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Ts ate
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
THE
preys 3 a
iA4 ws ;
CHINESE SUGAR-CANE;
ITs
History, ode of Culture,
MANUFACTURE OF THE SUGAR, ETC.
WITH
REPORTS OF ITS SUCCESS IN DIFFERENT PORTIONS OF THE UNITED
STATES, AND LETTERS FROM DISTINGUISHED MEN.
>
WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY
.
JAMES F. 0. HYDE,
OF WALNUT GROVE NURSERY, NEWTON OENTRE, MASS.
BOSTON:
PUBLISHED BY JOHN P. JEWETT & COMPANY.
CLEVELAND, OHIO:
HENNEY (Pi Bee GeEwWett.
L&s7,
Entered according to Aci of Congress, in the year 1856, by
JOHN P. JEWETT & CO.,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
~,
IK Sntte Wn
as Y ( BTEREOTYPED BY
\ HOBART & ROBBINS,
\A New England Type and Stereotype Foundery,
. \ ‘
BOSTON.
PREFACE.
Few subjects are of greater importance to us, as
a people, than the producing of sugar; for no coun-
try in the world consumes so much as the United
States, in proportion to its population. It is a sub-
ject of special interest at this time, on account of
the great advance that has taken place in the price
of this very important product.
We have been hoping for years to obtain a plant
which would produce sugar in the northern portion
of our country; and it is supposed by many that we.
have at last succeeded. But whether we have or
not, the subject is exciting a great deal of interest,
especially with the writer; and his attention has been
given to the new plant, — not, however, without fear
that it would prove, like many other new things,
comparatively worthless. Having ascertained cer-
tain facts in regard to it, he was induced to give
them to the public through the newspapers, suppos-
ing that that would be the last of it, so far as he
was concerned. But, to his surprise, ‘letters began
to pour in, at the rate of three or four a day, from
all parts of the country, from Maine to Minnesota,
asking for further information, and for seed of the
plant. ese letters were answered, and seed sent
free of charge, until they came so thick and fast, he
was obliged to say that he could not answer them
in detail.
Finding there was such a desire to obtain infor-
iL
IV PREFACE.
mation, on the part of the public, he was induced,
at the suggestion of a friend, to get up this little,
unpretending volume. No merit is claimed for it,
other than that it is the truth, and the whole truth,
. so far as the experience of the writer goes, and so
far as he has been able to obtain information from
other sources; for he has carefully avoided every-
thing that did not seem to be well authenticated,
The writer hopes and believes this little work
will prove useful to those who wish for information
in regard to the new plant of which it treats. He
has given all the information that could be obtained
on the subject. The work was attended with some
difficulties, owing to the fact of the recent introduc-
tion of the plant, and consequently the short time
there has been to try experiments with it. The
writer feels a deep interest in this subject, and that
has led him to bring this before the public. But,
while he gives the result of his own experience, he
also gives a statement of most of the experiments
that have been made in the country. For an ac-
count of these he is indebted to Richard Peters,
Esq., who furnished a detailed report of his trial of
the cane; D. Redmond, editor of the Southern Cul-
tivator ; the Patent Office Reports, and some of the
agricultural papers North and South.
The object of this work is to supply the public
with accurate knowledge concerning this new and
valuable plant,— Chinese Sugar-Cane. How far
he has accomplished: that object the reader must
judge.
Le OE
Newton Centre, Dec. 20th, 1856 > *
THE
CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
TuE great value and extensive consumption of
the products of the sugar-cane lead us to feel a
deep interest in its cultivation, and especially
now that prices are so high; and while we
believe that we have, in the new Chinese sugar-
cane, a plant adapted even to the most northern
of the United States, and one too that can-be
grown so easily, and yield so richly. Sugar is
no longer a mere luxury, denied to all but the
rich and great, as it was once, but is used by all
classes. It may not be uninteresting to the
reader to give something of the history and
origin of the sugar-cane. All the evidence goes
to show that China was the first country that
cultivated it, and manufactured sugar; and not
only were the Chinese the first, but there is
good reason to believe that they enjoyed its use
6 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
many centuries before it was generally known
and used in Europe. Indeed, it would further
seem that they not only possessed the art of
extracting the juice, but a knowledge of the
whole process, down to refining sugar. Strange
as it may seem, it was a long time in finding its
way over the different countries where it is now
so profitably cultivated. When first known, it
went by the name of Indian salt, and under that
name it was sent abroad from China to India
and Arabia, and thence to Rome and Greece,
among the costly spices, and was considered a
rare luxury. The cultivation of the plant grad-
ually extended over the different countries of
Europe.
It is supposed that it was known in the south
of Europe as early as the ninth century, for
there is evidence that it was cultivated at Sicily
and the islands in its vicinity ; but it was not until
the thirteenth century that the cane became gen-
erally known and cultivated on that continent.
It has finally extended over most of the civilized
world where the climate is adapted to its
growth. For some time after the introduction
of sugar into Europe it was used only on great
occasions, such as feasts, and for medicines ; and
in a different form from what it is now com-
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 7
monly used,— more like our candy ; —and it
is within a hundred years that the sugar-cane
was first brought to this country and cultivated
to some extent in Louisiana, on the very place
where the city of New Orleans now stands. But
the planter was not able to do any more than
make syrup, not perhaps ever expecting to make
sugar; yet we see since that time hundreds of
thousands of hogsheads have been produced
every year. Why may not the same results fol-
low the introduction of the new Chinese sugar-
cane? The following account is given of the
first experiment of sugar-making in that state :
‘¢ Towards the close of the last century,’’ says
the highest authority, ‘‘ a gentleman residing in
the vicinity of New Orleans determined to
attempt the manufacture of sugar. ‘The crop
was properly increased, the machinery procured,
and a sugar-maker procured from the West
Indies. The result of the experiment was anx-
iously looked for by the whole surrounding coun-
try. The inhabitants of New Orleans and its
neighborhood assembled in great numbers, but
remained outside of the building, probably
through fear that the experiment would not suc-
ceed. The strike was made amidst profound
silence; when the ‘second’ was thrown into
8 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
the coolers, the sugar-maker announced to the
anxious crowd, in technical language, < It
grains!’ shouts of joy rent the air, and the news
spread with rapidity that the juice of the cane
grown in lower Louisiana had been manufactured
into crystallized sugar, and a new impulse was
given to the cultivation of cane.’’ Year by year
this crop has increased in value, and has now
become a very valuable one, and a great article
of commerce. What variety of cane was first
brought from China and India, I do not know,
but probably one of the sorts that are now culti-
vated in the West Indies, and in our own sugar-
producing state, Louisiana.
It may be well to give a few statistics con-
cerning the amount of sugar consumed in this
country, and other facts connected with the trade
in this article. There is, annually, consumed in
the country, upwards of 800,000,000 pounds, or
about 30 pounds to each person ; which is cer-
tainly a large amount, much larger than is con-
sumed in any other country, in proportion to its
inhabitants. In Great Britain, each person con-
sumes 24 pounds; Belgium, 18; Holland, 17;
France, 8; Denmark, 6; Sweden, 4; Russia,
Z. This shows conclusively that the people of
the United States consume more sugar than those
THE CHINESE. SUGAR-CANE. 9
of any country. It is considered indispensable
by every one, and its use judged conducive to
health. According to the Patent Office report
of 1853-4, by the census returns of 1840, the
amount of cane-sugar made in the Union, that
year, was 119,995,104 pounds ; in 1850, 247,-
577,000 pounds, showing an increase of 127,-
581,896 pounds, besides 12,700,896 gallons of
molasses. The amount of cane and maple sugar
made in the United States in 1853-4 may be
estimated at 545,000,000 pounds, which at six
cents — and it is worth much more than that —
would be worth $32,700,000, besides 14,000,000
gallons of molasses and syrup, which, at 30 cents,
would be worth $4,200,000. A large part of
the sugar which is produced in this country
comes from Louisiana, as will be seen by the fol-
lowing returns for the years 1853-4, — one
_ year’s product, —in all, 449,324 hogsheads, or
about 495,156,000 pounds. Thus, it will be
seen that Louisiana supplied much more than
was produced in the whole country in 1850.
But we see, by late returns, that the crop has
fallen off, so that in 1855 it was only 231,427
hogsheads, or but little more than half what it
was in 1853; and this probably is one great
10 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
reason why sugar is so much dearer than for-
merly.
According to the statement of the New York
Shipping and Commercial List, the total import-
ation of foreign sugars into the United States for
the year ending December 51, 1855, was 382,-
786 hogsheads, of 1200 pounds each; in 1854,
309,726 hogsheads. According to Hunt’s Mag-
azine, the total decrease of cane-sugar in 1855,
as compared with 1854, was 13 per cent. The
amount of sugar consumed in the United States
in 1855 was about 766,000 hogsheads, of 1200
pounds each. The greatest amount produced in
Louisiana in one season being 449,324 hogs-
heads, of 1000 pounds each. In addition to this,
the amount of maple-sugar made in the United
States in 1850 was 34,253,436 pounds. Of
this, New York produced 10,357,484; Vermont,
5,980,955 ; Ohio, 4,588,209 ; and so on, every
state producing some. :
I might go more extensively into statistics, if
necessary, to show the importance and value of
this crop ; but deem it unnecessary, as ewery per-
son is compelled to own that it is second to few
other crops. And though we see, by the facts
presented, that the culture of sugar-cane and the
manufacture of sugar from the maple has greatly
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 11
increased within the past few years, and that it
must naturally increase in time to come, yet the.
demand has been greater than the supply, or, in
other words, the demand being so active and the
supply limited, prices have greatly advanced, so
that sugar that was sold ten years ago for six
cents is now worth nine and ten cents, or nearly
double what it was then. ‘There are several
reasons for this: much more is used than for-
merly for preserving fruits, for, confectionery,
&c. ; less sugar is produced in the British West
Indies than formerly ; new markets have been ©
opened and have been supplied; while hard win-
ters in Louisiana have, in some instances, killed
out the cane, and there have been many other
things to contend with in its growth, all of which
have tended to diminish the supply of this valu-
able article. There are other well-known facts
connected with sugar-growing in Louisiana,
which show the difficulties and obstacles there
are in the way of sugar-growing in that state.
One is, the great expense they must be at in
draining the land, and preparing it for the growth
of the cane. This objection will hold good of
much of the land on which sugar-cane is grown ;
then, when the cane is matured, they must reserve
about a fourth of their entire crop for next year’s,
2
fond
i be THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
setting. Their cane is grown from cuttings or
joints of last year’s growth, unlike the West
India ‘cane, which lives in the ground year after
year, or the Chinese sugar-cane, which produces
seed from which it may be grown ; — the cane
hitherto cultivated never seeds in this country,
and rarely anywhere. It has also deteriorated
from being reproduced in this way year after year,
from cuttings, so that it takes more acres to yield
the same amount of sugar than formerly. Sugar-
cane will not flourish on a wet soil. In regard
to maple-sugar, it may be said that the supply
will probably be limited ; and even allow that it
should continue for many years to come as it 1s,
or even increase, how much would it do towards
supplying a constantly increasing demand? The
same argument will apply, and perhaps with
‘ greater force, to the manufacture of beet-sugar,
to which considerable attention has been paid in
France, though but little has been done in our
own country. In 1810, when Napoleon the
Great did everything in his power to encourage
the cultivation of the sugar-beet, for the manu-
facture of sugar, there was produced that year
2,000,000 pounds, or about one fifty-eighth part
as much as France consumed. Subsequent to
‘that, its manufacture increased to an extraordi-
THE CHINESE SOGAR-CANE. 13
nary extent, and annually yielded 24,000,000
pounds. When a tax was laid upon domestic
sugars, it again decreased. But, for the year
preceding the first of September, 1853, there
was manufactured in France, from the sugar-beet,
165,680,790 pounds. A great portion of the beet
crop of France is now used for thé manufacture
of brandy, the grape crop having partially failed.
The reputation and demand of French brandy is
such, that it becomes profitable to use the beet
crop for this purpose, rather than to make sugar.
By this France becomes dependent on foreign
countries for a large part of the sugar which it
consumes. ‘The beet culture for sugar has been
extended over Germany, Belgium, and other
Kuropean states. |
A writer in the Boston Herald, speaking of
the deficiencies of the sugar crop of our own and
other countries, and showing that the crop of
Louisiana will be very much smaller than last
year, goes into some figures to show this fact,
and quotes from the Philadelphia Journal, which
says: ‘* In all probability, before next summer,
the sugar sold at eight cents a pound in 1804
will reach at least-double that sum. John
Brown, the laborer, must therefore prepare to
sweeten his tea with steam-syrup molasses.”’
14 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
He also speaks of the comparatively small yield,
and the entire inadequacy of the maple-sugar to
meet this demand, and closes by recommending
the culture of the sugar-beet. He cites the
success of the French in this branch of sugar
manufacturg as an example for us, and thinks
.the agricultural department of the Patent Office
ought to take some steps to bring about ‘‘ a con-
summation so devoutly to be wished,’’—a de-
crease in the price of sugar and molasses. He
further says: ‘* The annual yield of beet-root
sugar in France averaged for a number of years
upwards of 150,000,000 pounds. This immense
production, at thirteen cents a pound, the price
we now pay for a decent article of Havana
sugar, at retail, gives the handsome sum of
about $20,000,000 added yearly to French
industry.’’
It may not be out of place here to say that the
sugar-beet culture has been attempted, and thus
far failed; and I very much doubt if it can be
revived and be made profitable to compete with
the new Chinese sugar-cane, which is now being
brought forward to supply, if possible, the defi-
ciency in the sugar and syrup crop of our coun-
try. I have no doubt, if half the time and money
are spent in perfecting the manufacture of sugar
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. kD
from the new cane that have been spent in
France on the sugar-beet culture, and manufac-
ture of sugar therefrom, surprising and very
gratifying results will follow. For, not only will
it, in my opinion, take the place of the old
varieties of cane in Louisiana, and thus render
the crop of that state much larger and more sure,
but it will be grown in almost every state and
territory in our widely-extended country, either
for the production of sugar or syrup, for both of
which I shall attempt to show it is adapted.
Now, what do these facts concerning the sugar
crop show? Do they not show most conclusively
that we must, if possible, increase in some way
the annual production of sugar ? — and the ques-
tion is, how shall it be done? The only remedy
is to find saccharine plants adapted to the tem-
perate zone, so that they may be profitably
employed in the production of sugar. If this can
- be done, and the farmers of each state raise and
make their own sugar and molasses with the
same ease with which they grow wheat and other
grain, and manufacture it into flour, then these
articles will be so extensively raised that the
supply will be adequate to the demand, and
prices will be reduced as they should be, so that
2%
16 THE CHINESE: SUGAR-CANE.
all, both poor as well as rich, may enjoy the ben-
efit of them.
Most of us have hitherto despaired of finding
such a sugar-yielding plant that could be grown
in a northern climate. Perhaps it is not yet
found ; but we may hope, and not without strong
reasons, that the Chinese sugar-cane is just the
article calculated to supply the want. So that we
think the day is not far distant when sugar and
syrup or molasses enough will be produced, even
in the New England States, to supply our wants,
and thus relieve our country of the heavy tax it
has paid foreign countries for this very useful
and necessary article.
Having shown to some extent the value of the
sugar crop, the increasing demand for sugars and
molasses, the reasons why we cannot depend upon
the present sugar-growing countries for a supply
at fair prices, the difficulties they have to overcome:
in its cultivation, and, lastly, the necessity there
seems to be of procuring some new plant that will
grow everywhere, and produce the rich saccharine
matter we so much desire, I am prepared to
introduce to the attention of the agriculturists of
our country the new Chigese Sugar-Cane, of
which we shall give a short history, and then
detail the results that have followed the exper-
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 17
iments that have been made with it during the
past two years.
D. J. Browne, Esq., who is connected with the
Patent Office, and who, I believe, first introduced
the Chinese sugar-cane into this country, gives
us the following full and valuable account of it,
in the report of 1854 He says it is ‘‘a new
gramineous plant, which seems to be destined to
take an important position among our economical
products ; was sent some four years since from
the north of China, by M. de Montigny, to the
Geographical Society of Paris. From a cursory
examination of a small field of it growing at
Verrieres, in France, in autumn last, I was led
to infer that, from the peculiarity of the climate,
and its resemblance in-appearance and habit to
Indian corn, it would flourish in any region
wherever that plant would thrive. But how far
it will subserve the purpose ascribed to it in
France, should it even succeed in every part
of the United States, can only be determined
by extended experiments.
‘¢ There appears to be a doubt among the sci-
entific cultivators in Europe as to the botanical
name of this plant. Holcus Saccharatus, which
is evidently an error, has been provisionally
adopted by M. Louis Vilmorin, of Paris; but, as
18 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
the term is already applied to our common broom-
corn, if not to other species, this name cannot
with propriety be retained. Mr. Leonard Wray,
of London, who has devoted much time and
attention to the cultivation of this plant with a
view of extracting sugar from its juice, at Cape
Natal and other places, informed me that in the
south-east part of Caffraria there are at least fif-
teen varieties of it, some of them growing to a
height of twelve or fifteen feet, with stems as
_ thick as those of the sugar-cane. M. Vilmorin
also says that in a collection of seeds sent to the
museum at Paris, in 1840, by M. de Abadie, there
were thirty kinds of sorghum, among the
growth of which he particularly recognized sev-
eral plants having ‘stems of a saccharine flavor.
Thus it will be seen that there is much cause of
confusion, and a necessity for a critical exami-
nation of the subject. LI would state, however,
that Messrs. Vilmorin and Groenland are engaged
conjointly in the cultivation, and in determining
the properties of this and the allied species, and
we have every reason to hope that their researches
will enable us soon to know their botanical types.
‘*¢ Sorgho Sucre is a plant which on rich land
grows to the height of from two to three or more ~
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 19
yards. Its stems are straight and smooth, having
leaves somewhat flexous and falling over, greatly
resembling Indian corn in appearance, but is more
elegant inform. Itis generally cultivated in hills
containing eight or ten stalks each, which bear at
their tops a conical panicle of dense flowers, green
at first, but changing into violet shades, and,
finally, into dark purple at maturity. In France
it is an annual, where its cultivation and period
of growth correspond to those of Indian corn ;
but, from observations made by M. Vilmorin,
it is conjectured that, from the vigor and fulness
of the lower part of the stalks in autumn, by
protecting them during the winter, they would
produce new plants the following spring. If
cultivated in our Southern States, it is probable
that the roots would send forth new shoots in
spring, without protection, in the same manner
as its supposed congener, the Dourah corn. At
the North, the maturity of the seed probably
would be more certain if planted in some shel-
tered situation; but, if the object of cultivating be
for the extracting of sugar, or for fodder for ani-
mals, an open culture would be sufficient, where
the soil is rich and light, and somewhat warm.
According to the experiments of M. Ponsart, the
seeds vegetate better when but slightly covered
20 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
with earth. M. Ledocte proposes to associate
with the plant another of more rapid growth,
such as lettuce, or rape, in order that the labor-
ers may distinguish the young sorgho from grass,
which it greatly resembles in the early stage of
its growth. Any suckers, or superfluous shoots,
which may spring up in the course of the season,
should be removed.
‘¢The great object sought in France, in the
cultivation of this plant, is the juice contained in
its stalks, which furnishes three important prod-
ucts : namely, sugar, which is identical with that
of cane; alcohol, and a fermented drink analo
gous to cider. This juice, when obtained with
care in small quantities, by depriving the stalk
of its outer coating, or woody fibre and bark, is
nearly colorless, and consists merely of sugar and
water. Its density varies from 1.050 to 1.075,
and the proportion of sugar contained in it from
ten to sixteen per cent., a third part of which is
sometimes uncrystallizable. To this quantity of
uncrystallizable sugar this juice owes its facility
of readily fermenting, and consequently the large
amount of alcohol it produces, compared with the
saccharine matter observed directly by the sac-
charometer. In so far as the manufacture of
sugar is concerned, this plant appears to have
s
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. yA
but little chance of success in a northern climate,
as a large proportion of that which is uncrystal-
lizable is not only a loss in the manufacture, but
an obstacle to the extraction of what is crystal-
lizable.
‘¢ Tt must not be understood, however, that the
produce of this plant is unprolific or difficult to
obtain, but that, all things being equal, its nature
renders it more abundant in alcohol than in sugar.
Yet it would be very different in the warmer cli-
mate at the South, where the sugar-cane is diffi-
cult to be obtained, in requiring protection from
frost. From experiments made by M. Vilmorin,
on some dried stalks of sorgho sent from Algeria,
it proved that the product of sugar obtained from
them was infinitely superior to that produced
from the same plant which had been cultivated
near Paris. I was also informed by Mr. Wray,
who.experimented upon the juice at Natal, that
the proportion of crystallizable sugar quite pre-
dominates where the climate allows the plant
fully to mature. The chief advantage of the
sorgho, as a sugar-plant, is the facility of its
' cultivation, and the easy treatment of the juice.
It is thought that the rough product may sur-
pass that of the sugar-cane in those countries
where the latter is an annual, and, like which,
a2 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
its stalks and leaves will furnish an abundance
of nutritious forage for sustaining and fattening
animals. As the molasses, too, is identical with
that manufactured from the cane, it may be used
in the distillation of rum, alcohol, and a liquor
called ‘ tafia,’ which resembles brandy.
‘¢The greatest difficulty to be apprehended,
probably, would be the preservation of the stalks
from fermenting, owing to the short time left to the
manufacture. This, however, might be obviated,
as Mr. Wray informed me that, in the neighhor-
hood of Natal, the Zoulous-Caffers preserved it
for a long time by burying the stalks in the
ground, notwithstanding the climate of their
country is very warm and damp. It wiil also
be observed, that in the manufacture of brandy,
or alcohol, the unecrystallizable sugar can be
turned to account, which in a measure would
otherwise be lost. Another advantage consists
in the pureness of the juice, which, when thus
converted, from the superiority of its quality,
can immediately be brought into consumption
and use. The alcohol produced by only one dis-
tillation is nearly destitute of foreign flavor, hav-
ing an agreeable taste, somewhat resembling
noyau, being much less ardent, or fiery, than
rum.
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 23
<¢ One of the points M. Vilmorin was desirous
of establishing was, at what period of the growth
the stalks began to contain sugar, and, conse-
quently, when its manufacture should commence.
He came to the conclusion that it coincided with
the putting forth of the spikes ; but the propor-
tion of sugar in the stalks continued to increase,
until the seeds were in a milky state. In the
plant in flower, he observed that the amount of
sugar diminished in the merithalles (parts of the
stalks between the nodes, or joints), the nearer
they were to the top; and also the lower part
of each merithalle contained less saccharine mat-
ter than the upper. In consequence of this, and
owing to the smallness and hardness of the lower
knot, the centre of the stalk is the richest por-
tion. He was inclined to the opinion that, at a
later period, the merithalles lower down the stalk
are impoverished in the amount, if not in the
quality, of the sugar they contain. The ripe-
ness of the seeds does not appear much to lessen
the production of sugar, at least in the chmate
near Paris; but in other countries where it ma-
tures when the weather is still warm, the effect
may be different. According to the report of M.
de Beauregard, addressed to the ‘ Comice de
Toulon,’ the ripening of the sorgho in that lat-
3
24 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
itude had no unfavorable effect; and he con-
siders the seeds and the sugar as two products
to be conjointly obtained. On the other hand,
Mr. Wray says the Zoulous-Caffers are in the
habit of pulling off the panicles of the plant the
moment they appear, in order to augment the
quantity of saccharine matter in the stalks. This
question may be of some importance in our South-
ern States, should this plant supersede in any
manner the sugar-cane. Having considered some
of the probabilities of this product in an eco-
nomical point of view, it remains only for me to
recommend it to the attention of others who may
have opportunities to cultivate it, and the means
and talent to prove or refute, by direct experi-
ments, its worth.’’
How far this new cane will stand the northern
winters, yet remains to be proved. But it will
be seen that it is not so important that this cane
should stand the winters, for it can be grown
readily from seed, without fear of deterioration,
as in case of the old cane grown from cuttings,
which produces less and less every year, showing
most clearly that it cannot be depended upon for
years to come. In fact, so apparent has this
become, that fields that formerly produced 5000
to 4000 pounds of sugar to the acre now only pro-
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 25
duce, with equally good treatment, on an equally
good soil, from 500 to 1000 pounds. And in
order to preserve the sugar-fields from complete
barrenness, the government has fitted out and
placed at the service of the Patent Office a vessel
which is to be sent out with a competent agent
to procure sugar-cane cuttings from abroad, to
stock anew the plantations of the South.
The new cane, as will be seen, is being fully
tested in France by men competent to determine
its value, and to whom the public will look with
interest, while we shall watch with still greater
interest the results of other experiments that
will be made next season in our own couniry.
It has been found, by careful experiment, to
yield not only sugar and syrup, but alcohol ;
and the juice, when fermented, yields a drink
much like cider; when set with alum, the juice
of the husk is said to be good for dyeing, giving
a permanent red; the trash, or waste, after it
has been crushed and the juice expressed, will
make a good article of paper, while the seed
that the plant yields possesses fattening proper-
ties like rice, and can be profitably fed out to
cattle, swine, &c. And this is not all; it will
take the place of all other things for fodder for
cattle, either to be fed green or dry, all of
26 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
which properties will be treated more in detail
hereafter. |
First, in regard to obtaining sugar from this
cane. But little has been done yet, it is true,
though sugar has been made from it both in
France and in this country, so that the matter
is not at all in doubt; the only question being,
whether it will supersede the old cane in the
South, and can be profitably cultivated at the
North. The writer made a small quantity of
sugar this season, which, though of a dark color,
for the want of knowledge as to the course that
ought to be pursued, yet fully proved to his
mind that all that is wanted is experience, to
obtain sugar of the best quality, and in liberal
quantities. It is thought by some that it can
never be profitably raised for this purpose north
of New York: time alone must determine this.
If there were never a pound of sugar made north
of that state, still the cane would be of immense
importance to the North, on account of its other
valuable properties. But it is presumption to
say that sugar cannot be made from it; for, if
such syrup can be produced as the writer will
show he has obtained from this plant, then it
must follow that sugar can also be produced. £
am perfectly satisfied that it may be profitably
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 27
grown for sugar making. In regard to the syrup,
I can speak with great confidence from observa-
tion and experience, as well as from the results.
that have attended experiments in different parts
of the Union. The juice yields from a fifth to a
fourth of its bulk in good syrup; and sugh syrup
as will make one wish at once for the griddle-
cakes on which to test it. In proof of its qual-
ity, we give the following from the Daily Even-
ang Traveller :
‘¢ Massacuuserts Motasses. — Weare indebted
to J. F. C. Hyde, of Newton Centre, for a
specimen of molasses which he has manufactured
from the Chinese sugar-cane grown upon his
farm in that town. It is equal to the best syrup;
in color of a light brown, and of an excellent
flavor.”’
If any further proof is necessary, I will give
the words of an eminent merchant of Boston,
who tested the syrup made by me, —a gentleman
who is fully competent to judge, it having been
a great part of his business to import and sell
sugars and molasses. He said, after testing it,
that it had ‘‘a peculiar fruity, cane flavor, and
was a most splendid article,’’ and wanted to
know where I obtained it; and that it was hard
for him to believe I made it from cane grown in
2% |
vo
28 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
Newton. I may add in another place letters
from gentlemen who tested the article made by
me, and shall give testimony from other states *
in regard to syrup produced there.
A great deal of alcohol can be made from the
juice of this plant, whether grown North or
South; and itis certainly worthy of attention on
this account, as alcohol is used to a great extent
for mechanical and other important and proper
purposes. In regard to cider, or the champagne-
like drink the juice, when fermented, yields, and
the facility with which it can be furnished, I
shall have but little to say; for I very much
doubt if any practical good would follow its
introduction. But it is a fact that it does yield
such a drink.
Of the juice as a coloring matter, when set
with alum, I can only say, from experience, that
I did not fully succeed, the dye not coming up
to my expectations in brilliancy; and though
much is claimed for it by others for such pur-
poses, still I am not inclined to estimate it very
highly.
Of the waste, or ‘‘ begass,’’ which has been
heretofore referred to, I cannot speak. from
experience ; but I have no doubt it will prove
all that is claimed for it as a substance from
?
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 29
which good paper can be made. It seems to
possess the fibre sufficient for such a purpose,
and will probably be fully tested another season.
If it should so prove, it will fill an important
place in the manufacture of this article.
And, then, the seed which it yields so profusely
possesses all the rich qualities of rice, or other
grain, to feed out to cattle, swine, or fowls. It
would seem to be almost worth growing for that
alone, as it yields from twenty-five to fifty bush-
els per acre. And, lastly, the fodder, which
must be quite valuable, on account of its con-
taining so much saccharine matter. It may be
sown for fodder, like corn, and will give two
crops ; for, unless the season is quite dry, it will
quickly shoot up again after being cut down.
Or, where grown for sugar, or syrup, the leaves
and tops of the stalks that are too green to he
used for sugar-making can be saved for fodder,
and thus no part of the plant be lost. If desired,
the brush-top may be used for making brooms.
Especially would I recommend its trial as a
green crop for soiling, or for curing, for winter
feed for cattle; for I think it will prove far supe-
rior to any and all crops that are now grown for
_ that purpose.
I now propose to give the particulars of my
30 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
own experience during the past season with this
truly wonderful plant. I received the seed from
the Patent Office, through my friend, Hon.
Simon Brown, editor of the New England Far-
mer, and, believing it to be a humbug, I planted it
about the twentieth of May, in hills two feet
apart, the rows three and a half, manured in
hills as for Indian corn and no more, on a dry,
gravelly soil, covering the seed lightly, — for
if covered too deep the seed decays. In a few
days it made its appearance, resembling corn, or
more like broom-corn, or barn-grass, and would
be mistaken by the ignorant for that grass, and
there would be danger of destroying it when
hoeing. After it had been up about ten days, I
had it hoed, and treated it all through the sum-
mer as I treated my corn. When the panicles
made their appearance, which they did about the
first of September, I cut them off of all that which
I intended for sugar or syrup making, while that
which was intended for seed was left until just
before the frosts came, when it was cut up and
spread inadry place. Most of the seed ripened,
though it was planted late, and the season was
cold and wet, and for weeks in the spring and
early summer the plants made little growth.
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 31
The cane attained the height of ten and a haif
feet.
I tried my first experiment with the cane the
last of September, and found the juice was thin
and less rich than at a later period. After ex-
pressing the juice, which is of a light green
color and nearly as thin as milk, I put it imme-
diately over a slow fire, without putting anything
into it to clarify it. As it gradually warmed,
I removed the green scum that rose on the sur-
face, until it boiled, and there was no further
need of skimming. [ let it boil until four fifths
had evaporated, and then turned it off to cool.
The result was a very nice syrup.
In the second experiment I took the cane
about the tenth of October, and expressed the
juice as before, putting it over a slow fire and
gradually raising to the boiling point, this time
putting in 4 small quantity of lime-water, both
to aid in purifying and to neutralize the acid
which the juice contains. This time the juice
appeared and proved much richer than before.
The same process of skimming was carried on,
and I obtained a much larger proportion of syrup
and of a better quality, such as I have described
on a former page. Subsequent to this I tried
another experiment with the juice, and proceeded
i pe THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
as before, except I boiled it more, and then set
it away in a strainer to drain; and it grained
tolerably well, though the sugar was of rather
dark color. I tried the juice for coloring, as I
have before said, with indifferent success. In
addition to this, 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
com. This ended my experiments with the
cane.
I now propose to give the results of experi-
ments that have been tried by others in different
parts of the country. And first among them
stands Ricuarp Prrers, Esq., of Atlanta, Geor-
gia, who has tested it more fully than any other
man, so far as I know, in the United States.
He says: ‘‘I considered it a ‘humbug’ until
my children, towards fall, made the discovery
of its being to their taste equal to the true
sugar-cane. ‘This year I planted one patch April
fifteenth, another May eighteenth, on land that
would produce, during a ‘ seasonable’ year, forty
bushels of corn per acre, and this year not over
twenty bushels. Seed sown carelessly in drills,
three feet apart, covered with a one-horse
plough ; intending to ‘chop out’ to astand of one
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 33
stalk six inches apart in the row, but failed to get
a good stand, as the seed came up badly, from the
deep and irregular covering. Worked out same
as for corn, ploughing twice and hoeing once. I
determined to give the syrup-making a fair trial ;
consequently ordered a very complete horse-
power mill, with vertical iron rollers, that has
worked admirably, crushing out juice for eight
gallons of syrup per hour, worked by two mules,
with one hand to put in the cane and a boy to
drive. On the thirteenth of September, find-
ing the seed fully ripe, I had the fodder pulled
and the seed-heads cut. Yield of fodder per
acre, eleven hundred to thirteen hundred pounds.
Yield of seed per acre, twenty-five bushels of
thirty-six pounds to the bushel. [First trial of
mill, seventy average canes gave twenty quarts
of juice; six hundred and six average canes,
passed once through the rollers, gave thirty-
eight gallons one quart of juice ; passed a sec-
ond time through, gave two gallons of juice.
The forty gallons one quart gave eight gallons
of thick syrup. . I carefully measured an eighth
of an acre having the best canes and the best
stand, another eighth having the poorest canes
and the poorest stand; the result I give below,
the canes having passed once through the rollers:
34 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE
Best eighth of an acre.
Yield of juice from 3315 canes,. . . - «/ 208) pal.
Yield of syrup from 258 gallons of juice,. . . 583% «
Rates of syrup per acre, . . . aig ta ase ene 3 ae
Poorest eighth of an acre.
Yield of juice from 2550 canes,. . . . elo - ral,
Yield of syrup from 179 gallons of juice,. . . 484 “
Rates per acre of syrup, . . . . gay aes
Weight of 80 selected canes, . . . . . . 494 Ibs.
cfs OL JUNGE PEESHCE: DUS i 4s. iv. 5h osfee tou’, se ee
id? GF CRUSHEGSCANE, Mees ike soa) oma one. ee enn a ae
Loss in crushing, i zg «
Weight of crushed cane dried | m Cans. Sere ke 94 «
‘‘The following tests were made at the mill
by Dr. Robert Batty :
Specific gravity of Chinese Sugar-cane juice, . 1.085
a OE VAD, 7s ee yee ee a see
ef ohn NEW (vateana syrup, «0-6 L321
Thermometer applied tosyrup, . ... . 77 deg.
Thermometer applied to juice,. . . . . . pee
Saccharometer, ‘“ ‘<6 BORER ee, Ase 254 «
‘¢' The juice should be placed in the boilers im-
mediately on being pressed out, then boil slowly
until the green scum ceases to rise; then stir in
a tea-spoonful of air-slacked lime to five gallons
of juice; continue skimming and boiling until
the syrup thickens and hangs down in flakes
on the rim of the dipper. I have made the
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 35
clearest syrup by simply boiling and skimming,
without lime or other clarifiers. The lime is
requisite to neutralize a portion of the acid in
the juice: the true proportion must be deter-
mined by well-conducted experiments. The cost
of making the syrup in upper Georgia, in my
opinion, will not exceed ten to fifteen cents per
gallon. This I shall be able to test, another sea-
son, by planting and working up fifty acres of
the cane. I am satisfied that this plant will
enable every farmer and planter in the Southern
States to make at home all the syrup required for
family use; and I believe our chemists will soon
teach us how to convert the syrup into sugar for
export, as one of the staples of our favored
clime. Obtaining such unlooked for success with
the Chinese sugar-cane, I concluded to try our
common corn. From a ‘new ground,’ planted
three feet by three, one stalk to a hill, a week
beyond the roasting stage, I selected thirty
stalks.
Weight of 50 stalks, . : : : . 9802 pounds.
REE he PE TCe, : : : : 3 ROE ES
“i 2s. cemgshed istalks):. ‘ : uh LEAR eeu ss
Loss in crushing, ; ‘ ; ? ‘ a
Yield of syrup, : : ! : st pints:
The syrup was of a peculiarly disagreeable taste,
entirely unfit for table use.”
4
36 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
The mill referred to in the above communica-
tion, and of which I give an engraving, I under-
stand was made at Atlanta, Ga., and cost for
iron work about forty-five dollars; and is said,
by a committee of gentlemen who examined it,
to be ‘* worthy of commendation.”’ This com-
mittee further say, that they ‘have no hesitation
in pronouncing upon the value of the Chinese
sugar-cane for making syrup.”’ Without asking
anybody to embark largely in the cultivation of
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. oh
this new article, I think it well worth a fair trial,
‘‘and hope that none will be ready to write it
a humbug until they shall have tested its merits.’’
‘¢ We have repeatedly called the attention of
our readers,’’ says the Charleston Mercury, ‘‘to
the value of the Chinese sugar-cane, and are
therefore greatly rejoiced to find that the article
has fallen into the hands of so scientific and
careful an experimenter as Ex-Gov. Hammond,
who will be widely recognized as one of the
highest authorities in Southern agriculture. We
copy below a carefully considered report of his
experiments with the Chinese sugar-cane, pre-
pared for an agricultural society in his own
neighborhood, and furnished for publication to
the Barnwell Sentinel. It will commend itself
to the attention of the planters of the state.
There can be no doubt that the sugar-millet is
destined to prove an important addition to the
resources and comforts of the plantation.’’
“ Report of an experiment in making syrup from the Chinese
sugar-cane, or sugar-millet, made to the Beech Island Far-
mer’s Club, August 2d, 1856. By Hon. J. H. Hammond,
of South Carolina.
‘One of our members, Mr. Redmond, of the
Southern Cultivator, distributed among us, last
38 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
winter, some seeds of what is commonly called
sugar-millet. Ile very kindly gave me enough to
plant half an acre, —about a pint. I prepared a
plot of ground on a northern slope of old, stiff,
worn-out land, in such a manner and with so much
manure as would probably have made it yield,
with average seasons, about twenty bushels of
corn per acre. On the 22d of March I planted
the millet-seed in three-feet drills, dropping
every eighteen or twenty inches some six or
eight seeds. It was ploughed and hoed often
enough to keep ‘the grass down, and about the
first of July began to head. The heat had then
been unusually intense for two weeks, and has
continued so up to the present time; and latterly
the drouth has been very destructive. I do not
think this half-acre would have yielded five
bushels had it been planted in corn. Having
intended, however, to ascertain whether the
millet would make syrup, I had a rude mill put
up, with two beech rollers. Finding by the 22d
of July the most advanced heads had passed the
milk stage, I had 1750 canes cut, that I sup-
posed were a fair sample of the patch. The
first three or four hundred were passed through
the mill twice, the remainder four times; and
the yield was 194 quarts of juice. But ten
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 39
canes that I selected and passed seven times
through the mill yielded three quarts. The
juice was received into common tubs, and tested
by a thermometer, and a saccharometer with a
scale of 40 degrees. y The thermometer stood in
every instance at 78 degrees. The saccharometer
varied from 213 degrees to 233 degrees. At the
latter point the juice would float a fresh ege. I
boiled it in a deep pot, and after six to seven
hours’ boiling obtained 32 quarts of tolerable
syrup. The next day I selected ten canes, the
heads of which were fully matured; ten more, in
full milk; ten more, the heads of which were
just fully developed and the top seed beginning
to turn black; and again ten comprising all these
stages, but from which | did not strip the leaves.
They were all passed through the mill seven
times, and yielded nearly the same quantity of
juice — about three quarts for every ten canes.
The juice — tested by the saccharometer— showed
that the youngest cane had rather the most, and
the oldest rather the least saccharine matter.
The whole together, with that of afew other
good canes, exhibited at 80 degrees of the ther-
mometer 24: degrees of the saccharometer. From
forty-two pints of the juice I obtained, after
four hours’ boiling, nine pints of rather better
4*
40 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
syrup than that made the day before. In these
boilings I mixed with the cold juice a tea-spoonful
of lime-water, of the consistency of cream, for
every five gallons. These selected canes grew
on the best spot on the patch, and where corn
probably might have been produced the present
season at the rate of twenty bushels to the acre.
They were one inch in diameter at the largest
end, and seven and a half feet long after cutting
off the head and the foot of the stem. After
this I cut down all the inferior cane, and cured
it for forage.
‘¢On the 28th of July, two of the members of
the club, being at my house, remained to see the
result of pressing and boiling four hundred canes
I had cut and stripped. Lach of us selected ten
canes, and put them through the press eight
times—the result being as before, about three
quarts for every ten canes. But even after the
pressure juice could be wrung from the canes by
the hand, and we agreed that at least one fourth
of it, and that the best, remained in the-cane—
so inefficient was my mill. The rest of the cane
I ordered should be pressed six times; but we
did not ourselves remain to see it done, nor did
we count the 400 canes. The yield of the
whole, however, was thirty-seven and one half
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. _ 4]
quarts, with the thermometer at So degrees in
the juice: the saccharometer stood 24% degrees.
We boiled the juice until it run together on the
rim of the ladle, and hung in a transparent sheet
half an inch below it before falling, and this in
two anda half-hours. The result was six quarts
of choice syrup. The next day I repeated the
experiment on a larger scale, with equal success ;
and I have brought to the club enough of the
syrup to enable every member to try it, and judge
of its quality. All who have tested it agree
that it is equal to the best that we get from New
Orleans. In these last boilings I put a table-
spoonful of lime-water, prepared as before, to
every ten gallons.. The whole process of clarify-
ing and boiling was carried through in the same
pot, and that very unsuitable from its depth. I
measured the grain from a number of heads, and
the result was an average of a gill from each. I
weighed a half a peck of maturer grain after
several days’ exposure to the sun ; — it weighed
four and three fourths pounds, equal to thirty-
eight pounds per bushel. I weighed twenty of
the best cane cut for forate, after it was cured
sufficiently to house. They weighed twenty-four
pounds, equal to thirty thousand pounds for
twenty-five thousand canes; which I think might
42, THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
be grown on land that would make twenty-five
bushels of corn, with average seasons. I have
tried horses, cattle, and hogs, and find they eat
the cane, its leaves and seeds, greedily, and
fowls and pigeons the last. I think, however,
that, when allowed to mature, the cane should be
cut up fine for animals, as the outer coat is hard.
I did not attempt to make sugar, not having pre-
pared for that; there can, however, be no doubt
that sugar can be made from such syrup as this.
And as they make more syrup in the West
Indies per acre than they do in Louisiana, only
because the cane matures better, it is not unrea-
sonable to infer that the millet, which matures
here perfectly, and would even make two crops in
one year, will yield more and better sugar than
the Louisiana cane.
‘¢ Beginning to cut cane as soon as the head is
fully developed, it may be cut for a month before
it will all ripen,— how long after that, I do not
know. As succession of crops might be easily
arranged so as toinsure cutting and boiling, from
the first of J uly,— probably earlier,— then until
frost, I have housed* some stalks immediately
from the field, to ascertain, hereafter, whether
thus treated it will yield juice and make syrup
next winter. A good sugar-mill, with three
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 43
wooden rollers, may be erected for less than
twenty-five dollars, and a sugar-boiler that will
make thirty gallons of syrup a day may be pur-
chased in Augusta for less than ‘sixty dollars.
This millet will, of course, mix with any other
variety of the millet family planted near it. I
have now stated the chief particulars of my
experiment. A single experiment — especially
one in agriculture —israrely conclusive. I may
err myself, and cause others to err, were I to ex-
press with any emphasis the opinion I entertain
of the value of this recently-introduced plant.”’
We learn by this experiment, though tried at
the South, much that is of importance to those
who are entering upon the cultivation of this
sugar-cane.
Among those things, we propose to notice
briefly, first, the quantity of seed used to ‘* half
an acre,— about a pint.’’ This, according to my
experience, is a small pattern, though I have no
doubt, if it were evenly distributed with a seed-
sower, it might answer. But it is always better
to plant more than you want, and thin out, than
to plant so thin that you will fail to get a crop.
We learn further that it was planted in drills,
one seed every three inches. I believe this to be
the best way to raise it — in drills—either for
44 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
syrup-making or for fodder, though care should
be taken to thin out, if too thick, so that the cane
would be stout enough to resist the storms that
sometimes lay the stover corn prostrate. We also
find that that which was planted the 22d of
March was fit for cutting on the 22d of July,
being a period of one hundred and twenty days,
which accords with my experience with it during
the last season, and which shows most conclu-
sively that it can be grown in the New England
States; forit may be put into the ground ordi-
narily as early as the first to the tenth of May,
and consequently would be suitable for cutting
from the first to the tenth of September. This
would give us the whole month of September,
and, in some seasons, considerable of October,
in which to manufacture our sugar, or syrup.
Again, we learn from the account that it with-
stood a most severe drouth, which it is said would
have proved very severe to corn, and probably
materially lessened the crop, and yet the cane
did not suffer much. We are also shown the
manner in which the juice was clarified, which
we shall do well to notice, for I believe there is
no better clarifier than lime-water, though there
needs to be some careful experiments to deter-
mine the quantity that shall be used. For, where
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 45
I used the lime my syrup was very much better
than that made without the lime. We are
further told, in regard to the seed or grain, the
amount from each head being a gill, and weigh-
ing at the rate of thirty-eight pounds to the
bushel ; which goes to confirm the position I took
in a former part of this work, that it would
almost, if not quite, pay for raising for the grain.
I also agree with the writer in saying that the
stalks should be cut up with a hay or stalk cut-
ter, or in some other way; for the stalk is hard,
and cannot be so readily eaten as when cut.
Again, it is said that a sugar-mill, with wooden
rollers, can be procured ‘‘ for less than twenty-
five dollars, and a sugar-boiler that will make
thirty gallons of syrup per day for sixty dollars.”’
Now, it is doubtful if such a wooden mill will be
a proper one, such as it would be economy to use,
even though it should seem to answer the purpose
tolerably well. Sugar-mills, such as are manu-
factured to send to the West Indies, are made at
South Boston, and all complete cost from three to
five hundred dollars ; though, if this cane should
succeed, I am in hopes we shall have cheap,
portable mills, one of which might answer for a
small neighborhood. Boilers can probably be
obtained cheaper here than at the South, though
46 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
it is not necessary to have these large boilers
except when it is intended to make large quan-
tities of syrup.
We will give further results of experiments
made at the South, and quote from the Southern
Cultivator, for October, 1856: ‘*‘ In the winter
of 1844-5, the junior editor of this journal
obtained from Boston a few ounces of seed of
this plant, — Chinese sugar-cane, — then newly
imported from France. It came very highly
recommended as a sugar-producing and forage
plant ; but, having a vivid recollection of many
previous disappointments with new-fangled no-
tions, we concluded to test it cautiously and
moderately. In order, however, to give it a fair
chance, we distributed small parcels, per mail, to
friends in various portions of Georgia and the
adjoining states, and planted for ourselves only
seven or eight hills, in a poor spot in our garden.
At first it came up like grass, or Hgyptian
millet, and grew off slowly and weakly ; but in
a few weeks it began to shoot upward, and in
less than three months attained the height of
eight or ten feet, with large and well-filled heads
of seeds, somewhat resembling broom-corn, but
covered with a black husk, or chaff. Passing by
it one day, when the seeds were nearly or quite
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 4'7
ripe, we concluded to test the sweetness of the
stalk ; so, cutting a moderate-sized cane, and ~
peeling its hard outside coat, we found a solid
pith of about three fourths of an inch in diame-
ter, and crisp, brittle, and an exceedingly sweet
and pleasant flavor, wholly and entirely unlike
anything of the corn-stalk family that we 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, we
were obliged to interdict its further use, in order
to save seed. When the latter were fully ripe,
we 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 our
horses, mules, and milch cows, all of which eat
of it with the greatest apparent relish and
avidity. Considering that crop disposed of for
the season, we paid no more attention to the
stubble, or stumps, until we happened to notice
that, millet-like, they were shooting out anew,
and. pushing on for a second growth. This
growth we watched with some interest, until the
first frost checked it; at which time, the stalks
were six feet high, full of broad and juicy leaves,
5
ABh THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
and with the second crop of seed just making its
appearance above the ‘boot.’ Fully satisfied
by this time that it was valuable, at least for the
production of soiling, forage, and dried fodder,
we next: turned our attention to its saccharine
properties, and fortunately induced our friend,
Dr. Robert Battey, of Rome, Georgia, 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 experiment, Dr. Battey sent us 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 we
believe to be the first crystallized sugar made in
the United States from the juice of the sorgho-
sucré ; and as Dr. Battey’s opinion of its value
as a plant fully agreed with the reports of the
French savans who had investigated its proper-
ties, and with our own convictions, we this year
disseminated it more widely, and planted nearly
two acres, for the express purpose of raising the
seed, and testing the ability of the plant to bear
repeated cuttings, like Egyptian and other varie-
ties of millet. It was planted very late, on poor
soil, and has received but imperfect culture; and
yet, at the present time (August 25) a portion
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 49
of it has been cut three times, and is growing up
finely, while the remainder has ripened its seed,
and will yield a full crop of excellent fodder
after the present stalks are cut off at the ground
and crushed for syrup, or fed out to our stock.
‘*So much for its introduction into this sec-
tion, and its history among us thus far. It is
our deliberate opinion, that for ‘ soiline,’— cut-
ting green, repeatedly, — for the production of
syrup, sugar, cider or wine, alcohol, fodder, and
grain, at the same time, it will be found inval-
uable to the South, and that no plant of recent
introduction among us can at all compare with
it.’ It will be seen by the above that the cane
will produce, as I supposed, more than one crop
of fodder from the same roots, even in the North-
-ern States, and three or four in the Southern. In
this, as in other respects, it may prove more
valuable to the South than the North. But, after
giving some more testimony from the South, we
shall give some from the more Northern States.
Dr. Battey, to whom reference has been .
made on a former page, writes as follows to the
Southern Cultivator, in reply to inquiries that
had been made of him: ‘‘I cheerfully com-
ply with your request for information on the sub-
ject of my observations and experiments on the
50 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
Chinese sugar-cane, as a syrup-producing plant.
My attention was first called to the subject by
the seed which you were kind enough to send
me in the spring of 1855. I planted them, and
raised, say, fifteen to twenty canes, that year,
from which [ extracted'a small quantity of juice
for analysis. This juice, as you. are already
aware, ylelded, during the winter, sugar and
syrup, samples of which I sent to you for inspec-
tion. Impressed as I was with the probable
importance of this plant to the agriculturists
of the South, I did not deem it prudent to speak
hastily of its merits, waiting, rather, until a repe-
tition of these experiments upon a larger scale
should fully establish the opinions I had enter-
tained of it.
‘¢The present year I have cultivated a few
more canes for my experiments, and upon the
farm of Richard Peters, Esq., Gordon county,
Georgia, I have witnessed the growth of the
cane by the acre, and the production of the
syrup by barrels. I have, in the mean time, read
attentively the opinions of Gov. Hammond, of
South Carolina, and others in different sections
of the Union, who have grown the plant and
experimented with it, as also the valuable paper
of M. Vilmorin, of France, who has given this
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. Gane
subject much study and investigation ; so that,
calmly viewing all the facts which I have been
able to collect, I no longer entertain a doubt
that this plant is well worthy of the attention
and study of the farmers and planters of the
South. If the opinions I shall express should
seem to some too wild and extravagant, I trust
they will receive them as the honest and candid
sentiments of one who has carefully examined
the subject, and be led to investigate and exper-
iment for themselves. Should I thus be enabled
to arouse the attention of Southern farmers to
the importance of this plant, my object will
have been accomplished, and my labor well
expended.
‘¢ The Chinese sugar-cane seems to adapt itself
to all the vicissitudes of our varied climate and
soil, and with a facility unsurpassed by corn or
wheat. In Cherokee, Ga., it flourishes in a high
degree of perfection upon soil high and low, rich
and comparatively poor, producing heavy crops
of stalk, leaf, and seed. The experiments of
Mr. Peters (which are already published in many
of our agricultural papers) present an example
of most successful culture. I have found it to
grow with me, in all respects, as vigorously as
corn, with precisely similar treatment. In Al-
5*
52 ‘THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
leghany County, Md., a correspondent writes for
the May number of the American Farmer :
<¢¢] think it well adapted to our mountainous
country, and promises to be more valuable than
any other article we can grow for provender. I[
believe it will produce six or eight tons of dried
provender to the acre.’ The present writer has
met many intelligent. and enterprising farmers of
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey,
and New York, in attendance at the late National
Fair at Philadelphia. Many of them had wit-
nessed its growth in their respective states with
entire success. One gentleman of New Jersey
had grown a half-acre of the cane this season.
It has been successfully grown in Illinois, also ;
and one gallon of the juice is said to have yielded,
by boiling, a quart of syrup of good quality.
There is every reason to conclude that the cane
may be easily and successfully grown in all parts
of our country. |
‘¢ CutturE. — While the seed’ remains in the
hands of the few, and commands a price too
high to permit a waste, it should be planted for
one season with good distance, that the seed crop
as well as the cane may attain their highest state
of development. J would: recommend that the
rows should be three, or even four feet apart,
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 5d
and the distance of, say, two feet given in the
row, dropping one or two seed ina place. Let
the ground be well cultivated, as for corn, and
the shoots or suckers which spring up from the
root be all permitted to grow. A small portion
of the crop should be reserved for seed, and per-
mitted to stand until fully matured and dry. It
would be well to limit the canes in the seed patch
to one. - By all means permit no droom-corn,
Dourah-corny or other plants of the same family,
to grow near your cane. It readily intermixes
with these varieties, and effectually ruins your
seed for the production of syrup. For the same
reason, great care should be observed in procur-
ing reliable seed, as well as in keeping them so.
‘‘ After the first season, when a full supply of
seed shall have been secured, a better-paying
syrup crop may be grown by closer planting.
The space between the rows may well be nar-
rowed down to three feet, and the seed put in,
say, two or three every six inches; when well up,
the stoutest and healthiest: plants should alone be
allowed to stand. ‘The cane, when very young,
presents so much the: appearance of grass, that
an advantage may perhaps be gained by drop-
ping some other seed with the cane, that the
latter may be more readily distinguished. This,
54 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
of course, should be drawn out with the super-
fluous cane-plants. When of sufficient size, the
plants should be suckered down to one cane for
each root. In other respects, the successful
grower of corn will not be at a loss in the cul-
tivation of this plant. I have found a suitable
time for planting to be immediately after the
corn crop, although excellent results have been
_ obtained by planting as late as the loth of May,
in Cherokee, Ga. It will doubtless be desirable
to. make several successive plantings, that they
may mature gradually, and so give more time
for harvesting the crop. The land, in my opin-
ion, should be prepared in all respects as for
corn.
‘¢ Harvesting. — When the stalk shall have
attained its full size, and the seed have passed
from the dough stage to a harder texture, the
cane may be considered sufficiently mature ; or,
if the crop be large, and a deficiency of hands be
apprehended, the cane may be cut earlier, and
the cuttings continued from time to time, as
needed for the press. The fodder should be
pulled as for corn; another set of hands cutting
off one half to two feet of the top with the seed,
while others cut the cane at the ground and
throw it into piles, from whence it is handed to
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 55
the press. Prior to the harvesting, a set of
proper rollers and kettles should be provided,
and well set up ready for service.
‘¢The mill made use of by Mr. eters: and
which was gotten up under his direction for the
purpose, is, in my opinion, of very unexceptionable
quality for a.small apparatus, and works admira-
bly. It is of a suitable size for a small crop, and
no farmer should undertake to supply its place by
wooden rollers for a crop of even two acres. The
loss of juice will more than counterbalance the
difference in expense. It is worked by two
mules. Three kettles, of from sixty to one hun-
dred gallons’ capacity, will be required to keep
pace fully with the mill; it is desirable that.
these should be broad and shallow, that they
may present a large evaporating surface, and
substantially set in brick for security and con-
venience. They should not be distant from the
press, and if upon ground lower than the latter,
an advantage is gained in running the expressed
juice directly into them, and thus saving the labor
of transfer.
‘¢ Pressinc. — The canes, located conveniently
at hand, are one by one doubled in the middle
and forced between the rollers, which are kept
in as close proximity as the strength of the mill
56 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
and the power of the mules will warrant. An
active hand will feed the mill easily, if the canes
be placed within his reach. A boy is required
to drive, and if the mill be well constructed to
throw off the begass from behind, nothing more
is required except an occasional removal of the
latter by a pitchfork, to keep it out of the way
of the mules.
‘¢ BoItina DowN.— One of the first things done,
in commencing operations, should be to start the
fire under the kettles, that they may be well
warmed .by the time the juice is ready for them.
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 temperature
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 reduced one half.
The fire may now be removed from one kettle,
and its contents be transferred to the other, when
the heat must be gradually moderated as the
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. aye
syrup becomes more concentrated, to avoid the
danger of scorching, which injures the color and
flavor. Should more dirty-green scum rise to
the surface after the first skimming, it should
likewise be removed.
‘¢ In regard to the precise degree of concentra-
tion to which the syrup should be brought, it is
exceedingly difficult to lay down any precise and
simple rule, which shall meet every case. The
plan for determining it in use on the sugar plan-
tations, and which was adopted by Gov. Ham-
mond 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 at-
mosphere 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 watery as the weather moderates, and
a syrup finished at night will differ materially
from that of the noonday. Although a good ap-
proximation, it is not exact enough for the tyro
to secure a desirable uniformity in the consist-
ence and value of the product, or to obviate the
danger of fermentation and loss. To remedy
this uncertainty, and secure a uniform result at
58 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
all times, I have constructed a simple instrument,
which determines readily and with certainty the
precise moment when the syrup should be re-
moved from the fire and transferred to the bar-
rels. For the convenience of those who may
desire this aid, I shall prepare a number of them
during the season, which may be furnished by
mail. With such a guide to the uninitiated,
there are certainly few more simple operations
upon the farm than the manufacture of syrup
from this cane. |
“<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, un-
der my hands, clarifies itself more readily with-
out lime than with it. The latter answers no
useful purpose, as far as the syrup is concerned,
save to neutralize the free acid (phosphoric)
which exists naturally in the cane. Lime dark-
ens 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 spar-.
ingly. To prepare it for use, take a half-peck
of lime, slake it in a bucket of water gradually
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 59
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 a half a tea-spoonful to two tea- .
spoonsful for every five gallons of juice, after the
scum has been removed.
‘¢ The scum is used in the West Indies for the
manufacture of rum, the details of which are
entirely too elaborate to be introduced here. It
may be also advantageously disposed of as food
for hogs. The quantity of saccharine matter left
in the begass renders it a nutritious food for stock.
This refuse, by leaching water through it, yields a
saccharine solution which may be fermented into
beer or vinegar, and may be distilled into whis-
key and alcohol.” It may be also advantageously
used to cover the cut canes in hot weather, when
it may be desired to have a large quantity kept
at the mill for days and weeks before being all
used. The constant evaporation of the juice
in the begass keeps the cane beneath at a tem-
perature so low as to prevent fermentation, as
well as the drying of the cane ; it will also serve
to shield it from the frost. A suggestion has
been made to convert the ligneous fibre into
paper. _ It certainly is a better material for this
purpose than much that isnowemployed. It 1s,
60 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
however, an object of minor importance to the
Southern planter as yet. As a manure, the
begass is evidently a most valuable article, for
its large amount of phosphoric acid, added to the
decomposing vegetable and the other mineral
matters which it contains, while the remaining
portions of saccharine juice readily induce a fer-
mentation which ends in putrefaction, and leaves
the mass in a fit state for the nourishment of
plants. The large quantities of mineral matter,
and particularly the phosphoric acid, which the
cane in its growth must remove from the soil,
necessarily imply that it will be an exhausting
crop, since these materials certainly cannot be
furnished by the atmosphere. This evil may, in
great part, be removed by carefully returning
to the soil again the refuse in form of manure.
If other fertilizers be needed to repair the waste,
Mexican phosphatic guanos, which are now
offered at low prices, would doubtless be advan-
tageous.
‘* In the experiments by me, during the winter
of 1855, and also at the farm of Mr. Peters, in
September last, I was forcibly struck with the
better quality of the juice grown in our section
of country, as compared with that experi-
mented upon by Mons. Vilmorin, whose paper
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 61
will be found translated for the present year’s
Working Farmer. He gives the density of
his sap at 1.050 to 1.075, while that examined
by myself was uniformly found to be 1.085, with
but little variation, and in every case some small
corrections for temperature, which would increase
the specific gravity slightly. The average density
given by various observers in the West Indies,
of juice from the several varieties of sugar-cane
grown in these colonies, is about 9 degrees
Baume, corresponding to a specific gravity of
1.064, — less, considerably, than mine. From
this fact, however, it is not to be inferred that
the juice of our cane abounds more largely in
saccharine matter than that of the West Indies ;
for such probably is not the fact ; for the former
is known to contain a larger proportion of salt
and vegetable matters than the latter. It argues
only the remarkable adaptation of the Chinese
_ cane to our climate and soil. M. Vilmorin ob-
tained from this ‘sap’ of the densities named,
from 1.050 to 1.075, on the
13th of October, 1853, 10.04 per cent. saccharine matter.
28th of November, ‘“ 13.08 é és &
28th « (2nd trial) 14.06 Ct an
14th 66 1854, 16.00 66 66 rT:
Of the latter, 11.75 were uncrystallizable, and
62 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
but 4.25 of the crystallizable variety. M. Ave-
quin obtained from the juice of this cane, grown,
[I presume, in Louisiana,
Saccharine matter, : ; ; ; 152
Salts and organic matter, ‘ ; : 10
Water, ; : . 4 : ; 838
Cane-juice employed, . : : = 1 L080
I have not been able to compare these experi-
ments with similar results obtained here. I pro-
pose doing so the coming season. M. Vilmorin
estimates the percentage of weight of juice ob- |
tained by him at 50 to 60 parts in the 100 of
cane employed, and remarks that even 70 per
cent. can be easily obtained by proper machinery.
Mr. Peters obtained from his mill an average of
50 per cent., and juice could be readily wrung
from the begass by hand. Thirty canes were
sorted out and weighed by myself, and, after
erinding, gave the following results :
Thirty canes weighed, . 5 2 . 52 lbs. 14 ounces.
Juice collected, . : : ‘ of Oe br gee
Begass, 4 : : ‘ . ES PON Meteo
Juice lost in mill, say, ; ; : 6s
The juice actually extracted weighed precisely
one half that of the cane used. Two pounds of
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 63
the begass was weighed and carefully dried, and
gave twelve ounces, showin a loss of one pound
and four ounces of water, which represents 21,7,
ounces of juice; so that the quantity of juice
remaining behind in the begass may be put down
at seventeen pounds, fifteen ounces. The result
now stands,
Juice collected, 26 pounds, 1 ounce, or 49.30 per cent.
‘lost in mill, 6 « or 10. oe
Serr yarn betas. ET) eS he. 66 or (34.09.
Woody fibre, sa iia OP LOO: is he
Cane used, 52 pounds, 14 ounces. 100 per cent.
In other words, we have 844:per cent. of juice,
and 154 per cent. of woody fibre. From these
figures it would seem that 70 per cent. in juice
ought to be easily obtainable by proper machinery,
and it becomes more apparent when we take into
consideration the soft, compressible texture of
this cane as compared to that of the West Indies.
Mr. Peters states the yield of his best 4 acre in
syrup at 583 gallons; that of the poorest 4 acre
at 431 gallons. Taking the average, we have,
as the yield of the entire acre, 407 gallons;
assuming the yield of the juice to correspond
with the average results obtained by experiment,
say 50 per cent. of the entire weight, with proper
G*
64 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
machinery, expressing 70 per cent., we have a
yield of 570 gallons per acre. I examined care-
fully the specimens of syrup boiled under the eye
of Mr. Peters, and also by myself. Several of
these specimens were of a superior quality, all
of them surpassing my expectations, in view of
the crude manner in which they were made.
There is present in all of them, to a greater or
less degree (owing to differences in manipulation),
a peculiar flavor, reminding one of the maple-
sugar, which is very grateful to the palate, and
gives it a decided preference over the article
which we get under the name of New Orleans —
syrup. This, so far as I know, has been the uni-
form judgment of all who have tasted it. These
syrups give a precipitate of foreign matters with
the basic acetate of lead (a delicate test), little,
if at all, greater in amount than the New Orleans
syrup. The precise nature of these precipitates
remains to be ascertained and compared. The
syrups vary considerably in density : those from
the Chinese cane ranging from 1.298 to 1.335,
while that of the New Orleans sample was 1.521.
This variation in the density is an evil which
should be corrected, to produce a good market-
able syrup, which shall keep well. Samples of
the Chinese cane syrup have been valued by the
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 65
intelligent dealers in the article, in our sec-
tion, at from 65 to 75 cents the gallon, by the
barrel. |
‘¢Tn calculating the yield of this crop, we must
take into consideration twelve hundred pounds of
excellent fodder, and twenty-five bushels of corn,
worth, as food for stock, say two thirds the value
of the ordinary corn ; so that we can fairly off-
set against the syrup crop, in the way of ex-
penses, nothing more than the labor of its manu-
facture, for the forage and corn will repay the
expenses of the culture. A full consideration
of the facts, which have been passed over some-
what in detail, must make it evident to the mind
of every intelligent farmer that this plant pre-
sents, at the present time, a promise of reward
for its culture unequalled by any which has been
introduced upon our soil since the introduction
of the cotton crop.”
The above information is of a very valuable
character, such as I have not been able to get
from any other source, and such as can be
depended upon. It gives us rules for planting,
harvesting, and manufacturing, which are, for
the most part, applicable to any and all latitudes
where the cane will grow. In regard to the use
of lime, I would say that I should much prefer
66 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
to use it, even if it did not assist in clarifying ;
for we know it will neutralize the acid which the
juice contains, and so make it more pleasant to
the taste, and tend to preserve it longer. The
syrup alluded to, which Mr. Peters made, I have
seen; and noticed that it was of a darker color,
and not so heavy as that which I made, for the
reason it was not boiledso much. Still, the syrup
is such as would sell readily at the prices named
by Prof. Battey. I add the following from the
National Intelligencer :
‘¢'The Chinese Sugar-cane has come to be the
ordinary name of the Sorgho Sucré, a most val-
uable plant of the sugar-cane order, and, there-
fore, allied to the maize or Indian corn, but more
nearly to the broom-corn. Its cultivation has
commenced amongst us, and there is now in
Washington more than an acre of it, growing
luxuriantly, and promising a yield of considerably
upwards of one hundred bushels of seed, besides
many tons of stems and foliage, rich with sac-
charine fluid and solid food, material for horses,
neat cattle, and swine. Not only here, but in
various and widely-distant parts of the Union,
has trial been made of it, and with uniform >
gratifying results. We have read a letter from
a farmer in Illinois, who has tested its character,
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 67
and reports of it in the most favorable manner.
Out of a gallon of the liquid sap in the stem,
which he expressed by the primitive contrivance
of a rolling-pin, he obtained, by boiling, a quart
of molasses, with very little impurity, and of
approved taste. The usual proportions of sugar
to sap lie between fifteen and twenty per cent.,
the crystallizable sugar increasing with the de-
crease of the latitude. Beside this proportion of
sugar, there is an amount of perhaps five or eight
per cent. of uncrystallizable sap, from which a
very agreeable beverage can be’made, and alco-
hol distilled more cheaply than by any other
method. This sap, strange to say, if set with
the oxide of tin, will dye silk of a beautiful
pink. As a food-plant for stock of all kinds, it
seems to overtop all we now possess, furnishing,
in fair soils, twenty-five tons per acre of excel-
lent fodder, every bit of which is greedily eaten
by animals. The seeds, too, by which the plant
is propagated —in this, unlike and superior to
the sugar-cane of Louisiana, which is raised by
cuttings — are fit for human food. At all events,
when ground and made up into cakes, after the
manner of linseed cakes, they supply a good
material for fattening stock. The brush, or top
' from which these seeds are taken, is not without
68 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
its service ; for the plant is a species of broom-
corn, and, therefore, its top, when deprived of
seed, answers well wherewith to manufacture
brooms. When the sap, top, seeds, and leaves,
are taken, leaving only the crushed stem, it still
has an economic value, for paper can be manu-
factured from it.
‘¢ This valuable addition to our vegetable pro-
ductions is originally a native of China, but has
been sedulously cultivated for several years in
South-eastern Caffraria, whence it passed into |
France and Algeria, in which last country it
comes to great perfection. It would be hard to
calculate its value. It constitutes every farm on
which it is grown its own sugar-camp, orchard,
winery, and granary, as well as a stock-farm and
dairy. Indeed, the sorgho may be deemed a
sort of vegetable sheep, every part and con-
stituent of which is valuable.”’
It still further says, in another article:
‘¢ Among the exotic plants recently introduced
into this country by the Patent Office, in the
prosecution of its agricultural operations, is the
Chinese Sugar-cane, or Sorgho Sucré (Sorghum
Saccharatum). The history of its introduction,
and some account of its success, have been, from
time to time, laid before the public through the
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 69
columns of the Jntelligencer and other channels,
exciting the scepticism of many, and even the
derision of some, but, fortunately, awakening
the curiosity and enterprise of discerning and
intelligent agriculturists in various sections of
the United States. We have now the gratifi-
cation of realizing the happy results of the
investigations and labors of this latter class in the
successful cultivation, it is hoped and believed, of
one of the most valuable products of the soil that
has ever engaged the attention of the husband-
man,— a product which there are well-grounded
reasons for assuming will, of itself, in a brief:
period, more than recompense all the pecuniary
aid and labor that have been bestowed upon the
whole subject of agriculture by our government,
in the introduction of a plant that may be propa-
' gated with advantage in every locality in the
Union, that will provide an essential aliment and
a luxury to every family at an exceedingly low
cost, and that may before long enable us to
export to various portions of the world an article
of merchandise that we now import to the amount
of nearly fifteen millions of dollars a year. Itis
a singular and gratifying coincidence that the
introduction of this plant, and the discovery of its
great excellence and adaptation to the soil and
70 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
climate of many regions of the United States, |
should be made at the precise moment of the ap-
parent decadence of the culture of the sugar-cane
upon the plantations of the South. That this |
may not result to the disadvantage of the import-
ant interests involved in these plantations, is not
only desired but believed by those who are fos-
tering the cultivation of the new plant; for it
appears to be the accepted opinion, that, though
the latter may prosper in any locality in which
maize or Indian corn succeeds, yet the soil and
climate capable of producing the sugar-cane will
prove the best adapted of all to the sorgho
sucré, and that it will hence flourish there in
its greatest perfection.’’
It will be seen that, though it is claimed that
the cane will flourish best in the South, yet it is
freely allowed that it will do well wherever In-
dian corn will flourish. If any doubts still exist
in the mind of the reader, I hope to be able to’
remove them, so far as possible, before I finish.
I shall next give an article from Prof. J#J.
Mapes, of Newark, New Jersey, which appears
in the November number of the Working Farmer,
entitled ‘‘ Refined Sugar from the Chinese Cane.”’
Prof. Mapes is known to be aw fazt in all such
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. TL
matters, as we shall see from the valuable and
practical matter below.
‘¢ During the past season many new facts have
occurred which cannot but interest our readers.
Among these is the successful cultivation of the
Chinese Sugar-cane, or Sorgho. We received a
small package from the Farmer’s Club of the
American Institute, and have grown a few square
rods. Messrs. Olcott and Vail, of the Westches-
ter Farm School, at Mount Vernon, New York,
have raised an acre, and both their experiments
and our own, so far as pursued, seem to endorse
the views of others. The stalks of the sorgho
are more numerous than those of corn, and grow
with us eleven feet high. The quantity of seed
is very large, while the stalks and leaves are
much sweeter than corn-stalks, and are readily
eaten by cattle, being preferred by them to the
stalks of the sweet-corn. Messrs. Olcott and Vail
have made syrup from the juice, of a light straw-
color, and in every way equal in flavor to that of
the sugar-cane. If our friends in Carolina are
right in their views of the value of this plant,—
and we have no reason to doubt them,— it will
enable a large portion of the Northern States to
manufacture sugar of good quality — indeed, of
any quality, as, from the improved method now
7
72 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
understood, white sugar (refined) may be made
direct from the juice. The only difficulty in this
manufacture consists in the fact that large man-
ufactories alone can produce the best qualities at
low cost; and not until such factories can be
established in districts capable of supplying the
necessary quantities of canes can the best results _
be obtained. In the mean time, we will give
such necessary directions for the manufacture of
sugar from the juice of the sorgho as may be
best availed of by the small operator.
‘¢ When the grower intends to make sugar, he
should pinch off the seed-heads before they are
fully formed, or, indeed, as soon as they appear,
thus causing the plants to give a larger yield of
stronger Juice. A cheap and effective mill for
expressing the juice may be made of three roll-
ers, arranged like the ordinary sugar-mill for
West India use, but of small size. Two of
the rollers should be on a horizontal plane, with
a third roller above, and all geared to the same
speed. Such a mill will separate much of the
juice, and it may be used by hand or other
power, as preferred. The great art of sugar-
making is to get the largest quantity of crystals
and the smallest of molasses or syrup, and this
will depend in a great measure on the rapidity
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 73
of the process. Even the quality of the molas-
ses itself is dependent upon its rapid concentra-
tion during the early stages of manufacture.
All must have observed that a freshly broken or
cut apple, if exposed to the atmosphere, will
become brown in a short time; and a similar
effect is constantly going on with cane-juice,
from the time it is expressed until its final con-
centration.
‘¢The apparatus for clarifying, concentration,
etc., so should be constructed as to insure the
greatest rapidity of action. In a small way
brass kettles may be used ; but for larger opera-
tions, requiring new ones to be constructed, they
should be of copper. The use of alkalies in
clarifying has long been known, and their excess-
ive use often injures the quality of the results.
The operator should supply himself with three
kettles, two large and one small. The juice, as
soon as expressed, should be placed in one of the
large kettles, and to which should be added —
say to ten gallons — half a tea-spoonful of cream
of lime, one pound of finely-ground and freshly-
burned bone-black, and two ounces of bullock’s
blood, or the whites of two eggs, or half a pint
of skim milk, — either will do. The blood or
eggs, if used, should be beaten, and then well
74 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
divided throughout the mass, stirring all cold,
and during the early part of the heating. The
process in this kettle should be conducted some-
what slowly, and if the kettle be large enough
to permit all the scum to rise without overflow-
ing it, the scum need not be removed, ds it will
remain on top of the fluid, becoming more and
more compact. The juice should not be allowed
to boil or simmer. After the clarification is
perfect, the scum on top will crack open in all
directions, and white, sparkling bubbles will rise
through these cracks, overflowing the top of the
scum, and it will furn overin masses. The scum
may be taken off and the juice thrown on a
blanket in an open basket, thus partially filter-
ing the mass.
‘¢Tt should then be placed in kettle No. 2,
and boiled as rapidly as possible until a thermom-
eter placed in it will indicate 220 degrees of
Fahrenheit, when it should be again filtered.
The first portion passing the filter should be
returned, as it will not be quite clear. The
whole will then be bright, and may be put into
kettle No. 38, which need be but half the size of
the others, and should be placed on a clear,
strong fire, and so arranged that it can be read-
ily taken from the fire at short notice. Place in
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 10
this kettle a thermometer —it will commence
boiling at 220 degrees, and gradually increase
to 240 degrees; the instant it reaches that
point it should be taken from the fire suddenly,
for if permitted to rise to 241 degrees, or more,
it can never be purged. Let it stand in this
kettle until a slight crust commences to form on
the sides and top, then scrape this down with a
wooden spatula, thin at the end and edges, and
stir all until evenly mixed with the more fluid
portions ; then pour into a conical sugar-mould,
stopped at its lower end, and place the nose of
this mould on a drip-pot. This sugar-mould
should be of the kind known as the Bastar-
mould, and it and the drip should stand in a warm
place. The next day the sugar in the mould
will be solid, and the plug in the bottom of the
mould may be withdrawn and an incision made
upward with a pegging-awl, replacing the mould
on the drip-pot. The sugar or molasses will
gradually drip from the nose of the mould into
the pot, and the time necessary for this purging
will depend upon the heat of the apartment
where it is placed; usually the syrup will all
run off in the natural way in a week or ten
days, leaving the sugar in the mould of a light
straw-color. If the operator desires to make
7*
76 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
the sugar white, he may do so by the process of
claying, or liquoring. We were several years
engaged in sugar-refining, making sugar, etc.,
and shall be fully prepared to give all the neces-
sary particulars both for large and small manu-
facture, should the experience of next year
prove the practicability of Northern sugar-
making.
‘‘Fyom the experiments made in Georgia we
cannot but believe that in the Middle States, at
least, this new industry may possibly be profita-
bly prosecuted. In the large way, the expense
of manufacture need not be so great as named by
Mr. Peters, —ten to fifteen cents per gallon.
Indeed, from our experiments with the stalks for
feeding purposes, we think the unripe portions
of the canes, or those not in the best order for
sugar-making, added to the begass, or pressed
canes, and cut up in the ordinary way, would be
worth as much for fodder as the cost of the sugar-
making, in such localities as can supply them-
selves cheaply with fuel, ete.
‘¢ Tt will be remembered, that while the Hon.
H. L. Ellsworth was Commissioner of Patents, at
Washington, he was much interested in the man-
ufacture of sugar from corn-stalks ; and in con-
sequence of the excitement at that time we
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 77
raised a quantity of sugar, or sweet corn, for the
purpose of sugar-making, pinching off the fruit:
as fast as it appeared — and thus forcing all the
secretions of the plant into the stalk. The
growth was very large, and the juice highly
charged with sugar, its strength indicating 104
degrees on Baume’s saccharometer, being stronger
than the best Louisiana cane-juice, and, of
course, capable of giving more sugar per gallon ;
but, unfortunately, so few gallons per acre as
not to give a paying result. We made refined
sugar from these corn-stalks, and that year exhib-
ited at the American Institute several loaves of
corn-stalk sugar.’’
I think I cannot more profitably occupy the
space than by continuing these reports from dif-
ferent parts of the country ; for by them each
one will be able to judge for himself whether we
have got in this cane a plant adapted to our
various latitudes. |
Extract from a statement of Joseph C. Orth, of Illinois,
from Patent Office Report of 1855.
‘¢ Profiting by the remark printed upon the
paper which contained the seeds, — ‘ good for
fodder, green or dry, and for making sugar,’ —
I cut off a few stalks and offered them to my
78 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
horses and cattle, which ate them with apparent
good relish, and seemed to ask for more. I then
concluded that, as a part of its recommendations
were true, I should also try the other, and man-
ufacture sugar from the juice. Its stalk being
very long and heavy, and exceedingly rich in
juice, and to the taste, in its natural state,
almost as sweet as molasses, no doubt remained
upon my mind that it was what it was said to
be. I cut six stalks, placed them successively
upon a flat board, took a rolling-pin, and, as
well as this simple machine enabled it to be
done, expressed and saved the juice. The result
was, I obtained two tumblers-full, but half was
not saved. This was then boiled down, and
produced one of the same tumblers half-full of
good, pleasant-tasted molasses, about as thick as
the common molasses obtained in the shops. But,
as my object was simply to ascertain the quan-
tity rather than the quality of saccharine matter
contained, this juice was neither strained nor
clarified, and therefore its taste was not equal to
what it would be under more careful treatment.
From all I could observe concerning this plant,
* Tam fully convinced that 15 per cent. of good
clarified sugar could be obtained from the juice.
My experiment produced about 25 per cent. of
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 79
molasses. This, it would seem, is evidence strong
enough to warrant a more extended trial of its
merits ; and if it will in any way supply the
place of cane-sugar, it must of necessity become
a very important and valuable acquisition to the
agricultural products of the Middle and Northern
States. I am fully satisfied that it will ripen in
north latitude 42°, which is about the northern
limit of Illinois.’’
Extract of a statement of Samuel Clapham, of Suffolk:
County, New York :
‘* Karly in May last I received a small parcel
of the seeds of the Chinese Sugar-cane (Sorghum
Saccharatum), which I cultivated somewhat after
the method of Indian corn. The proper time
for planting, however, I should say would be the
same as that of early corn, as I find it quite
hardy; and stalks of it cut down the end of
October made fresh shoots after two rather heavy
frosts, and still were good for feed. From
twenty-five plants I obtained half a bushel of
ripe seed.
* ** as * * * *
‘* Although in this part of the country I look
upon this plant as of great value as a forage
crop, yet possibly it may be profitably cultivated
80 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
for sugar, as the juice contains nearly ten per
cent. of saccharine matter as clear as crystal,
and, on a very small scale, beautiful clarified
sugar was produced by my friend Dr. Ray.”’
D. Minis, of Beaver county, Pennsylvania,
writes thus: ‘‘ Last spring I received from the
Patent Office a small parcel of the seeds of the
Chinese Sugar-cane. I planted it about the 20th
of May, although it might have been sown ten
or fifteen days earlier; but, fearing that it might
be injured by a late frost, I preferred to plant it
thus late. I planted it in the centre of a twenty-
acre field in two rows, with the hills about three
and a half feet apart, with from two to six seeds
in each hill. Where the plants were three or
four to a hill they grew the most vigorously, and
seemed to produce the most perfect seed. I gave
them no extra culture, either in labor or manure:
the plants had no protection from sunshine or
storm before I secured the seed. The given
weight of the crop on a given space, growing as
it did with me the past season, I think would be
nearly or quite equal to that of Indian corn.’’
D. J. Browne, Esq., of the Patent Office,
Washington, D. C., in his late report, thus
speaks of the Chinese Sugar-cane: ‘‘ Since its
introduction into this country it has proved
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 81
itself well adapted to our geographical range of
Indian corn. It is of easy cultivation, being
similar to that of maize, or broom-corn ; and, if
the seeds are planted in May in the Middle
States, or still earlier at the South, two crops of
fodder can be grown -in a season from the same
roots, irrespective of drouth: the first one in
June or July, to be cut before the panicles
appear, which will be green and succulent, like
young Indian corn; and the other a month or
two later, when or before the seed is fully
matured. The amount of fodder which it will
produce to the acre, with ordinary cultivation,
may be safely estimated at seven tons when
green, or at least two tons per acre when
thoroughly cured. The stalks when nearly
mature are filled with a rich saccharine juice,
which may be converted into sugar, syrup, alco-
hol, or beer, or may be used for dyeing wool or
silk a permanent red or pink; and the entire
plant is devoured with avidity, either in a green
or dry state, by horses, cattle, sheep, and swine.
Considered in a utilitarian point of view, this
plant perhaps has stronger claims on the Ameri-
can agriculturists than any other product that
has been brought to this country since the intro-
duction of cotton or wheat. Aside from other
82 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
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 cheap on a given space within so
short a period of time. Without wishing to pre-
sent 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, 20,000,000 acres per annum ; and estimat-
ing 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 -profit derived from the animals in
milk, flesh, labor, and wool.’’
The above article is from the gentleman who
introduced this sugar-cane into this country, and
from this fact, as well as his connection with the
Patent Office, is competent to judge of its merits.
The evidence given by him is fully sufficient to
induce every farmer to try it for fodder, if for
no other purpose.
A writer in the Chicago Free Press expresses
the opinion that ‘‘in 1860 the Southern planter
will have no sale for his sugar in the State of
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 83
Mllinois. From present indications, there will be
one hundred acres of Chinese Sugar-cane raised
in Wabash county, next year, which will save
the county $10,000.”
I now give the results that have attended the
growing of Chinese Sugar-cane in the New
England States. Most of the accounts previously
given were from persons at the South and West.
The reason I shall not be able to give so full an
account of its culture and manufacture at the
North is that it has not been so extensively
tried ; in fact, but few persons, so far as I am
able to judge, have heretofore thought it worthy
of notice. Among those who have given it a
trial is the editor of the Amherst (N. H.) Cabi-
net, to whom I am indebted for the following :
‘¢ We have frequently alluded to our experi-
ment in raising the Chinese Sugar-cane, from
seed received at the Patent Office. We are
entirely satisfied that it can be raised with great
profit in this locality, either for fodder or for the
making of sugar or molasses. We have in a
small way tested it for both, and think we can
satisfy the most incredulous that our farmers can
raise molasses and sugar to better advantage
than they can either corn or potatoes. Our seed
we received late, and planted after corn was
3)
84 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
generally up. When about a foot in height, it
encountered a violent hail-storm, which seriously
damaged its growth, so that it is doubtful
whether the seed is sufficiently ripe to be relia-
ble; and we shall accordingly secure a supply
for ourselves and others, to whom we have prom-
ised it, from Washington or elsewhere. Prefer-
ring securing the seed to experiments in sugar-
making, we allowed our cane to stand beyond
the proper season for the latter purpose, and
after gathering it stood several weeks before
used. Last week, finding election over, and no
firing to do, and but little to interest us in the
papers, we essayed to convert the product of six
hills, planted lke corn, into molasses.’ We run
thirty-two stalks through a hay-cutter, and with
our standing press and a cheese-hoop took there-
from three quarts of clear and rich juice, which,
being boiled to the consistence of sugar-house
molasses, yielded one pint. The flavor is very
agreeable, and the color and appearance nearly
that of honey ; and it is the universal opinion of
those who have tested it that it is superior to
any Southern molasses.”’
I will next give the success of one of my
neighbors, and an esteemed friend, Mr. Jonathan
Stone, of East Newton, who raised some of the
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 85
sugar-cane the past season. It was quite late
before he received the seed, so that it was not
planted until about the first of June. It was put
into hills, in a cabbage-field, where the cabbages
had failed. It received but little attention until
quite late in the autumn, after there had been
several frosts, so that the leaves were all killed.
About the middle of October, Mr. Stone, at my
suggestion, expressed the juice from a number
of stalks, boiled it down, without using lime or
any other substance either to clarify or to neu-
tralize the acid, and obtained a beautiful article
of syrup, such as my own cane furnished. The
seed did not ripen well, on account of the lateness
of planting. The cane grew in this short time
to over ten feet in height. It will be seen by
this that the cane may be, if planted early in
the season, grown even in Massachusetts, so that
there would, ordinarily, be a whole month to
manufacture sugar or syrup. We also learn, by
this, that no extra amount of manure or labor
is necessary to raise the cane of good size.
Mr. John A. Kenrick, also of Newton, raised
some of the sugar-cane. He started it in a hot-
bed, and then transplanted it into hills in the
field, where it grew to the height of eleven feet,
86 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
and very stout, the best specimens I have ever
seen. It ripened its seed well.
A correspondent of the Boston Atlas commu-
nicates the following, concerning an experiment
made in this state with this plant: ‘‘ The seeds
were planted on the 14th of last .June, im the
same manner as corn is usually planted. The
canes grew to the height of ten feet, and spin-
dled like broom-corn, but did not ripen any seed.
About the 10th of October, the crop of about
forty canes was harvested. The juice was ex-
pressed by means of a sugar-mill, such as used
by grocers for crushing sugar. The forty canes
yielded about two pats and a half, which was
boiled down to syrup.’ :
From the New England Rearnet we clip the
following, written by J. J. H. Gregory, of Mar-
blehead, Mass. : ‘* About the middle of last June
I received a small package of the seed of the
Chinese Sugar-cane. On the 18th of the same
month I planted a few seed for experiment, from
which one hill of seven plants was reserved.
These thrived well, and at the time of the first
heavy frost had attained a growth of about ten
feet, with the seed at the tops apparently full-
sized, but, as was anticipated from the shortness
of the growing season, not well filled, and scarcely
ee ee we
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 87
colored. From six of the stalks the juice was
expressed and boiled down to the consistency
of common molasses, yielding about a common
coffee-cup full (or one and two thirds gills) of
a rich syrup, which our grocers considered to be
richer flavored than ordinary molasses, equal
in quality to the syrup of commerce. Please
accept, with my best wishes, Mr. Editor, the
accompanying sample of the molasses.”’
The editor says: ‘‘ Friend Gregory will please
accept thanks for his fine specimen of Chinese
sugar-cane molasses, — an article, we trust, yet
to be eenerally introduced as one of our staple
New England crops. It is a syrup rather than
molasses, the latter being an article drained from
sugar. Let it have a more extensive trial, an-
other season.”’ :
A gentleman in Dorchester, Mass., grew the
cane last year, and the seed ripened some weeks
before the frost came. This goes to show what
I have said in another place, that in a good
season, when we have warm weather,— warmer
than the past season has been,—this plant would
fully mature by the Ist to the 10th of Septem-
ber. “It is true this would give but a short time
to manufacture a quantity of sugar or syrup,
unless a great many hands were employed. And
Qe
88 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
this would involve a large outlay for a mill, or
mills, kettles, &c., which would be indispensable
on a large place. The climate of Louisiana
allows the planter from sixty to ninety days to
secure his crop; and even this often proves too
short, for the frosts come on, and put a stop to
the sugar operations.
I find the following in the Massachusetts
Ploughman, in regard to the new cane, and the
syrup manufactured therefrom. It is from Mr.
Foster Bryant, of Mansfield, Mass., a gentleman
well known to the public :
‘¢To tHE Epitor oF THE PLOUGHMAN. — Sir:
With this I send you a sample of syrup obtained
from the Sorgho Sucré. I received a package of
seeds from the Patent Office, which I planted in
hills three feet apart in a single row, and on
land varying from the capacity of 14 hills toa
bushel of potatoes up to 60. On the good land
the plants attained the height of ten feet, while
on the poorest the height did not exceed three
feet six inches. I suffered six stalks in a hill
to grow. Hoed but twice; planted im the mid-
dle of May; land moderately manured broad-
cast, but not in the hill. I could not obtain
rollers to crush the stalks, and therefore resorted
to the expedient of splitting and boiling in water.
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 89
I do not suppose I obtained more than half of the
saccharine sap by this method ; while the added
water greatly protracted evaporation, which, hav-
ing been performed in an iron kettle, has proba-
bly heightened the color, and for aught I know
imparted a somewhat peculiar taste. I can give
no information touching the cost of the syrup ;
and, being ignorant of the art of making sugar, I
made no attempt to procure the latter.
‘¢T think land that will grow fifty bushels of
corn to the acre will bear a heavy crop of the
sorgho sucré ; but I very much doubt if our sea-
son is long enough to ripen the seed, unless the
plants are brought forward in a hot-house. In
my case, the seeds were not fully formed when -
the heavy frosts occurred, the first of which made
ice one quarter of an inch thick, without white
frost. This apparently did not injure the plants.
The following night a heavy white frost occurred,
and the leaves were shrivelled and dry before
midday, but the stalks showed no change. I cut
them the same afternoon.’’ :
The editor comments as follows: ‘* We have
received a bottle of the saccharine matter from
Mr. Bryant, and given ita taste. It is of much
the same flavor as the sap of the sugar-maple,
when boiled down to the degree of consistence.
90 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
We thank Mr. B. for his specimen of the sap
thus prepared ; and hope others will be induced
to grow this plant, on a small scale at first, for
it may [rove a superior article for fattening ani-
mals, if not for making sugar.’’
Notwithstanding Mr. Bryant did not succeed
in ripening the seed, many others have, even in
Massachusetts, so that we need not doubt on
that score. And even if the seed should not all
ripen, or any part of it, the cost of seed would
be but little; for it can be imported in great
abundance from France, or brought from the
South, so that it will undoubtedly be furnished
in a year or two for less than fifty cents per
pound. It will also be seen by the above that
the stalks did not receive any apparent injury,
even from a heavy frost, though I very much
doubt whether it would be best to ran the risk.
It has been found to flourish as far north as
Minnesota, where it has attained the height of
twelve to fifteen feet. So in the New England
States, where it has not only grown weil, but
ripened its seeds. It has been grown to some
extent by many persons through the New Eng-
land States, as well as in other portions of the
country, and the universal testimony is, ‘‘ It
grew well with us, but we did not try it for
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 91
sugar or syrup.’’ Ihave not thought it best to
take more space in giving accounts of experi-
ments, presuming that enough have already been
given.
The following brief hints may be of use to
those who propose to enter upon its cultiva-
tion :
1. Select a warm and dry soil, such as you
would select for Indian corn.
2. Prepare your ground precisely as you
would for corn, either by spreading your ma-
nure, or putting in hills,— about the same dis-
tance between the hills, where the ground is
rich.
3. In planting, which should be done early,
put into each hill six or eight seeds. Cover
lightly with well-pulverized soil,—say, three
fourths to one inch deep; pull out all but four
or five at second hoeing. If planted in drills,
seed enough should be used so that after hoeing
there may be a stalk to every four or five inches ;
from a pound and a half to two pounds of seed
should be used.
4, Cultivate and hoe as with corn; care should
be taken that the ignorant do not hoe up the
young plants, taking them for barn-grass, which
they very much resemble
92 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
5. When the panicles appear, they should be
cut off of all that which is intended for sugar or
syrup making.
6. When the plant has just passed into bloom,
the stalk may be used for syrup, but will con-
tinue to grow better until the seed is in the milk-
stage, or little later.
7. The stalks should be cut close to the
ground, with a bill-hook or some such tool, and
stripped of their leaves, and the green, succulent
top cut off, when they are ready for the mill;
the leaves and top may be fed green to cattle, or
dried.
8. The stalks should be passed through the
mill twice or more, until most or all of the juice
is expressed.
9. The juice should not be allowed to stand
long after being expressed, but boiled at once, if
possible. A slow fire should be made under the
kettle, — which should be of brass, or much bet-
ter of copper, — and the juice should not be
allowed to boil until the green scum has all been
taken off. Lime-water may be used to aid in
clarifying and to neutralize the acid; the exact
quantity is not yet determined, but to every five
gallons of juice, say, from one to two tea-spoons-
ful of powdered lime, or the same dissolved in
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 93
water, and strained, before being put into the
juice. |
10. When all the green scum has been re-
moved, the fire may be increased, and the juice
boiled down until nearly as thick as common
molasses in hot weather, when, if intended for
syrup, it should be removed from the fire, for
this completes the process. If intended for
sugar, 1t should be allowed to boil longer, and
until it will ‘‘ string into threads,’ or present
an appearance of being sufficiently boiled to
grain, when it should be thrown off into troughs,
or coolers, at once. Iam not able to give exact
information in regard to the time it should be
boiled to crystallize readily. Further experi-
ments will determine.
11. If made into sugar, it should be removed
from the coolers to casks with holes bored in
them, so that the molasses may drain off and
leave the sugar dry, as it should be. These
casks are generally placed on timbers, with a
cement cistern underneath to hold the drippings,
or molasses. After remaining in the ‘‘ purgery”’
until sufficiently drained, it comes out fit for
sale, or use.
12. If cultivated exclusively for fodder, it
should be planted as early as the weather will
94 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
allow, and quite as thick as stover-corn. When
the panicles appear, or even before, it may be
cut either for soiling or for drying, and the roots
will at once throw up another crop.
13. If it is desired, the juice may be fer-
mented, like the juice of apples, being put into
casks at the mill, and treated like cider.
14. The begass, or waste, may be dried and
used for fuel, or for making paper, or rotted
down for manure.
15.. If the storms should blow down the seed-
cane, no fears need be entertained, as it will
remain weeks in that condition without injury.
I must here caution all persons who grow this
cane against planting it in the vicinity of broom-
corn, Dourah-corn, or Guinea-corn; for it readily
mixes with these plants, and it would render the
seed worthless for planting.
I think I have sufficiently shown that the
Chinese Sugar-cane may be grown, both North
and South, with success, either for sugar and
syrup making, or fodder, or some of the many
other uses to which this wonderful plant is
adapted. It may be, and doubtless is true, that
the climate of the South is better adapted to the
production of sugar, inasmuch as there will be a
greater amount of crystallizable sugar obtained
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 95
from the same amount of juice than at the North;
and also that the seed will be more sure of ripen-
ing, and better in some respects after it is
ripened, may also be true. But this,should not
prevent the North from engaging in its culture,
by any means ; for, even though it should cost as
-much to produce sugar on our own farms as we
could buy it for in the market, yet I believe very
many would choose to make their own ; for, aside
from the fact that many would prefer sugar pro-
duced on free soil by free labor, they would
rather make it themselves, and thus turn their
labor into money, than pay out the ready cash —
for an article grown in a foreign country, or even
at the South. But, should it turn out, after it
has been fully tried, that we cannot profitably
make sugar from this cane at the North, then I
take it the cane would be grown for syrup-mak-
ing ; and the only possible thing there will be to
prevent this — for I think I have.shown beyond
contradiction that this can be done at the North
— may be that the South can produce as good
syrup, and deliver it at our doors for a much less
price than we can do it. But I don’t believe
that that can be done; for I see no reason
why we should not be able to compete with
them in this article, for certainly they will labor
9
96 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
under the disadvantage of bringing it here for a
market, while we shall have ours on the very spot.
After the mill has been set up and the boilers
arranged, there will be but little expense except
for labor and fuel. In regard to the former, I
believe free labor can and always will compete
successfully with slave labor, give it an equal
chance ; in regard to the latter, the begass may,
and possibly will, be used for fuel in some
places, as in the West Indies, where it supplies
nearly all the fuel required both to run the steam-
engine and to boil the syrup. I believe the
time will come when we may revel in sweets
grown upon our own free soil, either from this
cane or other saccharine plants that will be
introduced. Glorious results are to follow the
introduction of this plant, if all our anticipations
are realized, when the poor as well as the rich
shall have the sweets of life within their reach ;
for it is the masses we would benefit. The rich ~
can obtain sugar, let it cost what it will; but not
so with the laboring man,—he must be deprived
of this luxury, if the prices advance as they have ©
for the past two years. But let us not get
excited on this subject, so that the Chinese
Sugar-cane excitement will be classed with the
Merino sheep fever, the Morus multicaulis,
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 907
Rohan potato, Fowl, and other fevers that have
had their day, and are only recollected as speci-
mens of our folly as a people. This new plant |
is no humbug, but I believe a downright valua-
ble article. Careful experiments yet to be made
will determine how valuable. Let each and
every agriculturist try it another season,—on a
small scale, if he chooses, but at any rate try it
and judge for himself. I shall plant at least an
acre, and with a perfect sugar-mill, and other
apparatus which I mean to obtain, I shall make
thorough and careful experiments, which will be
given to the public at the end of the season.
Many there are who stand ready to denounce this,
as all new things, as a humbug, and a worth-
less article. To such I say, suspend your judg-
ment until a fair trial has been made, until it
has been proved worthless, and then I will join
with you heartily in denouncing it.
In closing, let me say that my object has been
to give the reader all the facts within my reach ;
and, though I may not have succeeded in giving
all the information that may be needed, the
reason, I think, will be apparent to all. It being
a new thing, of which little was known until
its introduction into the United States, and the
time has been so short for us to experiment with
98 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
it that itis not in the power of any one to give
accurate rules for its cultivation, treatment, &e.,
or to speak positively of its properties and merits.
I have given briefly some rules in regard to its
culture, &c., but they must necessarily be imper-
fect, as they are founded only on my own experi-
ence of one year, with what I have obtained from
others who have grown it during the past season.
I have not intended to over-color the remarks [
have made; and in the selections I have given
both sides are shown, — the dark as well as the
bright. Ihave been able to obtain letters from
distinguished gentlemen, fully competent to speak
on this subject, and who have had some experi-
ence. Their opinions, you will agree with me,
are entitled to great weight in this matter.
LETTER OF HON. MARSHALL P. WILDER, PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Dorchester, Dec. 19th, 1856.
J. FE. C. Hyps, Esa.
Dear Str: Your favor, requesting a word from me in
relation to the New Chinese Cane (Holcus Saccharatus), the
product of which was exhibited at the late show of the United
States Agricultural Society, is received. Several samples
of syrup made from this cane were presented by Col. Peters,
of Georgia; and, in my judgment, it was one of the most
important articles on exhibition, connected with agriculture.
No subject has excited more deep and universal interest
throughout the country, for many years, than the introduction
ole
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 99
of this new plant. Col. Peters is therefore entitled to great
credit for the exposition of this article in this public manner,
and also for the detailed statements which he gave of his
method of cultivation, manufacture, and the result of his
operations. I was happy to learn, on my return home, that
yourself and others had been equally successful with that
gentleman, and that it is your intention to give the subject
further investigation. This cane has been grown during the
past season with as much success in the Eastern and Western
States as in Georgia and the extreme South, and presents to
our farmers the prospect of producing their sugar and molas-
ses as easily as almost any other crop. It is capable of being
cultivated wherever Indian corn will succeed, and, of course,
to the same extent, and to a much greater profit. Col. Peters
writes me that he shall plant one hundred acres next year ;
others are proposing to plant largely. If it can be manufac-
tured into sugar, or molasses, of which there seems to be no
reasonable doubt, it is impossible to predict the importance
of this crop to American agriculturists, or to the country at
large. Goon, my dear sir! You are on the right track.
This is not the only species of the zmphees, or sugar-cane, to
be brought to notice. There are other varieties in Caffraria
and Algeria, which are said to be very superior; and it is to
be hoped that the vessel which has recently been sent out by
the government of the United States will not return without
bringing a supply of these plants, or the seed of them, so as
to place at an early day before our yeomanry all the informa-
tion that can be obtained on this most interesting subject.
Yours, with great respect,
Marsuatt P. Wixper.
The following letter from Gov. Gardner will be
read with interest.
9%
100 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
Boston, 18th Dec., 1856.
James F. C. Hype, Esa.
My Dear Sir: I hasten to reply to your note of the 16th,
relative to my experience and impressions regarding the sus-
ceptibility of the cultivation of the Chinese Sugar-cane in our
climate.
In the autumn of 1855, I learned that an esteemed friend,
and a neighbor in the summer season, Benjamin Hemmenway,
Ksq., of Dorchester, had grown some sugar-cane upon his
lands, and that it had matured and given evidence of being
well stocked with saccharine matter. Feeling an interest in
the subject, I applied for some seeds of his own growth, which
he kindly gave me.
I planted them in hills, guzte late in June, 1856. I con-
fess they were put into the ground so late in the season I did
not expect them to reach maturity, and my chief object was
to know if seeds grown zm our latitude would ripen sufii-
ciently to germinate and produce full-sized cane. There was
no doubt that exotic seeds, brought from warmer climates,
would grow more or less perfectly the first year; but it is a
totally different question whether the seeds of such Plants will
again sprout and grow to perfection.
Not anticipating my cane would ripen, I took but little
trouble in planting the seed ; and it is worthy of note, that it
was planted in a tolerably rich loam, but wzthout any manure.
In a short time the plants appeared, looking like hills of corn,
and nothing was done for it excepting keeping down the weeds,
saving that it was moistened three or four times with a weak
solution of guano and water. JI planted thirty hills in two
rows, five seeds in a hill, and about the same space between
the hills that is adopted in planting corn, one end of the rows
running under a very large elm-tree. The cane grew with
great rapidity, but there was soon a very obvious difference
a ee
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 101
between those hills that were shaded and those that were
wholly exposed to the sun; and, in the end, not only a varia-
tion in the height of nearly one half, but those that were the
most shaded failed altogether to spindle out into seed-blossoms.
The extreme height of the most favored hills must have
ranged from ten to twelve feet, judging by the eye, and nearly
or quite every seed planted threw up a stalk. Notwithstand-
ing I had not hoped, owing to the period of its planting, it
would mature, much of it did; and, though an early October
frost checked it (for it was on low land), a good part of the
seed ripened, and I propose planting some of it the next year.
I think the following facts are satisfactorily developed from
my experiments :
First. That seed grown here will produce plants as perfect
as the imported seed: in other words, that the cane can be
perfectly acclimated in our state.
Second. That it will probably mature in any season when
Indian corn will.
Third. That it requires a sunny exposure, as corn does.
Fourth. That it does not need excessive artificial fertiliza-
tion: or, in other words, does not excessively exhaust and
impoverish the soil.
Fifth. That, as a green fodder, it produces more food for
cattle on same space and at same cost than corn.
Sizth. That cattle prefer it to corn fodder; for I repeat-
edly gave it mixed with corn-stalks to cows, and it was amusing
to see them carefully select the sugar-cane from the corn-stalks,
eating the former first, as I have seen hogs pick out pears
from apples.
Seventh. That it is much more juicy and nutritious for
milch cows than any other fodder; for it is well known that
sugar contains more nourishment than almost amy vegetable
production in daily use.
102 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
You will notice I have made no reference to the possibility
of this interesting plant containing sufficient saccharine mat-
ter to enable it to be converted into sugar and molasses at such
rates as to successfully compete with the sugars of Louisiana,
Texas, and the West Indies. Yet there is no doubt but that
it far surpasses the sugar-beet in this respect, which has for
many years in France produced those articles profitably ; and
as little do I question but that it possesses more properties of
the Caribbean cane-syrup than the maple, from which consid-
erable quantities of sugar are annually manufactured in vari-
ous parts of New England.
In fact, it may be found that it is as well adapted to the
manufacture of these necessary articles of domestic economy
as the cane of our Southern States. Should such prove to be
the case, an immense industrial revolution is at our doors, the
results of which must be as gratifying as stupendous. Many
millions of dollars, doubtless, are annually sent away from
New England to purchase Southern sugars, which will then be
kept at home to enrich the producer upon the hill-sides and
in the valleys of our section of country. And, better than
all, one great staple, which is almost the exclusive growth of
slave labor, which props up that institution and adds to its
continuance, will be wrested from its tottering basis.
Vigorously pursue any practical course of economic effort
which will tend to make slave labor less profitable, and you
do more to bring about that prophetic and certain day “ when
bondage shall exist no longer,” and “the enslaved shall go
free,” than by all the refinement of political ethics, or even
the crushing influence of exotic humanity, Christian sympathy,
and popular sentiment.
In the latter view of this question, especially, is it our duty
to pursue ag@horough and systematic course of experiments,
to fully ascertain the capabilities of this new plant. I rejoice
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 103
that a gentleman of your perseverance and intelligence is
determined to aid in accomplishing this end. Count me not
only as your well-wisher, but pecuniary aider, if necessary ;
and [ earnestly hope success may crown your efforts.
I omitted to say the specimen of molasses of your own
growth and manufacture from this cane duly reached me. It
tastes deliciously, and looks promising, realizing the proverb
that “the product of one’s own labor is sweet.”
Should any facts in this note be of service to you, please
make what use you please of them, and believe me
Very truly yours,
Henry J. GARDNER.
FROM CHARLES L, FLINT, ESQ., SECRETARY OF THE MASSACHU-
SETTS BOARD OF AGRICULTURE,
State-House, Boston, Dec. 22d, 1856.
Dear Sir:
I have had opportunities of various kinds to learn some-
thing of the success which has attended the culture of the
Chinese Sugar-cane, and am happy to hear that you are pre-
paring a treatise upon it which will embrace, no doubt, all
that is at present known among us of its natural history, its
comparative value, and the best modes of cultivating it. Such
a work, I am sure, is greatly needed asa guide for our exper-
iments in the introduction of a plant new, at least, to us, and
which promises to prove so valuable. Many a new plant and
many a new implement of husbandry is thrown aside after a
feeble effort, when a little knowledge of its uses and value on
the part of the experimenter would have led to an entirely
different, and, perhaps, perfectly successful result. The man-
ual which you contemplate will, therefore, come just in season.
To say of this plant that it will work an entire revolution
in the great sugar interest of this country, would, perhaps, be
premature ; but the fact that it has sprung into general notice
104 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
and awakened the interest of the whole country so suddenly, is
strong evidence of its intrinsic importance, especially as it
has succeeded in every case, so far as I know, beyond the antic-
ipations of those who have tried it. It bids fair to become of
national importance.
I have some acquaintance with Col. Peters, of Georgia,
whose statements are before the country. These statements
are perfectly reliable, and show what we may expect from the
plant in a southern latitude. Fine molasses has been made
from it in Minnesota; while several experiments which have
fallen under my notice in this state have been attended with
success. It has been known and cultivated in France for
some years.
It appears to grow luxuriantly in all latitudes suitable for
Indian corn. It is not claimed, I believe, that the percentage
of saccharine matter is so great in northern as in southern
latitudes. This may affect its value for the production of
sugar in our climate, but does not essentially affect its value as
a farm product, — and especially as a forage plant, since it is,
without doubt, very rich in saccharine and nutritive matters
in the highest latitudes at which it can be-grown. I am told,
by those who have raised it, that cattle are so fond of it that
they will even pick it out stalk by stalk when mixed up ina
bundle of Indian-corn stalks. There seems every reason to
believe, therefore, that as a forage plant it will very rapidly
come into general favor, and help us essentially through our
summer droughts.
Of its value for syrup or molasses I need not speak. You
have shown, I believe, that it is practicable and profitable to
grow it for that purpose alone. But whether it is or not, it
is at least worthy of extended and careful experiments, which,
I am sure, will be made, and experiments will soon determine
the rank to which it is entitled among our New England pro-
THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 105
ductions. Your manual will encourage and assist these exper-
iments, and it will be of essential service to the community.
Very cordially and truly, your obedient servant,
Cuartes L. Fuint.
To J. F. C. Hypx, Ese.
FROM HON. SIMON BROWN, EDITOR OF THE N. E. FARMER.
Office New England Farmer, Boston, Dec. 27, 1856.
Dear Sir: I am glad to learn, through your note, that you
are preparing, and about to publish, a manual relating to
the cultivation of the Chinese Sugar-cane, and the best mode
at present known of obtaining the juice and converting it
into syrup.
% * * * * * #
The introduction of the sugar-cane is only another of
those blessings conferred on the progress of the race which’
have been so frequent and beneficial, and which there is still
reason to believe will be greatly extended. More earnest,
intelligent, and scientific investigation into the great art of
agriculture will undoubtedly introduce new vegetables, and
grasses, and grains, of permanent value, and new and
delicious fruits, of which we are now entirely ignorant.
Nature is prolific and bountiful throughout her wide realm;
her secrets are not all past finding out. Intelligence and
application will reveal them, and constantly confer new com-
forts upon all.
I hope our people will find in your manual encouragement
to make multiplied experiments in the cultivation of the
cane, and the production of syrup, so that out of all the
trials instituted a sufficient number of reliable facts will be
obtained to settle the question whether it can be produced on
the farms of New England and the West at a cheaper rate
106 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE.
than we can obtain sugar and molasses by raising other
crops and exchanging them for these articles.
My own experiments in growing the cane have been quite
limited, only going so far as to sow the seed and raise the
plants which perfected their seeds before frosts came. I
sowed the seed about the middle of May, 1856, and the
plants from it perfected their seeds the first week in Septem-
ber. I made no attempt to express the juice, and the
plants were fed to my stock when I was away from home.
I have seen numerous accounts of the growth of the cane
in different parts of the country, which are all favorable to
its cultivation. Bottles of syrup have been sent to me from
places widely remote from each other; and those who have
obtained it express the opinion that the introduction of the
plant will eventually enable us to supply the market to some
extent with the important staples of molasses and sugar.
Their conclusions seem to me to be well grounded.
If the cane does flourish here, upon trial, our ingenious
mechanics will soon manufacture mills of various descrip-
tions, to meet every want of the cultivator, and at a cost
within the means of every neighborhood, at least; so that
there is every encouragement to make the experiments, in which
your manual will be an important guide.
I am, very truly, yours,
Stmuon Brown.
J. F. C. Hynes, Esa.
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