tree, or, rather, of a lace of dazzling whiteness. As to the portion 
which has not been detached, it preserves its original form and color. 

The addition of a strong proportion of tincture of iodine has not 
changed the color of the grains of which we have spoken; only the 
liquid in which they are held, becomes strongly tinted yellow ; the 
surface seems to have assumed a slightly bluish tint. As to the cells, 
and the portion of the specimen which was not separated, they have 
taken on a bluish violet. Besides this, there is seen the yellow color 
in portions of the cell not changed to blue. 


CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. 258 


If we remove with great care, by means of a piece of silk paper,* 
the liquids in which we steeped the piece of sugar-cane used in our 
experiments, and if we replace it by water, suffering the piece of cane 
to steep for some minutes, we remark that the tissues become more 
transparent ; but the violet color always remains in the thicker por- 
tions, especially in the cells. These have a hole in their center. 

If we deprive of water + the specimen of Chinese Sugar Cane under- 
going experiment, and replace this water by anhydrous alcohol, we 
observe a decoloration of the tissues and the separation of the portion 
which had formed the lace; this detaches itself from the piece, lets 
escape a large number of entirely colorless crystals, and ends by taking 
on the appearance of a hempen thread, which should be placed in the 
field of the microscope and examined at the magnitude which was em- 
ployed by us at the commencement. We shall find, floating in the 
liquid, some violet cells, which have preserved their rounded form. As 
to the piece which did not dissolve, it maintains the appearance indi- 
cated in the preceding experiments. 

Another piece of filament, taken from the same place, and submitted 
to the same magnifying power of five hundred diameters, has seemed 
to us organized ; it represents a fragment of hemp, with the exception 
that the latter is white throughout the greater part of its length. 
Submitted to the action of pure sulphuric acid for about an hour, we 
observe the separation of the cells ; the filaments take the appearance 
of threads of hemp seen by the naked eye, and placed beside each 
other we observe some disaggregated cells; the filaments have a black 
color. 

No change caused by the addition of anhydrous alcohol. The tinc- 
ture of iodine added to the mixture, makes to appear slight violet or 
bluish spots. 'The general tint is observed to be diminished in inten- 
sity. The entire liquid is sprinkled with white crystals. 

The specimen which we are about to study is taken from the center 
of the cane. We were at pains to separate it entirely from the threads 
which we have just dissected ; it presents to the naked eye the appear- 


*It will readily be conceived that it is impossible to accomplish the entire removal 
of all foreign matter. 

+ We cannot say but that a little water has actually remained after all our precau- 
tions, 


954 APPENDIX. 


ance of elder pith, except that on pressure it permits to escape a very 
sweet juice. 

Under the microscope, at a magnitude of one hundred diameters, the 
specimen which is the object of our study resembtes a grain of sugar 
seen with the naked eye, and of which the appearance is of a brilliant 
whiteness ; the crystallization is like that of the most beautiful sugar. 
We remark on the edges a whitish liquid which oozes from it; in it 
we see some small cells, which are doubtless those which have permit- 
ted to escape the liquid which we have just noticed. 

Some moments’ rest in pure sulphuric acid changes the appearance 
of the specimen which we study ; the edges are yellow, the center rep- 
resents a bunch of grapes, of which the grains are perfectly distinct, 
and of a violet red color; some grains separated from the bunch have 
an appearance identical to those which we have observed in the pre- 
ceding experiments, except their violet red color; they are all perfo- 
rated with a hole in the middle. Some crystals are seen in the 
liquid. 

Anhydrous alcohol, added in the segment of sphere, produces a 
slight movement of oscillation from right to left ; the violet red color 
is unaltered; the edges only have assumed a tint much less yellow, and 
which has a tendency to disappear. As to the crystals disseminated 
throughout the liquid, they are always incolorous. 

The addition of the tincture of iodine gives, after a contact of some 
minutes, a color less deep; one would say that in place of coloring the 
substance, the iodine had, on the contrary, lightened it. However, by 
regarding it with the greatest attention, we distinguish little veins of 
an infinitesimal dimension, which appear colored violet. 

The piece of Chinese Sugar Cane submitted to the above experi- 
ments, was now taken from the liquid, then placed in the segment of 
a sphere, with anhydrous alcohol that we had increased with water. 
A portion of the fragment was dissolved ; at the bottom of the liquid 
we see a great quantity of white crystals. As to the mass itsclf, it is 
found at the bottom of the liquid, and presents the appearance of a 
mixture of empty cells, of crystals and granules, the whole seeming 
white by refraction, and tinted violet by reflection. 

A fragment imperceptible to the naked eye, submitted to a magni- 
tude of five hundred diameters, is completely identical with crystals of 


CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. D5 


sugar in the perfect state ; they are surrounded by an incolorous liquid. 
This fragment has stripes very light and blackish in color. 

Pure sulphuric acid has entirely changed the appearance of the 
fragment which we are studying ; it has taken a blackish color in the 
surface of the crystals, which have become more deep. 

Anhydrous alcohol, added to the mixture, seems to dissect the crys- 
tals. 

An addition of tincture of iodine lessens the coloring. By refrac- 
tion, the crystals are completely white. 

We have taken at the center of a knot, a portion of the substance 
which it contains, seeking to separate, as much as possible, from it the 
filaments which, in this plant, run from the ground to the top of the 
stalk, bending, it must be remarked, at each knot. It is, so to speak, 
compressed, and in the experiments which I have made on these threads, 
they have always broken at this part. 

The portion above mentioned was placed under the microscope. At 
a magnitude of one hundred diameters, it resembled a piece of certain 
plants seen with the naked eye. Placed in concentrated sulphuric 
acid, the specimen becomes broken apart, and takes on a black color, 
bordered by a reddish tint. The cells are apparent, someof them sep- 
arated. Anhydrous alcohol produces no other effect than to detach 
some flakes of cells, and some rare white crystals, the whole floating 
on the liquid. 

We then took a portion of the knot which had served us for the 
above experiments, and placed it in water, but its appearance did 
not change from that of woody fiber, corroded by sulphuric acid. 

A portion of knot which we endeavored to completely isolate from 
the filaments, was magnified to five hundred diameters. Placed in 
contact with sulphuric acid, it was disorganized, numerous cells made 
their appearance, and the whole was colored black, mixed with deep 
yellow ; the addition of anhydrous alcohol has made apparent to us 
woody fiber, in the condition in which it is when it has been in contact 
with sulphuric acid. 

From the experiments which we have thus made, it follows : 

That the Chinese Sugar Care is composed from outside inwards, 
first of a layer of cerosie or wax, avd an inert epidermis. The dermis 
contains gums, filaments, fecula, and some portions of sugar. 


256 APPENDIX. 


The interior part of the cane is composed, in very great proportion, 
of sugar and filaments. It is in the most central portion of all that 
are found the sacchariferous products. 

If the cane be deprived of its epidermis and dermis, it will be placed 
in the best condition possible to furnish sugar of good quality, and of 
easy extraction. Such, at least, is our opinion, which is based upon 
the practical studies which we have made with this precious gramine- 
ous plant. ; 


FROM F. BOURDAIS, DISTILLER, AT CONSTANTINE, 
ALGIERS. 


Bur however great seem the probable results of the introduction of 
the sorgho into France, and however great the enthusiasm which has 
arisen in the minds of its cultivators, they still look upon the new 
colony of Algiers as the country in which, both on account of climate, 
soil and the peculiar adaptedness of the plant, the most remarkable 
results can be obtained. There, it will be recollected, that M. 
Hardy, the chief of the government nursery, at Hamma, in his report 
to Marshal Vaillaint, certifies to having allowed his canes to stand upon 
the ground where they grew, first having removed the tufts and leaves, 
throughout the whole winter, the climate being so very mild. The 
immense importance of such an aid to the manufacture will be seen 
on a moment's reflection, for he may pursue his manufacture throughout 
the whole year without interruption, and thus not be obliged to greatly 
increase his expenditures for labor and considerable machinery to 
harvest and work up his crop in the short space of time which is 
absolutely required by the changes of the American climate. 

M. Bourdais, a large distiller at Constantine, in the province of 
Algiers, has written a pamphlet called, “ Guide to the Distiller of the 
Sorgho Sucré,” in which he gives the result of his extended experi- 
ments. He seems to have been a careful experimenter, and his book is 
entirely practical; indeed, he says himself, “All the eloquence of our 
writmgs, rests upon the figures offered.” We quote his language, as 
follows : 


M. BOURDAIS’ STATENENT. 257 


My first experiments were most satisfactory, and I should not hesi- 
tate a single moment to pursue with new zeal, in consideration of the 
initiative taken by M. Hardy, and with the appearance of a new plant 
capable of giving in alcoholic products according to the figure of this 
philosophic experimenter, a net profit of about $1,662 64. Let us re- 
mark in passing, that Messrs. Madinier & Lacoste, in the new pamphlet 
which they have just published, under the title of “ Guide to the Culti- 
vator of the Sorgho,” carry this figure as high as 9241 fr. Let us re- 
mark the enormous discrepancy between these two computations, 
amounting to $185 30. 

“ By taking this figure of 9241 fr. as a basis, it is evident that a 
planter should, with a capital of $20,000, distil in six or seven months, 
the product of fifty acres, and realize thus the enormous profit of 
$37,000. ‘Twelve acres were quickly planted by me. Agreements 
with other persons permitted me likewise to count upon the yield of other 
estates upon which the sorgho culture had been undertaken. One may 
judge exactly by the following figures what are the results. The calcu- 
lation has been made to a most scrupulous exactitude: 


COST OF CULTIVATING ONE HECTARE (ABOUT 2} ACRES). 


1. CULTIVATION 


Plowing, - - . - wilt HS - $16 
Hoeing, - - - - - - 8 
Making irrigation furrows, - - - - 4 
Sowing, - - - - - - 9 
Watering, - . . > - - - 10 
Manures, - - - - - . 20 
' Hoeing, and subsequent cost of cultivation, - - ' 20 
$87 

2. First Cost or ManuFracture. 
Cutting the canes at maturity, . = : - $14 
Stripping the leaves (done by Arab children, at 1 fr. per day) 28 
Transportation of the canes to the manufactory, - ae 
"$50 


258 APPENDIX. 


By following successive weighings, made with conscientious exact 
ness, I learned the fact that 24 acres well managed, with the desirable 
conditions of good culture, yields 


1,520 metrical quintals of canes, deprived of their leaves. 


278 “ a green leaves, very excellent. 
For the nourishment of stock, and representing, at sixty 
cents the 250 lbs., a sum total of - - $47 
Adopting, as a starting point, the first cost of culture and 
manufacture, the result above given would be - 137 
My expenses were thus reduced by - . - AT 
Giving - - - - - ‘ $90 


I had already a sure basis. Ninety dollars was my entire expense 
for the product of 520 quintals of cane. I obtained the sum of 84 c. 
as a representative value for the production per metrical quintal. I 
will detail in another place the different operations which preceded the 
distillation. It will be sufficient to say that a metrical quintal of canes 
yielded, on distillation, 5-2 quarts of alcohol at 94°, being 0.15.1 of 
raw material for a quart of alcohol at 94°. 


Thus, then 
The cost of raw material being, - - . $0 03 
The cost of crushing, maceration of the bagasse and of the 
seeds, fermentation, yeast of beer, distillation, rectifica- 
tion, about, - - - - . <2 AD 
Cutting and transporting to the still, - - 0 02 
I obtain, as the cost at Constantine, for the 3)}6* reduced 
to 94°, - - dee - - $015 
This will, doubtless appear a high price, but taking into considera- 
tion the extravagant price for manual labor in the province of Con- 
stantine, the explanation will be sufficient. In fact, a workman em- 
ployed either on the farm or in the distillery does not have less wages 
than seventy to eig!.ty cents per day, for ten hours’ work. I have been 


* A technical expression, used in France to signify a certain strength of alcoholic 
liquors. It cannot be translated. 


M. BOURDAIS’ STATEMENT. 259 


compelled to raise the salary of the chief distiller to $1 60 a day, which 
in France is not higher than $1. It is the same with respect to the fire- 
man, whose wages here are forty cents higher than they are in France. 
The English bituminous coal which I use costs me at the distillery about 
$1 75 per 250 lbs. It will be urged, doubtless, that the native labor 
would be less costly. The objection would be a valid one, if it were 
possible to employ the Arabs in any other department than that of 
manual labor. Ata later day, when the culture of the sorgho has 
become much more extended, and when they have become familiar with 
it, we may possibly find among them those who would be able to fill 
. the more important places. 

I have shown that about a quart of “3/6” reduced, costs me for 
hand labor about ten cents. his price may appear a high one, but it 
is not very remarkable. I will show by the following figures that a 
very large profit can be realized from it in the Algiers market, because 
of the economy of transportation and other expenses. This economy 
is not less than 403 cents. Let us calculate upon the exportation of 
a pipe of 3/6 of about 150 gallons, to France, at sixty cents per gallon, 
supposing it put in the hands of a commission merchant in Marseilles. 

We will have, firstly, then, to deduct for commission, 3 per 


cent., aii ete Die ae breed. =cut “pe ode a AB 
Storage, carting, guaging, etc. - - - - . 1 20 
Insurance, - - - - - syeh. = - - 108 
Freight by steam vessels, —- - - - - - 3 80 
Commission for transportation to Phillippeville, and various 
expenses, - - - - - - - - =r tke 20 
Leakage, and other accidents of the journey, 10 litres, at 
| PRIRI HA cineca ret) xiiadtemed =) ne SBD 
Transportation, Phillippeville to Constantine, at 89 50 per 
50 gallons, - : - - - - - - 9 20 
$26 58 


Tt will be seen that the expenses for an order of 150 gallons are 
very rapidly increased, before the merchandise can be put into the 
storehouse, to the enormous figure of $24 54, about 16 cents per gallon, 
which would be an entire profit if sold in the interior of Algeria. 


260 APPENDIX. 


In fact, the net price, which we know to have been fifteen cents, is 
reduced four, and then stands at eleven cents. 

For the same reason the price of hand labor is reduced to about 
seven cents. 

It will be remarked that I have abstained from speaking of the seed 
of the sorgho, when detailing above the productions of this grain. I 
have made the best employment of this seed the object of a special 
study, and I believe that I have discovered its. most profitable use, 
taking all things into consideration. It seems to me an undoubted 
fact, that there is a large profit from changing into sugar the starch con- 
tained in the seed of the sorgho, by submitting it to a vigorous and 
warm maceration, along with the canes. 

I previously said, that a metrical quintal of canes yielded me on dis- 
tillation about five quarts of alcohol at 94°. 

In this was included the juices expressed from the seed of the sorgho 
by means of maceration. 

I have passed without notice the so-called product to be obtained 
from the bagasse, because, like the seed, I submit them to the same 
maceration, in order to extract from them all the saccharine matter 
which has escaped the action of the cylinder. I find a further profit 
in this, since the bagasse, deprived of all its nutritive matter, after the 
completion of the process of maceration, should not be eaten by stock, 
as I have proved in my experience. As to a second crop being able 
to give an additional amount of alcoholic products, it seems to me 
little probable. We may count certainly upon a second crop, which 
can give a large quantity of forage to be cut up and eaten. 

All the writers who have discussed the sorgho sucré, have also men- 
tioned as one item of production, the cerosie, which covers the stalks of 
the cane. To my mind it is not worth while to engage in an opera- 
tion so costly by itself, when the profits resulting from it are very 
problematical. 

The computations I have given are the results of distillation under- 
taken with about twelve acres of crops made on alluvial soils, or river 
bottoms, which can be irrigated at high water, and naturally manured 
by the detritus of the old swamp, where my distillery has been located 
for a number of years. 

The truly surprising results which I have obtained, have been ad- 


M. BOURDAIS’ STATEMENT. 261 


mired by the Director of the Government Nursery of Algiers, on the 
occasion of a visit which he was good enough to accord me. He has 
frequently noticed the existence on my place, of hills of sorgho, tiller- 
ing from sixteen to eighteen stalks of twelve feet in height, which 
often were five and a half inches in circumference at their base. In 
other instances ten to twelve stalks have been very commonly noticed ; 
the average is from six to seven. 

It is commonly known that M. Hardy is one of the first who has 
occupied his time with the culture of saccharine plants, and very espe- 
cially with the Chinese Imphee. The intelligent experiments which he 
has undertaken, upon a small scale it is true, (about half an acre,) and 
as he says himself, deprived of favorable conditions, that is to say, not 
having at his disposition any other instrument for distillation than 
Saleron’s still retort ; these trials, I say, although not permitting him 
to arrive at results completely satisfactory, have not however suffered 
him to have any doubt upon the future of a culture which promises to 
be an inexhaustible source of riches and prosperity for Algeria. 

Although it has been necessary for me to cultivate my grounds at 
great expense, (at first with the pick, to eradicate all the stumps and 
stubble of the old swamp ; afterwards with the plow, to bury as deeply 
as possible by very arduous labor ; and finally to make ditches and 
drains, for the aération of the soil,) the result has amply repaid me“or 
all these labors attending the first cultivation. I will now confine 
myself to the details relative to the fabrication of the wines of the 
sorgho, to their distillation, and finally to the rectification of the bran- 
dies which have been obtained from it. I will explain as clearly as 
possible different methods I have employed; and I shall deem myself 
happy if these reflections can open the way to other investigators. 


DETAILS OF MANUFACTURE. 


The canes, stripped of their leaves, are submitted to the energetic 
action of a cylinder, with three rollers moved by steam, and making fifty 
revolutions in a minute. The vesou, or juice, runs into a vat of a capacity 
of about one thousand gallons, placed under the cylinder. This first 
operation finished, the bagasse passed out of the cylinder contains still a 
large quantity of saccharine matter, which can be extracted in scarcely 


262 APPENDIX. 


any other way than by maceration. This new operation is, however, 
more indispensable, as the saccharine part remaining in the bagasse 
gives in maceration for 2500 Ibs. of these latter, 500 gallons of juice, 
weighing 3° by the areometer of Cartier. 

Thus, then, 260 Ibs. of canes yield, in reality, seventeen gallons of 
vesou, at a density of 10°, or, as we have already said, five quarts of 
alcohol at 94°, being two gallons of alcohol to twenty-five gallons of 
juice. But it is impossible to obtain these results if recourse is not 
had to maceration. Thus there will be seen the motives which have 
induced me to seek for the better employment of the seed of the 
sorgho. ; 

When I perceived that the cutting and stripping cost me so much, 
I caused to be made in the fields of the plants which were growing, a 
choice of the finest grain for my sowings of the following year ; and I 
left the panicles adhering to the stalk. Of the remainder, the panicles 
and leaves should be crushed in the cylinder and afterwards subjected 
to the process of maceration with the bagasse. The action of the warm 
water determining immediately the transformation into sugar of the 
starch contained in the grain, I was able to obtain by a single opera- 
tion the saccharine residue escaped from the cylinder, and to save thus 
the cutting off the seed, stripping, the grinding of the grain, and the 
tr®uble of the preparation of a certain quantity of malt to assist in the 
fermentation. The possibility of leaving for some time standing in the 
field the plants of the sorgho, has considerably assisted me in this ex- 
periment; for, as M. Hardy judiciously observes, the stalks of the 
sorgho preserve themselves not only uninjured for several months after 
their maturity upon the ground as they grew, but even increase in the 
proportion of sugar. I find proof of that in the specific weight of the 
juice, which in September last weighed 9° and now has increased 
to 10°. 

FERMENTATION. 


The juice as it passes out from the vats from maceration, is enriched 
by the addition of pure juice, and arrives in the fermenting vat with 
a density of 5°. Ihave made what is technically called the “foot ;” 
that is to say, by turning into a vat 200 gallons of juice at a tempera- 
ture of 30°; with this 5 quarts of brewer's yeast should be mixed; an 


M. BOURDAIS’ STATEMENT. 263 


hour afterwards this “foot” is in full fermentation. I then filled my 
vat with 500 hectolitres, at a temperature of 30°. An hour after these 
quantities pass themselves into fermentation. Let us remark that this is 
the result of our own experience; that this fermentation progresses 
regularly, has no need of being watched, is never violent, and falls 
always to zero of the areometer, in 20 hours at least, and 24 hours at 
most. It is very true that the juice of the sorgho contains naturally 
its own ferment. M. Hardy has considered it sufficient to produce 
the alcoholic fermentation without the addition of any stimulant ; and 
in this latter case this fermentation progresses very gently, much 
too gently even, since it requires less than 6 to 8 days to fill; and 
finally it cften happens that it ceases before the- sugar is entirely 
transformed. Then the wines weigh still 1, and sometimes 13, by the 
areometer. 


DISTILLATION, 


I distil my wines by steam, and by means of a column still, after 
the system of M. Dubrunfaut. 


RECTIFICATION OF BRANDY. 


The rectifying column of which I have made use is that of M. 
Dubrunfaut, comprising two analyzers, whose purpose it is to spread 
the liquid of the condensation and the vapors, which are obtained 
simultaueously. The 3|6 obtained are of a strength of 94°, and fine 
in flavor. It now only remains to present a summary view of the 
figures which have appeared in the foregoing remarks, and to draw 
the attention of the reader to the following conclusions: they speak 
for themselves, and have no need of comments. We have seen that 
about 23 acres can produce 58,240 lbs. of stripped stalks ; and that a 
hundred kilogrammes (225 Ibs.) of these same stalks may give about 14 
gallons of alcohol at 940. The hectare (23 acres) yields then about 700 
gallons 3|6 at 94°, worth in the Constantiae market about $1 50 per 


gallon, say . 7 : : ; 4 : . $1,081 60 
We know that the litre of 3|6 costs, all expenses included, 
0.74.1, say for 200 gals. ‘ : : : : 400 73 


There remains, per hectare, a net profitof .  .  . $680 87 


264 APPENDIX. 


In the preceding calculations we have examined the question of the 
sorgho in all its relations, both as to the process for the transforma- 
tion of its product, and the farm which gives them. In a word, it is 
certain that an establishment thus constituted can distil in the space of 
six or seven months a crop of about 50 acres, and produce by an ex- 
pense of $20,000, (in which is comprised about $17,000 fixed capital, 
represented by the apparatus and works,) a profit of $12,000, or 
thereabouts. We have said the sorgho not only furnishes to industry 
a precious element ; but furthermore, it can profitably be employed 
as a forage crop. One acre cultivated in sorgho costs less for culture, 
and pays incomparably more than the best artificial meadow. They 
have already comprehended this in the north of France, as is shown 
in one of the pamphlets previously quoted; but in those countries 
where the sorgho does not ripen, planters have to overcome difficulties 
which do not exist for us, and are far from being able to obtain, not- 
withstanding all their efforts, results equivalent to those which come 
in this country without other assistance than native labor—[From 
“ Guide du Distillateur du Sorgho a Sucre.” I’. Bourdais. 


REPORT or truzE COUNT De DAVID BEAUREGARD, 


TO THE AGRICULTURAL ASSEMBLY OF TOULON, UPON THE ALCOHOLIZA- 
TION OF THE JUICE OF THE SORGHO SUCRE. TOULON, 1857. 


WE are aware of the fact that the juice of the sorgho, whose intro- 
duction we owe to M. Montigny, has within itself all the ferment 
necessary for the transformation of its saccharine matter into alcohol. 
It ferments with such activity under a sufficiently elevated tempera- 
ture, the formation of a great quantity of alcohol is so rapid that this 
reacts upon the ferment, of which a portion precipitates itself before 
having had time to accomplish its useful transformation. 

Thus it often happens that one, two, and even three degrees of sugar 
remain still in the wine of the sorgho at the moment when the fermen- 
tation ceases. To this first cause of loss there is frequently added 
another, when large vats are made use of. 


REPORT OF COUNT BEAUREGARD. 260 


The temperature, under the influence of this tumuituous fermenta- 
tion, arises in these great masses, even so far as to acquire, in warm 
weather, from 35 to 40 degrees centrigrade, which occasions a still 
further loss of a considerable quantity of alcohol. 

Desirous of avoiding the viscous fermentations which cause so much 
loss in sugar beet distilleries, when the proper degree of heat for the 
ferment is wanting, I heated my juice to 25° before putting it in the 
vat, which I rapidly filled, and added to its various ferments. I not 
only accomplished my purpose, but even got more than I desired. 
The fermentation proceeded with great violence. The imaginary 
inconvenience which I wished to avoid occasioned me a serious and a 
real one. The heat and ferment only aggravating the conditions of 
the operation, and I was not slow in perceiving that we obtained as 
much less alcohol as the fermentation had been more lively, and that 
there remained finally in the wine as much more of sugar in an 
unchanged state. 

I have since then been led to follow an entirely opposite course, 
seeking to render the fermentation as mild as possible, but however to 
make it complete by sustaining it at every moment. I avoided all 
use of ferment in the juice of the canes, and I have made my vat of a 
temperature as near as possible from 10° centigrade to zero. 

To obtain this temperature when the weather is warm enough, in 
September or October, it is well to treat only the canes cut the even- 
ing before, and which are stacked against the north side of a wall to 
profit by the moisture of the night. The juice likewise should be 
caused to run into the vat in a continuous thread. Into the vat is also 
introduced, at the same time, a thread of fresh river or spring water, and 
if this should not be had, water from clean well-built wells.* The diame- 
ter of this thread of water should be calculated, so that the mixture of 
the two liquors shall mark 60° on Beaumé’s Glucometer. If the 
machine discharges more of juice than is necessary to obtain this 
density and this temperature, the necessary number of vats to regulate 
that should be simultaneously filled. When frost comes it is necessary 


-* The mode of feeding can be altered. After a first vat full, in place of water, 
vinasse taken from the still retort can be used, or, better still, the results from the 
maceration of the bagasse. 


12 


266 APPENDIX. 


to warm the mixture to obtain this initial temperature of 10° centi- 
grade. In this case the water added is heated, and not the juice. It 
is necessary also, when the temperature of the juice is below 10°, to 
elevate the temperature of the water, so that it shall exceed 10° above 
zero as much as it lacked of arriving at this point during the night 
preceding the filling of the vats. 

Despite this low temperature, fermentation commences even on the 
first day, and thanks to the manner in which it commences and to the 
mode of feeding, it is maintained mild and regular, transforming every 
day into alcohol a sixth part of the sugar contained inthe mass, and 
making it gain two degrees of heat from the initial temperature,* so 
that on the seventh day, my vats, of a capacity of about 250 gallons, 
contained nothing but a liquid marking zero on the glucometer of 
Beaumé, and 22° of heat on the centigrade thermometer. 

If it has gained only two degrees of heat in twenty four hours, it 
will be found that the transformation of the sugar into alcohol is 
diminishing, and the water should be heated to cause the mass to arrive 
at the desired temperature during that day. 

This will only happen when the outside temperature is very low. It 
will be seen that the thermometer and the spirit guage are two instru- 
ments which must be employed, unless the operator wishes to go blindly 
to work. 

The sixth day, that is to say, as soon as my vat is filled, I stir up 
the mass with the hand, to replace in suspension whatever portion of 
the ferment remains unappropriated. The next morning the transform- 
‘ation is perfect. My wine is made; but to abstract from the alcohol 
a slight peculiar taste, due to the presence of certain essential oils 
which it contains, I throw that day into the vat two kilogrammes of 
powdered quick lime, (about five and a half pounds, troy,) previously 
slacked with twenty litres of water, (six gallons,) and again rapidly 
stir it up with the hands. 

The lime unites with the essential oils to form an insoluble com- 
pound, which is precipitated. 

We will let the fluid remain quiet for two days, and we then distil 


* On the morning before recommencing the distillation, the state of the fermenta- 
tion and the temperature of the vat should especially be examined 


REPORT OF COUNT BEAUREGARD. 267 


it in the Derosne apparatus, and obtain in alcohol “3/6” of an 
agreeable taste, reminding one somewhat of kirsch, almost as strong 
per cent. as the juices indicated of degrees on the Beaumé glucometer, 
say usually from eight to ten per cent. 

This result, which I invariably obtained since my change of system, 
seems to me of such a nature as to give confidence to those who, up to 
this time, have not dared to undertake the cuiture of the sorgho, and 
also to favor the establishment of distilleries, where the profitable 
manufacture, on a large scale, of the crops brought in by the farmers 
of the neighborhood can be undertaken. 

But in this regard, gentlemen, and to enlighten those who would be 
tempted to organize an enterprise of this nature, I believe it is useful 
to add some words on the method I have employed up to this time, to 
extract the juice of the cane. By mentioning the advantages and dis- 
advantages of my process, I can enable others to profit by the experi- 
ence, and do better. 

You already know, gentlemen, that to extract the juice of the canes, 
I pass them between plate cylinders, as is done in the colonies with 
tropical sugar cane. This mode of extraction, sanctioned by long 
custom, has seemed to me, more prudent to use at first; but in order 
that none of the juice may be Jost, it is requisite to key up the cylin- 
ders very closely, which requires the employment of a strong motive 
power. 

When the operator can make use of a strong and natural force, a 
fine waterfall, for instance, the inconvenience which we notice is no 
longer met with; but if this cannot be obtained, it would be well to 
try some other mode of extraction, requiring less motive power. A 
crusher, a stalk or straw cutter, or other similar instruments, can ac- 
complish the end desired. | 

The state in which the canes are found, according to the mode 
adopted for dividing them, will naturally necessitate particular ar- 
rangemenpts in the work for the extraction of the juice, their fermenta- 
tion and their distillation ; but this is not the place to enter into the 
details of ‘the subject. I wish simply to guard you against the idea 
that the crushing cylinders will be found to be, in all circumstances, 


268 APPENDIX. 


and in every case, the most suitable method of extraction to be 
employed. 
* x * % 

Of the other aspects of the culture of the Sorgho, I shall not speak 
at present, but having confined myself to the particular department of 
alcohol manufacture, on which much light was needed, I shall esteem 
myself happy, gentlemen, if I can contribute to extend the culture of 
a plant which, for many reasons, seems to be one of the most precious 
which Providence has ever placed at our disposal. 


COUNT DE DAVID BEAUREGARD, 


President of the Agricultural Assembly of Toulon. 
Touton, Dec. 2, 1856. 


ON THE SUGAR SORGHO AND THE IMPHEE. 


BY DR. TURREL, SECRETARY OF THE ASSEMBLY OF TOULON. 
[From the Bulletin of the Imperial Acclimation Society.] 


Tue question of the sugar sorgho has taken an importance in agri- 
culture, not only because of the yield in alcohol of its sweet stalks, but, 
still further, because of the coloring matter of its seed, and of its pro- 
duction of seeds which are capabie of serving as means of food for 
man, and for fattening cattle. 

It is, then, perfectly natural that persons should occupy themselves 
with this cultivation ; but, however, we would not wish that an incon- 
siderate haste should make us lose sight of the conditions on which it 
is dependent for being largely remunerative. These conditions seem 
to us essentially to be— 

1. A combination of rural industry and agriculture. 

2. Large cultivation. 

3. The remoteness of sufficient markets for usual crops. 

The cultivation of the sorgho as a source for the production of al- 
cohol, cannot be undertaken without a manufactory connected with the 


SORGHO AND IMPHEE. 269 


farm, because the raw matter is very cumbrous, difficult of transport- 
ation ; and supposing even the establishment of a central distillery in 
the middle of an agricultural district fit for the culture of the sorgho, 
it is probable that the cost of transport would be very high, and that 
because of the rapid change of the saccharine matter by spontaneous 
fermentation in the masses of the stalks, the greater part of the 
saccharine richness would be lost for the producer and to the manu- 
facturer. 

It is in the field that the sorgho preserves most completely its prop- 
erties, a precious peculiarity for Algeria, as the different reports of 
M. Hardy prove; for Guadaloupe, as M. Grellet Balguerie writes to 
us ; and in similar climates. 

Cultivation on a large scale* seems to me fitting for making profit- 
able the cultivation of this plant. This opinion is the irresistible con- 
clusion to which we arrived. The cultivator on a large scale can 
afford the cost of manufacture: plate cylinders, hydraulic presses, fer- 
menting vats, and still retorts. Small culture would be entirely un- 
able to make similar expenditures ; and on this scale sorgho should be 
cultivated only for the production of seeds—that is to say, in the light 
of a product less remunerative than the cultivation of vegetables, or, 
very exceptionally, for the extraction of the fermentable saccharine 
matter, as a sort of recompense or substitute needed because of the 
grape disease in vine countries, where wine is no longer grown. 

With this view, in the districts near Toulon the landholders have 
mixed in their vintages and fermented with grape juice the liquid ex- 
tracted from the sorgho, and obtained wine more abundant, and with- 
out any unpleasant flavor. This mixed wine, whose production has 
been very limited, was unfortunately consumed at home by the fam- 
ilies of the cultivators. 

Further, cultivation on a large seale could not be undertaken with 


* We are in position to affirm that a society, important because of the honorable 
names attached to it, has been formed in Paris, with a view of making experiments on 
a large scale. This year, even, it will undertake the manufacture of about 85 acres of 
sorgho, which have been cultivated in the neighborhood of Bayonne. We might quote 
the names which are at the head of this Association, called an Experimental and Pro- 
tective Imphee Association, which has a great future; but we prefer to wait until we 
are able to quote the facts arrived at, and that will not be a long time. 


270 APPENDIX. 


the sorgho, except when there was no readily obtainable market sufh- 
cient to warrant richer crops and of less difficult production. 

In the arrondissement of Toulon, for example, the crops on the re 
claimed swamps, and the fruits cultivated in irrigated soils, give an 
average net profit of 500 francs to the hectare. 

It is difficult to guarantee to the culturer of the sorgho a greater 
profit in the absence of a distillery devoted exclusively to the manu- 
facture, on a large scale, of this plant, when the cost attending it are 
taken into consideration. , 

Far from the city, on the contrary, and where grazing of cattle can 
be undertaken on a large scale, the sorgho sucré can become as an 
average plant when the price of alcohol has decreased : of very great 
importance, because it is greedily sought after by cows and horses. 

Pigs even craunch with delight its succulent and saccharine stalks, 
They devour the seeds, which, M. Grellet Balguerie thinks, can be 
given to horses in place of oats. Finally, in the form of flour, this 
seed will become, because of the abundance of its yield, an excellent 
means of fattening cattle for the butcher. 

It is especially because of this peculiarity that we think favorable 
notice should be taken of a new species of sorgho sucré, whose intro- 
duction into Provence we owe to M. Grellet Balguerie, of Guadaloupe. 
This sorgho, which has been the object of the studies of Mr. Leonard 
Wray, under the name of imphee, or Kaffir sorgho, is, in all proba- 
bility, the one upon which, in 1766, Pietro Arduino made his experi- 
ments in Italy. This is the opinion of M. Grellet Balguerie. “ The 
description of Pietro Arduino,” says our correspondent, “seems to 
apply very exactly to the imphee, which we cultivate in the Antilles.” 

M. Grellet Balguerie specially congratulates himself upon the yield 
in seed of the imphee, which is much superior, in this regard, to the 
sugar sorgho; the latter, however, being preferable, because of its 
more early maturity. 

In Martinique, M. Hayot cultivates, with profit, the imphee, simply 
to feed his Indian coolies with the flour of its seeds, which he finds 
preferable to coolie rice, and with more nutrition in an equal quantity. 
He gives its leaves to his cattle, which are fond of it; and manu- 
factures of its saccharine juice an excellent taffia. 

The sorgho sucré and the imphee, then, recommend themselves in the 


SORGHO AND IMPHEE. yA 


three different points of consideration—the production of alcohol ; as a 
forage plant; and as a food by their seeds, which, if it is desired, can 
also be converted into alcohol in prolific seasons. But the sugar 
sorgho offers to industry a new and rich product. The coloring matter 
extracted from its seed is of a beautiful solid carmine, and the Lyonese 
manufacturers are seeking it for tinting their silks. This is a new 
source of riches for the bs Syngas if he knows how to make use of 
them. 

We cannot accept as serious the calculation of M. Hardy, which 
shows, as one of the profitable products of the North China sorgho, the 
cerosie, or vegetable wax, which develops itself upon the surface of the 
stalk. Thesame waxy substance is found upon all the sorghos, upon 
the sugar cane. However, it has never been sought, to make use of it, 
except in the laboratory, and for the gratification of chemical analysis ; 
for, supposing that the costs of extraction were sufficiently covered by 
the product, the scarcity of labor, which is especially felt in the farm- 
ing districts, would form an invincible obstacle to its being undertaken, 
especially in Algeria. 

One of our honorable correspondents of Turin, M. le Count Moign- 
erie, has made vinegar by watering the bagasse, already crushed, with 
the juice of the sorgho. He has obtained the acetous fermentation, 
and, according to his own testimony, a very perfect vinegar. 

_ Count de Beauregard has gathered about 135,000 pounds of stalks 
to the hectare (25 acres). He has extracted from it about 7,600 gal- 
lons of saccharine juice. 

M. Raoul has obtained about 100, 000 to 112,000 pounds of stalks, 
and has obtained from them from 50 to 55 per cent. of juice. 

From the preceding observations, it follows that it is especially de- 
sirable for our agriculture to accomplish the distillation in the shortest 
possible time comprised between the last days of September and the 
first of November ; for frosts, by congealing the juices in the stalk, 
alter and destroy the greater part of the saccharine matter, which 
ferments without giving profit, when the stalks, cut at maturity, re- 
main crowded together under sheds. It is always more profitable to 
treat them at the moment when they are cut. In this point of view 
Algeria offers an immense advantage to its agriculturists, since the 


rile. APPENDIX. 


sorgho can there remain on the field, without freezing, for the whole 
winter. 

It is evident that in the vine countries, the harvesting and manu- 
facturing of the sorgho sucré, coinciding with the time for the vintage, 
which occupies all the desirable forces, would there offer to cultivators 
great difficulties to be overcome. 

The saccharine richness of the stalks not seeming to diminish by the 
fact of the maturity of its grains, it is very much to the interest of the 
cultivators to allow it to ripen, and the yield in seeds may be estimated 
at nearly 150 bushels to the two and a half acres (sixty bushels to 
the acre), weighing each from 175 to 200 Ibs. We will conclude. by 
a statement much exaggerated as to cost, much moderated as to profits, 
upon the culture of the sorgho on about two and a half acres of ground. 


Cost of culture and manuring, about - - $60 
Cost of distillation per hectolitre of alcohol, at six dollars 

per fifty-eight bushels, - - - : 120 
Topping and stripping of 125 acres of seed, - - 20 
Total costs per hectare, - - - - $200 

Prorits. 

Twenty hectolitres of alcohol, at about $7 15, _ - - $400 
145 bushels of seed, at about $1 45 per bushel, - 200 
Coloring matter of the seeds ? 
Total cost receipts, - - - . - $600 
Total expenses, - > - - - 200 
Net profit to the hectare, - - - - $400 


This sum of $400 in net profit, which results from the figures of 
the cost, comprising the interest on the capital employed in the in- 
dustrial manufacture, represents a profit sufficiently high to encourage 
the industrial cultivation of the sorgho, wherever an addition of the 
suitable machines can be made to a farm. We have purposely 
avoided mentioning the value of the leaves as a forage, in order to 
make better understood the particular interest the Zodlogical Acclima- 
tion Society takes in the extension of this culture. 


THE SUGAR SORGHO. 273 


THE SUGAR SORGHO. 


Cuiture, Harvestine, Use of THE SEED, EXTRACTION OF THE SWEET 
Juice, DistmiaTion. By Pavunt Mapinier. Paris, 1857. 


CHAPTER. I, 


CULTURE. 


For several years past, French agriculture, stimulated on all sides 
by intelligent and industrious men, who work without relaxation for 
the improvement of the system of agriculture in our country, has been 
occupied especially with the grave question, not new, it is true, but 
which had not arrested the attention of the masses before: the natural- 
ization among us of the sugar sorgho. This is a subject of great 
interest for all, and more especially to the laboring man, with whom it 
is actually a luxury, used by him only in cases of sickness. There is 
room for astonishment at the dearness of this alimentary substance, 
since the investigations of science have found it so largely prevalent in 
the vegetable world, more especially because the prospect of abundant 
supply should apparently make a proportionally good market for it, 
by inducing greater numbers of persons in moderate circumstances to 
become purchasers, who otherwise could not. 

In fact, we may say, other things being equal, that the price of a 
product is not sc much a matter of pure conventionality, that specu- 
lation alone can materially change it. The price of an article of 
merchandise rests on its greater or less abundance, and, at the same 
time, on the amount of work needed for its production. This last con- 
dition is very important, for the more the methods of extraction and 
preparation are perfected and simplified, by so much the more does it 
become possible to furnish it at a lower price. However, when we 
find a substance very rare, which after a protracted search gives 
moderate returns, the simplification of the process of manufacture does 
not produce a very marked reduction in price, and for very obvious 
reasons. Thus, to apply this reasoning to the subject in hand, the 

12* 


974 APPENDIX. 


nitrogenized products, very rare, are exceedingly dear, whilst carboniz- 
ed matters (starch and sugar) are sold at a much lower price, by reason 
of the profusion with which they are found in all the vegetable kingdom. 

If we dwell somewhat at length upon these considerations, it is to 
show that the high price of sugar is a profound anomaly, contrary to 
the universal laws of production, and which should certainly disappear 
after a short time. And this anomaly is so well understood, that it is 
with a lively enthusiasm that the appearance of this sugar sorgho has 
been greeted, and that the alccoholization of topinambour and sweet 
corn kas been adopted. Thus, what a haste is shown in all France to 
commence the cultivation of this Chinese sugar cane ; how everywhere 
each makes a trial; this one on whole hectares, that one on small 
plats, even upon the corner of his garden. _ 

Nevertheless, up to the present time, the sugar sorgho has not been 
used nor manufactured to any considerable extent, except as an alcohol 
producing plant. Decisive experiments will not lung be lacking to 
decide upon the yield of sugar. But even admitting, which we are 
very far from believing, that the sorgho cannot give crystallizable 
sugar, it still will exercise a wide influence upon the production of 
saccharine matter. It is easy to be understood that the South under- 
taking the alcoholization of a plant much superior to the beet, would | 
so interfere with our departments of the North, that they would be 
obliged to restrain themselves entirely to the manufacture of sugar. 

Although highly supported, the sorgho has not failed to have de- 
tractors ; for example, they reproach the sugar sorgho with being a 
very exhausting plant. They say that its enormous profit is very 
greatly reduced the moment that you deduct the cost of gathering, 
manufacturing, and the damage done to the soil by its culture. Fortu- 
nately, it is not difficult to meet these objections, and to show their 
slight weight. It wiil suffice us for that to rest simply upon the au- 
thentic facts already known, and upon others more recent, but not less 
irrefutable. Let us endeavor to apply to the sugar sorgho, the rules 
in use with the different scientific agriculturists to determine the action 
of vegetables upon the soil. We see that the sorgho is a plant of 
rapid growth, is but lightly shading, and as a gramineous plant, may, 
in truth, be ranked among those which take much from the soil; on 


THE SUGAR SORGHO. 275 


the other hand, we observe that this vegetable, poor in nitrogenized 
matters, should not much impoverish the soil of the most precious 
ingredients, for the leaves of the sorgho, being eaten by cattle, pro- 
duce manure. The canes, deprived of their sweet juice, may serve as 
long manure, or even for forage, and the seeds, which will be profit- 
ably consumed on the farm, in the form of soups and broths for man, 
or for fattening animals, will also furnish its proportionate return. In 
a word, it is clear that the nitrogenized matters are returned to the 
soil, and it is only the carbonaceous matters which are employed for 
manufacture, consequently there are in the cultivation the most re- 
markable conditions of an improving and progressive agriculture. 

We will here add the following results to explain this mooted 
question of the exhaustive action of the sorgho. Admitting for_a 
yield the figures of M. Hardy, we find, 


Crop. 
Stalks, 215,000 pounds; dry matter, about 64,000 pounds 
Leaves, 54,000 “ is = 16,000 Ibs. Troy. 
Seeds, 96,000 Se - - 9,400 a 


89,000 lbs. Troy. 
Admitting that the impoverishment of the soil by the sorgho be 
fifty per cent. of the dry matter, we have 45,000- Ibs. of impoverish- 
ment, which requires 400 of manure for 100 of impoverishment, say 
180,000 lbs. of natural manure. 
We should deduct from this total the amount of manure furnished 
by the crop itself. We have 


. Roots left in the soil, - - - 8,000 lbs. Troy. 
Bagasse (supposing that it is deprived of its 
water of vegetation), - - = ED O00. 0 i4* 
Leaves, - - - - 54,000 os 
Total, - - - . - 250,000 Ibs. Troy. 


Which we may consider to be worth 60,000 of hay (taking the equiva- 
Jent of 400 of the millet), giving, at least, 122,000 Ibs. of manure. 
Thus, on the 175,000 lbs. to rise upon the two and a half acres for the 
cultivation of the sorgho, there is of manure 122,000 Ibs., which are 


276 APPENDIX. 


produced gratis, while the transformation of the forage which this 
quantity gives, results in a still further profit in the nourishment for 
cattle. It is, then, 56,000 lbs. of manure that we really pay to obtain 
the seed and the saccharine juice of the sorgho. 

M. De Gasparin estimates that two thousand seven hundred and 
seventy pounds of manure are necessary to produce 2°84 bushels of 
Indian corn (seeds and stalks.) Supposing that the sorgho is more 
exacting, and needs two thousand nine hundred and thirty-five pounds 
Troy for 2°84 bushels, that would make for a yield of nine thousand 
six hundred pounds of seed to 23 acres, 160,000 pounds of manure 
necessary. 

Let us consider finally the testimony of a person who is certainly 
the most competent upon this matter, M. Beauregard, who for the 
past three years cultivated the sorgho upon the same land, without 
having experienced any diminution in its yield. We will now consider 
the choice of the soil which is most suitable to the sorgho, and also 
pass in detail the methods of cultivation most appropriate. This plant 
flourishes in light soils, sandy and calcareous, and particularly in allu- 
vial formations. It needs a certain moisture, but is averse to it in the 
extreme. Almost always, both in Algeria and the Mediterranean dis- 
trict of France, excellent results will be obtained from the employment 
of irrigation, both during the early and more advanced stages of the 
growth of this plant ; but as it approaches the ripening of the seed, it 
is not so profitable to employ irrigation, and is even detrimental, by 
hindering the elaboration of the saccharine principles, and causing the 
canes to be watery. Mr. Hardy, the illustrious Director of the Gov- 
ernment Nursery at Algiers, tells us that the sorgho delights in soils 
containing carbonate of lime, and he advises frequent liming of those 
which need it. This recommendation is explained by the astonishing 
success of the sorgho upon the chalky soils of Champagne, where they 
have obtained but very slight crops. If the use of lime seems benefi- 
cial, it is not the same as regards the employment of salts, of which we 
know the depressing influence upon the sugar cane and the beet. As 
a fertilizer, the excrement of horned cattle is very excellent. Manur- 
ing with green crops cannot be too much recommended in this cultiva- 
tion. They increase the fertility of the soil, render more assimilable 


= 


THE SUGAR SORGHO. oe 


the materials which compose it, and preserve in it a more constant 
moisture. In general, the fertilizers formed by vegetable matters un- 
dergoing decomposition, are more efficacious for sacchariferous plants. 
The land destined for the sorgho should be well prepared by deep 
plowing and deep harrowing. It is necessary that it should be a, cer- 
tain depth. The plant thus gains a stability, and finds itself to make 
a more rapid growth, besides having at its disposal more moisture. 
The plantation can be made in two different ways—by sowing in a 
hot-bed and transplanting, and by sowing in the field. In Algeria 
and the south of France this last method will be preferred. Fora 
great number of localities in the center of France, the Chinese method 
of replanting will be more profitable, but with the condition that labor 
shall be abundant.* 

The field sowings should be made when the late frosts are no longer 
to be feared ; that is to say, in Algeria during the month of April ; in 
France, from the middle of April to May, according to the position, 
more or less northern, in which we find ourselves. It is good to sow 
when the earth is a little moist on the surface, because then the seed, 
which requires to be slightly covered, germinates more rapidly, and 
grows very vigorously. It would even be well to water the ground if 
it was too dry at the time of planting. 

It is the practice to sow m lines of different width, according to the 
situation, in Algeria. Mr. Hardy has adopted three feet two inches as 
his width. In Provence, several agriculturists have chosen a width of 
about three and a quarter feet. But thisis a matter of choice and 
locality. Sowing in the hot bed is done in March and in April, upon 
a border sheltered from cold winds. The plants are transplanted 
when they have acquired a height of about fourteen inches. For the 
field sowings, the first hoeing is given as soon as the sorgho has at- 
tained about fourteen inches of height, and at the same time is thinned 
out from fourteen to sixteen inches in the rows. The superfluous plants 
can be fed to cattle. In the course of the vegetation of the sorgho, 


* M. Itier, who has recently given us the details of the culture of the sorgho in 
China, recommends strongly the adoption in France of the system of transplanting. 
For our part, we do not believe it will succeed ; at least, that it will not be adopted as 
the profitable practice of cultivating sorgho in the thickly populated er of the 
North * * * * * # 


278 APPENDIX. 


there could be given frequent hocings and cultivations. These are 
necessary to obtain good results ; for, as we have previously seen, the 
gramineous plants, which harden the soil, exact, as a condition upon 
which they will yield the best results, a very complete and thorough 
cultivation. 

For irrigating, you make little furrows at the foot of the lines of the 
sorgho, and water is caused to run through them as often as the state 
of the plant and the season admits. Arrived at this point of the 
growth cf the vegetable, an important question presents itself for our 
examination. Should we hill, or should we not hill? . M. Hardy tells 
us that hilling is necessary to insure to the plants the means of resist- 
ing winds, and to favor the growth of advantageous roots, which are 
thrown out by the sorgho, as with the corn, at the bottom of the stalk. 
Dr. Sicard thinks on the contrary, that hilling is dangerous. He ex- 
plains his opinion by this fact, that the Chinese Sugar Cane has need 
of roots elevated above the soil, taking from the atmosphere the food 
furnished, without doubt, by the superincumbent air, and an elabora- 
tion of the sap, which is due to the contact of its roots with ihe soil. 
The comparative experiments made upon the same field of sorgho had 
been entirely favorable to the canes which were not hilled. 

In reality, in a soil in good condition, the roots of the plant can 
penetrate so deeply that they can resist the effect of the wind. Upon 
the question of adventitious roots and the hilling, we cannot defini- 
tively decide, because of our want of decisive experience. However, 
we believe, since its roots are provided with spongioles or suckers, that 
burying them cannot be injurious if hilling is moderately used, so as 
only to cover a little of these roots in such a manner that the air, being 
absorbed by the soil, can stimulate them, and aid in the decomposition 
of materials that they may absorb. We know that the roots of the 
cereals are so superficial that they take away from the svil much, be- 
cause they grow in a limited circle, and that the loosening of the soil 
augments its permeability for the atmosphere, and the gases favorable 
for vegetation which are contained in it give an activity much greater 
for the growth of the plants whose preducts are found considerably 
increased by these means. We believe, then, that these adventitious 
roots may be covered by hilling, if only we do not suffocate them under 


THE SUGAR SORGHO. 279 


too great a mass of earth, and that we cover them, as much as _possi- 
ble, with soil of a good quality, in order that their power of asssimila- 
tion may better develop itself, and produce the greatest benefit to the 
plant. 


Ch 2P Fl hort: 


HARVESTING—USE OF THE SEED—EXTRACTION OF THE SWEET JUICE. 


Tue sorgho should be gathered when the seed is completely ripe, that 
is to say, when it shows a deep chestnut color ; when it turns to car- 
mine, the commencement of fermentation is indicated. Plants are cut 
in a rough way, (while we are waiting for the invention of machines for 
the harvesting of sorgho upon the plan of those which already exist in 
the United States for the corn,) and then transported to the sheds or 
to the manufactory where they are to be worked up. They are stripped, 
aud then deprived of their tufts in various ways. One of the best con- 
sists in placing the bundles of canes on a platform, by the side of which 
they place some kind of a box or other receptacle. The workman, 
drawing towards him the stalks, cuts off successively the tufts, which 
fall to his right in the box. These are then taken away, and placed to 
dry with care. The least moisture which shows itself will deteriorate 
the seed. 

The separation of the seed is accomplished with flails, or thrashing 
machine of some sort. The heads which bear the grain being of a 

-very woody nature, may be employed as kindling to feed the fire under 
the boilers. The canes of the sorgho, when the season is propitious, 
that is to say, when it does not rain, may be preserved some consider- 
able time. It is much better, in this case, to leave them with their 
tufts, and not to strip them, except at the very time when they are to 
be used ; or, as in Algeria, the plants may be left in the field where 
they grew, as also in the southern district of France. In that case the 
panicles are removed for fear of loss of the seed. Unfortunately, these 
means are not sufficiently general and positive. They can never place 
at our disposal more than two months of time, and that generally ig 


280 APPENDIX. 


not sufficient for the manufacture. It is to be hoped that experiments 
may be undertaken for the preservation of the canes in pits or by 
other methods. The preservation of the juice as M. Vialle practices, 
merits some commendation, and offers a great field for research, and 
much reward for the labors bestowed upon it. After several years of 
experiment, it is probable that experience on one part, and researches 
and investigation on the other, will resolve, in a satisfactory manner, 
this problem of prolonging, for four or five months, the season for dis- 
tilling the sorgho. 

It has been said, with a certain degree of reason, that in the South 
and Algeria, the harvesting and treatment of the sorgho coinciding 
with the vintage, which occupies all the hands, there would, in that 
case, be for our farmers a great difficulty to be overcome. Let us ob- 
serve, however, that the harvest of the sorgho is very simple, that it 
will be very much lightened by the addition of mechanical appliances, 
and that, after all, it is possible, though, in some degree, restrained, to 
retard the epoch for manufacture. Finally, as to suitability of soils, 
the sorgho will not find itself adapted to exactly the same localities, 
and thus the difficulty would be obviated. 

Finally, admitting the fact that a real embarrassment is caused by 
the coincidence of the time for these two harvests, there will not result 
from it other than a very good effect. The introduction into the 
South of agricultural machines for taking care of the sugar sorgho ; 
for every one hearing this plan spoken of, and wishing to profit by the 
advantages which it brings, will be obliged to make use of machines 
to be drawn by animals. On the other hand, the other cultivations 
will be simplified at the same time, and the vine and the sorgho will 
profit by it; whilst, in the other case, the gathering of the crop bunch 
by bunch, and the numerous difficulties which manufacturers would 
have, would remain almost the same as now. On this subject we will 
remark, that it is well to understand that the most minute manual 
operations gain vastly by being executed in a systematic manner ; and 
the grains of these two harvests, so similar in pecuniary profit, will com- 
pel a simplification and systemization heretofore overlooked. In bad 
processes of manufacture, with bad utensils, with directors and labor- 
ers lacking intelligence, a large portion of time, at the period of harvest, 


THE SUGAR SORGHO. 281 


is lost. But what a different appearance does a well regulated farm 
present. 

Before entering upon the details of the application of the sorgho to 
general purposes, we will say some words upon the improvement of 
. wine, by means of this plant. 

It is the custom in bad years, when the latter end of the summer 
has been rainy, to add some glucose to the vats, which are in fermen- 
tation, for the object of supplying the lacking proportion of sugar, 
which has. not been elaborated in the grape in a suitable quantity. 
To this end, a few have tried, in different cases, to replace the dregs 
by canes of sorgho rudely broken, and very excellent results have 
been obtained by this means. We think it useful to recommend this 
custom in all cases when the harvest may have turned out bad in the 
localities situated near the North. We know, for example, that the 
wines of the neighborhood of Paris, contain little of alcohol or acid, 
and do not keep well. As to their earthy taste, sometimes very 
marked, it generally arises from the excessive quantity of manure, 
and not of the best, that is applied to the vine. With the sorgho the 
amount of alcohol will be increased, and we will be assured of a longer 
keeping if we will perfect the quality of the wine, and very likely 
abolish this disagreeable taste of which we have spoken. But to ac- 
complish this transformation, this real revolution in the vintages of 
Parisian life, what is necessary? Simply to sow in April, some sorgho 
in a hot-bed, or in a warm border, replant it in the middle of May, in 
a well sheltered corner of the field, exposed to the sun, or even in a 
somewhat more exposed situation, if there is not much reason to fear 
the effect of the wind. You certainly will not gather from that the 
seeds, but you will have good, and very fine stalks, containing, at least, 
ten to twelve per cent. of marc; but the possibility of this latter is 
proved in the perfect success of the experiments on the sorgho of M. 
Jomard, at Lozere, near Palaiseau, and of M. Vilmorin, at Verries. 

As a forage plant, the sorgho has a great interest. From the South 
to the farthest northern extremity of France, it will be cultivated with 
profit for this crop, which it yields in such great profusion. In the south- 
ern departments and in Algeria, by the assistanee of irrigation, it will 
caquire a great importance, by reason of the abundance of its yield, 


282 APPENDIX. 


because it will suit exactly by its composition for the nourishment of 
milk cows, for which it will undoubtedly replace the beet. It will 
compose the food for the females of the races of our working cattle, 
which are very poor milkers, almost incapable of nourishing their calves, 
and for which it is necessary to furnish, during the time of suckling, the 
kind of fodder adapted to the secretion of milk. 

The seed, of an elongated spheroidal form, is enveloped in its firmly 
adhering valves, which are impregnated with a very intense coloring 
matter, found even in the interior portion of the seed. It contains 
from ten to twelve per cent. of nitrogenized matter, and about sixty- 
six per cent. of starch; a composition which, upon the consideration 
of the amount of nitrogen, reminds one of Indian corn. The yield of 
seed is large, but not exactly established at the present time; but we 
know enough of it to be assured that it could not be inferior to that 
of the millets, and of the common kinds of Sorgho, such as broom corn. 
We may then calculate upon eighty five to one hundred and forty bushels 
(probably, per hectare, two and a half acres,) in ordinary circumstances, 
but with good cultivation we may obtain very much more. However, 
it is necessary to make, in this respect, an important distinction in the 
yield of the seeds of the sorgho. According to the observations of: 
science and practice, the saccharine plants are excellently well grown 
in the soils composed of vegetable detritus, or humus, not too rich in 
mineral salts; plants bearing seeds for food, do not require lands too 
much charged with humus, but they allow of the presence of a notable 
quantity of mineral salts. Those of the first sort can receive, without 
great inconvenience, excessive manuring, provided that they contain 
but little of animal and mineral matters. The second, on the other 
hand, profit entirely from the presence of these substances, but they do 
not require strong manures. The excessive use of these latter, com- 
monly results in producing a great excess of straw. From these con- 
siderations, it is evident that the sorgho, cultivated especially for its 
saccharine principles, will produce seed in quantity very different, ac- 
cording as it is cultivated in a soil favoring more or less this crop; 
and everything goes to prove that a culture perfect for the elaboration 
of the saccharine principles of the vegetable would be singularly in- 


S-! 


jurious for the formation of seed. It is thus that we explain the very 


THE SUGAR SORGHO. 283° 


dissimilar appearance of the tufts coming from soils of different nature, 
and the great dissimilarity in the yield of seed of the sorgho, as stated 
by the different persons who have cultivated it.* 

The bulk of the seed of the sorgho sensibly diminishes, when they 
are used for feeding; the hull which surrounds them causes a de- 
crease of about one third when removed; but this is far from 
being a loss. Mr. Sicard has obtained by hulling nearly three bushels 
(weighing 175 pounds Troy) one hundred and twenty pounds Troy, of 
clean seed, and forty pounds of hulls. Thus a yield of 145 bushels 
will divide itself in six thousand two hundred pounds of seed, deprived 
of their envelope, and two thousand pounds of shells. As this shell is 
susceptible of assuming an important value, it will be always necessary 
to remove it from the seed before grinding. The flour obtained would 
be much whiter. M: Sicard shows the following result from the 
grinding of 2°84 bushels, weighing 174 pounds Troy, the seeds not 
hulled : 


‘Coarse Bran, - - - - - 35 pounds. 
Middling, Sy a - . = - 35 pounds. 
Fine Flour, - 2A) 2 - - - 100 pounds. 


This flour has a violet hue, very apparent. If bolted with the 
greatest care, it is made completely white ; but as it is raised it forms 
a dough in which the violet color becomes apparent again. The bread 
made from it is also tinted with this disagreeable color, nevertheless it 
digests very well, and is very pleasant to the taste. The flour of the 
sorgho, mixed with that of wheat, gives a bread of better color, better 
raised, with a less gummy feeling when broken than pure sorgho, and 
comparable in every point to the ration (?) bread, the color of which 
it very much resembles, a fact which will militate against it, by reason 
of the habit the public have of according to bread excellence in pro- 
portion to its whiteness. Generally speaking, this is entirely wrong, 

* Thus Mr. Wray gives 3750 pounds, Troy, of seed from 195,000 pounds of cane. 
In Georgia, United States, they have likewise obtained a product of 3750 pounds; 
Mr. Hardy, six thousand seven hundred from two hundred and twenty thousand 
pounds; Mr. Sicard, eight thousand two hundred from one hundred and sixty thous- 
and pounds; M. Itier, 8,888 pounds from 114,000; M. Ture!, nine thousand three hun- 


dred pounds of seed; M. Hetet, nineteen thousand pounds from eighty thousand 
pounds; M. Vallarino, twenty four thousand trom 256,000 pounds. 


284 AP#?ENDIX. 


and the bread from coarse flour, (which appears inferior to the inhabi- 
tants of cities,) is in fact the most nutritious and the most healthy that 
can be used. 

But the real use of the seed of the sorgho is not for bread-making ; 
it should be consumed upon the farm, in the form of soups and broths, 
for the men, or used for fattening cattle. We repeat it, that this plan 
may become really profitable, it is necessary that all that part which 
is not alcohol, sugar, or dye-stuff, should remain and be returned to the 
land, by being used for food and otherwise. The cultivator will ulti- 
mately hull his seed and sell the product, which will prove a conside- 
rable source of profit. As to all these experiments of mixing the 
flours, they have no value. They only indicate the real embarrassment 
—a miserable condition. Once for all, let us understand then, well, 
that all inferior food, (and the varieties of food of which we are treating 
are inferior, since we make an effort to have them pass into use under 
the cover of a richer species of food,) should only be consumed indi- 
rectly, after having been transformed by cattle into meat, milk, and 
cheese. It is well to invent a thousand ingenious artifices, but the 
result obtained will only be in proportion to the matters experimented 
“pon; and it will never result, by adding to the flour of wheat a third 
of the flour of barley or of sorgho, that we will have the value of a 
pure flour. Bread made from wheat and barley, from wheat and rye, 
is not certainly bad, but it is not of the same degree of excellence as 
that from wheat alone. The richness of a food does not depend entirely 
upon its composition of azotized matters or fatty matters. It depends 
also upon the proportion in which these principles are found associated. 
For example, every one knows that the great difficulty in the forma- 
tion of a food for stock, resides not only in the choice of the ingredients 
which should enter into it, but especially upon the quantity of the dif- 
ferent elements introduced. But nature prepares this association in a 
manner the most judicious, and according to the laws which, although 
little known, are not the less admirable. If then, we break this har- 
mony of the proportions of the ingredients of food, we do not do less 
than destroy a portion of its nutritive power. The flour of the sorgho 
should be given to cattle both cooked and while still warm. Care 
must be taken not to feed the seed when rudely broken and cooked 


THE SUGAR SORGHO. 285 


afterwards, for the dying principle of the hulls has the property of 
coloring the bones of the animal, as has been proved by M. de Beau- 
regard. 

Reserving for the end what we have to say about the dye stuffs from 
the hulls of the sorgho seed, we will now pass to the consideration of 
the extraction of the sweet juice from its stalk. 

We will speak in the first place of the process of M. de Lacoste, by 
which small cultivators can make use of their canes for preparing the 
molasses necessary for household uses. The stalks being gathered, 
they are cut into small pieces, put to boil in a moderate quantity of 
water, until they arrive at the consistence of marmalade. The juice 
is extracted by pressure, then put back upon the fire, and clarified by 
milk of lime, or better, by powdered lime, using about 660 grains to 
the kilogramme of juice; then the defecation is finished by using the 
whites of eggs. This syrup, thus treated, is put for keeping in earthen 
pots, in a place which is neither moist nor warm. This easy and simple 
process is €specially valuable to small operators ; when it is proposed 
to act upon a large scale, such means are necessarily very insufficient. 
In the United States, a planter of Georgia has obtained an average 
of 407 gallons of syrup to.the acre (say 4617 litres to the hectare). 
He estimates that the price of manufacture should not exceed 10 to 15 
cents a gallon, (54 to 81 centimes, for 43 litres,) say 11f. 88c. to 17f. 
82c. the hectolitre of syrup.* 

The extraction of the sweet juice of the sorgho has for its end the 
transformation into sugar and alcohol. We will not occupy ourselves 
at this time with the detail of the method for extracting juice after it 
has been treated of in our other book, the “ Guide to the Cultivator of 
the sorgho.” At the time of writing that, however, we had not suff- 
ciently conclusive facts to base a preference for either the one or the 
other processes mentioned. Now it is quite different, and it is with a 
conscientiousness that we offer the maceration as much preferable to 
all other systems in use. We will not enter into the details of this 
operation. The limits of this little work prohibit it, and besides they 
are mentioned in numerous works upon distillation. It will suffice 
merely to present the most important points. 


* *Hunt’s Merchants’ Magazine, Nov. 1856. 


286 APPENDIX. 


Before submitting the canes to maceration, it is necessary to prepare 
them. They are readily broken and then submitted to the action of 
stalk-crushers, which increase their state of division, and tear apart the 
fibers containing the sweet juice. Then the latter is carried to the 
maceration vat. We recommend for this operation the employment 
of the dregs, that is to say, of the liquid remaining after the distillation 
of the juice previously treated. By this particular method, almost all 
the saline matters and the (?) immediate principles, fix themselves in 
the residue, which increase the elementary richness, at the same time 
that the acids contained in the dregs acting upon the bruised canes, 
facilitate the displacement of their sweet juice. Finally, an economy 
of water is made which is insignificant in consideration ; but what 
merits more attention is, that we have no longer to fear the influence 
of waters charged with sulphate of lime, so destructive to fermentation. 

The residues arising from the system of Champannois, (maceration 
with the use of dregs,) are most precious for agriculture,and much 
preferable to the bagasse of the mills, containing more of sugar, it is 
true, but less of salts and of fatty matters, and besides being more 
woody. With maceration, the fibers by the action of heat and acid, 
cause the commencement of a change which renders them more assimi- 
lable for cattle. The residues may be used by mixing them with dry 
forage and leaving them for a day, or a day and half, in a tub, until a 
slight fermentation is commenced, which flavors the mass. We have 
thus a very agreeable forage for cattle, and particularly excellent for 
fattening stock. To complete our remarks upon the extraction of the 
juice of the sorgho, we will say a few words concerning the process of 
F. Bourdais, an intelligent distiller from Algeria. He allows the pan- 
icles to remain upon the stalks, and causes the entire plants to pass 
under the cylinders of his mill, and then submits them all to maceration. 
The action of warm water then determining the transformation into 
sugar of the starch contained in the seed, he is enabled to make it of 
use for the production of alcohol, and by a single operation, at the 
same time that he economizes the cutting of the tufts, the stripping, 
moving, carting, and the trouble of the preparation of a certain quan- 
tity of malt to assist in fermentation. 


THE SUGAR SORGHO. 287 


CHAPTER III. 


DISTILLATION. 


THE sweet juice or vesou being obtained, we propose now to give 
directions for transforming it into alcohol. Under the head of distil- 
lation, we will remark, at first, that this operation is divided into two 
separate ones, entirely characteristic the one from the other, although 
closely united, namely, fermentation and distillation. From habit, the 
first is commonly considered as a very secondary matter, as spontane~ 
ously rising without need of much care, whilst in reality it demands 
close attention, and it is only upon its being well conducted that the 
success and the profit of the whole speculation depends. We may be 
very certain that a bad process of fermentation will never give an ex- 
cellent result, however much may be the perfection of the apparatus 
made use of for the manufacture. In all matters, the end is commen- 
surate with its antecedents, and a fault is much more grave as it is 
committed nearer to the beginning of a process. 

Thus we have fermentation, having for its end the transformation 
into alcohol of the saccharine matter; the second distillation having 
for its end the extraction and concentration of the alcohol. A 
good fermentation demands as its first conditions: 1st. That it should 
be rapidly accomplished, providing that we avoid the ill effects of an 
injurious precipitancy. 2d. That it may be continued in such a way 
that the distillation can proceed with uniformity. 3d. That the juice 
shall not be too dense nor too watery. 4th. That the liquid possesses 
sufficient heat, but we must strictly guard against such conditions as 
will produce a too great elevation of temperature. We will remark 
here, that the danger of acetification of the juice increasing with the 
fermentation more rapid, we should in this case make use of quite shal- 
low vats, with a large surface, with which a minimum of heat is neces- 
sary to Jeactstah the conversion of the sugar into alcohol. As to 
what concerns the particular dispositions for the process of the opera- 
tion, they should be necessarily subordinate to the fundamental rules 


288 APPENDIX. 


which we have laid down, and never to depart from the perfection of 
detail which is suggested by practice. 

The ferment to make use of admits of certain discrimination ; for, 
although it may be proved that the juice of the sorgho maintains its 
fermentable principles in itself, as its action is too weak, it is 
indispensable to hasten it by artificial means. Brewers’ yeast, which 
is made use of commonly, has the fault of often giving a bad taste to 
the products arising from distillation, an effect which is lessened, 
it is true, by a continuous system; but the juice of the sorgho, as we 
learn from M. Pezery, reproduces a large quantity of yellowish 
ferment, presenting a great analogy to the yeast of beer in the form 
of its globules, and possessing also the same stimulating properties. 
Here, then, we have a ferment already to our hand, which may be 
made use of, not only for its legitimate end, but the surplus of which 
can be profitably used by bakers. We cannot conclude our notice of 
the matters which relate to the fermentation, without saying a word 
upon the use of sulphuric acid. It is well understood to-day, that the 
addition of this acid in the proportion of one half thousandth part to 
one and a half thousandth parts, favors the transformation of the 
sugar into glucose,* and prevents the viscous fermentation. This last 
property should be taken into consideration, when, at the end of the 
season, we have upon our hands only canes which are more or less 
damaged, one is obliged to operate upon juices of which the fermen- 
tation is irregular, and sometimes causes very prejudicial accidents. 
Finally, experience has proved that the residues of fermentation, 
where the sulphuric acid is employed, are more profitable for cattle. 
Let us remark further, with M. Beaudement,t that all fermentation 
cannot be carried on without acid or its equivalent ; if it is not put in, 
it forms itself at the expense of the sugar and of the alcohol; and so 
positive is this, that the fermentations made without the addition of 
acid are more acid at the end than those where it has been added. 
The sugar of the juice having been changed into alcohol, it is neces- 

* M. Du Bronfaut, who since 1825 has known this influence, apprises us also that 
the acids have a favorable action upon the reproduction of an energetic yeast, capable 
of being used in the other fermentations of juices. 


+ Report upon the Beet Distilleries, 1855 and 1856, made to a Commission of the 
Society of Agriculture, by M. Beaudement, p. 58. 


THE SUGAR SORGHO. 289 


sary then to extract the product by means of a distilling apparatus. 
Here presents itself the important question of the choice of an appa- 
ratus. We acknowledge our great perplexity in resolving this 
question, being quite ready to acknowledge that we do not know the 
apparatus answering to all the exigencies of the manufacture upon 
the farm; but, however, we will say, procure a simple apparatus, 
economising fuel, accomplishing much, and at a relatively low price. 
Avoid, by all means, too great cheapness. It is often accompanied by 
very grave evils, which reveal themselves without any room for 
improvement, at the most critical time. All things being equal, and 
taking into account the particular situation of a distillery next to a 
farm, it is much better to spend a little mores and have a good useful 
apparatus. 

Manufacturing industry may find in the collection of Messrs. 
Derosne, Du Bronfaut, &c., a most perfect apparatus, but rural 
industry, perhaps, will not admit of the employment of such perfect 
instruments. They require more simplicity, even although the yield 
may be less complete. It is but a short time since much attention 
has been paid to this rural distillation, and consequently all the details 
of this interesting manufacture cannot be considered perfect ; the 
success which the Champonnois system has attained is a result sig- 
nificant of an attractive future. We do not hesitate to mention to 
farmers, as the most perfect system at present used, since it embraces 
all the conditions which we have previously used as the funda- 
mental principles of a good distillation. 1t is especially in the 
extraction of the juicy maceration with the dregs, and in fermentation, 
that the superiority of the Champannois system appears. As to 
distillation, which isdone with the apparatus of Cellier Blumenthal, 
perfected by Derosne, it is far from having been carried to that state 
of perfection of which it is capable. 

We will proceed to notice certain other details bearing upon the 
products of the distillation of the sugar sorgho, their rectification, and 
use ; but this will only be a consideration of comparatively slight 
value, since it will not be based upon other than very limited facts ; 
and, besides, we have mentioned this subject at length in our “ Guide 
to the Cultivation of the Sorgho.” 


13 


290 APPENDIX. 


Before passing to the economic part of our subject, we will speak 
of some special products furnished by the sugar sorgho. The researches 
of many intelligent observers have evinced in this plant certain 
coloring principles, susceptible of acquiring a certain importance that 
is very likely, so far as regards the hull of the seed; but as to the 
stalk, it is not possible to hope it having a good result in practice. 
But in advancing this opinion we hope that we will not be understood 
as being hypercritical upon the scientific laborers who, analyzing 
matter, have extracted from it its most hidden secrets; thus again 
proving that man, thanks to the sources of his intelligence, finds in 
everything a part worthy of his attention, and that he has only to 
interrogate to obtain all he needs; that, in a word, there is nothing 
in the whole realm of nature which is entirely without valne. We 
may repeat the preceding remarks in considering the cerosie, a waxy 
efflorescence which is met with upon some large cereals, the obtain- 
‘ment of which is not more possible in the case of the sorgho than with 
the sugar cane; nevertheless, it is a substance which merits being 
studied, and it is necessary to know it more intimately to follow it 
through the different elaborations which it undergoes in the saccharine 
stalk. 


EXPENSES AND PROFITS OF THE INDUSTRIAL CULTURE OF THE 
SORGHO. ' 


In the following table we have not the pretension to fix in a peremp- 
tory manner, a result which the sorgho may give under all circum- 
stances. We wish only to present the probable results of a good 
culture, with a soil suitable to its growth, and endowed with certain 
fertility. 

RAW PRODUCT. 
1. Sixteen thousand pounds of stalks, which, treated by 
maceration, will yield at least seventeen gallons of juice to - 

two hundred and seventy pounds, say ten thousand three 

hundred gallons of juice, susceptible of giving eight per 

cent. of alcohol (in the south of France and in Algeria ; 

seven and six per cent. in our central departments) upon 

distillation. This, then, is a yield of about eight hundred 


THE SUGAR SORGHO. 


and twenty gallons of alcohol, at the price of about seventy- 
five cents per gallon - - . ad) yes - - 
2. Thirty-two thousand pounds of leaves, furnishing a very 
excellent green forage, at. two francs a quintal, - 
3. Eighty thousand to ninety-five thousand pounds of the 


residue after maceration, at one franc fifty centimes the 


quintal, about - - - - - - . 
4. Seed, one hundred and seventy-four pounds. Three 
thousand nine hundred pounds of hulled seed at twenty-five 
francs the hundred kilogrammes, - - - =~ = 
One thousand two hundred and sixty pounds of hulls for 
dyeing, at fifteen francs the hundred kilogrammes, - - 


Total, - - = = = E a = y 


EXPENSES. 


1. Cost of good culture, with manure and irrigation, compris- 
ing the cost of gathering, of cartage to the manufactory, 
about one hundred dollars to one hundred and forty 
dollars, average - - - - + - - - 

2. Cost of distillation and rectification, at six dollars to 
the twenty-six gallons, - = ee = 

3. Hulling the seed, at the price of about twenty cents per 
bushel, - - - - - - - - - - 


Total, - - 2 i : 1 2 c . f 
Raw product, - SY dnt eaters iat Pale eae han ae & St ae ag 
Expenses, as elias site eu at a tire . dkikear dane 
Net profit, Fe Sn ee ge ee kyu : 


291 


$625 


48 


95 


$120 


$325 


$856 
325 


—_. 


$531 


Now if, in place of putting twenty dollars, or about seventy-five cents 
per gallon, as the price of the alechol, we take its actual value in our 
market, that is to say, $1 05 to $1 12, that is at once an increase of 
the profit of not less than $240. Admitting that the price of alcohol 
may descend to $12 in a few years, still the industrial manufacture of 
it by the farmer will bring in a net profit per acre of about $111. 

One is tempted, in view of these figures, to think it a species of 


292, APPENDIX. 


exaggeration ; but, after all, do we not see the distillery of the sugar 
beet give $400 to $600 per two anda half acres? How, then, should 
it be a matter of surprise that the sorgho, much more rich in saccha- 
rine principles, and which, besides, produces seed, should give a profit 
much more considerable? The inevitable conclusion then is, that we 
raust expect a very considerable reduction in the value of alcohol. 

As to a yield in forage, we will say that M. Niviére has obtained 
to an acre, (in the department of L’Ain,) 80 quintals dried sorgho 
fodder, at $1, worth $80. This is a magnificent result, and we doubt 
it will be duplicated in the most of cases. 

Conciusion.—When a culture like that of the sugar sorgho, im- 
planting itself in a country, commences to be really popularized, 
the question is immediately agitated what influence it may exercise 
upon the agriculture of that country; if it furnishes products of a 
commercial character. The question is mooted if it takes more than 
it leaves, that is to say, makes other cultures tributary to itself, at the 
same time particular consideration should be given to the state of the 
district where it must localize itself. 

We have already sufficiently established that the sorgho leaves in 
the farm the greatest and most valuable portion of itself, since it is 
only the carbonaceous matters which are exported for manufacture. 
It remains to show in what manner it will influence the agriculture of 
the south of France. 

From the progressive tendencies, and the great popularity which 
the sorgho is destined to acquire, we may affirm in advance that the 
inhabitants will make a considerable sacrifice for its culture. It is 
probable that much attention will be given to obtaining residues from 
the distillery, the most suitable for feeding stock. Cows supplied 
with this forage, and especially with the green sorgho, will be better 
milkers and more able to bring up their young; and this cannot be 
without its notable influence upon the gradual improvement of their 
stock. . The farmers will find themselves supplied with a very prolific 
and excellent substitute for the pasture-fields and meadows. These 
sippositions may appear measurably problematical; but look at 
them in what light we may, we cannot be blind to the fact that the 
sorgho is destined to exercise a certain reaction, which, under the 
influence of favoring circumstances, wil! eventuate in much good 


ALCOIMOLIZATION. 293 


The exigencies of the case will demand the establishment of suitable 
distilleries organized upon the plan of those already existing in the 
southern departments. Weare happy to be able to announce that 
projects of this kind are already in process of execution, and that a 
large company has been formed whose operations would be as profit- 
able as they are vast. 

A further advantage of the Chinese Sugar Cane, which it is only 
needful for us to make generally understood, is that it will cause the 
distillation of wines to completely disappear. Sorgho alcohol once 
coming into use, there will be no longer any reason for burning infe- 
rior wines, but rather they will necessarily be driven to improving 
them, before being able to make them enter into general consumption. 
To conclude our work, we call attention to the great effects which the 
sugar sorgho is destined to produce in all countries where it is propa- 
gated, not only in France, Algeria, Lombardy, Tuscany, but ‘still in 
Russia for its southern provinces; and in the United States it isa 
question whether this precious plant may not replace the sugar cane. 
One of the large planters of Alabama, Dr. Terrill, is making this 
year a plantation of some twenty acres. The future presented by the 
sorgho is a vast one. Its influence upon our agriculture is marked, 
and the efforts of this general company for manufacturing the sorgho 
will have a great influence upon the success of the sorgho, and at the 
same time we may say upon the progress of southern agriculture, so 
backward nntil now, causing it to become, if not the first of our 
country, at least one of the most rich and flourishing. 


294 APPENDIX. 


ALCOHOLIZATION OF THE STALKS OF INDIAN 
CORN AND THE SUGAR SORGHO. 


BY DURET, CHEMIST, PARIS, 1857. 
4 


2 2 * # * “ * 

Tue plant known under the name of sorgho, has been cultivated for 
a long time in France, but is not designated under that name in the 
west. It has been known under the name of broom corn, and under 
the name of millet, in Gascony and the department of Landes. In 
the early stages of growth, our indigenous sorgho differs very little 
from corn; has the some appearance, same leaf, same rapidity of 
growth. In proportion as the plant grows, the peculiar appearance 
of each is manifested. The leaves of the sorgho are less developed, 
its stalks more hardy, more woody, grow to a. greater height, whilst 
those of the corn, more tender and full, preserve the appearance of 
the sugar cane. This circumstance, which is met equally in the new 
sugar sorgho, causes us to think that it would be without doubt 
preferable to corn for the manufacture of sugar, because its juice 
should contain less mucilage. Every one knows that this vegetable 
product is injurious in the manufacture of sugar. The following 
article upon the sugar sorgho we find in the journal L’utile et 
Vagréable, for the month of April, 1855 : 

“The sugar sorgho (holeus saccharatus) has been introduced into 
France by M. Montigny, who has brought this plant from China, 
where it is cultivated like grain. It is there designated under the 
name of sugar cane of the north of China. The Chinese Tartars 
make great use of it. At the great exposition of Moscow, in 1852, 
some of the stalks of this kind of sorgho were exhibited under the 
title Précieux Gaoutlam de la Chine graminé. Various experiments 
in the cultivation of this plant have been made in several of our depart- 
ments, from which it has been proved that it ripens perfectly in the 
south of France. 

“A report of the Agricultural Assembly of Toulon, to the Minister 
of War, has communicated curious details upon the sugar sorgho in 
respect to the agricultural industry, and to the manufacture of sorgho, 


ALCOHOLIZATION. 295 


and also of distillation. The different experiments made in Le Var 
have given very important practical results, proving that the vesou or 
juice obtained from the sorgho is endowed with an alcoholic richness 
much superior to that of all other substitutes for the vine. 

«The sugar beet contains 8 to 10 per cent. of saccharine matter. 
The sorgho, as has been proved by the experiments at Verrieéres, by 
M. Vilmorin, have given 16 to 20 per cent., from which can be 
obtained 8 to 10 litres of pure alcohol, appropriate for all industrial 
and domestic use ; and as this precious cereal, an excellent nourishment 
for the stock, which eat it greedily, developes itself with extreme 
rapidity, the same where irrigation is rare and difficult, it will be 
readily understood that this is destined to play an important part in 
our cultivations, and especially in those of Algeria. M. Turrel, the 
author of the report, says that in accepting for France the yield 
obtained at Verriéres by M. Vilmorin, with the sorgho cultivated on 
his estate, we would have the following result. The sorgho furnishes 
at a minimum of 50 per cent. weight of its stalks in sweet juice. As 
a minimum yield, calculated according to the result at Verriéres, would 
be about 30,000 kilogrammes to the hectare. From it could be 
extracted at least 21 hectolitres of alcohol of a value of 3,780 francs, 
which would give to the hectare a yield that no other agricultural 
product can hope to equal. Let us add, that the yield in Provence 
and in Algeria would be probably more considerable than that 
obtained at Verriéres. M. Vilmorin notices a remarkable superiority 
of the sorgho: the purity of its juice is such that brandies of the 
first quality coming from it are sufficiently pure to be directly put into 
manufacture. M. De Beauregard, in a recent report to the Assembly 
of Toulon, has shown that having distilled the juice of the sorgho 
fermented by the assistance of the grape stems, or of the bagasse of the 
cane itself, he has obtained an alcohol of excellent flavor, which has 
been sold in the Marseilles market at the ordinary price of other 
alcohols (200 francs the hectolitre of 316). Several cultivators, of 
Haute Marne are also undertaking the extensive culture of the sorgho. 
One of them, M. Ponsard, has made for three years experiments upon 
this plant. ‘ From it,’ says he, ‘I have arrived at the conviction that 
the holecus saccharatus cannot ia the climate of Paris be cultivated 
on a large scale for manufacture. It will have an enormous yield as 


296 APPENDIX. 


a forage, but as a sugar plant it will only be very lucrative at the 
south. This has been well understood by the seedsmen of Paris, who 
have sowed in Provence their stocks of seed for sale. This plant is 
very prolific in seed. It is probable that in a very little time it will 
be sold at as low a price as that of the common sorghos. Of an 
easy culture and extraordinary hardiness ; considerable yield in three 
different respects, seed, forage, and sugar ; these are the advantages 
presented by this plant. 

“Tts syrup is without any unpleasant taste ; its alcohol very pure, 
and without a trace of empyreumatic oils, so abundant in the alcohol 
of the beet. The fermented juice makes a very agreeable drink. M. 
Vilmorin has made of it a cider quite analogous to the cider from 
apples. He has mixed with it, in variable quantities, various other 
ciders and drinks made from fruits, and always with a decided advan- 
tage. 

« From the necessity of not covering the seed of this plant too deep, 
in order to facilitate the germination, the sowings should be made on a 
hot-bed, to preserve them from the birds, and other thieving animals.”’* 

M. Ponsard adds: “It is to be hoped, and I am shortly expecting 
this result to happen, that the cultivation in the climate of Paris will 
render this plant more precocious, and that some varie*ies will be dis- 
covered which will perfectly ripen their seed in this latitude. Under 
these conditions, the holcus sacciharatus will take its appropriate and 
important position. From the cultivation of a small plot of this seed, 
a person could have seeds for his poultry, forage for his cow, and an 
agreeable and abundant drink for himself.” 

We will mention, in concluding our remarks concerning the trials of 
the cultivation of the sorgho, which have been made at Hyéres by M. 
Rautonnet : “The plant, in ordinary conditions, has furnished 30,000 
kilogrammes of juice to the hectare—a yield which exceeds that of the 
beet. One stalk, of 450 grammes, gives 150 grammes of juice, con- 
taining 10 to 15 per cent. of sugar.” 

* We do not agree with M. Bensart, that the culture of the sorgho, which is entirely 
like that of broom corn, should be protected in the same manner. The transplanting 
of it will injure its ulterior development. To preserve the seed against birds, it is 
much better to watch the crops, as is the custom with other seeds, until the plant 


comes out of the ground and has acquired sufficient strength to defend itself against 
their voracity. To expedite this matter, the seed may be steeped before sowing. 


ALCOHOLIZATION. 297 


Before going further, it appears to us useful to compare the different 
sugar-bearing vegetables, to glance at their yield of sugar. 


1. The sugar cane gives, by the old process - 14 per cent. 
By the new apparatus, perfected hy Derosne 
ie Wyle) ee a We ea ae rn oe 
2. The sorgho cultivated in the South - soe NL Af 
3. Maple tree - - - - - - 4 « 
Be Ree ra spre oe) see a a 
But, in practice, obtain only - - - Ge & 
5. The Jerusalem artichoke, from 15 to16 per 
cent. - - - . - . Sines ue 
6. Corn cultivated at Paris Se ae ck Babee 
7. Corn cultivated at New Orleans Bir ee, eae 


If this last figure is reliable, which we do not greatly doubt, the 
corn cultivated in the south of France will give a result almost equiv- 
alent. It will be understood that their conditions of growth are 
similar in the corn as in the sorgho. In rainy seasons, a juice con- 
taining more of water, should, by that very fact, contain a less pro- 
portion of sugar ; which explains the remarkable differences between 
the analysis made by different experimenters. Here, then, we are in 
possession of two plants equally interesting and equally productive of 
sugar; for there exists between them some differences upon the score 
of yield. This would only be matter of greater or less quantity ; but 
their expressed juices are, chemically, the same. These two varietics 
have between them a relationship so similar, that it should not be an 
astonishing matter to see them giving similar products. We have 
seen, in the article extracted from the journal, L’utile et l Agreéab’e, 
that M. Vilmorin has made with the fermented juice of the sugar 
sorgho a cider of good quality. The fermented liquor of corn would 
be quite similar to it. What confirms this fact is, that in Chili, and 
in a part of South America, according to the saying of travelers, 
they make with the stalk of maize a species of fermented liquor called 
chica, which has, they say, the appearance and taste of a real cider 
from apples. They add, that it is in common use in the households ; 
and that, distilled, it furnishes a brandy very agreeable, which has 
quite a similarity to rum. With these facts before us, then, we advise 


15* 


298 APPENDIX. 


the reader, that in the following considerations we will not distinguish 
between the two plants in all that respects the time of their maturity, 
their leafing, the grating of their stalks, the pressure of the pulp, and 
the use of the residues. They should be treated in the same manner 
throughout. .... . And seeing all the good that is said of the sugar 
sorgho and the articles published in its praise, we do not understand 
why maize is passed by unnoticed. Is this a matter of speculation, or 
a furor for a new product, such as is produced every day with all new 
things. We are ignorant on the subject. We are far from dissuad- 
ing agriculturists from undertaking the cultivation of the sugar sorgho. 
We are much pleased, on the contrary, to give it a decided support, 
and we place it in the first rank among our recent agricultural acquisi- 
tions; but these advantages should not hinder us from rendering to 
each other product, of a similar nature, the justice which is their due. 
While awaiting, then, the generalization of the culture of the sorgho 
in our southern provinces, we beg that the cultivators will distil the 
stalks of the corn. Besides the product in brandy, they will find in 
the residue the means of increasing the food for their stock, in a 
country where it is generally scarce and dear. Let proper attention 
be given to both maize and the sugar sorgho; the results will be about 
the same. The capital point to obtain complete success is to seize 
the exact favorable moment for gathering the stalks. If too soon, 
the plant contains too much mucilage and gum ; if too late, the. seed 
has consumed part of the sugar contained in the stalk ; at least, it is 
so in the maize. 

It is probable that, at a subsequent day, there will be erected in 
the southern districts manufactories for treating the sugar sorgho, 
which we believe fully to be more appropriate for the manufacture of 
sugar than corn, because we judge that its juice contains less of 
mucilage and gum.* The yield of the sugar sorgho being equal to 


* Our author has here made a very important distinction between the maize and 
the sorgho. The sugar of the corn, after the ripening of the seed, is very rapidly and 
considerably reduced; but with the sorgho, if we may judge from the experiments 
made in Algiers by M. Hardy, not only does it not lose in its proportion of sugar by 
standing in the field after it has attained a complete maturity, but, if the tufts be cut 
off, the juice will actually show on the saccharometer a perceptible increase in 
strength.—H. §. O. 


ALCOHOLIZATION. 299 


that of the sugar cane, the planters of the south can, with profit, 
compete against the sugars from the beets and from the colonies. 
Undertakings of this sort would give very large profits, doubtless. 
Not only is the sugar sorgho more rich than the beet, but it ripens 
much more rapidly than the sugar cane. The agreeable use that can 
be made of the molasses and the pulps of this plant, place it, in this 
regard, in a position unequaled by others. 

What we have said concerning the erection of manufactories of 
sugar in the south of France for working up the crops of sugar sorgho, 
should be considered more as a hope than as a prophecy to be immedi- 
ately realized. In these unenlightened districts, ingenious ideas applied 
to agriculture are so scarce that we have but small hope of a speedy 
realization of enterprises such as these. = scan eagle 


EXTRACTION OF THE JUICE OF THE MAIZE AND OF THE SUGAR SORGHO. 


To extract juice of sugar bearing plants, there is, independent of the 
pressure of which we have already spoken, an expeditious process. 
This is maceration. This system has been applied with success in the 
manufacture from the beet. It has been found that those treated thus 
are purer, ferment better, and suffer less change than when they are 
obtained by prolonged pressure. Independent of regularity, which is 
the distinct property of maceration, the treatment of beets by this 
method is an excellent one in more ways than one. On the one hand, 
the acidulated liquid boiling increases the sugar in the beets, sacchari- 
fying them. On the other hand, it raises the temperature of the juice, 
and disposes them to undergo a good fermentation. Maceration, then, 
is particularly advantageous and applicable to the beet distilleries, 
nearly all of which are in operation at the North, and at work on the 
coldest days of the year. But it is entirely different with the maize 
and the sorgho, as to distillation. Being accomplished at the South, 
and oftentimes with the greatest heat of weather, the warming of the 
juice is not necessary, any more than saccharification. The sugar 
being entirely formed in these plants, maceration in cold water would 
have the effect of weakening these juices. It is just upon these points 
of consideration that the press is preferable for it, because they yield 
then the sweetest and densest juices. In this condition they present 


800 APPENDIX. 


less obstacle to fermentation and distillation ; although, it may be known 
that the more sugar is dissolved in water, the more prompt and complete 
is its conversion into alcohol, nevertheless, this absence of water can be 
compensated for by a temperature more elevated, with the addition of 
an increase of ferment. As the still retorts already in operation in the 
vine districts operate mildly, and as we do not wish to change them, 
it is much preferable, it will be understood, to distil the juices ferment- 
ed at ten to twelve degrees of the saccharometer, than liquors of five to 
six degrees, like those of the beet, obtained by maceration. 


FERMENTATION. 


The juice of the sugar sorgho contains truly its ferment in but small 
quantity. It is well, then, to add to it, and even to force the quantity 
to operate with more rapidity. This celerity is especially necessary 
when the liquor is destined to be put to immediate distillation. It 
would be quite the contrary, though, if this kind of cider is desired to 
be preserved for a long time. The quantity of the fresh yeast of beer 
to use, is about 500 grammes to the hectolitre of juice in fermentation, 

Tn those districts far removed from the cities, it will often be diffi- 
cult to procure the yeast of beer fresh enough, because the brewers are 
very scarce. To obviate this inconvenience, which may present itself 
in spite of all possible precautions, we propose to replace it, with 
the lees of wine, red or white, pressed and putrified a little, that may 
be dissolved in the juice in the same proportion as would be the yeast. 
It is well to notice that white lees have less action than red ones, and 
that, consequently, there would be needed a greater quantity of those 
to produce the same effect. Yeast, when it can be procured, should 
be preserved in a cool place until the moment of using it; otherwise 
it will pass into putrefaction, and will no longer be good for use. 

The fermentation of the juice may be sufficiently well done in the 
great tuns used for wine in distilling districts. It is well to remark 
that fermentation is accomplished more readily and completely in ves- 
sels of great, capacity, than in those which are smaller. A more ele- 
vated temperature is also necessary for this latter. However, in the 
absence of the first, we may make use of the second, but it is necessary 
to practice the method employed for wines destined for the boiler. 


ALCOHOLIZATICN. 301 


These wines are fermented naturally, and without tlic use of dregs, in 
the large vats, which are partially filled. This process presents two 
advantages: the first is escaping the loss of the liquid, which wastes 
nothing at the bung during the tumultuous fermentation ; the second 
is rendering the fermentation more prompt, by reason of the swect 
liquid being found in contact with a larger mass of air. This circum- 
stance is very important for the production of alcohol. Every one 
knows that if wine preserves its sweetness at the moment of introduc- 
ing it in the still retort, there is a loss for the distiller. This circum- 
stance indicates that all the sugar is not decomposed, that is to say, not 
converted into alcohol. When the tumultuous fermentation is termi- 
nated, it is not proposed to distil the liquor immediately ; it may be 
drawn from the tuns and transferred into the casks, in order to escape 
the evaporation which would take place in large vessels but partially 
closed. 


FERMENTING HOUSES. 


We will say but little upon these fermenting rooms. Their tempera- 
ture should be maintained at about twenty-five to thirty degrees. Jn 
the summer it would be well to take certain precautions not to suffer 
this to be exceeded. For this purpose, it will be well to open the 
doors and windows during the night, and closing them at an early 
hour in the morning. In order to maintain the fermenting room at a 
constant temperature, it should not be entered except when absolutely 
necessary, and kept tightly closed. It is well understood that all we 
say here only applies to distilling practice in the summer time, upon 
the maize and sugar sorgho, intended to be fed to cattle afterwards, 
of which the juice are extracted previously to make them ferment and 
distil This manufacture, beginning in the month of June, should con- 
tinue throughout the months of July, August and September, and be 
completed about the end of October. 

As to the distillation of the maize and the sugar ‘sorgho, from which 
the seed is removed, as it is doue in the fall, it will be no longer neccs- 
sary to guard against an excessive temperature. It may be useful in 
certain cases to warm the place artificially, and even to warm the juice 


802 APPENDIX. 


To avoid the constant purchase of new quantities of beer yeast, it 
would be well to fit against the vats some box or receptacle in such a 
way that the ferment which escapes from the bunghole can be received 
in the vessel placed below it. ‘This ferment will do for subsequent 
fermentations, in place of wine lees or beer yeast. On the same princi- 
ple, the ferment which floats on the surface, in the large vats, may be 
employed ; and the whole of this should be kept in a cellar until the 
moment of using them. When it is thought proper to wash the pulps, 
or parenchymas, in place of pure water, vinasse, or others, should be 
employed, and then the pulps should: be again put in press. ‘These 
wines, and those cooled containing their ferment, will permit of 
diminishing by so much as the quantity is judged necessary for a good 
fermentation. To warm the juice of the maize and of the sugar sorgho 
when it is judged necessary, a large cauldron will be suitable, such a 
one as is frequently found on estates. In the opposite case, the caul- 
dron which is used for distilling wines would be made use of, always 
taking, however, the precaution of making it perfectly clean before 
using it. 

In place of selling the ciders of the sorgho manufactured for the 
still retort, to professional distilleries, it will be much more profitable 
for the planters to distil it themselves. "We recommend, then, all who 
shall undertake this industry, to purchase apparatus of the kind we 
notice in another place. This practice is much preferable to that in 
use at the South. There the planter is obliged to take care of his 
wines, and experience the loss resulting from the presses up to the 
very moment of giving them to the distiller. Furthermore, the costs 
of transportation, even to the distillery, are to be met by him, all of 
which diminish by so much his profits. The prices of the proper stills 
are quite moderate, and they give excellent yields of brandy. As they 
are not at all complicated, or liable to get out of order, the most 
ordinary hands will usually be able to conduct them after a few days’ 
practice. 

The method which we have adopted for the distilling of the sorgho 
is so simple, that we really believe that its general adoption presents 
but very slight difficulty. Each one can, with our work in his hand, 
undertake this industry. A reference to the list of utensils indis 


ALCOHOLIZATION. o03 
pensable for the work, will show to our readers that the expenses to be 
met are really insignificant. 

List of Apparatus necessary for the Distillation of the Sorgho, in those 


countries where the Still Retorts are already in operation. 


1. A rasping mill, such as is used in the sugar beet factories, 
but supplied with stronger teeth, because of the stalks 


of the sorgho being harder SE AGS! SO B58 OO 

2. A centigrade thermometer - - - - - 60 
3. A saccharometer - - - - - - - - 70 
4. An alcohol meter” - - - - - - - 70 
About - - - $52 00 


Thus the principal expense will be confined to the rasping mill, of 
which the price is moderate, and within the reach of almost every one. 
For small cultivators, a mill at the price of thirty dollars to thirty- 
two dollars will be sufficient. 


Agricultural Distilleries. 


The still retorts, with which the cognac brandies are made, are, 
with trifling alterations, those which have been used for a hundred 
years past. They consume much fuel, and perform their work very 
slowly. Still, in spite of these defects, it must be that they offer, in 
practice, a real superiority as to the qualities of the brandies, since 
‘the merchants, the supreme judges in these matters, continue to prefer 
the products of these still retorts to those of more perfect apparatus. 
What contributes to maintain and perpetuate the existence of these 
alembics in the vine districts, is their simplicity and their low price~ 
advantages which coyer up all their defects. Thus, to these two cir- 
cumstances, the distillation has taken a wide range in the departments 
of which we speak. There is scarcely a single small operator making 
50 to 60 casks of wine who does not purchase a little still, with which 
he converts his wine into brandy. These circumstances have urged us 


304. APPENDIX. 


to advise tneir general adoption; but to do away with a portion of 
the inconvenience attendant upon their use, we have caused the ap- 
paratus to undergo an improvement which, without making them lose 
anything of their primitive simplicity, procures two important results 
—an economy, more or less, of fuel; and a double production of 
brandy in the same space of time. By this new plan our still gives 
brandy of 20° to 22° of the first quality, while the old way only 
gives these results after two successive distillations of the same pro- 
duct. The capacity of the apparatus is thus doubled, by an expense 
which does not exceed two hundred francs on an average. 


Expense attending the purchase and erection of an Improved Agricul- 


tural Distillery. 

1. A cucurbite, or copper cauldron, containing 890 gallons, 
about eG tae iS aT rat Ss eet See 
2. A copper wine heater, of the same capacity -~ - 14 00 
3. A copper condenser, of 150 quarts . - - &- 54 00 
4, A wooden cooler, bound with iron - - - - 12 00 
5. A copper worm -~ - LPS . - - 40 00 

§. A little pump, to introduce the fermented juice into the 
cauldron - - - - - - - - - 8 00 
7. A rasping mill and its apparatus” - oe - 50 00 
B. Cost of erection - - - - - - - - 20 00 
Total- - - - $290 00 


With this apparatus, which should operate night and day, according 
to established custom, three heatings a day of twenty-four hours would 
be made, and about 240 gallons of liquid distilled ; but, as our maize 
and sorgho wines contain double the alcohol as those of the beet, it is 
about 475 to 500 gallons that would be worked up in this lapse of 
time. This quantity of fermented juice would give about 16 per cent. 
of sugar; an average for the sorgho of about 38 gallons of brandy, 
at 50 degrees centesimal; and for corn, about 12 per cent., about 30 
gallons of brandy of the same quality. 


ALCOHOLIZATION. 305 


For the Distillation of 2,500 lbs. of Sorgho Stalks, per day of twenty-four 


hours. 


To gather the stalks, cleanse them, rasp them, press them, 
ferment the juice, and carry on the retorts, there will 


be needed an overseer- - - - - - - $0 60 
An intelligent workman -— - - atin . - 50 
Pepering mia ep ae oe etn aS 40 
Two women, at 13 frances each - - - - - 50 
A little boy, lO or18 yearsold - - - - = - - 30 


Interest on the material used, at 10 per cent., calculated on 

$400, (the season being about 150 days,) an average, 

per day - . : Say ae : : 20 
Wood orcoal -~— - - - Eek PS beet: 40 
A hectare, (about 23 acres,) sown in sorgho, should give a 

minimum of 160,000 lbs. Troy of stripped stalks. We 

value 2,500 Ibs. at - - - - - - - 4 00 


Totalexpense perday - - - - - $690 


265 lbs. of stripped stalks would give, according as the season 
had been dry or wet, from 50 to 60 per cent. of juice— 
that is to say, 130 to 160 gallons, which, added to the 
water necessary for liquefying the pulps, would carry 
the quantity of liquid to about 275 gallons, which would 
furnish 45 gallons of brandy, at 19 degrees of Cartier. 
This brandy, by reason of its quality, may be estimated 


at about 55 cents per gallon - -~— - Se Sis 24 00 
Deduct the expenses, $6 90, profit perday- - - - 1710 
Multiply by 150 days, the profit during the season - - $2565 00 


Distillery of Cognac Brandies. 


We have mentioned that the distillation of cognac brandies is done 
with very simple and cheap apparatus. We give here the description 


306 APPENDIX. 
and the price, to afford an idea of what may be done with very little 


capital. 


Cot of Purchase and Erection of the Distillertes in Saimtogne and 


? Angoumois. 


A copper cauldron of about 65 gallon, . . . «. $70 00 
A wash heater, of same ee of wood bound with iron, 10 00 


A copper worm, ‘ A : : : soy gers OO 
A wooden cooler, bound with j ion, ‘ : 7 10 00 
4 wooden tubs to receive the pr oducts of distillation, ac) 200 
Cost of erection, . ; : ; ‘ : . : 10 00 

$140 00 


With this apparatus, three charges a day of 24 hours can be made, 
which is about three barrels of 46 gallons. For fuel, only wood or peat 
can be used. Peat charcoal cannot be used for this purpose, because 
in burning it throws a very large quantity of heat, and would burn, 
on the bottom of the cauldron, the leaves, seeds, and other heavy 
matters which it is the custom to leave in the wine. These foreign 
matters, precipitated by their specific gravity to the bottom of the 
still, would be carbonized, and would give to brandy an empyreumatic 
taste. In spite of the evident imperfection of this apparatus, not- 
withstanding the time and fuel which they require, they accomplish 
their work in a satisfactory manner, and give good results—results 
which are generally appreciated: for all the Cognac brandies are 
made with an apparatus of this sort. We, however, beg the planters to 
avoid the use of the wooden wine heater, because of the loss of alcohol 
which it would evidently suffer to be made by the escape of the 
steam through the staves. It would be well to replace this with a 
copper vessel, or at least one of iron, which would be more reasonable 
in price. With this modification, this apparatus can be employed 
wisn profit in the small manufactories. They can distil three hun- 
dred barrels of about sixty-five gallons in the space of a season of 
about five months, or a hundred and fifty days in duration. 


ALCOHMOLIZATION. 307 


Price of an improved distillery for operators on a small scale. 


Copper cauldron of about 55 gallons, - - - $50 00 
Sheet-iron wine heater of the same capacity, - - 30 00 
Copper worm, - - - - - - 30 00 
Copper condenser of 14 gallons, - . - - 20 00 
A small pump, - - - - - - 1000 
A wooden cooler, - - - - - - 10 00 
A rasping mill and its apparatus, - - - - 40 00 
Cost of erection, - - = - - - 30 00 

Total, - - - = $220 00 


Thus for $200 to $240, a small distillery could be had, embracing 
all the advantages of that which we propose in another place, but 
which would do one third less work, in consequence of the reduced 
size of the apparatus. 


Cider of the Sugar Sorgho, ,or the Maize, for Consumption and 


for Commerce. 


Those who wish to undertake this manufacture, should give more 
care to the production of these sorts of cider, in order to give them 
the property of keeping, equal to that of wine. 

Below we give our formula. We can be certain that it will give 
good results. We suppose the juice at 8, 10, or 12 degrees of 
density, and the cask of a capacity of about sixty gallons. In this case 
especially, the operator shouid be provided with a thermometer and 
saccharometer, to weigh the juice and toassure himself of their tem- 
perature before putting them into fermentation. 


RECIPE. 


1 kilogramme, 500 grammes (3 pounds) of good pulverised argols, (the 
raw tartar scraped from the cask of either red or white wine) ; 500 


308 APPENDIX. 


grammes, equal to about 1 1b. of grapes coarsely bruised ; about 2 Ibs. 
8 oz., Troy, of fresh yeast of beer, or an equal quantity of good wine lees, 
white or red, a little putrefied. When the lees of wine are used for 
supporting fermentation, the dose of raw tartar is lessened, and 
in this case would be reduced one kilogramme, 2 Ibs. 8 oz. only. 


METHOD OF MANUFACTURE. 


- Put the tartar and the rapes in a hundred quarts of juice, that you 
carry to the boiling point, (in warm weather it is not necessary to make 
the juice boil.) After some boilings throw the whole into a receptacle 
of a capacity of 65 gallons, and finish by filling with cold sorgho juice. 
Before putting it into the fermentation, let the temperature fall to 
25 or 30 degrees centigrade. Assure yourself of the actual degree 
by the use of the thermometer. The next step is to take from the 
vessel two or three quarts of liquid, add to it the two and two third 
pounds Troy, of fresh yeast form a mixture of it and throw it back 
into the vessel. With a stick stir it all up together. 

Some days after the fermentation shall have ceased, it is necessary 
to draw of the cider, which already will have fermented in the large 
vat, and place it in the cask, which should be entirely filled. 

A month, or two months afterwards, the cider should be sealed up 
and then drawn cff with care to deprive it of its lees. Under such 
conditions these ciders will be of very excellent quality, and can be 
preserved like white wines, to which they bear considerable resemblance. 
Like them they will gain in quality by becoming older. 

If it is desired to give these ciders a flavor which they do not have, 
there may be introduced into the barrel, either before or after the 
fermentation, two ounces of powdered iris,* to 65 gallons; or four 
ounces of elder berries, or some vanilla. Many farmers may possibly 
find this method of manufacturing cider, complicated and embarrass- 
ing. .T'o boil a portion of the juice before putting it into fermentation, 
seems to them a useless and superfluous thing. However, I insist 
upon this portion of our recipe, if it is desirable to operate with cer- 
tainty. We are of the opinion, that the same process should be 


* Fleur de lis, flag flower. 


ALCOHOLIZATION. 809 


employed for wines in cool seasons. It is evident that this trouble 
may be avoided in the summer, because the end which it is proposed 
to accomplish by carrying the juices to boiling, is to make them 
ferment at 25 or 30 degrees, the temperature neccssary for a good 
fermentation. This degree, we repeat it, is especially necessary for 
casks of a small capacity. The larger the vats are made, the less 
elevated a temperature is necessary. Thus for tuns of a capacity 
of twenty-five to thirty hectolitres,14 to 15 degrees would be ne- 
cessary for a good fermentation. 


Recipe for making a very agreeable beer with the juice of the sorgho 
or of Maize. 


The juice is boiled with about one Ib. of hops per twenty-five gallons, 
or ten oz., Troy, according as it is preferred to be more or less bitter. 
The juices are cooled to 25 or 30 degrees centigrade. Then they are 
put in contact with the yeast, (as we have mentioned for the cider,) 
one lb. of quite fresh yeast to the twenty-five gallons. 

As soon as the tumultuous fermentation is quiet, the liquid is 
drawn off, and the second operation is ready to proceed in the same 
manner as for the cider. 

Then it is clarified with gelatine, or the white of an egg, in the ordi- 
nary matter. 

As will be seen, this process is very simple, and nothing can be more 
economical. In this manner will be obtained, at a very low price, a 
fermented drink very healthy and agreeable, which will present the 

appearance and flavor of the most approved white beers. It suffices 
simply to add to it a little caramel. 


New Process of Fermentation, and preservation to an indefinite time, 
maturing after several days. 


The manufacture of the cider at a low price, with a preservative 
quality, and that is made by age like wine, will have so important 
results for the well being and richness of our agricultural public, that 
we have decided to treat it with all the detail that it is deserving of. 


810 APPENDIX. 


We have already mentioned elsewhere, that the beer manufacturers 
of Bavaria were in possession of this secret. Chance, aided by the 
very low and suitable temperature of the climate, seemed to have been 
the accidental cause of this interesting discovery. Its practical ope- 
ration is very simple. It consists in carrying on the fermentation of 
the sweet juice at a temperature of nine or ten degrees centigrade, in 
shallow vessels with large surface, which are left without any other 
care than from contact with atmospheric air. 

By these processes, beers, ciders, and wines, acquire a great preserva- 
tive quality. They are not at all affected with the variations of the 
temperature ; and what is remarkable, they are as perfect some weeks 
after fermentation as if they were two or three years old. 

To thoroughly comprehend upon what law these good results depend, 
it is indispensable to know the phenomena which occur in the alcoholic 
and acetic fermentations. The ferments, which are the producers of 
the fermentations, are azotized substances, in condition to unite with 
oxygen, for which they possess a great affinity. They have, further- 
more, the faculty of transmitting the action with which they are 
endowed, that is to say, the fermentation, to the sweet alcoholic 
liquids with which they are placed in contact ; but the degrees of tem- 
perature necessary for these transformations are not the same for these 
two different fluids. The degree the most favorable for the conversion 
of the alcohol into acetic acid (vinegar), by means of a ferment, lies 
between twenty-five and thirty degrees of centigrade ; at nine and ten 
it loses completely this faculty, and it is no longer in action upon the 
alcohol. On the contrary, the oxidation of the ferment at this low 
temperature, does not experience any obstacle—not more than that of 
the sweet liquid to which it imparts its action, converting it into alcohol 
by means of oxidation or fermentation. 

Let us now apply this principle, deduced from the attentive observa- 
tion of facts, to the manufacture of wines, as it is practiced. As soon 
as the expressed juice of the grapes comes in contact with atmospheric 
air, its ferment combines with the oxygen, and it produces at the same 
time in the sweet liquid a like phenomenon. <A part of the carbon of 
the sugar unites with the oxygen of the air, and escapes in the state 
of carbonic acid gas. The other part is converted into alcohol. This 


ALCOHOLIZATION. all 


transformation is accomplished very rapidly at a temperature of twenty- 
five to thirty degrees; but to deprive the ferment of its power to pro- 
voke in the alcohol, in ratio as it is fosmed, the acetous fermentation, 
one is obliged to diminish the access of the exterior air, by using a 
vessel more or less closed. The fermentation being completed, if one 
should continue to keep the wine at this same temperature, the ferment 
would react upon it, and produce acetous fermentation. To avoid this 
result, we hasten to fill up the vessels and to place them in a room hav- 
ing a low temperature. In the meanwhile, the ferment remaining in the 
wine, not being able to satisfy its tendency to unite with oxygen when 
contained in a partially closed vessel, continues to oxidize itself mildly 
by means of the small quantity of air which comes to it through the 
staves. This action continues thus two or three years; and little by 
little, in ratio as the wine grows old, the ferment which completes its 
oxidation, falls into the insoluble condition, that is, the condition of 
lees, at the bottom of the receptacle. 

In the fermentations usually made, one is embarrassed, then, by two 
opposing difficulties. On the one hand, it would be necessary to put 
the ferment in contact with the greatest volume of air possible, to make 
it arrive, in the shortest space of time, at a complete oxidation, and to 
force it in this manner to precipitate itself in the insoluble condition 
of lees. On the other hand, this measure would have the effect of pro- 
voking in the liquor the acetic fermentation, that is to say, its conver- 
tion into acetic acid. By the employment of the new process, we are 
about to see that in a very rational manner we will satisfy these two 
essential conditions. 

When the sweet juices are put to ferment at a temperature of nine 
to ten degrees centigrade, in shallow vessels, exposing a large surface, 
where free access of air could be obtained, the complete oxidation of 
the ferment is accomplished in the shortest time, as well as that of the 
sweet liquid in whichit is merged. In proportion as this action goes 
on, the ferment falls to the bottom of the vessel in the unsoluble state, 
the state of lees. 

Fermentation terminated, it is only necessary te decant the wine sepa- 
rate from its lees, to have itas perfect, as old as it would have become by 
the old process after two or three years of age. Theact, the phenomenon 


812 APPENDIX. 


which has been accomplished in a wine which has acquired some uge, 
in truth consists precisely in this complete precipitation of the ferment 
in the insoluble state of lees. «The only difference, we repeat it, which 
exists, is that its precipitation is immediately accomplished in the new 
process, at the same time with the conversion of the sugar into alcohol ; 
while, in the old process, the deposit is only produced slowly, after a 
long time, and with the great labors of repeated rackings, ete. This 
new method of fermentation is applied even to red wines; and what 
facilitates it in practice, is that usually the temperature is sufficiently 
low at the time of the vintages. The ciders and the beers made 
according to these rules, are not liable to sour, nor to turn in warm 
seasons—very important results, which recommend themselves to the 
attention of manufacturers. 

As every one will be convinced, the new process is simple. It does 
not offer any difficulty other than that of a choice of the place capable 
of being maintained at a constant temperature of nine or ten degrees 
centigrade. Vaulted cellars, on the north side, naturally present all 
these conditions. We beseech wine growers, manufacturers of cider 
and beer, to make experiments after the manner we have indicated. 
They can thus assure themselves if the results by them obtained have 
been’ those which are advanced as facts upon the testimony of the 
celebrated Liebig. In truth, this chemist has first made known this 
new process as practiced in Bavaria. It is applicable alike to all 
fermented liquor. The high reputation of learning and responsibility 
which attaches itself to this name, illustrious in the scicnces, assures 
us that the experiments I advise will not result in disappointment. 

By way of recapitulation, we say that, with the juice of the sugar 
sorgho and the maize, we can, with small expense, obtain the following 
products: 1. By distillation, a good brandy, or alcohols, of the first 
quality. 2. Ciders and beers, for commerce and household use. 
3. Syrups, capable of profitably replacing the syrups of fecula, and 
for the improvement of the wines in bad seasons. 4. Artificial wines, 
of the nature of those manufactured by the city of Cette. 5. Vine- 
gars, of a remarkable quality, almost equal to the best wine vinegars. 
6. The nourishment of cattle with the stalks used in the press. 
7. The manufacture, from these same stalks or other pulp, of a good 
wrapping paper, which is naturally sized. 


M. VILMORIN’S RESEARCHES. 313 


RESEARCHES ON THE SUGAR SORGHO.* 


BY M. LOUIS VILMORIN. 
Translated for the “ Working Farmer,’’ by H. 8S. Olcott. 


Tus grass, which seems destined to occupy an important position ta 
the list of our industrial plants, has, as well as the “Igname de la 
Chine,” been introduced by M. de Montigny, and was included in the 
same package addressed to the Geographichal Society.* We still 
hesitate as to the botanical name by which it should be known. That 
of Holcus saccharatus is manifestly an error ; not but that the plant is 
probably the same as the one previously known under this title, but 
because the portion of this genus characterized by the presence of a 
little male spikelet, pedunculated, by the side of each fertile spikelet, 
has been rejected long since from the Holcus family, in the genus An- 
dropogon or Sorghum. In all probability, the species Sorghum vul- 
gare (Andropogon Sorghum,) should include in the number of its varie- 
ties, the plant in question, as well as the Andropogon, cafra, bicolor, 
&e., of Kunth. A recent, and still unpublished work by Mr. Wray, 
which he has had the kindness to send me, notices, as growing on the 
south-west coast of Caffraria, about fifteen varieties of this plant ; and 
we ourselves recollect, that in a collection of the grains of Abyssinia 
sent to the Museum in 1840, by M. d’Abadie, and which contained 
about thirty species or varieties of the sorgho that certain plants at- 
tracted our particular attention by the sugary taste of their stalks. 
Here, as you see, are many causes of confusion, and, at the same time, 
the elements of a critical work, with which my colleague, M. Groen- 
land, is, at my instigation, occupying himself. 

I trust that his researches, aided by the comparative cultivation of 
different known varieties, will enable us to assign tnese different varie- 
ties to the botanical types whence they are derived. In the meanwhile, 
the name of Holeus Saccharatus may be provisionally adopted, since, 


*See the “Revue Horticole,” February, 1854, Holeus Saccharatus ; July, 1354, 
* Tgname de la Chine ;” “ Bulletin du Comice Agricole de Toulon,” 1853, “Liste de 
Venvoi Montigny ” 


2205." 


314 APPENDIX. 


although evidently inexact as to generic characteristics, it has the ad- 
vantage of being known, and of never having been applied to other 
plants. 

The plant on which were undertaken the experiments made at Flor- 
ence in 1766, by Pietro Arduino, for the manufacture of sugar, did, 
very probably, belong to the same species, but must have been another 
variety, since he describes the seeds as being of a clear brown, whilst 
those of this newly imported plant are black, and in appearance en- 
tirely identical with the black sorgho of the older collections. 

The sugar sorgho is a tall and slender plant, attaining the height of 
two or three metres, or more, in rich ground (a metre is thirty-nine 
inches—O.) The stalks are straight and smooth, the leaves flexible 
and drooping ; in appearance it is much the same as the Indian corn, 
but much more graceful It ordinarily forms a top, composed of eight 
or ten separate stems, each terminated by a tuft of conical shape, and 
covered with blossoms, green at first, then passing through different 
shades of violet, to acquire a deep purple hue when completely matured. 

It is probably an annual, and its cultivation and time for ripening 
agree with corn (maize). In the climate of Paris it must be sown as 
soon as the ground is warm, that is, at the time for the first sowing of 
beans (haricots) ; the maturity of the seeds will be more probable, if 
the plant has been grown in a sheltered nursery, or, better still, in a 
hot-bed ; but, for the extraction of sugar, it will be sufficient to sow it 
in the open field, provided the soil be light and moderately warm. 

The product of the sugar sorgho, consists in the sap contained in 
abundance in the pith of the stalks, which furnishes three important 
‘products : sugar, alcohol, and a fermented beverage similar to cider.* 

In truth, this juice, when one has obtained it with care, in a small 
quantity, by depriving the cane of its green envelope, is nearly color- 
less, and contains, so to speak, simply water and sugar. Its density 
varies from 1:050 to 1-075, and the proportion of sugar from ten to 
sixteen per cent. I include here the total of the two sugars, crystal- 
lizable and unerystallizable, of which the latter sometimes makes a 
third of their mixture. It is to this quantity of uncrystallizable sugar, 


* See the “ Moniteur Universel” of 13th November, 1854; “ Reveue Horticole,” 16th 
November; “Journal d’ Agriculture Pratique,’’ 20th November. 


M. VILMORIN’S RESEARCHES. 315 


that the juice of the sorgho owes the readiness with which it ferments, 
and the large product in alcohol which it gives, compared to the 
amount of sugar observed directly in the saccharometer. 

Considered in relation to the manufacture of sugar, the sorgho seems 
to me to have small chance of success in the northern and central por- 
tions of France—that is to say, in the tracts of country where the cul- 
ture of the beet is entirely successful. The strong proportion of un- 
crystallizable sugar which it contains, is not merely so much loss in 
this manufacture, but it becomes an impediment to the extraction of 
the other sugar. It is not, however, because the products of the sorgho 
are poor or difficult to be obtained, but simply that their nature ren- 
ders them, under similar circumstances, more prolific in alcohol than 
sugar; and if, in the present state of the market, it is profitable to 
distil the beet root, which, by the most skillful processes, does not 
afford an amount of alcohol correspondent to the proportion of sugar 
which may be extracted, how much more potent reasons are there in 
favor of the sorgho, whose juice yields more than the equivalent of its 
extractable sugar. 

It will be the same if we consider the sorgho in those warmer regions 
where the beet cannot grow in competition with it. Some experiments 
made with the stalks of sorghos cultivated in Algeria, sent to me by 
M. Peschard of Ambly, Mayor of Phillipeville, produced sugar decidedly 
superior in quality to that yielded by my plants raised in the environs 
of Paris. The long time occupied in the transmission of the package, 
caused a partial change to occur, which prevented my determining 
with accuracy the comparative values of the two kinds of sugar in 
the sorgho of Algeria ; but the nature of the sap, as well as the obser- 
vations communicated to me by Mr. Wray—formerly a planter in 
Natal, Caffraria—lead me to think that the proportion of crystalliz- 
able sugar will at once become greater where the climate permits the 
sorgho to attain a complete maturity. This plant, therefore, will fill, 
in the production of sugar, the void existing between the tropical 
regions—alone suitable for the cultivation of the sugar cane—and the 
fourty-fourth parallel, which seems to be the southern boundary to the 
profitable cultivation of the beet root. Beyond this limit, the latter 


816 APPENDIX. 


will probably excel in the production of sugar, while the sorgho, par- 
ticularly in the provinces of the west and northwest of France, will gain 
decidedly upon it in the yield of alcohol. 

As a sugar producing plant, the sorgho will offer as a recommenda- 
tion, the ease of its culture and treatment of its sap. Its raw product 
is probably greater than the sugar cane in countries such as Louisiana, 
where the latter is known as an annual plant. Like the cane, it fur- 
nishes in its leaves and tops an abundance of excellent green fodder. 
Finally, its molasses, similar to that from the cane, may be used in the 
manufacture of rum, and the residuum for a similar but inferior liquor. 
The great difficulties to be met are, the preservation of the stalks, and 
especially the short season suitable for its manufacture. But beyond 
these geographical limits which have been heretofore indicated, the 
warmth of climate willl allow of successive plantings. I am told by 
Mr. Wray, of whom previous mention has been made, that in the 
vicinity of Natal, the Zulu-Kaffirs keep the stalks sound for a long 
time by pitting them, as there the ground is warm and moist. 

We have just seen that for the manufacture of alcohol the sorgho 
had the advantage of large proportions of uncrystallizable sugar, which 
in sugar making is entirely lost. Another advantage is the purity of 
its sap, which accounts for the fact that the alcohol made from it, as 
also brandy of first quality, is sufficiently pure for immediate use. 

Alcohol, distilled but once, and that imperfectly, which I obtained 
with very incomplete laboratory apparatus, was absolutely deprived 
of all foreign flavors, and even my finest liquors, ranging from forty to 
fifty per cent., have quite an agreeable taste, similar to our noyau, and 
would doubtless be useful to take precedence over the similar products 
of the beet. When pure, their taste is infinitely less coarse and dis- 
agreeable than that of rum ; after becoming old they would be very 
superior. 

Ihave said above, that, besides alcohol and sugar, the sap of the 
sugar sorgho might furnish a drink similar to cider. In an article in- 
serted in the “ Moniteur,” November 13, 1854, I essayed to draw 
attention to the advantages to be obtained from the manufacture of 
these fermented drinks. This question is still entirely new, and on 


M. VILMORIN’S RESEARCHES. 8317 


can scarcely tell to what it may lead; but after the results [ have ar- 
rived at in my experiments, made under most unfavorable circum- 
stances, I can but think that it has a profitable future. 

The cultivation of the sorgho will probabiy not be difficult, as it 
closely resembles that of maize and some millets. The obstacles to be 
encountered will probably arise in giving it its place in the rotation ; 
in this repect, there is, I think, more to lose than gain in its introduc- 
tion, while the beet has constantly increased the aggregate yield of the 
districts where it has been introduced. The sorgho, as well as maize, 
is thought to be an exhausting plant ; the experiments I have hitherto 
made, have been too few to allow my deciding on it from personal ob- 
servation, but I entirely coincide with the established opinion on the 
subject, and certainly the species to which this plant belongs, makes it 
improbable that it could fill the same place in a rotation as the beet. 

The value of produce that we may expect from the sorgho is diffi- 
cult to determine in this state of the question; my experiments have 
been made on quite a small scale. The following is the result furnished 
to me, and the deductions we may draw from it. The small plot of 
sorgho which I have cultivated open field at Verriéres, in a sandy soil 
of medium quality, was harvested 30th October. We gathered from 
it as often as we needed it for the different laboratory experiments, 
besides which one corner was much stunted by the shade of a large 
tree, and another spot was reserved for a comparison between topped 
plants and others on which we had left the tufts. The area cut the 
30th of October, was 58m40, the yield was (weighed the day after 


cutting), ; 
Stalks and leaves, - - - - 285k400 
Stalks, without leaves or heads, - - 179k250 


The lot was so irregular, and so badly covered, that I wished tc 
make another trial ; so in the part farthest removed from the trees I 
measured a square plot, where, although the plants were not very tall, 
they were of average growth and covered the ground well. The 
dimensions of the square were about 5m32, the yield (weighed the day 
after cutting) was, 


Stalks and leaves, - - - - 41k110 
Stalks, without leaves or heads, - - 26k230 


3818 APPENDIX. 


I think that this latter portion may be considered as representing 
a good average crop, equal to forty-five thousand kilogrammes of 
beets to the hectare. It is on these figures that I institute my com- 
parisons. 

For this plot the plants had been raised in a bed, and the plantation 
was made during the early part of May. 

In another plot, which was sown broadcast on the 18th May, merely 
a few blades made their appearance. ‘They had greatly needed weed- 
ing during the early stages of their growth, and had been, in conse- 
quence, much retarded. The yield was on a basis of 38,000 kilo- 
grammes to the hectare. | 

A third plot, raised in a bed, and planted in the garden, was not 
weighed ; it was gathered from time to time, as wanted in the experi- 
ments for determining the periods of the development of the sugar ; 
but I do not fear to deceive myself, in rating its yield, according to 
the appearance of the plants, at about half that of the 5m32 lot before 
mentioned. 

I have obtained as a result from the stalks, without leaves, an 
amount of juice equal to fifty or sixty per cent. Of course, if the 
tops are closely trimmed, or if we experiment simply on the selected 
stalks, a much larger proportion will be obtained. With proper ma- 
chinery it should easily touch seventy per cent. In the trial of 
October 30th, (made with the village cider press,) on 215 kilogrammes 
of stalks, large and small, from which only the tops and last joints had 
been trimmed, 106 litres of juice were obtained, showing a density of 
1:052. I calculate at least fifteen litres as lost in dampening the sur- 
faces of the stone and press. 

I have none of the sugar from the sorgho; have simply made some 
trials with the saccharometer, decided usually by an evaporation and 
a comparison with alcohol. 

The following is the proportion of sugar in the sap of the plant 
gathered at Verrieres : 


iain Oct: 1853; ..- z - 10:04 for 100 of sap. 
28th Nov., 1853, - - - - 13:08 
Do. do., second trial, - 14°06 


M. VILMORIN’S RESEARCHES. 319 


13th Oct., 1854, - - - 10:14 without znversion.* 
of which was uncrystal- 
14th Nov., 1854, ei AU ot lizable 112. 


crystallizable sugar 43. 
The amount of alcohol has been determined by a direct fermentation. 
The following are the figures in the order of trial : 
The figures express the absolute yield of alcohol per litre, in the 
cubic centimetres. 


Sorgho at Verriéres : 


28th Sept., 1854, Eee ee sey eae 
4th Oct., 1854, -- -.. 7,7. 54 
Sorgho of Algiers : 
1st fermentation, 17th Oct.,1854, - 70. by the Salleron 
2nd trial some hours afterwards - 74. } apparatus. 
70:52 on distill. 1 litre 20. 
2nd fermentation 18th Oct., 1854, - 79°52 
Sorgho at Verrieéres : 
20th Oct., - - - - - ‘2-51 on distillation 1 litre 
16th Nov., - - - - - 63:26 tops removed. 
AC ee eo © eae 60°67 tops not removed. 


If we withdraw from this table the yield of the 28th September, 
which applies to plants evidently too young, and the four others relat- 
ing to the Algerian sorgho, I find as an average for our climate, 6.3 
per cent. in value, or 63 cubic centimetres of alcohol to the litre of 
sap: an amount which, as one may see, is very encouraging, especially 
if we consider the excellent quality of the products. 

Establishing our calculation for yield on the basis previously given, 
we have for a hectare planted with sorgho: 


Stalks and leaves, _-  - oi 82 UR 2GOks 
Stalks alone, - - - - - 49°300 
Sap at 55 per cent. of the weight of the 
stalks,  - bem Eta potent 27°115 lit. or 271 hectols. 


* Inversion. This word is left in the original, because we cannot translate it liter- 


ally, and make proper sense, It means, in this case, without the addition of foreign 
matter. 


320 APPENDIX. 


Sugar, calculated at 8 per cent. of sap, = 2°169k. 
Absolute alcohol, calculated at 6°3 per 


cent.ofthesap, - - - 1-708 lit. 
The best will give, in proportion with these figures : 
Roots, in weight per hectare,- -~— - - - 46-000 
Sap, at 80 per cent. of weight of roots, - - - 36-000 
Sugar, at 6 per cent. of sap, - Aah a . + 27160 
Pure alcohol, at 3 per cent. of the beet, - - - 1:350lit 


The calculation of eight per cent., on which I base the relative pro- 
portion of sugar in the sorgho, may be thought too moderate; but it 
here refers simply to the extractable and crystallizable sugar, and I do 
not think I have valued it at too low a figure. If it were proposed to 
establish a comparison between the sorgho, and the sugar cane of more 
southern countries, I am convinced that the sum of products in sorgho 
should be much raised; but the conditions necessary for such com- 
parison are not in my possession, nor for those which might be made 
between the same plant and the grape vine, topinambour, the grains, 
and even the asphodel, in respect to the production of alcohol. 

After having examined the advantage that the general cultivation 
of the sorgho presents, and the considerations which favor the adoption 
of this plant, it remains to me to cite some of the results yielded by 
our first experiments, and which may be suggestive for further studies, 
or as an index for the first attempts in manufacture. 

One of the first points that I have sought to determine, without 
being able to do so in an entirely satisfactory manner, was to know at 
what epoch in the growth the stalks commenced secreting sugar, and, 
as a consequence, at what moment to commence to manufacture. It 
seemed to me that this period coincided with the development of the 
head; but the proportion of sugar in the stalk continues on the in- 
crease until the grain is in the milk. In a plant in flower, I have re- 
murked, that the richness in sugar diminished between the joints in 
proportion as we go higher up the stalk, and that, in like manner, the 
lower portion of each joint was younger and less sugary than the upper 
part. In this condition, because of the small dimensions and hardness 
of the smaller joints, it is the central portion of the stalk which is 
found to be the most rich. I suppose—without having been able to 


M. VILMORIN’S RESEARCHES. 821 


decide certainly-—that at a later stage of growth the lower joints be- 
come poorer, or, at least, if the sap does not become poorer in quality, 
it is manifestly less abundant. 

The ripening of the seeds did not seem, at least in our climate, to 
diminish the yield of sugar; but as this does not happen with us until 
the extreme limits of the season, and as our plants have been contin- 
ually enriching themselves in proportion as their growth continues, 
the influence of the ripening in these phenomena cannot be determined. 
It is only in these countries where the plant can attain the maturity 
of its grains in a continuously warm season, that the matter can be 
definitely settled. According to the report addressed by M. de Beau- 
regard to the Chamber of Toulon, the ripening did not have with his 
plants an injurious effect, and he considered the seed and the sugar as 
two products which may be obtained conjointly ; then, again, accord- 
ing to Mr. Wray, the Zalu-Kaffirs are accustomed to break off, by 
a slight rapid movement, the tuft of their plants at the time it makes 
its appearance, and thus increase the saccharine quality of the stalks. 
This matter, however, is of no importance in France, where the ripen- 
ing does not ensue sufficiently early to prove at all unfavorable. 

The saltish taste of the very lowest knots has led me to think that, 
in some cases, the salts might accumulate in predominance; I have 
had the intention, but not the opportunity, to satisfy myself of this by 
incinerations. ‘The fact would be in conformity to analogies, and de- 
serves attention. Of no importance as to the manufacture of alcohol, 
it still would have very much in that of sugar. 

The ability to determine as to the richness in sugar of the juice, is 
quite limited when recourse is not had to a polarizing saccharometer, 
and, even with this instrument, inversion is absolutely necessary for 
the juice of the sorgho, which always contains a greater or less pro- 
portion of poorly made or uncrystallizable sugar. However, if this 
instrument cannot be made use of, a tolerably good approximation 
may be arrived at by the following process: After having determined 
the density of the sap as it passes from the press, it should be caused 
to ferment with care, and as completely as possible, at a temperature of 
25 to 30 degrees, by the use of a very small quantity of the yeast from 
beer ; the original volume, baving been previously marked by a guage, 


S22 APPENDIX. 


should be renewed, after the fermentation, by pure (or better, distilled) 
water ; then a new volume, measured, of the fermented liquid should 
be reduced to one half by evaporation, in order to abstract all the 
alcohol, and again brought to its original bulk by means of water. 
The areometrical quality of this liquid, taken after the above pre- 
cautions, will be very nearly a true indication to the amount of cor- 
rection to give to the density of the juice, provided always that it 
shows its amount of sugar. We should, at the same time, determine, 
' and separately, the correction due to the small amount of yeast 
employed. 

The process which consists in evaporating the sap to dryness ata 
temperature of 100° to 110°, in taking it back to the alcohol at 85°, 
and again evaporating (a simplification of the Péligo process) may, in 
many cases, give results with sufficient exactness for general practice. 

To know the amount of alcohol which the sap can furnish, no other 
method has succeeded better with me than the direct experiment. In 
operating upon a litre, and even a half litre, of sap, at a constant tem- 
perature of 30°, with the addition of eight to ten grammes of yeast of 
new beer to the litre of sap, I have frequently had, in eighteen or 
twenty hours, fermentations sufficiently marked to cause the density 
of the sap to fall, in this space of time, from 1-060 to 0°997. These 
figures at once show how easily the sap of the sorgho ferments, and 
how small amounts of foreign matters it contains, since, during.a 
similar experiment, the juice of the beet root never goes lower than 
1:007 or 1-008. This fermentation finished, the alcohol is determined, 
either by means of Salleron’s apparatus, or, what I consider more 
reliable, by reducing a litre or half litre of liquid. I have always 
found the results obtained hy this latter process perfectly concordant, 
and I think we nray look upon them as exact. If one has kepta 
record of the different volumes, as is done in the Salleron apparatus, 
the residuum after evaporation, are sufficient, as we have shown, to 
determine the influence which the foreign matters in the sugar exert 
upon the original density of the sap, and thus we obtain two calcu- 
lations which prove one another. 

The extraction of the sap does not present any difficulties. When 
it is proposed to determine its proportion, we may employ either of 


14* 


M. VILMORIN’S RESEARCHES. 823 


two methods: Ist. Cut the stalks into small pieces, chop coarsely or 
abrade, press them ; this process gives us figures which approximate 
‘to the yield in manufacture. 2nd. Cut into small pieces, wash and 
dry ; this gives the exact figures by comparison. 

The extraction of the juices for their treatment, may be accom- 
plished in many ways. In my first trials I made use of a small 
rolling mill (laminoir) of which the work was so imperfect that I was 
compelled to repass the stalks under a small percussion press of 
sufficient power. In this way I obtained from fifty-five to sixty per 
cent. of juice, in proportion as I used canes more or less alike or hard. 
In another experiment I made use of a cider mill and an ordinary 
press. The action of the rollers upon the stalks had liberated much 
chlorophyl, and my sap flowed out much charged with green feculous 
matter ; the yield was the same as above shown; but a considerable 
loss (about fifteen per cent.) due to the size of the apparatus as com- 
pared with the mass of matter on which I operated, carried these 
figures higher than they should have gone. Without doubt, the use 
of more powerful methods, such as crushing or hydraulic presses, as at 
present successfully employed with sugar cane, would give greater 
results, and such as would quickly meet the considerable expense of 
commencing them. In those cases where only the distillation is looked 
to, maceration might perhaps be resorted to with success, as a very 
economical method, as well as the process which consisted in causing 
the direct fermentation of the coarsely crushed canes. This latter 
process would, however, have greater probabilities of success, as will 
be shown, the crushed stalks constitute an excellent ferment for the 
juice of the sorgho. 

In the laboratory experiments I have always used as a ferment the 
yeast of beer, because this is the most rapid and the best process for 
quantitative experiments; it, however, has the inconvenience of im- 
parting a disagreeable odor to the products of distillation. However, 
the number of substances which are adequate to inducing fermentation 
is almost illimitable. The Count de Beauregard, who has made, in the 
neighborhood of Toulon, experiments on an extensive scale, employed 
with complete success—according to what I have been told by Dr. 
Turrel—the crushed stalks of the sorgho itself to induce the fer- 
mentation of the juice. 


824 APPENDIX. 


All the fruits may be used for the same purpose ; a bunch of grapes 
crushed between the hands is sufficient to ferment a large vat of several 
hectolitres, the juice of the sorgho containing naturally a sufficiency of 
azotized matters to cause fermentation to continue naturally after be- 
ing thus started ; a ferment of paste, made of the inner part of bread, 
may take the place of the yeast. In the case where juice largely 
charged with sugar and derived from very dry stalks, (and of course 
almost deprived of those younger parts which yield nitrogenous mat- 
ter) experience a too mild or incomplete fermentation, a little of the 
flour of French rice will be sufficient to give it all the activity desired. 

Once let the movement be established, it is probable that the method 
of continuous fermentation so happily applied to the distillation of the 
beet, and which consists in the constant introduction of a fine thread- 
like stream of sweetened liquid into a vat where fermentation is already 
active, might be adopted, and thus dispense with all anxiety as to the 
procuring of different ferments. This method has the additional ad- 
vantage, that it can perfectly regulate the fermentation, and thus obvi- 
ate, as much as it is possible, the formation of acetic acid. 

It is requisite, in order that the fermentation may be regular, that 
the temperature should be maintained between 18° to 25° centigrade. 
This precaution is especially necessary in the small experiments of the 
laboratory, for which a constant temperature of 25° has always suc- 
ceeded with me. I have made mention of a process of purification based 
upon the use of oak-wood shavings, and which entirely destroys the 
taste of the green matter arising from the crushing of the bark of the 
stalks by the rollers.* I have observed since then, that, if they are 
used in excess, either by too prolonged an ebullition or by increasing 
the proportion of shavings, (which should never exceed 200 grammes 
to the hectolitre of juice,) this method actually opposes the fermenta- 
tion. Weshould therefore give some attention to the proper method 
of employing it, the more, because for distillation the juices obtained 
from the rolling mill are so clear as not to have a disagreeable flavor, 
even when they are put to ferment in their raw state. Perhaps other 
processes, such as the use of white wood and the coal of wood, might 
be successfully employed for the defecation or clarification of juices. 


* See Journal @ Agriculture Pratique, (No. of 25th November, p 420.) 


M. VILMORIN’S RESEARCHES. 825 


Lime, which perfectly clarifies the juice, cannot be applied to distilla- 
tion, because of the disagreeable odors which it develops. 

Relative to the cultivation, there will remain certain points to be 
decided upon. According to the observation communicated to me by 
M. Ponsart, the grain requires, for perfect germination, to be very 
slightly covered, which requires some care in the field sowings ; for, in 
this case, a large number of seeds will be lost, because of the fact that 
the harrow covers them with too thick a layer of earth. This explains, 
perhaps, that in the countries where they cultivate the common sorgho, 
it is customary to use one decalitre to one and a half decalitres for the 
drill crops, and from five to six decalitres for broadcast sowing ; whilst 
the enumeration of the seeds contained in a kilogramme would show, 
by calculation, a quantity of grains five or six times less. 

The plants should necessarily be cultivated in drills, in order to give 
them thorough cultivation and proper care; these are indispensable, 
especially during the infancy of the plant, which is sometimes quite 
protracted. The plan proposed by M. Ledocte—to associate with 
the plant we cultivate, when it germinates or develops slowly, another 
of rapid growth, such as colza, lettuce &c., so that in a very short time 
the eye of the farmer may distingnish the lines or plots occupied by 
the plants which his cultivator should spare—seems worthy of being 
recommended in this case; because the fine sprouts of the sorgho, 
being confounded with grass, renders the operation of the first cultiva- 
tion very difficult. The layering of the branches proposed by M. 
Heuzé, seems to me but slightly practicable. It is only in September 
that they have become strong enough to be layered, and the plants 
thus procured would not attain, even in a year’s time, a development 
which would warrant their cultivation. I shall have an analogous 
observation to make on the separation of the plant raised in a bed; 
by decreasing the branching, this process would oblige one to plant 
closer, which would compensate for all the advantages to be derived 
from it. 

The experiments relative to the preservation of the stalks, merit 
above all to be followed with attention. Ihave herefotore noticed the 
use of covered pits in Caffraria ; a commencement of drying by the 
sun, having the effect of concentrating the sap in the stalks, might 


826 APPENDIX. 


make their preservation more certain and easy ; finally, the prepara- 
tion of small clippings artificially dried, might perhaps pay for the extra 
expenses which their preparation would cause, by enabling us to manu- 
facture throughout the entire year. All the questions which attach 
themselves to this order of facts, are so much more important to study, 
because if they obtain a good solution, they would result in remedying 
what may at present be regarded as the weakest point of the sorgho, 
the preservation of the stalks during a sufficiently long time to accom- 
plish a regular manufacture.* 


THE SORGHO IN AMERICA. 


Wishing to know something of the results of experiments instituted 
upon this plant in our own country, I have written to Messrs. Parker, 
White, & Gannet, seedsmen, of Boston, who are correspondents of 
Monsieur Vilmorin, and have the seeds of the sorgho for sale, and they 
answer as follows : 


Boston, November 22, 1855. 
Mr. H. S. Oxcort, 

Dear Sir,—We have ourselves cultivated the Holcus saccharatus 
the past season, for the purpose of supplying ourselves with seed. It 
grows readily, and ripens the seed with as much certainty as Indian 
corn. 

There is very little probability that it will be grown in New Eng- 
land for the purpose of making sugar, but we esteem it highly as an 
article for feeding cattle, cutting it up for a green crop as soon as it is 
four or five feet high, when it has more foliage than corn, and is full 
of sweeter juices. 

We believe it can be profitably grown for the production of sugar 
in some of the northern slave states, and may possibly, when it shall 
have been once fairly introduced, take the place of the common cane 


* This tendency to decay is the chief objection urged by those who oppose the eul- 
tivation of green corn for fodder, and it seems reasonable to suppose that those precau- 
tions which ensure the preservation of the corn stalks, would be equally applicable to 
the sorgho.—TRANS. 


M. VILMORIN’S RESEARCHES. 327 


in some of the present sugar growing sections. Enclosed is an item 
which we have picked up. 

“M. Avequin, the distinguished chemist, says the N. O. Bee, has 
exhibited to us a specimen of very fine, well grained sugar, obtained 
from the plant known to botanists as the Holcus saccharatus, and com- 
monly styled ‘Sorgho.’ It is a species of corn, producing a small 
erain like millet, and is very easily cultivated. The sugar is extracted 
from the stem or stalk, and the yield is quite large. One acre of 
ground in cultivation, will produce from eight hundred to one thousand 
pounds of sugar. The sorgho has the advantage of ripening in sum- 
mer, so that the grinding can he effected from the close of July to the 
middle of September. The stalks and entire plant afford excellent 
forage for cattle.” 


Respectfully yours, 
Parker, WuHite, & GANNET. 


I then wrote to M. Avequin, and through his politeness received hig 
letter addressed to L’ Abeille de la N. Orleans (N. O. Bee), a transla- 
tion of which is annexed : 


To the Editors of the Bee: 


You have published at different times during the past year, some 
facts concerning the sorgho sucré, Holcus saccharatus, called the 
Chinese Sorgho. These communications failing to give anything 
exact as to the value of this plant, as an object of culture in Louisiana, 
. or as to the amount of sugar to be extracted from it, allow me to add 
something to what is already known of it, and thus assist in arriving 
at definite conclusions 

For some two years past the seed has been sown by several planters 
in small quantities, and with favorable results; but I know of none 
who have attempted to extract the sugar in large quantity. Still, this 
plant is quite important ; it ripens three months before the sugar cane, 
and it can be crushed from the early part of August, and throughout the 
whole of September, or still later even. This is at once a decided 
advantage. But those who have written upon the sorgho have, to my 


3828 APPENDIX. 


mind, a little exaggerated it sugar producing qualities, and its yield 
per acre. 

* * * * * The sorgho that I examined towards the middle 
of September, had arrived at full maturity, perhaps a little past; it 
had been sown in good season. 

The expressed juice of the sorgho is somewhat more turbid than 
cane juice, but it is clarified by milk of lime as readily as is the latter. 
The green froths which arise from it are nearly analogous to those 
from the juice of the cane. This sap had a density of 1064 ; it reached 
almost 9° Beaumé, and had an acid reaction similar to that of all the 
juices of canes. This property it owes to the acid phosphate of lime 
which it contains. This same salt exists to an equal degree in the 
sugar cane. 

The sap of the sorgho contains a trifle more of salts of potash, acid 
phosphates of lime, and phosphate of magnesia, than any equal quan- 
tity of cane juice—at least I have found it so in the sap of the sorgho 
which I analyzed; it may possibly be that other specimens would 
contain less. 

A litre of the sap of the sugar sorgho contains 7°50 grammes of 
salts of potash, acetate of potash, muriate of potash, and sulphate of 
potash. A gallon of it contains 28-38 grammes, or little more than 
an ounce. 

A litre of the sap gives 2:18 grammes of acid phosphate of lime and 
of phosphate of magnesia. A gallon contains 8°23 grammes. A litre 
has given 0:12 grammes of hydrated silica, mixed with oxide of iron 
and manganese. A gallon contains 0-45 grammes. These matters are 
all in solution in the sap of the sorgho, together with other organic 
matter, such as albumen, vegetable fibrine, chlorophyl, &c. These 
latter substances offer no impediment to the extraction of the sugar 
from the sorgho. 

The sorgho, from a given weight, affords less sap than the sugar 
cane, at least such is indicated by my experiments. It may be that if 
taken when less ripe, the sorgho would give a larger yield of sap. 
From several stalks of sorgho of good quality and fully ripe, I have 
only obtained 42 per cent. of juice by expression, whilst I have readily 
obtained 64 per cent. from the cane by the same process, 


M. VILMORIN’S RESEARCHES, - $99 


When a litre of sap of the sugar sorgho weighs 1064 grammes, 
a.sout 9° Beaumé, a gallon of this same sap weighs 4 kilogrammes 0°31 
grammes, or 8 Ibs. 14 oz. 2 drachms 14 grains, English weight. This 
gallon of sap contains 652 grammes of sugar, salts, and organic mat- 
ters, or 1 lb. 7 oz. 4 gr , English weight. 

It gives per 1000 parts, in weight : 


Sugar - - - : - : - - 152 
Salts and organic matters - - - - = St hO 
Water - . - - - - - - 838 

1000 


To make one thousand lbs. of unrefined sugar, cleansed and well 
dropped, with sap of the sorgho of a density of 1064, requires 1250 
to 1300 gallons of sap. This sugar is of the same kind as that ex- 
tracted from the cane. 

The sugar of the sorgho will give almost as much molasses as the 
cane sugar in Louisiana, perhaps a little less, because it has a density 
a trifle more than the average of the cane in Louisiana, at least that 
which I have examined. 

One thousand pounds of this sugar thoroughly clarified, will not 
give less than fifty-five gallons of molasses ; in some instances the molasses 
would be in much greater proportion. In this respect the sorgho will 
share the vicissitudes of the sugar cane—sueceeding years would not 
give equal results, 

An arpent (six sevenths of an acre) of sorgho, well cultivated, with 
~a good yield, might give eight hundred to one thousand Ibs. of raw 
sugar, clarified and saleable. The experiments which I have made 
upon the subject show this clearly enough. Certainly the sorgho cannot 
supersede the sugar cane in Louisiana; but it has great advantage 
over the cane, in that it can be crushed from the early part of August, 
and throughout September, whilst the cane cannot be crushed until 
about the first of November. It remains to be known if this ad- 
vantage can reconcile itself with the other interests of the planter ; 
this I have not sought to establish. 

The sap of the, sorgho, after having been clarified, as do all the 


330 APPENDIX. 


sugary juices, can take on the alcoholic fermentation; it is almost 
needless to mention this here. It may be distilled, and will yield tafia, 
the same as that from the sugar cane. The molasses dripping from 
the raw sugar of the sorgho juice may likewise produce rum or 
alcohol, as desired; but these alcoholic liquors have nothing of the 
flavor of Cognac brandies, and cannot replace them in their various 
uses. 

We will conclude this notice by saying that the sugar sorgho makes 
an excellent forage for animals, preferable to corn stalks. Cows, 
horses, mules and oxen devour the leaves and the entire stalk, even to 
the last particle. We ask of the planters to make trial of this plant, 
either as a green fodder, or for the extraction of sugar. An experi- 
ment upon twenty-five or thirty acres would be no great expense for 
them. 

Agree, gentlemen, &c., AVEQUIN. 


REPORT 


Addressed to his Excellency Marsuau Vartuatnt, Minister of War in 
France, upon the Culture of the Sugar Sorgho, by Doctor Turret, 
Secretary of the Assembly of Toulon, §c., §c. Translated by Henry 
S. Oxtcort, Westchester Farm School, Mount Vernon, N. Y. 


(From *‘‘SuGar CANE AND SUGAR MakinG,”’ by Chas. F. Stansbury.—A. O, Moore, N. Y.) 


May iT PLEASE your Excrtiency,—The sugar sorgho (Holcus 
saccharatus) is a botanical species not entirely unknown to more 
southern countries. It was cultivated in the 15th century in Italy, 
where it had probably been introduced by the Venetians and Genoese 
at the period of the development of their maritime commerce. At 
the commencement of that century, and as a consequence of the 
Continental war, we notice in Italy large experiments with the sugar 
cane; but, whether on account of their process for the extraction of 
the sugar not being sufficiently perfect to warrant the idea that it | 
could exclude other colonial products of an analogous nature, or 


REPORT OF M. TURREL. gon 


because their variety was not as rich in sugar as the new stock, its 
culture was abandoned. 

The Botanic Garden at Toulon has for a long time possessed a speci- 
men of this plant in its collections. M. Robert, who was the director, 
cultivated it at one time, but neglected, and finally lost it entirely. 

These historic facts go, your Excellency, to substantiate the strong 
claims which M. de Montigny has upon the gratitude of the entire 
country. 

It is through the means of the Geographical Society that I had 
the pleasure of receiving, in 1851, a small specimen of ten grammes 
of seeds of the sorgho. M. Jomard, President of the Society, sent 
me a package of thirty-two kinds of grains or roots, and I should, 
as Secretary of the Assembly, acknowledge the zealous cooperation 
of my colleagues in the experiments made with them. 

It is to M. Robert that is due the honor of propagation of the 
sugar sorgho ; a single seed ripened with him in 1851. ’Tis the plant 
springing from this single seed which has produced all the seeds dis- 
tributed by him in the department. It is by means of the seeds thus 
obtained by M. Robert, that M. Rantonnet has been able to make 
his extensive experiments. 

The Sugar Cane of the North of China, which is the name by which 
we are acquainted with this plant, was recognized, immediately on its 
development, as botanically identical with the Holcus saccharatus, or 
sugar sorgho. As soou as the crop could be gathered, one of my 
colleagues, Doctor Ardoin, experimented with the juice which he 
obtained by expressioa, and he presented to the Assembly, in the 
month of August, a specimen of molasses of a brownish yellow color, 
the flavor of which was beyond doubt strongly saccharine. 

The committee on which I had the honor to serve with Messrs. 
Hugolin, Letscher, Ardoin, de Beauregard, and C. Burle, divided 
amongst themselves the various experiments, and the results arrived 
at confirmed the hopes awakened by the first experiments by Dr. 
Ardoin. 

We obtained from 50 to 60 per cent. of swect juice from stalks 
stripped of their leaves and put through the press, and in this juice 
we found a per centage of saccharine matter varying from 10 to 20 
per cent. The liquid was not examined in the polarizing apparatus ; 


332 APPENDIX. 


but the opinion of one of us was that the sugar in the sorgho was 
identical with grape sugar, and of course uncrystallizable. 

However, this opinion was not accepted in the absence of proof, 
although advanced by an able chemist; and M. Beauregard, our 
president, aided by M. Verignon, a chemist at Hyéres, undertook new 
experiments, which resulted in the procuring of magnificent cubic 
crystals of sugar, similar to the crystals of cane sugar, formed in the 
center of a liquid when it is dissolved. But this laboratory experi- 
ment possesses only a secondary interest, compared to the trials made 
by M. Beauregard, and whose result seriously affects the industry of 
our country. 

So strong an analogy as that which had been supposed to exist be- 
tween the sugar of the holcus and the grape, would strongly suggest 
this question—Whether the sorgho sugar ought not to be transformed 
into alcohol as readily as is that of the grape. We owe it to the 
honor of our Assembly, and to M. Beauregard, the president, to 
record the fact, that the question of the production of alcohol from 
the sorgho was first entertained and practically demonstrated by that 
gentleman. 

The grape disease, by exhausting for a long time, perhaps, the 
most abundant source of alcoholic productions, has forced our industry 
to seek for other means for the extraction of alcoholic products. 
Hence, the beet is no longer used for sugar, but for alcohol ; hence we 
have distilled the cereals, in which alcohol had been produced, by the 
assistance of a chemical agent. In view of the high price of the 
cercals, and of the impending scarcity that bad harvests threaten, the 
government is justly alarmed and has prohibited the distillation of 
crain. This provision, thanks to our Assembly, will shortly be 
entirely useless, for the sugar sorgho is endowed with greater profu- 
sion of alcohol than all the other substitutes for the vine. M. de B., 
ina report made to the agricultural assembly of Toulon, at the session 
of November 6th, 1854, has shown that, having distilled the juice of 
the sorgho, fermented by the assistance of the grape cluster stalks, or 
even of the bagasse of the cane itself,;* he has obtained, by means of 

* May not the bagasse be treated with sulphuric acid, as is done with wood and rags, 


to transform them into glucose; thus obtaining alcohol, by the fermentation of the 
sugar produced in this manner ? 


REPORT OF M. TURREL. 333 


very imperfect apparatus, five per cent. of pure alcoho]. This alcohol 
is of very fine flavor ; and he considers it comparable to our excellent 
tafia ; furthermore, he has produced a wine quite similar in flavor to 
the cider of Normandy. S. Vilmorin obtains with the common cider 
mill, 50 per cent: of juice, an average density of 1050 to 1070, which he 
concentrates by evaporation. He adds about two hundred grammes 
of oak shaving to a hectolitre of juice; ebullition reduces the liquid 
to a half, which he finds completely purified by the precipitation of 
the albuminous matters which combine with the tannin of the shav- 
ings. The purification may be obtained with cherry shavings; and 
to the wine obtained by fermentation can be given, by using a little 
yeast, different flavors, by infusing in the liquid during fermentation — 
flowers of elder, hops, fir buds, or berries of the juniper. 

In continuing the evaporation of part of the juice, a caramel syrup 
is obtained, which is added to the juice after the first frothing or fer- 
mentation. A slightly saccharine liquid is thus obtained, which is 
made sparkling by putting it in bottles, before the fermentation is 
entirely completed. 

When the sap is intended for distillation, it is necessary, adds M. 
Vilmorin, that nearly the whole of it should be fermented with the 
presence of oak shavings. 1-20 only of the juice will be ample to expe- 
dite and regulate the fermentation, which one can determine, for the 
first time as needed, by the addition of a small quantity of yeast. 
M. de B. has made the juice of the sorgho ferment without previous 
working in his wine vats, by means of grape stems of his vintage. 
He has obtained, from the distilled juices, an alcohol of first quality, 
in which it is impossible to distinguish the slightest herbaceous flavor ; 
for he has sold his products, in the Marseilles exchange, at the current 
price of the ordinary alcohols. 

By adopting for all France, the result obtained at Verriéres by S. 
Vilmorin with the sorghos cultivated in his estate, we would have the 
following result : the sorgho yields a maximum of 50 per cent. of the 
weight of its stalks in saccharine juice ; the minimum production cal- 
culated from the yield at Verriéres, would be thirty thousand kilo- 
grammes of juice to the hectare ; we could extract from it twenty-one 
hectolitres of alcohol, worth three thousand seven hundred and eighty 


834 APPENDIX. 


frances, which would be a yield, per hectare, that no other agricultural 
product can equal. 

The culture of the sugar sorgho needs, as for all annual plants of 
considerable growth, a soil rich and considerably improved. In Pro- 
vence and Algeria, the sorgho could not ripen its seed and pass through 
all the stages of its growth without the assistance of irrigation. 
However, in the rainy seasons, we can hope for its complete maturity ; 
for in 1853 several of our colleagues of the Assembly have obtained 
magnificent sorghos, and harvestéd good grains on a soil quite dry, 
and where irrigation was not practicable. Wheat soils, and alluvial 
ones, would suit it especially. We have seen it attain rich growth on 
a stony and light soil. 

We have already mentioned that the sorgho attains a height of 
three or four yards. Each plant produces four to six stalks, of which 
each one is gurmounted by a panicle weighing two hundred to three 
hundred grammes, and of which each one may yield two hundred to 
three hundred grains. The panicle of the main stalk is the first to 
arrive at maturity ; the secondary panicles ripen at about the same 
time, and even the subsequent ones ripea their seed when the autumn 
is not too severe. 

About the end of September, the panicles begin to ripen ; and it is 
at the transition from the milk state, that the saccharine richness of 
the plant is carried to its highest degree, 

This fact, so interesting as regards the reproduction of the plant 
and the yield of grain, has been proved by our honorable President, 
M. de Beauregard. 

M. Vilmorin has moreover observed, that the saccharine matter in 
the stalk decreases gradually, from the base to the top ; andit is in 
the spaces between the lower joints that it is the most marked. 

The plant is essentially rich in hydro-carbon products (sugar, alco- 
hol) ; it is therefore improbable that nitrogenized manures will be as 
indispensable to its growth, as to plants abounding in gluten (wheat, 
barley, oats) ; in this view of the case, the crop would not be an 
exhausting one. 

It is not without design that we introduce into the consideration of 
an industrial plant, its value as a fodder crop. ‘The rearing of cattle, 


REPORT OF M. TURREL. 8385 


indispensable on the well cultivated farm, cannot be profitably under- 
taken, without the aid of fodder crop ; and if the plant which occu- 
pies our attention demands simply the manures which cattle furnish, 
it gives, on its part, for their nourishment, a remarkably large crop 
of fodder. 

In truth, stock greedily eat the leaves of the sorgho, which can be 
fed to them green, at the time when the meadows have ceased to yield 
cuttings ; and as they can be gathered from September to December, 
it follows that, during four months, the sorgho will furnish an agreea- 
ble and nutritious fodder. Horses and mules are exceedingly fond of 
it: it can be cured for winter. 

We have only adverted to the possibility of the economical extrac- 
tion of the sugar from the sorgho ; but the discoveries which we owe 
to the talent of M. de Montigny, of the production of sugar from 
this plant by the inhabitants of the north of China, authorise the 
belief that, when their processes of extraction become familiar to us, 
the sugar sorgho, by reason of its saccharine richness, can profitably 
replace, in Provence and Algeria, the beet, whose culture for sugar is 
not expedient in warm climates. 

In truth, the sugar beet, which contains only eight to ten per cent. 
of sugar, cannot be compared, in saccharine richness, with the sugar 
sorgho, which has from sixteen to twenty per cent. And, further- 
more, if we consider that beet juice yields but three to four per 
cent. of alcohol—and that unsuitable for wine making—whilst the 
juices of the sorgho yield from six to ten per cent. of excellent alco- 
hol, appropriate for all industrial and economical purposes ; we shall 
have the most just and least exaggerated idea of the future of the 
plant upon which I have sought to lay before you the facts practically 
demonstrated. It but just appears above the agricultural horizon; 
and while it already recommends itself by precious qualities, it causes 
us to cherish most flattering hopes. Thus, your Excellency, have I 
endeavored to enumerate its strong claims to yonr enlightened atten- 
tion, for its bearing upon the interests of Algeria. 

I am, with respects, Sir, &e. &c.. 
S. TuRrReEL, 
Secy. of the Agricultural Assembly of Toulon. 


336 APPENDIX. 


Table of French weights and measures, referred to in the prece- 
ding and succeeding reports. 


Kilogramme, - - - -  2/bs.53 drachms. 
Hectare,- - - - -  -=- 2g acres. 
Gramme, - - - -  - 4 4r. avoirdupois. 
hiire). so be es ee = + 2D wine pints. 
Centimetre, -  - - - - 39-100 of an inch. 
Decalitre, - - - - - about 2 gallons. 
Metre, . - - . - 39 inches. 
REPORT 


Addressed to his Excellency the Minister of War, upon the Culture of the 
Sugar Sorgho, by M. Harpy, Director General of the Government 
Nursery at Hamma, in Algeria, Member of the Imperial Society of 
Acclimation. Translated for this work by H. 8S. Oxcort, of the 
Westchester Farm School, Mount Vernon, N. Y. 


(From “ StuGar CANE AND Sucar Maxine,” by C. F, Stansbury—A. O. Moore.) 


On the 18th of May last, I sowed plots of sorgho sucré, comprising 
a total area of about sixty-five square rods, (Eng.,) of a nearly uniform 
quality of soil. The ground had been deeply worked and fully man- 
ured. The seed was sown in drills eighty centimetres apart. When 
the young plants had hecome sufficiently strong, I thinned out, leaving 
them at thirty to thirty-five centimetres apart in the drill. The plan- 
tation received during the season three hoeings and three slight irriga- 
tions, which consisted in turning a small stream of water through an 
open trench running alongside each row. Not more than four hun- 
dred cubic metres of water were necessary to the hectare. At the 
last hoeing the dirt was drawn to the foot of the plants, in such man- 
ner as to form a slight hill, both for the purpose of protecting the 
plants against the wind and to favor the development of extra roots 
which spring from the stalk, as is the case with Indian corn. 


‘ 


REPORT OF M. HARDY. 837 


The majority of stalks attained a height of four or five yards; a 
great number did not exceed a thickness of ten to eleven centimetres. 
The seed ripens about the middle of September ; and despite the at- 
tacks of sparrows, the sixty-five square rods gave me four hundred 
and twenty-five kilogrammes of seed, which would equal two thousand 
five hundred kilogrammes per hectare. 

I have also cut the stalk, to make comparative weighings from 
various marked portions of the three plots. It was noticed that the 
plants had usually from three to seven stalks, (suckers,) or an average 
of five. The stalks stripped clean of their leaves, then deprived of 

the upper ends, which contain little or no saccharine matters, were 
reduced to an average length of 2-5 metres (a little over eight 
feet). From these pieces I obtained by weight a yield of = 250 kilo- 
grammes of saccharine stalks to the hectare. 

The preceding year, in my first experiment with the sugar sorgho, I 
had planted it in groups about two and a half feet apart each way. 
The stalks grew nearly like the crop of the present year ; but, crowded 
too much by this close planting, they did not attain the weight and 
diameter of this year’s stalks. Their yield per hectare was scarcely 
forty to forty-five thousand kilogrammes.* The spacing and mode of 
planting, in 1855, seemed entirely suitable for soils of good fertility, 
the only ones on which the sorgho culture should be attempted, if it 
is desired to obtain its full development and greatest possible yield. 
This wide culture likewise enables us to make use of horse tools, such 
as the horse-shoe for cultivation, and the light plow to make trenches 
for irrigation. 

_ The stalks bruised in a mortar after having been cut into small 
pieces, and then submitted to strong pressure, yielded sixty-seven per 
cent of sap. 

The juices had at the end of September, at the time of gathering 
the seed, a density of 83° Beaumé, which would indicate an approxi- 
mative saccharine richness of thirteen per cent. I distinctly say an 
approximative richness, not actual, for | have no saccharometer at this 

* Notre py Trans.—The crop of sorgho raised during the last season—1S56—at the 
Farm School, was planted in this manner—2's3 feet—six stalks to the hill. The 
plants attained an immense height, but were so weak as to be prostrated by a wind 


storm, and the seed did not ripen in consequence.—H. 9. O. 
15 


838 APPENDIX. 


place ; and this is the only instrument which enables us to determine 
the per centage of uncrystallizable or grape sugar. It is, therefore, 
to the polarizing saccharometer that we must look to determine this 
important point. But supposing the entire sugar to be crystallizable, 
the hectare would give the following result : *3.25° x 67 = 53177 x 
13 = 7254 kilogramme of sugar, or the equivalent for one portion of 
uncrystallizable sugar. . 

The sap containing grape sugar, or uncrystallizable, is not less sus- 
ceptible of alcoholization than if it had none but crystallizable. But 
I will again refer to this matter. 

The stalks which had been robbed of their seed heads having been 
left standing in the field, I had the satisfaction to see them two months 
after the gathering of the seed still standing, untouched by the wind, 
and safe frem the attacks of worms, and, moreover, retaining their 
original sweet taste. ‘Thus we see that not only does the sweet prin- 
ciple develop itself at the time of ripening the seed, but it continues 
to exist, unchanged, in the stalks long after the seed tops are removed ; 
and it isabsolutely proved that in Algeria we may use the seeds of the 
sorgho when they are fully ripe, without Jessening the crop of the sac- 
charine matters contained in the stalk. 

The sorgho seed has at present an inordinate value, because of its 
rarity ; but this will be but of short duration, and the price will rap- 
idly descend to a level with the ordinary cereals, the yield being so 
very prolific as to quickly surpass even the most unusual demands for 
planting: 

Besides the foregoing uses, this seed will bear a certain industrial 
value, and have other employment than the rearing of poultry or pigs, 
like the seed of the broom corn. Doctor Sicard, of Marseilles, has 
discovered, during the past year, that the seed of the sorgho sucré 
contains in the outer coating a very beautiful red color, from which 
he has obtained all the various tints ranging from red to violet. M. 
Chevreul has likewise noticed the remarkable and entirely character. 
istic facility of this dye for tinting silk.* 

* I have repeated the experiment of Dr. Sicard and M. Chevreul with entire success. 
The hulls, stripped from the seed, and boi'ed for about fifteen minutes in pure water, 


yield a deep purplish red solution, in which I have dyed cotton and silk fabries. The 
tints range from deep purple to a splendid opal. The dye, I find on microscopic exam: 


REPORT OF M. HARDY. 339 


For my part, I have extracted from the stalks a product which will 
not be without its uses, and of which I will speak again. 

The sorgho sucré is, so to speak, perennial, for I have plants which 
are now at the end of their second year of growth and are commenc- 
ing to grow for the third season, and giving every evidence of an in- 
tention to again complete the maturity of their growth. But I do 
not suppose it would be useful to preserve a plantation throughout 
several seasons. I believe that the attempt would prove more trouble- 
some than profitable. The second year the stalks scarcely attain a 
height of one and a half or two yards. 

These first experiments which I lay before your Excellency are not 
the only ones undertaken by me; I have made diligent study of its 
virtues, and obtain the following results : 

The stalks which had been topped to gather the seed, were allowed 
to stand as they grew until the month of February last. I made ex- 
tractions of juice at various periods. 

First attempt (made in the latter part of September at the gather- 
ing of the seed). Obtained sixty-seven of juice for one hundred of 
stalks ; this juice showed a density of eight and three quarters. 

November 28, I obtained fifty-two per cent. of juice ; density nin- 
and a half. 

January 31, obtained fifty-one per cent. of juice of a density of 
eight and a half. 

Finally, February 16, last trial, I obtained 49:5 per cent. of juice, 
with a density of eight degrees. 

Thus, from the end of September until the end of November, the 
stalks standing in the field lost nothing of their proportion of saccha- 
rine principle ; for if the quantity of juice had diminished some fiftcen 
per cent., representing 0°66 per cent. of alcohol, on the other hand, 
this juice had gained some 0°75 per cent. in richness, representing 


ination, is contained in the fibers which make upthe inner part of the seed hull, and 
in the compact silicious structure of the hullitself. The fibers look like hemp fibers 
dyed. The hull, after being subjected to pi olonged boiling, is not unlike in appearance 
a piece of sheet India rubber. The color of the seed covering is not black, as is gen- 
erally supposed, but a very deep purple. From the readiness with which the dye 
separates f.om the hull, it seems as if this feature of sorghe culture would prove far 
from unimportant. 


340 APPENDIX. 


nearly the equivalent of alcohol ; whence it follows, that the saccha- 
rine or alcoholic rzchness had on the contrary increased. 

From the close of November to the middle of February, the dimin- 
ution in weight and quality has not arrived at such a degree as to 
prevent the economical manufacture of products throughout this long 
lapse of time. This is of great moment. In fact, whilst in the mid- 
dle of France the frosts have destroyed the stalks of the sorgho as 
early as the end of October, in Algeria these stalks may be preserved 
without alteration, so to speak, and without expense, throughout 
almost the entire winter, for the use of the distilleries. 

The trials for alcohol producing, were made on the juice extracted 
January 31. I put in two globes of glass, two litres of juice, with 
the addition of a little brewer’s yeast, somewhat old and slightly sour ; 
and two other litres, without yeast. ‘Then I boiled some cuttings of 
the sorgho, which I then peeled and pressed. This juice was put ina 
third globe. The three glasses were put in the green house for young 
plants (serre aux boutures)—the temperature ranging from twenty-two 
to thirty degrees centigrade. 

The next day, the juice which had been mixed with no foreign ingre- 
dient, and which I call the plain juice, commenced fermenting. Num- 
erous bubbles of carbonic acid gas arose ; but neither in the boiled 
juice, nor in that mixed with yeast, were any signs of fermentation 
manifested. 

The 3d February, I made a trial with the Salleron apparatus. 
The plain juice, gave two and a half per cent. of alcohol; juice 
with yeast, gave 0; boiled juice gave 0. 

February 6th, second trial made. Plain juice, gave 6-20 per cent. 
of alcohol ; juice, with yeast, gave 0 ; boiled juice, gave 0. 

February 8th, third trial. Plain juice, gave 10°30 per cent. of 
alcohol ; juice, with yeast, gave 0; boiled juice gave 1 per cent. 

February 10th, fourth trial. Plain juice, gave 9°90 per cent. of 
alcohol ; juice with yeast, gave 0; boiled juice, gave 3°20 per cent. 

February 12th, fifth trial. Plain juice gave 9°30 per cent of alco- 
hol; with yeast gave 1; boiled, gave 5:40. 

February 14th, sixth trial. Plain juice gave 8°60 per cent. of alco 
hol ; with yeast, gave 0; boiled, gave 2°40. 


REPORT OF M. HARDY. 841 


February 16th, seventh and last trial. Plain juice, gave 7°90 per 
cent. of alcohol; with yeast, gave 0; boiled juice gave 1-90. 

This series of experiments seems conclusive, and proves that the 
juice of the sorgho carries in itself a fermentative principle ; and that 
it is not necessary to add to it any yeast to obtain the alcoholic fer- 
mentation, if it be simply submitted to the proper temperature. The 
addition of yeast, which, besides being of bad quality, neutralized 
the action of the natural ferment of the albuminous matter in the 
juice, and hastened rapidly the acidulous fermentation. The boiled 
juice did not experience a thorough fermentation, because the albumin- 
ous fermentable principle was coagulated by the cooking. 

At the end of eight days, the fermentation of the plain juice of the 
sorgho arrived at its maximum of alcoholization, and at this point 
it should be submitted to distillation; two days after, its alcoholic 
richness diminished, and it passed to acidification. 

The seed of the sorgho is equally as susceptible of giving a notable 
per centage of alcohol, as the other cereals ; I myself have, as yet, 
made no experiment in this direction; but, by analogy, one is natu- 
rally led to conclude that it should be so. The seed of the common 
sorghum, (broom corn,) according to M. Bassel, gives 24-75 per cent. 
of its weight in alcohol; that of the sugar sorgho should not yield 
less; whence it follows, that the two thousand five hundred kilo- 
grammes that one hectare produces, should give six hundred and 
eighteen kilogrammes, and seventy-five grammes of alcohol. This 
would, perhaps, be the best use to put it to, whenever the supply shall 
exceed the demand for planting. 

When the sorgho stalk has arrived at perfect maturity, a waxy 
efflorescence develops itself on the surface, similar to that of several 
varieties of sugar cane, and which is simply cerosie. Cerosie, or vege- 
table wax, is dry and hard, and may be pulverized; it is fusible at 
ninety degrees ; mixed with a little purified tallow, it may be made 
into candles, which give a beautiful bright light. 

I scraped the cerosie from a number of stalks, and found that a 
hectare should give one hundred and eight kilogrammes, four hundred 
grammes of this substance—costing an average price of two hundred 
and fifty-two francs for hand labor in gathering it. Beeswax being 


$42 APPENDIX. 


sold at four francs per kilogramme—cerosie should be worth three 
franes fifty cents; this would give a receipt of three hundred and 
thirty francs sixty-two cents, and a net profit of eighty-eight francs 
sixty-two cents,to be added to the other net profits of the sorgho 
culture. This item would moreover assume a new importance, if we 
find (as I doubt not we shall) processes of extraction of the wax, 
more economical than the one employed by me, which consists in 
scraping the stalk with a knife, in a similar manner to the process 
employed with the wax-bearing palm tree. 

The forage for stock which may be obtained on a hectare, both by 
stripping the leaves and by the after-math, has a determined value, 
and it is no exaggeration to estimate it at two hundred metrical 
quintals* when the stalks have been dried, and this, at four francs 
per quintal, would yield eight hundred francs. 

The total profit and expense of a well cultivated hectare of sorgho 
sucré (molasses and syrup not being considered) would be as follows : 

7954 litres, 68 of alcohol, at140 fr. per hectolitre, the actual 
price in the principal markets of France, deducting 10 fr. per hecto- 
litre for transportation, waste, and a teny of all kind, would be 130 


fr. per hectolitre, = - - . - - - 10,341 
108 kil. 400 grammes cerosie, at 3 fr. 50c.per kil - 330 62 
20,800 kilogrammes forage, at 4fr. per quintal, - - 800 

11,471 62 
EXPENSES. 

Labor, 80 fr.; cultivation, 40 fr.,_ - . - 120 fr. 

Sowing, . - Sat : - 30 

Hoeing, weeding, thinning out, tilted adnate 5 

Irrigations, - . - - - - - 40 

Manure used, - - - - - - ne 

Harvesting, - eet ae - - - 80 

Rent of ground, BE Perkeae raat here ee ete Set ee 

Cost of extracting wax, —Laihahiiicssaet Tic cenit 

772 


* Quintal, 112 lbs. 


REPORT OF M. HARDY. | 843 


Cost of distilling, at 30 fr. per hectolitre, 
including hand labor, fuel, casks, 
general expenses, interest on capital 


employed, keeping of material, &e.,  - - 2386°40 
Total expenses to be deducted, - —- St Whex - - 3158 40 
Net profit, - - a tind? erie - - - Fr. 8313 22 


Or, $1662 65 


This enormous profit would be due to the actual high price of alco- 
hols ; but, supposing even that this should fall to 70 francs per hecto- 
litre, which is certainly the lowest point it could reach, the total net 
profit per hectare would still be 3,350 40 francs. It is hence readily 
seen that the production of alcohol from the sugar sorgho in Algeria 
will be a leading industry of such nature as to resist all crises, and 
which cannot be too sedulously fostered. 

The sugar sorgho needs, to pass through all the phases of its vege- 
tation from the planting of the seed to the maturity of its grain, 2,760 
degrees of heat. ‘The middle of the month of May is the most favorable 
time for planting and to secure fine growth. If sown at that time, the 
plant would ripen about the 15th September, and consume 122 days 
from planting to ripening of seed. This period is, undoubtedly, the 
most favorable to obtaining seed for planting. However, the growth 
may be made at a lower temperature, say an average of 12° to 15° 
(cent.) ; this would enable us to commence planting about the Ist 
April. The seed planted at this time would produce plants ripening 
their seed towards the 13th August, at the end of 135 days of growth. 
Thus successive plantings might be made until the middle of July ; the 
latter would ripen seed in the latter part of November, after 143 days 
of growth. : 

The last mentioned date is, I think, the very latest on which plant- 
ing may be done, with any certainty of ripening the stalks. Judging 
from the marked peculiarity possessed by the stalks of the sorgho, of 
remaining unchanged for several months, it is certain that distilleries 
can be kept working on them for six months of the year. 

They have seemed to fear, in the south of France, that in the long 


344. APPENDIX. 


run the sugar sorgho, if propagated exclusively from its seed, would 
surely degenerate, and it has been recommended to propagate by 
suckers. Their fears might be realized if this species were cultivated 
without any foresight, in the immediate vicinity of some of its con- 
geners, broom corn for instance. Degeneration might in some cases 
result, but there is nothing to be apprehended if the sorgho be kept 
entirely separate and distinct. The propagation by suckers and shoots 
would scarcely be practicable on a large scale; besides, such pro- 
ceeding would result in producing a feeble offspring ; the new plant 
would be less vigorous and profitable. Nevertheless, to test this point, 
I have made a small plantation of suckers of the sorgho sucré, and 

intend to make precise experiments during the coming season. 

I am, your Excellency, &c., 
HARDY, 

Director of the Imperial Central Nursery, 

Hamma, Algeria, 1856. 


‘hat our readers may make the necessary allowances in comparing 
the results set forth by M. Hardy with those in our climate, it 
would be well to remember that Hamma, in Algiers, lies near the 
latitude 36°, which corresponds with Raleigh, N. C., Nashville, Ten- 
nessee, and Fayetteville, Arkansas. Inasmuch as in Algiers the 
sorgho gives the largest yield of all its products, it follows that its 
culture in the United States will probably be found most remunerative 
in the territory lying between 40° and 29°, bounded on either side by 
Baltimore and New Orleans.—Trans. 


SORGHO IN THE SOUTH. 845 


HISTORY OF THE SORGHO IN THE SOUTHERN 
STATES. 


BY D. REDMOND, 
Associate Editor of the “Southern Cultivator.” 


[The following valuable communication from D. Redmond, Esq., 
was not received in time for insertion in the body of this work, which 
accounts for its appearing in the Appendix.] 


In the winter of 1854-5, I obtained, per mail, through a seed im- 
porting house in Boston, two ounces of what was then denominated 
“ Chinese Sugar Cane, or Holcus saccharatus.” Iam not aware that 
any of this seed had been distributed from the Patent Office in this 
neighborhood, up to that time; nor had I then any other evidence 
of its value than the newspaper advertisement which induced me to 
send for it. JI have since learned, however, that the Patent Office 
distributed a small quantity of seed in the spring of 1854; and that, 
prior even to that time, the plant had been tested to a limited extent 
by a few gentlemen in the vicinity of New Orleans. Nothing satis- 
factory, however, was known of the plant here at that time; and 
wishing to have it thoroughly tested, I sent small samples, per letter, 
to various agricultural and horticultural friends in Georgia, and the 
adjoining states, requesting them to communicate to me the result 
of their experiments with it. For myself, I merely planted seven or 
-eight hills, in rather poor ground, in my garden, and watched its 
growth with considerable interest. At first I was disappointed, and 
quite ready to rank it among the many humbugs of the day, as it 
came up very weakly, like grass or Egyptian millet, and grew off 
quite slowly. In a few wecks, however, it began to shoot upward 
with great rapidity, and in less than three months attained the height 
of ten feet, with large and well-filled heads of seed. When these 
seeds were nearly ripe, I incidentally cut one of the stalks, peeled off 
the hard outer husk, and was quite surprised to find a solid pith or 


core, of about three fourths of an inch in diameter, crisp, brittle, and 
Ls* 


346 APPENDIX. 


of an exceedingly swect and pleasant flavor—entirely unlike any thing 
of the corn stalk family that I had ever tasted. It was, in fact, ready 
made candy ; and as soon as the younger members of the family and 
the negroes “ got the taste” of it, I was obliged to interdict its further 
use, in order to save seed. When the latter were fully ripe, I cut off 
the heads and saved them carefully, noticing, with some surprise, that 
the leaves or blades of fodder were still as fresh, green, and succulent 
as ever. The stalks were then cut off near the ground, and fed, leaves 
and all, to my horses, mules, and milch cows; all of which ate of it 
with the greatest apparent relish and avidity. Considering that crop 
disposed of for the scason, I paid no more attention to the stubble or 
stumps, until I happened to notice that, millet-like, they were shooting 
out anew, and pushing on for a second growth. This growth I 
watched with some interest, until the first frosts checked it; at which 
time the stalks were six feet high, full of broad and juicy leaves, and 
with the second crop of seed just making its appearance above the 
* boot.” 

Convinced by this time that it was valuable at least for the produc- 
tion of soiling forage and dried fodder, I next turned my attention to 
its saccharine properties, and fortunately induced my friend, Dr. Robt. 
Battey, of Rome, Ga., who was at that time pursuing the study of 
experimental chemistry in the well-known laboratory of Prof. Booth, 
of Philadelphia, to test it. As the result of his experiments, Dr. 
Battey sent me three small phials—one containing a fine syrup ; one a 
sample of crude, brown sugar, ; and the other.a very good sample of 
crystallized sugar. This, I believe, to be the first crystallized sugar 
ynade in the United States, from the juice of the sorgho sucré ; and, 
as Dr. Batty’s opinion of its value as a sugar plant, fully agreed with 
the reports of the French savans, who had investigated its properties, 
and with my own convictions, I disseminated the seed more widely 
during the year 1856, and planted nearly two acres, for the purpose of 
raising the seed largely, and more fully testing the saccharine property 
and the ability of the plant to bear repeated cuttings, like the Egyp- 
tian and other varieties of millet. It was planted very late, on thin 
land, and received but imperfect culture , and yet, I that year cut it 
three times, and saved a late crop of fodder from it in addition. The 


SORGHO IN THE SOUTH. 347 


present year (1857) I have cut it four times, up to the present date, 
August 26. 

During the summer of 1856, particular attention was called to the 
syrup making properties of this plant, by the Report of Governor 
Hammond, of South Carolina, whose experiments had been most ably 
and carefully conducted. 

This Report was read before the “ Beach Island (S. C.) Farmers’ 
Club,” and was followed by that of Colonel Peters, of Atlanta, and 
others, all of which were published, and presented such satisfactory 
results that the agricultural community generally were aroused to the 
importance of the new “ Sugar Cane,” and desirous of giving it a trial. 
The largest growers of the plant, at this time (1856) were, Absalom 
Jackson, Esq., of Montgomery, Ala.; Colonel R. Peters, of Atlanta; 
Dr. Whitten, of Hancock Co.; Dr. Daniell, of Decatur, Ga., 
and the writer. The seed raised by these persons was, we believe, 
nearly all saved, and very widely disseminated over the Union, but 
principally through the southern states, where, unquestionably, the 
plant attains its fullest and most perfect development. ‘Twenty or 
thirty thousand packages of the seed alluded to were scattered over 
the country ; and, in the South alone, probably thousands of acres 
are now growing. A large number of the growers are preparing to 
convert the juice of the sorgho into syrup and sugar; and if an easy 
and economical process for crystallizing the latter can be employed, 
this plant will at once become one of our most important staple pro- 
ductions. I have, within the past two months, received letters from 
gentlemen in nearly every one of the southern states, who were rais- 
-ing the cane from seed which I furnished, and the terms of praise, and 
even enthusiasm, with which they dwell upon its good qualities, are 
truly gratifying to me. Upon the whole, therefore, the sorgho may 
be considered a decided success, in the South, and the results obtained 
may be briefly summed up as follows : 

1. An acre of the stalks, properly cultivated, on fair land, will 
yield from three hundred to six hundred gallons of excellent syrup, 
equal to the bestNew Orleans, and worth, at present prices, from 
forty-five to seventy cents per gallon. 

2. If planted early, it will fully ripen two crops of seed, and two 


348 | APPENDIX. 


crops of cane for crushing—as new shoots are invariably thrown out, 
from the revts, and attain full development after the first cutting, 
which takes place about the 25th of July, in this latitude, in favorable 
seasons. . 

3. From 25 to 100 bushels of seed can be raised to the acre, which 
seed, for all feeding purposes, is at least as valuable as oats. 

4. It bears repeated cutting when green, and is inferior to no other 
plant for “ soiling.” 

5. The seed and fodder are fully equal in value to an ordinary corn 
crop, thus leaving the canes and their juice a clear profit to the cul- 
tivator. 

6. It withstands our long droughts much better than common corn, 
retaining its green color and succulence even after the seed matures. 

The various economical uses to which the sorgho may be applied, 
are so fully adverted to in other portions of this work, that it is 
unnecessary to enter farther into detail ; and I will close by expressing 
the conviction that, wherever the climate is suitable to its proper 
development, this plant will fully realize all its most sanguine friends 
have ever claimed for it. D. Repmonp. 

Augusta, Ga., August 26, 1857. 


EXTRACT FROM THE EXPERIMENTS OF L’ECOLE 
IMPERIALE DES PONTS. ET CHAUSSEES. 


Specimens of the Stalks, Seeds, and Products of the Sugar Sorgho sent 
by M. Raoulz. 


ANALYSIS OF SOIL ON WHICH THE PLANTS WERE GROWN. 


Hygrometric water, lost at 130° - . : - 3°220 
Water of combination, organic matters, and carbonic acid 10°320 
Nitrogen - - - - - - 0-201 
Silica and clay, insoluble in chlorohydric acid ~—- - 74-900 
Alumina - - - - =; rihove 3°250 


Peroxide ofiron - - - - A = 0:320 


ANALYSES. 


Lime - . - - = S : 
Magnesia - - - - = = : 
Alkalies - . - - : 3 
Sulphuric acid - ~ - - = iB 
Phosphoric acid : - : < : 
Chlorohydric acid - - - - ~ - 
Loss - . - . ae - 2 


349 


6°750 
0:190 
0°034 
0:223 
a trace. 
0°041 
0°551 


100-000 


This composition denotes a good soil, but of which the fertility is 


nothing remarkable. 


2d. ANALYSIS OF THE STALKS. 


The stalks were cut in small pieces, and the analysis made of a 


mixture of all portions of the stalk. 
Thus prepared, they gave— 


Hygrometric water lost at 130° - - - - 
Organic matters and water of combination - - 
Ash . - : . i ‘ 3 


The analysis of the ashes gave— 

A. Water and Organic Matter. 
Hygrometric water lost at 100° - - - - 
Carbon -, - - - = Sh ie 
Oxygen - - - - - - - 
Hydrogen - - - - - . 
Nitrogen - - : P : z 


B. Ashes. 


Silica - - - - - = 0°082 
Lime - : - - - 0-021 
Alkalies (partly in state of carbonate)  - - 0463 
Sulphuric acid . - - - 0:050 
Chlorohydric acid . - - <LSG 


26-07 
71-93 
2-00 


100-00 


26°070 
37-529 
28°330 
5°269 
0802 


98-000 


850 APPENDIX. 


2d. Matters soluble in Weak Azotic Acid. 


Alumina and peroxide of iron - - - 0132 
Lime - : - - - - 0:209 
Magnesia - - - - - 0:099 
Alkalies - : - - - 0°102 
Phosphoric acid - . - > - 0107 
Ist. Matters insoluble in Water or Nitric Acid. 
Silica and a little clay - - : 0:493 
Carbonic acid and loss - - - : 0086 2-000 


100:000 100-000 


3d. Acrp oF THE SorGuHo. 


Hygrometric water lost at 130° - - - - 14850 

Organic matters and water of combination; not including 
nitrogen - - - - . - 79:298 
Nitrogen - - . - - - . 2°052 
Ashes - - - - - - 3°800 
100-000 


By a treatment with ether, the seed was found to yield 3:13 per 
cent. of oil. Signed, 
Hervé Mancon. 
Countersigned, 
CAVALIER. 


SUPPLEMENT 


SORGHO AND IMPHEE. 


‘THE history of the Sorgho in this country, from the first exhibition 
by Mr. Peters of his syrup at the Fair of the United States Agricul- 
tural Society in 1856, to the gratifying success of Mr. Joseph 8S. 
Lovering, in producing Sorgho sugar of all qualities, and their exhibi- 
tion before the same society January 13th, 1858, is fraught with 
interest-to the American public. This society has conferred appro- 
priate honors upon the two men who have been especially instrumental 
in popularizing the Sorgho in the United States ; first, by bestowing 
its diploma upon Mr. Peters, and second, by awarding its large silver 
medal to Mr. Lovering. As the matter has assumed historical inter- 
est, it will perhaps be as well to transcribe from the minutes so much 
of the proceedings as relates to the subject : 

“The Chair next read a letter from Mr. Joseph S. Lovering, a sugar 
refiner of Philadelphia, advising the society of the shipment to them 
by him of several boxes of sugar made from the Sorgho, or Chinese 
sugar cane; as also some pamphlets embodying the manner and 
resu'ts of the experiments. 

“ Mr. Oleott, of New York, stated that he had seen and carefully 
examined the samples referred to, and had studied the pamphlet that 
morning, and congratulated the society that at last the fact was 
established that excellent sugar could be made in the Northern States 
in large quantity, and at a moderate price. Mr. Lovering had cut 
the Gordian knot, and done it in so thorough and scientific a manner, - 


2 SUPPLEMENT. 


that there was no longer room for a doubt. He claimed that Mr. I. 
had earned the thanks of the farmers of America, and as this society 
was the representative of its agricultural interests, he should move that 
the large silver medal of the society be conferred upon Joseph S. 
Lovering. 

“Senator Harlan, of Iowa, moved the reference of the matter to a 
Special Committee, and this being seconded, the Chair appointed as 
such committee Messrs. D. Jay Browne, of the Patent Office, Simon 
Brown, of Massachusetts, and Olcott, of New York. 

“ The committee retired for consultation, and after a season report- 
ed as follows : | 


“«The committee appointed to consider the propriety of awarding 
the large silver medal of the society to Mr. Joseph 8. Lovering, of 
Philadelphia, respectfully report that, having examined the specimens 
of sugar presented by him, and the scientific examinations set forth in 
his published pamphlet, they recommend that the medal be awarded 
to Mr. Lovering, for the care with which his experiments have been 
made, and the sample presented ; but your committee do not wish to 
be understood as certifying that the manufacture of sugar is as yet 
demonstrated to be more profitable than other crops. 

‘Simon Brown, Chairman.’ 


“This report was adopted.” 


It must by no means be inferred that Mr. Lovering is the first per- 
son who has made sugar of good quality from the Sorgho. Two or 
three years ago this was accomplished by Professor Avequin, of New 
Orleans, as will be seen from an article from the Bee in another part 
of this Appendix. In addition to these, Professors C. T. Jackson and 
A. A. Hayes, of Boston, have both made it in small quantity, and re- 
ports have been published during the past season of sugar making by 
a great number of persons; but Mr. Lovering is entitled to especial 
honor because his experiments were conducted in a manner so intelli- 
gent, careful, and satisfactory ; his results have been so cheering and 
of such an available character, and so clearly demonstrate the practi- 
cability of making sugar throughout the most northern portions of the 
Temperate Zone. Mr. Lovering’s pamphlet wiil be found in this Ap- 
pendix, as well as further practical directions to farmers based upon 
his successful process. 

Judge J. D. Cator, of Ottawa, Illinois, has published an interesting 
account of his experiments and successful sugar making. The sugar 


REPORT OF U.S. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 3 


he made is stated to be of good quality, but the quantity per acre 
could not be practically demonstrated, because the amount produced 
was on too small a scale to afford a useful basis for computation. This 
has been the case in most of the instances reported, and the mere pro- 
duction of these small quantities of sugar is useful only as corroborat- 
ing the fact of its existence in the juice. Now that it has been proved 
beyond the shade of a doubt that sugar can be made from Sorgho and 
Imphee, and that in large quantities ; of course this branch of industry 
will be undertaken with greater or less profit, according to existing 
conditions. Sugar may be a profitable crop in distriets far removed 
from the seaboard or from the great lines of transport ; but there 
should be a careful scrutiny of many possible contingencies before 
capital is extensively employed in this way. 

If, however, it is a mooted question whether we should grow the new 
canes for a sugar crop, it is much less questionable if, in almost any 
locality, they would not be very remunerative as a source of alcohol. 
In this case, all that is necessary is to have command of any desired 
amount of fuel, either wood or coal, and then the nearer the seaboard. 
or to large cities of the interior, the farm may lie, the more certain will 
the cultivator be to have a profit from his crop. The cold rainy 
seasons which injure the secretion of cane sugar in the stalk, operate 
rather favorably than otherwise for the production of alcohol. The 
sugar in the stalks will be in large proportion giucose, and thus one 
step in its transformation towards alcohol is saved, for cane sugar must 
change into glucose before it can pass into the alcoholic fermentation- 

To afford some idea of the range of latitude in which the Sorgho 
will grow, the effects of manures and soils upon the height of stalk, the 
varying time required in different localities to complete its growth, and 
the keight and diameter of stalk, I give the following tabular state. 
ment from the American Agriculturist, of returns made to that paper 
during the present season. 


SUPPLEMENT. 


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J. S. LOVERING’S EXPERIMENTS. 


A DETAILED account of Experiments and Observations upon the Sor- 
ghum Saccharatum, or Chinese Sugar Cane, made with the view off 
determining its value as a sugar-producing plant, from September 
28, to December 20, 1857, at Oakhill, Philadelphia County, Pa. By 
JosEPH S. Lovertne. a 


Tue introduction of this plant into the United States, and the hope 
of producing sugar from it at the North, profitably, have excited such 
universal interest, that it has this year been planted in almost every 
State in the Union; and as the season has advanced, the opinions 
early expressed by many intelligent and scientific experimentalists, 
that it contains no crystallizable sugar, have apparently been confirmed 
by later trials. A few crystals, it is true, have been obtained in one 
or two instances, but all hope of producing sugar from it profitably 
seems to have been abandoned. 

My object in making the following experiments has been to throw 
what light I could upon this important question, and, in the event of 
the result proving favorable, to give such a formula as would enable 
the uninitiated to proceed with confidence of success. They have 
been pursued without any attempt at extraordinary production, 
either in the cultivation of the cane or the development of its proper- 
ties ; on the contrary, the experiments were made upon small quanti- 
ties, under many disadvantages that would not occur in large opera- 
tions, and consequently with results less favorable. 

The series being completed, perhaps the best method of communi- 
cating the results and imparting the knowledge obtained to the public, 
will be by giving the following extracts from my notes, made as the 
work proceeded. They will show-the progress of the development of 
the sugar in the stalk, and its decline, with many other interesting 
facts. 

EXTRACTS. 


On the 10th of May I planted about half an acre, on upland of good 
quality, such as would yield, in ordinary seasons, fifty to sixty bushels 
Indian corn to the acre. The rows four feet apart, and the plants in- 
tended to be six inches apart in the rows, but which, on taking off the 


LOVERING’S EXPERIMENTS. 7 


crop, proved to be a little over seven inches apart. When the canes 
were about eighteen inches in height, I had the suckers removed. 
Daring the month of June I passed the hoe-harrow through it twice, a 
man following with the hand-hoe, as in the case of Indian corn. It 
was then left to take care of itself. It grew rapidly and evenly, and 
attained the height of twelve to fourteen feet. 

My apparatus and utensils for conducting the experiments consisted 
of the following, viz. : 

A pair of iron rollers, seven inches diameter and twelve inches long, 
set in a frame one eighth of an inch apart, with spout to catch and 
collect the juice, and a crank turned by hand; a few sugar moulds 
and pots; some ivory black or animal carbon; two filters, made of 
eommon bed ticking, in the shape of an elongated pudding bag; a 
thermometer, Beaumé’s Pesé-Sirop or saccharometer, and a polariscope. 
All the other utensils I cbtained from the kitchen, viz.; a copper 
kettle of ten gallons capacity, a ladle, some tin pans, bowls, buckets, 
&c., to contain the juice. 


FIRST POLARISCOPIC OBSERVATION. ; 


Sept. 28. 


Temperature, Of two canes took the first joints above the stay 
noon, 71° F. 


Wind S. W. roots— 


Clear, 
1st joint, 9 inches long, weighed - - > - - - - 118.854 grammes, 
9d “ 8 “ “ sc ‘ae 2 = a e sf = 93 742 
Weight of ist joints of two canes, 212.596 - 
After passing these three times through the rollers, the bagasse 
weighed - - - - - - - - - - - 64.380 ae 
Leaving, as weight of juice, (69.7 per cent.,) > - - 148.216 ce 


Measured the juice, and found 135 fluid grammes—specific gravity, 1 063 

After precipitation by basic acetate of lead, of a voluminous green 
colored flocculent substance, it filtered with difficulty, then completed 
the decolorization by passing it through animai carbon, and found by 
first observation in polariscope, 


A deflection of the ray, right, T° Fj 


Add 10 per cent. for dilution by precipitant 2°.7 29.7 right. 


After inversion by H.Cl. left 12°.0 


Add 10 per cent. as above, 1°93 temperature 27°, 13.2 left. 


Sum of inversion, 42.9 


8 SUPPLEMENT. 


This sum of inversion, (42°.9) at temperature 27°, indicates 54.35 
grammes of pure dry sugar to the litre of juice, aad by reference t 
past results it is found that 204.24 grammes of sugar per Htre, ah 
18.82 grammes per 100, or 18.82 per cent. ‘Then, as 204.24: 18.82 

:: 54.35 : 5.008 per cent. of sugar in the juice, and as 100 : 5.08 :: 
69.7 : 3.49 per cent. of sugar in the cane. A second cbservation in 
polariscope, of the juice from the two joints of the saine canes next 
above these, indicated 5.57 per cent. of sugar in the juice, proving thera 
to be richer than those nearer the ground. 


FIRST PRACTICAL EXPERIMENT. 


eens e. Bs The fact of the presence of crystallizable sugar in the 
40°,m. 66. cane being established, I proceeded to cut and grind 


twenty feet of a row, and passed the thirty canes which it produced 
three times through the rollers; about one fourth of the seed had 
changed to a dark glistening brown color, but was still milky; the 
remainder was quite green; ground six to eight of the lower joints, 
which together yielded three and a half gallons of juice, weighing 9° 
Beaume ; neutralized the free acid by adding milk of lime; clarified 
with eggs and boiled it down to 240° Fahrenheit. 

This first experiment looked discouraging and unpromising at every 
step ; its product was a very dark, thick, viscid mass, apparently a 
caput mortuum ; it stood six days without the sign of a crystal, when 
it was placed over a flue and kept warm four days longer, when I 
found a pretty good crop of soft crysta!s, the whole very similar to the 
“ Melada,” obtained from Cuba, but of darker color. 


SECOND EXPERIMENT. 

Oct. 13, About two weeks having elapsed since the first experi- 

Temp. § 4 M- ment, the weather in the interim having been quite warn, 
ee 

8.#. cloudy. temperature at 8 a. Mm. 40° to 52°, and at noon 66° to 
75° Fahrenheit ; and about one half the seed being ripe, I determined 
to try it again, but not being very sanguine of success, no polariscopic 
observation was taken. 

Cut and ground fifty feet of a row, which produced cighty-cight 


canes, and yielded eight gailons of juice, weighing 10° Beaume (cne 


LOVERING’S EXPERIMENTS. 9 


degree more than the previous cutting), from the six and seven lower 
joints ; juice slightly acid. First clarification four and three quarter 
gallons, neutralized with three tablespoonsful of milk of lime, stirred in 
one pound fine bone black, and three eggs, and placed it over a slow 
fire; at 215° Fahrenheit took off a very dense, thick, green scum; 
when at 162° Fahrenheit it marked 73° Beaumé. 

A second parcel ef juice from this grinding (three and a quarter 
gallons) was treated in the same manner, and set aside, both having 
been first boiled down to 22° Beaume. 


Oct. 14, Cut and ground fifty feet ; eighty-one canes, produced 
poe +, seven and a quarter gallons juice, 10° Beaumé, which 
N. W. clear. was treated as above, except that the eggs were 


omitted. 

Oct. 15, 

Temp.S8 a.m. Out and ground fifty feet, produced eight and a 
ue i quarter gallons juice, weighing 10° Beaumé. 

rain. 

ea «, Cut and ground fifty feet, eighty-six canes, eight and 
46°, noon 60°. three eighths gallons, 10° Beaumé. 

N. W. stormy. 

The whole of the foregoing four parcels were at this stage of the pro- 
cess concentrated to 22° Beaumé, and set aside until I had completed 
the series on the 21st October ; they were then collected together, and 
again clarified with eggs, and a second scum taken off; they were 
then again placed over the fire, and when at the temperature of 225° 
Fahrenheit, clear lime water in small quantities was added to coagulate 
the vegetable albumen, which is not disengaged at a lower temperature, 
but which is then observed as a whitish scum, very tenacious and 
glutinous, and is very detrimental to crystallization. After the vari- 
ous delays, heatings and re-heatings consequent on my limited means 
of working, (the great disadvantage of which, those acquainted with 
the subject only can appreciate,) I commenced filtering the whole, but 
found it so ropy and glutinous that it would not pass through; diluted 
it to 10° Beaumé, when it came through tolerably bright ; then passed 
it through five feet of animal black ; it parted with its coloring matter 


very freely. ' 


10 SUPPLEMENT. 


nt Divided the product into three parts, and boiled it as 


Temp. 8 A. M. 


82°, noon 50°. : 
8. W. clear. follows : 


First part to 230° Fahrenheit. This stood an hour without 
erystallizing ; found it too low, although the thumb and finger proof 


indicated otherwise. 

Second part to 246° Fahrenheit ; which was added to the first, and 
in a few minutes crystals began to appear. 

Third part to 238°; being the mean of the other two. On finishing 
this, the two preceding had formed a thick, opaque mass of good 


crystals. 
Filled one mould, weight 20 Ibs. 
Weight of mould, - - 4% 
net weight 15} Ibs. 


Filled one mould, - 14} Ibs. 
Mould, - - - 44 
== et 6) 410 Abe: 


Total net weight, - - 2 - = - - 254 lbs. 
and next morning set them on pots to drain. Also boiled down the 


juice from the tops, four and three quarters gallons, which preduced 
with the scum thirteen and a half pounds molasses. 


Temp re u. Knocked out the proceeds of this experiment with the 


46°, noon 60°, = aa 
5. We elear, ’ 10llowing results, Viz. : 
1 mould, gross weight, 20 Ibs. 
tare, ae fae : . 
— net weight 151 lbs. 
weight of molasses, 84 Sugar. Molasses, 
— net weight 7 lbs. 84 Ibs. 
1 “ — gross weight, 144 Ibs. 
* tare, 44“ 
net weight * Ibs. 


$ 
_ net weight 44 lbs. 5‘ Ibs. 
Add molasses made from the tops, as above, 13} Ibs. 


weight of molasses, 


Total weight of product of two hundred feet of a row, Ibs. 11.50 27.25 
Fifty rows, four feet apart and two hundred and eighteen 

feet long, constitute an acre, and two hundred feet 

of a row is less than one fiftieth part of an acre by 


eighteen feet, therefore add pro rata, 1.03 2.45 
Product of one fiftieth part of an acre in lbs. 12.538 29.70 
Multiply by 50 50 
Product of an acre in lbs. 625.50 1485.00 


A gallon of molasses weighs twelve pounds, therefore, divide 1485 
by 12, and we have, gallons, 123.75. 
For the acre 6253 pounds sugar, and 123} gallons molasses, pro- 


LOVERING’S EXPERIMENTS. 11 


duced from 18,148 canes, yielding 1,737 gallons juice, weighing nine 
pounds per gallon, or 15,633 pounds, being four per cent. of sugar 
and 9.50 per cent. of molasses, or 13.50 per cent. together. 

This sugar is of a yellowish brown color, about as dry as, and about 
the color of second quality Cuba sugar, such as is used by refiners. 
(See sample No. 2.) 


THIRD EXPERIMENT. 


Oct. 23, The foregoing favorable progress induced me to make 
oe ss, another trial, on a larger scale. The weather looked 
Foggy. threatening, and as a precaution, I cut five hundred feet 
of canes, and stored it in the barn, to be used in quantities conforming 
to my means of working. 

Nearly a month having elapsed since the first polariscopic observation 
was taken, and two weeks since the second practical experiment, having 
had several heavy white frosts, and three nights of ice, one eighth to 
three sixteenths of an inch in thickness, I concluded to have another 
examination by polarized light, to see the effect of these changes, when 
I was gratified to find the following results; juice weighing full 10° 
Beaume : 


First observation, right, 55° ° 

Add ten per cent for dilution, 5°.5 60°.5 right. 

After inversion, 2° 2 90 

Add ten per cent as above, 0°.2 temperature 25° 2°.2 left. 
Sum of inversion, 62°.7 


This sum of inversion, (62°.7,) at temperature 25°, indicated 79.06 
grammes of sugar per litre of juice; then, 


_ As 204.24 : 18.82 :: 79.06 : 7.29 per cent. of sugar in the juice. 


Oct. 24, Feet. Canes. Galls. juice. 
Temp. 8 a. M 


54°, noon 69°, Ground 100 160 18} 10° B 
Fog and rain. 

Oct. 26, 
Temp. 50°-60°. + 100 159 18} 10° B. 
Heavy rain. 

Oct. 27, 
Temp. 46°-52’. e 100 166 18 1-16 10° B. 
Very stormy. 

Oct. 28, 
Temp. 40°-52?. e 100 149 163 io Oe Be 
Cloudy, N. W. 

Oct. 29, ; a ae 
Temp. 43°-48, . 100 148 14} 10° B, 
Clear, N. E. rs 


12 SUPPLEMENT. 


These several parcels were clarified like the second experiment, 
boiled to 15° and 18° Beaumé, and sect aside till November 2d, when 
I found all but the last day’s work had changed to a thick, liver-like 
mass, resembling good soft soap, very acid, and totally ruined. ‘The 
last parcel, having stood a much shorter time than the rest, was but 
partially affected. It was boiled to proof, and crystallized very well. 

I regret this misfortune less for the trouble it cost me than for the 
failure of the experiment, for it worked beautifully in the first stages, 
and the last grinding crystallized freely. The juice weighed heavier 
than previous or subsequent parce!s, and would probably have pro- 
duced better results. It taught me, however, the danger of delay, and 
also that no injury had been sustained by the juice so long as the 
canes remained unground, the last parcel having crystallized perfectiy. 


FOURTH EXPERIMENT. 


“a tae an Since the 28th October, the weather has been mild 
N. E. clear. and foggy, with heavy rains; temperature varying from 


48° to 60°. A very decidedly increased development of sugar in the 
juice has been ascertained, viz.: 7.29 per cent., instead of five per 
cent., and I have gained some experience; so, instead of allowing the 
syrup to remain from four to twelve days, still containing a great por- 
tion of its fermentable impurities, gradually undergoing decomposition 
and depreciation, I remedy this evil to some extent, as will be seen. I 
also dispense with the fine ivory black and the filtering, thus simplify- 
ing the process. 


Nov. 2, it or Pel a 3 oe D 
Temp. 83°-50°, Cat and ground ity eight feet of a row, one hundred 
NN. E. clear. canes, the upper portions of the stalks turning yellow, 


leaves dead and dry; ground six and seven of the lower joints, pro- 
duced ten gallons juice, weighing 10° Beaumé, nmch less acid than 
previous samples, and barely changing litmus paper, neutralized with 
milk of lime, and clarified at once perfectly with eggs, passed it imme- 
diately through three and a half feet black, and boiled it to 234° 
Fahrenheit ; after standing an hour the crystals were large and sharp, 
but not very abundant till morning, it being boiled too low. 


a ee 


LOVERING’S EXPERIMENTS. 13 


me nis Sse Cut and ground fifty-eight fect, one hundred canes, 
Ice, nine and fifteen sixteenths gallons, 10° Beaumé, rather 
more acid . the last, clarified it fully as above, passed it through 
five feet black, and set it aside, as it is clear and bright, and contains 


no feculent heat e 


Ascott aan Cut and ground fifty-eight feet, ninety-four canes, nine 
8. W. and three quarter gallons, 10° Beaumé, treated as above» 
and set it aside. 


Temp 50°62". Weather changing, eut and ground fifty-eight feet, 
8. cloudy. ninety-five canes, nine and five eighths gallons, 109° 
Beaumé, treated as above; also ground the ches of all the above 232 
feet, which produced four gallons, two quarts, and three half pints of 
juice, weighing 12° Beaumé, more acid ae the lower joints, treated 
it the same, boiled it to 288° Fahrenheit, and set it aside. In the 
morning I found a good crop of crystals, but the. mass thick and 
viscid, added three tablespoonfuls clear lime water, heated it to 
enable me to pour it into a mould; gross weight nine and a half 
pounds, tare four and a half pounds, net five pounds. On the 13th 
knocked it out, and had three pounds good brown sugar, and two 
pounds molasses. 


Noy. 7, Boiled one half of the remainder of the proceeds of the 


Temp. 54°-66°. nee : 
South, above lower joints (one third of the whole having been 


92D 


boiled on the 2d, as above stated) to 236° Fahrenheit, and added it to 
that boiled on the 2d; boiled the other half to 237° Fahrenheit 
potted it at 176° Fahrenheit, very handsomely crystallized, and very 
light colored. 


Nov. 8, 
Renip. 60°-74°,. | Withdrew the stops and set it on pots to drain. 


Temp 34°750°. The full mould (fifteen pounds size) had run one and 

S. W. one eighth gallons molasses, or syrup; if it had been 
boiled a little higher it would have produced more sugar, and less 
molasses. 


Noy. 14, The whole having now stood seven days, and being 
Temp. 30°-42°, 5 3 
N. E, ice. thoroughly drained, weighed as follows : ‘ 


14 SUPPLEMENT. 


1 small mould, 10 Ibs. 
Tare, 44 


llarger “ 18} 
Tare, ig 


net weight sugar, 54 lbs. 


os 


= wee “ 1044 
Sugar from the tops, 3 


Product of 232 feet canes, 19.75 lbs. 
: pot molasses, ~ Ibs., tare 5 Ibs. - lbs. net. 
‘ “ 74 5 


“ 121 ¢ 5 7.25 
Molasses from the tops, 2 


Product of molasses from 232 feet canes, 25 25 
236 feet are more than one fiftieth part of 
an acre by fourteen feet, therefore de- 


duct pro rata ee aa ee - 1.19 1:52 
Product of one fiftieth part of an acre, 18.56 23.73 
Multiply by - - =) ge - - 50 50 
Product of an acre in Ibs. - = =  — 928.00 1186.50 
A gallon of molasses weighs 12 lbs., therefore divided by 12 for gallons, 98.87 


and we have 928 pounds sugar (first returns) and 98.87 gallons 
molasses, made from one acre (18,277) of canes, which produced 1847 
gallons juice, weighing at nine pounds per gallon, 16,623 pounds, or, 
sugar, first crop, 5.58 per cent., molasses, 7.14 per cent.; together, 
12.72 per cent.* 

This sugar is perfectly dry, as shown by Sample No. 4, it worked 
perfectly, and without the slightest difficulty, at every stage. 
Tere 6 eats Boiled all the molasses from the above (except the 
N. W. two lbs. from the tops, which was too poor for recrystal- 
lization) 22.25 Ibs.; added clear lime water until it marked 35° 
Beaumé when boiling ; took off a thick, glutinous scum, and boiled it 
down to 243° Fahrenheit. In two hours it produced a copious crop of 
very good crystals. Allowed it to stand till morning, when it was quite 
solid. 


Temp $0" 52° Here an unfortunate accident occurred. Having 
8. E. placed the crystallized mass over a slow fire, to render it 


fluid enough to cast into a mould, I was called off to a ease of illness, 
leaving it over the fire, and being detained much longer than IJ antici- 
pated, on returning I found all the grain melted and the molasses boil- 


* Neither the scales in which this juice was weighed, nor the quart measure in 
which it was measured were sufficiently delicate or accurate to give precise results,and 
as they form the basis of these calculations, the per centages are probably not absolutely 
exact, but they are sufficiently so for all practical purposes, 


LOVERING’S EXPERIMENTS. 15 


ing vehemently, and badly burned. Much discouraged, I however 
proceeded. It crystallized the second time, and was put into a mould. 


December 20. Weighed the sugar from the 23.25 lbs. molasses boiled 
on the 17th November, as follows, viz. : 
Serer Wee a ENT SP a se te Pat a 11 Ibs. 
PE Ar ay geen me) a AS ROBT as pA eM srl Salant aa tm 43 
Second crop of crystals from the 23.25 lbs. molasses, - _- oan = - 6.25 Ibs, 
Deduct pro rata for the fourteen feet excess over one fiftieth of an acre, 313 
Second returns from one fiftieth of anacre, - - -— - - - 5.877 
Multiply by a: eA ESTA Ga RE, Lape el REL Baa i ON ae 50 
Product of an acre from the molasses, - - - - = = 298.85 
Then we have, as the whole final result of an acre of canes, 

Sugar. Molasses. 
ist returns, - - - - - - - - - : 928 Ibs. 1186.50 Ibs. 
2d ‘© (Sample IV.) - - - - : - - 293.85 
And deduct molasses converted, - - - - : 293.85 

1221.85 892.65 
And 12 lbs. molasses per gallon gives - 2 ale - - - 74.39 gal. 


Say sugar, per acre, 1221.85 lbs.; molasses, per acre, 74.39 gal- 
lons; sugar, per cent., 7.35 ;* molasses, per cent., 5.37; sugar and 
molasses, 12.72 per cent. 

I will repeat here, that, owing to the accident before stated, this 
sugar, (Sample No. IV.,) 2d returns, is not nearly of so good quality 
as it otherwise would have been. 


FIFTH EXPERIMENT. 


November 9. I must now mention that the last experiment was in- 
tended to have been on a considerably larger scale than those pre- 
vious. Each day’s work was, however, kept distinct and separate 
from the others, thus enabling me to determine it at any point. 
Having thus proceeded to, and finished the clarification of the 4th 
parcel, (Nov. 8th,) and the weather becoming and continuing very 
warm, (thermometer as high as 74°,) I observed a very sudden and 
unfavorable change in the working of the juice. Instead of clarify- 
ing perfectly and with great facility, as at first, the defecation was dif- 


* It may, perhaps, appear inconsistent to the casual observer, to find 7.85 per cent. 
of sugar obtained, when the juice only contained 7.29 per cent , as shown by the po- 
lariscope. This is readily explsined. 1st. by the causes stated in a previous note; 
and 2d—the polariscope indicates pure sugar; whereas the sugar produced contains 
about four per cent. free moisture, and about three per cent. of molasses adhering to 
the crystals, also gum, &c., which would account for much more than the apparent 
excess. 


‘16 SUPPLEMENT. 


ficult, the color many shades darker, the juice gradually fell off in 
weight from full 1¢° Beaume to 9° Beaume, and required ten fect of 
granulated black to bring it to the same color as that made six days 
previously with five feet black. I however proceeded (keeping this 
separate) to the crystallization. 

Boiled it to 242° Fahrenheit, when it produced good, hard, sharp 
crystals ; but finding the quantity, by measurement, had decreased 
very considerably, I took no further note on that head, but gave it 
white liquor until it was neat, (about the usual quantity,) and pro- 
duced the sugar, (Sample No. 5,) being white sugar, directly from the 
cane, without refining or re-melting. 


SIXTH EXPERIMENT. 


November 27. Since the canes for the fourth and most successful ex- 
periment were cut, on the 6th inst., the weather has been very 
changeable. We have had warm indian summer weather, with heavy 
rains, also very cold weather, making ice two inches in thickness— 
thermometer having varied from 16° to 60. To try the effect of these 
changes, I cut one hundredth part of an acre, which produced il 
15-16ths gallons of juice only, instead of nineteen or twenty gallons, 
as before. It had, however, regained its former weight of full 10° 
Beaumé, but was much more acid, rank, and dark colored than pre- 
viously. It clarified without difficulty, but raised a much thicker 
and denser scum, and when concentrated, was very dark and molasses- 
like ; it however produced good, hard, sharp crystals, but the quantity 
being much reduced, there was no inducement to pursue it further. 
This experiment proves, however, that this cane will withstand very 
great vicissitudes of weather, without the entire destruction of its 


saccharine properties. 
SEVENTH EXPERIMENT. 


Took the proceeds of the experiments that were considered failures, 
viz., all the third and the poorest portion of the second, viz. : thirty- 
four pounds very indifferent sugar ; refined it in the open kettle, by the 
old process, and produced fifteen pounds loaf sugar, (Sample No. 7,) 
which is a very full yield for the quality used. 


LOVERING’S EXPERIMENTS. 17 


The foregoing are all actual results produced by myself, (the polar- 
iscopic observations having been taken on the spot, under the supervi- 
sion of my partner, Mr. William Morris Davis) with no cbject in 
view but the truth, and a desire to contribute whatever useful inform- 
ation I could towards the solution of this interesting and impcrtant 
question. They are, I think, sufficiently flattering in themselves to 
warrant renewed exertions on the part of our agriculturists of the 
Northern and Middle States especially, and perhaps those of the 
South also, in the pursuit of this promising branch of industry, to 
the full and profitable development of which it is certainly capable, 
and which it is destined ultimately to attain—(as before mentioned 
they have been accomplished without the advantages of the powerful 
sugar mill, the vacuum pan, and the many other improved imple- 
ments and apparatus now in general use in Louisiana and eise- 
where) and they are also very important and interesting in many 
respects, not apparent to those unacquainted with the subject ; it may 
therefore not be superfluous to mak@ some further explanatory re- 
marks : 


Ist. The mill used and the power employed in these experiments 
were much less efficient than those in general use on sugar planta- 
tions, and the waste proportionally greater; the loss from which 
causes I estimate at not less than ten per cent. 


2d. It is well known to all who are acquainted with sugar and sac- 
charine solutions, that, by frequent heatings and coolings, a considera- 
ble portion of the crystallizable is converted into uncrystallizable 
sugar, and is consequently lost as sugar. In these experiments every 
parcel was from necessity heated and re-heated from eight to twelve 
different times. 

3d. It is impossible to produce as good results, whether as regards 
quantity or quality, from small as from large quantities. 

Ath. This sugar, (Sample No. 4,) is quite dry, and will lose compara- 
tively nothing by drainage; the yield wouid be considerably greater, 
if it contained the usual quantity of footing that is contained in the 
hogshead when sold at the plantation, one of which being weighed 
there and re-weighed in Philadelphia, in the month of July, will be 


18 SUPPLEMENT. 


found to have lost by drainage from 100 to 150 lbs., or from 10 to 15 
per cent. 

Assuming these propositions to be true, I make the following esti- 
mate of the probable yield of an acre of canes of ordinary growth, 
such as I have experimented upon, viz. : 

Actual yield as per Experiment No. 4, 1221.85 lbs. sugar, 74 39 molasses. 
Add for inefficiency of mill, 10 per cent. 
For heating and reheating, &c., 
For footings, say but* 
20 per cent. 244.37 


Probable yield per acre, lbs. 1466.22 sugar: galls. 74.39 molasses. 


Further, it will be observed that my acre produced but 1847 gal- 
lons of juice. I have, however seen published accounts of far greater 
yield than this ; one, for instance, in this county, apparently well au- 
thenticated, reaching 6,800 gallons per acre, which, according to my 
actual results, would produce 4499 lbs. of sugar, and 274 gallons mo- 
Jasses—and according to the foregoing probable results, would yield 
5389 lbs. sugar, and 274 gallons to the acre. I do not pronounce 
such yield of juice impossible, but it will certainly be of rare occur- 
rence—a mean between this and my yield would be a large return. 

Another subject worthy of notice is the nature of the season. My 
impression is, that owing to the lateness and coldness of the spring, 
and the continued wet weather, the last has been quite an unfavorable 
season for the ripening and development of the sugar in the juice, to 
which cause I think a deficiency in the yield of at least ten per cent. 
may be attributed, which would further increase the quantity to 
1612 lbs. of sugar, and 81 8-10 gallons molasses, a yield very nearly 
corresponding with that of the best conducted plantations of Louisiana, 
as will be seen by the following figures, which I have collated from a 
minute statement furnished to me by the enterprising proprietor of one 
of the most complete and costly establishments in that region, (it 
being furnished with vacuum pans, and all the most approved ma- 
chinery of later times, and conducted under his own personal super- 
vision,) of the actual product of one of his piantations of 266 acres, 

* These two latter gains in sugar would be made at the expense of the molasses, 


taking from it the gain which would be realized by the use of a better mill, and there- 
fore leaving the quantity of molasses unchanged. 


* 


LOVERING’S EXPERIMENTS. 19 


for eight consecutive years. These figures will also furnish useful data 
for the estimation of the cost of production here, viz. : 


Aggregate yield of juice from 266 acres for eight 


consecutive years, F ’ : : : 4,757,700 gallons. 
Aggregate yield of sugar, . : : : 3,626,425 lbs. 
% ‘6 molasses, . : : 217,585 gallons. 
COMPARISON. 
LOUISIANA. PENNSYLVANIA. 
Yield of juice per acre,....... . .2,286 gals, | «+++ -rer cece eee cree teeter er ee: 1,847 gals. 
Density of juice,(Beaumé) 8.447 | eee tree ee ee cece cece eee e rete cee: 10 
Yield of sugar per gall. of juice,..0.76 Ibs. YRORS ia Srey ve 
: ‘ re La ae ER ee 221. ' 
Yield of sugar per acre,.......<-1,704 “ | 4 Drobable,........s0++ esse: 1,632.00 
Yield of molasses per acre,...... 102 gals. | ole Pisa sae ed 81.83 ee : 


Wood consumed per acre, 3.87 cords, at 
$2 50 per cord. 

Coal for engine, 0.41 tons at $2 50 per ton. 

Labor, per acre, 3.70 days. 


These details have been extended to a much greater length than 
was at first intended, but perhaps not beyond a useful limit for those 
interested. To the working farmer they may appear formidable and 
prolix; but he may, nevertheless, gain some grains of useful knowl- 
edge from them to repay for their perusal. The conclusions to be 
drawn from them will be seen by the following 


SYNOPSIS. 


Ist. That it is obvious that there is a culminating point in the de- 
velopment of the sugar in the cane, which is the best time for sugar 
making. This point or season I consider to be, when most if not all 
the seeds are ripe, and after several frosts; say when the temperature 
falls to 25° or 30° Fahrenheit. 


2d. That frost, or even hard freezing, does not injure the juice nor 
the sugar, but that warm Indian summer weather, after the frost and 
hard freezing, does injure them very materially, and reduces both 
quantity and quality. 


20 SUPPLEMENT. 


3d. That if the cane is eut and housed, or shocked in the field when 
in its most favorable condition, it will probably keep unchanged for a 
long time. 

4th. That when the juice is obtained, the process should proceed 
continuously and without delay. 

5th. That the clarification should be as perfect as possible by the 
time the density reaches 15° Beaumé, the syrap having the appear- 
ance of good brandy. 

6th. That although eggs were used in these small experiments, on 
account of their convenience, bullock’s blood, if to be had, is equally 
good, and the milk of lime alone will answer the purpose ; in the latter 
case, however, more constant and prolonged skimming will be required 
to produce a perfect clarification, which is highly important. 

jth. That the concentration, cr boiling down, after clarification, 
should be as rapid as possible without scorching, shallow evaporators 
being the best. 

With these conditions secured, it is about as easy to make good 


sugar from the Chinese sugar cane as to make a pot of good mush, 
and much easier than to make a kettle of good apple butter. 


APPLICATION OF LOVERING’S PROCESS. 21 


‘Instructions for the Domestic Manufacture of Sugar and Syrup, upon 
asmall scale, from the Juace of the Sorgho, being a Practical Applica- 
tion of J. S. Lovertne’s Process. 

For the use of persons unacquainted with the subject,.we commence 
with a brief statement of 


GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 


The juice of the ripe Sorgho is composed of 

. Crystallizable sugar, about seven and a quarter per cent. 
. Uncrystallizable molasses, about seven per cent. 

=) Acid. 

. Vegetable mucilage, or gum. 

. Coloring matter. 

. Water. 

Our object is to separate the sugar and molasses. 

The acid and mucilage prevent the sugar from crystallizing. 

1. Our first step will be to neutralize the acid in the juice by com- 
bining it with an alkali (lime). 

2. Our second step will be to remove the mucilage by the addition 
of liquid albumen (blood, eggs, or milk) to the cold juice; we then 
apply heat; the albumen, being heated, coagulates, and, rising in the 
form of scum, carries the mucilage with it. This process is called 
clarifying, and should be twice repeated at least. 

3. Having now got rid of the acid and most of the mucilage, our 
third step is to remove the coloring matter, by filtering the clarified 
juice through granulated bone black. 

But a peculiar mucz'age still remains, isseparable at a lower heat 
than about 225° Fahrenheit. 

A. Our next step will be to boil the filtered juice to 225° Fahrenheit, 
and then to add lime water. This mucilage then rises as a scum, and 
is removed. 

We now have left a sdlution composed of 1. Sugar. 2. Molasses. 
3. Water. 

5. To crystallize the sugar, we must evaporate the excess of water, 
by boiling. Most of the sugar will crystallize when the solution grows 
cold. The uncrystallized part, we drain off as molasses. 


oor Wh eH 


af 


92 SUPPLEMENT. 


These operations require the greatest exactness, for 

If we do not boil enough, the sugar contained in the solution will 
not crystallize when cold; or, 

If we boil too much, the molasses will become so thick when it cools, 
as to impair the crystallizing of the sugar, and cannot be separated 
from it. 

But how shall we know when to stop the boiling ? 

By the heat of the boiling liquid, as marked by the thermometer. 

Pure water boils at 212 degrees of Fahrenheit’s thermometer. You 
cannot make it hotter without changing it to steam. 

The Sorgho juice, being a solution of about fourteen per cent. of 
sugar and molasses, &c., in water, becomes three degrees hotter before 
boiling, and boils at 215° Fahrenheit. As the water evaporates, a 
greater heat is required to keep the concentrated juice at a boil; in 
other words, the juice grows hotter and hotter. When it reaches the 
heat marked on the thermometer 238° Fahrenheit, there is just enough 
water left to enable the sugar to separate from the molasses when cold. 

6. We now pour the concentrated juice into a mould, a keg, a bar- 
rel, or other deep vessel, with a plug in the bottom, and allow it to cool. 
- 7. When quite cold (say in twenty-four hours), we remove the plug. 
The liquid portion, being molasses with a little sugar and water, 
gradually drains out, leaving the sugar dry in from four to ten days. 

It is also important to remember 

That the juice begins to ferment almost as soon as it leaves the 
cane, and therefore, should be neutralized, clarified, and boiled without 
gelay. A very few hours’ delay will spoil it. 

A long continued exposure to heat gradually converts crystallizable 
sugar into uncrystallizable molasses, therefore, the evaporation should 
be as rapid as possible. 

A concentrated solution of sugar and molasses is very liable to burn, 
and should, therefore, be carefully watched, and exposed to a more and 
more moderate fire as the evaporation advances. 

The use of a saccharometer is to indicate the relative weight or 
density of a liquid as compared with water. This density depends 
upon the amount of sugar, or other heavy substances held in solution. 


APPLICATION OF LOVERING’S PROCESS. 23 


Consequently, the degree of density indicated by the saccharometer is 
an index of the proportion of sugar, &c., contained in the juice. 

It is simply a hollow tube terminating in a bulb, loaded with shot; 
to keep the bulb down and the tube upright. Floating in pure water, 
the tube, at the point where it appears above the surface, marks 0. 
But in proportion as the liquid is heavier, the bulb does not sink so 
deep, and more of the tube appears above the surface. The density 
of the Sorgho juice, cold, is about 10° Beaumé, so called from Beaumé, 
the inventor. 

If your kettles or moulds are of iron, give them two good coats of 
white paint inside, drying each coat thoroughly. This prevents the 
sugar from being made dark by contact with iron, which will be the 
case if the slightest acid be present. Before using them, scald them 
thoroughly twice, letting boiling water stand in them until cold, to 
remove the taste of the paint. 


NECESSARY UTENSILS, MACHINERY, &c. 


1. A thermometer marking 250° Fahrenheit. One without a case, 
or which can be removed from the case. 

2. A saccharometer, or Pesé Sirop, scale of Beaumé. 

You had better get two of both the above, to provide against accident. 

3. A few sheets of litmus paper. 

4. Two kettles of copper, brass, or iron, holding twenty-five gallons 
each ; one of these may be smaller than the other, but if so, should be 
as large a diameter, only shallower. 

5. Three, or more, large iron sugar moulds, holding twelve gallons 
each. Ifyou cannot get the sugar moulds, three long, narrow twelve 
gallon kegs will answer. 

6. Three five gallon pots of glazed earthen or stone ware, with 
mouths somewhat smaller than the caps of the sugar moulds. If you 
use kegs instead of moulds you can use pails instead of pots. 

7. A barrel of granulated (not pulverized) bone black, such as is 
used by sugar refiners. ~ 

8. Four ten gallon tubs. (Two water-tight whiskey or cider bar- 
rels, sawed across the center, will answer.) 

9. A yard of thick heavy bed ticking. 


24 SUPPLEMENT. 


10. A circular piece of coarse wire gauze, to fit the inside of the 
sugar mould or keg, three inches above the lower end. 

11. A cireular piece of half inch board, fuil of gimblet holes, to fit 
the inside of the sugar mould or keg, three inches above the lower end. 

12. A shallow perforated iron or tin skimmer. 

13. A large iron or tin dipper, or ladle. 

14. A sugar mill; if to work by hand, two parallel, horizontal iron 
rollers, set firmly in a frame, one eighth of an inch apart, and turned 
by a crank, with a spout to catch and collect the juice. If by horse 
power, three rollers set closer together, will be more effective. The 
greater the compression of the canes, the larger the yield of juice. 

15. Two simple furnaces, or fire places of brick, upon w&ich to place 
the two kettles. One larger furnace, with two holes, and one fire place 
under both kettles, will do, if the kettles are movable. But as the 
labor and delay of lifting them off and on is great, two separate arches 
are better. These furnaces must have a flue, communicating with a 
chimney, to create draft, and carry off the smoke. 

16. A bushel of quick lime. 

17. A gallon of fresh bullock’s blood, or twelve dozen of eggs, or 
twelve quarts of mill. Either will do, but one of the first two is pre- 
ferabie. 

PRELIMINARIES. 

Having your mill ready, your furnaces built, your kettles and other 
utensils above described, on the spot ; you will need two men, if you 
use a hand mill, to relieve each other at the crank, the one turning it, 
wile the other passes the canes, one at a time, twice through the 
rollers, as you must work the mill without cessation throughout the day, 
to keep the kettles constantly supplied. If you use horse power, two 
boys will suffice, one to drive the horse, the other to pass the canes 
through, several at a time. 

1. Provide abundant dry fuel, close at hand, and ready for imme- 
diate use. 

2. Cut and deposit at the mill enough canes for the day’s work, say 
ten canes for each gallon of juice required. Place two tubs (which we 
will call tubs 1 and 2) at the mill ready to receive the juice. 


APPLICATION OF LOVERING’S PROCESS. 25 


3. Prepare a bone black filter as follows : 

Take one of the sugar moulds (which we will call mould No. 1). 
About three inches from the small end, fit into it the circular piece of 
half inch board full of small holes. Upon this, lay the circular piece 
of wire gauze ; over the gauze lay a piece of heavy ticking (or blanket 
of several thicknesses), laying the edges carefully round the sides of 
the mould, so as to prevent the bone black from escaping ; stop the 
hole at the small end of the mould, half fill the mould with hot water, 
then pour in as much bone black as the mould will hold, leaving about 
three inches of space on top. Set the filter, thus made, upon another 
of the tubs (which we will call tub No. 3), to serve as a cistern to 
receive the filtered juice. Or, a filter may be made ofa tight keg or 
barrel, set on end, with a hole in the bottom, stopped with a plug or 
faucet, and having a wooden second, or false bottom, perforated with 
gimblet holes, three inches above the first ; cover this with a piece of 
ticking or blanket, and on that put the bone black, as directed. 

4, Prepare some milk of lime as follows : 

Put about a gallon of quick lime into a pail, slacken it with water, 
until it resembles milk in appearance and consistency. Set it aside | 
and stzr it before using. 

5. Prepare some lime water as follows : 

Put a gallon of quick lime into another pail, slacken it, fill up the 
pail with water, stir it thoroughly, let the lime settle. The clear water 
will be a saturated solution of lime, and is called lime water. Do not 
stir this again, but use it clear. 


PROCESS OF MAKING THE SUGAR. 


‘When the seeds of the Sorgho are at least three fourths ripe, or if 
in a cold climate, when a hard frost has come, cut your canes just above 
the ground, strip off the leaves and seed heads, and cut each cane into 
two parts, separating the eight lower joints from the upper ones. Lay 
aside the upper joints, which contain but little sugar, but will make 
good molasses. 

Pass the lower joints through the rollers twice; let the juice flow 
into tubs 1 and 2. When about twenty gallons of juice are ready, put 
into one of the kettles, which we will call kettle No. 1, or the clarifier, 


26 SUPPLEMENT. 


three gills of blood, or the whites of eight eggs, well beaten. If you 
have neither, two pints of milk will answer, but not so well. Add six 
tablespoonsful of milk of lime previously prepared, and stirred before 
using. Add about a gallon of juice, and stir the whole thoroughly 
together. 

Now dip into one of the tubs of unmixed juice a small strip of the 
blue litmus paper. It will immediately turn red, more or less vivid in 
proportion to the acidity of the juice. Lay the strip of litmus paper 
aside, and add to kettle No. 1 about nineteen gallons more of juice ; 
stir the whole. Then dip the strip of reddened litmus paper into the 
kettle. If it again become blue, the acid is entirely neutralized. If 
not, continue to stir in milk of lime in small quantities, and to test 
with the litmus paper, until its original blue color is restored. 

Now light a fire under kettle No.1. As the juice grows hot a 
thick scum will rise. Do not disturb it, but bring the juice to a boil. 
To be sure that it does boil, remove a little of the scum with the 
skimmer, and insert your thermometer. When it marks 215° Fahren- 
heit, and the scum begins to ro/l over, put out the fire immediately, or 
remove the kettle. Let it stand ten or fifteen minutes. Then care- 
fully remove the scum with the skimmer into a third pail. Then boil 
again. 

When the saccharometer marks 15° Beaumé in the boiling juice, 
extinguish the fire, or remove the kettle, and let it cool to 160° Fah- 
renheit, or cooler. Now stir in six more eggs well beaten, or two 
gills of blood, or one pint of milk. Omit the lime. Again bring it 
to a boil, again extinguish the fire, or remove the kettle; and, after 
standing ten minutes, remove the scum as before. Then ladle the clear 
juice into the bone black filter, (see preliminaries No. 3,) having first 
withdrawn the stopper, allowing the warm water to flow out below, 
as the juice is poured in above, being careful to keep the filter full of 
liquid. When the water below begins to run sweet, marking 3° 
Beaumé, throw away what has previously run out, and receive the re 
mainder in tub No. 3. 

We are now ready to continue evaporation, and it will be better to 
do so in smaller quantities, as in a shallower mass the concentration 
will be more rapid. Therefore, when about ten gallons have passed 


APPLICATION OF LOVERING’S PROCESS. 21 


through the filter into tub 3, ladle into kettle No. 2, which now first 
comes into use, and which we will call the Evaporator. Boil to 225° 
Fahrenheit. Then put in a gill of clear lime water (see preliminaries 
No. 5). Ifa dirty white scum arises, skim it off, and continue to add 
a little more lime water every few minutes until no scum rises. Con- 
tinue to boil to 238° Fahrenheit. If it boil over, put in a piece of 
butter the size of a walnut; then remove the kettle, or put out the 
fire, and pour into a tub which we will call No. 4. 

By this time ten gallons more will have passed through the filter. 
Ladle it into kettle No. 2, which we have just emptied, boil to 225° 
Fahrenheit, clarify with lime water as before, boil to 238° Fahrenheit, 
and add it to the contents of tub No. 4, stirring the two together. 

Previously, however, as soon as kettle No. 1 has been emptied upon 
the bone black filter, put into kettle No. 1 milk of lime and eggs, (or 
blood, or milk,) as before, and neutralize and clarify twenty gallons 
more of fresh juice from the mill, which has been grinding without 
interruption. This second charge of kettle No. 1 should be neutral- 
ized, tested with litmus paper, heated to 215° Fahrenheit, cooled, 
skimmed, boiled to 15° Beaumé, cooled again, a second time clarified 
with egos, skimmed again, and passed through the filter; all this 
being done simultaneously with the filtering and evaporation of the 
first charge of kettle No. 1. Ié will then be put, in its turn, into ket- 
tle No. 2, now again empty, ten gallons at a time, boiled to 225° 
Fahrenheit, clarified a third time with lime water, skimmed, evaporated 
to 238° Fahrenheit, and added to the contents of tub No. 4. 

While the second charge of kettle No. 1 is passing through the fil- 
ter. and kettle No. 2, a third charge of twenty gallons of fresh juice 
will be neutralized and clarified in kettle No. 1. 

While the third charge from kettle No. Lis passing through the fil- 
ter and kettle No. 2, a fourth charge of twenty gallons of fresh juice 
will be neutralized and clarified in kettle No. 1, to follow the others, 
when boiled down to 238° Fahrenheit, into tub No. 4. 

When as much juice as can be boiled the same day has been ex- 
pressed, stop the mill. 

Highty gallons of juice clarified and boiled down to 238° Fahren- 


28 SUPPLEMENT. 


heit will be reduced to something over twelve gallons, or enough to fill 
one of the sugar moulds. 

When the day’s boiling is completed, put the contents of tub No. 4 
into a sugar mould or keg, having previously plugged the hole. Set 
it in a warm place, in no case colder than 60° Fahrenheit, if 70° or 
80°, so much the better. This completes the day’s work. 

When cold, the next day, it will be a solid mass of crystallized 
sugar. Then withdraw the stopper, set the mould on an earthen pot 
or pail; in from four to seven days the molasses will have ceased to 
drain out; then turn over the mould upon a clean board or table, 
strike the rim smartly once or twice, and the sugar will slide from the 
mould inasolid mass. Break it up with a shovel, and it is fit for 
use. The contents of this mould should be from forty to fifty pounds 
of dry, yellow sugar, and about four gallons of excellent molasses will 
have dripped from it into the jar. 

If preferred, the sugar making may here terminate; but, as the 
purifying power of the bone black filter is not yet exhausted, and as 
the whole labor and expense of preparation have been already in- 
curred, it will be best to continue at least a second and third day. 


SECOND DAY. 


The process will be in all respects a repetition of the first day’s 
work, and the result will be to fill an additional sugar mould or keg. 


THIRD DAY. 


The process will be a repetition of the above ; but the filter being 
now exhausted, after the third day, it will be necessary to change the 
bone black. Before emptying the filter, or stopping the third day’s 
work, however, pass cold water through the filter, which, so long as it 
runs sweet enough to mark 3° Beaumé, is to be added to the juice of 
the upper joints, of which we are about to speak. 


MOLASSES. 
At the close of the sugar making, pass through the mill the upper 
joints of the canes, previously laid aside. Add to the juice the liquid 
portion of the scum in third pail, together with the washings of the 


APPLICATION OF LOVERING’S PROCESS. 20 


filter, of tub No. 4, and of other utensils. Neutralize the acid with 
milk of lime, and test with litmus paper as before. Clarify twice with 
eggs, (or blood, or milk,) but omit, if preferred, the filtering through 
bone black. Boil finally only to 228° Fahrenheit, instead of 238° 
Fahrenheit, as for sugar. 

The product, when cool, will be about eighteen gallons of excellent 
syrup. From three days’ work, of two hundred and forty gallons of 
juice—from say two thousand canes —in all there should be a total 
product of about one hundred and tienty-five pounds to one hundred 
and fifty pounds of sugar, and twenty-seven gallons molasses. 

This operation being on a very small scale, and with a hand mill, is 
carried on under great disadvantages. The same labor on a larger 
scale would produce much greater results. The process and routine 
here given will answer for larger operations. It would be better, 
however, especially if the quantity is increased, to have the second or 
evaporating kettle of greater length and breadth, and as shallow as 
possible to expedite the evaporation. A larger and longer bone black 
filter will also be needed. 

Hither sugar or molasses of good quality, but of darker color, may 
be made by the above process, omitting the bone black. If it be 
desired to make syrup only, stop the boiling at 228° Fahrenheit. 

If white sugar is desired, the following additional process will be 
necessary. On the third day after the sugar has been put into the 
moulds, the greater part of the molasses having drained from it, scrape 
off, with a knife, the crust on top of the sugar, leaving a smooth granu- 
lated surface, hollowing a littie to the center. Moisten the scrapings 
with cold water into a thin paste, and replace them on the sugar. 
Next day dissolve enough refined sugar, the whiter the better, in six 
quarts of water, to make a solution marking, when boiling hot, 32° 
Beaumé. Pour one inch in depth of this solution, cold, on top of the 
sugar. On each of the two following days, put on a similar quantity. 
After the sugar ceases to drain, knock out the loaf ; the upper portion 
will be white, the lower part light yellow. Divide the loaf and crush 
each portion separately. 

If by any mistake, or carelessness, by barning or overboiling, or by 


30 SUPPLEMENT. 


the immaturity of the canes, the molasses does not begin to drain from 
the mould on the second or third day, run an awl, a large nail, or other 
sharp iron instrument, into the hole at the foot of the mould some two 
or three inches, and then withdraw it. If, after ten days longer in the 
warmest place you have, it still fails to run, put the contents into a 
kettle, add a little water, heat it to 228° Fahrenheit, and it will make 


good syrup. 


NY 
i\ 


y 


SUGAR MOULD, DBAINING POT. MOULD AND POT. 


AMERICAN NOTES FOR 1857 
ON THE IMPHEE. 


Tue history of the introduction of the imphee into the United 
States has substantially been given in the historical portion of Part I. 
That it may be perfectly understood I will make a condensed state- 
ment in this place. Mr. Wray arrived in this country in the month 
of March last, bringing with him seed of each of his varieties of im- 
phee, and samples of alcohol and sugars made from them. The 
greater part of the seed he planted upon the estate of Governor J. H. 
Hammond, of South Carolina ; but portions were put under cultiva- 
tion by Mr. R. Peters and Mr. J. Eve, of Georgia; Brutus J. Clay, 
of Kentucky; a gentleman in Canada; and Mr. D. Jay Browne, of 
the United States Patent Office. Of all these lots, the only one from 
which any considerable part of the crop was saved was that of Mr. 
Hammond. In Canada the seed did not ripen, Mr. Browne’s lot but 
partially, that of Mr. Peters and of Mr. Eve were entirely mixed with 
durra* corn, and consequently not saved. Of Mr. Clay’s I give the 
account published by himself. (Page 37.) The imphee seed brought 
by Mr. Wray was grown for him by the Count de Beauregard, on his” 
estate at Hyéres, France, and was there packed and shipped direct to 
America. By some chance a large quantity of the seed of durra 
was sent mixed with the imphee, and was unsuspectingly distributed 
by Mr. Wray to his several partners in the adventure here. At Govy- 
ernor Hammond’s urgent solicitation, Mr. Wray sorted out enough 
seed to plant several acres of some ten or more of the choicest 
varieties, and these were planted separate and apart from each other. 
The remainder, over one hundred acres, was planted with the sced just 
as sent from France. The result was that before the time of ripening, to 
their great dismay they discovered that it would be necessary to sacri- 


* The word durra has been spelt dourah, dhurra, doura and dourrha by various 
writers. In the preceding pages I have adopted the spelling doura; and Mr. Wray, 
I perceive, has done likewise The encyclopedias of Loudon, Johnson, and Hooker, 
make no mention whatever of the plant ; but Noah Webster, in his dictionary, spells 
it dwrra, and as this is nearest to the Arabic derivative, and more correct on phonetic 
principles, I shall in future adopt it. 


82 SUPPLEMENT. 


fice some six thousand five hundred bushels of this precious seed, and 
the only crop which could with safety be disseminated, and conscien- 
tious!y recommended by Governor Hammond, was that harvested on 
the assorted acres of the ten or more best varieties. The crop of Mr. 
Peters was utterly ruined, as he had not taken the precaution to select 
and plant separately. Before making arrangements with Mr. Wray, 
he had imported directly from Vilmorin, Andrieux & Co., of Paris, 
about fifteen pounds of what was supposed to be a variety of imphee 
named Vim-bis-chu-a-pa, at a cost of $10 per pound; but this turned 
out to be nothing but worthless durra. 

With that generosity which characterizes him, General Hammond 
declined receiving any share of the profits from the sale of the seed, 
and presented to Mr. Wray the entire crop of the pure seed, amount- 
ing to about four hundred bushels. 

To inform myself particularly as to the success of this first cultiva- 
tion of the imphee, and to assist in making sugar from it, I visited in 
October of 1857 the plantations of General Hammond, Mr. Peters, 
and Mr. Eve. A part of the imphees I found mixed as above 
stated. On the separate lots I could see no signs of a hybridation 
with durra ; but on one or two there were straggling plants of some 
variety of imphee, the seeds of which resembled those of the lot with 
which it was mingled. The appearance of the various plants is truth- 
fully given by Mr. Wray. Of the comparative amounts of sugar 
which they are capable of yielding I cannot speak, for our attempts 
to produce it were not successful. 

It is comparatively an easy thing for northern and western farmers, 
living adjacent to lines of railroad, to provide themselves with any sort 
of machinery or apparatus at a moment’s notice; and, if breakages 
occur during their operations, a competent mechanic is speedily found 
to repair them. But such is not the case on an inland southern plan- 
tation ; and hence it resulted at Governor Hammond’s that, what with 
the novelty of the operations, breakages of the mill and steam engine, 
quarrels of mechanics, the late arrival of Mr. Wray with his seed, and 
other things combined, no attempt was made to “ commence crop,’ to 
use the West Indian phrase, until the canes were considerably past 


THE IMPHEE. Se 


maturity ; and, after operations were commenced, breakages and acci- 
dents caused great confusion in the work, and fatal delays. Besides this, 
the canes were grown upon a reclaimed swamp, thoroughly drained, 
and so rich in soluble saline matters, that the crop of corn on an ad- 
jacent lot was, on one measured acre, one hundred and eight bushels. 
Those who have read my remarks upon the pernicious influence upon 
the crystallization of sugar, of soluble mincral matters taken up by 
the cane juice, will not be surprised to learn that, although the train 
worked in the most satisfactory manner, and the boiling was superin- 
tended by a negro sugar maker from Florida, no crystallization of im- 
phee juice could be obtained. 

Mr. Wray found that the proportion of salts of iron was so great 
in the juice, that the single trial we made with nut galls gave us a 
liquid nearly as black as ink. Suffice it to say that the sugar was not 
made: but, as will be seen subsequently, it was not because crystal- 
lized sugar does not exist in the imphee. | 

Governor Hammond, failing to produce sugar, turned his whole at- 
tention to the manufacture of syrup; of which he made from the 
imphee exactly three thousand gallons, which will be entirely con- 
sumed on his own estate. 

With Governor Hammond and Mr. Wray I frequently tested the 
juice by the saccharometer. In one case the juice of the Boo-e-a-na 
I found to be 10}° Beaume, which it will be remembered indicates no 
less than nineteon per cent. of sugar in the juice. I am convinced 
that on favorable soils, and in suitable climates, the juice of the im- 
phee will mark nearly if not quite as high a saccharine richness as the 
Saccharum officinarum, or tropical sugar cane. 

Judging from my observation, the imphee is more succulent than 
the sorgho. An experiment was made with ten stalks each of sorgho 
and imphee, to test the respective quantities of juice. The result was 
that the imphee gave sixteen pints, or two gallons; sorgho gave 
eleven pints; a very large per centage in favor of imphee. Imphee 
starts off more rapidly in its spring growth, and will be valuable on 
that account for northern latitudes. Many of the imphees have also 
a larger stalk than the sorgho, and smalier seed heads, or panicles, and 


84 SUPPLEMENT. 


will not only give more juice for distillation and sugar making, but 
will not so readily be prostrated by the winds of our western prai- 
ries. The outer covering of the imphee stalk is thinner than that of 
sorgho, and is consequently easier to crush in the mill. 

Frequent allusion is made in the preceding pages of this work to 
the practice of cutting off the seed heads to increase the secretion of 
sugar. I saw many stalks at Mr. Peters’ thus treated, which had been 
utterly ruined. The energy of the plant is so great, that when its 
forces were diverted from the elaboration of starch in the seeds, the 
butt at each joint of the stalk threw out short stems, which attained a 
length of some eighteen inches, and attempted to produce miniature 
seed heads. The result was, that the vitality which would in the 
natural course of growth have produced a perfect plant, with a full 
crop of ripe seed, was exhausted in the production of monstrosities. 
It is sufficiently well attested that the ripening of the seed does not 
interfere with a maximum yield of sugar. | 

Mr. Peters found that sorgho planted on the 15th March ripened 
within a week of that planted on the 15th May. He had some imphee 
ripening which had been planted only ninety days. 

On Governor Hammond’s place the Boom-vwa-na and Nee-a-za-na 
ripened the earliest. The former grows to a height of eleven feet, but 
the latter only seven. This brevity of stalk is, however, compensated 
for by the number of suckers which grow from the stool. The Oom- 
se-a-na and En-ya-ma were thought to be best for syrup making. The 
Koom-ba-na grows about ten feet high, and is very excellent. A new 
variety, the Sorgho-ka-baie, promises to be very excellent. I should 
be willing to plant, to a moderate extent, any one of eight or ten 
varieties which were saved by Mr. Wray, and sold to Mr. Moore. 


NEWS OF THE IMPHEE FROM AFRICA. 


In the month of September last there appeared in the New York 
Journal of Commerce a letter from Rev. H. A. Wilder, an American 
missionary at Umtwalume, in Caffraria, in which Mr. Wilder states, 
that considerable quantities of excellent sugar have been made from 


THE IMPHEE. 35 


imphee in that colony during the past year. He also says that he 
sent a small amount of the seeds to friends in this country some three 
years ago; but that nothing had resulted from it. 

I have had further intelligence of the manufacture of imphee sugar 
in Caffraria by Mr. Wray, from Mr. Charles H. Caldecott, a merchant 
of Port Natal, who is at present in New York. This gentleman 
informs me that he both saw and tasted imphee sugar in the colony, 
and that it does not differ from the sugar made from the ordinary 
cane. 


RESEARCHES OF DR. JACKSON. 


At the recent meeting of the United States Agricultural Society at 
Washington, January 13th, 1858, Dr. Charles T. Jackson being called 
upon to give his testimony upon the capability of the imphee to pro- 
duce sugar, stated, that he had been employed by the United States 
Patent Office to make experiments upon both sorgho and imphee. 
Seed heads and stalks of imphee had been sent him for examination 
by Mr. Browne, of the Patent Office ; he had given them minute study, 
and had sent in an official report to the government. The juice of 

_imphee would give nine per cent. of true cane sugar, and six per cent. 

additional of glucose. It would give twelve per cent. of alcohol or 
proof spirits, which was peculiarly suitable for the manufacture of 
brandy, because of an agreeable aroma which it contained. This very 
large yield of alcohol which it and the sorgho would afford, would 
materially affect a very important interest. Three fourths of the 
alcohol made in Massachusetts last year was consumed in the manu- 
facture of burning fluids, and in mechanical and chemical operations ; 
and if these plants can afford us a readier and cheaper supply of 
alcohol than the cereals it is a very strong recommendation for their 
culture. His official report will be found in the next Report of the 
United States Patent Office. 


The following letters, from Governor Hammond to Mr. Wray, will 
fully explain his estimate of the value of the imphee. 


36 SUPPLEMENT. 


LETTERS FROM GOV. HAMMOND. 


“Dear Srr— “ Repcuirre, November 26th, 1857. 

“T received to-day, the Southern Cultivator for December. It con- 
tains two letters from Mons. Vilmorin, denouncing your imphees in a 
manner that appears to me malicious ; and, as | know his statements 
are false as regards the imphee grown in this latitude, I deem it due 
to truth and to you, to give my testimony against them. Your imphee 
came here too late to allow a perfectly satisfactory comparison to be 
instituted between that and sorgho. But I do not remember that in 
any attempt we made to compare them, the results were in favor of 
the sorgho. Certainly, most of the varieties of imphee have a larger 
stalk and produce more juice; none, I believe, are smaller. As to 
‘red rot,’ which so seriously affected the sorgho, I do not think it ap- 
peared at all in more than one kind of imphee, and that had ripened 
long before we reached it in our operations. I am sure the im- 
phee is not more subject to the ‘red rot,’ than the sorgho, and was 
not so much affected by it this year here. As to the per centage of 
saccharine matter in the juice, I saw the saccharometer mark eighteen 
once, and frequently fourteen to sixteen per cent. I believe the sorgho 
never reached seventeen per cent. _ 

‘From my experience of this year, I should be unwilling to say that 
the imphee is decidedly superior to the sorgho. But I am equally un- 
prepared to say that any single variety of imphee is inferior to the 
sorgho. I shall try all of them again and again before I determine 
which is the very best. 

« As you say Mr. Vilmorin obtained no pure imphee seed from you, 
T am inclined to think he has not made his expiriments with pure seed. 
Certainly the seed he sent to this country last spring for imphee, at 
$10 per pound, was thoroughly mixed with durra corn ; and one par- 
cel that he sent as Vim-bis-chu-a-pa, was all durra, as I am informed. 

“T have not, as you well know, any interest in the sale of imphee 
seed, or anything made from imphee, and you are well aware of my 
aversion to having my name in the papers, but you can show this letter 
to any one you please, and, if absolutely necessary, publish it. 1 shall 
probably put the substance in the next Cultivator. Yours very truly, 

“LL. Wray, Esq.” “ J. H. Hammonp. 


SUPPLEMENT. 87 


The following is an extract from a letter to the publisher from Gov. 
Hammond, in answer to-a request that he would give his opinion as to 
the value of the different varieties of imphee. 


“ ‘Wasuineton, D. C., January 13th, 1858. 

“ * * * Tthink these seeds well worth distributing. They 
produce a sugar cane at least equal to the sorgho in all respects, and 
some of them are twice the size. I am inclined to think we shall ult- 
imately find several of them (ripening at different periods,) supersed- 
ing the sorgho altogether. 

“T plant sixty acres of the cane this year—of these, four will be 
planted in sorgho, and the remainder in imphee. * * * 

(Signed) “J. A. Hammonp.” 


LETTER FROM HON, BRUTUS J. CLAY. 
“ Paris, Ky., November 23d, 1857. 
“ Dear Sir— 

“| planted imphee on the 23d day of May last. I broke the ground 
twice, and planted the hills three by four feet apart, two and three seeds 
in a hill ; about three fourths of it grew, hence it was rather thin on the 
ground. It did not well mature before frost ; the middle of October. 

“T think the average product of stalk was no more than eight feet. 
They were, however, one third larger than the sorgho, and contained 
much more juice, of a quality very similar to that of the latter. It stood 
up well, large at the bottom and tapers to the top : is not liable to be 
blown down by the wind. 

“The sorgho I planted about the 13thof May. It came up well, 
producing stalks small and slender, ten to twelve feet high, very apt to 
be blewn down by the wind ; but this and the imphee require a little 
more care than corp. 

“Of the two varieties of cane, I, think the imphee will prove the 
most valuable plant; if planted earlier and upon a good soil, with a 
southern exposure, I think it will ripen before frosts. The past season 
has been a bad one for a fair experiment ; even our corn is not yet 
dry enough to grind for bread, it has been so backward and late. 

“Yours, &e. 
“Tsaac A. Henaes, Esq.” “ Brutus J. Cray. 


388 SUPPLEMENT. 


Despite the unfortunate result of the attempts to make sugar on 
Governor Hammond's place, and the mixture of durra corn with all 
of the immense crop of imphee seed, which otherwise would have 
immmediately supplied the country, which, from the few hundred 
bushels saved pure by Mr. Wray, can only be accomplished in one or 
two years, I think my readers will see in the facts above set forth 
reason to believe that the year has not been entirely unproductive in 
results, nor without a great promise for the future cultivation of the 


’ 


imphee. 


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must be sanative in their operation, and administered with a view of aiding the vital 


owers, instead of depressing, as heretofore, with the lancet or by poison. By G HE 
ADD, M. D., Veterinary Practitioner. 


THE DOG AND GUN, - . - - - ~ - 50 


A Few Loose Cuaprers oN SHootine, among which will be found 
some Aneedotes and Incidents; also, instructions for Dog Breaking, and interesting let- 
ters from Sportsmen. By A Bap Suor. 


MORGAN HORSES, BPE Gill ule peal Nee adyeatots 100 


A Premium Essay on THE Ornicin, History, AND CHARACTERISTICS 
of this remarkable American Breed of Horses; tracing the Pedigree from the original 
dustin Morgan, through the most noted of his progeny, down to the present time. 
With numerous portraits. To which are added hints for Breeding, Breaking, and 
General Use and Management of Horses, with practical Directions for training them for 
exhibition at Agricultural Fairs. By D. C. Linsey. 


SORGHO AND IMPHEE, THE CHINESE AND AFRICAN SUGAR 
CANES, - - - - - - . - 1 00 


A ComPLeTE TREATISE UPON THEIR ORIGIN AND VARIETIES, CULTURE 
and Uses, their value as a Forage Crop, and directions for making Sugar, Molasses, 
Alcohol, Sparkling and Still Wines, Beer, Cider, Vinegar, Paper, Starch, and Dye 
Stuffs. Fully Illustrated with Drawings of Approved Machinery ; With an Appendix 
by Lronarp Wray, of Caffraria, and a description of his patented process of crystalliz- 
ing the juice of the Imphee ; with the latest American experiments, including those of 
1857, in the South. By Henry 8. Otcorr. To which are added translations of valu- 
a French Pamphlets, received from the Hon. Joun Y. Mason, American Minister 
at Paris. 


THE STABLE BOCE, - - - - - - - 100 


A TREATISE ON THE MANAGEMENT OF HorsEs, IN RELATION TO 
Stabling, Grooming, Feeding, Watering and Working, Construction of Stables, Ventila- 
tion, Appendages of Stables, Management of the Feet, and of Diseased and Defective 
Horses. By Joun Stewart, Veterinary Surgeon. With Notes and Additions, adapt- 


ing it to American Food and Climate. By A. B. Auten, Editor of the American 
Agriculturist. 


THE HORSE’S FOOT, AND HOW TO KEEP IT SOUND, - 59 


Wir Cours, Inuustratise THE ANATOMY OF THE Foor, and contain- 
ing valuable Hints on Shoeing and Stable Management, in Health and in Disease. By 
WiILiiaAM Mixes. 


THE FRUIT GARDEN, - - - - ° ° © 1 25 


A TREATISE, INTENDED TO EXPLAIN AND ILLUSTRATE THE Puyst- 
ology of Fruit Trees, the Theory and Practice of all Operations connected with the 
Propagation, Transplanting, Pruning and Training of Orchard and Garden Trees, as 
Standards, Dwarfs, Pyramids, Espalier, &c. The Laying outand Arranging different 
kinds of Orchards and Gardens, the selection of suitable varieties for different purposes 
and localities, Gathering and Preserving Fruits, Treatment of Diseases, Destruction of 
Insects, Description and Uses of Implements, &c. Llustrated with upwards of 150 
Figures, representing Different Parts of Trees, all Practical Operations, forms of Trees, 


Designs for Plantations, Implements, &e. By P. Barry, of the Mount Hope Nurseries, 
Rochester, N. Y. 


FIELD’S PEAR CULTURE, - - - 5 s 2 75 


Tue Prar Garpen; or, a Treatise on the Propagation and 


Cultivation of the Pear Tree, with Instructions for tts Management from the Seedling 
to the Bearing Tree. By Tuomas W, FIExp. 


Books Published by A. O. Moore. 2 


POL 


BRIDGEMAN’S (THOS.) YCUNG GCARDENER’S ACSISTAN T, 1 50 
In TureE Parts, Containing Catalogues of Garden and Flower 
Seed, with Practical Directions under each head for the Cultivation of Culinary Vege- 
tables and Flowers. Also directions for Cultivating Fruit Trees, the Grape Vine, &e.;5 
to which is added, a Calendar to each part, showing the work necessary to be done in 
the various departments each month of the year. One volume octavo. 
BRIDGEMAN’S KITCHEN GARDENER’S INSTRUCTOR,  4Cloth, 50 
66 se of 66 Cloth, 3 60 
BRIDGEMAN'S FLORIST’S GUIDE, - - - - Cloth, 50 
6 73 66 ‘3 a = Cicth, 60 
BRIDGEMAN’S FRUIT CULTIVATOR’S MANUAL, - + Cloth, 50 
be sé be 66 3 Cloth, 60 
COLE’S AMERICAN FRUIT BOOK, - - - - - 50 


Conrarnine Directions ror Rarsine, ProracaTinc AND MANAG- 
ing Fruit Trees, Shrubs and Plants; with a description of the Best Varieties of Fruit, 
including New and Valuable Kinds. 

COLE’S AMERICAN VETERINARIAN, - - = r 50 

Contarnina Diseases or Domestic ANIMALS, THEIR Causes, 


Symptoms and Remedies; with Rules for Restoring and Preserving Healih by good 
management; ulso for Training and Breeding. 


SCHENCK’S GARDENER’S TEXT BOOK, - - - - 50 


ContTatntne DirecTIons FOR THE FORMATION AND MANAGEMENT 
of the Kitchen Garden, the Culture and Use of Vegetables, Fruits and Medicinal Herbs. 
AMERICAN ARCHITECT, - - - - - - 6 60 
Tue American Arcuitect, Comprising original Designs of Cheap 
Country and Village Residences, with Details, Specifications, Plans and Directions, 
and an Estimate of the Cost of Each Design. By Jounw W. Riton, Architect. First 
and Second Series, 4to, bound in 1 vol. 
BUIS?T’S (ROBERT) AMERICAN FLOWER GARDEN DIRECTCGRY, 125 
Containine PracricaL Directions For THE CctLTuRE oF Pants, 
in the Flower-Garden, Hot-House, Green-House, Rooms or Parlor Windows, for every 
Month in the Year; with a Description of the Piants most desirable in each, the nature 
of the Soil and Situation best adapted to their Growth, the Proper Season for Trans- 
planting, &c.; with Instructions for Erecting a Hot-House, Green-House, and Laying 
out a Flower Garden; the whole adapted to either Large or Small Gardens, with In- 
structions for Preparing the Soil, Propagating, Planting, Pruning, Training and Fruit- 
ing the Grape Vine. 
THE AMERICAN BIRD FANCIER, - - = - s 
CONSIDERED WITH REFERENCE TO THE Breepiye, Rearinc, Frep- 
ing, Management and Peculiarities of Cage and House Birds. Ilustrated with Engray- 
ings. By D. Jay Browne, 
REEMELIN’S (CHAS.) VINE DRESSER’S MANUAL, - ° 59 


An IniustraTeD TREATISE ON VINEYARDS AND Wrne-Matrne, 
containing Full Instructions as to Location and Soil, Preparation of Ground, Selection 
and Propagation of Vines, the Treatment of Young Vineyards, Trimming and Training 
the Vines, Manures, and the Making of Wine. 

DANA'S MUCK MANUAL, FOR THE USE CF FARMERS, - 1690 


A TREATISE ON THE PuHysicaAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF 
Soils and Chemistry of Manures; including, also, the subject of Composts, Artificial 
Manures and Irrigation. A new edition, with a Chapter on Bones and Superphos- 
phates. 

CHEMICAL FIELD LECTURES FOR AGRICULTURISTS, - 100 


By Dr. Juttus Apotpnus Srocxuarpt, Professor in the Royal 
Academy of Agriculture at Tharant. Translated from the German. Edited, with 
notes, by Jam:s E, TroHEMAOHER. 


By Books Published by A. O. Moorp. 


BUIST’S: (RBOERT) FAMILY KITCHEN GARDENER, -~ - $073 


ConTAINING PLAIN AND ACCURATE DESCRIPTIONS OF ALK THE Dir- 
ferent Species and Varieties of Culinary Vegetables, with their Botanical, English, 
French and German names, alphabetically arranged, with the Best Mode of Cultivating 
them jin the Garden or under Glass; also Descriptions and Character of the most Select 
Fruits, their Management, Propagation, &c. By Roxpertr Buist, author of the “ Am- 
erican Flower Garden Directory,” Xe. 

DOMESTIC AND ORNAMENTAL POULTRY, Plain Plates, © 190 
Do. Do. Do. Colored Plates, - 20 


A TREATISE ON THE History AND MANGEMENT OF ORNAMENTAL 
and Domestic Poultry. By Rev. Epmunp Savi Drxon, A.M., with large additions b> 
J. J. Kerr, M.D. Illustrated with sixty-five Original Portraits, engraved exprescly ful 
this work. Fourth edition revised. 

HOW TO BUILD AND VENTILATE HOT-HOUSES, > - 125 


A Practica, TREATISE ON THE ConsTrUCTION, HEATING AND 
Ventilation of Hot-Houses, including Conservatories, Green-Houses, Graperies and 
other kinds of Horticultural Structures, with Practical Directions for their Manage 
ment, in regard to Light, Heat and Air. Illustrated with numerous engravings. by 
P. B. Levcnars, Garden Architect. 

CHORLTON’S GRAPE-GROWER’S GUIDE, - - - - 60 


InTENDED ESPECIALLY FOR THE AMERICAN Crmate. Being a 
Practical Treatise on the Cultivation of the Grape Vine in each department of Hot 
House, Cold Grapery, Retarding House and Out-door Culture. With Plans for ths 
Construction of che Requisite Buildings, and giving the best methods for Heating the 
same. Every department being fully illustrated. By WiILLtAm CHoriton. 


NORTON’S (JOHN P.) ELEMENTS OF SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE, 60 


Or, THE CONNECTION BETWEEN SCIENCE AND THE ART OF PRACTICAL 
Farming. Prize Essay of the New York State Agricultural Society. By Joun P. 
Norton, M.A., Professor of Scientific Agriculture in Yale College. Adapted to the 
use of Schools, 

JOHNSTON’S (J. F. W.) CATECHISM OF AGRICULTURAL CHEH- 
ISTRY AND GEOLOGY, . . 25 


By James F. W. Jounston, M.A., F.R.SS.L. and E., Honorary 


Member of the Royal Agriculiural Society of England, and author of “Lectures on 
Agricultural Chemistry and Geology.” With an Introduction by Jonn Pitkin Nor- 
TON, M.A., late Professor of Scientific Agricultvre in Yale College. With notes and 
additions by the anthor, prepared expressly for this edition, and an Appendix compiled 
by the Superintendent of Education in Nova Scotia. Adapted to the use of Schools. 
JOHNSTON’S VJ. F. W.) ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURAL CHEM- 
ISTRY AND GEOLOGY, - . - 100 


With a Complete Analytical and Alphabetical Index and an 
American Preface. By Hon. SircN Brown, Editor of the “New England Farmer.’ 


JOHNSTON’S JAMES F. W.) AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY, 1 26 


LECTURES ON THE APPLICATION OF CHEMISTRY AND GEOLOGY TG 
Agricultnre. New edition, with an Appendix, containing the Author’s Experiments 
in Practical Agriculture. 

THE> COMPLETE FARMER AND AMERICAN GARDENER, 1 25 


Rurat Economist anD New American GarpENnER; Containing 

a Compendious Epitome of the most Important Branches of Agriculture and Rurai 

Economy; with Practical Directions on the Cultivation of Fruits and Vegetables, in- 

os Landscape and Ornamental Gardening. By THomas G. FEsseNDEN. 2 vols, 
one. - 


FESSENDEN’S (T. G.) AMERICAN KITCHEN GARDENER, - 59 


ConTAINING DIRECTIONS FOR THE CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES AND 
Garden Fruits. Cloth. 


Books Published by A. O. Moors. 5 


-_— eee 


NASH’S (J. A.) PROGRESSIVE FARMER, - - ° - 50 60 


A Screntiric Treatise ON AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY, THE GE- 
ology of Agriculture, on Plants and Animals, Manures and Soils, applied to Practical 
Agriculture; with a Catechism of Scientific and Practical Agriculture. By J. A. Nasu. 


SRECK’S BOOK OF FLOWERS, - * - - - 100 


IN WHICH ARE DESCRIBED ALL THE VARIOUS: Harpy HErBAcEous 


Perennials, Annuals, Shrubs, Plants and Evergreen Trees, with Directions for their 
Cultivation, 


$MITH’S (C. H. J.) LANDSCAPE GARDENING, PARKS AND PLEASURE 
GEOUNDE, | «tots... aie Ae ait ain ehh ek BS 


Witrn Practicat Notes on Country REsIDENCES, VILLAS, Pusric 


Parks and Gardens. By CHaries H. J. Suirn, Landscape Gardener and Garden 
rcntiedt, &e. With Notes and Additions by Lewis F. AuLen, author of “ Rural 
Architecture. 


fHE COTTON PLANTER’S MANUAL, - - - - 100 


Batya A Comprnation or Facts rrom THE Best AUTHORITIES ON 
the Culture of Cotton, its Natural History, Chemical Analysis, Trade and Consumption, 
and embracing a History of Cotton and the Cotton Gin. By J. A. Turner. 


VOBBETT’S AMERICAN GARDENER, - - ~ - 59 


A TREATISE ON THE Situation, Sort, AND LayInc-out oF GARDENS, 
and the making and managing of Hot-Beds and Green-Houses, and on the Propagation 
and Cultivation of the several sorts of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits and Flowers. 


ALLEN (J. FISK) ON THE CULTURE OF THE GRAPE, - 1 00 


A PracticaL TREATISE ON THE CULTURE AND T'REATMENT OF THE 
Grape Vine, embracing its History, with Directions for its Treatment in the United 
States of America,in the Open Airand under Glass Structures, with and without 
Artificial Heat. By J. Fisk ALLEN. 


ALLEN’S (R. L.) DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS, - 75 


Brine A History anp Description or THE Horse, Mute, Cattir, 
Sheep, Swine, Poultry, and Farm Dogs, with Directions for their Management, Breed- 
ing, Crossing, Rearing, Feeding, and Preparation for a Profitable Market ; also, their 
Diseases and Remedies, together with full Directions for the Management of the Dairy, 
and the comparative Economy and Advantages of Working Animals, the Horse, Mule, 
Oxen, &. By R. L. ALLEN. 


ALLEN’S (BR. L.) AMERICAN FARM BOOK, - - - 160 


Tur American Farm Boox ; or, a Compend of American Agricul- 
ture, being a Practical Treatise on Soils, Manures, Draining, Irrigation, Grasses, Grain, 
Roots, Fruits, Cotton, Tobacco, Sugar Cane, Rice, and every Staple Product of the 
United States; with the Best Methods of Planting, Cultivating and Preparation for 
Market. Illustrated with more than 100 engravings. By R. L. ALLEN. 


ALLEN’S (L. F.) RURAL ARCHITECTURE ; - + - 1 25 


Betnca A CompLETE Description or Farm Housts, CoTraGEs, AND 
Out Buildings, comprising Wood Houses, Workshops, Tool Houses, Carriage and 
Wagon Houses, Stables, Smoke and Ash Houses, Ice Houses, Apiaries or Bee Houses, 
Poultry Houses, Rabbitry, Dovecote, Piggery. Barns, and Sheds for Cattle, &c., &e., 
together with Lawns, Pleasure Grounds, and Parks; the Flower, Fruit, and Vege- 
table Garden; also useful and ornamental domestic Animals for the Country Resident, 
&e., &e. Also, the best method of conducting water into Cattle Yards and Houses, 
Beautifully illustrated. 


WARING’S ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE; = = © 75 
A Book ror Youna FARMERS, WITH QUESTIONS FOR THE USE OF 
Schools. 


6 Books Published by A. O. Moors. 


et 


PARDEE (R. G.) ON STRAWBERRY CULTURE; - - $9 60 


A CompLeTe MANuAL For THE CULTIVATION OF THE STRAWBERRY - 
with a description of the best varieties. 

Also, notices of the Raspberry, Blackberry, Currant, Goosebe-ry, and Grape; with 
directions for their cultivation, and the selection of the best varieties. “Every process 
here recommended has been proved, the plans of others tried, and the result is here 
given.” With a valuable appendix, containing the observations and experience of 
some of the most successful cultivators of these fruits in our country. 


GUENON ON MILCH COWs; - ~ - - - * 69 


A Treatise on Mitcu Cows, whereby the Quality and Quantity of 
Milk which any Cow will give may be accurately determined by observing Natura‘ 
Marks or External Indications alone; the length of time she will continue to give 
Milk, &c., &c. By M. Francis Guenon, of Libourne, France. Translated by Nicuo- 
uas P. Trist, Esq.; with Intioduction, Remarks, and Observations on the Cow and 
the Dairy, by Jomn 8. Sxryner. Illustrated with numerous engravings. Neatly 
done up in paper covers, 87 cts. 


AMERICAN POULTRY YARD; - - - ” - 100 


Comprising THE Oricin, History anpD Description of the different 
Breeds of Domestic Poultry, with complete directions for their Breeding, Crossing, 
Rearing, Fattening, and Preparation for Market; including specific directions for 
Caponizing Fowls, and for the Treatment of the Principal Diseases to which they are 
subject, drawn from authentic sources and personal observation. Illustrated wiih 
numerous engravings. By D.J. Browne. 


BROWNE'S (D. JAY) FIELD BOOK OF MANURES ; . - 1 25 


Or, American Muck Boox; Treating of the Nature, Properties, 
Sources, History, and Operations of all the Principal Fertilizers and Manures in Com- 
mon Use, with specific directions for their Preservation, and Application to the Soil 
and to Crops; drawn from authentic sources, actual experience, and personal observa- 
tion, as combined with the Leading Principles of Practical and Scientific Agriculture- 
By D. Jay Brownz. ; 


RANDALL’S (H. &.) SHEEP HUSBANDRY; - * * 125 


Wir an Account or THE DirrErENT Breeps, and general direc- 
tions in regard to Summer and Winter Management, Breeding, and the Treatment of 
Diseases, with Portraits and other Engravings. By Henry 8. RANDALL. 


THE SHEPHERD’S OWN BOOK; . - - - . 200 


Wirg an Account or THE Dirrerent Bresgps, Diseases AND May- 
agement of Sheep, and General Directions in regard to Summer and Winter Man- 
agement, Breeding, and the Treatment of Diseases; with Illustrative Engravings, by 
Yovatr & RANDALL; embracing Skinner's Notes on the Breed and Management of 
‘Sheep in the United = tates, and on the Culture of Fine Wool. 

YOUATT ON SHEEP, - - - - - - - 75 


TuetrR Breep, ManaGEMENT AND Diskasks, with Illustrative En- 
gravings; to which are added Remarks on the Breeds and Management of Sheep in 
the United States, and on the Culture of Fine Wool in Silesia) By Wiii1am Youart. 


YOUATT AND MARTIN ON CATTLE; . - - - 1 25 


Berne A TREATISE ON THEIR BREEDS, MANAGEMENT, AND DisEases, 
comprising a full History of the Various Races; their Origin, Breeding, and Merits; 
their capacity for Beef and Milk. By W. Youartr and W. ©. L. Martin. The whole 
forming a Complete Guide for the Farmer, the Amateur, and the Veterinary Surgeon, 
with 100 Illustrations. Edited by AmBrosE STEVENS. 


YOUATT ON THE HORSE; - - - - - - 1 25 


Youatr ON THE SrructuRE anpD Diseases OF THE Hors, with 
their Remedies. Also, Practical Rules for Buyers, Breeders, Smiths, &c. Edited by 


W.C. Spooner, M.R.C YS. With an account of the Breeds in the United States, by 
HENRY 8. RANDALL. 


Books Published by A. O. Moors. 7 


YOUATT AND MARTIN ON THE HOG; - - - - $0 75 


* 

A TREATISE ON THE BREEDS, MANAGEMENT, AND Mepican Treat- 
ment of Swine, with Directions for Salting Pork, and Curing Pacon and Hams. Py 
Wma. Youart, V.8 , and W.C.L.Marrin. Edited by AmBrosz Stevens. Illustrated 
with Engravings drawn from life. 


BLAKE’S (REV. JOHN L.) FARMER AT HOME; - - 1 25 
A Famity Text Boox ror rae Country; being a Cyclopedia of 
Agricultural Implements and Productions, and of the more important topicsin Do- 


mestic Economy, : cience, and Literature, adapted to Rural Life. Ey Rev. Jonn L. 
Li. akE, D D. 


MUNN’S (B.) FRACTICAL LAND DRAINER; - 7 - 59 


Berne A TREATISE ON Draryine Lanp, in which the most approved 
systems of Drainage are explained, and their differences and comparative merits dis- 
cussed; with fuil Directions for the Cutting and Making of Drains, with Remarks upon 
the various maievials of which they may be constructed. With many illustrations. ty 
b, Munn, Landscape Gardener. 

ELLIOTI’S AMERICAN FRUIT CROWER’S GUIDE IN ORCHARD 
SOUT SL EEO: AMIRI Sr Ih PLU eSR a ic 1 25 


Bertne A Compenp or THE History, Moprs or Propacation, Cur- 
ture. &c., of Fruit Trees and Sh ubs, with descriptions of nearly all the varieties of 
Fruits cultivated in this country ; and Notes of their adaptation to localities, soils, and 
a complete list of : ruits worthy of cultivation. Ly I. R. Extrorr, Pomologist. 


FRACTICAL FRUIT, FLOWER, AND KITCHEN GARDENER’S COM- 
PANION; - - 2 mae hea oe - - - 109 
Wirn a Carenpar. By Patrick Neitz, LL.D., F.R.S.E., Secre- 
tary of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society. Adapted to the United States 
from the fourth edition, revised and improved by the author. Edited by G. Emerson, 
M D., Editor of “The American Farmer’s Encyclopedia.” With Notes and Additions 
by R. G Paxrvus, author of * Manual of the Strawberry Culture.” With illustrations. 
BSIEPUMENS’ (HENRY) BCCK GF THE FARM; = - 4 00 
A CompLetE GvipE To THE FARMER, Strwarp, Prowman, Oart- 
tleman, Shepherd, Field Worker, and Dairy Maid. By Henry Strernens. With Four 
Huntred and Fifty Illustrations; to which are added Explanatory Notes, Remarks, 
&c., by J S Skinner. Really one of the best books a farmer can possess. 
FPEDDERS’ GAMES) FARMERS’ LARD MEASURER; - = 59 
Or, Pocker Companton ; Showing at one view the Contents of any 
Piece of Land from Dimensions taken in Yards. With a set of Useful Agricultural 
Tables. 
WHITE’S (W. N.) GARDENING FCR THE SOUTH; . - 125 


Or, THE KitcHen anp Fruit Garpen, with the best methods for 
their Cultivation; together with hints upon Landscape and Flower Gardening; con- 
taining modes of culture and descriptions of the species and varieties of the Culinary 
Vegetables, Fruit Trees, and Fruits, and a select list of Ornamental Trees and Plants, 
found by trial adapted to the States of the Union south of Pennsylvania, with Garden- 
ing Calendars forthe same. Dy Wm. N. Wuirs, of Athens, Georgia. 


EASTWOOD (8.) ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE CRANBERRY ; 50 


Wirn a DescripTion OF THE BEST Vanteties. By B. Hastwoop, 
“ Septimus” of the New York Tribune. 


AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER’S MANUAL; - - - - 100 


Berne A Practica, TREATISE ON THE History and Domestic 
Economy of the Honey Bee, embracing a full illustration of the whole subject, with 
the most approved methods of managing this Insect, through every branch of its 
Cultu'e; the resu\4 of many years’ experience. Illustrated with many engravings 
By T. B. Miner. 


8 Books Published by A. O. Moore. 


—_— 


_THAER’S (ALBERT D.) AGRICULTURE - - . $2 60 


THe PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE, by ALBERT D. THER; trans- 
lated by Witt1am SuHaw and Curusert W. Jounson, Esq., F.R.S. With a Memoir 
of the Author. 1 vol. 8vo. 

This work is regarded by those who are competent to judge as one of the most 
beautiful works that has ever appeared on the subject of Agriculture. At the same 
time that it is eminently practical, it is philosophical, and, even to the general reader, 
remarkably enteitaining. 


BOUSSINGAUL?’S (J. B.) RURAL ECONOMY, - - 125 


In irs Reiations to CHeEmiIstry, Puysics, AnD METEOROLOGY : 
or, Chemistry applied to Agriculture. By J. B. Bousstneauut. Translated, with 
notes, ete., by George Law, Agriculturist. 

“ The work is the fruit of a long life of study and experiment, and its perusal will 
aid the farmer greatly in obtaining a practical and scientific knowledge of his profes - 
sion.” 


MYSTERIES OF BEE-KEEPING EXPLAINED; - - - 1090 


Betne A Complete ANALYsIS OF THE WHOLE SuBsect, consisting 
of the Natural History of Bees; Directions for obtaining the greatest amount of Pure 
Surplus Honey with the least possible expense; Remedies for losses given, and the 
Science of Luck fully illustrated; the result of more than twenty years’ experience in 
extensive Apiaries. By M. QurnBy. 


THE COTTAGE AND FARM BEE-KEEPER ; - - < 50 
A Practica Worx, by a Country Curate. 
WEEKS (JOHN M.) ON BEES.—A MANUAL; - - - 50 


Or, AN Easy Metuop or ManacinG BEES IN THE MOST PROFITABLE 
manner to their owner; with infallible rules to prevent their destruction by the Moth, 
With an appendix, by Wooster A. FLANDERS. 

THE ROSE; - - . + - - - - : 50 


Beine A PractTicaL TREATISE ON THE PROPAGATION, CULTIVATION, 
and Management of the Rose in all Seasons; with a list of Choice and Approved Varie- 
ties, adapted to the Climate of the United States; to which is added full directions for 
the Treatment of the Dahiia. Illustrated by Engravings. 


MOORE’S RURAL EAND BOCES, - = - as = 1 25 
First Series, containing Treatises on— 
Tue Horse, Tue Pests OF THE Fa 
Tue Hoe, Domestic Fow1s, and 
Tue Honey BEE, THE Cow, 
SrconD Series, containing— Sat Sener - 1°25 
Zvery Lapy HER Owx FLowER GARDENER, Essay ON MANURES, 
#LEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE, AMERICAN KITCHEN GARDENER, 
Sinp FANnciceRr, AMERICAN RosE CULTURIST. 
TutrD Series, containmg— - - - - = 1 25 
MILES ON THE Horse's Foot, Vine Dresser’s MANUAL, 
Tue RAaBBit FANCIER, Bre-KEE?rR’s CHART, 
WEEKES ON BEES, CHEMISTRY MADE Easy. 
Fovurts Serigs, containing— = - Ad iwi s 1 25 
PERSOZ ON THE VINE, Hoorer’s Doe anp Gun, 
Liepic 8 FAMILIAR LETTERS, SKILLFUL HOUSEWIFE, 
Browne's Memorrs oF INDIAN Corn. 
RICHARDSON ON DOGS: THEIR CRIGIN AND VARIETIES. . 50 


DIRECTIONS AS TO THEIR GENERAL MANAGEMENT. With numerous 
original anecdotes. Also, Complete Instructions as to Treatment under Disease, By 
H. D. Ricnarpson. I[lustrated with numerous wood engravings, 

This is not only a cheap work, but one of the best ever published on the Dog. 


Books Published by A. O. Moors. 9 


LIEBIG’S (JUSTUS) FAMILIAR LECTURES ON CHEMISTRY, $0 50 


Anp its Retation to ComMEeRcE, PuHysioLoay, AND AGRICULTURE. 
Edited by Jonn GaRpENER, M.D. 


BEMENT’S (C. N.) RABBIT FANCIER; 2 Sorte ke are 50 


A TREATISE ON THE BREEDING, REARING, FEEDING, AND GENERAL 
Management of Rabbits, with remarks upon their diseases and remedies, to which are 
added full directions for the construction of Hutches, Rabbitries, &c., together with 
recipes for cooking and dressing for the Table. Beautifully illustrated. 


THOMPSON (R. D.) ON THE FOOD OF ANIMALS - = 75 


EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHES ON THE F'00D OF ANIMALS AND THE 
Fattening of Cattle; with remarks on the Food of Man. Based upon Experiments 
undertaken by order of the British Government, by Rosert Dunpas Tuomrson, M.D., 
Lecturer on Practical Chemistry, University of Glasgow. 


THE WESTERN FRUIT BOOK; - - - - . 1 25 


Brine A ComPeND or THE History, Moprs or Propagation, Cut- 
ture, &c., of Fruit Trees and Shrubs, &c, &c. By F. R. Exxiorr. 


eae SKILLFUL HOUSEWIFE? SS Sal ee Ce as 50 


Or Compete GuipE To Domestic Cooxerry, TastE, ComFort, AND 
Economy, embracing 659 recipes pertaining to Household Duties, the care of Health, 
Gardening, Birds, Education of Children, &¢.,&c. By Mrs L. G. Apri. 


THE AMERICAN FLORIST’S GUIDE; - - a ~ ss %5 


CoMPRISING THE AMERICAN RosE Cuutvrist AND Every Lapy HER 
own Flower Gardener. 


EVERY LADY HER OWN FLOWER GARDENER; . - 50 


ADDRESSED TO THE INDUSTRIOUS AND Economical ONLY ; containing 
simple and practical Directions for Cultivating Plants and Flowers; also, Hints for the 
Management of Flowers in Rooms, with brief Botanical Descriptions of Plants and 
Flowers. The whole in plain and simple language. By Louisa JOHNSON. 


FISH CULTURE.—A Treatise on the Artificial Propagation of certain kinds of Fish, 
with the description and habits of such kinds as are most suitable for pisciculture. 
Also directions for the most successful metheds of Angling, illustrated with numerous 
engravings By THropatus Garzicx, M. D. Vice President of Cleveland Academy 
of Natural Science, - - - - - - - - 1 00 


FLINT ON GRASSHS.—A Practical Treatise on Grasses and Forage Plants, compris- 
ing their naiural history, comparative nutritive value, methods of cultivating, cutting, 
and curing, and the management of grass lands. By Cuas. L. Firt, A. M., Secretary 
of Mass. State Board of Agriculture, —- ~ - ~ - 25 


WARDER ON HEDGES AND EVERGREENS.—A manual on Live Fences, with 
particular directions for their planting, culture and trimming, especially with re- 
gard to the Maclura hedges, and how to make it. Also an essay on Evergreens, their 
varieties, propagation, transplan*ing and culture in the United States. By Jonn A. 
Warper, M.D President cf Cincinnati Horticultural Society, - - 


10 Books Published by A. O. Moore. 


ROP LLLP OD 


MOORE’S 


~Hand Books of Bural and Domestic Geonomy. 


All arranged and adapted to the Use of American Farmers, 


PRICE 25 CENTS EACH. 


HOGS; 


THEIR ORIGIN, VARIETIES AND MANAGEMENT, With a View to Pro- 
fit, and Treatment under Disease: also Plain Directions relative to the most approved 
modes of preserving their Flesh. By H. D. Ricuarpson, author of “The Hive and the 
Honey Bee,” &c., &c. With illustrations—12mo, 


THE HIVE AND THH HONEY BEE; 


Wirs Puiain Directions ror OBTAINING A CoNSIDERABLE ANNUAL 
Income from this branch of Rural Economy; also an Account of the Diseases of Bees 
and their Remedies, and Remarks as to their Enemies, and the best mode of protecting 
the Hives from their attacks. By H.D. Ricnarpson. With illustrations, 


DOMESTIC FOWLS; 

Turin NaturaL History, Breepinc, REARING, AND GENERAL 
Management. By H. D. Rronarpson, author of “The Natural History of the Fossil 
Deer,” &c. ‘With illustrations. 

THE HORSE; 
THEIR ORIGIN AND VARIETIES; WITH Pian DIRECTIONS AS TO THE 


Breeding, Rearing, and General Management, with Instructions as to the Treatment of 
Disease. Handsomely illustrated—12mo. By H. D. Ricnarpson. 


THE ROSE; 
Tue American Rosk Cunturist ; being a Practical Treatise on the 


Propagation, Cuitivation, and Management in all Seasons, &c. With full directions for 
the Treatment of the Dahlia. 


THE PESTS OF THE FARM; 
Wirn Insrrucions ror THEIR ExtTrRPATiIon; being a Manual of 


Plain Directions for the certain Destruction of every description of Vermin. With 
numerous illustrations on Wood. 


AN ESSAY ON MANURES; 
SvupMITTED TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY FOR 
Promoting Agriculture, for their Premium. By Samven. H. Dana. 
THE AMERICAN BIRD FANCIER; 
CoNSIDERED WITH REFERENCE TO THE BREEDING, REARING, FEED- 


ing, Management, and Peculiarities of Cage and House Birds. Illustrated with Engrav- 
ings. By D. Jay Browne. 


CHEMISTRY MADE EASY; 
For THs Use or Farmers. By J. Topuam. 
ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE; 
‘(RANSLATED FROM THE F'RencH, and Adapted to the use of American 
Farmers. By F. G. SKINNER, 


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