a^ 
 
 ALBERT R. MANN 
 LIBRARY 
 
 New York State Colleges 
 
 OF 
 
 Agriculture and Home Economics 
 
 Cornell University 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 
 
 m^ 
 
 0m^^ 
 
 
 
 
 ^^*- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CWLORD 
 
 
 
 PRINTED IN U-S. A. 
 
 Cornell University Library 
 SB 23S.S84 
 
 Sorghum and Its products.An account of r 
 
 3 1924 003 377 672 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003377672 
 
EVAPORATING RANGE.-Fig. 1. 
 
SORGHUM AND ITS PRODUCTS. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF RECENT INYESTIGATI0N8 
 
 OONOBKNINQ THB 
 
 VALUE OF SORGHUM IN SUGAR PRODUCTION, 
 
 TOGETHER WITH A DBSCmPTION OF 
 
 FEOM THIS PLANT, 
 ADAPTED TO COMMON USE. 
 
 BY 
 
 F. L. STEWART. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 
 
 1867. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by 
 
 F. L. STEWART, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Western District 
 
 of PennsylTania. 
 
 s^4 
 
 J777 
 
 1 
 
TO 
 
 JOHN" FEASEK, 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE OF PENNSYLVANIA, 
 
 SCftijS Woxk 
 
 IS EKSPECTPULIiT INSCRIBED 
 
 BY BIS FRIEND, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Recent improvements in the art of making sugar and syrup 
 from Sorghum Oane have created a necessity for the pubhcation 
 of this volume. It is written for the benefit chiefly of Farmers and 
 Planters of the United States, who have fostered this new branch 
 of industry from the outset, and in whose hands it is destined to 
 assume a new importance. The time is past when this pursuit 
 is to be regarded only as an experiment, or as an ephemeral 
 enterprise, persisted in merely because of the paralyzation of 
 industry at the South. 
 
 Sugar making is an Art, and complete success is not attain- 
 able at a bound, but the attentive reader of these pages will find 
 that it is an art easily learned. The pathway, by which I reached 
 my object in these researches, was beset with obstructions which 
 it was necessary to overcome successively as they presented 
 themselves — wherein much time was spent, but not unprofitably, 
 as the result, I trust, will show. Of the magnitude of these 
 difficulties few have any just apprehension, who have not, in a 
 thorough manner, addressed themselves to the task of discover- 
 ing what is their real nature. 
 
 One fact, however, rewards the investigation at the start, and 
 was to me a sufficient encouragement ; namely, that the best 
 varieties of this cane contain as large a proportion of crystalliz- 
 able sugar as does ordinarily the sugar cane in Louisiana. This 
 
 1* (v) 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 truth has not generally been recognized, but the sooner it be- 
 comes known and appreciated the better. 
 
 In common with all who would obtain accurate information 
 respecting sugar production at the South, I acknowledge my 
 indebtedness to the works of Evans and Dutrone, and to the 
 more recent and very valuable researches of Professor R. S. 
 McOulloh. 
 
 With the confident expectation that the processes herein 
 recommended will be successful in other hands, as they have 
 been in my own, the work is submitted to the public. 
 
 P. L. STEWART. 
 April, 1867. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 STJOAR AHD StTGAK PLANTS. 
 
 Cane Sugar— Ita Early History— The Period of its Introduc- 
 tion into Europe — Comparatively unknown to the Ancients 
 — Pliny's Observations — Importance of the Sugar Industry 
 at the Present Time — Sources from which Sugar is now de- 
 rived—The Tropical Cane — Its Climatology — Sugar Pro- 
 duction in the United States — Insufficiency of all our Native 
 Sources of Supply — The Cane in Louisiana — The Sugar 
 Maple— The Beet— Grape or Starch Sugar— Its Low Rank — 
 Inapplicable to the most Important Purposes for which Cane 
 Sugar is used — Sorghum Saccharatum, the Northern Cane 
 — Sketch of its History — Its Relations to Soil and Climate 
 — Its True Character and Value 15 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 METHOD OF CriTIVATION. 
 
 The Method of Cultivation adapted to the Nature and Re- 
 quirements of the Plant — Resemblance to Indian-corn not 
 BO close as has been supposed — Cereal and Saccharine Plants 
 — Importance of adherence to System — Some Considerations 
 of Primary Importance — The Selection of the Seed — Vari- 
 eties of Cane — Chinese and South African — Characteristics 
 of Good Seed — How Germination may be hastened — Physi- 
 ology of the Seed — Planting and Cultivation — Outline of a 
 System defined .......,, 25 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 METHOD or CULTIVATION (CONTINUED). 
 
 Inequality of Development of the Stem and Roots of the An- 
 nual Grasses during the early Period of Growth— This Pe- 
 culiarity must be recognized in any Rational System of 
 Planting and Culture — All Cultivated Plants divided into 
 two Great Classes, according to their mode of development 
 — Relations to Climate — The Oat Plant — Ahrend's Experi- 
 ments — In what Respects the growth of Sorghum is Analo- 
 gous^The Characteristics of the Plant at different Periods 
 of Growth exhibited — Physiology of the Leaf, Stem, and 
 Root — Treatment which the Plant should receive at each 
 Period . . 30 
 
VUl CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 METHOD OP CnLTIVATION (cONIINnEI)) — EARIY PLANTING. 
 
 Early Planting essentially Important, and why — Analogy to 
 Wheat — "Volunteer Cane" — Conditions of growth during 
 the First Period, and Influence of a Low Temperature — This 
 Period falls within the limits of the Meteorological Spring, 
 in the Latitude of Philadelphia — Disadvantages of Planting 
 at a Later Period — Reasons why a System of Early Spring 
 Planting should in all Cases be followed — How the C(ffidi- 
 tions necessary to Success by this System may be obtained 
 — Fall Plowing arid Deep Tillage almost indispensable — Col- 
 lateral Advantages secured thereby 34 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 METHOD OF CnLTITATIOII (CONTINUED) — RIDQINO. 
 
 Ridging of the Land indispensable when Early Planting is 
 practiced — Mode of Ridging adopted — Enumeration of the 
 Peculiar Benefits due to this Practice — After-culture of the 
 Cane described — Illustration 41 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 MANURES. 
 
 The Food of the Plant — Special Manures — Influence of Ma- 
 nures rich in Nitrogen at the various stages of the develop- 
 ment of Cane— Analysis of the Ash — Function of the Min- 
 eral Food or Ash-ingredients — The Elements of Sugar, 
 whence derived — Precautions necessary to be observed — By 
 what Means Exhaustion of the Soil by Successive Crops of 
 Cane may be prevented, without practicing a System of Ro- 
 tation of Crops ......... 46 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MANTJUES (OONTINTJED). 
 
 The Begasse or Cane Trash — How it may be disposed of — 
 Uses — Its Composition — How to convert it into a most 
 Valuable Manure — Rationale of the decomposition of the 
 Trash — Waste Products — Their Use as Manures — Mineral 
 Manures, from Artificial Sources, how supplied — Gypsum 
 as a Special Fertilizer — Harris's Experiments — Analogies 
 and Conclusions — Mode of action of Gypsum as applied to 
 Cane — Why most Energetic when applied to Early-planted 
 Cane — Importance of Potash as a Fertilizer . . .54 
 
CONTENTS. iX 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE KEIATITE VALUE OP DIFFERENT SOILS IN BUOAR PRODUCTION 
 
 The Soil not merely a Repository of the Mineral Food of Plants 
 — Theory alone not a safe Guide in estimating the Value 
 of Soils for different Purposes — Texture and Physical Prop- 
 erties of Soils — The Peculiar Qualities, physical and chem- 
 ical, of Lauds which Experience has proved to be the best 
 adapted to this Cane — The "Bluff Lands" of the Missouri 
 and Mississippi Valleys — Sugar Production in the West and 
 in Louisiana — Soils of the Ohio Terraces . . . .62 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE. 
 
 The Limits of the Distribution of Species defined by Climate — 
 Sub-tropical Character of the Middle and Western States 
 during the Summer Months — The Limits within which Sor- 
 ghum may be profitably grown defined — The Summer Iso- 
 therm of 70° Fahr. — The Summer Line of 72° Fahr. proba- 
 bly the Northern Limit of the District within which Sugar 
 may be most successfully produced . . . . .68 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MEANS BT WHICH THE MATURITY OF CANE MAT BE HASTENED. 
 
 Special Means by which Early Ripening may be secured — In- 
 attention of Planters to this Subject — The Period of Growth 
 may be abbreviated to advantage by the practice of the 
 System of Planting and Culture previously recommended — 
 Selection of the Earliest ripened Seeds from the most Highly- 
 developed Plants — Early Planting — Sprouting of Seed — 
 Drainage of Land — Use of Lime — Upland Soil and Southern 
 Exposure of the Surface — Direction of the Cane Rows — 
 Importance of attention to these Particulars . . .71 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE "tillering" OF SOEQHUM. 
 
 Influence of the Side Shoots, or "Suckers," upon the Saccha- 
 rine Products of the Plant— Opposite Opinions of experi- 
 enced Planters as to the Nature and Value of the Lateral 
 Shoots harmonized — Their Growth under perfect Control — 
 They are not an Abnormal Growth, but are perfectly analo- 
 gous to the TUlers of Wheat — The Tillering Process common 
 to many of the Grasses, and a wise provision for their In- 
 crease Under what Conditions the Growth of the Sorghum 
 
 Tillers should be encouraged 75 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HAETESTINO THE CANE. 
 
 Preparation of the Cane for the Operation of Crushing, Re- 
 moval of the Blades — Their Proper Function discharged at 
 the Period when the Seed is Ripe, when they should be 
 removed — Their Value as Fodder — The Mode of stripping 
 Cane — How and when to top Cane — Removal of the Cane 
 from the Field — Effect of Frost upon Cane under Different 
 Circumstances ......... 81 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 STOEINO THE CANE. 
 
 The Sugar Factory, what Buildings necessary — Cane Sheds, 
 their Construction and Arrangement — Trash Thatch a Con- 
 venient Material for Roofing, etc. — How used — Conditions 
 essential to the Preservation of Cane— Length of Time during 
 which it may be kept uninjured — ^Experiment — Uniformity 
 of Temperature necessary ....... 85 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 PKOCESS or MANUFACTTJEE. 
 
 Distinctive Features of the Process of Manufacture herein re- 
 commended — Difficulties attendant upon Crystallization from 
 an Impure Solution — Defecating Substances, Requirements 
 to which they must Conform — Advantages of a well-defined 
 System — Errors which have hindered Progress in Sugar 
 Production from Sorghum — -Necessity of a New Mode of 
 Treatment — Disadvantages of the Common Mode — Constitu- 
 ents of Sorghum Juice — Thorough Defecation the great De- 
 sideratum in any Method ....... 91 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PROCESS OP MANTJPACTURE (CONTINUED). 
 
 Description of the Apparatus and the Mode of using it — 
 General Arrangement of the Different Parts — Description of 
 the Evaporating Range, Materials used in its Construction — 
 Tanks, etc. — Details of the Mode of Operation — First Stage 
 — Lime and the Defecating Agent, how employed — -Satura- 
 tion of the Acid — How the Scum is separated without the 
 usual Process of Skimming — Arrangement of Division A — 
 Requisites to secure Success — Precautions — Fuel — Chemical 
 Agents . 97 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 PROCESS OP MANUPACTTTRE (CONTINUED). 
 
 Second Stage of the Process — Characteristics of a Refined 
 Syrup — Mode of Refining the Syrup — Manner of using the 
 Filtering Drawer — Third Stage — Concentration of the Syrup 
 — The Finishing Pan— Thermometer — The Striking Point as 
 determined by the Temperature — Other Tests of Density — 
 The Finger Test — Indications at Successive Stages of Con- 
 centration — ^False Indications exhibited by Impure Syrups 
 — Precautions necessary in Barreling Syrups . . . 105 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE (CONTINUED). 
 
 Crystallization — Treatment of the Syrup in the Crystallizing- 
 room — Crystallizing Vessels — Dutrone's Crystallizing Box — 
 How Drainage may be secured and Crystallization promoted. Ill 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE (CONTINUED). 
 
 Drainage — In what it consists — Mode of Working — Extent to 
 which the Production of the Higher Grades of Sugar may 
 profitably be carried in Draining Vessels — Sugar Moulds — 
 Description of the Process of Natural Drainage and the 
 Mode of preparing White Sugar — Reboiling and Crystalliza- 
 tion — Summary of Conditions necessary to Success in Liq- 
 uoring Sugars — Separation of the Molasses by Mechanical 
 Pressure and other Means — The Centrifugal Drainer . . 115 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 SUGAR MILLS. 
 
 Composition of Sorghum Cane Juice — Extraction of the Juice 
 
 Sugar Mills — Per cent, of Juice ordinarily extracted by 
 
 Mills Loss from Inefficiency of Mills — Obstacles to the 
 
 complete Removal of the Juice — To what extent they may 
 be overcome — The Common Three Roll Mills at the South — 
 Mean Results of Experiments with these Mills in Guada- 
 
 loupe British West Indies — Cuba, Java, and Louisiana — 
 
 Importance of further Improvements — Necessity of Grinding 
 at a low rale of Speed — How the Advantages of the Process 
 of Maceration may be successfully combined with those de- 
 rived from the use of the Mill— Mills with Four Rolls pro- 
 vided with a Pipe for the Injection of Jets of Steam into the 
 Begasse — Value of these Improvements .... 124 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CHEMICAL ACTION Or SUBSTANCES USED IN DEFECATION. 
 
 Chemical Influence of Lime upon Sorghum Juice — Defecation 
 by Tannic Acid and Albumen — Upon what the Peculiar Ac- 
 tion of these Substances, so combined, depends — Conditions 
 favorable to the Use of this Method — Another Method of 
 Defecation — The Action of the Chemical Compound used — 
 The Composition described and the Advantages to be de- 
 rived from its Use 132 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 ANIMAL CARBON, OB, BONEBLACK. 
 
 Filtration — Animal Charcoal or Boneblaok — Mode of prepar- 
 ing it, and the Condition in which it is employed in this 
 Process — Properties of the Charcoal in this form— Mode of 
 using it — Its Action — Use in removing the Extraotiye Mat- 
 ter and Harsh Flavor — Decolorizes— Promotes Crystalliza- 
 tion — Removes any Excess of Lime, Tannin, etc., etc. — 
 Separates all Soluble Substances mechanically suspended 
 in the Liquid — Mode of restoring the Powers of the Charcoal 
 when exhausted — Different Modes of Keburning — New 
 Method of Revivification — Substitutes for it in Filtration . 140 
 
 CHAPTER XXIL 
 
 THE ACTION OP HEAT. 
 
 The Influence of Heat upon Cane Juice — Imperfect convection 
 of Heat in deep masses of Syrup — How Heat is economized 
 by this Method, and its Intensity regulated, according to the 
 Effect required at each Stage of the Evaporation — The Tilt 
 Pan — Injurious Effects of a Low but Prolonged Heat — Sou- 
 beiran's Experiments — Open-air boiling indispensable up 
 to a certain point of Concentration — Payen's Experience — 
 Evaporation by a Water-Bath or by Steam at 212° F. — 
 Why injurious — Advantages derived from the use of a 
 Vacuum Finishing Pan — Why it cannot come into general 
 Use 147 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 OTHER METHODS. 
 
 Description of various Methods of Manufacture heretofore 
 used o<r recommended — The Method of Wray described — 
 Its Merits and Disadvantages — Its Impracticability — Mel- 
 sen's Method — Specifications — Its Advantages dependent 
 upon the presumption that Sorghum and Tropical Cane 
 Juice are identical, which is untrue — Further Reasons why 
 Bisulphite of Lime, as a Defecator of Sorghum Juice, is of 
 no Peculiar Value 155 
 
CONTENTS. Xiii 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE COMMON METHOD BY HEAT. 
 
 Extent to which Defecation takes place by this Means without 
 the use of Other Agents— The Advocacy of Erroneous Opin- 
 ions concerning the Action of Heat productive of much Mis- 
 chief—Sugar cannot ordinarily be made by such Means . 163 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 StJQAB. MAKING AT HOME. 
 
 Adaptation of the System herein recommended to Operations 
 of Different Degrees of Magnitude— Outlines of a Method 
 designed to meet the wants of the Farmer who cultivates 
 and works up a Crop of Fifteen or Twenty Acres of Cane . 169 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 VALVS OF SOKGHUM IN SUGAR PRODUCTION. 
 
 Capacity of Sorghum for Sugar Production as ascertained by 
 Analysis and Experiment — Analyses by Dr. Jackson, of Bos- 
 ton — Prof. J. Lawrence Smith, of Louisville — Analyses in 
 France by Madinier and Vilmorin — Extended series of Ex- 
 periments made by Mr. Jos. S. Levering, of Philadelphia — 
 Observations upon a Report of Analyses made by Dr. Wetherill 
 in the Laboratory of the Department of Agrtculture, at Wash- 
 ington 173 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 HOW TO TEST CANE JUICE. 
 
 Importance to the Manufacturer of some Means by which he 
 may learn the Value of any given Sample of Cane Juice — 
 Characteristics of Crystallizable and Uncrystallizable Sugars 
 — Microscopic Sections of the Stem of Chinese Sorghum and 
 Imphee — How to distinguish between Grape and Cane Su- 
 gar in the Solid Form — Methods of Determining approxi- 
 mately the Relative Proportions of Cane and Grape Sugars, 
 and Impurities in Sorghum Juice — The Hydrometer — Sub- 
 acetate of Lead — Modification of Fehling's Copper Test — 
 Peligot's Test by Sugar Lime 184 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 COMPARISON OF SOUTHERN CANE AND SORGHUM. 
 
 1. Botanical Characters — Period of Growth — Propagation — 
 Tillering — CUmate — Soil — Manures — Maturity of Juice — 
 2 
 
XiV CONTENTS. 
 
 Condition of the Juice in difiFerent parts of the Stalk — 
 Chemical Composition of the Stalk — Chemical Composition 
 of the Juice 200 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 NATURAL AFFINITIES OF THESE DANES INFERENCES 
 
 DEEIVEC THEKEFROM. 
 
 The Nature of the Relationship between Chinese Cane, Im- 
 phee, etc. — Species — Varieties — Are they all of one Species 
 or of several? — Facts which throw Light upon this Question 
 . — Tests of Specific Identity — The Inference that they are of 
 one Species not at variance with the Fact of their wide Geo- 
 graphical Distribution — The Climate of China — Early plant- 
 ing of Cane necessary in that Country — The Climate of 
 Southeastern Africa — Inferences — Precautions to be ob- 
 served — Mr. Wray's Account of the Imphee Canes of South 
 Africa 210 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 OTHER PRODUCTS. SYNOPSIS OP PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE. 
 
 Success in Sugar Manufacture in a great degree d"pendent 
 upon Economy in the Use of the Waste Products — Value of 
 the Cane Trash for Manure — Paper Manufacture — Roofing — 
 How Silk, Wool, and Cotton may be Dyed various Colors 
 from a Material contained in the Seeds and Trash — Use of 
 Defecated unripe Juice as a Source of Grape Sugar, to add 
 to Grape Wine by Dr. Gall's Method — Uses of the Seed, etc. 
 —Vinegar 223 
 
 Synopsis of the Process of Manufacture. — Cream of Lime — 
 Mode of Purifying Barrels 223 
 
SORGHUM AND ITS PRODUCTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 SUGAK AND SUGAR PLANTS. 
 
 Cane Sugar — Its Early History — The Period of its Introduction 
 into Europe — Comparatively unknown to the Ancients — Pliny's 
 Observations — Importance of the Sugar Industry at the Present 
 Time — Sources from which Sugar is now derived — The Tropi- 
 cal Cane — Its Climatology — Sugar Production in the United 
 States — Insufficiency of all our Native Sources of Supply — The 
 Cane in Louisiana — The Sugar Maple — The Beet — Grape or 
 Starch Sugar — Its Low Bank — Inapplicajjle to the most Im- 
 portant Purposes for which Cane Sugar is used — Sorghum Sac- 
 charatum, the Northern Cane — Sketch of its History — Its Rela- 
 tions to Soil and Climate — Its True Character and Value. 
 
 The introduction of new alimentary substances and skill 
 in the art of producing them in the forms best adapted to 
 human use, are eminently characteristic of modern times. 
 There seems to be truth in the opinion that the vigor and 
 activity of intellect and superior power of physical en- 
 durance possessed by the Caucasian race are due, in some 
 sort, to the use of certain articles of diet unknown or 
 unappropriated in the earlier ages. It is at least a notable 
 coincidence that the period when Anglo-Saxon power and 
 civilization began to be acknowledged in the world, the 
 golden era of literature and philosophy in Europe, the 
 age of Shakspeare and Bacon, was marked by a dietetic 
 
 (15) 
 
16 SUGAE AND SUGAE PLANTS. 
 
 revolution, in the progress of which, tea, coffee, and sugar 
 came into general use. 
 
 Sugar was almost unknown to the Greeks and the Ro- 
 mans. By our ancestors of the north of Europe it was oc- 
 casionally used as an agreeable condiment only ; its place, 
 both in ancient times and during the middle ages, being 
 supplied in part by honey. So ignorant were the ancients 
 of any system of manufacturing it, that they supposed it 
 to exude naturally from canes, like gum. Even Pliny in 
 his Natural History alludes to it but very briefly in his 
 enumeration of the rare productions of the East, observing 
 that a substance called " saccharen" was obtained from 
 certain reeds in India ; that it was of a white color, was 
 sweet like honey, crackled like salt between the teeth, and 
 was found in lumps of the size of a hazel-nut. This could 
 have been nothing else than the rock candy, or crystallized 
 white sugar, of the kind yet made in Cochin China. The 
 Greek physicians bought it occasionally from the Arabian 
 merchants, and used it as a medicine. From India, where 
 it was early cultivated, the sugar cane was carried by the 
 Arabians to Mesopotamia, a country celebrated for its 
 sugar at the period of the Crusades, whence it was suc- 
 cessively introduced into Syria, Egypt, Sicily, and Spain. 
 
 Sugar has become one of the most indispensable pro- 
 ducts of modern industry, and any means by which its pro- 
 duction may be facilitated, or increased, is now of im- 
 portance to the whole human race. In our own country, 
 the consumption of sugar is much greater in proportion 
 to our population than anywhere else on the globe, and 
 our interest in the supply of this product is still further 
 enhanced by the consideration that it not only falls far 
 short of the demand for it, but also that, prospectively, the 
 disproportion between the supply through the old channels 
 and the demand is likely to be much greater. 
 
CANE SUGAR. If 
 
 Sugar plays an important part in the economy of nature, 
 animal and vegetable ; and although our supply of it has 
 been mainly derived from the tropical sugar caiie (Saccha- 
 rum officinale), the natural sources of it are as numerous 
 and as widely distributed over the earth's surface as the 
 bread plants ; no region being found destitute of some 
 species of sugar plants, or uncongenial to them, in which 
 any of the cereals can be successfally grown. Sir John 
 Richardson found the ash-leaved maple, or box-elder, at 
 the 54th parallel, affording most of the sugar made in 
 Rupert's Land, which may be regarded as the extreme 
 northern limit to the successful growth of wheat and bar- 
 ley in the valley of the Saskatchewan. In lower latitudes, 
 commencing at the parallel of 50°, the maples, all sugar- 
 . producing trees, and some varieties of sorghum and sugar 
 beet lately introduced, are found coincident in range with 
 the maize and the less hardy grains, until, at last, within 
 the rice-belt of the South we encounter the Indian cane, 
 and the sugar palms. 
 
 Cane sugar is also contained in a great many other 
 plants from which it has not been extracted, as yet, in suffi- 
 cient quantity to render its manufaetare profitable ; among 
 these may be mentioned various grasses, Indian-corn before 
 it has ripened its grain, bulbous roots, such as the turnip, 
 parsnep, and carrot, some fruits, as the pumpkin, melon, 
 banana, etc., the fruit of the European chestnut, the nec- 
 tary of the flower of Rhododendron ponticum, and, at cer- 
 tain periods, in the sap of some trees, such as the walnut- 
 tree of the Caucasus, the American white walnut, hickory, 
 birch, etc. The sugar obtained from these sources ifr- 
 identical in composition and sensible properties with that 
 contained in the juice of the tropical cane, and it is the 
 only kind of sugar applicable to ordinary use. 
 
 Other saccharine substances or sugars of a different and 
 2* 
 
18 SUGAR AND SUGAR PLANTS. 
 
 inferior kind are common, and especially that which con- 
 stitutes the sweet principle in most of our cultivated fruits, 
 of which the sugar of the grape may be regarded as the 
 type. This sugar has been produced in the solid form to 
 a small extent directly from the inspissated juice of the 
 grape in Syria, Egypt, and some parts of Prance. It is 
 identical with the finely granulated coating found upon 
 the surface of raisins, and with the mealy sediment grad- 
 ually formed upon the bottom of vessels containing honey. 
 Without alluding to the chemical properties and relations 
 of this substance, which are more appropriately reserved 
 for discussion in another part of this volume, it is enough 
 to say that grape sugar is entirely different from true cane 
 sugar, and can never be substituted for it in domestic use. 
 It is soft, mealy, and liable to become damp and to fer- 
 ment. It curdles milk, and is inappropriate for sweetening 
 coffee and tea, and for most culinary purposes. In sac- 
 charine richness it is far inferior to cane sugar, two pounds 
 of the latter being equal in sweetening properties to live 
 of the former. Of the same kind is the sugar artificially 
 prepared from starch. It is manufactured from the starch 
 of the potato In Europe ; and recently an attempt was 
 made in New York City to produce it from corn starch 
 under the name of corn sugar.* 
 
 The exorbitant prices now demanded for sugar, resulting 
 chiefly from the partial failure of our Southern sugar crop 
 during a period of several years prior to the recent rebel- 
 lion, and the utter prostration of the business of production 
 since, together with a vastly increased demand for sugars, 
 is an evidence of our humiliating dependence upon foreign 
 countries with which we formerly competed with success. 
 
 * Corn sugar is the name appropriately given to sugar produced from 
 tile juice of maize or Indian-corn, and it is identical with cane sugar. The 
 name as applied to starch sugar is liable to mislead. 
 
THE TROPICAL SUGAR CANE. 19 
 
 # 
 
 During the year 1855, when the degeneracy ot the cane 
 in Louisiana began to become apparent, 822,000,000 
 pounds of cane sugar were consumed in the United States, 
 of which 440,000,000 were of foreign importation, and 
 382,000,000 of American growth; more than three-fourths 
 of the latter amount were supplied by Louisiana. Owing 
 to local causes, the annual production in Louisiana had 
 been rapidly diminishing since 1853. During that year 
 the crop was estimated at 400,000,000 pounds. In 1854 
 it was 346,500,000 pounds. In 1855 it was 231,426,000 
 pounds, and subsequently the yearly average was much less. 
 
 Nature has set barriers to the geographical range of the 
 southern sugar cane beyond which it cannot be grown 
 with success. The extreme limits of its distribution north 
 and south, as far as determined by general climatic influ- 
 ences, appear to be the parallels of 30° on each side of 
 the equator. The soil and local peculiarities, however, of 
 the region comprised within these boundaries are not always 
 favorable. The regions from which the markets of the world 
 are supplied are neither numerous nor extensive. They 
 are, chiefly, the West and East Indies, British India, and 
 the Island of Mauritius. Within the United States, we 
 cannot hope to extend the limits of growth of this plant 
 beyond the narrow belt of territory along the Gulf shore, 
 where it has been already planted, and, even there, causes 
 are at work inducing disease and deterioration of the cane, 
 which, unless they can be checked, will entirely prevent the 
 resuscitation of the business of sugar production from the 
 tropical cane. 
 
 We turn in vain to other native sources of supply. The 
 sugar maple of our Northern forests is utterly inadequate : 
 40,000,000 pounds of maple sugar are annually produced, 
 but that quantity is but a small fraction of the amount re- 
 quired to meet the increased demand. The manufacture 
 
20 SUGAR AND SUGAR PLANTS. 
 
 of sugar from the beet, althongh successful in Europe, has 
 not been fully tested in this country; but on account of the 
 great expensiveness of the machinery, the high degree of 
 skill necessary, the radical changes which it would inaugu- 
 rate in the means and methods of agricultural labor already 
 existing, the inferior quality of the secondary products (no 
 molasses being made from the beet which is fit for human 
 use), and especially the great length of time necessary to 
 establish it upon a solid basis, place it beyond our reach, 
 and render it unsuited to meet our wants. 
 
 It is just at this juncture that our attention has been 
 called to a plant which seems as adequate to supply us in 
 future with sugar, as, in the few years that have elapsed 
 since its introduction into our midst, it has proved itself to 
 be capable of providing for half the tables in the land an 
 abundance of rich and palatable syrup. This plant is the 
 sorghum. It is called in botanical terms Sorghum sao- 
 charatum ; all the different kinds being now recognized as 
 varieties of one species. 
 
 The Chinese sorghum was imported into France from 
 the north of China about the year 1851. Through the 
 agency of the Patent Office it was obtained from France in 
 1854, and during the spring of the following year the seeds 
 were distributed to different parts of the Union. The suc- 
 cess which attended the first efforts to make a palatable 
 article of syrup from the juices of this plant awakened at- 
 tention, and in ISSt, when public curiosity was at its 
 height, Mr. Leonard Wray arrived in this country, bringing 
 with him the seeds of fifteen varieties of South African 
 sorghum, or imphee. These he first found growing in the 
 country of the Zulu Caffres, near Cape Natal, in the year 
 1851. 
 
 Subsequent experiments made upon these canes, grown 
 by him in South Africa, were rewarded with success in the 
 
IMPHJEE. 21 
 
 production of sugar. The early history of these varieties 
 is buried in profound obscurity, although there is reason to 
 believe that some of the saccharine sorghums are alluded 
 to in the writings of the old authors. In reference to this, 
 Mr. Wray observes : 
 
 " If we look back from our own times to very remote 
 ages, and search for any very authentic records of the im- 
 phee, or Holcus saccharatits, among the writings of ancient 
 authors, we must confess the unsatisfactory results of our 
 inquiry; for the notices of the 'sweet reed' contained in 
 their writings have long ago been seized by Porter and 
 other authors, and appropriated by them as forming part 
 and parcel of the history of the sugar cane. 
 
 " But if we examine somewhat minutely into the matter, 
 we shall find abundant reason for believing that the Holcus 
 saccharatus was frequently alluded to, instead of the sugar 
 cane, more especially by the Roman writers ; thus Lucien 
 (Book iii. page 237) has the line — 
 
 " 'Quique bibunt tenera dulces ab arandine Buccos,'* 
 
 which can scarcely be supposed to apply to the large, 
 coarse, hard stalk of the sugar cane. 
 
 " Besides this, we all know that the Romans had a very 
 excellent general knowledge of the products of Ethiopia, 
 in which varieties of the Holcus saccharatus are to be 
 found ; and they, no doubt, knew that the natives ate, or 
 rather chewed its stalks, for the ' sweet juices' contained in 
 them. 
 
 " The native traders, who took a coarse kind of goor or 
 jaggery to Muciris and Ormus, always said that they ob- 
 tained it from a ' reed ;' and I have no doubt that they did 
 really obtain it from this reed-like plant." 
 
 * "And those who drink sweet juices from the tender reed." 
 
22 SUGAR AND SUGAR PLANTS. 
 
 Some variety of imphee had been introduced into Europe 
 as early as a century ago, but it was evidently inferior to 
 the imphee cane now cultivated in this country. Its seeds 
 were described to be of a clear brown color. In 1766 it 
 was experimented upon for the extraction of sugar by one 
 Pietro Arduino, at Florence, in Italy,* but with what suc- 
 cess we are not informed. 
 
 The following extract from Reese's Family Encyclope- 
 dia (p. 121), no doubt refers to the same or a closely allied 
 variety : 
 
 "A large grass (Holous cafer), brought from the south 
 of Africa, has begun to be cultivated in some parts of 
 Italy, Bavaria, and Hungary for sugar, and what is made 
 from it equals cane sugar." 
 
 M. Vilmorin also says, that in a collection of plants 
 sent to the Museum of Natural History, at Paris, in 1840, 
 by M. d'Abadie, there were thirty kinds of sorghum, among 
 which he particularly recognized several plants having 
 stems of a saccharine flavor. f 
 
 The almost total seclusion from foreign intercourse 
 of that portion of the Chinese Empire in which sorghum 
 is grown, has left ns well-nigh destitute of information 
 respecting our most important variety, if we except some 
 scattered waifs, which are generally too meager to serve 
 any useful purpose. 
 
 The Rev. Justus Doolittle, whose book on the " Social 
 Life of the Chinese "J has been lately issued, says : 
 
 " The so-called Chinese sugar cane or sorghum is grown 
 very extensively in Northern China, and is known among 
 foreigners as a kind of millet — the Barbadoes millet. The 
 Chinese name for it is Kauliang. * * * The 
 
 » Mason's Circular, Deo. 10, 1856. 
 
 t Mason's Circular, Deo. 10, 1856. J Harper & Bros., 1866, p. 43. 
 
CHINESE SORGHUM. 23 
 
 Chinese do not express the juice from the stalks for the 
 purpose of manufacturing molasses or sugar, and they 
 manifest surprise when informed such a use is made of it 
 in the United States. They make a coarse kind of bread 
 from the flower of the seeds of the kauliang, eaten princi- 
 pally by the poorer classes. The best kind of Chinese 
 whisky, often called Chinese wine, is distilled from the 
 seeds. The stalks are used for food or lathing in the 
 partitions of houses, for slight and temporary fences, etc. 
 During a few years past, many inquiries have been made 
 in regard to the manner in which the Chinese manufacture 
 sugar and molasses out of the sorghum, but such informa- 
 tion is vainly sought of them." 
 
 When it is remembered that in those parts of Southern 
 China in which the tropical cane is grown, the natives do 
 not generally use that plant for making sugar; but adopt 
 the more primitive practice of peeling and chewing the 
 stems, just as the Zulu-Caffres use the imphee in South 
 Africa, we need not be surprised to hear that in the 
 northern provinces of the empire nothing is known of any 
 method of making sugar from sorghum. 
 
 Another author, however, asserts that in the country 
 near Shanghai, "sugar is made from the cane which is 
 now well known in the United States as the 'Chinese 
 sugar cane,' and is extensively nsed in making confections, 
 sweetmeats, and preserves, of which the ginger put up at 
 Canton in small blue jars is most familiar to us."* It is 
 also said that in 1853 a number of sacks of sorghum sugar, 
 of seventy-five pounds weight each, were imported into 
 California from China, f 
 
 * "Eive Years in China," by Charles Taylor, M.D. (former mission- 
 ary to China). New York, 1860, p. 131. 
 f E. F. Newberry, Essay on Sorghum. Valley Farmer, 1863. 
 
24 SUGAR AND SUGAR PLANTS 
 
 The Abbe Hue, a traveler in Thibet and Tartary, says 
 the brandies of the North are made principally from a 
 large millet {Eolcus sorghum). It is probable that when we 
 gain access to all the knowledge possessed by the Chinese 
 as to their mode of cultivating this plant, and of crystal- 
 lizing its juice, we shall not value the information very 
 highly, and it is of more importance to knovr what are the 
 fruits of careful study of the nature of this cane as it is now 
 found in our own country, and of chemical research as to 
 its value in the production of sugar. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 METHOD OF CULTIVATION. 
 
 The Method of Cultivalion adapted to the Nature and Require- 
 ments of the Plant — Resemblance lo Indian-corn not so close 
 as has been supposed — Cereal and Saccharine Plants — Import- 
 ance of adherence to System — Some Considerations of Primary 
 Importance — The Selection of the Seed — Varieties of Cane — 
 Chinese and South African — Characteristics of Good Seed — How 
 Germination may be hastened — Physiology of the Seed — Plant- 
 ing and Cultivation — Outline of a System defined. 
 
 The resemblance of sorghum to Indian-corn has been so 
 far exaggerated as to lead some to the inference that the 
 same mode of caltivation is equally well adapted to both. 
 This opinion cannot be snstaiued, for it practically ignores 
 certain characteristics and reqairements in respect to which 
 thev widely differ. Experience has in some measure cor- 
 rected this error; but the easily learned rule to " plant and 
 cultivate the same as Indian-corn," is yet too much in 
 vogue, and strict adherence to it has, more than anything 
 else, hindered improvement in the cultivation of the plant, 
 and in the development of a more rational system espe- 
 cially adapted to its nature. 
 
 When it is considered thiit the relationship naturally 
 existing between the cane and common corn is not 
 more intimate than that expressed in the fact of the pos- 
 session by each of certain general characters constituting 
 them members of the same great family (the grasses); that 
 they are both specifically and generically distinct ; that 
 they are grown for widely different purposes, and that 
 
 3 (25) 
 
26 METHOD* OF CULTIVATION. 
 
 some ot the conditions essential to the perfection of tbe one 
 as a grain-bearing plant, are inimical to the special functioQ 
 of the other as a sugar producer ; that there are other con- 
 stitutional peculiarities in which they differ, such as the 
 adaptation of tbe cane to a lower temperature during the 
 early period of its growth than corn, its greater capacity 
 to endure drought after its growth has become well estab- 
 lished, chiefly on account of its deriving its nourishment 
 at that time from a lower stratum of the soil, its ability to 
 endure more frost, both early and late, and its greater sen- 
 sitiveness to certain peculiarities of climate and soil, — it 
 is obvious that conformity in the mode of culture to these 
 distinctive properties at least is essential. 
 
 Strict adherence to a well-defined system is imperative 
 throughout the whole progress of sugar production, and 
 at no time more so than during that period when the subtle 
 chemistry of soil and air is at worii within the cells of the 
 growing plant, elaborating and distributing the materials 
 upon which the skill and labor of the manufacturer are 
 afterward to be expended. It should never be forgotten 
 that neglect at any period will inevitably be followed by a 
 forfeiture of the best results. 
 
 At the outset, great caution should be observed in the 
 selection of the seed for planting, so that not only the 
 richest and purest varieties of the cane, but those also best 
 adapted to tbe climate of each district, may be secured. 
 To a want of discrimination in this respect is to be attrib- 
 uted much of the ill success which has occasionally at- 
 tended the experiment with the sorghum in this country. 
 
 The different varieties which were distributed over tbe 
 country a few years ago have exhibited very different de- 
 grees of acclimatization. Sufficient time has not yet elapsed 
 to justify a definition of tbe climatic range of each of these. 
 When fully naturalized, some of them will have acquired 
 
VARIETTES OF SORGHUM. 27 
 
 more vigor (a result already noticeable), and will be 
 enabled to withstand a more rigorous climate than at 
 present; and new varieties will, no doubt, be produced 
 which may be grown with profit in districts from which all 
 are now excluded. At present more flexibility of consti- 
 tution seems to be possessed by the Chinese cane than the 
 imphees. Some of the latter are analogous to those 
 northern varieties of the maize of which the King Philip 
 cora is a representative. They come to maturity within 
 a comparatively brief period, and, although of less gen- 
 erous growth and proportionally less productive, are 
 not inferior to the best southern varieties in the quality of 
 their products. They are adapted to the briefer summer 
 of more northern latitudes ; and the preference which some 
 planters in the Northwestern States have accorded to them 
 is to be ascribed to the fact that they ripen there and ma- 
 ture their juices, while other varieties do not. The Chinese 
 cane, however, and some of the imphees likewise, plants 
 of a more luxuriant and permanently sub-tropical type, 
 bear a strong analogy to those stately races of the maize 
 which attain to such unequaled perfection in the middle 
 belt of the United States. Within that region (elsewhere 
 more fully defined)* are now grown varieties of cane which, 
 if unhybridized, we may expect to attain to the highest 
 development of which the species is capable. In more 
 northern localities, early maturing imphees, such as the 
 Ne-a-za-na, Oom-see-a-na (misnamed Otaheitan), and 
 E-en-gha are to be preferred. 
 
 It is worthy of note that the qualities of the future plant 
 will depend in a great degree not only upon the purity, 
 but also upon the proper development of the seed. The 
 largest, heaviest, and best formed seeds uniformly produce 
 
 » Chapter IX. 
 
28 METHOD OF CULTIVATTOX. 
 
 the strongest and healthiest plants. Such seeds contain 
 the most starch, a substance which undergoes a, peculiar 
 transformation daring germination, and which supplies the 
 young plant with food until it has sent out its rootlets and 
 leaves. The earliest ripened and heaviest seeds are always 
 to be found on the summit or upper half of the panicle; 
 and, from such, a selection should in all cases be made, 
 rejecting those from the lower half which are often not 
 ripened fully, and always imperfectly filled, and which pro- 
 duce stunted and ill-developed plants, capable of transmit- 
 ting only their own inferior qualities. 
 
 Before planting time, the germinating power of all seeds 
 not previously well known, should be tested by placing 
 them on moistened blotting-paper or cotton, in a warm 
 place, excluded from light, till they sprout. This method 
 is better than planting in soil, as the progress of growth 
 may be readily noticed, and as different depths of soil va- 
 riously inflaence the result. 
 
 Growth may be hastened by steeping the seed and in 
 other ways ; but when a system of early planting is prac- 
 ticed, the use of such means is neither necessary nor de- 
 sirable. Yet, in all cases where delay is unavoidable, the 
 most successful mode of preparation is to put the seed in 
 a sieve or coarse sack, and pour hot water upon it. It 
 may be steeped in the water for twelve hours or more, and 
 then rolled in plaster or ashes and planted. 
 
 Various chemical agents have been employed with the 
 object of accelerating germination, by dissolving them in 
 the water in which the seed is soaked. The action of 
 these substances, however, seems to be most energetic, not 
 during germination, but afterward, when the earth in 
 which the seed is planted is irrigated with their solutions. 
 In the seeds of all plants, the first movement of the 
 embryo is determined by its exposure to a certain degree 
 
GERMINATION OF SEED. 29 
 
 of heat, the requisite moisture also being supplied. The 
 first food which the germ receives is contained in the seed 
 itself, and there is no evidence that water holding in solu- 
 tion any of the salts that have been used for this purpose 
 hastens germination, or facilitates the transformation of 
 the starch in the seed in any greater degree than water 
 alone. TLiese, as well as other liquid manures, may be 
 applied, however, with good effect when the roots and 
 leaves have been well formed, and the supply of nutriment 
 in the seed has been exhausted. Steeping in hot water is 
 probably the easiest and most certain method of applying 
 heat, so as to induce quick gerrainatiou; but if too long 
 continued, it will either impair greatly the native hardihood 
 of the young plant, or completely destroy its vitality ; there- 
 fore it should be practiced only when early planting is im- 
 possible. 
 
 3* 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 METHOD OF CULTIVATION (CONTINUED). 
 
 Inequality of Developement of the Stem and Roots of the Annual 
 Grasses during the early Period of Growth — This Peculiarity 
 must be recognized in any Kational System of Planting and 
 Culture — All CuItiTated Plants divided into two Great Classes, 
 according to their mode of Development — Relations to Climate — ■ 
 The Oat Plant — Ahrend's Experiments — In what Respects the 
 growth of Sorghum is Analogous — The Characteristics of the 
 Plant at different Periods of Growth exhibited — Physiology of 
 the Leaf, Stem, and Root — Treatment which the Plant should 
 receive at each Period. 
 
 In the planting and culture I would recommend : 
 
 1. Pall plowing, and deep and thorough tillage. 
 
 2. Very early planting. 
 
 3. Ridge planting as distinguished from planting in a 
 furrow or drill on a flat surface. 
 
 The above, together with other important but subordi- 
 nate particulars, form a series of operations inseparably con- 
 nected, the whole constituting a system of culture which 
 derives its chief value from a close conformity to the real 
 nature and requirements of this plant. Let us now see 
 what these are. 
 
 Annual plants as to their mode of development may be 
 divided into two great classes, viz.: 1st. Those like the pea 
 and the tomato, in which the growth of the stem and leaves 
 is directly proportioned to that of the root during every 
 stage of their existence. Like perennials, their develop- 
 ment is equal throughout. 
 (30) 
 
RELATION TO CLIMATK. 31 
 
 2d. Those, like most of the annual grasses, which exhibit 
 during certain periods no such equality of growth in the 
 different parts. Instead of adding uniformly to every part 
 of their structure the organized matter as fast as it is 
 formed, they are busy at certain periods of their existence 
 in accumulating it in special parts, from whence it is dis- 
 tributed with great rapidity at particular periods to other 
 parts toward which the vital energies of the plant seem 
 suddenly to be diverted. In this respect, such plants bear 
 a strong analogy to biennials, which, during the first year 
 of their growth, accumulate in their roots the materials 
 from which the luxuriant growth of the second season is 
 rapidly evolved. Of this class sorghum is a conspicu- 
 ous representative, as are also, to a certain degree, all 
 our cereal plants. 
 
 The relation which this peculiar mode of development 
 bears to the climate of the different parts of the year is 
 one of those beautiful examples of adaptation which meet 
 the eye of the observer in every part of the kingdom of 
 nature, and a proper knowledge of it is of primary import- 
 ance in all our attempts to mark out a suitable plan of cul- 
 tivation. Ahrend's experiments with the oat-plant, and 
 those of Anderson with the turnip, exhibit the strong anal- 
 ogy which an annual of the class last described, in the early 
 period of its growth, bears to a biennial plant, during the 
 first year of its existence.* In both, before the close of a 
 certain period after germination, the leaves of the young 
 plant "lose the power of applying to their further growth 
 the food which they had absorbed, and which now, trans- 
 formed into organizable matter, was deposited in the roots. 
 The same nutritive particles which went to form leaves, 
 
 * Liebig, Xat. Laws of Husbandry. 
 
32 METHOD OF CULTIVATION. 
 
 SO long as the mass of foliage kept on increasing, now be- 
 came constituent portions of the root."* 
 
 The growth of sorghum is precisely similar. The ap- 
 parently half-dormant period after the young leaves have 
 attained their development is that during which "the mi- 
 gration of the constituents of the leaves and transforma- 
 tion into the constituents of the root" is taking place. 
 That such a transfer reatiy occurs at this period is evinced 
 by the great bulk of root surface as compared with the 
 foliage, the former increasing most rapidly and extending 
 itself farthest during that stage when the leaves are " at a 
 stand." At its close the tuft of young leaves has a height 
 of only 5 or 6 inches, while the roots are extended widely 
 with a length of 2 or 3 feet. This stationary period, as 
 respects the early leaf growth of s'^t— ''pi _ -omes^to a 
 close in about 60 days from the tin/';!,. 8'®||miDation.-'^^ 
 . 1 , \ ,, . / ediatelf ifoUows this,] 
 
 A second stage of growth iif ^,„ , ^\ . . . / 
 
 I,- u ■ I, . ■ T u .u ; ^^ark^fle activity irf 
 
 which IS characterized by the mosfc.i^ , f , / 
 
 that part of the plant which previCCr/'^ ^^'"°'^ ^- 
 
 mant, and is produced by a corn ^ rp, ^r 'cbang ^^,'^^^ 
 direction and intensity of vital actio^. iroc^^e is now com- 
 menced a sudden and rapid transportation of the nutri- 
 tive matter from the root to the stem, which begins to 
 shoot up, and all the vital functions at the same time are 
 wonderfully quickened. The measure of this activity, 
 however, depends upon the character of the season. This 
 stage is completed when the stalk of the cane has attained 
 to nearly its full size. Three well-defined periods of de- 
 velopment successively follow, embracing severally the flow- 
 ering season, that in which the seed is formed, and that of 
 ripening. 
 
 * Idem. 
 
1st 
 
 period, 
 
 2d 
 
 (( 
 
 3d 
 
 tt 
 
 4tli 
 
 ■< 
 
 5th 
 
 tt 
 
 PERIODS OF GROWTH. 33 
 
 The relative length of each of these periods of growth 
 in oats and sorghum (Chinese) is about as follows : 
 
 From germination until before °^'''- SoRamiM. 
 
 shooting 49 days. 60 days. 
 
 From shooting of the stem until 
 
 it is full grown (in flower).... 12 •' 30 " 
 
 Flowering 10 " 15 " 
 
 Formation of the seed 11 " 10 " 
 
 Ripening 11 " 15 '< 
 
 Total 93 " 130 " 
 
 A careful study of the phenomena of growth manifested 
 by these plants at different stages of their existence will 
 reveal the fact that they bear a definite relation to condi- 
 tions of climate prevalent only during regularly recurring 
 periods in the progress of the seasons. 
 
 Throughout the whole range of organic life, to plants as 
 well as to animals, nature has imparted certain modes of ex- 
 istence and peculiarities of structure adapted to the physical 
 influences in contact with which they were designed to live. 
 These essential differences must in all oases be provided 
 for by the planter. That method of culture, therefore, will 
 be most nearly a true one by which these natural require- 
 ments of the plant are the most fully satisfied. 
 
CHAPTER lY. 
 
 METHOD OP CULTIVATION (CONTINUED) — EARLY PLANTING. 
 
 Early Planting essentially Important, and why — Analogy to 
 Wheat — "Volunteer Cane" — Conditions of Growth during the 
 First Period, and Influence of a Low Temperature — This Period 
 falls within the Limits of the Meteorological Spring, in the 
 Latitude of Philadelphia^Disadvantages of Planting at a Later 
 Period — Reasons why a System of Early Spring Planting should 
 in all Cases be followed — How the Conditions necessary to Suc- 
 cess by this System may be obtained — Fall Plowing and Deep 
 Tillage almost indispensable — Collateral Advantages secured 
 thereby. 
 
 What mo(3e of treatment, then, does the sorghum de- 
 mand during the several periods of growth already indi- 
 cated ? How shall we plant so as to secure in season those 
 favorable influences of soil, temperature, sunlight, and 
 moisture conducive to the development and proper to the 
 nature of the plant at each particular period ? Having in 
 view the peculiarities of early growth exhibited by the 
 cane, when should the planting begin ? 
 
 The true answer to these inquiries, if I mistake not, will 
 be found to be much at variance with the practice ordi- 
 narily pursued. That a system of very early planting 
 should be adopted is already indicated in the comparison of 
 the cane with the oat-plant, during corresponding periods, 
 and still more clearly if we compare it with winter wheat, to 
 which it bears almost as close an analogy. The first, or 
 early period of its growth, differs from that of wheat only 
 (34) 
 
ANALOGY TO WHEAT. 35 
 
 in length. The frequent occurrence of "volunteer cane," 
 that is, cane which has grown from seed dropped accident- 
 ally in the ground during the preceding autumn, and has 
 vegetated daring that time, or in the earliest days of spring, 
 renders the resemblance to wheat still more close and strik- 
 ing. The young plants which have thus begun to grow iu 
 the fall survive the cold of winter, in the climate of Central 
 Missouri aud other States of the Southwest, the roots 
 remaining in the ground uninjured, and when the frosts 
 are over they shoot up rapidly, and, if properly cared for, 
 far outstrip in growth and early ripening any plants from 
 seed deposited in the spring. Do not these facts indicate 
 a mode of treatment for the cane as closely resembling that 
 adapted to wheat, as the constitutional tendencies in each 
 are found to be alike ? The order of development in both 
 is the same, but they differ in the length of the successive 
 periods. The wheat plant finds a congenial climate, in the 
 early stage of its growth, in the cool weather of late 
 autumn and early spring, and in winter beneath the snow. 
 Says Liebig : 
 
 " The action of a low temperature in autumn and winter, 
 which puts a certain limit to the activity of the outer 
 organs, without altogether suppressing it, is essential to 
 the vigorous thriving of winter corn. It is a most favor- 
 able condition for future development, if the temperature 
 of the air is below that of the soil, so as to retard for sev- 
 eral months the development of the outer plant." 
 
 At what period, then, if the analogy holds good, is that 
 "favorable condition" of temperature to be secured for 
 sorghum ? Plainly, during very early spring. Although 
 found capable often of surviving the winter in milder cli- 
 mates, it is neither necessary to its habits nor desirable, 
 that, as in the case of winter wheat, the first period of its 
 growth should be extended back beyond the time in eany 
 
36 METHOD OF CULTIVATION. 
 
 spring when the seed is capable of being awaked into life. 
 The germination of the seed of all plants in the open 
 ground, uniformly occurs in the spring, at a certain point 
 of temperature, which is the same for all plants of the same 
 species, but differs with the species. The degree of mean 
 temperature which determines the germination of the seed 
 of sorghum is generally reached early in the month of 
 April, in the climate of the Middle States, and if the soil 
 has been suitably prepared, the young plant will continue 
 to grow from that time forward. Growth is maintained 
 under conditions which would be ruinous to Indian-corn, 
 yet, reasoning from a false analogy, we have been in the 
 habit of planting cane at a season when, if the true habits 
 of the plant had been regarded, the larger part of the 
 most critical and extended period of its growth would 
 already have elapsed. 
 
 By early spring planting its demands for a large exten- 
 sion of the root are complied with, for in the low tempera- 
 ture prevalent then only, can that full measure of vital 
 energy be concentrated in the root, which is afterward so 
 essential to the rapid and perfect development of the stalk. 
 If the early stage of its life is passed during that time, it 
 will be prepared to receive at the time of " shooting," when 
 it needs it, the sudden accession of heat which gives to our 
 later spring the character, as to tempe'rature, of an English 
 midsummer. 
 
 In the latitude of Philadelphia, 40'5° and 62°. Fahr. 
 are the measures of average daily temperature, which are 
 assumed as the limits defiiiiug the beginning and end of 
 t-he meteorological spring — ^or the season of leaf expan- 
 sion in general — commencing with the swelling of the buds, 
 and the iirst signs of active vegetation, and ending with 
 the full expansion of the foliage. It includes a period of 
 about sixty-five days, or from the I5th of March to the 
 
WHEN TO PLANT. 31 
 
 19th of May. Within these limits we may locate the 
 sixty days of the early growth of cane, in no case allowing 
 them to terminate later than the early pai't of June. It 
 should be borne iu mind, that a period covering almost 
 one-third of the whole life of the plant should have been 
 passed at that time. 
 
 By late planting, the season which is naturally devoted 
 to the extension and ramification of the roots is improperly 
 abbreviated at the expense of the vigor of the plant. Be- 
 fore the root has prepared itself for the grand display of 
 vegetative activity that naturally so suddenly succeeds this 
 stage of slow external development, the warm sun of early 
 summer forces the stem to a premature growth. Lacking 
 the elaborated nourishment which it would otherwise have 
 received, the stalk grows up weak and slender, and imper- 
 fect, iu its structure and functions. Plainly, then, we have 
 been guilty of a great error in sanctioning a system of 
 culture so much at variance with the nature and real wants 
 of this plant. A good crop of oats could not reasonably 
 be expected to follow early summer sowing, and it is a tes- 
 timony rather to the remarkable hardihood of the plant 
 than a compliment to our sagacity or skill, that a remuner- 
 ative yield of cane ever follows similar treatment. Let us 
 make it a rule to plant as near the beginning of April as 
 the condition of the weather and the soil will permit ; and 
 to render it practicable ordinarily to do so, fall plowing 
 and ridging are necessary. Frosts may cut down the 
 young blades to the surface of the ground, but the vital 
 parts will be uninjured, and when the proper season comes, 
 the superstructure of stem, leaf, and flower will be carried 
 up with a vigor that will evidence the value of the under- 
 ground foundation from which it springs. No plant is 
 more beautifully adapted than sorghum to the peculi- 
 arities of our climate. 
 
 i 
 
38 METHOD OF CULTIVATION. 
 
 Early planting, it may be said briefly, is advisable for 
 several reasons. 
 
 1. It is conformable to a habit of growth manifested not 
 only by the cane, but by several of the kindred cultivated 
 grasses, as has already been shown. 
 
 2. Ripening is secured at a much earlier period by this 
 practice than by late planting. It is reached at a time 
 when the days are long, and the weather favorable to the 
 process of sugar manufacture. 
 
 3. Early planting necessitates fall plowing, and assigns 
 the work of preparing the soil to a season of comparative 
 leisure when it can be well done. 
 
 4. The germination of the seed is permitted to take 
 place at a congenial period. A season of prolonged 
 drought often commences late in the spring, which either 
 retards or entirely prevents vegetation. This never occurs 
 in early spring. 
 
 5. Gypsum, a highly valuable manure to the young 
 cane, is but sparingly soluble in water (1 part in 4U0), 
 and as it acts only in the soluble state a large supply of 
 moisture is necessary to the exercise of its proper influ- 
 ence. In the wet weather common in early spring its 
 full effect will be produced, but in dry weather it will exert 
 no influence whatever. 
 
 6. The fact that early spring planting only is possible 
 in northern China, the original source of the " Chinese 
 cane" now grown in this country, strongly indicates the 
 propriety of adopting the same practice here. (See Oh. 30.) 
 
 FALL PLOWING AND DEEP TILLAGE. 
 
 As the period of profitable tillage is comparatively 
 short after the young cane plants appear above ground, 
 it should be improved to the utmost while it lasts, and the 
 
I^rrORTANCE OF FALL PLOWING. 39 
 
 preparation of the soil for planting should be as perfect 
 as possible. Deep plowing and thorough pulverization at 
 a time when such work can be thoroughly done, will atone 
 for some defects in the after-culture when less leisure and 
 opportunity are afforded ; but no subsequent efforts can 
 compensate for the check sustained by the young plants in 
 shallowly plowed and cloddy ground. By a proper me- 
 chanical condition only of the soil can its chemical con- 
 stituents be rendered available to the root. The roots of 
 the cane are long, fibrous, and minutely ramified, in a deep 
 soil, and the rich and rapid development of the stem is 
 less to be wondered at when it is considered that, into it 
 as a common reservoir, these myriad underground conduits 
 pour all at once their combined streams when stimulated 
 to activity by the early summer sun at the proper time. 
 Deep tillage lies at the foundation of all improvement in 
 modern agriculture, and in cane culture especially it should 
 engage far more attention than it has hitherto received. 
 Says Prof S. W. Johnson: "It is obvious that other 
 things being equal, the deeper the soil the more space the 
 roots of crops have in which to extend themselves, and the 
 more food lies at their disposal. By deep culture new 
 fields are discovered beneath the old, and it is possible to 
 realize the apparent absurdity of more land to the acre." 
 It is not too much to say that by this means the crop of 
 cane usually obtained by shallow tillage may often be 
 doubled. 
 
 As connected with deep cuUuve, fall plowing is highly 
 important; to early planting it is indispensable. 
 
 1. When this plan is practiced, immediate advantage 
 can be taken of favorable weather for planting, when the 
 proper time has arrived. 
 
 2. The vrork can be better done during a period of com- 
 parative leisure, in the fall, and when the soil is in good 
 
40 MUTIIOD OF CULTIVATION. 
 
 condition for being broken up. It is drier, and not so 
 liable to become baked and lumpy as in spring. 
 
 3. It secures the powerful mechanical aid of the frost in 
 producing thorough pulverization, and that light, open, 
 aerated character of soil, which is so admirably adapted 
 to the growth and nutrition of the young rootlets. The 
 assistance thus rendered by the winter frosts is such as can 
 not be gained by the use of any other mechanical means 
 or expenditure of human labor. The constituents of the 
 soil are thus rendered more active by the admission of air 
 and water ; they are more thoroughly distributed, and are 
 more accessible to the roots. 
 
 4. In sward land it is doubly necessary in promoting 
 rapid decomposition of the sod, and in destroying noxious 
 insects. The double Michigan plow is a most effective 
 implement in burying the sod deeply and covering it with 
 a smooth surface of mellowed soil, but the subsequent 
 " ridging" for planting instead of being deferred until 
 spring, in this case perhaps had better be done imme- 
 diately after plowing. The ridges will be suiBciently ele- 
 vated if formed by a light corn plow from the loose over- 
 lying stratum of soil left by the double Michigan, inasmuch 
 as efBcient drainage will be secured through the half-in- 
 verted sod beneath ; also the disintegrating action of the 
 frost will be much increased. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 METHOD OP CULTIVATION (CONTINUED) — RIDGING. 
 
 Ridging of tlie Land indispensable when Early Planting is prac- 
 ticed — Mode of Ridging adopted — Enumeration of the Peculiar 
 Benefits due to this Practice — After-culture of the Cane de- 
 scribed — Illustration. 
 
 To secure a proper drainage of the soil during the cool 
 and muist period of early growth, it is necessary to deviate 
 from the usual mode of planting on a flat surface. The 
 advantages of early planting can be attained only at that 
 period by providing a fit receptacle for the growing roots. 
 However suitable may be the condition of the weather at 
 this time, an excess of moisture in the soil will defeat the 
 great object to be gained. TJnderdrainage is highly bene- 
 ficial, but this practice is yet too little in vogue to be ap- 
 preciated, and attended by too much expense at present 
 to procure its general adoption. Ridging in this case 
 secures to the young plant its prominent advantages, and 
 some others daring the early growth of cane which it does 
 not possess. 
 
 The ground which has been plowed during the previous 
 autumn or winter should be leveled with the harrow before 
 planting time, and the mellow soil afterward thrown into 
 ridges 3^ to 4 feet apart by the plow. If the work be 
 done with care, the pulverized earth thrown from the op- 
 posite furrows will form a ridge, which will be donble- 
 crested, or broad on the summit with a slight furrow in 
 the center. Otherwise, the top of the ridge can be leveled 
 
 4* ( 41 ) 
 
42 METHOD OF CULTIVATION. 
 
 and slightly furrowed by a light shovel plow or marking 
 instrument, but generally this is unnecessary. If the seed 
 be planted on this ridge and lightly covered, growth takes 
 place under peculiar advantages. 
 
 1. Drainage during the wet season, when the growth of 
 the young roots is in progress, is secured together with all 
 its most prominent recognized benefits, such as rendering 
 the soil permeable to the rains, which as they fall, rapidly 
 percolate through it, carrying with them to the roots the 
 fertilizing materials that they have collected on their way 
 from the air and the upper layer of the soil, as well as the 
 heat that they have absorbed, and each time followed on 
 their retreat by accessions of fresh air entering throagh 
 the open pores. The roots are enabled to penetrate more 
 deeply, thereby resisting the injurious effects of drought. 
 
 From water-logged lands, on the contrary, fresh air which 
 is as necessary to the root as to the leaf or the breathing 
 animal, is excluded by the cold, standing water which fills 
 the pores of the soil, and the seed rots ; or if germination 
 has taken place, the young plant is literally drowned. The 
 warm rains wash the surface of the soil without entering 
 it or conveying any of their heat to the interior, and, when 
 the sun shines, a hard surface crust is formed that is almost 
 as impenetrable to vegetable growth as if it were of ice. 
 
 2. By ridging, a more thorough aeration of the soil in 
 contact with the roots is effected ; land thrown in ridges 
 exposes a larger surface than when flat. 
 
 3. Evaporation being promoted where the surface is 
 ridged, the land is brought much sooner into a cultivable 
 condition after wet weather. 
 
 4. The young cane being upon the top of the ridge has 
 the advantage of elevation over weeds that may spring up 
 around it, and grows more rapidly, receiving more light 
 and air. 
 
AFTER-CrLTCRE. 43 
 
 5. The growth of weeds, however, may be effectually 
 prevented by the superior advantages for early cultivation 
 afforded in this mode of planting, since, by following the 
 ridge, the surface may be stirred by the plow to kill weeds 
 before the cane is up, if necessary. 
 
 The time spent in forming the ridge is not greater than 
 in marking out two rows with the plow, according to the 
 cooamon plan, and the additional labor is insignificant in 
 comparison with that which it subsequently saves. 
 
 The after-culture of the cane should conform in its gen- 
 eral features to the system thus adopted at the outset, and 
 to the relations of the plant to external influences during 
 the dififerent periods of its development. The course de- 
 scribed below may, in most cases, be adopted with ad- 
 vantage. 
 
 At as early a period after planting the seed as the con- 
 dition of the soil will permit, a horse-hoe or cultivator, with 
 the blades shortened on the side next the ridge, should be 
 passed between the rows, stirring shallowly the soil of the 
 ridge, as close to the crest as possible without disturbing 
 it, or preferably perhaps a shovel-plow may be run very 
 lightly along the side of the ridge, cutting from its base, 
 without penetrating so deeply as to disturb the earth in con- 
 tact with the rootlets, thus breaking the crust on the sides of 
 the ridge and exposing the soil near the roots to the w.arm 
 rays of the sun. A few days afterward a corn-plow 
 should be passed through, this time opening a broad and 
 deep furrow at a greater distance from the ridge than the 
 first that was made when the ridge was formed, throwing 
 toward the cane not only the earth that had been displaced 
 by the last plowing, but also a fresh slice from the undis- 
 turbed space between the rows. A thorough hoeing or 
 raking of the soil on the ridge, to destroy any weeds 
 springing up among the cane, and to loosen the surface, 
 
44 METHOD OF CULTIVATION. 
 
 should immediately succeed the second plowing. At this 
 time, also, the cane should be thinned out if necessary, so 
 that the stalks may stand at an average distance of not more 
 than 6 to 8 inches apart in the row ; or if in hills, 2 feet 
 or 2^ feet apart, with not less than four to six strong stalks 
 in each hill. These will tiller or "sucker" often to twice 
 or thrice their original number, and when early planting is 
 practiced, as above recommended, the side shoots will show 
 scarcely any difference, either in size or in their period of 
 ripening, from the central stalks. Nor are they at all in- 
 ferior in the saccharine quality of their juice, while the 
 general yield is vastly augmented. 
 
 The surface of the soil should be suffered to remain in 
 the condition iu which it was left after hoeing until the 
 first period of growth (see page 33) is past, and the roots 
 have begun to extend themselves throughout the portion 
 previously loosened and thrown up by the plow. The 
 shooting forth of the stalk, indicating a sudden reflux of 
 nutritive matter from the root upward, is the signal for a 
 third plowing, by which a fresh portion of earth from be- 
 tween the rows is thrown toward the ridge. If the dis- 
 tance between the summits, of the ridges is 3|- feet and the 
 original ridges were 18 inches broad at the base, and 
 two slices of fresh soil of 6 inches each in width were 
 thrown in by the second and third plo wings, a vertical sec- 
 tion of the ridge will present a slightly rounded outline, 
 with a broad, shallow drain between it and the contiguous 
 ones. The wood-cut represents a vertical cross section of 
 
 3 
 
 the ridge as formed at the time of planting the seed, fig. 1, 
 
AFTER-CULTURE. 45 
 
 and figs. 2 and 3 respectively show the condition in which 
 it is left after the second and third plowings. 
 
 In the warm, mellow soil of a ridge of such form, the 
 growth of the lateral roots is stimuJated, as well as of those 
 which strike downward into the subsoil, and the result is 
 that the plants become so firmly anchored as to withstand 
 prostration when full grown, except by the most violent 
 gales. 
 
 To secure the greatest benefit from the light and heat of 
 the sun, the ridges should run north and south. Cultiva- 
 tion should cease after the third plowing, if it is made at 
 the time above indicated ; the cane soon takes full posses- 
 sion of the ground, shading it and preventing the growth 
 of weeds. Stirring the soil after the stalk has begun to 
 shoot up rapidly, has the efi'ect of retarding the ripening 
 process and of impairing the quality of the juice. 
 
 The objection commonly urged against the ridging of 
 land for corn, does not apply to this mode of treating the 
 cane, inasmuch as undue evaporation during the heats of 
 summer is prevented by the condition in which the surface 
 of the cane field is left at that time. 
 
CHAPTER YI. 
 
 MANURES. 
 
 The Food of the Plant — Special Manures — Influence of Manures 
 rich in Nitrogen at the various Stages of the development of 
 Cane — Analysis of the Ash — Function of the Mineral Food or 
 Ash-ingredients — The Elements of Sugar, whence derived — Pre- 
 cautions necessary to be observed — By what Means Exhaustion 
 of the Soil by Successive Crops of Cane may be prevented, with- 
 out practicing a System of Rotation of Crops. 
 
 It has been fully proved by experiment that the perfec- 
 tion of saccharine richness in the cane can be attained 
 and preserved only by care in providing for the plant suit- 
 able food. The fact that certain kinds of soil, differing 
 from each other only in the relative proportion of some 
 few chemical constituents, influencing very differently the 
 plant as to both the quantity and the quality of its saccha- 
 rine secretions, indicates the propriety of ascertaiuing def- 
 initely the nature of the influence exerted by these ingre- 
 dients of the soil under various conditions, and of apply- 
 ing to it as fertilizers those substances which, not injurious 
 in other respects, stimulate the formation of sugar in the 
 juice. On the other hand, those special manures should be 
 withheld, which, however beneficial in other respects they 
 may seem to be, at that period, directly hinder the plant in 
 the performance of its peculiar function. 
 
 The specific action of certain agents upon the constitu- 
 tion of the juice is also variously modified accordingly as 
 they are applied at different stages of growth and devel- 
 (46) 
 
AMMONIACAIy MANUKES. 47 
 
 opment. Their influence may be beneficial at one period 
 and highly pernicions at another. Ammonia and manures 
 containing nitrogen, generally, are good examples of the 
 truth of this observation. 
 
 Xo fact connected with the culture of either sorghum 
 or the tropical cane has been more clearly established by 
 the experience of planters than that manures of animal 
 origin are not only injurious to the quality of the sugar, 
 but present great obstacles to its formation when called 
 into action during the middle and later stages of growth. 
 They favor the production in the juice of substances con- 
 taining nitrogen, of which albumen in its various modifi- 
 cations is the common representative. This substance is 
 always augmented in all plants by giving them a large 
 supply of ammonia conveyed in the form of animal ma- 
 nure. The gluten of wheat, for esample,'is commonly 
 more abundant according to the quantity of such manure 
 applied to the soil in which wheat is grown. This sub- 
 stance is an essential constituent likewise of the seed of 
 cane. A certain amount of nitrogenous matter in a muci- 
 laginous form necessarily exists in the juice previously to 
 the ripening of the seed, and at that time a sufficient quan- 
 tity of it forsakes the stem and leaves, and in the form of 
 gluten, etc. becomes fixed in the seed. At the period of 
 ripening, therefore, the quantity of azotized mucilage or 
 albumen previously found associated with the sugar in the 
 juice, is diminished in proportion to the quantity consumed 
 by the seed. The juice is purer then than at any former 
 period. An increase in the quantity of the seeds also fol- 
 lows an increased supply of ammonia. 
 
 In general terms, therefore, it may be asserted that am- 
 monia applied as a special manure, in large quantity, is 
 important when a large quantity of grain, abounding in 
 nutritious substances, is the main object of the cultivator. 
 
48 MANURES. 
 
 On the contrary, when the perfection of the saccharine 
 matter in the juice is the desideratum, the supply of aramo- 
 niacal manures, during the period of rapid growth, should 
 not be increased beyond the amount which the plant al- 
 ways naturally derives from the soil and air. When this 
 precaution is not observed, a large but weak and watery 
 stem shoots up, the juice of which abounds in albumen and 
 impurities, is insipid to the taste, deficient entirely in 
 crjstallizable sugar, ripening late or not at all, easily de- 
 composed by frost, and comparatively worthless. Cane 
 grown under such conditions is forced into an apparently 
 luxuriant but really imperfect development ; it is more lia- 
 ble to disease, and the stem, lacking the stiffness necessary 
 to sustain its weight, seldom escapes prostration by the 
 winds. 
 
 In ammonia, therefore, we have an agent, the undue use 
 of which would soon reduce the sugar cane to a condition 
 not superior as to the quality of its juice, to that of broom 
 corn. Happily, however, there are other substances, which, 
 as we shall see further on, exert a no less decided antago- 
 nistic influence, promoting the formation of sugar and 
 encouraging a healthy growth. 
 
 Yet there is a period at which experience has proved 
 that animal manure in very limited quantity may be ap- 
 plied with advantage to cane; namely, during that stage 
 of its existence immediately succeeding germination ; — but 
 it should be applied only as a top-dressing, or so sparingly 
 as not to influence the process of sugar formation when the 
 stem has grown out, and the cells are being stored with 
 juice. During active vegetation the bulk of the nitro- 
 genous (albuminous) matter is found in the young and 
 rapidly growing parts, — when not supplied in too great 
 quantity it is attracted toward those parts exclusively. It 
 plays a most important part in inducing those changes in 
 
AMMONIACAL MANURES. 49 
 
 the non-nitrogenous elements by which the vegetable struc- 
 ture is built up, aud sugar is finally produced in the 
 ripened juice. Its work is where growth is in pro- 
 gress : in the midst of continual transformation it re- 
 mains unchanged ; the scene of its activity is constantly 
 shifted ; as soon as development is perfected in one part it 
 deserts it for another, and hence it is that but a small per- 
 centage of it is necessary for the discharge of its legitimate 
 function, — so small that the great bulk of it is found at last 
 lodged in the form of gluten in the seed. A tendency to 
 continued growth of the cellular structure without a proper 
 elaboration of its contents marks the "presence of an excess 
 of nitrogenous food ; hence the reason why the upper part 
 of the stem of the Southern cane in Louisiana never at- 
 tains maturity, and is always discarded. So too in the but 
 partially ripened sorghum, albuminous matter abounds in 
 the yet growing upper joints, which it does not desert until 
 the seed is fully mature. 
 
 2. Ammonia not only enters into the composition of the 
 juice as an organized compound, but generally also may be 
 detected in it in the form of a neutral salt, and exerts a per- 
 nicious influence. This neutral salt is a compound of am- 
 monia with probably oxalic acid. Liebig found it even in 
 the comparatively pure juice of the sugar maple, and it is 
 a source of great loss and injury to the sugar manufactured 
 from the beet. It becomes decomposed by the heat, and 
 the ammonia is volatilized along with the steam diffusing 
 its powerful odor around ; the neutral salt by its loss ex- 
 hibits acid properties, and by the free acid thus formed, a 
 part of the sugar is converted into uncrystallizable sugar. 
 In some samples of sorghum grown upon land enriched with 
 barn-yard manure, not only the peculiar ammoniacal smell 
 is emitted on evaporation, but the taste is equally char- 
 
 6 
 
50 MANURES. 
 
 acteristic an^ nauseous. Not even a tolerable syrup can 
 be made of it in the ordinary way. 
 
 3. The deleterious influence of nitrogenous manures 
 upon sugar-producing plants, is to be ascribed, in part, 
 also to undue stimulation, under the power of which the 
 plants absorb not only more food than they can assimi- 
 late, but other substances not their proper food. The 
 ammonia enters into combination also with the fixed min- 
 eral ingredients in the soil, which are thus largely absorbed. 
 Thus by the action of these manures many salts are intro- 
 duced into the circulation, which are not only foreign to 
 the plant in its normal condition, but highly injurious to 
 the constitution of the sugar. Among these the chlorides 
 of sodium and potassium, and probably the sulphates, are 
 said sometimes to be introduced into the juices of the 
 Louisiana cane in sufficient quantity to impart to them the 
 peculiar sensible qualities of those salts. Southera planters 
 are well acquainted with the fact that the juice of canes 
 grown upon new or recently cleared lands is almost un- 
 orystallizable (McCulloh, p. 580), and the same is true of 
 sorghum grown under, like conditions in the North. The 
 cause seems to be the great absorptive power or avidity of 
 the humus in such a soil for ammonia which it derives 
 from the air. The ashes of the forest which previously 
 covered it, furnish a superabundance of salts which the am- 
 monia renders capable of speedy absorption. In soils from 
 which the chloride of sodium or common salt is extracted, 
 it imparts the property of deliquescence to the sugar, ren- 
 dering crystallization extremely difficult and destroying 
 the crystals after they are formed. Experiments with 
 sorghum have been reported in which these and other 
 qualities resulting from high or overfeeding, have been 
 so predominant as to render the syrup in its usual raw 
 state disagreeable to the taste and worthless for sugar. 
 
THK ASH ilF THE SEED. 51 
 
 These fertilizers, therefore, should be applied sparingly. 
 The elements which they contain should be applied in pro- 
 portion to the wants of the plant. During the earlier 
 stages of its growth, it might be stimulated to greater 
 activity with advantage. And for this purpose the appli- 
 cation in small quantities of Peruvian guano or hen manure 
 may be recommended. This, in addition to the ammo- 
 niacal salts, contains the different phosphates in large pro- 
 portion, which are important constituents of the cane, but 
 it should be applied only in such quantity as that its high- 
 est stimulating power may be exhausted before the plant 
 has attained sufficient size to absorb more pernicious in- 
 gredients. Although but a small percentage of the mate- 
 rials for the growth of the cane is derived from the soil 
 (6 per cent. Lousiana cane), the elements of sugar, carbon, 
 and water being obtained from the air or the decay of 
 plants in the soil, it is well known that the mineral ingre- 
 dients or salts appropriated from the soil are indispensable 
 to the plant. The following analysis of the ashes of the 
 different parts of the plant will show of what these consist. 
 They were made with the utmost care, from fresh and ripe 
 specimens of a good quality, by Dr. Jackson, of Boston. 
 (Ag. Rep. Patent OfBce, 1857, p. 192.) 
 
 Of the seed, 1000 grains on burning gave 27 '8 grains 
 of gray ashes, composed of 
 
 Silica 10000 grains. 
 
 Phosphoric Acid 6 740 " 
 
 Lime 200 " 
 
 Magnesia SoSO " 
 
 Potash 4:60 " 
 
 Soda 2-270 " 
 
 Chlorine 0018 " 
 
 Sulphuric Acid 222 " 
 
 Carbonic Acid 0-600 " 
 
 Oxide of Iron and Manganese, with loss. 0-110 '* 
 
 27-800 
 
62 MANURES. 
 
 Of the dried plant without the seed, 5-359 grains, gave 
 205 grains of gray ashes, which yielded on analysis : 
 
 Silica 85-854 grains. 
 
 Vhosphorio Acid 18-245 
 
 Lime 33-986 
 
 Magnesia 2-870 
 
 Peroxides of Iron and Manganese 3-034 
 
 Potash 30-358 
 
 Soda 14-534 
 
 Chlorine 1-693 
 
 Sulphuric Acid 7 702 
 
 Carbonic Acid 6-560 
 
 204-836 
 loss 164 
 
 205 000 
 The relative amonnts of these constituents, it should be 
 noted, are not proportioned to the degree of their im- 
 portance respectively in the economy of the plant.* Those 
 
 * "The Prince Salm Hortsmar, of Eruns-wick, has made the function 
 of the mineral food of the plant the subject of a most extended and 
 laborious investigation. In experiments with the oat, he found that 
 when silica was absent from the soil, everything else being supplied, the 
 plant remained smooth, pale, dwarfed, and prostrate. 
 
 " Without lime the plant died in the second leaf. 
 
 ""Without potash or soda it reached a height of about three inches. 
 
 "AVithout magnesia it was very weak and prostrate. 
 
 "Without phosphoric acid it remained very weak, but erect, and of a 
 normal figure, bearing fruit. 
 
 ** Without sulphuric acid it was still weaker, was erect, and of normal 
 figure, but without fruit. 
 
 " Without iron it was very weak, pale, and disproportioned. 
 
 " Without manganese it did not attain perfect development, and bore 
 but few flowers. 
 
 "Other experiments proved that chlorine is essential to the growth of 
 wheat." 
 
 He also "found that oats grown with the addition of fixed mineral 
 matters (ash ingredients) only, gave four times the mass of vegetable 
 matter that was obtained when these were withheld." — Lecturen on Ag, 
 Chemistry at the Smithsonian Ihstitntion, by Prof. Samuel W. Johnaoiu 
 (Smith. Rep. 1859, pp. 130-31.) 
 
MINERAL MANURES. 53 
 
 wbich are appropriated most largely are not more indis- 
 pensable than others which appear in comparatively minute 
 proportions. These ingredients are present in almost every 
 soil in sufficient abundance, when they have not been re- 
 moved by an improvident system of cropping. As sugar 
 is composed of elements derived entirely from the air, it is 
 evident that as in the case of the Louisiana cane, there 
 would be no necessity for rotation if all that has been 
 taken from the soil is returned in the trash. A soil which 
 possessed these ingredients at first would not, by successive 
 crops of cane, become exhausted at all, if the sugar only 
 were taken away. Practically, however, this cannot be 
 effectually accomplished. The uncrystallizable portion 
 of the juice contains salts which are annually removed with 
 the molasses that is marketed. These are chiefly the 
 phosphates of lime and potash and the carbonate of lime. 
 The leaves are used for fodder, and much is usually wasted 
 before their conversion into manure. The seed, also, if 
 not returned to the soil upon which it grew, abstracts in 
 large quantity the same and other ingredients. Hence, 
 while it may be asserted in general terms that the begasse 
 or trash is a most valuable manure when applied to the 
 cane, it will be necessary to return from other sources the 
 equivalent of this annual waste. 
 
 ft* 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MANURES (continued). 
 
 The Begasse or Cane Trash — How it may be disposed of — Uses — 
 Its Composition — How to convert it into a most Valuable Ma- 
 nure — Rationale of the decomposition of the Trash — Waste 
 Products — Their Use as Manures — Mineral Manures, from Arti- 
 ficial Sources, how supplied — Gypsum as a Special Fertilizer — 
 Harris's Experiments^Analogies and Conclusions — Mode of ac- 
 tion of Gypsum as applied to Cane — Why most Energetic when 
 applied to Early-planted Cane — Importance of Potash as a Fer- 
 tilizer. 
 
 Most persons, who have worked np large crops of cane, 
 have experienced considerable difficulty in converting the 
 trash into such a condition as that it may be returned to 
 the soil in the form of manure. The trash, as it comes 
 from the mill, has generally been allowed to accumulate in 
 a loose pile, in which condition, in fair weather, it soon 
 dries, and it is almost completely indestructible by the ordi- 
 nary action of the air. This property of the dried begasse 
 suggests the propriety of using it for thatching. As a 
 covering for sheds, in which the canes are stored, in places 
 where lumber is scarce, it would no donbt be a valuable 
 material. In some places, it has been disposed of to the 
 paper manufacturers. It may be used in the production 
 of a valuable red dye ; or it may be employed for fuel, in 
 the fresh state, by means of a suitable arrangement of the 
 furnace for evaporating the juice ; or the greater part of 
 (54) 
 
OANE-TRASH. 65 
 
 it may be burned by setting fire to the stack which, not to 
 speak of the risk of destroying other property, is by no 
 means an economical plan. 
 
 A much better manner of disposing of it would be to 
 convert it into manure in the barn-yard. This will be all 
 the more readily done when the mill is placed upon a plat- 
 form above the yard.* 
 
 The decomposition of the trash is promoted in a higher 
 degree in the barn-yard than elsewhere. When dry, the 
 great bulk of it consists of woody fiber, some sugar and 
 salts, constituting about 30 to 35 per cent, of its original 
 weight; but in its ordinary condition more than half of its 
 whole weight is juice, which the mill has failed to extract. 
 It is a well ascertained fact, that there are some substances 
 which are in a liigh degree promotive of the decomposition 
 of woody fiber by enabling it to absorb oxygen. Others, 
 in an equal degree, retard this process. Of the former 
 class are alkalies, and of the latter, acids. When the fresh 
 trash is suffered to lie in a loose heap, fermentation of the 
 juice which it contains, almost immediately sets in, but the 
 acetic acid then formed becomes concentrated by evapora- 
 tion, and this, with the absence of sufficient moisture, pre- 
 vents the speedy decay of the woody and cellular matter. 
 On the other hand, alkalies, by inducing oxidation, rapidly 
 promote decomposition when assisted by an elevated tem- 
 perature, and free access of air, and the presence of a suffi- 
 cient amount of moisture. Hence, in a barn-yard, where 
 the stable manures, and all the refuse of a farm, the ashes, 
 etc., are mingled with the cane trash spread in a broad bed 
 over the yard, the alkalies which they contain come in 
 contact with it. Where evaporation is checked, and an 
 
 • Eefor to Ch. XXV. 
 
56 MANURES. 
 
 elevated temperature is maintained by fermentation in a 
 sufficiently compact mass of the trash, and, at the same 
 time, wlrere enough of air has access to it to permit the 
 process of decomposition to go on, and the resulting car- 
 bonic acid (which arrests the process by its presence) 
 readily to escape — we ha^ve all the conditions supplied 
 that are essential to rapid decay. The trampling of cattle 
 over the mass will still further promote decomposition by 
 the mixing of the ingredients, and rendering the layers 
 more compact, which is especially necessary at an early 
 stage of the process. 
 
 A still greater improvement consists in first spreading a 
 layer of trash upon the floor of the yard to a depth of a 
 foot and a half; covering this with a layer of muck, loam, 
 or clay, and then spreading the rest of the trash as fast as 
 it accumulates, and as compactly as possible upon tiie 
 muck — the whole finally covered with stable manure. Tiie 
 lower layer of trash serves to conduct away the superfluous 
 moisture that, during rain, percolates through the mass — 
 the mack or clay retains the alkalies, and prevents their 
 loss, and adds an important ingredient to the compost pile 
 when it is ready to be hauled away. 
 
 All waste or residual products resulting, during the 
 manufacture of sugar or syrup, should be carefully pre- 
 served and added to the manure heap. The precipitate 
 which falls in the clarifying tank, or which becomes incor- ' 
 porated with the green scum in the evaporator, when sul- 
 phate of alumina is used, largely consists of gypsum or 
 sulphate of lime, which is equal, bulk for bulk, as a fer- 
 tilizer, to the commercial article. The washings of the 
 charcoal filters — charcoal dust, the ashes from the furnace 
 and from other sources — should all be incorporated with the 
 decomposed trash, and annually carried out upon the fields. 
 
QTPSUM. 57 
 
 Where there is reason to suspect a deficiency of any par- 
 ticular ash ingredient in the soil, it should be at once sup- 
 plied. Bone dust is a convenient form in which phosphoric 
 acid may be furnished. Potash and soda are returned in 
 the form of wood ashes. Quick-lime unmixed with animal 
 manure should be sparingly but frequently applied. Kot 
 one of the least important advantages resulting from the 
 moderate use of lime is the fact that it accelerates greatly 
 the development of the cane, enabling the plant to mature 
 ten to fourteen days earliel: than it would otherwise do. 
 
 But as a special fertilizer, gypsum must be allowed a 
 most important place. In 1862, Mr. Harris, of the Oe.n- 
 esee Farmer, made some experiments on sorghum with 
 various manures, in which the advantages resulting from 
 the use of plaster of Paris (sulphate of lime or gypsum) 
 were manifested in a most extraordinary degree. A con- 
 densed account of these experiments was published in the 
 American Agriculturiii (vol. xxi. page 361), from which 
 the following is an extract : 
 
 " The soil, a sandy loam, had been under cultivation with- 
 out manuring for some thirty years ; the last three years 
 it had lain in grass and clover. It was plowed and har- 
 rowed into mellow condition, and the sorghum planted 
 June 4th, in hills, about 3 feet, 4 inches apart. Eleven 
 plots, each containing one-twentieth of an acre, were ex- 
 perimented upon. The various manures were applied in 
 the hill, being thoroughly worked into the soil, and then 
 covered with fresh earth, on which the seed was planted. 
 
 " The sorghum was cut October 7th and 8th, and the 
 stalks accurately weighed in the field, with the following 
 results : 
 
58 
 
 MANURES, 
 
 No. Manure used per acre. 
 
 No. of 
 hills. 
 
 Actual 
 
 yield per 
 
 acre. 
 
 Yield of 
 equal No. 
 of liiUs. 
 
 
 128 
 122 
 184 
 
 142 
 
 184 
 162 
 
 169 
 
 161 
 
 112 
 
 176 
 171 
 
 1,947 
 
 9,385 
 
 21,211 
 
 15,097 
 
 22,848 
 13,058 
 
 16,105 
 
 7,570 
 
 10,528 
 
 21,369 
 3,136 
 
 3,044 
 1-5,387 
 23,059 
 
 21,203 
 
 24,836 
 16,120 
 
 19,060 
 
 9,403 
 
 18,790 
 
 17,920 
 3,662 
 
 2. 400 lbs. sulpliaie of aitmionia 
 
 3. 400-lb3. superphosphate of lime 
 
 A f 400 Hbs. superphosphate of lime... l 
 ■ \ 400 lbs. sulphate of ammonia J 
 
 5. 250 lbs. plaster (sulphate of lime) 
 
 6. 2000 lbs. unleachcd hard wood ashes. 
 » r 2000 lbs. unleaohed ashes \ 
 
 \ 2511 lbs. plaster (mi.-^ed together). / 
 
 r400 H)s. sulphate of ammonia "j 
 
 9. .j 400 lbs. superphosphate of lime., y 
 1 2000 lbs. uulcHched ashes 1 
 
 if> / 400 lb*, superphosphate of lime.. I 
 12000 lbs. unleaohed ashes / 
 
 
 "Each plot contained 201 hills, but, as the above table 
 shows, many failed. The seed either rotted ia the ground 
 or was injured by the manure. The last column shows in 
 the plainest manner the relative yield per acre, allowing 
 the same number of hills to have produced on each plot. 
 
 " The effect of plaster (gypsum, or sulphate of lime) is 
 interesting and instructive. Not only does the plot ma- 
 nured with this show the greatest yield per hill, but with 
 one exception (plot No. 3) the greatest number of hills 
 germinated and grew. These two plots, Nos. 3 and 5, 
 were superior to any others, all through the season. 
 
 "The superphosphate used was a superior article, made 
 from calcined bones, expressly for the experiment. It 
 should be understood that the best superphosphate con- 
 tains at least 50 per cent, of piaster ; so that if common 
 plaster contains 80 per cent, of sulphate of lime, the 250 
 lbs. applied to plot No. 5 wouH contain the same quan- 
 tity of real plaster as the 400 ibs. of superphosphate ap- 
 
GYPSUM. 69 
 
 plied to plot No. 3 ; if 90 per cent., it would get 25 fts. 
 more plaster than plot No. 3. 
 
 " The plots receiving plaster and superphosphate are 
 the two best of the series. .Plot No. 5. is a little the best, 
 and probably received a little more real plaster than No. 3. 
 One thing is clear : the soluble phosphate of lime in the 
 superphosphate did no good, for on the plot No. 5 we 
 have plaster alone ; and on the other plot (No. 3) we have 
 plaster and soluble phosphate; and yet the crop is no 
 better from the two together than from the plaster alone." 
 Other experiments made since, render it evident that if the 
 augmentation of the yield is less striking in some instances 
 than in the above, the application of gypsum is uniformly in 
 a very high degree beneficial. Its effect is most manifest 
 upon soils not rich in vegetable matter, and especially upon 
 clay lands. Such soils being well adapted to sugar produc- 
 tion from this cane, its eifects are very marked upon them. 
 But it is the direct and peculiar influence which it exerts 
 npon the growth of the plant that is especially noteworthy, 
 and which, when more generally known, is likely to en- 
 hance its value as a manure for the sorghum. This con- 
 sists in the fact that gypsum stimulates some organs of the 
 plant to extraordinary development, while it has no such 
 action upon others,.^it increases greatly the size of the 
 stems, — in a slight degree the quantity of the leaves, while 
 it really diminishes the quantity of flowers and seeds. In 
 the cane, this strong growth of stems is not, as when the 
 plant is encouraged to a luxuriant expansion by animal 
 manures, or a rich vegetable soil, attended by any diminu- 
 tion of the saccharine quality of the juice, but rather an 
 increased richness. Upon clover, it has long been knowa 
 to exert a similar influence. It increases the weight of the 
 stems at the expense of the leaves, flowers, and seeds. In 
 plants, as In animals, special points of excellence may be 
 
60 MANURES. 
 
 developed, and may be made eventually hereditary by care 
 in keeping the individuals possessing them, through succes- 
 sive generations, under the influence of the agents by which 
 those special forms or qnaliti€s were originally induced. 
 Have we not here, then, in this material, the means of 
 producing, within a single season, an influence which the 
 labors of a century in hybridization directed to the im- 
 provement of the same qualities, might not have effected, 
 and the promise also of rendering permanent, and of im- 
 proving to the highest degree, those qualities when once 
 implanted ? If broom corn is but sorghum with the sac- 
 charine quality undeveloped in it by reason of its subjection 
 to natural influences constantly exerted, may we not appre- 
 hend a slow but sure deterioration of the best varieties of 
 the latter that we have, unless some such powerful agent as 
 this is laid hold of to check the tendency to gradual de- 
 basement ? Snlphate of ammonia has been found to exert 
 an influence very similar to that of the sulphate of lime 
 upon clover. 
 
 The mode in which the gypsum acts in producing this 
 change is not understood. Liebig, after many years of 
 assiduous research, expresses his inability to answer satis- 
 factorily this question. He regards its action as very 
 complex. He has lately found, however, that it promotes 
 in a remarkable degree the distribution of potash and mag- 
 nesia in the soil, by the substitution of those bases for the 
 lime in the combination with sulphuric acid, thereby mak- 
 ing them soluble, and rendering "nutritive elements ac- 
 cessible to and available for the clover (at least) which 
 were not so before" {Liebig, "Nat. Laws of Husbandry," 
 p. 327). That it also fixes ammonia is certain. Prof. 
 S. W. Johnson estimates that its presence in the juice of 
 plants has the effect of checking undue evaporation from 
 the leaves, thus enabling them to resist drought in a high 
 degree. 
 
POTASH. 61 
 
 However these or other discoveries may indicate its mode 
 of action, the effect is no less striking and peculiar. 
 
 G3'psura is best- applied to the cane, sown in the row, 
 before the seed, or afierward used as a top-dressing. As 
 an agent infixing ammonia, chloride of lime is probably 
 more effective, being more soluble. 
 
 The eflect of gypsum will no doubt be most marked on 
 early planted cane, a larger quantity being dissolved by 
 the rains. On cane late planted, and preceding a drought, 
 it would exert little benefit. 
 
 Pulaah is observed to be a preponderating ingredient 
 in the ash of all sugar-bearing plants. ]t is, therefore, 
 probably not only beneficial directly applied to the plant 
 in the form of wood ashes, etc., but the sulphate of lime, 
 as above mentioned, seems to effect the conversion of 
 salts of potash existing in the soil in an insoluble form, 
 into one ia which they directly afford nutriment to the 
 plant. 
 
CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 THE RELATIVE VALUE OP DIFFERENT SOILS IN StTQAR 
 PRODUCTION. 
 
 The Soil not merely a Repository of the Mineral Food of Plants — 
 Theory alone not a safe Guide in estimating the Value of Soila 
 for different Purposes — Texture and Physical Properties of Soils 
 — The Peculiar Qualities, physical and chemical, of Lands which 
 Bxperience has proved to be the best adapted to this Cane — The 
 "Bluff Lands" of the Missouri and Mississippi Valleys — Sugar 
 Production in the West and in Louisiana — Soils of the Ohio Ter- 
 
 Althocgh it is true that in order to preserve the exist- 
 ence of every plant ia its normal condition, its ash-con- 
 stituents must be found in the soil in which it grows, it 
 would be false to presume that to insure fertility, it will be 
 necessary only to preserve in the soil a constant supply of 
 each ingredient detected by analysis in the ash of the 
 plant. Science, as yet, has given no satisfactory explana- 
 tion of the nature of those transformations by which mineral 
 substances in the soil are made to contribute to the life of 
 vegetation. Within the soil, as well as in the organic struc- 
 ture, many subtle combinations are known to be formed 
 which the chemist is unable to repeat in the laboratory. 
 Unexpected results, incapable of explanation according to 
 any known principles, are often developed, and hence 
 the necessity of admitting no inferences in agriculture as 
 facts which have not been referred to the test of experience 
 for confirmation. The relative value of different soils for 
 (62) 
 
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF ^OILS. 63 
 
 sngar production can only thus be determined. So, too, 
 the specific influence of any fertilizing agent upon the 
 growth or nutrition of the cane, may be regarded as accu- 
 rately fixed only under certain conditions. 
 
 The texture and other physical properties of soils have 
 generally a uo less important influence upon their fertility 
 than those that are strictly chemical. The former being 
 readily perceptible are well known, and may be pretty 
 clearly defined ; and as they are dependent upon, and, to a 
 certain degree, indicate the chemical composition, they 
 mark the most characteristic points of distinction between 
 diS'erent soils. 
 
 Correspondent to the quality of the soil, the juice of the 
 cane has been found to undergo, uniformly, various degrees 
 of tnodification, and although much is yet to be learned on 
 this head experimentally, enough is known to enable us to 
 indicate certain soils as peculiarly favorable to the pro- 
 duction of the saccharine matter in the juice of sorghum, 
 almost free from impurities which hinder crystallization, 
 while others are in an equal degree unfavorable in this re- 
 spect. This difference in lands not artificially manured, ap- 
 pears the most broadly marked when we compare a light, 
 friable limestone soil with a wet alluvial one, or one but re- 
 cently cleared, and composed in great part of humus or decay- 
 ing vegetable matter. Upon the last-mentioned variety of 
 soil sorghum grows rank and tall, but its period of growth 
 is inordinately lengthened, the seed fails to mature early, 
 the juices are diluted and mucilaginous, the crystallization 
 of the sugar is accomplished with greater difficulty, and 
 the yield either in sugar or refined syrup is less even than 
 that usually obtained from half worn-out upland soils. 
 The worst possible condition of the juice is attained when 
 the humus is replaced or reinforced by barn-yard or other 
 stimulating ammoniacal manures in large quantity; in sueh 
 
64 soiLa 
 
 case the cane Reldom ripens, and yields about one gallon 
 to twelve of juice, of a dark, pungent, nncrystallizable 
 synip. Upon such a soil the maize attains to uncommon 
 luxuriance and fruiifulness; and it is this peculiarity which 
 forms one of the most important points of distinction be- 
 tween it and the cane. Upon lands which have ceased to 
 produce remunerative crops of corn, sorghum often thrives 
 well; because, like the pea, clover, etc., it sends its roots 
 down deeply and draws much of its nourishment from the 
 subsoil which is rich in mineral food that the less pen- 
 etrative roots of the corn have failed to extract. 
 
 But if a light, calcareous loam be selected, which is deep 
 and mellow, either comparatively new land which has been 
 long enough in cultivation to have had its vegetable mat- 
 ter thoroughly incorporated with the deeper layers of soil 
 — or old limestone land which has not been suffered to de- 
 teriorate by injudicious cropping, and to which no more 
 animal manure has been applied than is necessary to give 
 a stimulus to the plant in the early stage of its growth, the 
 cane will attain to a very large size, it will mature its seed 
 and juice in all ordinary seasons in the Middle and Western 
 States, producing an abundance of a light-colored and easily 
 crystallizable sugar, and aline rich syriip. If with these ad- 
 vantages of soil is combined a side-hill exposure to the 
 south, sloping at such an angle as to receive the verti- 
 cal rays of the sun at noon in midsummer, we will tlien 
 have supplied all the natural prerequisites for bringing tlie 
 plant to the highest condition of which it is capable. A 
 good variety of cane, under these circumstances, will sel- 
 dom fail to produce less than one gallon of syrup or live 
 ponnds of sugar, from every live gallons of jnice^ 
 
 Such soils are abundantly distributed throughout the 
 whole district where sugar production would be profitable, 
 and especially oq the uplands in the Westero States they 
 
SOIL OF THE y.ISSOURI "BLUFFS." 65 
 
 are very largely developed, where the great limestone 
 series of rocks, from which they derive their chief charac- 
 ters, is found. 
 
 Among these Western soils particular prominence should, 
 however, be given to one of a peculiar character, consisting 
 of an extensive bed of a fine, friable, silicious marl of a buff 
 color, which is found to cover to a great depth those pic- 
 turesque hills on the banks of the Missouri River, and of the 
 Upper Mississippi, called " the Bluffs," from which the de- 
 posit itself derives its name. It is most largely developed 
 along the Valley of the Lower Missouri, and extends over 
 wide areas of the elevated country on either side, forming 
 the surface of the richest of the upland prairies. The ex- 
 traordinary and almost exhaustless fertility of these Bluff 
 Lands, as well as other qualities which distinguish them, 
 will be more readily understood when the nature of the 
 agency to which they evidently owe their origin is con- 
 sidered. There can be no doubt that during a compara- 
 tively recent geological period, the era of the mammoth, 
 the mastodon, and the huge primeval beaver, a large part 
 of th£ Western country, comprising at least the basins of 
 the great rivers, was deeply covered by a fresh water lake 
 of vast dimensions. TJpon the fioor of the lake an exten- 
 sive deposit of fine, rich, marly sediment was gradually 
 formed, the remains of which, after the subsequent changes 
 of level and drainage of the country through its present 
 water-courses, are now to be found capping the highlands 
 along the streams. This sedimentary bed has in some 
 instances been found to be not less than 200 feet deep, and 
 perfectly homogeneous throughout; but its average depth 
 on the Missouri River, where it attains its best development, 
 generally does not exceed 100 feet, and it is often much 
 less. The soil formed from it contains a very large pro- 
 portion of vegetable matter in its natural state, derived 
 
 6* 
 
66 SOILS. 
 
 from the forests which clothe it, where undisturbed, with 
 alin«st tropical luxuriance. Indian-corn, tobacco, or 
 hemp, should be grown upon the recently cleared land, for 
 three or four successive seasons, until the vegetable matter 
 has been completely decomposed and incorporated with 
 the soil, and its tendency to promote too rank a growth of 
 cane subdued. After this preparation, it is difficult to 
 imagine in what respect it could be improved for sugar 
 production from this cane. Its chemical composition, tex- 
 ture, and great depth, its evenly rolling surface, topo- 
 graphical elevation and thorough drainage comprise ad- 
 vantages such as, it may confidently be said, are naturally 
 possessed in the same degree by no other soil in the Union, 
 for this purpose. 
 
 The drainage of tliis soil is secured by one of the most 
 remarkable natural provisions. The whole mass of the 
 upper portion of the blufif stratum, to a depth of sometimes 
 twenty feet, is permeated in every direction, but more fre- 
 quently downward, by innumerable cylindrical channels, 
 which are evidently cavities formed by the decay of the 
 roots of trees. The green roots not only of the common 
 white oak, but even of the poke-weed {Phylolacca decan- 
 dra), have been found at a perpendicular depth of seven- 
 teen feet below the surl'ace of the blutf soil.* 
 
 Experiment has proved that from 300 to 400 gallons of 
 syrup to the acre may be made from an average crop of 
 cane on this soil, without the addition of any special manures. 
 The expense of cultivation is but little greater than is 
 necessary for the production of a good crop of corn, and 
 as it is generally conceded that the fodder and seed annu- 
 ally produced amply compensate the cost of cultivation, 
 
 * Geological Survey of Missouri, First and Sooond Reports (Prof. G. 
 C. Swallow), p 71. 
 
OHIO TERRACES. 67 
 
 the cost of the production of sugar or syrup will be re- 
 duced to the expense solely of hauling and working up 
 the canes. 
 
 These will compare favorably with the best results of 
 sugar manufacture from the tropical cane in Louisiana; 
 they much exceed the ordinary profits of cotton growing 
 in j\Iississippi and Carolina, and these facts require only 
 to be known and appreciated in order to insure the 
 permanent establishment of sugar production from sor- 
 ghum throughout a vast central area of the continent. 
 The fact that these lands are always most fully developed 
 along the large Western rivers, and that their products are 
 thus brought within easy reach of market by water car- 
 riage, is an important consideration additional to the ad- 
 vantages above stated. Next to the bluff or an elevated 
 limestone soil of the first quality, the sandy or gravelly 
 terraces of the Ohio Valley deserve a prominent place. 
 These are the best natural soils; the most unsuitable of all 
 others for cane growing are the alluTial bottoms and wet 
 prairies. Intermediate between the best and the worst are 
 many varieties of soils, which by proper tillage and the 
 use of suitable fertilizers, may be brought to the highest 
 standard of productiveness, if the essential requisite of a 
 congenial climate be not wanting. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE INFirENCE OE CLIMATE. 
 
 The Limits of the Distribution of Species defined by Climate — Sub- 
 tropical Character of the Middle and Western States during the 
 Summer Months — The Limits within which Sorghum may be 
 profitably grown defined — The Summer Isotherm of 70° Fahr. — 
 The Summer Line of 72° Fahr. probably the Northern Limit of 
 the District within which Sugar may be most successfully pro- 
 duced. 
 
 While the nature of the soil determines in a great de- 
 gree the situation in which each individual plant is found 
 to flourish in a state of nature, climate fixes the wider 
 limits of the distribution of each species. The geographical 
 range within which the cultivation of the sorghum is capa- 
 ble of being successfully extended in this country, may now 
 be regarded as pretty accurately settled, at least as respects 
 those varieties which have proved the most valuable. Tiiis 
 range is very extensive, but within its limits tiie soil and 
 situation define much more narrowly the area within which 
 alone sugar will become a staple article of production. 
 The results of the past eight years, properly interpreted, 
 indicate this clearly. The subtropical character of those 
 regions of the Old World from whence the several varieties 
 of the sorghum were originally derived, might perhaps lead 
 to the inference that, in this country, we are attempting to 
 carry the limits of the sugar growing region' farther north 
 than analogy of climate would support. But such conclu- 
 sions have no foundation in fact, for it should be remem- 
 bered that an extreme, almost tropical temperature is char- 
 acteristic of the middle latitudes of the United States 
 (68) 
 
NORTHERN RANGE OF SORaHUM. 69 
 
 during three or four months of the year. These months 
 cover the whole period of growth of this cane, and where- 
 ever the high summer temperature is sufficiently protracted, 
 and the requisite conditions of soil and moisture are sup- 
 plied, its cultivation may be successfully carried, although 
 the mean annual temperature of such a region may fall con- 
 siderably below that of tiie native country of the plant. 
 Our common corn, a subtropical plant also, furnishes a 
 good illustration of this unique feature of our summer 
 climate in its capability of being here successfully extended 
 in cultivation up to a latitude unexampled elsewhere. But 
 even Indian-corn may ripen in a climate where the yield 
 is too meager to render it a successful competitor with the 
 hardier grasses, or to reward the toil of the cultivator. 
 The same is true of sorghum. The limit of remunerative 
 production will fall considerable short of the line which 
 marks the northern boundary of its growth. A certain line 
 of equal summer heat quite accurately fixes this limit. 
 
 So far as temperature is concerued, the growth of any 
 annual plant msiybe successfully carried to any geographi- 
 cal limits within which the specific amount of heat neces- 
 sary to the species is uniformly supplied, during a definite 
 period of time. This period, which measures the whole 
 life of the annual plant from the germination to the ripen- 
 ing of the seed, has been found for the larger varieties of 
 sorghum in those climates where it has uniformly ripened 
 and attained to the fullest perfection, to average from 
 130 to 140 days. The line of temperature which marks 
 the northern range of the sorghum as a sugar-producing 
 plant on this continent, may be defined to be the summer 
 isotherm of 10° as determined by Blodget in his "Clima- 
 tology of the United States." This line passes from the 
 east through South vvestern Connecticut, the southeastern 
 extremity of New York, Northern New Jersey, Eastern 
 
10 INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE. 
 
 and Western Pennsylvania, north of Reading and Pitts- 
 burg, through Northern Ohio, touching the shore of Lalse 
 Erie, Southern Michigan, including Northern Indiana and 
 Illinois as it passes around the southern extremity of Lake 
 Michigan, and thence through Southern Wisconsin and 
 Minnesota. North of this line, the cane fails to ripen. 
 South of it, it ripens generally everywhere when planted 
 early, but this is rendered more certain, and the growth of 
 the cane is more vigorous when the summer line of 12° is 
 reached. There it attains its fullest development. The 
 line of 72° crosses the State of Delaware going westward, 
 extends through Central Maryland into Virginia, where it 
 passes up the Shenandoah Valley, being sharply deflected 
 southward by the mountain chains, thence through Western 
 Virginia, Southern Ohio, Central Indiana, Illinois nortk 
 of Springfield, and Southern Iowa. North of this line, the 
 period of growth is necessarily extended, and the summers 
 are gradually shorter and cooler as we approach the line of 
 tO°. There one hundred and thirty days from the time 
 of planting are not sufficient, and the necessary amount of 
 heat which is lacking must be added in September to ripen 
 the plant. Beyond this point, the period of growth is ex- 
 tended to one hundred and fifty or one hundred and sixty 
 days, but before that time has elapsed, the early frosts 
 suddenly intervene, and cut off the crop. Occasionally 
 the same thing occurs far to the southward, but it Is hap- 
 pily quite unfrequent. 
 
 In the vast extent of country between the line of 72° 
 and the cotton and cane regions of the South, there is 
 certainly no climatic obstacle to the successful growth of 
 sorghum. The future sugar district of the United States, 
 instead of being limited to a narrow border along the 
 Gulf of Mexico, may now be defined to be a great conti- 
 nental belt of irregular outline, having for its northern 
 boundary the'summer line of 72° Pahr. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 MEANS BY wmCH THE MATURITY OF CANE MAY BE 
 HASTENED. 
 
 Special Means by whicli Early Ripening may be secured — Inatfen- 
 lian of Planters to this Subject — The Period of Growth may be 
 abbreTiated to advantage by the practice of the System of 
 Planting and Culture previously recommended — Selection of the 
 Earliest ripened Seeds from the most Highly-developed Plants — 
 Early Planting — Sprouling of Seed — Drainage of Land — Use of 
 Lime — Upland Soil and Southern Exposure of the Surface — - 
 Direction of the Cane Eows — Importance of attention to these 
 Particulars. 
 
 To secure for the cane, in whatever latitude it may be 
 grown, the full benefit that it is capable of deriving from the 
 climate and soil, it is important that every part of the work 
 of its cultivation should be done just at the right time, aud 
 especially should every means be used by which its maturity 
 may be hastened without injury to its growth, or to the 
 saccharine matter in the juice. It has already been men- 
 tioned (in Ch. lY.) that the mode of cultivation there rec- 
 ommended for general adoption, is not only such as seems 
 demanded by the constitution of the plant, but also that 
 it conduces, in a marked degree, to its early maturity. In 
 latitudes north of Washington City and St. Louis, at least, 
 it is an important consideration to secure the ripening of 
 the cane sufficiently early to enable it to escape all dauger 
 from frost, and to prevent the annoyance and loss of time 
 resulting from an undue haste in gathering and working up 
 the crop. But Tor the astonishing neglect of the means con- 
 
 (n) 
 
t2 MEANS OF HASTENING MATURITY. 
 
 ducive to this end, sugar prodaction at the N"orth would 
 now be far in advance of its present condition. Not only 
 would it be found that much time and labor could have 
 been saved, and the crop brought to maturity much earlier 
 in districts where the autumnal frosts are not dreaded, but 
 the richest and best varieties of cane would now be grown 
 in more extreme situations, with as little risk as in climates 
 which now seem so congenial to them. 
 
 By pursuing the system of planting and cultivation 
 above recommended, and making use of other means spe- 
 cially directed to this end, the ripening of the Chinese cane 
 may be hastened from thirty to fifty days. This result 
 would be more generally appreciated if it were considered 
 that it is equal to the difference in the length of the season 
 of places widely separated in latitude, or to the advantage, 
 in this respect, which the planter in Southern Virginia or 
 Kentucky enjoys over the farmer in Western New York or 
 Central Illinois. 
 
 This effect is not merely an advancement of the period 
 of growth, but partly also a real abbreviation of it, and is 
 the result of a combination of favorable inQuences, among 
 the most important of which are a proper selection of the 
 seed, early planting (or its imperfect substitute — steeping 
 and sprouting of the seed), drainage of the soil, the ap- 
 plication of lime, or the selection of a limestone soil, and 
 an elevated position with an easy slope southward, the rows 
 of cane running in the same direction. 
 
 An important advantage is gained at the outset in rigidly 
 observing the rule to plant only the earliest ripened seeds, 
 or those found upon the summit or at the center of the 
 panicle and grown upon the hirgest and best of the earliest 
 ripened canes. Such seed will produce in turn, not only 
 an earlier, but a more healthy and robust, growth of caue 
 than those indiscriminately selected. 
 
HOW GROWTH MAT BE ACCELERATED. 13 
 
 Early planting, as already obsei-yed, not only accelerates 
 the ripening period, but is in accordance with the habits 
 and natural requirements of the plant. Sprouting of the 
 seed by steeping it in warm water, or in stimulating solu- 
 tions of niter, chloride of lime, muriate of ammonia, or 
 sulphate of iron, or by pouring boiling water npon it in a 
 sieve, or by burying it in warm soil, or in a hot-bed, is to 
 be recommended only when planting has been so long de- 
 ferred as to make it necessary, and should never be adopted 
 but in rare exceptional cases. 
 
 Drainage, it is well known, is highly conducive to the 
 same result. Well-drained soils are comparatively warm ; 
 the snows melt upon them much sooner, and they are in a 
 condition to be tilled two to four weeks earlier in the 
 spring than those uridrained. The soil also is kept in such 
 a condition as to secure to the plant throughout the season 
 the advantages thus gained. 
 
 The "warmth" or quickening power of soils in which 
 lime is a predominant ingredient, is universally recognized. 
 " It is true of all our cultivated crops, and especially of 
 those of corn," says Johnston, "that their full growth is 
 attained more speedily when the land is limed, and that 
 they are ready for the harvest from ten to fourteen 
 days earlier." Upon sorghum this effect is equally well 
 marked. This property of a limed or naturally calcareous 
 soil is peculiarly noteworthy, inasmuch as it is upon such 
 land that the caue acquires a richer juice and a more full 
 development of its best qualities than upon any other. 
 
 The importance of an elevated situation in hastening the 
 maturity of sorghum has, doubtless, been made evident 
 to every one who has had the opportunity of comparing 
 cane grown on the uplands with that grown in the valleys. 
 The former will uniformly mature much earlier, besides 
 being generally out of reach of the early frosts. High 
 
 7 
 
74 MEANS OP HASTENING MATURITY. 
 
 lands produce this influence not only because they are 
 better drained, and less charged with vegetable matter 
 than low grounds, but also for the reason that they are 
 more exposed and airy, and are not bathed in the moist 
 atmosphere productive of rank growth so characteristic of 
 the latter. The favorable influence of an upland soil ia 
 quickening growth is much augmented if it declines gently 
 toward the south, and the effect is further heightened if the 
 cane-rows are made to follow the same direction, thus re- 
 ceiving the vertical rays of the sun at noon, and giving 
 them a more free access to the canes, before and after that 
 hour, than could otherwise be obtained. It is a question, 
 however, to be decided in each particular case, whether the 
 benefit derived from running the rows north and south, on 
 a surface inclined in the same direction, is not counter- 
 balanced by the injury likely to be done the land by its 
 greater liability to wash in heavy rains, and the danger of 
 prostration of the cane by violent west winds ; both of 
 which evils would be avoided by marking out the rows in 
 the opposite direction. 
 
 The observance of these precautions would remove the 
 only objections which, in some seasons, might be urged 
 agaiist the general cultivation of the more slowly maturing 
 but richer varieties of cane, in the vast district included 
 between the summer lines of 70° and 72° as already de- 
 fined. By these means also, in an extraordinarily backward 
 or cold season, such as is sometimes likely to occur in any 
 climate, a crop may be ripened when otherwise it would be 
 impossible. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE "tillering" OF SORQUIIM. 
 
 Influence of the Side Shoots, or "Suckera," upon the Saocharino 
 Products of the Plant — Opposite Opinions of experienced Plant- 
 ers as to the Nature and Value of the Lateral Shoots harmonized 
 — Their Growth under perfect Control — They are not an Abnor- 
 mal Growth, but are perfeutly analogous to the Tillers of Wheat 
 — The Tillering Process common to many of the Grasses, and a 
 wise Provision for their Increase — Under what Conditions the 
 Growth of the Sorghum Tillers should be encouraged. 
 
 Much diversity of opinion has existed among cultivators 
 as to tlie nature and influence of the side shoots, or "suc]£- 
 ers," which, sometimes to the number of eight or ten, spring 
 up around the base of the central stem. Experiment, it 
 seems, has not hitherto led to the adoption of any well- 
 grounded opinions on this subject. Some planters have 
 been led to believe that these suckers are really what the 
 term, according to the popular interpretation, indicates — a 
 mischievous and abnormal growth, diverting from the main 
 stalk the nutriment which would otherwise have been em- 
 ployed in enlarging the growth and enriching the juice. 
 They advise, therefore, to pull them off whenever they 
 appear. Others have found that these lateral shoots ar- 
 rive at maturity almost as soon as the central one, are 
 equally as rich in saccharine matter, and of scarcely infe- 
 rior size, while they vastly augment the yield. They recom- 
 mend that their growth should be encouraged. So fre- 
 quently have these opposite conclusions been reached, as to 
 
 (75) 
 
76 THE TILLERING OF SOEGHUM. 
 
 leave no donbt that in each case they were jastiSed by the 
 results. 
 
 A carefal study of the circumstances under which these 
 results were produced, however, will show that they 
 are in perfect harmony with each other, that they are 
 under perfect control, when the causes producing them 
 are understood, and that they are in obedience to a com- 
 mon law of growth. 
 
 The production of side shoots from the base of the cen- 
 tral stem of the grasses, instead of being an unusual effect, 
 is one of the most common and efficient means provided by 
 nature for their increase, and even for preserving their ex- 
 istence in their great contest for life with other plants. By 
 this means the blue grass of the meadows by a compact 
 circle of stems and roots is enabled to occupy the soil and 
 to resist the encroachments of other plants in its vicinity, 
 and to the same cause we owe the fruitfulness of the har- 
 vests. The tillering process of wheat is perfectly analo- 
 gous to the so-called " snckering " of sorghum, and, in 
 offering an explanation of the one, we but reiterate facts 
 well known as affecting the other. For convenience, the 
 mode of development may be designated in each case by 
 the same name. It is to be distinguished, however, from 
 a peculiar ramification of the stalk above ground, to which 
 the sorghum is sometimes subject in wet summers. In oats, 
 true branches spring from the axils of the leaves, and these 
 branches bear grain which ripens very unequally, and to 
 this mode of increase that last mentioned corresponds ; but 
 true " tillering " is an underground process, and it is char- 
 acteristic of cane and wheat in common with many other 
 plants of the same family. The lateral stems in this case 
 spring from underground buds. Although thus connected 
 with the central culm, they derive their nourishment from 
 roots of their own, which increase in number and length 
 
TILLERING OP WHEAT. 77 
 
 as the necessities of these secondary stems, to which they 
 are the purveyors, seem to require. The external devel- 
 opQieut of a new side shoot is always simultaneous with 
 the issue of a new set of roots springing directly from it, 
 wliile the growth of the proper roots of the central stem 
 is not retarded by t'his process, being more widely extended 
 at that time, and the surrounding earth not being exhausted 
 of nutritive materials. At a later period, however, this 
 exhaustion occurs; but then the widely branching roots 
 seek a fresh supply of food beyond the circle which at first 
 supplied their wants. An increaite of side shoots, there- 
 fore, is always an index of an increased development of 
 the root. Extensive tillering of wheat is always an evi- 
 dence of vigor and hardihood. Where this does not occur, 
 either the ground is too poor to afford nutrition to new 
 roots to sustain new stems, or the weather during the early 
 growth of the plant has been too mild, and the single central 
 stalk has been pushed forward too fast, the natural period of 
 rest before "shooting " not being long enough to allow of 
 the formation of a more widely extended root surface than 
 is necessary for the supply of a single stem, or it is the 
 result of too thick sowing, the development of the roots 
 being similarly restricted. In all those cases where but a 
 single stalk is produced, it grows up sometimes of average 
 size, but oftener weak and thin, and from the same cause, 
 viz. hinderance of root development. On the other hand, 
 when not too thickly sown, and when the soil and season 
 are favorable to its wants, instead of a solitary stalk and a 
 single meager ear, each seed gives to the grasp of the 
 reaper a clump of healthy stems and nodding heads, pro- 
 ducing a hundredfold. 
 
 Tillering, therefore, is a natural process, conducive 
 in a high degree to the health, and vigor of the plant. 
 
 Let ns now consider whether the discordant statements 
 7* 
 
78 THE TILLERING OF SORQHUM. 
 
 already referred to, as to the effects of this process in the 
 case of the sorghum, may not be easily reconciled, and a 
 rational method of treatment arrived at, adapted to the 
 requirements and true nature of the plant, and to the 
 external conditions of growth to which it is necessarily 
 subject. 
 
 It is observed that cane does not tiller when planted 
 very thickly in the drill, nor when it is put in thin land, 
 shallowly plowed or badly tilled ; nor generally when late 
 planted. In the first case mentioned, root growth Is checked 
 by too thick planting in the drill ; the result is that not 
 only tillering is prevented, but the stalks grow thin, soft, 
 and fibrous, instead of strong, hard externally and succulent 
 within. In the next ease, where the condition of the soil 
 is at fault on account of natural sterility, or bad tillage, 
 the cane crop is still more a failure. When late planted 
 also, tillering is checked, especially if the season which fol- 
 lows planting is not unusually cool and wet. The cause 
 is plainly due to the fact that the natural period, within 
 which the roots are to be formed, is so ranch abbreviated 
 that sustenance enough can be gathered only to support a 
 single stem. Has not this system of impoverishment, then, 
 a tendency to degradation ? Is it from parentage origin- 
 ally produced by such treatment that we should seek to 
 perpetuate our stock for future use ? Does not the con- 
 currence of these facts lead inevitably to the conclusion 
 that the noblest type of the plant, the healthiest, the rich- 
 est, the most valuable in all respects, is to be sought in 
 a form exhibiting the freest and fullest development of all 
 its organs in the manner best adapted to its nature ? 
 
 The mode by which such a result may be secured is al- 
 ready indicated in alluding to those influences which con- 
 duce to the opposite. Deep cultiire in a light, mellow- 
 well-drained soil, and early planting in hills or in drills, with 
 
DISCORDANT OPINIONS RECONCILED. 79 
 
 the seed so thinl}' distributed as to permit of each forming a 
 stool, are plainly indicated. The proper distance between 
 these stools or hills, in order to produce the heaviest crop 
 of the best quality of cane, will vary somewhat according 
 to the time of planting and the nature of the soil and sea- 
 son. But when the above conditions are complied with, 
 as heavy a crop as the land can ordinarily sustain can be 
 obtained with the stools about 15 inches asunder in the 
 row, and the rows 4 feet apart. No suckers should be re- 
 moved, for, if the proper precautions are observed, no more 
 suckers will be thrown out than the roots are able to sus- 
 tain. 
 
 It is easy to see that in cases where the growth of side 
 shoots is encouraged for a time by any mode of treatment 
 by which the roots are permitted to extend themselves, and 
 then the development of the latter is suddenly and perma- 
 nently checked, an immature and badly developed stool 
 will be the result, with which (thus produced by a mode of 
 treatment inconsiderately adopted) planters have had good 
 reason to be dissatisfied. When, on the contrary, favor- 
 able influences were secured, especially early planting of 
 the seed, the heavy yield and excellent character of the 
 crop, where the suckers have matured, are sufficient to lead 
 to a very different judgment. 
 
 It will be evident from what has been already said, that 
 the difference between early and late planted sorghum is 
 similar in kind to that between fall and spring wheat. It 
 is a difference of growth, vigor, and development. Au- 
 tumn-sown wheat, during the milder intervals of winter, 
 when a slow growth is encouraged, acquires a vigorous 
 constitution ; it is allowed sufBcieut time to develop its 
 roots, although the blade may have perished in the frost; 
 and when confirmed mild weather comes, it is ready to put 
 forth a luxuriant clump of blades and stems. Spring wheat 
 
80 THE TILLEEINQ OF SORGHUM. 
 
 is not permitted the natural period of rest after germina- 
 tion that the wants of the plant seem to require. There 
 is no marked cessation of growth in the blade after it has 
 appeared above ground; it tillers very little, and requires 
 to be more thickly sown than winter wheat. The inferior 
 quality of the grain of such wheat is generally well known ; 
 the plant is less vigorous ; it is not capable of enduring 
 such vicissitudes as the cold-hardened winter wheat ; is 
 more subject to disease and to some insects, and unless 
 very thickly sown, is peculiarly liable to injury from 
 drought in summer. If we should not desire to perpet- 
 uate our stock of wheat from this inferior and unhealthy 
 sort, is it wise to subject to such an ordeal a plant exhibit- 
 ing the same characteristics under similar circumstances, 
 and to expect that, year by year, it will not degenerate ? 
 
 With the exception that the half dormant period in 
 sorghum is not so extended as in wheat, and that it has 
 not sufficient hardihood to endure the cold of winter, the 
 analogy is perfect. In point of hardihood it seems to 
 occupy a middle place between our spring-sown grains and 
 those sown in the fall. 
 
 There are some varieties of imphee it is said which do 
 not tiller. If, like that of Indian-corn, this is found to be 
 their natural mode of growth, it would be unwise to at- 
 tempt to interfere with it; but if it is the result of the 
 "cramping" system, as sometimes pursued with the Chinese 
 variety, we may readily account for the feebleness of growth 
 and light yield of many varieties of the African cane. 
 
 My own observation leads me to believe that the tiller- 
 ing process is natural to all varieties of sorghum. All the 
 common kinds of imphee grown from seed sown in early 
 spring, in the latitude of Pittsburg, were found to conform 
 to it, although the tendency to multiplication in this way 
 seems, in the case of the Chinese cane, to be peculiarly 
 strong. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 HARVESTING THE CANE. 
 
 Preparation of the Cane for the Operation of Crushing, Removal 
 of the Blades — Their Proper Function discharged at the Period 
 when the Seed is Ripe, when, they should be removed — Their 
 Value as Fodder — The Mode of stripping Cane — How and when 
 to top Cane — Removal of the Cane from the Field — Effect of 
 Frost upon Cane under Different Circumstances. 
 
 The preparation of the canes for crushing is best per- 
 formed in the field. The first step is to strip off the leaves. 
 This should not be commenced until the plant has matured. 
 Prom the nature and functions of the leaf, as at present 
 understood, we may infer that direct and permanent injury 
 to the whole organism of the plant would be the result of 
 the removal of the leaves before that period. 
 
 While they have been compared not inaptly to the lungs 
 of animals, the leaves are known to discharge other com- 
 plicated functions not analogous to those of the organs of 
 respiration. They are the laboratories in which organic 
 products, such as sugar, starch, and albumen, by complex 
 chemical changes, are prepared for the use of the plant, from 
 the ordinary constituents of the air and soil. They are 
 the outward recipients likewise of very remarkable influ- 
 ences derived from the sunbeam ; namely, those excited by 
 light, heat, and the actinic or chemical rays, all of which 
 reach the inner fabric chiefly through the leaves. 
 
 The leaves of the cane, however, seem to outlive their 
 
 (81) 
 
!?-i HARVESTING THE CANE. 
 
 office. Unlike what commonly occurs, vitality seems to 
 linger longer in the leaves than in any other organs ; long 
 after the contents of the cells have undergone their final 
 transformation, and the seeds have matured. Oxidation 
 does not occur as early as in the leaves of most plants, 
 and consequently they retain for a time their green color 
 and vigor. 
 
 The proper time, therefore, to remove the leaves is 
 during the few days immediately subsequent to the ripening 
 of the seed and the full maturity of the juice. The seed 
 is then hard, the husk (glume) has received the full depth 
 of color natural to it (very dark purple or black iu the 
 Chinese cane and Oom-see-a-na, and various shades of 
 purple, red, and yellow in other varieties), the panicles 
 (seed heads) begin to spread and droop, and the stalk is 
 more or less yellow or orange colored, according to the 
 variety. The blades at that period are almost as green 
 as in midsummer, and their nutritive qualities as forage 
 for horses and cattle are then unimpaired, and if properly 
 cured, they are fully equal, ton for ton, to good hay, and 
 are eaten with even more avidity. The blades and seed, 
 if taken care of, will generally repay the whole cost of 
 cultivation. Of the former, half a ton, and of the latter, 
 thirty bushels, is an average yield per acre. 
 
 In a mature state, the Chinese cane, if not exposed to 
 severe frosts, may be allowed to remain in the field uncut, 
 after being stripped, for a few days without injury. Some 
 of the later ripening imphees, however, will not bear this 
 treatment, and soon become sour ; a condition to which the 
 Chinese cane, when unripe, is subject under similar circum- 
 stances. 
 
 The importance of stripping off the blades before the 
 cane is cut, will be found to consist chiefly in the saving of 
 a large amount of excellent fodder, and in an economioal 
 
MODE OF STRIPPING CANE. 83 
 
 nse of' time, by doing a needful part of the work in ad- 
 vance' of the period of cutting, when time could not so 
 eon''euiently be spared. This operation seems to be at- 
 t-aded by no decided inflnence upon the juice of the stalk, 
 although higher crystallizing powers have been claimed by 
 some for the juice of canes so treated, which are supposed 
 to be due to the more free exposure to the sun and air thus 
 afforded. 
 
 The practice of stripping cane by hand in the field is so 
 slow and troublesome as to be impracticable on large plan- 
 tations, and the labor is still greater after the canes have 
 been cut and piled. Tet this mode has the advantage of 
 securing the preservation of all the fodder in the best con- 
 dition. But by far the most rapid way is to strike off the 
 blades of the standing cane with a kind of woqden sword, 
 double-edged, about three and a half feet long, and in shape 
 like a long scutching knife, used by flax dressers. With this 
 implement a man can readily blade three- fourths of an acre of 
 thickly set cane in a day. A large proportion of the leaves 
 may subsequently be raked together in heaps, and saved, 
 but almost all that fall in the row are left, as they cannot be 
 caught by the rake either among the standing cane or the 
 stubs. Cattle turned into the fields after the cane has been 
 removed, will eat greedily all that remains, and in some 
 cases it may be more economical to leave all the blades on 
 the ground to be consumed in this way. The rapidity with 
 which cane can be stripped in the way last described, ren- 
 ders inexcusable the slovenly and wasteful practice of 
 passing it unbladed through the mill. 
 
 The two upper joints, with the leaves attached to them, 
 should generally be removed along with the head when the 
 stems are topped, and in the operation of stripping, the two 
 upper leaves should not be stricken off. The best topping 
 instrument Is a carpenter's broad-axe, the heads being cut 
 
84 HARVESTING THE OANE. 
 
 off on a block at the time the canes are received from the 
 wagon which conveyed them from the field. Topping cane 
 with a corn knife is wearisome work, and when done in the 
 field renders necessary the additional labor of gathering np 
 the fallen tops, and hauling them in separately. When 
 the two upper blades are not removed, they serve as a 
 guide to the eye of the workman who arranges the cane in 
 bundles upon the block, and the topping is then done with 
 the axe with great rapidity and nicety. If this is done in 
 fair weather, the seed is then in a condition to be put under 
 shelter and dried rapidly, a matter always difficult of ac- 
 complishment when the tops have been cut off in the field 
 and thrown upon the ground. The latter, on account of 
 the scanty and impure juice which they contain are valu- 
 able only aj fodder. After being topped, Chinese sorghum 
 canes will average six to eight feet in length. They are 
 then about two feet longer than the stalks of ribbon cane, 
 grown in the Southern States, when prepared for the mill. 
 On some sugar plantations, not more than three or four 
 feet of the stalk of the Southern cane is suitable for being 
 crushed.* The sorghum stalks are more slender, but they 
 may be grown much more densely on the ground. 
 
 * De Bow's Eesouroea of the Southern and Western States, p. 269. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 STOBINa THE CANE. 
 
 The Sugar Factory, what Buildings necessary — Cane Sheds, their 
 Construction and Arrangement — Trash Thatch u. Convenient 
 Material for Roofing, etc. — How used — Conditions essential to 
 the Preservation of Cane — Length of Time during which it 
 may be kept uninjured — Experiment — Uniformity of Tempera- 
 ture necessary. 
 
 The cane should be cut and removed from the field if 
 ripe, immediately after the operation of stripping has been 
 finished. If it has been planted early (see Chapter IV.), 
 it will be in a fit condition for removal, ordinarily, before it 
 has been touched by any frost capable of doing it barm. 
 The iraphees in general are more sensitive to cold than the 
 Chinese variety at corresponding periods of their growth, but 
 most of them mature earlier, and are not so much exposed 
 late in the season. The fact that ripened cane will usually 
 endure without injury the earliest autumnal frosts, should 
 not induce any one by a system of late planting to run the 
 risk of ruining his crop by exposure to the often intense 
 cold of October nights, a calamity which, by pursuing a 
 different course, might have been entirely avoided. 
 
 The damage done to a cane crop by frost is to be meas- 
 ured, however, not by the intensity of the cold, but by the 
 rapidity of the subsequent change of temperature. A com- 
 mon hoar-frost rapidly melting upon cane in the morning 
 sun, does more harm than a ground freeze gradually abated 
 
 8 (85) 
 
86 STOKING THE CANE. 
 
 by cool winds and cloudy skies. In freezing, the delicate 
 cell-walls of the plant are raptured by the expansion of 
 the fluids which they inclose, and the saccharine and nitro- 
 genous principles become intermingled if a thaw suddenly 
 sets in. But if a freeze is succeeded by a gradually in- 
 creasing temperature prolonged through a period of two 
 or three days, the cane remains comparatively uninjured. 
 The ruptures of the cellular organs gradually close up, and 
 catalysis is prevented. We may easily correct the inju- 
 rious effects of sudden extremes of temperature by storing 
 the canes, after cutting, in a proper manner ; but in the 
 field these changes cannot be controlled, and therefore it 
 is indispensable that the crop be taken off the ground and 
 placed under shelter as soon as ripe. 
 
 As already indicated, the whole process of sugar pro- 
 duction may be conveniently divided into three successive 
 periods. The first of these embraces the period of culti- 
 vation and ends with the harvesting and storing of the 
 cane. The sugar- house or factory, however humble, con- 
 sists essentially of three parts or divisions, correspondent 
 to those periods, and successively used, viz.: 1. A store- 
 house or repository for the cane. 2. A mill-house and 
 evaporating-room. 3. The sugar-house proper or curing 
 and crystallizing-rooms. 
 
 The business of sugar production from sorghum will 
 not be successfully conducted, and will not assume its true 
 rank as a great national industrial pursuit until convenient 
 and substantial buildings are made to take the place of the 
 mere sheds commonly used only to protect the workmen 
 from the elements. Especially when the work is on a scale 
 of considerable magnitude, ample provision should always 
 be made for carrying it forward in each department inde- 
 pendently, and in a perfect and thorough manner. Neat- 
 ness and adherence to system should rule throughout the 
 
STOREHOUSE FOR CANE. 87 
 
 whole establishment, even in minute details. The build- 
 ings should be contiguous and sufficiently roomy. 
 
 The cane-house or barn need be nothing more than a 
 large square structure, eight to ten feet in height at the 
 eaves, inclosed on all sides sufficiently to prevent exposure 
 of the cane to the sun, rain, or snow, and covered with a 
 tight roof; or a square area contiguous to the mill, occu- 
 pied by parallel ranges of long and narrow sheds extending 
 east and west, and screened from the sun at the sides and ends, 
 is a cheap and good substitute. These shed roofs should 
 pitch toward the south, and if they are ranged close together, 
 only the unprotected ends and the south side of the south- 
 ernmost of the series need be closed up. These buildings 
 may be constructed of any materials that will afford suffi- 
 cient protection to the cane. A thatch of begasse, the 
 crushed stalks being received from the mill without entan- 
 glement, and laid aside in small bundles to dry, would an- 
 swer an excellent purpose, and would be cheaper perhaps 
 than any other materials, and equally as durable as others 
 much more costly. The same in many places where lum- 
 ber is difficult to be obtained, as in some parts of our Western 
 country, might be employed in closing up the sides and 
 ends of these buildings just as straw is used in some places 
 for walls of outhouses.* For this purpose the fresh trash 
 will be found preferable to that which has been dried, as it 
 
 "A convenient way is to set upright poles about eight inches apart, 
 and draw wisps of straw (or trash) round each, so that both ends of 
 each wisp shall be outside. It is b^st to lay these in horizontal courses, 
 and beat down each course as it is laid, keeping it uniform and tight. 
 As the filling in with straw progresses, there may be a split pole woven 
 in once in three feet or so to hold the uprights in place. The straw is 
 finally to be raked down on the outside so as to shed rain well. This 
 makes a tight, warm, and lasting wall. The inner side is quite even, and 
 it may be sprinkled with mud if there is danger of the animals pulling 
 out the straw to eat." — Amer. Agriculturist, vol. xxiii. p. 9. 
 
88 STORING THE OANE. 
 
 Is more pliable and can be packed more closely. The 
 employment of such materials would be highly objection- 
 able in structures close to the evaporating-room or any 
 parts of the buildiug in which fires are used, but no un- 
 usual risk would be incurred if the cane sheds occupy the 
 proper position, the extremity of the range of buildings 
 farthest removed from the evaporating-room and sugar- 
 house. 
 
 In such buildings Chinese cane, if not injured by frost 
 previously to being cut, will keep perfectly uninjured until 
 January if necessary. The canes having been previously 
 topped and bladed may be either tied in bundles of forty 
 or fifty stalks together and set in on the butt ends closely 
 under shelter, or they may be laid horizontally in compact 
 piles, and in either case, if screened from the sun and rain, 
 the density of the juice and the bu.'kiness of the stored 
 mass of canes will preserve them, almost unaffected by the 
 sudden fluctuations of temperat^^^e common in early winter,, 
 and even if they are frozen hi protracted and severe cold 
 they will thaw gradually ir/this condition without hurt. 
 But the knowledge of this fiyt should not tempt any one 
 to protract the working up of a crop beyond Christmas. 
 The confirmed cold weather, which in the latitude of the 
 Middle States usually sets in shortly after that time, sus- 
 pends the work. Subsequent evaporation of the juice in the 
 stalk and repeated freezing and thawing render it almost 
 worthless before spring. Evaporation goes on as rapidly 
 in frozen as in unfrozen cane, and is alone a source of great 
 loss. Experiment proves that no mill is capable of ex- 
 pressing all the juice contained in the stalk, and that when 
 the juice has become dense by evaporation, a larger pro- 
 portion of it, and consequently of the saccharine matter, is 
 retained in the stalk than when it is more dilute. Ther-:-; 
 is a loss then of sugar or syrup to the manufacturer from 
 
HOW FREEZING MAY BE PREVENTED. 89 
 
 this source directly proportionate to the length of time 
 during which the cane is kept stored beyond the short 
 period of "seasoning" when the juice is in the best con- 
 dition. The stalk also becomes more tough and fibrous, 
 and thus affords an additional obstacle. Economy there- 
 fore dictates the utmost diligence until the work is done. 
 
 These facts lead to the inference that the question as 
 to the length of time within which it is possible to keep 
 sorghum cane in good preserration is of more interest to 
 the carious than practically important. Yet an observa- 
 tion directly illustrating this point seems not out of place 
 here. The preservation of the cane seems to depend 
 chiefly upon a single external condition, the temperature 
 of the surrounding air. I have found that it does not 
 undergo any apparent change during the winter months 
 in a uniformly cool atmosphere. The warm intervals which 
 so frequently and suddenly alternate with the cold in our 
 winter climate, often, however, elevate the temperature of 
 the air in the shade sufficiently to permit fermentation to 
 set in. Any means by which these extremes of climate 
 may be moderated and freezing prevented will preserve the 
 cane with but little alteration in the quality of its juice, 
 until natural evaporation has rendered it worthless. Pur- 
 suing a plan accidentally discovered, I have kept cane In 
 good condition until the month of March. It was fully 
 ripe when cut, and was laid in small heaps across timbers 
 resting upon the cellar floor of an outbuilding. The door 
 of this cellar was allowed to remain open all winter. The 
 drainage was defective, and water had collected upon the 
 floor to the depth of nearly a foot after the cane had been 
 stored. Cold weather coming on, the cane was not worked 
 up, but ] found that the alternate freezing and thawing of 
 this body of water kept the cane above it at a uniform tem- 
 perature, and in an unfrozen state throughout the winter. 
 
 8* 
 
90 STORING THE CANE. 
 
 This effect may be thus explained. Water in freezing, or 
 in being converted into the solid from the liquid state, 
 evolves heat previously latent, causing an elevation of tem- 
 perature in bodies in its immediate neighborhood. The 
 cane from its position, in this case, was the recipient of a 
 portion of this heat, and during the whole of the coldest 
 weather when the congelation of the water on the cellar 
 floor below was gradually going on, it was thus kept above 
 the freezing point. The greater density of the juice as well 
 as the protection afforded by the cellular and woody sub- 
 stance of the stalk within which it was inclosed also con- 
 tributed to this effect. On the other hand, when very mild 
 weather suddenly ensued and the ice on the subjacent 
 water began to melt, it in turn absorbed heat from the 
 cane, but not so rapidly as to reduce it at any time to the 
 freezing point. The surrounding air within the cellar also 
 suffered a depression of temperature in like manner nearly 
 equal to what it had been during the previous cold weather, 
 being thus tempered by the water in the same way that a 
 lake mitigates the extremes of climate on its shores. 
 
CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE. 
 
 Distinctive Features of the Process of Manufacture herein recom- 
 mended — Difficulties attendant upon Crystallization from an 
 Impure Solution — Defecating Substances, Requirements to which 
 they must conform — Advantages of a well-defined System — 
 Errors which have hindered Progress in Sugar Production from 
 Sorghum — Necessity of a New Mode of Treatment — Disadvant- 
 ages of the Common Mode — Constituents of Sorghum Juice- 
 Thorough Defecation the great Desideratum in any Method. 
 
 I DESIGN to embody in the following pages the details 
 of a system of manufacturing sugar and syrup from 
 sorghum, adapted to common use. This system is based 
 strictly upon the results of oft-repeated and carefully-con- 
 ducted experiments, and it will be found to embrace some 
 facts not previously known, the application of some former 
 discoveries to new uses, and the incorporation with these, 
 wherever practicable, of any other modes of working that 
 were found upon trial to be of practical value, and worthy 
 of being perpetuated. 
 
 Among the distinctive features of this process are the 
 following : 
 
 1. A method by which the crystallizable sugar in the 
 juice is separated from the impurities which prevent its 
 assuming the crystalline form. This consists in the use of 
 a chemical agent which it is believed has not heretofore 
 been applied for the defecation of sorghum juice. 
 
 (91) 
 
92 PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE. 
 
 2. A new mechanical device to effect the separation of 
 the scum containing the green coloring matter and fecn- 
 lancies without the loss of- time, the labor, and the incon- 
 venience which has hitherto attended this part of the work. 
 
 3. A means of depriving the syrup of the harsh vegetable 
 taste common to it without the use of the expensive and 
 inconvenient appliances regularly employed by the refiner. 
 The syrup is thus cheaply refined at once, during the reg- 
 ular progress of the evaporation. 
 
 4. The employment of a finishing pan of such construc- 
 tion and form as to permit the evaporation of the syrup to 
 be protracted to any required degree, without danger of 
 carmelizing the sugar, which may be instantly removed 
 from the action of the heat when the proper point of con- 
 centration is reached as indicated by a thermometer, and 
 discharged by dumping it into a cooler — thus affording the 
 means of making readily a pure syrup of perfectly uniform 
 density, or of reducing the syrup to the point of density at 
 which crystallizable sugar may be obtained of the best 
 quality and in the greatest abundance. 
 
 The above are inseparable- and indispensable parts of 
 this process, and I have found them to be requisite to uni» 
 form success in the manufacture either of sorghum sugar, 
 or of a superior quality of syrup. Other topics also, of 
 scarcely minor importance, demand attention. The whole 
 subject is one which is fraught with interest of a higher 
 character than is indicated by the nature and results of 
 the investigations which have come to the knowledge of the 
 /public. At the first view, it might seem that the art of 
 extracting sugar from a liquid so rich in it as sorghum 
 juice has proved to be, is not a matter involving any pecu- 
 liar difficulties in practice ; but its apparent simplicity 
 vanishes when it is found that this saccharine liquid con- 
 tains, intimately associated with the sugar, a variety of other 
 
DIFFICULTIES TO BE OVERCOME. 93 
 
 substances of very different chemical properties and rela- 
 tions, some of which are yet but imperfectly understood. 
 Most of these substances, uncrystallizable themselves, pre- 
 vent, by their presence, the sugar from assuming the crys- 
 talline form — the only form in which it can be obtained 
 pure. In order that we may make sugar, therefore, it is 
 necessary to remove first these extraneous substances from 
 the saccharine solution. But the means used for this pur- 
 pose must be well chosen. They must be adequate ; they 
 must be of such a kind as to be adapted to ordinary use on 
 the large scale ; the defecating agents must be harmless to 
 health if inadvertently added in excess to the juice, and 
 must leave no harmful compounds in any product which is 
 afterward to be used as an article of diet; they must be 
 suSiciently convenient in form, and low in price, and they 
 must not exert an injurious influence upon the constitution 
 of the sugar. We find ourselves at once confronted by a 
 delicate chemical problem. Here nothing good can be 
 accomplished by hap-hazard. We must have a clear view 
 of the nature of the material to be acted upon ; means 
 must be employed commensurate to clearly defined ends ; 
 the best methods of usiug such means must be understood, 
 and a certain degree of dexterity in their use must be ac- 
 quired. And here, as in all other industrial pursuits when 
 successfully prosecuted, if a strict adherence to system is 
 observed, and if the relations of the successive parts of the 
 process to each other are well understood, the different 
 operations will be performed with precision and facility, 
 and what may have caused much perplexity at first, will 
 soon appear perfectly simple. 
 
 Much time would have been gained, and many errors in 
 practice would have been avoided, if some important truths 
 had been earlier recognized. One of these is that the 
 juices of these new canes exhibit properties which are dif- 
 
94 PROCESS OP MANUFACTURE. 
 
 ferent from those of any other plants from which sugar has 
 beeQ extracted. Hence the necessity for a new and special 
 mode of treatment adapted to these peculiarities. Many 
 persons also have been slow to accept the fact that the 
 saccharine matter in ripe sorghum consists almost exclu- 
 siyely of cane or crystallizable sugar, and that previous to 
 the maturity of the plant, this kind of sugar is present, if at 
 all, only in very small quantity — grape or fruit sugar (practi- 
 cally uncrystallizable, and of lower grade) being abundant. 
 The nature of the other constituents of the juice has also 
 been misunderstood. Lack of information upon these and 
 other points, has led some persons whom a little investiga- 
 tion would have taught better, to adopt expensive methods 
 borrowed from the beet and cane sugar manufacture in 
 France and Louisiana, which, in the end, they have been 
 compelled to abandon after much disappointment and loss. 
 The want of success which has attended these experiments, 
 has repressed investigation, and the popular mind, except 
 when excited by some accidental example of a successful 
 crystallization, seems to have gradually adopted the con- 
 clusion that the production of sugar requires the use of 
 some incomprehensible and extraordinary means too ab- 
 struse and difficult for ordinary practice. And the extreme 
 facility with which a tolerably palatable article of syrup 
 can be prepared for domestic purposes, has increased this 
 apathy, and perhaps more than anything else, checked the 
 progress of discovery. The inventive genius of the country 
 responding to a temporary want, yet not rising above it, 
 has produced a score of evaporators, adapted in a greater 
 or less degree to the production of crude syrup ; but these, 
 in the main, embracing only various modifications of a single 
 idea, can serve no higher purpose than that for which 
 they were originally designed. Rapid evaporation, and 
 the constant removal of the scum by skimming, constitute 
 
EREORS — COMPOSITION OP CAljrE JUICE. 95 
 
 almost solely the basis upon which their efBciencyis alleged 
 to rest in making syrap by the ordinary mode; but any one 
 that has made himself acquainted with the nature of 
 sorghum juice is well aware that boiling and skimming, 
 unassisted by other means, cannot be relied upon to pro- 
 duce sugar. The fact that sugar has, in some few in- 
 stances, been produced by such means, is no disproof of 
 this assertion ; for sometimes samples of cane may be 
 selected, the juice in the lower joints of which is almost a 
 pure solution of sugar, and consequently it needs no defeca- 
 tion ; but such samples of cane are very rare, and the in- 
 stances in which sugar has been produced even from them 
 by the use simply of " pan and skimmer" are still more so. 
 I have alluded to these particulars here for the reason that 
 I believe them to embrace the most prominent errors in 
 theory and practice now in vogue among planters of the 
 Northern cane ; and in order that the established facts 
 upon which success in the production of sugar from sor- 
 ghum will be found to be based, may not be confounded 
 with them or misunderstood. 
 
 Ripe sorghum juice, as it flows from the mill, is an im- 
 pure solution of cane sugar. It commonly contains a small 
 proportion of grape or fruit sugar also. Other substances 
 also, in less quantity, are either dissolved or mechanically 
 suspended in the liquid. The chief of these are chloro- 
 phyll (or the green coloring matter), starch, dextrine (the 
 gummy matter), vegetable tissue, pectine or vegetable 
 jelly, vegetable albumen, gluten, and casein (the last three 
 containing nitrogen), acids, salts, and extractive matter. 
 Other modifications of these are found in syrup, and are 
 secondary products, and are not contained in the raw juice. 
 Liquid sugar is an example. It is a degraded form of cane 
 sugar, perfectly unerystallizable, and is produced by the 
 action of heat and imperfect processes of manufacture. 
 
96 PROCESS OF MANUrAOTURB. 
 
 The cane sugar cannot be induced to crystallize while 
 any considerable quantity of the substances with which it 
 is thus associated is present in the solution. To break 
 this alliance is, then, the great desideratum, and, as already 
 stated, the merits of the system of manufacture hereafter 
 to be described, will be found to consist mainly in the high 
 degree of completeness, ease, and economy with which .this 
 is done. The means used, both chemical and mechanical, 
 have been studiously adapted to each other and to the end 
 in view. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE (CONTINUED^. 
 
 Description of the Apparatus and the Mode of using it — General 
 Arrangement of the Different Parts — Description of the Evapo- 
 rating Range, Materials used in its Construction — Tanks, etc. — 
 Details of the Mode of Operation — First Stage — Lime and the 
 Defecating Agent, how employed — Saturation of the Acid — How 
 the Scum is separated without the usual Process of Skimming — 
 Arrangement of Division A — Requisites to secure Success — Pre- 
 cautions — Fuel — Chemical Agents. 
 
 If the reader will refer to the engraving (Frontispiece), 
 and will examine carefully the representation of the evap- 
 orating range there given, much unnecessary description 
 of the apparatus which I recommend to be used will be 
 avoided. The relative positions of the crushing mill and 
 the evaporating train may be varied according to circum- 
 stances. It is necessary only that the mill be placed upon 
 such an elevation, natural or artificial, that the juice, as it 
 is received from it, may flow into the tank (M), and thence 
 through the descending range of pans into the cooler (F). 
 
 The pipe (P) which supplies the tank (M) with juice 
 from the mill, may be cheaply constructed of common 
 chain-pump tubing, except when mills of the largest size 
 are used. This pipe when made (as shown in Fig. 5, Oh. 
 XXX.), consists of a number of lengths of this tubing 
 united together and laid in a trench, extending from the 
 mill to the tank, with two upright pieces of the same mate- 
 
 9 (97) 
 
98 PROCESS or manufacture. 
 
 rial jointed to it at the opposite ends. One of these np- 
 right arms is about a foot longer than the other, and its 
 upper end is fitted into the bottom of a tight box or large 
 backet, containing a coarse wire strainer, which is so placed 
 as to receive the juice as it flows fron the mill. The other 
 arm carries a spout at one side, projecting over the side of 
 the juice tank. The ends of the main tube which support 
 these uprights are closed, the one next the mill permanently ; 
 in the other a molasses gate, or movable plug, is fitted, so 
 that the pipe which should incline slightly toward this end, 
 may be completely, emptied at any time. This should al- 
 ways be done at the close of each day's work. The pipe 
 should be painted, the joints cemented with white-lead, and 
 the upright pieces securely braced, and when it is placed in 
 position, the bucket on the one arm of the tube should be 
 about a foot above the level of the spout on the other.* 
 
 The juice tank M may be made of one and a half inch 
 pine plank. The joints are cemented with white-lead, and 
 it is divided into two compartments by a water-tight par- 
 tition. The depth of this tank should not exceed three 
 feet, but its other dimensions may be extended to conform . 
 to any required capacity. It is most convenient, however, 
 to have each half of it of such size as to contain as much 
 juice as is discharged from the mill in one hour. It should 
 be thoroughly painted inside and out, with red-lead or iron 
 minium, and well dried before being used. 
 
 The evaporating apparatus consists of four sections, A, 
 
 * This is necessary to prevent the overflow of the buclset. A column 
 of juice largely commingled with foam, just as it comes from the mill, is 
 lighter than a column of equal height in the vertical tube at the oppo- 
 site end from which the foam has separated. The equilibrium is main- 
 tained only by the liquid rising to a higher level in the one arm than in 
 the other. If the bucket stands but slightly higher than the discharging 
 spout it will overflow. 
 
EVAPORATING RANGE. 99 
 
 B, C, D, placed in a descending range, the pan A being 
 the highest in the series. The first three are stationary ; 
 the fourth, D, is movable on a horizontal axis. They are 
 constructed of sheet copper, or iron with wooden sides. 
 When of the last-mentioned materials, both surfaces are 
 protected by a heavy coating of iron paint.* Pans with 
 bottoms of galvanized iron are furnished to order, bat the 
 zinc coating is not preferable in any respect to either the 
 plain or the painted iron surface, and is more expensive. 
 The furnace should be of brick- work, of a uniform inside 
 width throughout, corresponding to the width of the space 
 between the abutments in division A. Each pan of the 
 series is set perfectly level, but no two of them are in the 
 same horizontal plane. The fall from B to C in a range of 
 medium length should not be less than ten inches ; from A to 
 B and from C to D, two inches each.f The furnace is snffi- 
 
 * The advantages of this paint, iron minium, or brownish-red oxide 
 of iron, "are its solidity, durability, cheapness, and above all, its prop- 
 erty of preserving the iron completely from oxidation, and of harden- 
 ing the wood. . . . It is destined to supplant red-lead (lead minium) 
 and other pigments that have been used until now for coating wood, 
 iron, and other metals. It forms a smooth and stripeless coat upon the 
 iron, varnishing as it were the metal and preventing the atmospheric 
 influences upon the paint. . . . Iron minium mixes readily with 
 other colors, such as black, yellow, green, etc., and by so doing a variety 
 of colors is obtained to the convenience of persons who would not like 
 the dark-brown of the iron minium paint. It has been proved by exper- 
 iments that the iron minium paint lasts twice, and even three times as 
 long as red-lead paint. ... It resists generally the strongest heat. 
 
 . . . It is to be applied in several layers : the first ought to be thin, 
 the second a little thicker. It is employed the same as other paints, with 
 boiled or unboiled linseed oil. If unboiled oil is used, litharge or any 
 good siccative may be added, but not turpentine." — [Condensed from 
 London Practical Mechcvnics' Journal in Scientific American, vol. xi. 
 
 p. 3sr.) 
 
 f Printed directions for setting up the apparatus are given on another 
 page. 
 
100 PROCESS OP MANUFACTURB. 
 
 eiently deep at the mouth to give it a slight inclination np- 
 ward from the level of the grate bars, thus securing a good 
 draught, and throwing the flame closely against the bottoms 
 of the more depressed pans, C and D, at the after part of 
 the range. A great saving of fuel and a more uniform 
 distribution of the heat is thereby secured. The division 
 of the evaporating surface into three separate sections, 
 which is indispensable according to this arrangement, is a 
 security against its being warped by heat, which always 
 occurs when a long unbroken surface is used, and the sep- 
 arate sections may be' packed for transportation in small 
 space and carried without injury. 
 
 The cooler is simply a large shallow wooden box of the 
 shape represented in the drawing, and made impervious to 
 liquids by iron paint. It may be mounted upon a track, 
 and at the close of each day's boiling may be run along a 
 tram-way into the draining-room, and emptied of its con- 
 tents. 
 
 The evaporating train, tanks, etc. being arranged as de- 
 scribed, the freshly expressed juice passes into the pipe 
 through the wire strainer, which separates all the coarser 
 fragments of cane pith, etc., and flows directly into the 
 tank. The outlet of the conducting pipe should be 
 close to the partition in the tank, so that by means of a 
 short, movable gutter or T-shaped spout, the current of 
 juice may be turned into either division of the tank at 
 pleasure. Each division, as already stated, should be ca- 
 pacious enough to hold as much juice to within six inches 
 of the top as the mill is capable of expressing in about one 
 hour. Two cocks or molasses gates (one for each division) 
 must be inserted in the side of the tank within about four 
 inches of the bottom.* The tank should be made of such 
 
 * Only one of these is represented in the engraving. 
 
PROCESS OF DEFECATION. 101 
 
 dimensions that, with a partition one and a half inches 
 thick, dividiQg it in the center in the direction of its 
 least diameter, each half will contain just 100 gallons, 
 between the level of a mark made "on its side six inches 
 from the top, and the level of the exit cock near its bot- 
 tom. This is a convenient measure of juice, and can be 
 finished to the "striking" point on one of the larger evap- 
 orators in one hour. 
 
 Begin by filling one compartment of the tank up to the 
 mark, and then turn the flow of juice into the other. Have 
 ready a tin dipper or measure which will hold about half a 
 gill, mix in a bucket this measure of milk of lime with two 
 or three quarts of juice from the division of the tank already 
 filled, return the mixture to the tank and stir it thoroughly. 
 The lime should be added in sufficient quantity at this time 
 not only to neutralize the small quantity of free acid found 
 in ripe sorghum juice of the best quality, but also to im- 
 part to it the very feeble alkalinity which, for a reason to 
 be hereafter mentioned, it should possess at this stage of 
 the evaporation. Juice of a nearly neutral character is 
 seldom obtained in large quantity, and lime will always be 
 needed. To ascertain whether any more lime should be 
 added, dip into the juice already mixed with the milk of 
 lime a small slip of red litmus-paper, or yellow turmeric- 
 paper. No more tempering will be required if the color 
 of the litmus is changed to a tint in which the blue slightly 
 predominates over the red, or the turmeric yellow deepens 
 to a faint shade of brown. But if no such change of 
 color is indicated, more milk of lime must be added grad- 
 ually until the test paper takes the required tint. Then 
 add to each 100 gallons of the juice one pint of the clarify- 
 ing solution, and stir thoroughly. The juice is then ready 
 to be admitted into the evaporator. This should be done 
 
 9* 
 
102 PROCESS OF MANUPACTTJKE. 
 
 while the other division of the tank is receiving its charge 
 of juice. 
 
 Water should previously have been turned into the evap- 
 orating range to start vrith, and a strong fire of dry wood 
 kindled in the furnace. When the water has begun to boil 
 in the lower pans, admit the tempered juice from the tank 
 in a continuous stream. The conduit L will convey it to 
 the head of the pan A. At the same time open partially 
 the gate P. The simple and effective manner in which the 
 clarification is accomplished, and in which the boiling 
 juice itself is made to do the work of skimming, may then 
 be seen at a glance. The successful working of this part 
 of the apparatus, however, is limited by certain conditions 
 which should here be noted. 
 
 From the rear of the pan A, two abutments or ledges 
 S S extend along its bottom for about two-thirds of its 
 length, toward the front. This pan projects over the 
 sides and front of the furnace wall, and the abutments 
 must be so placed as to stand directly over the inner 
 face of the side walls, and terminate just over the end 
 wall of the furnace. That portion of this pan, there- 
 fore, which is situated between the abutments is ex- 
 posed to the full heat of the fire, while the remainder is 
 comparatively cool. The flow of juice into the pan must 
 always be duly regulated by the rapidity with which it is 
 heated, defecated, and finally discharged through the gate P 
 into the next division or pan B. The bed of juice in the pan 
 A should be kept at a uniform depth of about half an inch, 
 and then a sheet of rapidly boiling juice will overspread 
 the whole central space between the abutments. The sur- 
 face of the boiling liquid throughout this space is conse- 
 quently much elevated, while toward the front of the pan, 
 and within the bays or scum receptacles R R at the sides, 
 it is not heated. A surface current is created which carries 
 
EVAPORATION, HOW CONDUCTED. 103 
 
 the seum rapidly forward and down into the recesses R R, 
 where it lodges, and, as it cools, it becomes densely com- 
 pacted and displaces any unclarified juice that may have 
 collected there at the commencement of the operation. At 
 the same time that the scum is being separated and carried 
 forward, an under-current of cold jaice is continually pass- 
 ing onward in the opposite direction and becoming rapidly 
 heated. At a certain point (A) as it advances, it is sud- 
 denly thrown into ebullition, when it parts company with 
 the scum, and impelled onward by the colder current be- 
 hind it, it escapes by the gate P into B. The gates P P, 
 the openings of which are protected by wire gauze, afford 
 at any time a convenient exit also into B, for any clarified 
 juice which may be thrown into the bays when they are not 
 packed with scum. Ordinarily, however, these gates are 
 not used as outlets for any considerable quantity of the 
 juice into B, as there is sometimes danger of unclarified 
 juice passing through them. They should be closed at the 
 commencement of boiling, and afterward opened only just 
 enough to allow the small proportion of boiled juice upon 
 which the scum has floated into the bays, to slowly filter 
 through them. A return current is thus prevented, and 
 the scum is forced back into the head of the bays and re- 
 mains there. At convenient intervals, once every half 
 hour or more, this dense mass of scum is lifted out bodily 
 by means of a large flat dipper or shovel of such width as 
 to slide closely inside the bays. 
 
 A strong heat must be uniformly maintained in the fur- 
 nace. Feed the fire with regularity, and do not add so 
 much fresh wood at once as at any time to check the boil- 
 ing in the front pan. If at any time this should occur, 
 close the entrance gate into B, and stop the flow of juice 
 from the tank until vigorous boiling is resumed. When 
 coal can be had, it may be used in small quantity along 
 
104 PROCESS OP MANUFACTURE. 
 
 with the wood ; a shovelful thrown in now and then is 
 very useful in quickening the fire, but care must be taken 
 to keep the grate bars from becoming clogged with cin- 
 ders. 
 
 The part played by the chemical agents in this clarifica- 
 tion has not been adverted to. It will be noticed on a 
 subsequent page. The most important advantages result- 
 ing from their use are not all made apparent at once to the 
 eye; but the visible evidences of purity — transparency, 
 brightness, and lightness of color — are not produced to an 
 equal extent by the use of any other means which I have 
 been able to discover, or that I believe may be innocently 
 employed. 
 
 When these clarifying agents cannot be obtained, lime 
 may be substituted for them, but it is far less effieleht. A 
 quantity of the cream of lime should be prepared before- 
 hand (Chap. XXX.), of uniform consistence and strength. 
 The exact measure of it which is necessary to be added to 
 a given measure of the juice to cause it to exhibit the 
 faint alkaline reaction required, should be ascertained and 
 noted. Successive batches of the fresh juice may after- 
 ward be tempered with the same proportion of lime pre- 
 viously used when it is certain that there is no variation in 
 the quality of the juice. But much caution is here neces- 
 sary to avoid error, for the degree of acidity is not constant 
 even in the juices of canes taken from the same field, and 
 the means of readily detecting these differences must be 
 at hand, and frequently used. The sense of taste may in- 
 deed acquire an acuteness in detecting minute differences 
 of quality in the juice, scarcely inferior to that of chemical 
 reagents ; bat until it has acquired this delicacy, we must 
 rely upon the test paper alone. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 PROCESS OP MANUrACTUEE (CONTINUED). ' 
 
 Second Stage of the Process — Characteristics of a Refined Syrup — 
 Mode of Refining the Syrup — Manner of using the Filtering 
 Drawer — Third Stage — Concentration of the Syrup — The Finish- 
 ing Pan — Thermometer — The Striliing Point as determined by 
 the Temperature — Other Tests of Density — The Finger Test — 
 Indications at Successive Stages of Concentration — False Indica- 
 tions exhibited by Impure Syrups — Precautions necessary in 
 Barreling Syrups. 
 
 The entrance of the clarified juice into division B, marljs 
 the commencement of the second stage of the process 
 during which the syrup is further refined. In B, the 
 evaporation progresses with great rapidity. The boiling 
 juice at the back part of this pan should uniformly indicate 
 a density of about 15° Beaume's saccharometer. 
 
 An adjustable gate or register R both regulates the con- 
 centration to the required degree in this compartment, and 
 the discharge of the syrup into B, — a shallow cistern or 
 filtering drawer containing animal charcoal, prepared ex- 
 pressly for this use. Through this filter the hot syrap 
 passes into C, — the third pan of the series. The effect of 
 this filtration is the removal of any remaining impurities 
 which hinder crystallization, and of the extractive matter 
 not previously separated, which imparts to unrefined 
 sorghum syrup its peculiar flavor. A syrup prepared by 
 this mode is strictly a refined syrup of the first quality ; 
 
 (105) 
 
106 PEOCESB OP MANOPACTURE. 
 
 m 
 
 at this stage it is perfectly clear, and of the finest color 
 and flavor. 
 
 The only attention specially required daring this part of 
 the operation is to properly regulate the flow of syrup iato 
 the filter E by means of the adjustable gate. It should 
 not be allowed to pass so rapidly as to drain too much the 
 pan B, in which the depth of juice should be at least twice 
 as great as in any other, or before the proper degree of 
 density has been reached. Nor should it be unduly re- 
 tarded. In either case the filtration will be imperfect 
 
 The filter should be refilled with fresh or revivified bone- 
 black before the beginning of each day's work. If reburnt 
 bone-black is used, the dust should first be sifted out. 
 Take a piece of thin flannel or canvas of an open texture, 
 wet it, and spread it smoothly upon the slatted bottom of 
 the filtering-box. Then fill in the bone-black gradually, 
 packing it down tightly so as to leave no crevices. When 
 it is filled to the proper level, draw a little of the coal from 
 the central parts toward the sides so as to leave the surface 
 slightly elevated at the sides. Cover with a cloth of the 
 same kind as that which lines the bottom, and confine it 
 closely at the edges by means of the wooden frame. Fill 
 the empty space above the cloth with hot water, taking 
 care not to disturb the surface of the bone-black. The 
 stream of water, in pouring it, should be received upon a 
 piece of board or tin plate resting on the cloth. Another 
 mode of filling the filter is to fasten down the cloth on the 
 bottom of the box, close the outlet, and pour in hot water 
 until it is about half full. Then add the bone-black. When 
 this mode is adopted, the bottom cloth must be confiued 
 very securely at the sides, or the small fragments of the 
 charcoal will find their way under it into the chamber 
 below. 
 
 It is convenient to have a movable stand of the height 
 
CONCENTRATION IN THE FINISHING PAN. lOT 
 
 of the pan C set close alongside of it upon which to place 
 the filtering-box while it is being filled, and from which it 
 may be readily shifted to its proper position. The pan B 
 should be so placed that the register R, at the back end of 
 it may project its whole breadth over the filter and the for- 
 ward end of C. 
 
 The water should be retained upon the filter until the 
 juice is ready to be let in; then remore the stopper and 
 allow the water to pass out of the filter as the juice enters 
 it. This and the water used in C andD to start with, 
 must be passed out ahead of the juice. At the close of 
 boiling in the evening before the exhausted filter is re- 
 moved, it should be washed by pouring water upon it 
 through the register-box until the liquid ceases to pass out 
 sweet. 
 
 Nothing now remains but to concentrate the syrup to 
 the "striking point." But this must be so done as to 
 preserve the qualities which characterize the syrup after 
 filtration unimpaired to the close of the operation. The 
 subsequent evaporation must be rapid, and the syrup must 
 instantly be removed from the fire when the proper degree 
 of concentration is reached. The pan C and the finishing 
 pan D fully accomplish these ends. After being reduced 
 by boiling in C, it is then passed through a gate into D at 
 intervals, and not in a continuous stream as into the other 
 divisions. The finishing pan is shallow, with a long beak or 
 lip, and may easily be turned upon its axis by means of a 
 lever or cord and pulley as at F, and successive batches of 
 syrup, upon arriving at the proper point of density, are 
 dumped into a shallow tank or cooler at the side of the 
 range. When the pan D is tipped to discharge the con- 
 centrated syrup, a damper is drawn which shuts off the 
 flame until the pan is replaced and a fresh portion of 
 syrup admitted. 
 
108 PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE. 
 
 A standard thermometer, the bulb of which is continually 
 kept immersed in the boiling syrup, indicates its density, 
 and it is by far the simplest and most unerring guide that 
 the sugar boiler can use for this purpose. When sugar is 
 to be produced, the strike should be made at about 232° 
 Fahr. (111° Cent,), but for syrup 228° Fahr. (109° Cent.) 
 is the proper point. By the careful use of this instrument 
 successive batches of the syrup may be brought to the 
 proper point of concentration with perfect uniformity. 
 
 There are some other simple tests of the density of 
 boiling syrups which experience has proved to be reliable, 
 and with which every practical sugar boiler should be 
 acquainted. They are convenient at all times in confirm- 
 ing the indications of the thermometer, and in the case of 
 the accidental breakage of the instrument a knowledge of 
 them would be almost indispensable. 
 
 The first or lowest degrees of concentration beyond the 
 condition of a very thin syrup are indicated by the appear- 
 ances that it presents in falling from the thin edge of a 
 skimmer or dipper upon which it has been taken up and 
 exposed to the air for a few moments by turning it about. 
 First, it falls slowly in large drops ; then when the con- 
 centration is farther advanced it separates from the edge 
 of the skimmer in broad thin sheets. Beyond this point 
 the finger test or proof by the touch is regarded as the 
 most accurate. The following account of it is given by 
 Prof R. S. McCulloh ("Scientific Investigations in rela- 
 tion to Sugar and Hydrometers," p. 2Y2). 
 
 " The proof by the touch is used, I believe, alike by the 
 refiners and sugar makers of all nations, both in Europe 
 and America, with very slight modifications. A small 
 portion of the syrup is taken for trial between the index 
 finger and the thumb; when it is cool, the finger is sepa- 
 rated from contact with the thumb, and the syrup exam- 
 
THE FINGEE-TEST. 109 
 
 ined by placing it between the eye and the light. At dif- 
 ferent degrees of concentration the following indications 
 successively occur :* ' 1. Two drops separate, that on the 
 thumb and below is the larger. 2. The drops become 
 nearly equal, and do not separate until the fingers are 
 drawn more widely apart. 3. By the separation of half 
 an inch a thread is drawn out which finally breaks below ; 
 the end of the thread becomes claviform' (club shaped), 
 ' and it rises slowly toward the finger. 4. The same 
 thing occurs at a greater distance ; the end of the thread 
 is folded back, and gives to the thread the shape of a rib- 
 bon or long strip, which rises more rapidly than before. 
 5. After a greater separation of the fingers the thread 
 breaks, being very fine at the end, which turns aside and 
 twists up like a corkscrew. It does not fold itself upon 
 the rest of the thread as before, and the thread does not 
 increase in volume except by the.cohesion which draws the 
 particles toward, the finger, which is the only adhering 
 point. A little more concentration prevents the thread 
 from shrinking at all upon itself 
 
 " In the Ucited Stales the manufacturers of sugar from 
 cane juice use the proof by the touch, and consider syrup 
 sufiBciently concentrated when the broken thread curls up 
 in the form of a corkscrew, or the fifth of the degrees 
 above described." 
 
 It is essential, however, to the correctness of these indi- 
 cations as well as of those of the thermometer, that the 
 syrup be of a standard degree of purity, such as will uni- 
 formly result from the Juice of ripe cane of good quality 
 subjected to the mode of treatment already indicated. The 
 presence of impurities such as are found in imperfectly 
 defecated syrups, or an excess of either acid or lime, be- 
 
 * See Diotionnaira de I'Induatrie, p. 407. Paris, 1841. 
 10 
 
110 PE0CES8 OF MANUrACTURE. 
 
 sides injuring the sugar, impair the uniformity of all such 
 indications. I have found that the fifth degree of concen- 
 tration, as marked by the proof by the touch above de- 
 scribed, is attained in properly refined sorghum syrup when 
 the boiling temperature rises to 235° Fah. (113° Ceot.). 
 
 If syrup only is designed to be made it should be dis- 
 charged from the tilting pan when a temperature of 228° 
 Fah. (109° Cent.) is reached. Syrup should remain in the 
 cooler until it has parted with most of its heat before it 
 can be safely transferred to barrels. If it is poured into 
 the barrels hot, the prolonged action of the heat retained 
 in the dense mass will be sufficient to scorch the syrup. 
 
 New barrels should be limed and fumigated with sulphur 
 before they are intended to be used. Old molasses barrels 
 are not fit to contain choice syrup until in addition to this 
 treatmeflt they have first been either steamed or thoroughly 
 soaked with hot water. (See directions for cleansing, Chap. 
 XXX.) 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 PHOCESS OP MANUFACTURE (CONTINUED). 
 
 Crystallization — Treatment of the Syrup in the Crystallizlng-room 
 — Crystallizing Vessels — Dutrone's Crystallizing Box — How 
 Drainage may be secured and Crystallization promoted. 
 
 At the close of the day's boiling, transfer the cooler to 
 the crystallizing-room. Here two modes of treatment are 
 to be pursued to suit the kind of product to be obtained. 
 By the first mode, a fair, yellow sugar, of a quality equal to 
 that of the ordinary brown sugars of commerce, is the result. 
 By the second, white sugar, or any grade intervening be- 
 tween it and the crude article, may be obtained. 
 
 As a prerequisite to success by either method, the crys- 
 tallizing and draining rooms should be uniformly heated to 
 a temperature of not less than 80° F. (26 6° Cent). To 
 secure this, a close room is needed, opening by a door into 
 another apartment instead of by an outside door. The 
 crystallizing vessels should be ranged along the sides and 
 a stove placed in the center. 
 
 Crystallization and drainage should be performed in the 
 same vessels, and their form should be such as to conduce 
 to both these ends. 
 
 I. Crude sugar of a good quality and large grain will 
 uniformly result from well defecated syrup of the proper 
 density at a temperature of 80° to 90° F. by means of 
 slow crystallization and natural drainage. The vessels 
 
 (111) 
 
112 PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE. 
 
 should be shallow to admit of the speedy downward pas- 
 sage of the molasses through the crystallized mass, and 
 their bottoms should be inclined sufBciently to secure its 
 rapid transmission to a common outlet. They should be 
 of a uniform size, and in order to secure a large-grained 
 crystallization, should be made moderately large. Vessels 
 conforming to these requirements may be of various forms, 
 but for convenience and general efficiency, I give the pref- 
 erence to a form of vessel which the experience of nearly 
 a century has not modified for the better. I refer to Dn- 
 trone's Crystallizing Box, a description of which I give 
 in his own words, as translated by McCulloh (Report, 
 p. 286).* 
 
 "Experience has proved to me that the quantity of 
 matter which combines the greatest number of advantages 
 in the crystallization of cane sugar, is fifteen or sixteen 
 cubic feet, for which reason the dimensions given to the 
 crystallizing vessels are five feet in length by three feet in 
 breadth. The bottom is formed of two planes, inclined 
 six inches, the intersection of which form a groove in the 
 middle. In this groove are twelve or fifteen holes of an 
 inch in diameter, to permit the syrup to flow out. The 
 depth is nine inches at the sides and fifteen inches at the 
 center. The vessels should be made of boards one inch 
 thick, and lined with lead" (or better, coated heavily with 
 iron paint). "Before lining it, the holes should be bored in 
 
 * Precis sur la Canne, page 184. Paris, 1790. 
 
 To Dutrone la Couture belongs the honor of oiiginating and introduc- 
 ing many most valuable improvements in the art of sugar making; his 
 work embodies the results of conscientious and laborious research, and 
 although now out of print in its original form, it has been partially re- 
 produced in th .' English works of G. R. Porter and others. In spite of 
 the crudcness which marked the chemistry of his day, Dutrone has given 
 us a work that yet merits the distinction of being "the most able treat- 
 ise ever written on the culture and manufacture of sugar." 
 
CRYSTALLIZING VESSELS. 113 
 
 the groove, and bnrnt out with a hot iron from the inside, 
 so as to form a small cavity surroanding the hole, in coose- 
 qaence of which not a drop of syrup will remain after 
 draiaing. . . . Sooh vessels combine every possible 
 advautage ia crystalliziDg and purging with the requi- 
 site strength. 
 
 " The crystallizing vessels rest upon strips of wood two 
 inches thick and three inches broad, which are fastened to 
 and supported by upright posts eight or ten inches high, 
 at the distance laterally of ten inches from the middle line. 
 Troughs counecting with a cistern on a lower level receive 
 the molasses as it drips from the sugar." 
 
 These vessels, when filled to within 3 inches of the top, 
 will hold about 75 gallons of syrup for granulation, weigh- 
 ing nearly 1000 pounds, of which one-half, or 500 pounds, 
 will be good dry sugar. The depth of the crystallizing 
 mass in these boxes may sometimes be diminished to 3 
 inches at the sides where the bottom is most elevated, aud 
 9 inches in the center, when there is reason to apprehend 
 any difSculty of drainage by reason of the presence of an 
 undue amount of grape sugar, or otherwise. After the 
 molasses has all drained out, this depth will be much di- 
 minished, and the large surface of sugar exposed permits 
 it to dry speedily. 
 
 The number of these boxes that will be required will of 
 course depend npoa the amount of work to be done, and 
 the length of time that must elapse before they can be 
 refilled and used again. Two weeks is as short a time as 
 can be reckoned upon for the completion of the crystalliza- 
 tion and drainage. It will be found that one of these ves- 
 sels will be required for each 450 or 500 gallons of juice 
 delivered by the mill during that period. 
 
 Close the openings in the bottom of the box with long, 
 smooth wooden plugs, abruptly pointed, which may be 
 
 10* 
 
114 PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE. 
 
 allowed to project through the holes into the inside of the 
 box two or three inches. Range the boxes in order on the 
 supporting rack, around the sides of the room, and over 
 the drippiug troughs, which are so arranged as to convey 
 the molasses into a painted wooden or tin gutter, and 
 thence into a cistern. The dripping troughs may be simply 
 short open conductors of the same materials. 
 
 In twenty four hours after the thick syrup has been 
 passed into the crystallizing box from the cooler, the for- 
 mation of crystals of small size will generally have com- 
 menced. They may then be seen along the edges of the 
 yet liquid mass, but on the bottom of the box they will 
 be found in greatest abundance, and may be detached and 
 brought to the surface at the shallow sides of the box, by 
 means of a knife blade or the wooden scraper, which should 
 be always at hand. The last-named implement is simply 
 a long paddle of ash or hickory wood, with a stout handle 
 and thin blade. With this the fine crystals should be 
 loosened from the bottom and sides, and stirred into the 
 mass, so as to distribute them as equally as possible through 
 it, that they may act as nuclei for the formation of larger 
 crystals. Generally in twenty-four hours after this opera- 
 tion, and often in less time, the crystallization will have per- 
 vaded the entire mass. When this is found to be so, then 
 gently withdraw the stoppers and permit the molasses to 
 drain. The sugar will be dry in ten days or less thereafter. 
 It may then be shoveled into boxes or barrels, and the 
 crystallizing boxes refilled. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE (CONTINUED). 
 
 Drainage — In what it consists — Mode of Worliing — Extent to 
 wliicli the Production of the Higher Grades of Sugar may profit- 
 ably be carried in Draining Vessels — Sugar Moulds — Descrip- 
 tion of the Process of Natural Drainage and the Mode of pre- 
 paring White Sugar — Reboiling and Crystallization — Summary 
 of Conditions necessary to Success in Liquoring Sugars — Sep- 
 aration of the Molasses by Mechanical Pressure and Other 
 Means — The Centrifugal Drainer. 
 
 Natural drainage does not remove all the molasses in 
 contact with the crystals of sugar, and hence sugars pre- 
 pared by that mode are always more or less impure. Mo- 
 lasses is hygroscopic, or attracts moisture from the air ; 
 hence the sugar becomes more or less moist and "heavy." 
 The crystals are always in some degree colored, because of 
 the molasses which coats them, and fills the interstices, and 
 for the same reason they have not the pure sweet taste of 
 white sugar. 
 
 The purification of sugar is effected by simply washing 
 the crystals with a liquid that is capable of expelling or 
 taking the place of the molasses without dissolving the 
 sugar. This liquid is syrup of greater parity than that 
 which is to be expelled or washed out. It is poured over 
 the top of the mass of impure sugar contained in a vessel 
 which admits of drainage, and is carried down by the force 
 
 (115) 
 
116 PROCESS Of MANTJPAOTUEE. 
 
 of gravity through the porous mass, displacing the molasses 
 as it descends, and finally driving it out at the bottom. By 
 continuous " liquoring," the term technically applied to 
 this infiltration, the whole mass of sugar operated upon 
 may be made perfectly white and chemically pure. Bat 
 except in large and well equipped establishments itAvill be 
 found neither necessa.ry nor most profitable to carry tbe art 
 to this degree of perfection. The aim of the manufacturer 
 should be the production of a series of graded sugars, cor- 
 responding in color and quality to the successive strata 
 observed in a loaf of sugar which has been subjected to 
 the liquoring process, to the extent only of rendering the 
 upper part of it white, while the inferior portions gradu- 
 ally deepen in color from a light yellow to brown at the 
 tip. The mode of doing this is comparatively simple, and 
 is precisely the same as that now practiced oii the sugar 
 estates of Cuba and elsewhere. "Well crystallized sorghum 
 sugar requires for its purification no modification of this 
 mode. The directions given below are adapted to opera- 
 tions of any degree of magnitude, and may be followed 
 with success by any one who has grown but a patch of 
 cane, and treated it as already described. 
 
 Provide a number of iron sugar moulds that will hold 
 about 12 gallons each. Smaller moulds may be used, but 
 the after-treatment of the sugar in these vessels requires 
 more time than in those of the larger size, and the rapidity 
 of the crystallization and smalluess of the grain of sugars 
 formed in small moulds is an objection to their use. They 
 should .have received two or three coats of iron paint 
 and been thoroughly dried and hardened some time be- 
 fore being used. In place of these, cooical vessels of a 
 similar capacity of earthenware or wood may be substi- 
 tuted for experimental purposes, but for ordinary use those 
 of iron will be found the cheapest and best. For each 
 
DRAINAGE. 117 
 
 mould a pot of earthenware to contain the drippings of 
 the sugar (molasses) must be provided. These pots should 
 hold at least half as much as the moulds. 
 
 Range the moulds upon the pots in rows around the 
 walls of the crystallizing-room, and fill them in succession 
 from the cooler. The same method of producing a uni- 
 form crystallization as already described, by diffusing the 
 crystals after they have begun to form on the surface and 
 at the sides through the concentrated syrup by means of 
 a long wooden spatula, should be resorted to afterward ; 
 but this should not be done oftener than once or twice, or 
 it will defeat its intended object, and cause the production 
 of a mass of minute grains from which the molasses will 
 not readily drain. If from any cause crystallization in mi- 
 nute grains has been induced, the sugar should be kept in 
 a warm place (90° to 100° F.), and natural drainage en- 
 couraged as much as possible. When it has ceased, or 
 nearly so, melt and reheat the sugar along with a very 
 small quantity of water to the striking point, and recrystal- 
 lize under proper conditions. 
 
 When the mass in the moulds has become solid, remove 
 the plugs and allow the molasses to drain. If the drain- 
 age is sluggish, thrust a large pointed wire or brad awl 
 into the mass from below and withdraw it. This will break 
 up any incrustation which may have formed at the bottom 
 of the mould. After a period of from two to four days, 
 the greater part of the molasses will have dripped out. 
 Then the crust which has formed upon the surface of the 
 sno-ar, and a portion of the granulated mass below it to 
 the depth of about an inch, are to be scraped off by means 
 of an instrument called a "bottoming trowel," a trowel 
 with a circular blade, leaving the surface of the sugar level 
 or slightly hollowed in the center. These "green cuttings," 
 as they are termed, are put into a pan and kneaded with 
 
118 
 
 PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE. 
 
 cold water to the consistency of a thin paste, in which a 
 large part of the sugar remains undissolved. The sugar 
 in this half liqaid form is then to be replaced upon the sur- 
 face of the mass in the moulds. Immediately the liquid 
 part of the mixture, which is a saturated solution of sugar, 
 begins to penetrate the mass below, displacing the molasses, 
 and carrying it downward. At a particular point in the 
 cone, at which the force of gravity is balanced by the cap- 
 illary attraction, this downward movement will cease, and 
 the remainder of the sugar below that point will still be 
 charged with molasses. But the syrup derived from the 
 mixture of water with the "green cuttings" was not pure, 
 so that the sugar in the upper part of the mould, although 
 much improved in quality by the application, is not white. 
 To render it so, and to drive out the remainder of the mo- 
 lasses from the lower part, the process must be repeated, 
 but this time with a solution of pure sugar. This pure 
 liquor could not have been used successfully at the first, 
 because the molasses to be displaced differed from it too 
 much in density for displacement to occur. 
 
 Prepare a liquor by dissolving so much white sugar in 
 pure water, that when boiling it will mark 32° Beaume's 
 saccharometer, or 36^° Beaume at the temperature of 
 60° P. About two quarts of this liquor, cold, should now 
 be poured upon the surface of the sugar in the nioulda 
 treated as ^ove described. This liquoring should be 
 repeated two or three times at the option of the operator, 
 or according to the purity of the sugar, and at intervals 
 of from 12 to 24 hours, varying with the rapidity with 
 which the liquor penetrates the mass of sugar and disap- 
 pears from the surface. The drippings of the sugar, after 
 the second .application of the "white liquor," should not 
 be allowed to commingle with the molasses which has pre- 
 viously drained off, but be carefully collected and set apart 
 
"LIQUORING." 119 
 
 to be diluted to 18° Beaume, passed through the boneblack 
 filter, concentrated, and reerystallized. 
 
 If the concentrated syrup with which one of these sugar 
 moulds was originally filled, weighed 140 to 150 pounds, 
 70 to 80 pounds of sugar will remain, which, treated in the 
 way described, will consist almost entirely of two grades 
 of sugar, the upper portion, the base of the cone, will be 
 white, and the lower part a very light yellow, with a brown 
 tip. If a less quantity of the liquor is used than that 
 recommended, a smaller proportion of white sugar and a 
 larger proportion of yellow and brown sugar will be the 
 result. If, on the other hand, the liquor is applied until 
 the loaf is neat, or the liquor comes through of its original 
 color, the whole mass of the sugar will be white, but for 
 reasons already mentioned, it will not generally be desirable 
 to extend l^e operation so far. 
 
 After the dripping has ceased, and the sugar has been 
 turned out of the moulds, the different grades of sugar 
 should be separated by cutting up the loaf with a heavy 
 knife. The assorted pieces are then to be dried during a 
 day or two upon shelves of a room artificially heated to 
 110°-120° F., and then crushed and packed away in boxes 
 or barrels with the grade mark on each. 
 
 The syrup of drainage, or molasses, may be reconcen- 
 trated, and if but little glucose originally was contained in 
 the jnace, it will generally yield about one-third of its 
 weight in the form of crystallized sugar, but the molasses 
 will be much inferior to the first product, and drainage will 
 be more difficult. As long as the market price of syrup 
 compares as favorably with that of sugar as it does at 
 present, it will be found most profitable to crystallize but 
 once, and rework only the drippings of the last liquorings. 
 
 It should be remembered that the successive liquorings 
 are not a source of much loss in well-regulated establish- 
 
120 PEOCESS OE MANUFACTTJKE. 
 
 ments, since nearly all the sugar in the last drippings is 
 capable of being recrystallized and purified, or reworked to 
 form a new liquor of a somewhat lower grade. But there 
 is a loss, nevertheless, in the degradation of the white 
 sugar to form a liquor that unites to a greater or less ex- 
 tent with the impurities and coloring matter which it does 
 not wholly displace. This may be avoided. A white 
 liquor may be prepared from ripe juice of a known degree 
 of purity, by carefully clarifying it and passing it twice 
 through the filter, if necessary, to remove all coloring mat- 
 ter, and finally concentrating it to 32° Beaume, boiling ■ 
 hot. In whatever way prepared, a sufficient quantity 
 of the liquor should be provided beforehand, and kept in a 
 perfectly purified vessel in a cool place. 
 
 Iron moulds are to be preferred to those of wood or 
 earthenware. They are sufficiently strong, little liable to 
 injury, convenient to handle, and easily emptied by expos- 
 ing them for a few moments to a heat sufficient to liquefy 
 the crystals immediately in contact with their inner surface 
 and then inverting them. 
 
 A summary of the conditions essential to success in the 
 operation of liquoring sugar, is thus given by M. Payeu, 
 a distinguished sugar manufacturer and chemist. 
 
 " 1st. That the liquor be sufficiently charged with crys- 
 tallizable sugar to dissolve little or none in filtering. 
 
 " 2d. That the density of the liquor be nearly the same 
 or very little less than that of the displaced syrup, for if 
 too dense it will flow badly; too dilute it would escape 
 without removing the syrnp or molasses adhering to the 
 crystals. To attain this condition, the sugars used for 
 preparing the liquor must be more impure in proportion 
 as those to be liquored are so likewise ; for saturated syrups 
 are more dense and viscid when they contain uncrystalHzable 
 sugar. 
 
OTHER MODES OF DEAINING, 121 
 
 "3d. That the crystallization in the moulds be regular 
 and not too compact; and to this end, that it commence 
 and terminate in the same vessel. 
 
 "4th. That the temperature of the room in which the 
 liquori}ig is performed should not vary much, and be at 
 least 10° F."* 
 
 The practice of forcing out the molasses by mechanical 
 pressure has commonly been resorted to by sorghum man- 
 ufacturers, but the necessity of adopting this mode of 
 drainage is an evidence of an inferior crystallization, result- 
 ing from unripeness of the cane, imperfect defecation, 
 injury by heat, or other like causes. Natural drainage will 
 not take place with facility in such cases, and the choice of 
 the operator lies between the production of a dark, clammy 
 and inferior sugar by the application of the press, or the 
 melting and reboiling of the refractory mass to form syrup. 
 
 In such cases, a better quality of sugar can be made on 
 a small scale by intimately mixing with the plastic mass of 
 sugar and molasses, after pressure has been applied, a 
 small quantity of water, which dissolves the molasses and 
 coloring matter more readily than the crystals of sugar. 
 Pressure is then quickly applied a second time, and the 
 liquid part being thinner and less viscid than before, is 
 more readily driven out. The objections to this mode of 
 drying the sugar are that a single repetition of this process 
 is seldom sufficient to produce a fair sugar from a mass 
 which would not naturally drain, that in the successive 
 washings and pressings a great quantity of the sugar is 
 dissolved, and is rendered comparatively worthless by being 
 mixed with the very impure molasses from which it cannot 
 again be recovered, and that this operation involves a great 
 
 * Quoted by McCuUoh, Report, p. 290, from "Cours de Chimie Ele- 
 mentaire et I'-dustrielle, par M. Payen." 
 
 11 
 
122 PROCESS OF MANUFACTTIRE. 
 
 waste of time as well as of materials, and is very injurious 
 to the grain of the sugar. In all cases when the choice 
 must be between drainage by pressure and the reduction 
 of the sugar to the condition of syrup, the former alterna- 
 tive should generally be accepted; but I would recommend 
 that the sugar after the first pressure be washed but once, 
 with a small quantity of cold water, and then pressed a 
 second time. If it be then melted and recrystallized in the 
 proper manner, a fine quality of sugar, of large, sharp 
 grain, will be the result. This sugar will drain well either 
 in moulds or the crystallizing boxes. This plan is not 
 wasteful, for the drippings form a good quality of syrup. 
 There are other means of drainage that might be resorted 
 to more or less successfully, such as driving the molasses 
 through the crystallized mass by atmospheric pressure to- 
 ward a vacuum formed by the action of an air pump, as is 
 the practice in some refineries. But of all artificial methods 
 of drainage, by far the most rapid and thorough is that 
 which is accomplished by the use of the centrifugal mill. 
 
 This simple machine has been adopted very generally of 
 late years in sugar manufacture, both in tropical countries, 
 and in France and Germany. It is one of a number of im- 
 provements by means of which, in Cuba and Java, the 
 sugar cane is now made to yield almost twice the quantity 
 of sugar which was obtained from an equal weight of the 
 canes half a century ago. It seems to be admirably adap- 
 ted to meet the wants of the sugar manufacturer at the 
 North. Although the method by natural drainage is not 
 likely to be supplanted by any other, when it is conducted 
 under favorable circumstances — that is, when a uniform and 
 suflBciently high temperature can be maintained in the draia- 
 ing-room, and a good crystallization has been secured — it 
 is extremely convenient as well as economical for the oper- 
 ator to have at hand a machine by which obstacles to nat- 
 
CENTRIFUGAL DRAINING MACHINE. 123 
 
 Ural drainage, whenever exhibited, may be readily over- 
 come. The uneqnaled celerity with which it does its worlc 
 will enable the Northern sugar grower to achieve a result 
 which heretofore could not be secured even in working up 
 the comparatively pure sap of the maple, and which is now 
 attained only in Southern sugar countries, namely, the pro- 
 duction of perfectly dry, crystallized sugar in the evening, 
 from cane which in the morning of the same day was 
 standing in the field 1 
 
 The essential parts of the centrifugal drainer are a cyl- 
 indrical vessel or metallic drum, with a tight bottom, and 
 closed -at the top by a movable cap, the cylinder being fixed 
 in an upright position upon a frame, and within it a smaller 
 cylinder of wire gauze, or sheet metal pierced with small 
 holes, supported upon a vertical shaft, which is made to re- 
 volve at a high speed, the motive power being communi- 
 cated by a belt. 
 
 The mass of sugar to be drained mnst be warmed to 
 about blood heat, and placed within the inner cylinder, 
 which is then made to revolve. The half fluid mass becomes 
 distributed over the inner face of the cylinder, and the ve- 
 locity is rapidly increased. The sugar is retained within 
 the revolving screen, but the molasses is thrown out by cen- 
 trifugal force, and caught in the outer case, from which it 
 is conveyed away by a spout. 
 
 In the course of two or three minutes the motion may be 
 checked, and the inner cylinder may then be lifted up, the 
 dry sugar turned out of it, another charge inserted, and 
 the process resumed. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 SUGAR MILLS. 
 
 Compoaition of Sorghum Cane Juice — Extraction of the Juice — Su- 
 gar Mills — Percentage of Juice ordinarily extracted by Mills — 
 Loss froni Inefficiency of Mills — Obstacles to the complete Re- 
 moval of the Juice — To what extent they may be OTeroome — The 
 Common Three Roll Mills at the South — Mean Results of Exper- 
 iments with these Mills in Guadaloupe — British West Indies — 
 Cuba, Java, and Louisiana — Importance of further Improvements 
 — Necessity of Grinding at alow rale of Speed — How the Advan- 
 tages of the Process of Maceration may be successfully combined 
 with those derived from the use of the Mill — Mills with Four 
 Rolls provided with a Pipe for the Injection of Jets of Steam into 
 the Begassa — Value of these Improvements. 
 
 If a ripe stalk of Chinese cane, the juice of which clar- 
 ified is of the density of 9° Beaume, be thoroughly dried 
 by artificial means, in air the temperature of which does 
 not exceed 212 Far. (100° Cent.) it will be reduced to 
 about 27 percent, of its original weight, the remainder — "73 
 per cent., or nearly three-fourths, being water which has 
 passed off by evaporation. In the dried stem there is left 
 the saccharine matter constituting about 145 per cent, of 
 its original weight, and 12-5 percent, of woody fiber-starch, 
 albumen, salts, etc. 
 
 The fresh, undried stalk, therefore, contained 87 5 per 
 cent, of its weight of saccharine juice. 
 
 The "ordinary crushing mills extract but 50 to 60 percent. 
 ri24) 
 
LOSS FROM INEFFICIENCY OF MILLS. 125 
 
 of tbe whole weight of the stalk ; most of the lighter class 
 of mills do not average more than 50 per cent. A perfect 
 machine would produce 87"5 pounds of juice from each 100 
 pounds of stalk. If in practice but 50 pounds are ob- 
 tained, 37 '5 pounds, or more than 43 per cent, of the whole 
 amount of juice originally contained in the stalk, is still 
 retained in the trash. 
 
 We have thus revealed the astonishing fact that about 
 three-sevenths of the whole product is utterly wasted at the 
 outset, in consequence of the imperfect means ordinarily 
 used in extracting the juice. Such a loss is enough to ship- 
 wreck any industrial pursuit of common magnitude, and it 
 is a proof of the importance which sugar growirsg at the 
 North is destined to assume, and of the firmness of the basis 
 upon which it rests, that it has proved highly profitable 
 under such circumstances. 
 
 Land which has heretofore yielded the very moderate 
 amount of 140 gallons of crude syrup per acre, worth in 
 that condition 60 cents per gallon, or $84, would yield if 
 the means of extracting the juice were perfect, 200 gallons 
 per acre, worth $120; and land which, with better cultiva- 
 tion, has ordinarily yielded 200 gallons per acre, would 
 yield 350 gallons. 
 
 These facts demand more attention from planters than 
 they have hitherto received. Here, in the case last men- 
 tioned, is a loss of 150 gallons of syrup per acre, the greater 
 part of which is recklessly, and in many cases, ignorantly 
 incurred. 
 
 It is true that a part of this waste is inevitable. In the 
 manufacture of sugar from the Southern cane, in which the 
 most highly improved and powerful crushing mills have 
 been used, the loss from this source is still very great, and 
 in many cases much greater than need be, on account of 
 slovenly practice, yet it is still far less than is commonly 
 
 11* 
 
126 SUaAR MILLS. 
 
 incurred at the North in the sorghum manufacture. Sor- 
 ghum and the Southern cane are composed of about the 
 same relative proportions of juice and woody fiber; and 
 although the obstacles to the complete removal of the juice 
 are greater in the case of the latter, on account of the joints 
 being more numerous, and the stem generally of closer and 
 more unyielding texture, yet they are the same in kind, 
 and we may adopt here without hesitancy suggestions, 
 which in this instance, experience with cane mills at the 
 South has dictated, and proved to be valuable. 
 
 The importance of improving to the highest possible 
 degree the machinery for extracting the juice, forced itself 
 upon the attention of the planters as soon as the composi- 
 tion of the cane became accuratelyvknown. Within the last 
 half century nothing has been omitted in the constrL'.ction 
 of mills of the common form with three rolls, that ijTould 
 in any degree add to their power and efBcieney. The re- 
 sults arrived at by careful trial in a great number of in- 
 stances, with these mills in different countries, have beea 
 pretty uniform. Some of the most valuable^and trust- 
 worthy statements, selected from different sources, are given 
 below. 
 
 In the Island of Guadaloupe the results of 44 trials per- 
 formed with IT water mills, 15 wind mills, 1 mills with hor- 
 izontal cylinders, and 5 steam mills, was 
 
 61-8 per cent, of juice by hydraulic mills. 
 
 61-2 " " " those with horizontal rolls. 
 
 " steam mills. 
 
 " water and wind mills. 
 
 " mills with vertical cylinders. 
 
 " mills of animal power. 
 
 " wind mills which are still employed 
 
 to some extent in Guadaloupe. 
 
 59-3 per cent, maybe assumed as the yield furnished by 
 
 60-9 
 59-3 
 59-2 
 58-2 
 56-4 
 
EXPERIMENTS IN LOUISIANA. 12T 
 
 the kind of mills which are the most nnmerons. The loss 
 amounts to about one-third of the whole quantity of juice 
 contained in the cane.* 
 
 In the British West Indies, the loss by reason of the in- 
 efficiency of mills, is stated to be at least one-third of the 
 juice. "Of the 90 per cent, of sweet juice which the cane 
 contains, only 50 to 60 per cent, are usually expressed. "f 
 In Cuba and Java the yield was no greater, previous to the 
 introduction of certain recent improvements. 
 
 In Louisiana, "experiments made upon the plantation of 
 Mr. Y. B. Marmillion, 25th November, 1842, with a first- 
 rate horizontal mill, moved by a steam engine of 16-horse 
 power,"! gave the following results: 
 
 Juice. Density of Juice. 
 
 "Variety. Expressed. Begaasa. (Beaume.) 
 
 Ribbon Cane 63-1 36 9 8-25° 
 
 Violet Cane 63-0 370 8-5° 
 
 Gray Cane 64-0 36-0 7-75° 
 
 Otaheiie Cane 65-8 34-2 8-5 
 
 Creole Cane 67-8 32-3 9-0 
 
 M. Avequin, who makes the foregoing statement, adds : 
 "I could mention other experiments made for the same 
 purpose in other mills, which experiments have clearly de- 
 monstrated that a large number of planters in Louisiana 
 obtain from 63 to 64 per cent, of juice." 
 
 The following is an extract from an article written by J. 
 P. Benjamin, Esq., of Louisiana, and published in De Bow's 
 Review for January, 1848 :§ 
 
 " I have taken some pains to ascertain during the present 
 season the yield of juice from our mills of ordinary con- 
 
 » Peligot, Eeport, etc. Paris, 1842. 
 
 I Johnston, Chemistry of Common Life, vol. i. p. 209. Appleton, N. T. 
 
 J De Bow's Review, vol. vL, No. 1, p. 31. 
 
 J MoCulIoh's Report, p. 607-8. 
 
128 SUGAR MILLS. 
 
 BtrQCtion. I found the yield from the three-roller mills of 
 average size and van at a speed of S^ revolutions per 
 minute, to be 61 per cent. ; whilst from another of very- 
 large size, of which the rollers were 5^ feet in length, and 
 28 inches in diameter, and which was run at a speed of 
 only 2^ revolutions per minute, the yield was 66 per cent., 
 the begassa being delivered from the latter almost pulver- 
 ized and apparently dry. These results are undoubtedly 
 much more satisfactory than would have been afforded some 
 years ago ; still, they show that after all the care bestowed 
 in raising our crops, from one-fourth to one-third of our 
 produce is absolutely lost. And if we take what I believe 
 to be a fair average of the yield of juice in sugars, that is, 
 if we assume that one-tenth of the weight of the juice is 
 the product in crystallized sugar, we find that we obtain 
 only 6|- per cent, of the weight of the cane in sugar, whereas 
 chemical analysis shows that it contains 18 per cent.'' 
 
 Is there then no means by which the yield of juice may 
 be increased ? Mr. Benjamin's experiment indicates a de- 
 cided increase by diminishing the speed of the rolls. On 
 this subject Prof. R. S. McCulloh makes the following val- 
 uable observations,* which are as applicable to sorghum 
 manufacturers at the North, as to those for whose benefit 
 they were originally intended : 
 
 "During the grinding season, when the chief object of 
 many seems to be rather to hurry through with the crop as 
 rapidly as possible than to obtain the largest quantity of 
 sugar of good quality, the grinding of the cane is often 
 performed in a very improper and ineffectual manner. * * 
 * * * _A. general spirit of haste and hurry pervades 
 the whole force of the plantation, and in consequence much 
 is done without system. In grinding, to obtain the proper 
 
 * MoCuUoh's Report, p. 204. 
 
HOW TO INCREASE THE YIELD OF JUICE. 129 
 
 yield, the most perfect system should be strictly observed. 
 The mill should not only be regulated to a uniform speed, 
 but should be of sufficient power to work off the entire 
 crop without requiring the speed to exceed the rate which 
 will permit the juice to flow off readily before the begassa 
 is liberated from the mill, so that this begassa may not in 
 expanding act as a sponge, to absorb a large proportion of 
 the expressed juice. The importance of grinding at a low 
 speed is rendered evident by the following mean results of 
 numerous experiments made by the Marquis de St. Croix, 
 a very intelligent planter of the Island of Martinique, and 
 which I extract from a work* he has written on the manu- 
 facture of sugar. 
 
 " With the same mill, and its rollers set in the same way, 
 the juice obtained constituted 45 per cent, of the weight of 
 the canes ground when the rollers made six revolutions in 
 a minute, and TO per cent, when the velocity was only two 
 and a half revolutions per minute; a difference of 25 per 
 cent. 
 
 "As the surface developed is for an equal number of rev- 
 olutions proportional to the diameters of the rollers, M. 
 de St. Croix asserts that a good result will be obtained by 
 rollers which develop a surface of four or five yards in 
 length per minute, so that a roller of two feet diameter 
 should make from two to two and a half revolutions per 
 minute. 
 
 "And if it be objected that this velocity is insufficient 
 to express the requisite amount of juice in a given time, 
 then the length of the rollers should be increased, and, if 
 necessary, also the power of the engine. It is the quantity 
 of juice required per hour, under circumstances the most 
 favorable for perfect extraction thereof, which should deter- 
 mine the power of the engine to be employed." 
 
 * Fabiioation Aotuelle de Suore aux Colonies. Paris, 1843. 
 
130 SUGAR MILLS. 
 
 It has been proved that by the process of maceration, 
 the saccharine matter may be extracted almost entirely 
 from the canes. This process consists in cutting the canes 
 into thin transverse slices, placing them in a succession of 
 boxes with perforated bottoms, one over the other, and 
 pouring into the highest of the series hot water, which as 
 it descends gradually through each removes the greater 
 part of the sugar. But this mode of working is tedious, 
 the hard coating of the canes soon blunts the edges of the 
 circular knives used in slicing, and the cost of evaporation 
 is much increased. Although impracticable for these rea- 
 sons, it is suggestive of an improvement in the ordinary 
 mode of expression, which has already been put in practice 
 in some sugar countries with very gratifying results. One 
 mode which suggests itself is to steep the begassa in hot 
 water, and press a second time. This Is liable, however, to 
 several weighty objections, such as the additional labor and 
 time to be expended in rehandling the crushed cane, and in 
 passing it a second time through the mill, the liability of 
 the very dilute saccharine solution to fermentation and the 
 greatly increased cost of evaporation. 
 
 The efficiency of the mill may be increased by increasing 
 the number of the rollers. When mills with five rollers 
 were used, arranged three below and two above, a yield of 
 '10 per cent, of juice was the result, but the very consider- 
 able increase of motive power required, prevented them 
 from coming into general use. But mills with four rolls, 
 placed in pairs one directly above the other, with little if 
 any increase of motive power above that which is required 
 for an ordinary three-roller mill, produce TO to 75 per cent, 
 of juice at one operation. Such mills have been used in 
 Louisiana, yielding the very best results. 
 
 If to a mill of this form be added the improvement 
 originally proposed by M. Payen^ the distinguished sugar 
 
IMPROVEMENTS SUGGESTED. 131 
 
 manufacturer and chemist, which is certainly practicable 
 and valuable, it would, I think, leave nothing to be desired 
 in the crushing apparatus. This improvement consists in 
 introducing between the feed and discharge rolls of the 
 mill, or above them, " a pipe placed longitudinally, pierced 
 with numerous small orifices to permit jets of steam to issue, 
 which would be absorbed by the begassa, and acting by dis- 
 placement, allow the juice to be expressed, which is firmly 
 held by capillary forces in the spongy tissue of the begassa ; 
 the steam pipe being supplied from the boiler of the engine, 
 and the mill inclosed in a case of sheet-iron to prevent loss 
 of steam." 
 
 The softer texture of sorghum cane warrants the state- 
 ment that at least '15 per cent, of the weight of the stalk 
 could be extracted by such means, without loss of time or 
 any considerable increase of expense. 
 
 It cannot be doubted that a mill so constructed, and pos- 
 sessed of such advantages, would, if brought into general 
 use, add one-fourth to the annual production of sorghum in 
 the United States. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CHEMICAL ACTION OP SUBSTANCES USED IN DEFECATION. 
 
 Chemical Influence of Lime upon Sorghum Juice — Defecation by 
 Tannic Acid and Albumen — Upon what the Peculiar Action of 
 these Substances, so combined, depends — Conditions favorable 
 to the Use of this Method — Another Method of Defecation — The 
 Action of the Chemical Compound used — The Composition de- 
 scribed and the Advantages to be derived from its Use. 
 
 Pure quick-lime may be used preferably to soda, potash, 
 or other bases, not only to saturate the free acid in sorghum 
 juice, but, in this process, its employment in the mode al- 
 ready prescribed is indispensable for other purposes, no 
 less important. Its action may be briefly stated as follows : 
 
 1st. It destroys acidity. Fresh sorghum juice always 
 contains a variable proportion of free acid or acidulous 
 salts, which should always first be saturated or neutralized : 
 the deleterious effects of this acid are : 1. It communicates 
 its peculiar harsh taste, resembling that of unripe fruit, to 
 the syrup. 2. It prevents the separation by heat of the 
 albumen, another substance dissolved in the juice most 
 inimical to the constitution of the sugar, and a most effi- 
 cient promoter of subsequent fermentation in the syrup. 
 The albumen is held in solution in hot syrup by the acid, 
 but lime, by neutralizing the acid, causes It to coagulate, 
 and it rises and is removed with the scum. 3. This acid 
 has a peculiarly unfavorable influence upon the crys- 
 tallization of the sugar (indepeudent of its effect in pre- 
 (132) 
 
CHEMICAL ACTION OF LIME. 133 
 
 4 
 
 venting the coagulation of the albuminous matter) in caus- 
 ing the crystals to be small, ill defined, and difficult of 
 drainage, and although it is not certain that it causes di- 
 rectly the conversion of cane into uncrystallizable sugar 
 during evaporation, as some have supposed, it is other- 
 wise sufficiently obnoxious, and lime, by saturating it, rea- 
 ders it comparatively harmless. . 
 
 2d. Lime in excess converts grape sugar in cane juice 
 into glucic acid, glucate of lime, and finally molassate of 
 lime, a peculiar dark-colored soluble substance, uncrystalli- 
 zable, and without sweetness. In making sugar, this trans- 
 formation is not- to be dreaded, inasmuch as the molassate 
 of lime in solution is much more liquid than the dissolved 
 grape sugar from which it was formed, and facilitates 
 drainage by rendering the molasses less viscid than a solu- 
 tion of grape sugar. 
 
 3d. Upon cane sugar the action of an excess of lime is 
 much less energetic. Four parts of sugar by weight unite 
 with one of lime, forming sugar lime, orsaccharate of lime, 
 a soluble substance, which becomes coagulable by heat and 
 passes into the scum. But unless the excess of lime used 
 be very great, the quantity of sugar lime formed will be 
 very small, and in a heated solution containing both cane 
 and grape sugar, the lime does not attack both, but decom- 
 poses the grape sugar, leaving the cane sugar uninjured. 
 
 4th. During evaporation, the decomposition of a small 
 quantity of neutral salts of ammonia and potash present in 
 the juice is effected by lime, which has a stronger affinity 
 for the acids than those bases, the ammonia being given off 
 in the steam, and the potash remaining in the solution. 
 The potash, if in considerable quantity, would have a tend- 
 ency to render the sugar deliquescent, but as the propor- 
 tion of potash thus liberated is very small, the influence 
 which it exerts is inappreciable, or reduced to nothing, if, as 
 12 
 
134 CHEMICAL AGENTS IN DEFECATION. 
 
 Scoflfern asserts, it assists in the conversion of a portion of 
 grape sugar into glucate and molassate of potash, which, 
 like the product of the decomposition of grape sugar by 
 lime, is to be preferred to a solution of grape sugar itself, 
 being less viscid. The decomposition of organized sub. 
 stances containing nitrogen also, is inferred to take place 
 during the evaporation. 
 
 After complete neutralization of tlie acid by the use of 
 lime, the juice must be defecated or deprived of a number 
 of substances which, if allowed to remain, would totally 
 prevent the crystallization of the sugar, besides being pro- 
 ductive of other injurious effects. I here recommend two 
 methods for common use, giving the preference to that first 
 mentioned only when its employment is indicated by certain 
 favorable conditions described in Ch. XXX. It effects the 
 separation of a very large amount of impurities, and particu- 
 larly those which are the chief obstacles to crystallization. 
 
 DEFECATION BY TANNIC ACID AND ALBUMEN. 
 
 The peculiar advantage derived from the use of these 
 substances consists in the removal of all glutinous, albu- 
 minous, mucous, or gummy substances, together with all 
 feculancies and other matters mechanically suspended in the 
 juice, at the same instant, after heat has been applied, and 
 they are firmly incorporated with the scum, which is not 
 again permitted to remain in contact with the clarified 
 juice. In the method of Wray, described in a subsequent 
 page, one of these agents, tannic acid, is used ; but in that 
 case it is necessary to add a second dose of lime ; the tannic 
 compounds are suspended in the liquid, and are separable 
 only by repeated filtrations, and much time is lost and much 
 trouble incurred before the juice can be prepared for evap- 
 oration. Besides, the clarification is by no means as per- 
 
SECOND MODE OF DEFECATION. 135 
 
 feet as when albumen is employed. Defecation is accom- 
 plished by albumeu and tanuin without loss of time. Each 
 of these agents possesses in a pre-eminent degree those 
 qualities in which the other is deficient. The tannic acid 
 unites with and renders insoluble all that most pernicious 
 class of substances, gluten, mucilage, etc., upon which albu- 
 men has no chemical action, and the albumen employed in 
 sufficient quantity not only envelops and carries to the sur- 
 face, when coagulated, all feculancies and mechanical impu- 
 rities in the liquid, but also all the suspended compounds of 
 tannin, which by other means are so difficult to separate, 
 and forms an insoluble compound separable in the same 
 manner, with any excess of tannin which would otherwise 
 remain dissolved. 
 
 DEFECATION BY ALBUMEN, ALUiNUNA, AND TANNIN. 
 
 This mode consists in the addition, to the cold juice, of 
 alumina, united with a definite proportion of albumen and 
 tannin. The tannin as well as the albumen dissolve 
 readily in the juice, which should previously have been 
 carefully neutralized. A preparation composed of a com- 
 bination of these substances in the dry state, in the proper 
 proportions, is most convenient. Its peculiar action upon 
 the juice immediately follows upon the application of heat. 
 A reaction takes place, and a new group of substances 
 is instantly formed, all of which, upon the application of 
 heat to the liquid, become insoluble. The alumina has a 
 most powerful attraction for coloring matters, which it 
 takes up and unites to itself in the insoluble form. Its 
 use as a decolorizer has long been known. Formed from 
 alum, its use as a mordant, in fixing colors, is as old as the 
 art of dyeing, and it has been applied to a very limited 
 extent also as a defecator in sugar manufacture from the 
 
136 CHEMICAL AGENTS IN DEFECATION. 
 
 cane of the tropics. But its employment on the planta- 
 tions was attended with difiSculty, inasmuch as it was 
 deemed necessary to heat the juice to the boiling point in 
 a deep tank, and then to allow it a long period of rest be- 
 fore the precipitation of the alumina and the impurities 
 with which it was combined could fully take place. The 
 loss of time in the heating of the juice, and in the slow 
 precipitation, together with the difficulty of separating 
 from the bulky sediment the portion of juice in immediate 
 contact with it by any means that could conveniently be 
 applied, were obstacles which were generally thought to 
 outweigh the advantages derived from its use. 
 
 While alumina is one of the most energetic decolor- 
 izers known, not excepting even animal charcoal, it does 
 not remove from caue juice by ordinary precipitation some 
 impurities of another kind. These are feculancies very 
 abundant in sorghum juice for which the alumina possesses 
 little or no attraction — and which do not naturally separate 
 by heat — glutinous and gummy matter are also present in 
 considerable quantities. And if these are permitted to 
 remain until the syrup becomes more dense by evaporation, 
 they cannot afterward be entirely separated, and they im- 
 pair the quality of the syrup not only by reason of the 
 viscidity which they impart to it, and by the destruction 
 of a portion of tiie sugar through the chemical changes 
 which they produce when assisted by heat, but also by the 
 precipitation upon the bottom of the pans of a peculiar 
 gummy sediment which, adhering to them, forms, with earthy 
 matters, the hard scale so common where the defecation 
 has been imperfect. This differs from ordinary lime scale 
 not only in its composition, but also in its liability to burn 
 at once upon the bottom of the pan. 
 
 For the removal of this class of impurities, at this stage 
 of the evaportion, no means that I have employed can be 
 
ADVANTAGES OP THIS MODE. 131 
 
 compared to albumen, assisted by a very small but definite pro- 
 portion of tannic acid. Albumen, in small quantity, is always 
 present in sorghum juice, and by its coagulability at a tem- 
 perature below the boiling point it assists considerably in 
 its clarification, and is suggestive of the effects which it is 
 capable of producing when added in sufficient quantity. 
 But the quantity naturally incorporated with the other 
 impurities above mentioned is too small to effect the re- 
 moval of but a part of them, and this effect even is produced 
 only when the juice has been previously neutralized, for it 
 is not coagulable in juice containing an excess of acid. 
 
 If we compare the results of defecation by means of 
 alumina, albumen, and tannin separately, we find that each 
 has a peculiar attraction for certain substances, and that 
 neither used singly nor in any way combined in pairs, are 
 they capable of accomplishing the work of the three com- 
 bined in the proper proportions. They unite together, 
 and with the substances that they are designed to remove 
 from the juice, in the insoluble form, and all are carried 
 away. Separately they would act in a different way. The 
 alumina being an earthy substance, when used alone, carries 
 down the coloring matters with which it unites and de- 
 posits them as a sediment in a liquid at rest. The tannic 
 and albuminous compounds, on the contrary, rise to the 
 surface of the heated juice. Yet I find that when suitably 
 combined, all three and the associated impurities rise to 
 the surface — the superior buoyancy of the albumen, especi- 
 ally, overcoming the tendency of the alumina to sink and 
 bringing It up along with it. Each minute particle of the 
 alumina is a center of attraction for the coloring matter 
 in the fluid around it, which it seizes upon and forcibly 
 retains. When the juice is admitted into the evaporating 
 pan, the tannin and albumen are dissolved, and the alumina 
 is suspended in the liquid. The juice becomes almost im- 
 
 12* 
 
138 CHEMICAL AGENTS IN DEFECATION. 
 
 mediately heated to the boiling point, and then the albumen 
 and the tannin become visible in the compounds which they 
 form — the former weaving through the liquid mass myriads 
 of gossamer-like filaments, enveloping all the suspended 
 substances in its folds, in which, as in a drag net, It sweeps 
 them up to the surface, and immediately in the form of 
 scum they are carried oyer into the receptacles provided at 
 the end and sides of the pan — the juice, meanwhile, trans- 
 parent as glass, being borne onward in the opposite direc- 
 tion. Thus, at the same instant the natural impurities and 
 all the associated defecating substances that, a moment 
 before, were commingled in the juice, are separated from it 
 in the insoluble form. 
 
 This componnd seems to conform to all the conditions 
 required of a defecator of the juice of sorghum. It may 
 be afforded at a low cost — it is entirely free from any prop- 
 erties injurious to health if by accident, or mismanagement, 
 any of it should remain in the syrup. — and it is especially 
 adapted to a system of rapid heating in a shallow pan, so 
 constructed as to remove the scum from all subsequent 
 contact with the syrup, as fast as formed, by a superficial 
 current flowing in a direction opposite to that taken by the 
 clarified jaice. It thus, with far better results, renders 
 entirely needless any precipitating tanks, and the loss of 
 time and labor attendant upon their use.* 
 
 Pure neutral sulphate of alumina, followed by lime, may 
 be used to decolorize the juice, with advantage, but time 
 must be given for the precipitate to settle, which it does 
 very slowly, — and in point of general efficiency it is very 
 
 ^' In order to supply this substance to those "who may need it, of the 
 requisite purity, and accurately compounded, arrangements have been 
 made for its manufacture, at a price which will place it within common 
 roach. 
 
SULPHATE OF ALUMINA. 139 
 
 far inferior to the defecating compound above mentioned. 
 Alum has been used in the beet sugar manufacture, and 
 has sometimes been highly commended, but its employ- 
 ment should be entirely discarded. It leaves in the juice 
 a solution of sulphate of potash, a salt which, in addition 
 to imparting a bitter and offensive taste, also gives the 
 property of deliquescence to the sugar. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 ANIMAL CARBON, OR BONEBLACK. 
 
 Filtration — Animal Charcoal or Boneblack — Mode of preparing 
 it, and the Condition in which it is employed in this Process — 
 Properties of the Charcoal in this form — Mode of using it — Its 
 Action — Use in removing the Extractive Matter and Harsh 
 Flavor — Decolorizes — Promotes Crystallization — Removes any 
 Excess of Lime, Tannin, etc., etc. — Separfites all Soluble Sub- 
 stances mechanically suspended in the Liquid — Mode of 
 restoring the Powers of the Charcoal when exh.austed — Dif- 
 ferent Modes of Reburning — New Method of Revivification — 
 Substitutes for it in Filtration. 
 
 After defecation by the means indicated in tlie foregoing 
 chapter, the cane juice is beautifully clear, and apparently 
 free from all impurities. It is not entirely pure, however, 
 for there still remains a little of a harsh vegetable flavor 
 due to extractive matter, which is separable neither by the 
 process of defecation, nor by the action of heat. The 
 entire removal of this is the primary object sought in the 
 peculiar filtration to which the syrup is now to be subjected. 
 This done, it is evident that a syrup so prepared is a 
 refined syrup of the first quality. It should be even supe- 
 rior to the best refined syrups of the market, because a 
 long and tedious series of operations, including dilutiou 
 with water, clarification, filtration and reboiling, as prac- 
 ticed by the refiner upon the crude article, is not only made 
 unnecessary, but also the waste, and the injurious effects 
 resulting thereby to both syrup and sugar, are avoided. 
 (140) 
 
ACTION OP FILTERING MATERIAL. 141 
 
 The filter used in this proces differs from the boneblacls; 
 filters of the ordinary form in its shallowness, the compara- 
 tively small quantity of the charcoal used, the fineness of 
 division of its particles, and in some of its chemical 
 properties. 
 
 Ordinary boneblack, as used by the sugar refiners, is 
 prepared by subjecting clean beef-bones in iron retorts, or 
 covered pots in a furnace, to a red heat for some hours. 
 An imperfect combustion of the bones takes place, access 
 of air is prevented, all volatile substances which are pro- 
 duced are driven off, and a dull black substance remains 
 behind retaining the original form of the bones, consisting 
 of phosphate of lime associated with a little carbonate of 
 lime, sulphuret or oxide of iron, andsilicatedcarburet of iron 
 90 parts, carbon ] parts. The charred bones are excluded 
 from the air until cool, and then are broken up in a mill 
 into small fragments, averaging 01 to 0'3 of an inch in 
 diameter, and the finer particles are sifted out. This 
 charcoal is exceedingly porous, and its superior decolor- 
 izing power, as well as its chemical action, seems to depend 
 upon the very great extent of surface presented by the 
 carbon to the liquid with which it comes in contact. For 
 the same reason the more finely divided its particles are 
 the more effective it becomes. It is far more energetic in 
 its action than most other forms of charcoal, besides pos- 
 sessing other properties peculiar to itself. All these prop- 
 erties, however, may be variously modified, by the mode 
 in which it is prepared, and its particular form, to suit 
 certain ends. 
 
 The action of the filtering material used in this process 
 embraces the following particulars: 
 
 1. It removes the extractive matter which imparts to 
 sorghum syrup its peculiar harsh flavor, and which resists 
 the action of heat and all other means that have been used 
 to effect its separation. 
 
142 ANIMAL CARBON, OR BONEBLACK. 
 
 2. It decolorizes. Althougli this, as has already been 
 said, is not a primary object, the color of the previously 
 clarified syrup being very fine, it is still further improved, 
 and the syrup acquires a glassy brightness and purity of 
 color not otherwise attainable. 
 
 3. It promotes crystallization in a high degree, and 
 increases the quantity and improves the quality of the 
 sugar. The ordinary boneblack is said to increase the 
 crystallizing property of the juice of the tropical cane in 
 a remarlsable degree, in some instances 18 to 20 per cent. 
 Upon the juice of sorghum its influence, in this respect, is 
 very decided. 
 
 4. It removes any small excess of lime which may have 
 been added in saturating the free acid in the juice. This 
 property of boneblack is practically of much value. To 
 insure a perfect neutralization of the acid, and the conse- 
 quent coagulation of the albumen, the" juice should be 
 made to exhibit a faint alkaline reaction — or, in other 
 words, a slight excess of lime should have been added. 
 This the filter vrholly removes. So also it removes any 
 excess of tannin or alumina that may inadvertently have 
 been introduced. 
 
 5. Independent of the above-mentioned properties, it 
 acts as a strainer of the most effective kind for arresting 
 any insoluble substances mechanically suspended in the 
 liquid, such as compounds of lime and fine particles of 
 sand, more or less of vfhich are found in all unrefined 
 syrups. 
 
 As the intensity of the action of the carbon may be 
 modified indefinitely according to the state of division to 
 which it is reduced, the density and temperature of the 
 syrup, and the nature and quantity of the impurities which 
 the syrup contains, the boneblack must conform, when used 
 as above, to a certain standard in quality and properties, 
 and it must be used in the manner already described. 
 
HOW BONEBLACK IS MADE. 143 
 
 The boneblack should be reduced to fragments of con- 
 siderably less than half the size of those of refiner's bone- 
 black, varying between 005 and O'l of an inch. The 
 depth of the stratum in the filter drawer need not exceed 
 6 to 8 inches; the density of the syrup should not exceed 
 15° to 18° Beaume's saccharometer,aiid it should always be 
 passed through hot. The rapidity and perfection of the 
 filtration is secured by the position of the filter immediately- 
 over a boiling bed of syrup, where it is enveloped in an 
 atmosphere of steam, by which contact with currents of 
 cold air is prevented, and it is kept continually at a uniform 
 degree of heat, receiving the boiling syrup from the pan 
 above. 
 
 This system of refining simultaneously with the evapora- 
 tion is advantageous in several important particulars. It 
 saves time; the syrup is passed directly from one compart- 
 ment of the evaporator to the other through the filter. It 
 effects more easily the separation of the imparities than if 
 they had been suffered to remain and form new compounds 
 at higher temperatures. The sugar also is then more 
 readily crystallizable, is of better quality, and may be pro- 
 duced in larger quantity than after reboiling at any subse- 
 quent time. 
 
 The bone-charcoal should be prepared from large and 
 solid beef-bones, carefully burned, according to the usual 
 method, as already described. It should be neither of an 
 ashy-gray color, nor lustrous black as if glazed, but of a 
 deep dull black, and destitute of both odor and taste. 
 When it has been exposed to too high a heat, it becomes 
 glossy and is partially fused, and when allowed too free 
 access to the air while burning, or while being cooled, 
 much of the carbon is consumed, and in either case it is com- 
 paratively inefficient. When not exposed to the proper heat, 
 for a sufficient length of time, a part of the substance of the 
 
144 ANIMAL CARBON, OR BONEBLACK. 
 
 boDes is not charred at all, and it proves ruinous to the 
 syrup by communicating to it the peculiarly oifeusive flavor 
 and odor of the animal oil and empyreumatic matter, 
 vphich has not been driven off. This flavor and odor cannot 
 be afterward removed from the syrup by any means known. 
 lu burning boneblack a low red heat, prolonged for about six 
 hours, in the ordinary covered iron pots, is productive of 
 the best results, and no difficulty whatever need be appre- 
 hended when the covers of the pots are luted with clay, or 
 when pairs of pots are used fitting closely together, mouth 
 to mouth, or when the bones are calcined in retorts. 
 
 The powers of the boneblack become exhausted by use, 
 and as has been mentioned, it is necessary to replenish the 
 filter daily. But little loss of the material is thus incurred, 
 however, for its energy may be restored by reburniiig, and 
 this process of successive exhaustion and revivification may 
 be repeated indefinitely, if the very fine particles or dust, 
 amounting to but a small percentage of the whole mass, be 
 sifted out each time after reburning, and enough of fresh 
 carbon be added to supply its place. In order that its 
 action may not be impaired, the boneblack should always 
 be washed free from sugar before reburning it. (See Ch. 
 XVI.) 
 
 The revivification of the carbon is accomplished econom- 
 ically on the large scale in different ways. It may be ex- 
 posed to a red heat in cast-iron retorts of a conical shape, 
 placed vertically over openings in a bed-plate in a furnace. 
 Through these openings the boneblack is discharged, when 
 red hot, by drawing a slide, and through similar apertures 
 in the tops of the retorts, they are refilled. Or it may be 
 placed in a cylinder, and steam, heated to '700° or 750° P., 
 driven through it. It may also be reburnt in the iron pots 
 above mentioned, with success. Large retorts are some- 
 times made of fire-bricks, of the shape of a square hollow 
 
HOW TO REVIVIFY BONEBLAOK. 145 
 
 pillar, or right rectangular prism, closed at the top by a 
 movable iron plate, and below by a double trap door, open- 
 ing downward. Surrounding this retort is a furnace of 
 brick work, of the same height as the retort, but wider 
 below than above. (Pereira.) 
 
 The revivification of the boneblack used in this process 
 may perhaps most readily be accomplished by inclosing it 
 in a cast-iron cylinder, placed horizontally in the floor of 
 the evaporator furnace itself, jast beyond the grate bars. 
 The cylinder may be revolved, so as to expose its contents 
 equally to the heat, by means of projections at its ends, 
 outside of the furnace walls, where also there are openings 
 through which to fill and empty the retort. 
 
 A method of restoring, or even of augmenting (as is 
 asserted), the powers of animal charcoal has recently been 
 discovered by Mr. Edward Beanes, of England, who intro- 
 duced some improvements in sugar manufacture in the 
 Island of Cuba. It consists* in treating the exhausted 
 charcoal, when dry and hot, with dry hydrochloric acid 
 gas, which it absorbs with astonishing avidity. Another 
 portion of charcoal is then added to that which has received 
 the acid gas, the combined gas remaining in the pores of 
 the latter is taken up by the former, and the whole becomes 
 neutral : chloride of calcium is formed, which is easily 
 washed out, and the charcoal is then reburned in the usual 
 way. The advantages of this method are said to consist 
 chiefly in the removal of any lime that the charcoal may 
 have taken up without attacking the phosphate, and in 
 augmenting the decolorizing powers of the coal more than 
 100 per cent. The efficiency of this means has not yet 
 been tested in this country. 
 
 Freshly burned charcoal should be carefully excluded 
 
 • Medlock, in London Chem. News — Soi. Amerioan, vol. xiii. p. 224. 
 13 
 
146 ANIMAL CAKBON, OR BOJTEBLAOK. 
 
 from the air until it has cooled, or it may be quenched 
 while hot by sprinkling it with water, taking care to add 
 no more than is necessary for that purpose. 
 
 Thorough defecation, according to the method already 
 prescribed, is a valuable auxiliary to the action of this filter, 
 and these operations may be regarded as inseparable and 
 indispensable in this process. 
 
 Although many other forms of carbon might be proposed 
 as substitutes for this preparation of boneblack, none of 
 them have been found at all equal to it. for attaining the 
 desired results 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE ACTION OP HEAT. 
 
 The Influence of Heat upon Caiiie Juice — Imperfect convection of 
 Heat in deep masses of Syrup — How Heat is economized by this 
 Method, and its Intensity regulated,, according to the Effect re- 
 quired at each Stage of the Braporation — The Tilt Pan — Injuri- 
 ous Effects of a Low but Prolonged Heat — Soubeiran's Experi- 
 ments — Open-air boiling indispensable up to a certain point of 
 Concentration — Payen's Experience — Evaporation by a Water- 
 Bath or by Steam at 212° F. — Why injurious — Advantages de- 
 rived from the use of a Vacuum Finishing Pan — Why it cannot 
 come into general use. 
 
 The application of heat to cane juice until its tempera- 
 ture rises to the boiling point, is capable, unassisted by 
 other agents, of effecting an imperfect clarification. This 
 it does chiefly by effecting the coagulation of that portion 
 of the albumen of the juice not held in solution by the acid, 
 and by the separation along with this albumen of a great 
 part of the leaf green (chlorophyll) and other substances 
 mechanically suspended in the liquid. 
 
 During the subsequent evaporation the temperature con- 
 stantly rises, and when it reaches a certain point the heat 
 causes the decomposition of some of the nitrogenous impu- 
 rities not before separated. This action of the heat, how- 
 ever, may be very much assisted by the chemical action of 
 lime. At a much higher temperature the sugar itself is 
 decomposed (burnt), and the application of a very strong 
 
 (147) 
 
148 THE ACTION OF HEAT. 
 
 heat at the closing stage of the evaporation is capable of 
 producing this disastrous result vpheii the great mass of the 
 syrup is of a much lower temperature than that at which 
 caramelization of the sugar occurs. The cause of this is 
 to be found in the imperfect convection of the heat through 
 the sluggish mass of half liquid syrup. It is not conveyed 
 away as fast as it is received by that portion of the syrup 
 which is directly in contact with the bottom of the pan. 
 
 Hence the necessity of placing the finishing pan at that 
 extremity of the evaporating range which is farthest re- 
 moved from the furnace. The pan, too, should be shallow, 
 in order that the evaporation may be rapid, and that the 
 transmission of the heat through it may be as rapid as its 
 absorption by the lower stratum of the liquid. It should 
 be provided with a thermometer capable of indicating at 
 any moment to the eye the temperature, and thence the 
 density, and the pan^ should be so adjusted as readily to 
 admit of the instant removal of its contents from exposure 
 to the heat, and, with equal facility, of being emptied, re- 
 placed and refilled. Such a finishing pan should secure 
 the best results attainable by a system of open-air evapo- 
 ration, and the form which most fully meets those require- 
 ments in practice, and seems best adapted to common use, 
 is that of the tilt pan. (D. See engraving.) It is merely 
 a modification of the old French baficule, a vessel long in 
 use among sugar manufacturers in Mauritius, Guadaloupe, 
 and elsewhere. 
 
 A prolonged heat is exceedingly injurious to a solution 
 of sugar. The control of heat over the chemical affinities 
 which determine the form and sensible properties of most 
 substances, and especially of organic bodies which are 
 isomeric, is well known. Sorghum juice contains a number 
 of substances which are peculiarly unstable in their nature. 
 
DECOMPOSITION OF SUGAR BY A LOW HEAT. 149 
 
 Some of these are starch, dextrine (cane gum), grape 
 sugar, and cane sugar. They seem to be mutually con- 
 vertible in the growing plant, and by the action of heat 
 upon the juice, assisted by merely the presence of an acid, 
 are capable of being transformed, the one taking the form 
 of tlie other in the order above named,— with the excep- 
 tion of the conversion of grape into cane sugar, which no 
 art can accomplish, although such a change takes place 
 with facility in the growing plant. The occurrence of de- 
 grading transformations, or such as follow in the reverse 
 order of the substances named, such as that whereby cane 
 sugar is made to take the form of grape sugar, or other 
 inferior forms during evaporation, is common; indeed it 
 may always be inferred to take place when the acid and 
 impurities natural to the cane juice have not been neutral- 
 ized or removed, although such change may not be immedi- 
 ately perceptible, either to the eye or to the sense of taste. 
 It is a great error to suppose that no such change is taking 
 place unless the effects of the decomposing power of heat 
 are visible to the eye. Heat, with the presence of an acid, 
 will convert cane into uncrystallizable sugar, without any 
 marked indications that such a destructive process is in 
 progress. 
 
 But a moderate heat alone, if prolonged, is capable of 
 decomposing a pure solution of cane sugar. The experi- 
 ments of Soubeiran proved this conclusively. He dissolved 
 a given quantity of sugar in a given quantity of water, and 
 applied heat to the solution for 36 hours. " The apparatus 
 was so constructed, that the water given off by evaporation 
 was continually returned to the original solution, by which 
 contrivance the latter was always composed of the same 
 quantity of sugar, or its derivatives, and the same quantity 
 of water, as when the experiment commenced. Gradually 
 
 13* 
 
150 THE ACTION OP HEAT. 
 
 the solution acquired darkness of color, and at tbe end of 
 36 hours it had become black. The effects of long appli- 
 cation of the heat were : 1. The disappearance of cane 
 sugar. 2, The appearance of grape sugar or glucose. 3. 
 The production of carbonaceous powder and acids." 
 
 It is impossible, indeed, to prevent the formation of a 
 small portion of darker colored liquid sugar (molasses) in 
 a solution of white sugar, chemically pure, which has been 
 heated to boiling, and afterward recrystallized. 
 
 Claiming for the tilt pan no other merits than those which 
 have recommended it in plantation use for the last hundred 
 years, I here give place to some remarks by Prof McCul- 
 loh, founded upon the experience of M. Payen, the emi- 
 nent French chemist, in regard to open-air boiling and the 
 employment of an evaporating vessel somewhat similar. 
 
 "It seems to be a disputed point whether or not saccha- 
 rine solutions and juices are injured in evaporation by 
 exposure to the air. M. Payen, whose opinion and ex- 
 perience are entitled to great credit, remarks that it is the 
 more important to refute the belief that syrups are injured 
 and rendered dark colored in evaporation by an elevated 
 temperature, or by the action of the air aided by heat, be- 
 cause these views have been sustained by eminent scientific 
 men, and given rise to most ruinous speculations. In 
 corroboration of his opinion that injury is done rather by 
 long duration of heat, M. Payen adduces the facts that 
 boiling for thirty or forty- five minutes, according to the old 
 system, deepens the color, and renders a much larger quantity 
 of sugar uncrystallizable than rapid concentration in six 
 or eight minutes by means of a tilt or bascule pan; that 
 slow evaporation, by steam, of large quantities of beet 
 juice at a temperature below that of boiling water, far 
 from producing a better result, gives very dark and per- 
 
OPEN-AIR EVAPORATION. 151 
 
 fectly uncrystallizable syrups ; that slow evaporation either 
 hy an open fire or by a water-bath, gives equally bad 
 results. As for exposure to the action of the air 
 during concentration, M. Payen remarks that, far from 
 considering it very prejudicial, the effect should be regarded 
 as almost nothing ; for comparative experiments made in 
 vacuo, in carbonic acid gas, in nitrogen and in atmospheric 
 air, gave him like results for like temperatures and times of 
 evaporation. 
 
 "Again, it is considered as a fact fully established by the 
 use of apparatus, similar to that described above in the 
 manufacture of beet sugar, that saccharine juices do not 
 sustain appreciable injury in concentration by exposure to 
 the air; and for this we have the authority. of the most 
 intelligent and experienced manufacturers and chemists."* 
 
 The truth of the foregoing observations has been fully 
 confirmed by six years' experience in the manufacture of 
 sorghum syrup in the United States. Up to a certain 
 point of concentration, no prejudicial influence whatever 
 is occasioned by exposure to the air or to rapid boiling. 
 But when a temperature of 220° F. is reached, the danger 
 of decomposition of the sugar becomes very much in- 
 creased, on account of the greater density of the syrup. 
 Nor can this difficulty be fully obviated by any of the usual 
 methods of evaporation at the ordinary pressure of the 
 atmosphere, — for if the evaporation be conducted at a 
 diminished temperature, as by the use of steam at 212° P., 
 or in a vessel immersed in a water-bath — all the evil con- 
 sequences of the prolonged action of heat will result, and 
 the sugar will be much more injured than by the action of 
 a strong heat at the close of the operation. 
 
 » MoCuUoh's Report, Senate Doo. 60, p. 238. 
 
152 THE ACTION OF HEAT. 
 
 Happily, the problem of rapid evaporation at a low 
 temperature has already been solved. The application of 
 the principle, that rapid boiling and evaporation will take 
 place at a low temperature under diminished atmospheric 
 pressure, was a great stride in the progress of sugar manu- 
 facture. And now the vacuum pan of Howard, or of 
 others who have variously modified it, is used wherever 
 skill and large capital are combined in the production of 
 sugar from the tropical cane. In the manufacture of sugar 
 from sorghum, wherever a steam engine is used to propel 
 the crushing mill, a v&cuum finishing pan of the simplest 
 form would unquestionably be better than any other : the 
 steam furnishing the heat to the jacket of the boiler or to 
 the coils within it, and the engine driving the air pump by 
 which the exhaustion is maintained. By this means the 
 syrup, previously boiled to the proper density in the open 
 air, is reduced with wonderful rapidity to the proper de- 
 gree of concentration, at a temperature not exceeding 1T0° 
 F., the sugar which results after complete crystallization 
 being not only somewhat more abundant, but also superior 
 in fairness of color and sharpness of grain to that obtained 
 by the use of an open-air iinishing pan. At the same time 
 the molasses is reduced in quantity, and what is more im- 
 portant, it is of so much better quality as to furnish, after 
 reboiling by the same means, a second crop of crystals but 
 little inferior to the first. 
 
 These advantages will no doubt secure the adoption of 
 the vacuum finishing pan in all sugar works wherein capital 
 is largely invested, but its expensiveness will preclude its 
 general use. When a vacuum pan is employed, the syrup 
 should pass through the same process in the evaporating 
 range as before mentioned, only it should not be retained 
 so long in the last two pans of the series, but should pass 
 
APPARATUS ORDINARILY REQUIRED. 153 
 
 from tbe tilt pan to the reservoir supplying the vacaum 
 pan when the boflirg heat rises to about 220° F. 
 
 In large operations where it is desirable to increase the 
 evaporative capacity of the range without unduly increas- 
 ing its length, it may be divided conveniently into two, 
 placed upon separate parallel flaes opening into the same 
 smoke stack, the pan comprising the first and second divi- 
 sions, A and B being placed upon fnrnace walls sufficiently 
 elevated above those supporting the pans C and D, to 
 permit the syrnp to flow into the head of C from the 
 filtering box. Tiie length of each half of the divided 
 range may be increased to at least 24 feet, by increasing 
 the length of all the divisions except A. 
 
 The expensive vacuum finishing pan, although the best 
 for use in large sugar factories, is not equally well adapted 
 to the sphere of operations within which sorghum sugar 
 production will ordinarily be conducted. For working 
 up a crop of less than T5 acres of cane, undertaken by 
 ordinary farm hands, no better apparatus is needed than 
 the double evaporating range above described. Upon it 
 a golden syrup, unexcelled either in color or flavor by the 
 best products of the refineries, ihay be made with but little 
 expenditure of money, time, or labor, and as much sugar 
 as will be sufficient to satisfy any reasonable expectation, 
 equal in all respects, either for sale or for domestic purposes, 
 to the article which during the past fifty years has been 
 most in demand for common use. If the intelligent farmer, 
 at a season of comparative leisure, expends in the produc- 
 tion of a given amount of sugar proportionally more time 
 and care than the large manufacturer, he needs to spend 
 but little money in the purchase and repair of costly ap- 
 paratus, which can be used only a part of the year. Within 
 his limited sphere of operations, growing and manufactur- 
 
154 THE ACTION OP HEAT. 
 
 ing fair yellow sugar upon his own farm, and utilizing all 
 waste products, he can successfully compete with the large 
 manufacturer. 
 
 Waste of fuel is one of the evils attendant upon the 
 system of evaporation in short pans heretofore much used. 
 In districts where wood and coal are scarce, the cost of fuel 
 is often more than 50 per cent, of the current expenses. 
 Experiment has proved that the expense of fuel, to supply 
 the long evaporating ranges here recommended, is reduced 
 to one-half of that which is ordinarily incurred. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 OTHER METHODS. 
 
 Description of various Methods of Manufacture lieretofore used 
 or recommended — The Method of Wray described — Its Merits 
 and Disadvantages — Its Impraoticahility — Melsen's Method — 
 Specifications — Its Advantages dependent upon the presumption 
 that Sorghum and Tropical Cane Juice are identical, which is 
 untrue— Further Reasons why Bisulphite of Lime, as a De- 
 fecator of Sorghum Juice, is of no Peculiar Value. 
 
 Having in the preceding chapters given the details of a 
 system of sugar manufacture from sorghum, which has been 
 uniformly successful in my own hands, and which I have 
 reason to believe will prove equally so in common use, and 
 in which all the main practical difficulties that have hitherto 
 stood in the way have been overcome, I shall now trace ont 
 briefly the outlines of the different processes that have here- 
 tofore been used, and define what I conceive to be their 
 defects, judging from experiment, and the causes of their 
 failure. 
 
 The complex nature of sorghum cane juice, and the 
 marked peculiarities which distinguish it from the juices 
 of the tropical cane and the sugar beet should not be 
 lost sight of in an investigation of the comparative merits 
 of different methods of manufacture. These character- 
 istic properties require at least a modification of the 
 modes of treatment usually applied to the Southern cane 
 and the beet, to the extent to which these properties are 
 
 (155) 
 
156 OTHER METHODS. 
 
 uniformly found to be exhibited. In all cases, the separa- 
 tion of the sugar in the crystalline form from the other 
 constituents of the juice, includes several di-stinct opera- 
 tions, resolved into an apparently simple routine by prac- 
 tice, — and is in fact throughout a process of analysis on 
 an extended scale, involving in its different stages : 
 
 1st. The separation of the crude saccharine solution 
 from the woody and cellular tissues of the plant. This is 
 best accomplished by the mill. 
 
 2d. The separation of various impurities from the sac- 
 charine solution, and the neutralization or transformation 
 of others of a mischievous nature which cannot be sepa- 
 rated. This is the process of defecation. 
 
 3d. The separation of the greater part of the water in 
 which the sugar is dissolved. Evaporation accomplishes 
 this object. 
 
 4th. The separation of crystallized sugar, more or less 
 colored and impure, from the resulting semiiiquid mass or 
 mother-liquor which still contains crystallizable sugar and 
 molasses. This includes crystallization and drainage. 
 
 5th. The separation of all remaining impurities from 
 the more or less colored sugar of the last operation. This 
 is commonly the work of the refiner. Chemically pure 
 white sugar is its best result. It involves various processes, 
 the most important of which is that technically known as 
 "liquoring." Few manufacturers, however, will find it 
 profitable to carry the process through this last stage. 
 
 As complete defecation or the separation of the sac- 
 charine matter from the different substances, with which it 
 is combined in solution is the chief difficulty to be sur- 
 mounted, it will be sufficient at present to call attention 
 to this oue point, as I am satisfied that if this be perfectly 
 attained, the difl'erent steps which precede and follow it 
 will present no difficulty, as they depend chiefly upon me- 
 
wkay's method. 151 
 
 chanical means which are of wider application, and more 
 generally understood. Defecation requires the use of such 
 chemical agents, and mechanical appliances, as will cause 
 the separation of the impurities from the juice without im- 
 pairing the quality of the sugar — a substance which in 
 such association is remarkably unstable, and liable to be 
 either injured or totally destroyed. It should be men- 
 tioned also that there are many beautiful methods known 
 to the chemist, and extremely useful and successful in the 
 laboratory, which, on account of the expense, complexity 
 in the use of the means employed, or for other reasons, are 
 totally inapplicable on the larger scale in practice. With 
 these at present we have nothing to do. 
 
 wray's method 
 
 first deserves attention, as it was originally brought into 
 notice in connection with the earliest attempt to make 
 sugar from sorghum in this country. At the first view the 
 merits of this process are obvious. Throughout, it is 
 simple and easily understood. It consists in treating 
 sorghum juice — previously neutralized by lime — with a 
 solution of nut-galls (tannin), which has the property of 
 precipitating in an insoluble form from the juice of ripe 
 cane, nearly all the impurities which hinder the crystalliza- 
 tion and drainage of the sugar. Tannin, or tannic acid, 
 the active agent used, is an abundant natural product, and, 
 as has been already mentioned, may be obtained in a suffi- 
 ciently pure and inexpensive form for ordinary use. The 
 defecation is begun and finished in the cold juice, and the 
 detrimental effects of successive reheatings are entirely 
 avoided, and the evaporation may be carried on expedi- 
 tiously to the close without any interruption. These are 
 important considerations. I will add to them by saying, 
 
 U 
 
158 OTHER MSTHODS. 
 
 that the defecation is more complete than can be effected 
 by the use of any single substance of which I have any 
 knowledge that may be legitimately employed in common 
 use for this purpose. As a result of this, crystallization 
 takes place with great facility. In my hands, samples of 
 a very light-colored sugar have erystallized in a solid mass 
 with but little molasses almost as soon as cold. 
 
 Yet, with all these advantages, the cause of the failure 
 of this method, as uaed by its inventor and others, must, I 
 think, be apparent to every one who has subjected it to a 
 rigorous practical test. The tediousness of this process 
 is the first prominent objection that presents itself. Three 
 filtrations of the whole volume of cold juice are necessary. 
 One to remove the precipitate after neutralization by lime; 
 another to remove the insoluble matter precipitated after 
 treating with the solution of tannin ; and a third, after 
 again treating the juice with lime in such quantity as to 
 form a precipitate with all the tannin remaining in the so- 
 lution. The loss of time consequent upon this series of fil- 
 trations, will appear when this process is compared with 
 any one by which defecation is attained during the brief 
 period in which the juice passes through the first stage of 
 concentration, in which no filtration through fine cloth or 
 some medium of equally close texture, such as is necessary 
 in this, is required. 
 
 Tannic acid, as is well known, possesses the property of 
 imparting an inky color to solutions containing any of the 
 salts of the sesquioxide of iron even in very minute quan- 
 tities, and inasmuch as contact of the acid juice with iron 
 implements, such as the crushing mill, etc., would be suffi- 
 cient to form in it a trace of iron in solution, it has been 
 objected to this method that a discoloration of the juice 
 invariably ensues after the addition of the tannic acid. It 
 will be found, however, that in all ordinary cases, little or 
 
melsen's process. If) 9 
 
 no change of color will be produced in this way ; bat if 
 there should be, it will be but temporary, and of no con- 
 sequence. The dark coloring matter being a precipitate 
 which is merely mechanically suspended, and not dissolved 
 in the liquid, is thrown up with the other impurities when 
 lioat is applied, and it is removed with the scum. 
 
 A much more serious disadvantage is the extreme de- 
 gree of care that is necessary^ much more than would 
 ordinarily be exercised — in apportioning the chemical 
 agents used to the exact effect designed to be produced. 
 Three times — once*before each filtration — the juice must 
 be treated with lime or tannin ; these must be in due pro- 
 portion to each other, or to the variable amount of im- 
 purities in the juice with which they combine. It is true 
 that the bad consequences of a failure to exercise proper 
 care in the use of defecating agents is not peculiar to this 
 process, but belongs to all others in which such substances 
 are used. Yet, here, the lapse of an extended interval 
 between each application imposes a tax upon the memory 
 of the operator whose attention is divided between tins and 
 other matters, and the liability to commit errors through 
 forgetfulness is in this case much greater than in those in 
 which the required additions are made in immediate suc- 
 cession. 
 
 The practical difficulties attendant upon the successive 
 filtrations of the cold juice are the chief impediments 
 known to the general adoption of this method, and we are 
 compelled to abandon it with regret, since in other respects 
 its results are very satisfactory. 
 
 melsen's method, 
 
 which has acquired considerable celebrity in Europe as 
 applied in the beet-sugar manufacture, and also in Louis- 
 
160 OTHER METHODS. 
 
 iana, where it has been nsed lately to some extent on the 
 plantations, is asserted to possess peculiar merits, — stated 
 by its discoverer in the following words : Bisulphite of 
 lime (the agent employed) acts — 
 
 1. As a powerfal antiseptic, preventing the production 
 or formation of fermenting matter. 
 
 2. As froifi its affinity for oxygen capable of preventing 
 the changes which the presence of that agent causes in the 
 juice. 
 
 3. As an agent which at 100° Centigrade defecates the 
 juice, and removes from it all the albumen and coagulated 
 matter. 
 
 4. As carrying away the pre-existing discoloration. 
 
 5. As an agent capable in the highest degree of pre- 
 venting the formation of coloring matters. 
 
 6. As capable of neutralizing all the hurtful acids which 
 exist or may be formed in the juice, substituting for them an 
 acid almost inert (sulphurous acid). — {Extract from Mons. 
 Melsen's Memoir. Translated by F. Gt. Clemsen, and 
 published in the Agricultural Report of the Patent Office, 
 1849-50, p. 404.) 
 
 The value of bisulphite of lime in preventing fermenta- 
 tion can scarcely be overestimated ; and one great hope 
 of the discoverer of this process, and that which led him 
 to the selection of this agent was, " that in the equatorial 
 regions at least, sugar might be extracted by the heat of 
 the sun alone." The antiseptic power of the bisulphite, 
 preventing fermentation for an indefinite length of time, 
 was thus most prominent in his view ; its defecating prop- 
 erties, although important, seem to have been in his view, 
 as they are in reality, entirely subsidiary to that end. As 
 a defecator of the juice of the tropical cane and the beet, 
 its action is not complete, as asserted by himself, as, after 
 the clarification, " there remains a matter which is colored 
 
melsen's process. 161 
 
 first violet, and afterward brown, by the air or the influ- 
 ence of an alkali." Specifications 4, 5, and 6 (see above), 
 assert facts which are practically of small importance, for 
 by the use of suitable evaporating apparatus after com- 
 plete clarification no injurious discoloration is subsequently 
 incurred ; and by the use of common lime, the hurtful acids 
 may be effectually neutralized. 
 
 The sulphurous taste said to be imparted to sugar by 
 this mode of treatment, is not a serious obstacle to its 
 adoption, as it is removed by exposure to the air or by the 
 operation of "claying.'' In a hot climate, where fermenta- 
 tion is rapid, and the saccharine juice is comparatively 
 pure, demanding but a low defecating power, this method 
 is successful ; but its merits are not apparent in this cli- 
 mate in its application to sorghum cane. 
 
 The advocates of the adoption of this method by the 
 sorghum growers of the North, proceed upon the assump- 
 tion that "the constituents of the sorghum and Louisiana 
 cane are very nearly, if not altogether, identical;-' and 
 hence it is predicted that Mons. Melsen's discovery " is 
 destined to exert an influence upon the production of 
 sugar from the sorghum no less marked and decided than 
 that which it has already accomplished in the manufacture 
 from the Southern cane." This assumption, it is scarcely 
 necessary to say, is entirely erroneous ; the constituents of 
 sorghum and Louisiana cane are by no means identical, 
 and any conclusions based upon such identity, and not 
 verified by experiment, are valueless. 
 
 As a defecator of sorghum juice, I have found the bi- 
 sulphite of lime much inferior to other agents that may be 
 employed. One of the most experienced sorghum growers 
 in this country asserts that he is "unwilling to recommend 
 its use from any evidence yet adduced." (Ag. Rep. for 
 1861, p. 303.) Though inadequate to accomplish the 
 
 14* 
 
162 OTHER METHODS. 
 
 main object in view, this agent has, I believe, an import- 
 ant use in being readily applicable in preventing fermenta- 
 tion, nnder circnmstances when the immediate application 
 of heat is impracticable. It is said also by some to have 
 the power of restoring the original taste and color to the 
 jnice of soured canes, but the statement " needs confirma- 
 tion." 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE COMMON METHOD BY HEAT. 
 
 Extent to which Defecation takes place by this Means without the 
 use of Other Agents — The Advocacy of Erroneous Opinions con- 
 cerning the Action of Heat productive of much Mischief — Sugar 
 cannot ordinarily be made by such Means. 
 
 Several modifications of a single method of manufac- 
 ture have been applied for the production of sorghum 
 syrup ; the merits of these are made to depend solely upon 
 different forms of evaporating surface in order to secure 
 certain real or fancied advantages from the application of 
 heat. The principle of rapid evaporation in shallow pans 
 is certainly correct, but rapid evaporation and the separa- 
 tion of such impurities only as heat can remove, are but a 
 part of the means requisite to success in the manufacture 
 of merely a fine syrup, not to mention sugar. If boiling 
 and skimming alone could do the work, sorghum sugar 
 would now be found upon every table in the land, and the 
 fact that this is not so, but on the contrary that not more 
 than one operator in a hundred has produced it, under any 
 circumstances, is directly chargeable to the essentially im- 
 perfect mode of treatment which sorghum producers have 
 been induced to adopt; for nothing is more certain than 
 tliat the saccharine matter in the best varieties of sorghum 
 is almost wholly cane sugar, which may readily be crystal- 
 lized when the juice is properly defecated, and that the 
 
 (163) 
 
164 THE COMMON METHOD BT HEAT. 
 
 want of success in crystallizing it, is due the presence of 
 just those impurities which heat alone cannot remove. 
 
 Popular opinion, guided by an experience of more than 
 six years with the common method of defecation by heat, 
 and by the representations of persons pecuniarily interested 
 in securing its continued adoption, is now more unsettled 
 than ever it has been in regard to the practicability of 
 sugar production from Northern cane. No progress has 
 been made in this pursuit commensurate with its import- 
 ance, or with the results reasonably to have been antici- 
 pated from the zealous efforts of the many practical men 
 that it numbers among its supporters and friends. If we 
 seek the cause of this condition of things we shall find it 
 partly, at least, in the injudicious teachings of some who 
 should know better, leading to misdirected efforts and un- 
 promising results. 
 
 In the face of repeated analyses by the most trustworthy 
 and eminent chemists, and in spite of convictions which 
 a candid examination could not fail to impress upon their 
 own minds, we yet find some advocates of the "heat" 
 theory strenuously asserting that it is only the inferior, and 
 practically uncrystallizable grape sugar which sorghum 
 juice contains, and hence the manifest impropriety of any 
 further attempts toward advancement on this line. 
 
 Others profess to have reached the " ultima thule" of 
 discovery by sailing in a different direction ; they denounce 
 loudly all "chemicals," even to the use of lime, in satura- 
 ting the free acid ; attribute to heat almost miraculous 
 powers, and then gravely proceed to inform us that the 
 talisman whereby this giant of the elements may be aroused 
 to such unwonted activity is intrusted entirely to their 
 own keeping, or, in other words, that there is only one 
 form of evaporating pan upon which heat as an agent in 
 clarification can be used with success. 
 
IMPERFECT DEFECATION BY HEAT ALONE 165 
 
 The advantage of the auxiliary action of heat in defeca- 
 tion has never been qaestioned ; it is, in fact, wholly indis- 
 pensable; but it is a great mistake to ascribe to its agency 
 more than is due, and to make that the sole agent vchich 
 cannot in any case rank higher than a subordinate. Much 
 less warrant is there for the assertion that the purifying 
 virtue of " a simple active heat" is of a superior quality 
 when the evaporating surface is made to take the form of 
 a crooked channel by means of a series of metallic strips 
 placed transversely, extending nearly across the pan ''rom 
 the opposite sides. 
 
 No peculiar advantage in defecation by this mode is 
 discernible, but the reverse ; for each time that the cur- 
 rent of juice passes to the side of the pan it is compelled 
 to pass through the dense body of scum settled there, and 
 much of the feculent and mucilaginous matter which had 
 already been separated from the juice at the heated center 
 of any one of the transverse channels, soon becomes firmly 
 incorporated with the same juice again, when the latter, 
 rendered more dense by evaporation, passes onward through 
 it, and this deleterious effect is produced as often as the 
 current is led from side to side. Nor does the novelty of 
 this mode of evaporation more deserve to pass unques- 
 tioned than its merits. It may be original, but it is cer- 
 tainly not new. Prof. McCulloh, in his work {Reports of 
 Scientific Investigations in Relation to Sugar and Hy- 
 drometers, revised edition, p. 237), describing various 
 arrangements of evaporating surfaces, and particularly 
 inclined planes, with a grooved or undulated surface to 
 diffuse and retard the descent of the syrup, says : 
 
 " M. Derosne has invented an apparatus of this kind, in 
 which he causes the liquid to traverse the whole surface of 
 the inclined plane, by means of numerous strips of metal 
 placed across, and which are not quite as long as the in- 
 
166 THE COMMON METHOD BY HEAT. 
 
 clined plane is broad. The space between these strips 
 forms a continuous channel through which the juice flows 
 alternately in opposite directions, and thus passes slowly 
 over the whole surface before it arrives at the bottom." 
 
 It would be difficult to describe more accurately and 
 minutely in its essential features the sorghum evaporator 
 before mentioned, but from the connection in which the 
 description of this one is found, it is evident that it was 
 proposed to limit its use to the evaporation of previously 
 defecated solutions, and therefore that it was not open to 
 the objection above alluded to. Derosne's pan was heated 
 by steam, but this form of surface was not found to possess 
 any peculiar advantages, nor can any such be justly claimed 
 for it now in its present resuscitated form. 
 
 It is noteworthy, also, that those who advocate the use 
 of heat, unassisted even by lime, thereby limit its action 
 to a very small share of the influence of which otherwise 
 it is really capable. Fresh cane juice is always more or 
 less acid, and when in this condition its temperature is 
 raised to the boiling point, and it is afterward allowed to 
 remain at rest for a short time, a" scum separates, in which 
 maybe detected more or less albumen, green coloring mat- 
 ter, etc. The liquid underneath is still more or less turbid, 
 and of a greenish-yellow tinge. The action of heat is con- 
 fined to the coagulation of only a portion of the albumin- 
 ous matter, the remainder is held in solution by means of 
 the acid, a boiling heat has no further effect upon it, and it 
 passes into the syrup. The greenish tinge so common in 
 all the light-colored acid syrups is the best evidence of the 
 presence in it also of incoagulable albuminous matter and 
 gum, which hold a portion of the coloring matter suspended 
 in the solution. The consequences of this practice are 
 hurtful to both the sugar and syrup by 1. The production 
 of an acid syrup. 2. The destruction of a part of the 
 
FARTHER INJURIOUS EFFECTS. 16T 
 
 cane sugar. 3. Presenting a great barrier to the crystalli- 
 zation of the remainder. 4. Making the evaporation 
 more troublesome on account of excessive foam. 5. Caus- 
 ing subsequent fermentation in the syrup. 
 
 Acid sorghum syrup not only always retains more strongly 
 than any other the peculiarly harsh, unpleasant flavor of the 
 green parts of the plant, but also is subject to deteriora- 
 tion, because either by the action of the heat assisted by 
 the impurities during evaporation, or by subsequent trans- 
 formation induced by the retained albumen, a large part of 
 the sugar really contained in the juice is converted into 
 nncrystallizable or grape sugar, and the presence of this 
 lower grade of sugar in any considerable quantity is an in- 
 superable barrier to the crystallization of the cane sugar 
 which has not suffered transformation. Such syrups also, 
 however dense they may be boiled, become invariably 
 thinner after the winter is past, the result of partial de- 
 composition. Fermentation soon sets in. During evap- 
 oration such syrups are more frothy, and the viscidity of 
 the scum renders its separation more difficult. 
 
 The solution of albuminous matter in the boiling syrup 
 is productive of further evil effects. It impedes the action 
 of boiling, itself, by preventing the mobility of the parti- 
 cles and the free circulation of the currents in the heated 
 liquid. Such syrup is heated less readily and cools more 
 slowly ; more fuel is used to reduce it ; the boiling point 
 18 higher, and consequently there is much more danger, 
 than in well-clarified syrup, of destruction of the sugar at 
 the last by converting it into caramel. A slimy feculent 
 matter commonly separates from undefecated syrup, col- 
 lecting upon the bottom of the evaporating pan, which soon 
 hardens and burns upon the metal. This, if not constantly 
 removed, soon destroys the pan, as well as barns and dis- 
 colors the syrup, which scorches upon the burning crust 
 
168 THE COMMON METHOD BY HEAT. 
 
 and beneath it when it cracks open. This crust is of a 
 very different kind from that which is formed when too 
 much lime is used, and is more abundant and difficult to 
 get rid of. 
 
 In the production of sugar, the common mode of treat- 
 ment is never in the least successful, except when the canes 
 have been selected, the juice naturally very pure, and the 
 quantity of acid and albuminous matter which it contains 
 is extremely minute. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 SUGAR MAKING AT HOME. 
 
 Adaptation of the System herein recommended to Operations of 
 Diiferent Degrees of Magnitude — Outlines of a Method designed 
 to meet the wants of the Farmer who cultivates and works up 
 a Crop of Fifteen or Twenty Acres of Cane. 
 
 No process of sugar manufacture can be considered 
 complete, or is well adapted to general introduction, that 
 cannot be applied to operations of very different degrees 
 of magnitude. It is neither possible nor desirable here to 
 detail the various modifications to which varying condi- 
 tions and circumstances may give rise, but ordinary intel- 
 ligence and good judgment will readily supply them. A 
 general plan only can be indicated, the essential features of 
 the method to be used pointed out, and the apparatus and 
 means necessary to the attainment of the desired ends de- 
 scribed. The growth of this new branch of industry will 
 doubtless in many places give rise to large establishments, 
 supplanting to some extent more limited individual opera- 
 tions, yet it must be remembered that it is with the latter 
 that the success of the whole enterprise is at present iden- 
 tified. 
 
 It was only after many years of trial of mills propelled 
 by animal power and inexpensive apparatus that the sugar 
 industry of Louisiana was established upon a solid basis ; 
 and notwithstanding that the most elaborate and expensive 
 machinery has of late years been in use there, small plaut- 
 
 15 (169) 
 
no SUGAR MAKING AT HOME. 
 
 ers still adhere to the more simple appliances, and with a 
 very marked degree of success and profit. Here also large 
 works will not interfere with those conducted on a very 
 moderate scale, if the latter be managed with skill and pru- 
 dence. In fact, the expense of transporting large quanti- 
 ties of cane from different parts of an extended area of 
 country to one great central manufactory is a source of 
 great loss in many respects, which is scarcely balanced by 
 the advantages accruing to a great concentration of capi- 
 tal and skill. 
 
 There is a large class of persons in our country having 
 lands well adapted to sugar growing, and possessed of 
 sufficient energy and intelligence, whose means or oppor- 
 tunities do not permit them to engage largely in this pur- 
 suit, but who would be glad to have it within their power 
 to work up the cane which they could grow upon their own 
 lands ; and it is just this class of persons — farmers of in- 
 telligence and energy, desirous of making use of all avail- 
 able means of enhancing their own comfort, profit, and 
 independence, who have thus far, under so many discour- 
 aging circumstauces, lent their aid to this' enterprise, while 
 capitalists have been lagging in the rear. 
 
 The question is often asked by such, How can the planter 
 work up to advantage a crop of from ten to twenty acres 
 of cane on his own land and under his own care — con- 
 ducting the whole series of operations, beginning with the 
 working of the soil, and the planting of the seed, and 
 ending with the production of a good article of brown 
 suagar ? The answer that I shall give to this inquiry is 
 based entirely upon my own observation and experience. 
 
 By pursuing the method of cultivation referred to in a 
 former part of this work, fifteen to twenty acres of cane 
 can be well attended to by a single hand, from the time of 
 planting until the close of the period of cultivation ; or iu 
 lat. 40°, from the 20th of April until the close of June, 
 
ARRANQEMEXT OF APPARATUS. 171 
 
 except at the time of the second plowing, when two more 
 persons will be needed to hoe the caue. During this 
 period it will have received one good hoeing, and will have 
 been twice or three times plowed. The ground at that 
 time will be free from weeds, and the cane shooting. It may 
 then be safely left to take care of itself. It will require 
 no more work until September, when the blading, cutting, 
 hauling, and the subsequent process of manufacture will 
 follow in regular order, and require generally the labor of 
 three persons until the cane is all worked up, and then one 
 intelligent man can prepare the sugar and syrup for the 
 market as the different lots come into condition to be suc- 
 cessively operated upon. 
 
 The evaporating range should be not less than twenty- 
 four feet in length, and the mill should be of the largest 
 size, adapted to horse-power. The rolls should not be 
 less than a foot in diameter, and fifteen inches long, if all 
 of the same size ; with the requisite strength in all the 
 other parts to sustain the strain that would ordinarily be 
 applied by the use of four horses. The mill should be 
 placed upon a strong platform of plank, supported by stout 
 timbers. This platform should be built on a declivity, 
 or preferably, when circumstances will permit of it, it may 
 extend from the projection commonly known as the "over- 
 shot" of a side-hill barn. The horses work on the ground 
 floor below ; the swape is a straight beam secured in a 
 horizontal position at a height suitable for easy draught, 
 to a vertical wooden shaft often or twelve inches in diam- 
 eter, which is strongly coupled to the shaft of the driving 
 roll. Mills with horizontal rolls possess superior advant- 
 ages when used in this manner, and require an increase of 
 motive power scarcely appreciable in practice. 
 
 The convenience of this arrangement is obvious. The 
 horses work to good advantage ; the vicinity of the mill is 
 clear of all encumbrance ; the loss by waste, dirt, damage 
 
1Y2 STTGAR MAKING AT HOME. 
 
 to machinery, etc. is much diminished. There is room at 
 one side, and sufficient elevation to allow the trash to be 
 thrown into the barn-yard either by hand or by means of a 
 carrier or apron, dumping it over the platform outside the 
 horse-walk, where it will be in a situation to be disposed 
 of to the best advantage in its subsequent conversion into 
 manure. (See Chap. VII.) On the other side, the barn 
 floor is on a level with the ground, where the cane is re- 
 ceived to be passed through the mill. Part of the cane 
 may be piled up outside in a protected situation ; but as 
 much of it as possible should be stored away in the side 
 bays of the barn, where it will keep iu perfectly good con- 
 dition, and may be worked up during all the wet and in- 
 clement weather, when that outside should not be handled. 
 A supply of cane, sufficient for a day's work, may always 
 be stacked alongside the mill, on the barn floor, at inter- 
 vals of leisure, so that the constant attendance of one man 
 to carry cane to the person who feeds the mill-may be dis- 
 pensed with. The mill, the horses, the cane, and all the 
 machinery being thus under roof, there need be no inter- 
 ruption of the work. The evaporator, etc. should be 
 placed at one side under cover, about on a level with the 
 horses, securing thereby an abundance of fall for the juice 
 through a long pipe into the tanks and pans to the cooler, 
 and thence into the vessels to contain the sugar or syrup. 
 The evaporating room should stand at such a distauce, 
 and should be so placed as to avoid all danger to the sur- 
 rounding buildings from fire. There is but little danger, 
 however, from this source, if the furnace is properly con- 
 structed, and the smoke-stack is of sufficient height to se- 
 cure a good draught, and to prevent the escape of sparks. 
 The evaporating and crystallizing rooms should be con- 
 tiguous to each other, and a tram- way constructed from 
 one into the other upon which to convey on a truck the 
 syrup to be crystallized. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 VALUE OP SORGHUM IN SUGAR PRODUCTIOX. 
 
 Capacity of Sorghum for Sugar Production as ascertained by 
 Analysis and Experiment — Analyses by Dr. Jackson, of Boston 
 — Prof. Lawrence Smith, of Louisyille — Analyses in France by 
 Madinier and Vilmorin — Extended series of Experiments made 
 by Mr. Jos. S. Levering, of Philadelphia — Observations upon a 
 Report of Analyses made by Dr. Wetherill in the Laboratory of 
 the Depai'tment of Agriculture, at Washington. 
 
 In ortJer to arrive at a true estimate of the value of tbis 
 plant in sugar production, some established variety of it 
 must be assumed as a standard of comparison : and it is 
 to be regretted that for want of due care on the part of 
 planters in preserving the purity of the cane, no one va- 
 riety can at present be selected which, making due allow- 
 ance for diflFerances of soil, climate, and culture, is of an 
 entirely uniform character. This is especially true of the 
 Chinese sorghum. Yet I am convinced, from my own ex- 
 periments and those of others, that care in preventing hy- 
 bridization of the cane, and providing for it the conditions 
 of successful cultivation already indicated, improvement in 
 saccharine richness, as well as in the general vigor of the 
 plant, will be the uniform result. Instead of a juice mark- 
 ing in the unclarified state 7° or 8° Beaame, this variety 
 with me now marks regularly not less than 10° — often 12° 
 
 with an average of 11°, or 9|^° when properly clarified, 
 
 and containing seventeen or eighteen per cent, of saccha- 
 rine matter — nearly all of which is true cane sugar. 
 
 15* (UB) 
 
174 VALUE OP SORGHUM IN SUGAR PRODUCTION. 
 
 The followiD^ I have found to be average results from 
 ripe cane, grown on good upland soil : 
 
 Specific gravity of fresh juice at 60° F., 1085 or 11° Beaum^. 
 Specific gravity of clarified juice at 60° F., 1070 or 9J° Beaum^. 
 Whole amount of saccharine matter, 17 per cent., -which is cane 
 sugar almost exclusively. 
 
 How this accords vrlth an analysis made by Dr. Charles 
 T. Jackson, an eminent chemist of Boston, Mass., in the 
 year 1857, will be seen in the following extract from his 
 report. (Ag. Rep. of Patent OfBce, 1857, pages 187 and 
 189.) The subject of this analysis was ripe Chinese cane. 
 
 Specific gravity of the filtered juice, 1-062. Calculated 
 saccharine matter per cent., 15|. Obtained result, sac- 
 charine matter (cane sugar nearly all crystallized), 16'6 
 per cent* Some imphees analyzed by him gave from 14-3 
 to 15 '9 per cent, of sugar (well crystallized cane sugar) 
 (see table), which also corresponds closely with the per 
 cent, of saccharine matter obtained from imphee by Mr. 
 Leonard Wray. 
 
 In the same Report, p. 194, Prof J. Lawrence Smithi 
 of Louisville, Ky., publishes an account of an "investiga- 
 tion of the sugar-bearing capacity of Chinese cane," in 
 which he gives the following as the composition of the 
 stalk of the cane : 
 
 Water 75-6 per cent. 
 
 Sugars 12-Ot " 
 
 Woody fiber, salts, etc 12-4 " 
 
 100-0 
 
 * Aji erroneous statement appears in the Report of the Department of 
 Agriculture for 1862, p. 533 (table), in which the result as obtained by 
 this chemist is stated to be 10-15 per cent, total of sugar, instead of 16-6 
 per cent, as above. 
 
 ■j- This is equal to nearly 14 per cent, of the juice, instead of 12 per 
 cent., as it is made to appear on p. 533 of the Report for 1862. 
 
ANALYSES— SMITH — MADINIKR. 175 
 
 In this twelve per cent, of sugar, an examination by 
 Soleil's polariscope indicated the proportion of the crjs- 
 tallizable to the non-crystallizable sugar to be as 10 to 2. 
 And hence he asserts the opinion that "this result settles 
 the question that the great bulk of the sugar contained in 
 the sorgho is crystallizable or cane sugar proper." 
 
 From the .above it is evident that tbe cane juice ex- 
 amined by Prof. Smith contained about 14 per cent, of 
 sugars (13-7), the proportions of cane and uncrystallizable 
 sugars being respectively 11'4 and 2-3 per cent. The juice 
 did not equal in saccharine richness that analyzed by Dr. 
 Jackson, but this diiference of quality is not greater than 
 is often met with in canes grown on different varieties of 
 soil, or under other dissimilar conditions; but the statement 
 that the uncrystallizable sugar exists in it in very small 
 quantity relatively, is in accordance with the foregoing 
 results. 
 
 These analyses were made at about the same period, the 
 one upon canes grown on the Atlantic slope, the other 
 upon caae of the same variety grown in the Mississippi 
 Valley ; and they have a permanent value as indicating 
 the saccharine qualities of this cane at the time of its in- 
 troduction into this country. 
 
 M. !Madinier, of Paris, in a letter, an extract of which is 
 published in the Agricultural Report for 1S56, p. 313, 
 states that the juice of Chinese cane grown in the north 
 of France, in lat. 49°, yielded 16 per cent, of sugars as 
 determined by Clerg^'t's optical instrument. This must be 
 regarded as a very favorable result, inasmuch as the climate 
 in which the cane was grown is scarcely better suited to 
 this- plant than that of England — being sufficiently moist, 
 but lacking the fervid glow of sunlight which prevails 
 during the summer months in this country in the same 
 latitude ; and it is remarkable that there the percentage 
 
116 VALUE OF SORGHTIM IN SUGAK PRODUCTION. 
 
 of uncrystallizable sugar was found to be so low relatively 
 in the juice of canes necessarily but imperfectly matured. 
 
 M. Madinier writes : " It is certain that from this plant 
 crystalljzable sugar can be extracted similar in every re- 
 spect to that made from the cane of the tropics. Of this 
 I entertain the highest conviction, which is supported by 
 authentic, though not very numerous facts. * * * The 
 stalks of the sorgho contain crystallizable sugar, without 
 furnishing a greater quantity of molasses than the cane. 
 An experiment made at Verieries, with Clerget's apparatus, 
 showed the juice to contain 16 per cent, of sugar, of which 
 there were only 10^ per cent, crystallizable, and 5f per 
 cent, uncrystallizable. Yet, we can by no means depend 
 upon a result gained from plants grown in the Department 
 of the Seine and the Oise, in a climate altogether beyond 
 the range adapted to the sorgho." 
 
 M. Louis Vilmorin, of Paris, alluding to his own experi- 
 ments upon canes grown, no doubt, in a more favorable 
 climate than those of which M. Madinier gives an analysis, 
 says:* "The crystallization of the sugar of the sorgho, it 
 seems, should be easily obtained in all cases where the cane 
 can be sufficiently ripened ; and as the proportion of the sugar 
 is an unfailing index of ripeness, it follows that we should 
 always be sure of obtaining a good crystallization of juices, 
 the density of which exceeds I'OTS, while weaker ones could 
 not yield satisfactory results after concentration. 
 
 " I attribute this peculiarity to the fact that the sugar is 
 preceded in the juice by a gummy principle, which seems 
 to be transformed, at a later date, for its proportion dimin- 
 ishes in exact correspondence with the increase of the 
 saccharine matter. 
 
 «• Ag. Rep. for 1856, p. 312. M. Viljnorin'B letter is dated AprU 20, 
 1867. 
 
LOVERINO'S EXPERIMENTS. 117 
 
 ' " The ancrystallizable sugar, or glucose, undergoes the 
 same change ; that is to say, it is more abundant before 
 than after the complete maturity ; but its action seems less 
 unfavorable to the progress of crystallization. The gummy 
 principle obstructs it in two ways; for, besides Being a 
 serious obstacle to the commencement of crystallization, it 
 afterward renders it almost a matter of impossibility to 
 purge the crystals, if obtained. 
 
 " However, as I observed, this difficulty only presents 
 itself in the employment of unripe canes ; for as soon as 
 the juices attain the density of r080 and more, they con- 
 tain but little else than crystallizable sugar, and their 
 treatment presents no difficulty. 
 
 " The lime employed, even to a slight excess, is not so 
 detrimental, it seems to me, in practice, as theory would 
 perhaps indicate. Perhaps a slight fermentation, which is 
 inevitable, may disengage enough carbonic acid to destroy 
 the uncrystallizable compound formed by its union with 
 the sugar. The fact is, that the best crystallizations ob- 
 tained have occurred in those experiments in which I 
 feared to have used too much lime." 
 
 All the authorities above quoted concur in proving the 
 fact that immediately before and after the introduction of 
 the Chinese cane into this country, cane sugar constituted 
 nearly all of the saccharine matter in the ripe plant. A 
 complete practical demonstration, however, of this fact, 
 outside the laboratory, with only such aids as are within 
 common reach, guided by good judgment and ripe experi- 
 ence, was made about the same time, and the results pub- 
 lished to the world. 
 
 During the autumn of the year 185T, Mr. Joseph S. 
 Lovering, the eminent sugar refiner of Philadelphia, in- 
 stituted an extended series of experiments upon cane grown 
 upon his own grounds ; and from the yield of sugar and 
 
ITS VALUE OF SORGHUM IN SUQAE PEODUCTION. 
 
 molasses actually obtained by him, he gives the product of 
 an acre of cane definitely as follows : 
 
 lbs. gans. 
 
 Actual yield, oryatallized sugar 1221-85 Molasses, 74-39 
 
 Add for inefficiency of mill 10 per cent. 
 
 " " reheatings, etc 5 " 
 
 " footings, etc 5 " 
 
 (( (( 
 
 Total 20 per cent. =244-37 
 
 Probable yield per acre. Sugar 1466-22 Molasses, 74-39 
 
 The actual yield of sugar and syrup as above stated per 
 acre is, I believe, about a fair average result — such as may 
 be attained from pure cane planted upon a suitable soil, 
 from the latitude of Philadelphia southward. But it will 
 be observed that the yield of juice was much greater, and 
 its saccharine richness proportionally much less than or- 
 dinarily is to be anticipated. The expressed juice amounted 
 to 1847 gallons per acre, or about one-third more than is 
 commonly produced from an equal area ; its density in the 
 crude state was 10° Beaume, but only ^1^° clarified (at 
 162 F.), containing about 13 per cent, of saccharine mat- 
 ter, as indicated by its specific gravity, or 12-72 per cent, 
 the actual yield of sugar and molasses. Of this, 7'35 per 
 cent, was crystallized sugar, 5 37 per cent, molasses (drip- 
 pings). Taking into the account the 10 per cent, of sugar 
 lost in reheating and footings as above stated, we should 
 have of cane sugar 8 08 per cent; molasses, 4 '64 per cent. 
 The molasses, however, still contained an indeterminate 
 proportion of crystallizable sugar ; another proportion of 
 it consisted of cane sugar necessarily converted into liquid 
 or uncrystallizable sugar during evaporation : hence the 
 per cent, of cane sugar originally contained in the juice 
 must have been considerably greater, and that of uncrys- 
 tallizable sugar proportionally less than in the above 
 estimate. 
 
lovering's experiments. 179 
 
 Further, since 16,530 pounds of juice (1847 gallons, 
 weighing 8 95 pounds per gallon) produced but 2114|- 
 pounds of saccharine matter — the product per acre of 
 syrup reduced to the striking point — 238° F., could not 
 have exceeded 180 gallons, and hence it required 10 gal- 
 lons of juice to produce one of such syrup. These results 
 prove that the juice of ripe and unhybridized cane contains 
 a variable amount of sugars and impurities due, in a great 
 measure, to peculiarities of soil and season, and confirm 
 the conclusion, then reached by analysis, that the quantity 
 of uncrystallizable sugar contained in the juice as a natural 
 product, and not formed from the cane sugar by the action 
 of heat, etc., is comparatively insignificant. 
 
 Mr. Lovering did not repeat his experiments, his object 
 being simply to test the value of sorghum as a sugar-pro- 
 ducing plant. In a recent letter he says: "In the year 
 1857, with no other object in view than to satisfy my own 
 curiosity, I undertook to ascertain a fact thut had been 
 denied by some notable chemist, viz.: — the presence of cane 
 sugar in the juice of sorghum. The use of Soliel's sac- 
 charometer very speedily proved the fact that it does con- 
 tain cane sugar in sufficient quantity to render its extraction 
 profitable, and highly important in our Middle and South- 
 western States. Having ascertained this truth, I was 
 encouraged to proceed a step further, and undertook the 
 experiments, of which I published a detailed account in 
 1858."* 
 
 * It is surprising that Mr. Lovering's unasserted but just claim to the 
 thanks of the public for the faithful performance of an undertaking to 
 the success of which he was in no sort pledged, and in which he had 
 only a common interest with all men who desire to know the truth, 
 should in some quarters call forth only disparagement, or subject him 
 to such invidious comparison as is expressed in the following extract 
 from a widely circulated advertising pamphlet ; 
 
180 VALUE OF SORGHUM IN SUGAR PRODUCTION. 
 
 Since then, occasional instances of successful crystalliza- 
 tion have been recorded ; but they stand out as isolated 
 examples in the midst of many failures ; the results have 
 been far from uniform — success has been the exception 
 rather than the rule — and they have been valuable only as 
 showing the utter futility of the means ordinarily employed. 
 Encouraged by the fact that sugar has been made from 
 sorghum, many practical men have spent years in vainly 
 striving "to learn the knack of it," and failing, have 
 abandoned it in despair, or catching at straws, have become 
 the victims of the first " patent recipe" vender that came 
 their way. 
 
 The report of Dr. C. M. Wetherill, late Chemist in the 
 National Department of Agriculture, is a valuable contribu- 
 tion to our knowledge upon this subject, but it is unfortu- 
 nate that the opportunities afforded him for making an 
 analysis of the best varieties of the new cane were entirely 
 inadequate. No analyses were made before the month of 
 November, when most of the samples of cane, some of 
 them transported several hundred miles, were, as is inti- 
 mated, more or less injured. Some of the specimens were 
 immature, others were undergoing fermentation, and hence 
 the examination of them was necessarily hurried, and under 
 
 "A RECOLLECTION. 
 
 " In 1857 two men were at the same time laboring to develop the 
 merits of the sorgo : one in a Philadelphia re6nery with all the appli- 
 ances capital could confer; the other a backwoods chemist, with nothing 
 but an old skillet and a cooking stove. The experiments of the former 
 were very elaborate and expensive, but there they ended. The latter, 
 ridiculed by his neighbors as a fool for thus wasting bis time, sat pa- 
 tiently over his skillet, studying into the nature of the juice as developed 
 before him, and clutching every new idea, until after many failures in 
 his efforts to embody the suggestions made by his study, be succeeded in 
 bringing out that remarkable and justly celebrated boiler known as 
 Cook's Evaporator," oto. 
 
DR. WETHERILL'S ANALYSES. 181 
 
 these circnmstances were regarded as merely preliminary 
 to future investigations of a more extended and valuable 
 character. 
 
 The discordant results of the different analyses, how- 
 ever, after making due allowance for all assigned influences, 
 as well as those peculiarities induced by differences of cli- 
 mate and soil, reveal the unwelcome fact of which there 
 was previously some evidence, that the great bulk of the 
 sorghum now grown in this country is of an inferior qual- 
 ity to that first introduced. Tiiis misfortune is the result 
 of the hybridization of the cane with broom corn, and de- 
 terioration by improper culture, the consequences in most 
 cases of ignorance of the nature and wants of the plant. 
 This discovery is of itself sufficient to impair the value 
 which these analyses would otherwise have possessed as 
 aft'ording a fair index of the saccharine quality of the cane 
 in its native purity. While there is yet in this country nn- 
 deteriorated cane, the juice of which uniformly contains 
 not less than 16 per cent, of saccharine matter, which is 
 cane sugar almost exclusively, none of the specimens sent 
 to the laboratory at Washington contained more than 10 
 per cent, of cane sugar, and some of them not more than 
 2 or 3 per cent. ; the whole amount of sugars of both 
 kinds rarely equaled 15 per cent., and in some canes it 
 fell as low as from 5 to 7. 
 
 The report upon the canes examined is valuable as an 
 exhibit of the present condition of the plant in this conn- 
 try, but as an index of its true value for the production of 
 sugar, it is not to be relied upon. Nor for the determina- 
 tion of this important point are the analyses of sugars and 
 syrups there presented of much greater consequence, how- 
 ever skillfully and conscientiously they may have been made. 
 Nearly all the samples of syrup exhibited a precipitate of 
 crystals of cane sugar in the vessels which contained them. 
 
 16 
 
182 VALUE or SORGHUM IN SL'QAR PRODUCTION. 
 
 In some cases the mass of crystals deposited equaled in 
 volume the clear syrup above them from which they had 
 separated. For the reason that the conditioner the syrups 
 at the time they were sent to the laboratory at Washing- 
 ton could not, in many cases, be ascertained ; in the analy- 
 ses no account is made of the sugar which had been de- 
 posited in this way ; but in the table inserted in the Report 
 only the amount of cane and uncrystallizable sugar in solu- 
 tion at the time the analysis was made, is made to appear. 
 The necessity which led to this arrangement is to be re- 
 gretted, for some true syrups of drainage (molasses) from 
 which the greater part of the sugar had already separated 
 are here compared side by side with others which were 
 known to contain all their original sugar. But it is worthy 
 of note that specimens which had previously deposited a 
 mass of crystals equal in bulk to half the length of the 
 bottle which contained the syrup, still contained a very 
 large per cent, of cane sugar, — in one instance, 35 62 per 
 cent, of cane and 2811 per cent, of uncrystallizable sugar.* 
 
 * No. 7. White imphee syrup, uncryst. sugar, 28'11 per cent.; crystal- 
 lizable sugar, 35'62; water and impurities, 36-27 = 100*00. If to tlie 
 35*62 per cent, of cane sugar, we add the "sediment of light-colored 
 crystals of cane sugar extending half the length of the bottle," which 
 may he inferred to have amounted to near 50 per cent, of the whole 
 contents of the bottle by weight — say 45 per cent., the 55 per cent, of 
 clear syrup, analyzed, contained ; 
 
 Uncrystallizable sugar 15*46 
 
 Cane sugar ....*... 19*59 
 "Water and impurities 19*96 
 
 55*00 
 To which add cane sugar crystallized . . . 45*00 
 
 100*00 
 Hence this syrup originally contained 64*59 per cent, cane sugar, and 
 15*46 uncrystallizable. It may be inferred that a part of the 15*46 per 
 cent. Is sugar reduced to an uncrystallizable condition by the action 
 of heat. The original per cent, of uncrystallizable sugar must have been 
 exceedingly small and the juice of great purity. 
 
DR. WETITERILL'S ANALYSES. 183 
 
 It is probable that in all cases in which the cane from 
 which these syrups and sugars were made was pure, that 
 nearly all the uncrystallizable sugar left in the molasses was 
 decomposed cane sugar, resulting from defective means of 
 evaporation, want of proper defecation, etc. This is now 
 known to be true as respects the uncrystallizable sugar in 
 the syrup made from Southern cane, although it was long 
 thought to be a natural product, and treated as such. 
 
 The samples of sugar sent to Dr. Wetherill were un- 
 equivocally cane sugar, and in most cases exhibited a degree 
 of purity equal to that of commercial sugars made from 
 the tropical cane and the beet. 
 
 The results of all the foregoing analyses and practical 
 experiments, corroborated by my own investigations, made 
 with care, during a series of years, fully justify me in 
 asserting that there is yet unhybridized Chinese cane in 
 this country, containing in the matured juice not less than 
 16 or It per cent, of saccharine matter, which is nearly 
 all crystallizable cane sugar. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 HOW TO TEST CANE JUICE. 
 
 Importance to the Manufacturer of some Means by which he may 
 learn the Value of any given Sample of Cane Juice — Character- 
 istica of Crystallizable and Uncrystallizable Sugars — Microscopic 
 Sections of the Stem of Chinese Sorghum and Imphee — How to 
 distinguish between Grape and Cane Sugar in the Solid Form — 
 Methods of determining approximately the Relative Propor- 
 tions of Cane and Grape Sugars, and Impurities in'Sorghum Juice 
 — The Hydrometer — Subacetate of Lead — Modification of Feh- 
 ling's Copper Test — Peligot's Test by Sugar Lime. 
 
 It is possible, by means of certain chemical processes, 
 to determine accurately the composition of the cane juice, 
 and to indicate the precise quantities of crystallizable and 
 uncrystallizable sugars in any given sample. To the sugar 
 grower it is always of the first importance to have at hand 
 the means of ascertaining this, if not with rigorous accu- 
 racy, at least to within a close approximation to the truth. 
 Often a simple experiment directed to this end, if carefully 
 performed by him, will serve as a guide to the mode of 
 treatment to be pursued in any given case. It is not ne- 
 cessary that he should previously be possessed of any chem- 
 ical knowled'ge ; he has simply to become acquainted with 
 some of the characteristic properties of the substances 
 which are daily passing through his hands. Without this 
 he cannot have a competent knowledge of his art. A pre- 
 liminary test, requiring but little time or care, would often 
 ri84) 
 
CANE SUGAIl IN THE CELLS OF THE PLANT. 185 
 
 be invaluable to the manufacturer, if he knew how to apply 
 it, in order that he might avoid errors, in which much time 
 and money would be tlirowu away. It is true, that by 
 adopting a proper system of cultivation, the caiie may be 
 made to yield a juice of a pretty uniform character, yet we 
 never can have the product under perfect control; the 
 quality of the juice will vary within certain limits, with 
 ■ the variable influences of soil, season, situation, and other 
 conditions. 
 
 It is desirable, oftentimes, to know what particular changes 
 may have been the results of certain methods of culture, or 
 of the use of special fertilizers. Improvement in the sac- 
 charine quality of the juice, and in the health and vigor 
 of the plant, are objects of constant solicitude to the 
 planter: but without a criterion by which to mark his 
 progress, haw can he know whether he is doing well or ill ? 
 The characteristic properties of the two kinds of sugar 
 usually found in sorghum juice, here first demand attention. 
 In the ripe, unadulterated plant, the uncrystallizable sugar 
 is found only in minute quantity, its presence being mani- 
 fested only by the use of very delicate chemical tests. In 
 ripe cane, which has hybridized with an inferior variety, 
 or which has been grown upon unsuitable soil, or exposed 
 to other improper influences, the disproportion between 
 the two kinds of sugar is very much diminished, and the 
 juice is more impure. In imripe cane, grape sugar is 
 largely predominant, and is often the exclusive product. 
 It seems to be impossible to separate this sugar, along with 
 the cane sugar, in the solid form, although a part of it may 
 be made to assume a granular condition when cane sugar 
 is not present, after evaporation and a long period of rest. 
 Another part, however, permanently retains the liquid form 
 under all circumstances, and this has been denominated 
 fruit sugar, but a solution containing cane sugar is capa- 
 
 16* 
 
186 
 
 HOW TO TEST CANE JUICE. 
 
 ble of yielding in the solid or crystalline form cane sugar 
 only. Inasmuch as the other two varieties of sugar above 
 mentioned are not distinguishable from each other by the 
 ordinary chemical tests, and exhibit the same properties, 
 they are recognized throughout this volume by one name, 
 that of grape sugar. They form a viscid liquid, which, if 
 found in large proportion in syrup, renders the cane sugar 
 practically uncrystallizable, by acting as a barrier to the 
 union of its particles. 
 
 An incontrovertible evidence of the preseitee of cane 
 sugar almost exclusively in the juice of sorghum, is afforded 
 in the fact that thin sections of the fresh stalk of the plant 
 under the microscope exhibit the cells filled with innumer- 
 able minute crystals of pure white sugar, which by their 
 form and other criteria are shown to be cane sugar only. 
 Scarcely a trace of any other substance is found in the cells. 
 This is well represented in the engravings. 
 
 Fig. 3 represents a thin slice of the stalk of Chinese 
 cane (transverse section, from near the center of the stem), 
 magnified 200 diameters. 
 
 Fig. 3. 
 
 ''■^ .?tl^fe^i:^:<f^?|f%^^?' 
 
 vA 
 
 Fig. 4. 
 
 Fig. 4. Transverse section of Neeazana or white Imphee, 
 magnified 200 diameters (outer series of cells). The cells 
 in this variety of cane are very large. 
 
 The pithy part of the stalk throughout, uniformly pre- 
 sents the same appearance as that given above. 
 
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. IST 
 
 Tn THE SOLID FORM Cane and grape sugar differ in many 
 particulars. 
 
 1. CrtjAuUine form. Cane sugar occurs in the form of 
 bold, angular, colorless crystals, having the form of oblique 
 six-sided prisms, when a hot saturated solution is allowed 
 to cool and evaporate slowly. Crystals rapidly formed are 
 generally imperfectly shaped, but present various modifica- 
 tions of the regular form. 
 
 Grape sugar, on the contrary, takes the form of minute 
 tubercular or wart-like granules (sucre mamelonne of the 
 French), which, under the microscope, assume the appear- 
 ance of delicate feathery tufts. There is no resemblance 
 between the regularly crystallized, brilliant, prismatic cane 
 sugar and grape sugar, as will be evident if we compare 
 good refined sugar with the white granules on the surface 
 of raisins, or the mealy sediment in honey, or in jellies pre- 
 pared from acid fruits, such as the American crab-apple or 
 currant. 
 
 2. Specific gravity. Cane sugar has a much greater 
 specific gravity than grape sugar. The following are av- 
 erage results. 
 
 Specific gravity. 
 
 Cane sugar (Rook oanay, Pereira) 1-606 
 
 Grape sugar, crystalline tufts, variable 
 
 with the dryness 1-390 to 1-400 
 
 3. Solubility. One ounce of water at ordinary temper- 
 atures, can dissolve three ounces of cane sugar, but only 
 two-thirds of an ounce of grape sugar. 
 
 4. Sweetness. The sweetening power (and consequently 
 the value) of cane sugar-is much greater than that of grape 
 su2;ar, one pound of the former being equal to two and a 
 half pounds of the latter. 
 
 5. Fusibility. Pure crystals of cane sugar, heated to a 
 temperature of 356° F., melt (impure sugars at a lower 
 
188 HOW TO TEST CANE JUICE. 
 
 heat, Muscavado at 280° F.) ; at a higher degree of heat 
 (about 400° F.) they decompose, losing two equivalents of 
 water, and are converted into caramel, a dark-brown sub- 
 stance possessing an alkaline reaction, of the chemical 
 composition Cj^ Hg Og, and freely soluble in water and alco- 
 hol. It is from this substance that most of the dark color- 
 ing matter in molasses is derived. 
 
 Grape sugar when a dry solid (specific gravity 1 39) 
 fuses into a thin watery liquid at a temperature of only 
 220° F. When heated to 270° F., this fluid sugar boils 
 briskly, giving off y^ of its weight of water, and concretes 
 on cooling, into a bright-yellow, brittle, deliquescent mass. 
 
 6. Deliquescence. Pure cane sugar remains unaltered 
 in the air ; grape sugar absorbs moisture, and becomes wet 
 and clammy (impure cane sugar also). 
 
 1. Eeaclion with sulphuric acid. Cane sugar, when 
 acted upon by strong sulphuric acid, assisted by a slight 
 heat, becomes rapidly blackened (caramelized). 
 
 Grape sugar dissolves freely in the acid without black- 
 ening. 
 
 8. Reaclion with alkalies. When cane sugar is heated 
 with a little of a strong solution of potash or soda to the 
 boiling point, the liquid does not become colored, but 
 grape sugar similarly treated assumes a brown tint. 
 
 9. Chemical composition. These sugars are composed 
 of the same elements, but they are not united in the same 
 proportions. 
 
 Cane sugar is C^ Hjj On 
 
 Grape sugar, dried at 212° F., is Cj, Hj, 0„ 
 
 10. Relative proportions of carbon. From the above 
 it is evident that grape sugar contains relatively less car- 
 bon. The following were found to be the relative propor- 
 
SPECIFIC QRAVITY. 189 
 
 tions of carbon in different samples of sugar analyzed by 
 Prout : 
 
 Per cent, of Carbon. 
 
 Pure sugar candy, or best refined sugar 42-85 
 
 East India sugar candy 41-90 
 
 East India raw sugar, dry and of low quality 40-88 
 
 Sugar from Narbonne honey 36-36 
 
 Sugar from starcli 36-20 
 
 In a SOLUTION of sugar most of the tests above given 
 cannot readily be applied. Only such means can be em- 
 ployed as will not disturb the delicate equilibrium of the 
 chemical forces upon which the existence of the sugar 
 depends. The per cent, of sugar in a pure solution may 
 be most readily ascertained by taking its specific gravity, 
 and this is the use of the hydrometer or saccharometer. 
 But this instrument can give correct indications in a pure 
 solution only. If other substances than sugar are in the 
 solution, they will of course affect its density, and a false 
 indication will be the result. 
 
 Moreover, in a pure saccharine solution, composed of cane 
 sugar mixed with grape sugar, the hydrometer does not 
 enable us to determine their relative proportions. Accord- 
 ing to Ure, " At 1-342 syrup of cane sugar contains TO per 
 cent, of sugar; at the same density syrup of glucose or 
 grape sugar contains 751- per cent, of concrete matter, dried 
 at 260° F., and therefore freed from the 10 per cent, of 
 ■water which it contains in the granular state." These sugars 
 thus differ from each other in the relative densities of solu- 
 tions containing equal weights of each respectively. Hence, 
 in even a completely defecated sample of cane juice, the 
 indications of the hydrometer are of little value, for they 
 give us no means of distinguishing between the different 
 kinds of sugar present in the mixed solution. When the 
 per cent, of grape sugar in a liquid is already known by 
 
190 HOW TO TEST CA.VE JUICE. 
 
 other methods, the hydrometer can then be employed to 
 advantage for determining the per cent, of cane sugar, and 
 it should generally be limited to this use. 
 
 The hydrometer of Beaume is the common form, but the 
 scales of different instruments do not always correspond, 
 and hence the continued liability to error. Every instru- 
 ment before being used should be subjected to the following 
 test : Place the hydrometer in pure water at a temperature 
 of 60° F., and the point near the top of the stem to which 
 it sinks is the of the scale. Prepare a solution of 15 
 parts of common salt in 85 parts of water by weight, and 
 at the same temperature as the above, and the place to 
 which it sinks should mark 15° of the scale. The value of 
 each degree of this scale expressed in specific gravities, 
 and correspondent per cent, of sugar are given in table II. 
 
 A specific gravity bottle affords a convenient means of 
 testing the accuracy of the hydrometer, and when an ex- 
 treme degree of accuracy is required, it should be used in 
 its place. It is a bottle containing just 1000 grains, or 
 100 grammes of distilled water at 60° F., when the stop- 
 per is inserted and the outside of the bottle is wiped 
 dry. The stopper is of ground glass with a hole through 
 its center, or a groove cut in its side with a file, to admit 
 of the escape of any superfluous liquid in filling the bottle. 
 When such a bottle cannot be had, a phial of any capacity 
 with a similar stopper may be used, and the exact weight 
 of water at 60° F. which it will hold, ascertained The 
 specific gravity of the liquid to be examined is obtained by 
 filling the bottle with it and dividing its weight by the 
 weight of the water. 
 
 Thus if the weight of the bottle full of water at 60° F. 
 is 1000 grains, and the weight of the solution of sugar at 
 60° F. is 1083 grains, the specific gravity of the solution 
 will be 1083 divided by 1000, or 1083. Referring to table 
 
RELATIVE PROPORTIONS OF THE SUGARS. 191 
 
 II., we find that the specific gravity ] 083 corresponds to 
 11° Beaume's hydrometer, or to 20 per cent, of cane sugar.* 
 
 The saccharometer is a hydrometer upon which the per 
 cent, of sugar may be read off directly, without reference 
 to a table, and this form should be in general use. 
 
 The following tests may be applied when it is desired to 
 determine approximately the relative proportions of cane 
 and unerystallizable sugars, and impurities in a given sam- 
 ple of cane juice. To a given weight of the fresh juice, 
 filtered through a cloth to remove fragments of pith, etc., 
 and poured into a narrow jar or glass test cup, add care- 
 fully a few drops of a strong solution of snbacetate of lead, 
 stir it with a glass rod, and let it remain at rest until the 
 upper portion of the liquid becomes clear. Decant a little 
 of this into a small phial or test tube, and add a single drop 
 of the solution of subacetate of lead. If the liquid becomes 
 clouded as before, return to the test jar what was taken out, 
 and add a little more of the lead solution. Let the precip- 
 itate settle, and test again, continuing to add the subacetate 
 in small portions at a time, until it ceases to disturb the trans- 
 parency of the sugar solution. f Take a wide tube of about 
 
 * Since ttie refractive power of a body in solution is not influenced by 
 chemical combination, it is possible that a more valuable instrument 
 than the hydrometer might be constructed, which would indicate the per 
 cent, of sugar in solution. 
 
 f Subacetate of lead possesses the valuable property of separating 
 from the saccharine solution in the insoluble form, any other organic sub- 
 stances which it contains. In order to determine the quantity of impu- 
 rities, therefore, throw the whole of the precipitate obtained as above, 
 upon a filtering paper, wash it with pure water upon the filter, allowing 
 the water to fall upon it in a fine stream. Repeat this again after the 
 water has passed off, let the precipitate remain upon the filtering paper 
 until it is nearly dry, remove it carefully from the paper with a thin-bladed 
 huife, place it in a thin capsule of silver or copper the exact weight of 
 which is known, and then dry it perfectly in a water or steam bath. 
 Weigh the capsule and its contents, and subject it to a heat strong 
 
192 HOW TO TEST CANE JUICE. 
 
 a foot in height (a large lamp chimney will answer the 
 purpose), tie a piece of coarse canvas over one of its open 
 ends, and pour in dry, fregh, well washed animal charcoal 
 (such as is used in the filter of the evaporator), until it is 
 about half full, pack it down closely, and then pour in a 
 convenient portion of the clarified juice from the test jar, 
 collect it as it passes through the filter, rejecting the first 
 that passes through, or about one-fourth of the whole volume 
 of the liquid, because it is below the average strength. 
 When the filtration is complete, return the remainder of 
 the liquor to the filter, and filter a second time. If cane 
 sugar only is present, the specific gravity bottle or hydrom- 
 eter will give its per cent, in the filtered juice. Any excess 
 of lead is retained by the boneblack, and separated en- 
 tirely from the liquid. 
 
 It remains to ascertain the relative proportions of the 
 grape and cane sugars in the solution. Of the different 
 methods that may be employed for this pur-pose, but one 
 can be recommended to those unprovided with chemical 
 apparatus or unskilled in their use. This method consists 
 simply in evaporating, in a shallow vessel, a weighed por- 
 tion of the filtered juice, above mentioned, to the consistence 
 of a thick syrup — the evaporation, at least during its last 
 stages, being accomplished by means of the wafer-bath, or 
 by exposing the evaporating dish to the heat of the steam 
 escaping from a vessel of boiling water. The syrup should 
 then be placed in a situation where it will be exposed to a 
 uniform temperature of about t0°-80° F. If it has not 
 crystallized after the lapse of a week, add to it a few drops 
 
 enough to burn off all the organic matter. Weigh the protoxide of lead 
 ■which remains, and its weight subtracted from the weight of the dried 
 contents of the capsule already known, will give that of the organic 
 matter with which it was combined. This method is sufficiently accurate 
 for ordinary pui-poses. 
 
FEULINO'S SOLUTION. 193 
 
 of alcohol, and let it remain a week longer. If the juice 
 is of good quality, crystallization will rapidly ensue at the 
 first, the whole mass of syrup becoming solidified ap- 
 parently into crystals of cane sugar. If the proportion of 
 uncrystallizable sugar is large, crystallization will be re- 
 tarded, and if the experiment was made upon the juice of 
 impure or very unripe cane, it will refuse to crystallize at all. 
 
 When the whole mass has become solid with crystals, 
 place it in a bottle, after breaking it up into fragments, and 
 pour upon it four or five times its volume of anhydrous 
 alcohol, digest in a water-bath for half an hour or more, 
 meanwhile shaking the bottle repeatedly. Afterwards let 
 it remain at rest for several hours, and then decant the 
 clear solution. Repeat this washing with alcohol once or 
 twice, then dry the undissolved sugar contained in the bottle, 
 over boiling water, and weigh it. The loss in weight is the 
 amount of uncrystallizable sugar dissolved by the alcohol. 
 
 The practical sugar maker may find it inconvenient, or 
 unnecessary to his purpose to continue the experiment far- 
 ther than to discover to what extent the sugar is crystal- 
 lizable. 
 
 Other and more intricate methods, leading to more im- 
 mediate and accurate results, will commend themselves to 
 those whose opportunities and acquirements befit them for 
 the task of conducting them with success. 
 
 1. The Copper Test. Fehling's Solution. — This 
 method depends upon the property possessed by grape or 
 fruit sugar — but not by cane sugar — of reducing to the state 
 of suboxide the hydrated protoxide of copper when the 
 latter is presented to it in an alkaline solution, and the 
 temperature of the mixture is elevated to the boiling 
 point. The quantity of the oxide of copper reduced is 
 proportional to the quantity of grape sugar in the solution, 
 
 It 
 
194 HOW TO TEST CAItE JUIOB. 
 
 but uniform results are not obtained except in a nicely 
 regulated alkaline solution. Fehlingh solution is of this 
 character, and is not liable to decomposition at ordinary 
 temperatures. It may be prepared as follows : 
 
 40 grammes of sulphate of copper, 160 grammes of 
 neutral tartrate of potash (or 200 grammes of tartrate of 
 soda) are dissolved and added to TOO-800 c. c. (cubic centi- 
 meters — grammes) of caustic soda speciSc gravity 1-12. 
 This dilute with water to 1154-5 cubic centimeters. Of 
 this solution 
 
 , ,. ^. , f 0-0050 grape sugar 
 
 loubiccentimeter = |y.og4g J^^^ ^^^^^ 
 
 or grains instead of grammes — and then 1 grain=00050 
 grape sugar, without further change of calculation. And 
 
 100 parts of grape sugar 1 220-5 CuO or 
 
 95 parts of cane " / ~ 198 Cu^ 0* 
 
 Fresenius, in his late able treatise upon Quantitative 
 Chemical Analysis, gives very minute directions for the 
 successful application of this test, which, somewhat con- 
 densed, I insert below. It will be observed that sorghum 
 juice, being a mixed solution of sugars, must be subjected 
 to two experiments. One portion of a given sample to 
 determine the per cent, of grape sugar — and another to 
 determine that of cane sugar by reducing the latter 
 to the condition of grape sugar, and applying the same 
 test. By subtracting the quantity of grape sugar indicated 
 by the first experiment from that indicated by the second, 
 we obtain the quantity of grape sugar into which the cane 
 sugar was converted, and thence by a simple calculation 
 the cane sugar itself, from the data given above. 
 
 . The cane juice to be tested should be a clear solution, 
 prepared by precipitating with subacetate of lead, and 
 
 * Dr. Uro. 
 
fehling's solution. 195 
 
 filtering through boneblack as before recommended, or by 
 treating about 15 c. c* of the crude boiling juice with a 
 few drops of milk of lime, filtering through animal char- 
 coal, washing the precipitate thoroughly on the filter, 
 adding the washings to the filtrate, and diluting it to 15 or 
 20 times its original volume. Add 12 drops of dilute sul- 
 phuric acid (SO3 HO-l-5 water) and boil the mixture from 
 1 to 2 hours, adding water as it evaporates. This opera- 
 tion is best conducted in a steam-bath. Neutralize the 
 free acid by means of a dilute solution of carbonate of 
 soda. 
 
 27(6 sugar solution must be highly dilute, containing 
 only one-half, or, at most, 1 per cent, of sugar. If in a first 
 experiment the sugar solution is too concentrated, dilute it 
 with a definite quantity of water and repeat the experi- 
 ment. 
 
 Tlie copper solution prepared, as directed by Fresenius, 
 gives very accurate results. f "Dissolve exactly 34'632 
 grammes of pure crystallized sulphate of copper, com- 
 pletely freed from adhering moisture by pulverizing and 
 pressing between sheets of blotting paper, in about 200 
 c. c. of water. Dissolve in another vessel 113 grammes of 
 perfectly pure crystallized tartrate of soda and potassa in 
 480 c. c. of pure solution of soda of 1 14 sp. grav. Add the 
 first solution gradually to the second, and dilute the deep 
 blue clear liquid exactly to 1000 c. c. Every 10 c. c. of 
 this solution contains 0-34fi32,gvm. of sulphate of copper, 
 and correspond exactly to 0-050 grm. of anhydrous grape 
 sugar. Keep the solution in a cool dark place, in well- 
 stoppered bottles filled to the top, as absorption by car- 
 bonic acid would lead to the separation of suboxide of 
 
 * c. u. cubic centimeters. See table V. 
 
 + Freaenius'a Quant. Chem. Analysis. London, 1860, pp. 676-9. 
 
196 HOW TO TEST CAXE JUICE. 
 
 copper upon mere exposure to heat. Tbis might be pre- 
 vented, however, by the fresh addition of solution of 
 soda. Before using the solution, boil 10 c. c. of it for 
 some minutes, by way of trial, with 40 c. c. of water, or 
 dilute solution of soda if there is reason to believe that 
 the fluid has absorbed carbonic acid ; if this operation 
 produces the least change in the fluid, and causes the sepa- 
 ration of even the smallest quantity of suboxide, the solu- 
 tion is unfit for use. 
 
 " The process. — Ponr 10 c. c. of the copper solution into 
 a porcelain dish, add 40 c. c. of water, or very dilute solu- 
 tion of soda if required, heat to gentle ebullition, and 
 allow the sugar solution to drop slowly and gradually into 
 the fluid from a burette or pipette divided into J^j c. c. 
 After the addition of the first few drops, the liquid shows 
 a greenish-brown tint, owing to the suboxide and hydrated 
 suboxide suspended in the blue solution. In proportion as 
 more of the sugar solution is added, the precipitate be- 
 comes more copious, acquires a redder tint, and subsides 
 more speedily. When the precipitate presents a deep-red 
 color, remove the lamp, allow the precipitate to subside a 
 little, and give to the dish an inclined position, which will 
 enable you readily to detect the least bluish-green tint. To 
 make quite sure, however, pour a little of the clear super- 
 natant liquid into a test tube, add a drop of the sugar 
 solution and apply heat. If there remains the least trace 
 of salt of copper undecomposed, a yellowish-red precipitate 
 will form, appearing at first like a cloud in the fluid. In 
 that case pour the contents of the tube into the dish, and 
 continue adding the solution of sugar until the reaction is 
 complete. The original amount used of the solution of 
 sugar contains 0050 grammes of anhydrous grape sugar. 
 
 "When the operation has terminated, ascertain whether 
 it has fully succeeded; that is, whether the solution really 
 
fehling's solution. 121 
 
 contains neither copper, sagar, nor a brown product of the 
 decompoyition of the latter. To this end filter off a por- 
 tion of the fluid while still quite hot. The filtrate must be 
 colorless (without the least brownish tinge). Heat a por- 
 tion of it with a drop of the copper solution, acidify two 
 other portions, and test the one with ferroeyanide of po- 
 tassium, the other with sulphuretted hydrogen. Neither 
 of these tests must produce the slightest alteration. If 
 the fluid contains a perceptible quantity of either oxide of 
 copper or sugar, this is a proof that too much or too little 
 of the latter has been added, and the experiment must 
 accordingly be repeated. The results are constant and 
 very satisfactory. Bear in mind that the solution of sul- 
 phate of copper must always remain strongly alkaline ; 
 should the sugar solution be acid, some more solution of 
 soda must be added." 
 
 Second melhod. — This may be resorted to in cases in 
 which from the dark color of the saccharine fluid it is diffi- 
 cult to determine the exact point at which the process of 
 reduction and separation is accomplished. In this case 
 the solution of copper may be used in excess, and the sub- 
 oxide which precipitates determined. 
 
 "This requires the same solutions as the first. Pour 20 
 c. c. of the solution of copper and 80 c. c. of water, or of 
 highly dilute solution of soda, if required (or a larger quan- 
 tity of the copper solution diluted with water, or solution 
 of soda in the same proportion), into a porcelain dish. 
 Add a measured quantity of the dilute sugar solution, but 
 not sufficient to reduce the whole of the oxide of copper, 
 and heat for about 10 minutes on the water-bath. When 
 the reaction is completed, wash the precipitated suboxide of 
 copper by decantation with boiling water. Pass the decanted 
 fluid through a weighed filter, dried at 212° F., then trans- 
 fer the precipitate also to the filter, dry at 212° F., and 
 
198 HOW TO TEST CANE JUICE. 
 
 weigh. Or ignite the suboxide of copper with access of 
 air, and convert it completely into oxide by treating with 
 fuming nitric acid. 
 
 " 100 parts of anhydrous grape sugar correspond to 
 22005* of oxide of copper, or 198'2 of suboxide of cop- 
 per,"}" or 155 "55 of iron converted from the state of sesqui- 
 chloride to that of protochloride. In the application of 
 this method, it must be borne in mind that the separated 
 suboxide of copper will, upon cooling of the supernatant 
 fluid, gradually redissolve to oxide, being reconverted into 
 this by the oxygen of the atmosphere. Hence the neces- 
 sity of washing the precipitate by decantation with boiling 
 water. " 
 
 The details of this method are thus given at length, for 
 the reason that it is the test most depended upon for de- 
 termining the quantity of grape sugar in a solution. With 
 the exception, perhaps, of that given below, it is the only 
 purely chemical process known that may be implicitly relied 
 upon for its accuracy, and by means of which the result is 
 reached with facility and dispatch. 
 
 An elegant quantitative test for cane and grape sugar has 
 been proposed by M. Peligot, which I have found to give 
 uniform results. I give this method as described by Dr. 
 Ure. "Peligot's method depends upon the definite consti- 
 tution of sugar lime (or saccharate of lime), its greater 
 solubility in water than in lime alone, and the unalterability 
 of this solution by heat. Soubeiran found sugar lime to 
 consist of three equivalents of lime to 2 equivalents of 
 
 * Fehling obtained as highest result 219-4 grammes of oxide of copper. 
 
 f Neubauer found in his experiments with starch that 0-05 of the latter 
 correspond to 0'112 of suboxide of copper. As 90 of starch gives 100 of 
 grape sugar, 0*05 of the former correspond to 0*0555 of the latter. Ac- 
 cordingly 100 of grape sugar gires actually 201-62 of suboxide of copper, 
 instead of 198-2. 
 
peligot's method. 199 
 
 sugar; i.e. 84 parts lime to 342 sugar, or about 1 to 4. 
 10 grammes of sugar dissolved in 75 cubic centimeters of 
 water, ground up with 10 grammes of slaked lime, filtered 
 and again filtered through the lime, 10 c. c. of the filtrate 
 dilated with 2 to 3 deciliters of water and tinctured with 
 a little litmus, are carefully neutralized with a measured 
 volume of dilute sulphuric acid (21 grm. oil of vitriol in 1 
 liter water), and the quantity of acid used noted. It gives 
 the quantity of lime neutralized, and, from the above pro- 
 portion, the quantity of sugar present. 
 
 "If cane sugar is to be examined for starch or grape 
 sugar, one test is made as above, and another in which the 
 liquid is heated to 212° P., and then, when cool, tested 
 with the acid. The lime solution with cane sugar becomes 
 cloudy by heat but clarifies on cooling, while if grape sugar 
 be present it becomes brownish yellow, and requires much 
 less acid for neutralization. Indeed, a deciliter of starch 
 sugar solution requires 4 c. c. of the test acid, or just as 
 much as lime-water itself. 
 
 " The amount of sugar in a solution is estimated by the 
 amount of lime which it will dissolve, and the lime is determ- 
 ined alkalimetrically by means of the acid. A table has 
 been constructed by Peligot for calculating the results." 
 (See table IV.) 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 COMPARISON OF SOUTHERN CANE AND SORGHUM. 
 
 1. Botanical Characters — Period of Growth — Propagation — Tiller- 
 ing — Climate — Soil — Manures — Maturity of Juice — Condition of 
 the Juice 'in different parts of the Stalk — Chemical Composition 
 of the Stalk — Chemical Composition of tie Juice. 
 
 The following brief but comprehensive sketch of the chief 
 characteristics, respectively of Southern sugar cane and 
 sorghum, will, it is hoped, serve to correct misapprehensions 
 existing in the minds of many in regard to the relative 
 importance of the latter as a sugar plant. A comparison 
 is here instituted which will show that these two species 
 of plants, although differing widely from each other in 
 some particulars, are really very much alike — that the 
 Northern cane is a true analogue of the cane of the South, 
 in its most important characters, although of a different 
 species — and that in saccharine richness the one approaches 
 much more closely to the other than has generally been 
 believed. 
 
 It is obvious that where the resemblance between them 
 is close — due allowance being made for differences in their 
 natural relations to soil, climate, etc. — those modes of 
 treatment, which the experience of two or three centuries 
 has proved to be the best for the one plant, may safely, 
 and with great advantage, be applied to the other. On the 
 (200) 
 
BOTANICAL CHARACTERS. 201 
 
 other hand, where strong, distinctive habits and properties 
 are manifested by each, necessity requires the employment 
 of means and processes adapted to those peculiarities. 
 
 1. Botanical Characters. — Both plants are members 
 of the natural family Graminese — the grasses — to which 
 also maize, millet, rice and our common cereal grains are 
 referred. Unlike the latter, however, but like maize, they 
 have solid pithy stems, charged with a saccharine juice. 
 
 Southern Sugar Cane, or Saccharuvi Officinarum. 
 
 Gen. Char. — Spikelets all fertile, in pairs, one sessile, 
 the other stalked, two-flowered, lower floret neuter, with 
 1 palea, the upper hermaphrodite, with 2 paleae. Olumes 
 2, membranous, subequal, concave. Paleae thin, transpa- 
 rent. Stamens 1 — 3, styles 2, stigmas feathered with 
 simple toothletted hairs. 
 
 Spe. Char. — Culm solid with pith, closely jointed 
 (joints about three inches or more apart), about 1^ inch 
 diameter, brittle, of a green hue, verging to yellow at 
 maturity, 8 — 15 feet high in Louisiana, sometimes 20 feet 
 in the tropics. Leaves flat, linear lanceolate, 3 or 4 feet long, 
 1 to 2 inches broad, of a sea-green tint, striated, fall off as 
 the plant matures. Panicle 1 to 2 feet long, pyramidal, 
 of a gray color from the long, white, silky hairs that sur- 
 round the flower. 
 
 There are several distinct varieties, such as the common 
 yellow or Creole cane, the purple, giant, and Tahiti or 
 Otaheitan. All, except the last, native in Southeastern 
 Asia. The Otaheitan cane was obtained from Otaheite, 
 one of the Society Islands. 
 
202 COMPARISON OF SOUTHERN CANE AND SORGHUM. 
 
 Sorgh um. — Sorgh um Saccharatum. 
 
 Gen. Char. — Spikelets in twos or' threes on slender 
 branches, middle spikelet complete, two-flowered, the lower 
 flower abortive, lateral spikelets sterile, pedicels smooth or 
 slightly pubescent, awned, in some varieties, bearded or 
 downy. Glumes 2, coriaceous, concave — paleae membran- 
 ous. Stamens 3, styles 2, stigmas feathered. 
 
 Sp. Char. — Culm solid with pith, joints 10 inches apart 
 in some varieties, in others not more than 3 to 7 inches 
 (Liberian), 1 inch to 1| inch in diameter, 8 to 15 feet in 
 height, green — some varieties yellow when mature. Leaves 
 lanceolate, acuminate, pubescent at the base, 2 to 4 inches 
 broad, persistent. Panicle somewhat diffuse (Red imphee 
 and Chinese), or compact and erect (Oomseeana), or droop- 
 ing at top when mature (Neeazana). 
 
 Numerous varieties. Chinese cane derived from the 
 north of China. Imphee cane from South Africa, near 
 Cape Natal, in Caffer-land. 
 
 2. Period of Growth. S. cane. — Perennial from the 
 root-stalk in the tropics, flowering in from 12 to 20 months. 
 Period from planting to flowering 12 months, from plant- 
 ing to ripening 16 to 20 months. In Louisiana it never 
 matures its seeds in ordinary cultivation. 
 
 Sorghum, annual, at least in temperate latitudes. The 
 period of growth difi'ers according to the variety, varying 
 from 3 to 5 months. 
 
 3. Propagation. S. cane. — Propagated, ordinarily, in 
 tropical climates, and always in the sugar district of the 
 Gulf States, from cuttings — joints, 15 to 20 inches in 
 length, taken from the top of the stem, which is the least 
 valuable part of the plant. In Louisiana, on account of 
 constant deterioration, it is necessary to replant every third 
 
TILLERING — CLIMATE. 203 
 
 or fourth year, twenty-five acres out of every hundred gen- 
 erally being constantly employed in the propagation of the 
 joints from which the cane on the other seventy-five acres 
 is grown. 
 
 Sorghum. — Propagated from seeds planted annually. 
 In this case all the labor is saved which, in the cultivation 
 of the Southern cane in Louisiana, is expended in working 
 the unproductive fourth of the whole breadth of land. 
 
 4. Tillering. S. cane. — The cutting or buried joint 
 throws out a number of stalks (ratoons) in a manner anal- 
 ogous to that by which a single root of wheat becomes 
 multiplied, i.e. by tillering. 
 
 Sorghum. — In a similar way, as already shown (see Ch. 
 XL), the crop of sorghum is largely increased by side shoots 
 arising from the root. Sorghum cannot be propagated 
 from cuttings of the stem, but when the stems are cut down 
 they ratoon, giving a second crop, which does not ripen 
 except in climates where the summer is sufficiently long. 
 Mr. Leonard Wray states, that in South Africa he has 
 grown ratoons of Neeazana, or white Imphee, six feet high, 
 and in flower in two months after the first cutting, — some- 
 times fifteen stalks tillering out from one root. These 
 ripened their seed. 
 
 5. Climate. S. cane. — The production, within the 
 United States, restricted to a very narrow belt of country 
 bordering on the Mexican Gulf. 
 
 Sorgr^wm. -^Already defined(seeCh. IX.); some varieties 
 can be ripened wherever Indian-corn is successfully grown. 
 
 6. Soil. S. cane. — The most favorable soil is a deep, 
 rich, moist loam. The soil of new lands and of rich valleys 
 is pernicious to the saccharine quality of the juice. The 
 sugar is always dark when the cane is grown in such situ- 
 
204 COMPARISON OF SOUTHERN CANE AND SORGHUM. 
 
 ations, and the Juice is poor, "requiring double the quautity 
 to the hogshead that it does when the canes are of less 
 rank growth."* 
 
 Sorghum. — More sensitive in this respect than Southern 
 sugar cane. The same kind of influence is exerted upon 
 the juice by the soil of new land, but in a much higher 
 degree. The Chinese sorghum is more liable to injury from 
 this source than the imphees. The most suitable soil is 
 deep, rich, elevated, and calcareous. (See Ch. VIII.) 
 
 1. Manures. S. cane. — When animal manure is largely 
 supplied to the plant, the ammonia augments in the juice 
 the substances containing nitrogen (albuminous and glutin- 
 ous matter), and hinders or totally prevents crystallization 
 of the sugar. The same effect follows in the South after 
 rotation with the cow-pea.-[ 
 
 Sorghum. — Exhibits very markedly in the character of 
 its juice, exposure to similar influences. The ammonia 
 sometimes imparts its taste to the syrup from cane largely 
 supplied with barn-yard manure. 
 
 8. Maturity op the juice. S. cane. — Juice matured, 
 or of the greatest saccharine richness before the time when 
 the plant is in flower, during which time and afterward its 
 yield of cane sugar rapidly diminishes, the latter being 
 transformed into other substances, starch in the seed, or 
 woody fiber in the stem. 
 
 Sorghum. — Juice matures after the flowering process 
 has passed, and when the seed is hardening (imphee) or 
 perfectly ripe (Chinese cane). Previously the saccharine 
 matter was almost wholly grape sugar. 
 
 » Patent Office Report, 1849-50, p. 168. 
 
 ■f Benjamin, De Bow's Eesouroes of S. and W. States. 
 
condition op the juice in the stalk. 205 
 
 9. Condition op the juice in difperent taets of the 
 STALK. iS. cane. — In different portions of the same stalk 
 the constituents of the juice vary considerably (at least 
 in the case of cane grown in Louisiana), and especially 
 in the nature of the saccharine products. In Otaheitan 
 cane of nine months' growth, McCulloh found the three 
 or four top joints had a sour, astringent taste, promptly 
 staining the knife black with which they were cut, and yield- 
 ing but a small quantity of juice, which, by the copper test, 
 was found to contain grape sugar, and no starch. Subace- 
 tate of lead gave a precipitate of a dark olive color, equal 
 in volume to | of the entire mixture. 
 
 Three or four joints below these had a slightly sweet 
 astringent and acid taste,* of a density of 7° Beaume ; with 
 this juice subacetate of lead gave a dense, dark olive pre- 
 cipitate, iu bulk equal to ^ of the entire volume of the 
 mixture as in the former case — grape sugar was also found 
 
 * The presence of a free acid in the juice of sorghum has induced some 
 to infer, without investigation, that the plant contains only grape sugar. 
 The fact is just the reverse, as is clearly proved; but that sorghum juice 
 is not an isolated example of the fact that in the living plant the pres- 
 ence of an acid is not incompatible with the existence of cane sugar, the 
 above experiment attests. The experiments of MM. Berthelot and 
 Buignet (Comptes Kendus, vol. li. p. 1094), on the ripening of oranges, 
 show this still more clearly. They have proved, in a series of accurate 
 and laborious investigations, that cane sugar is formed and increases in 
 an acid medium. Not only does the citric acid appear not to act in in- 
 verting the cane sugar already formed, but it does not oppose the aug- 
 mentation of the sugar itself. The orange, both before and after the 
 period of maturity, contains both cane and inverted sugar. The weight 
 of the latter varies little ,• it was first preponderant, but during maturation 
 the relations changed, and cane sugar became the most abundant. The 
 weight of the cane sugar augments relatively to the total weight of the 
 orano-e. It increases equally, whether compared with the total weight 
 of the juice or with the weight of the fixed matter contained in the 
 jujoe. — ^London Chcm. News, 1861, vol. y. p. 117. 
 
 18 
 
206 COMPARISON OF SOUTHERN CANE AND SORGHUM. 
 
 to be present. This juice contained also 10-4 per cent, of 
 cane sugar. 
 
 Three or four joints from the bottom of the same cane 
 yielded a juice of the specific gravity 10-5° Beaume, per- 
 fectly sweet in taste, and gave no trace of grape sugar. 
 Subacetate of lead gave a light olive-colored precipitate, 
 in quantity much less than the similar precipitates of the 
 above experiments, less dense, and in bulk only half the 
 volume of the mixture. This juice contained 194 per cent, 
 cane sugar. 
 
 In accordance with these facts, it is the custom in Lou- 
 isiana to discard as useless the upper part of the stalk, the 
 lower half only being sent to the mill to be pressed. 
 
 Sorghum. — In the juice of different parts of the same 
 stalk the same constituents are found, but they bear a dif- 
 ferent ratio to each other in the different parts, and when 
 the plant is mature, nearly all the saccharine matter which 
 it contains throughout is cane sugar. The juice of unripe 
 cane resembles very closely that of the upper joints of 
 Otaheitan cane above mentioned. If a stalk of fresh ripe 
 Chinese cane is divided transversely into three parts each 
 of equal length, the upper joints are found to contain not 
 only less juice, but relatively a much smaller proportion of 
 saccharine matter than the middle or lower portions. Sub- 
 acetate of lead gives a very dense and voluminous precip- 
 itate, indicating a large proportion of extractive matter. 
 Taste unpleasant, somewhat mawkish and bitter. Juice 
 not astringent, and does not blacken, readily, polished iron. 
 
 The middle portion of the stalk contains a less amount 
 of impurities than the above, and its juice is more trans- 
 parent. The pith is crisp and solid, possessing a pure 
 sweet taste. The juice contains about 1^ per cent, of 
 matter precipitated by subacetate of lead, color of expressed 
 
CHJi.MIC^L COMPOSITION OP THE STEM. 20T 
 
 juice bright olive green, perfectly colorless after precipita- 
 tion by the sabacetate. 
 
 The lower joints (always excepting the one which grew 
 immediately above the surface of the ground) differ little, 
 if at all, from the middle joints. The specific gravity of the 
 crude juice from all parts of the stem is about the same, 
 averaging 1-073, or about 10° Beaum6. 
 
 No portion of the stalk of sorghum cane should be re- 
 jected except the two or three upper joints, which contain 
 but little juice. 
 
 10. Chemical Composition — The Stalk. S. cane. 
 
 Avequin analyzed the fresh Tahiti and ribbon cane of 
 Louisiana ; Depuy, the fresh cane at Guadaloupe ; Peligot, 
 by combining the composition of cane juice with that of the 
 dried canes sent him from Martinique, has also deduced the 
 composition of fresh cane. The results of these analyses 
 are compared with those of the stalk of sorghum (Chinese 
 cane), made by Prof J. Lawrence Smith and myself. 
 
 SOUTHERN OANB. 
 
 Dupuy. Peligot. Avequin (Louisiana). 
 
 Tahiti Cane. Ribbon Cane. 
 
 Sugar 17-8 18-0 14-280 13-392 
 
 Woody fiber 9-8 9-9 8-867 9-071 
 
 Mucilaginous, resinous, and 1 
 
 albuminous matter and >■ 0-4 0-773 0-809 
 
 salts, j 
 
 Water 72-0 72-1 76-080 76-729 
 
 100-0 100-0 100-000 100-000 
 
 SORGHUM. 
 
 Smith. Stewart. 
 
 Sugar 12-0 14-5 
 
 Woody fiber, albumen, and salts 12-4 12-5 
 
 Water 75 6 73-0 
 
 100-0 100-0 
 
208 COMPARISON OF SOUTHERN CANE AND SORGHUM. 
 
 On account of the softer texture of the outer covering 
 of the stalk of sorghum, and es-peoially on account of the 
 greater length of the internodes — or spaces between the 
 joints of this cane, as compared with the tropical cane — 
 its juice may be more readily and perfectly expressed. 
 (See Ch. XIX.) 
 
 11. Chemical Composition — The Juice. S. cane 
 
 Properties of the juice : color, pale yellowish gray, faint 
 balsamic odor, frothy as it flows from the mill, turbid and- 
 opalescent, on account of the suspension of finely divided 
 matter separable by filtration. A few drops of sulphate of 
 copper solution and an excess of caustic potash occasion, 
 on heating, a very -abundant red precipitate of suboxide of 
 copper in the juice, indicating the presence of glucose or 
 grape sugar (Fownes). Specific gravity 1-070 to 1-090, 
 (Fownes, Evans), but sometimes varies from 1 046 to 1 -110, 
 or from 7° to 15° Beanme (Evans). Otaheitan cane juice 
 1-070 at 77° F. (McCulloh). The juice gives a slightly 
 acid reaction with litmus paper. 
 
 Sorghum. — Color of the fresh juice, bright green, with a 
 tinge of yellow (Chinese cane), or yellowish green, inclining 
 to brown in some samples (imphee) — a faint and peculiar 
 odor most marked in imphee juice. The presence of grape 
 sugar is generally indicated by the application of the copper 
 test. Blue litmus paper is instantly reddened when dipped 
 into the juice, showing that the solution is acidulous — 
 least so in pure Chinese cane juice, most so in red imphee 
 (Shlagoova). Specific gravity varies from 1-050 to 1-090, 
 or from 7° to 12° Beaume. Average of crade juice, Chi- 
 nese, ripe, 1-075 to 1-080, or 10° to 11° Beaume. 
 
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OP THE JUICE. 
 
 209 
 
 TROPICAL SUGAR CANE. 
 
 Avequin. 
 (La.) 
 
 Sugar 15 784 
 
 Organic matter and salts 0-376 
 
 Water 83-840 
 
 Casaseca. 
 
 Evans. 
 
 (Cuba.) 
 
 
 20-94 
 
 18-20 
 
 0-26 
 
 0.80 
 
 78-80 
 
 81-00 
 
 100-000 100-00 100-00 
 
 SORGHUM. 
 
 Juice of Chinese Cane. 
 (Stewart.) 
 
 Sugar 16-00 
 
 Organic matter and salts... 1-60 
 Water 82-40 
 
 100-00 
 
 Per cent. 
 of Sugar. 
 
 Variety of 
 Cane. 
 
 13-7 Chinese (Smith.) 
 
 16-6 Chinese (Jackson.) 
 
 15-9 Imphee " 
 
 16 Chinese ....(Madinier.) 
 
 18* 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 NATURAL AFFINITIES OF THESE CANES — INFERENCES 
 DERIVED THEREFROM. 
 
 The Nature of the Relationship between Chinese Cane, Imphee, etc. 
 — Species — Varieties — Are they all of one Species or of several? 
 — Facts which throw Light upon this Question — Tests of Specific 
 Identity — The Inference that they are of one Species not at yari- 
 ance with the Fact of their wide Geographical Distribution — The 
 Climate of China — Early Planting of Cane necessary in that 
 Country — The Climate of Southeastern Africa — Inferences — 
 Precautions to be observed — Mr. Wray's Account of the Imphee 
 Canes of South Africa. 
 
 A KNOWLEDGE of the true nature of these new sugar 
 plants, and of their relationship to each other, would en- 
 able us to determine how far the very variable characters, 
 exhibited by each, are capable of being retained or fixed, 
 what probable limits there are to their fature improvement, 
 and what precautions must be observed in order that the 
 saccharine matter in the juice may reach its most perfect 
 development. 
 
 The affinities of plants are determined by certain common 
 points of resemblance, and naturalists have generally agreed 
 in the opinion that, certain peculiarities, which are contin- 
 ually reproduced by the individual forms possessing them^ 
 are characteristic of Species. In other words, species are 
 represented by individuals descended from a common stocli, 
 which invariably retain certain peculiarities of form, etc., 
 through all successive generations wherever they are found. 
 (210) 
 
ARE THESE CANES OP ONE SPECIES? 211 
 
 Yery striking, but less constant, peculiarities of a subor- 
 dinate kind are also exhibited. Some of these, however, 
 as long as they are subjected to human control or to highly 
 favorable influences, are likewise regularly reproduced, and 
 individuals, which possess them in common, are thrown 
 into sub-groups, which are known as Varieties. When 
 the controlling influence is withdrawn, these varieties or 
 races generally revert by degrees to their original form, 
 losing totally, in time, their subordinate characteristics, 
 and at last are distinguishable in no respect from their 
 primitive type. 
 
 Thus the essential characters of species are permanent; 
 those of varieties are inconstant. It has also been observed, 
 and is generally conceded, especially by botanists, that vari- 
 eties freely hybridize with each other, and thus become 
 modified, while species naturally do not; or if hybrids 
 have in some instances been produced from two individuals 
 of closely allied species, their offspring is barren. The 
 tendency of different varieties, of a single species, to freely 
 intermix and produce an offspring as fertile as the parents 
 is suflBciently constant, if it may not be regarded as an 
 evidence of specific identity among all the individuals 
 possessing it. 
 
 We are less concerned to know what is the true place 
 of these canes in botanical classification than to determine 
 their real affinities, and how certain peculiarities, which 
 they now exhibit, may be perpetuated ; yet, as the one 
 involves the other, the answer must be to the question : 
 are all the different kinds now grown in this country vari- 
 eties of one species, or are they not ? 
 
 If they are varieties of a single species, we may infer 
 that they will be constantly liable to change, until their 
 qualities have become fixed and perpetuated, through in- 
 fluences continually exerted upon them under human direc- 
 
212 NATURAL AFFINITIES — INFEEENCES. 
 
 tion, or, on the other hand, that they will continually 
 degenerate if those controlling infiiiences are withheld. 
 
 Now what is the evidence of the facts which regularly 
 come under our observation ? We find that ever since 
 sorghum and imphee have been cultivated withio the 
 United States, they have not only freely commingled when 
 grown in each other's vicinity, but they have also freely 
 amalgamated with doura, or Guinea corn, and with broom 
 corn, and new and fertile varieties may thus readily be pro- 
 duced and perpetuated. No other grasses exhibit an ex- 
 ample of such prolificacy in the hybrids of well-determined 
 species. 
 
 But if they are distinct species, there must be found some 
 characters to fasten upon which can be regarded as constant, 
 and such also as demand recognition, as belonging to spe- 
 cies. Such a character is certainly not presented in the 
 saccharine quality of the juice, for the same is possessed in 
 a greater or less degree by other kindred species of grasses ; 
 nor can any others properly be so regarded. 
 
 Among the most decisive tests of specific identity are the 
 following : two races may be regarded as specifically dis- 
 tinct when there are no intermediate gradations tending 
 to connect them, and, conversely, two races may be re- 
 garded as specifically identical when they are connected 
 together by close intermediate gradations. (Carpenter.) 
 
 Applying this principle, we discover, in collections 
 embracing the different kinds of this cane grown in the 
 United States, that all the prominent characters, which 
 might be thought at first sight to indicate specific diversity, 
 are manifested in a greater or less degree by all alike, and 
 that there is almost every possible gradation between ex- 
 treme forms. Chinese sorghum, the different kinds of 
 imphee, doura corn, and broom corn, are distinguishable 
 from each other chiefly by such trivial characters as the 
 
GEOGRAPHTCAL DISTRIBUTION. 213 
 
 open or more compact form of the panicle, the color 
 and degree of prominence of the seeds beyond the glumes, 
 the shape of the seeds, whether round, or more or less 
 elliptical or oval, pubescence, difference of stature, and in 
 the proportions of saccharine and other matters in the juice. 
 None of these characters are of such a kind or importance 
 as to entitle them to be regarded as a basis of specific dis- 
 tinction. We conclude, therefore, that like the different 
 varieties of Indian-corn, of the potato, the cabbage, and 
 the tomato, these races are all referable to a common stock. 
 
 This inference is not at variance with the fact that dif- 
 ferent varieties are now found apparently indigenous to 
 geographical regions very widely separated. On the sup- 
 position that they had a common origin, there is nothing 
 improbable in believing that through Egypt the original 
 plant may readily have found its way to the extremity of 
 either of the connected continents, where they now grow. 
 But community of origin is not essential to specific identity, 
 and the question whether these plants originated in a single 
 locality or not, is unimportant in this connection. The 
 wide geographical distribution of the several varieties is 
 more easily accounted for upon the supposition that they, 
 as well as other plants, were created in the regions where 
 they were found. 
 
 The reason why one strongly-marked variety is found 
 only in a remote district of Eastern Asia (Chinese cane), 
 and another on the southeastern coast' of Africa (Imphee), 
 and another in Nubia and Egypt (Doura), is certainly no 
 more difficult of explanation than why the red currant 
 should be truly indigenous to both this country and Europe, 
 or why the wild hop- vine of our glades, or the "Jerusalem 
 artichoke" from the great western plains should here en- 
 counter their own living fac-similes migrating with man 
 from an eastern clime. 
 
214 NATURAL AFFINITIES — INFERENCES. 
 
 Nor is ttere any greater difference between the Chinese 
 cane and the Imphee, or between the Imphee and the 
 Doura, than the peculiarities of climate and soil are uni- 
 formly found to eastamp upon plants or animals exposed 
 to them — or than the diversity of physiognomy of the races 
 of men native to those regions — the Mongul and the Caf- 
 fre, or the Caffre and the Copt. 
 
 The history of sorghum sugar cane is buried in such deep 
 obscurity that it is almost useless to inquire what was the 
 original type of the species. One variety — the Doura or 
 Guinea corn — has been known to Europeans, perhaps, 
 longer than any other. It was introduced into Jamaica, 
 and thence into our Southern States, in the last century.* 
 The brief sketch given in Chap. I. embraces nearly all 
 the information respecting the Chinese sorghum accessible 
 at present. The Chinese assert that they have made sugar 
 for 3000 years. In the neighboring Islands of Japan much 
 of the common sugar in use is made from sorghum, as we 
 are told by the Rev. Dr. Betelheim, recently a missionary 
 in that country. To what extent, if at all, the plant is 
 used for the same purpose in the north of China, which has 
 a similar climate, cannot yet be determined. Prom the 
 best information hitherto obtained, the climate of Niphon 
 (one of the Japanese Islands) and of the northern parts of 
 China corresponds closely in temperature to the midland 
 regions of this country in the latitude of St. Louis, Mo., 
 or the climatic belt in which sorghum culture has heretofore 
 proved the most successful. 
 
 In Eastern Asia, however, the geographical range of the 
 plant northward is abruptly checked by the great rainless 
 plateau, or Desert of Shamo, the southern limit of which 
 follows closely the northern boundary of China, or the 
 
 * Morse, Geog., p. 76i. 
 
CLIMATE OF NORTHERN 'CHINA. 215 
 
 Great Wall. The whole of Northern China is drained by 
 the river Hoangho and its tributaries, and possesses very 
 diversified features, — lofty mountains, warm, sunny slopes, 
 elevated plains, and broad, rich valleys. At Shanghae, 
 which is on the coast on the southeastern border of this 
 district, spring opens early, and the rains are periodical or 
 at the changes of the monsoons. These occur from the 
 middle of March to the middle of April, and from the 
 middle of September to the middle of October. Crops 
 are planted there before the middle of March, so as to en- 
 joy the benefit of the spring rains. Succeeding them, or 
 from the end of April to the middle of September, the 
 weather is generally dry, the sky clear, hot at noonday, 
 often rising to 100° F. in the shade during the months of 
 July and August, and pleasant at night. These peculiari- 
 ties of climate would make it necessary to plant the cane 
 before the spring rains, or before the middle of March, and 
 to cut it before the middle of September in this its native 
 climate. Evidence is thus afforded that the natural habits 
 of the plant are adapted, during the early part of its 
 growth, to just such climatic conditions as are usual during 
 early spring in our own country — a period of low tempera- 
 ture and frequent rains, succeeded rapidly by hot summer 
 weather. 
 
 The soil* of this portion of China is said to be chiefly 
 clay on the uplands, of a yellowish-brown color, derived 
 from clay-slate, largely commingled with loam from the 
 underlying rocks. The valleys are often broad and very 
 fertile. 
 
 The correspondence of the climate of China, as well as 
 of all Eastern Asia to that of the eastern coast of North 
 America, is a noteworthy fact, which is due, in a great 
 
 * Patent Office Eep., 1857, p. 169, etc. 
 
Missing Page 
 
WaAY'S ACCOUNT OF THE IMPHEES. 217 
 
 ties, — some have deteriorated, while others have certainly 
 improved. It is also evident that the planter is, to a high 
 degree, responsible for these changes. Within certain well- 
 defined limits, he holds the destiny of this plant under his 
 control. The care and enthusiasm of the stock-raiser is 
 needed in this pursuit. Certain qualities may be made 
 transmissible, and permanent varieties, like new breeds of 
 cattle, may thus be originated and perpetuated. Without 
 sedulous attention, and enlightened skill bestowed both in 
 the culture of the plant and in selecting for it those condi- 
 tions of growth and of improvement which its proper nature 
 demands, gradual deterioration will be the result; but if 
 the aim is to improve to the utmost every good quality, 
 under the guidance of a just judgment of its wants and its 
 capacity for improvement, we shall have varieties much 
 superior to any at present known. 
 
 For the purpose of comparison, Mr. Leonard Wray's 
 account of the different varieties of iraphee cane, at the 
 time of their introduction into this country (the year 1851), 
 is here appended. 
 
 " I am acquainted with fifteen varieties of the Holcus 
 Saccharatus, although I doubt not there are yet others in 
 different parts of the world that have not come under my 
 notice. I shall therefore confine my remarks to the fifteen 
 varieties ; and to prevent the constant repetition of their 
 botanical name I shall use their Zulu-Kaffir name of imphee 
 alone. 
 
 "Among Europeans, residing in South Africa, no dis- 
 tinction is known in regard to the varieties, and there they 
 will be much surprised at learning that there are really 
 fifteen different kinds of imphee growing before their eyes 
 and being constantly eaten by them. There is certainly 
 that degree of similarity between them, when seen growing 
 
 19 
 
218 NATURAL AFFINITIES — INFERENCES. 
 
 together, which is quite sufBcient to puzzle any one who 
 has not thoroughly studied them, and this is so much the 
 case that there are very few male KafBrs even who can dis- 
 criminate between some of the varieties; in consequence 
 of which I had very frequently to call in the superior agri- 
 cultural knowledge of the old KafBr women, until I had 
 learned to distinguish them with certainty myself. 
 
 "When I had attained this first most desirable step, I 
 had next to learn their several peculiarities and value, 
 which I was able to do with greater exactness by planting 
 the seed, watching them daily during their growth, and 
 eventually testing the saccharine value of their juices, and 
 making sugar from them all in large quantities. 
 
 " Vim-his-chu-a-pa. This is the largest size, and the 
 tallest of the whole, while it is full of juice and very sweet. 
 When planted in rich alluvial soil it attains its greatest 
 size and most perfect development, requiring from four to 
 five months to arrive at maturity. It grows to a height of 
 from ten to fifteen feet, is one and a half to two inches in 
 diameter at the lower end of the stalk, and usually cracks 
 or splits as its ripens. By means of a most primitive and ill 
 constructed little wooden mill, I obtained sixty per cent, of 
 juice from the stalk. This juice was clean and clear, and 
 the saccharometer showed it to contain fourteen per cent, 
 of sugar, after I had removed the feculae by means of cold 
 defecation. The sugar it yielded was folly equal to the 
 best cane sugar of the West Indies. The stalks, carefully 
 weighed, were found to vary from one and a half to two 
 and a half pounds English weight each, trimmed ready for 
 the mill. The seed head, which is very large and beautiful, 
 is generally from twelve to eighteen inches in length, con- 
 taining many thousands of fine plump seeds, of a sandy, 
 yellow color, strongly held by a sheath, which partially en- 
 velops them. 
 
wray's account of the imphees. 219 
 
 " E-a-na-moo-dee is the next in size, and is very similar 
 both in habit and value to the last. It attains a height of 
 twelve to thirteen feet, but is not so coarse in appearance, 
 nor does it contain so much woody fiber as the Vim-bis- 
 chu-a-pa, but is rather softer and more juicy, I haviug 
 obtained from it sixty-four per cent, of juice, containing 
 fourteen per cent, of sugar. The stalks weigh from one 
 to two pounds when trimmed ready for the mill, and I 
 have cut as many as eleven such stalks from one root or 
 stool. The seed heads are large, but stiff and erect, con- 
 taining quantities of large, round, plump seeds, of a clear 
 yellow color. In general they may be said to ripen two 
 weeks earlier than the last named. Like the Yim-bis-chu- 
 a-pa, this variety ratoons in about three to three and a 
 half months after the first cutting. 
 
 " E-en-gha. This is a fine, tall kind, being from ten to 
 twelve feet high when full grown, but it is more slender 
 than either of the foregoing, and exceedingly graceful in 
 appearance. It begins flowering in ninety days, and is 
 fully ripe three weeks after ; we will, therefore, class it at 
 four months. I have had stalks weighing as much as one 
 pound fourteen ounces each. The largest commonly 
 obtained may then be estimated at two pounds weight; 
 yielding, by my poor little mill, sixty-eight per cent, of 
 juice, containing fourteen per cent, of sugar. I have 
 obtained ten stalks from one stool. They ratoon in three 
 months after cutting. The seed head of the Een-gha is 
 large and very pretty, the seed being upon long, slender 
 foot-stalks, which are bent down by the weight of the 
 seed, forming a graceful drooping. The seeds, which are 
 of a dull yellow color, are rather long and flat than plump 
 and round. 
 
 "Nee-a-za-na" (White Imphee) "is held by the Zulu- 
 Kaffirs to be the sweetest of all the imphee kind ; but I 
 
220 NATURAL AFFINITIES — INFERENCES. 
 
 found the Boom-vwa-na and the Oom-see-a-na quite as 
 sweet, and, in my estimation, their juices are superior to it 
 in some points. My Zulus have told me that under favor- 
 able circumstances the Nee-a-za-na frequently ripens in 
 seventy-five days ; and my head-man (a most intelligent 
 native plowman) declares that he has had them from his 
 own land as sweet as any sugar cane. From my own 
 actual experience I found that they ripened in about three 
 months, and that they were the softest and most abounding 
 iu juice of any. With my mill, I obtained seventy per 
 cent, of juice, much still remaining in the trash, and the 
 saccharometer showed fifteen per cent, of sugar after 
 cold defecation. This, then, for European culture is a 
 perfect gem of a plant ; one which will be anxiously 
 sought after, and very generally cultivated throughout 
 Europe at least. In two months after the first cuttings I 
 have had the ratoons six feet high, and in flower. The Nee- 
 a-za-na is a very small sized variety, but tillers out greatly, 
 having sometimes fifteen stalks to one root. I have had 
 its stalks varying from four ounces to twelve ounces in 
 weight, but they do grow rather larger than this. It 
 always appeared to me that their juice was more mucila- 
 ginous, and abounding in faculae than the two varieties I 
 have just mentioned. The seed head is very bushy and 
 branchy, and, when thoroughly ripe, the seeds are large, 
 round and plump. 
 
 " Boom-vwa-na is a most excellent and valuable variety, 
 of which I have eaten single pieces, containing certainly 
 two or three per cent, more sugar than the average juice 
 obtained from large bundles of stalks taken as they come. 
 This average jnice never contained less than fifteen per 
 cent, of sugar, as indicated by the saccharometer, after 
 the raw juice had been cold defecated ; and there is a clear- 
 ness, a brightness, and a genuine sugar cane sweetness in 
 
■wray's account op the imphees 221 
 
 the juice of this variety, and of the Oom-see-a-na that I 
 very much admire. In its growth and general appearance 
 it is very much lilie tbe E-en-gha, but its stalks are brighter 
 and more slender; its leaves are not so broad, audits seed 
 vessels are upon shorter and stiffer foot-stalks. The stalks 
 have a pinkish-red tint, which increases as they approach 
 maturity; and the seed cases have a pink and purple hue, 
 mixed with the general yellow ground. The Boom-vwa-na 
 tillers very much, giving from ten to twenty stalks for one 
 root; but they seldom weigh more than one pound each. 
 I have obtained seventy per cent, of juice, which is easily 
 clarified, and makes a beautiful sugar. The plant reaches 
 perfection iu from three to three and a half months. 
 
 " Oom-see-a-na" (a variety of this misnamed " Ota- 
 heitan") "is a peculiarly marked variety, in consequence 
 of the purple or black appearance of its seed heads, arising 
 from the sheath or seed cases being of this color, and not 
 the seed itself. The seed head is very stiff and erect, 
 with short strong foot-stalks, and the seed is large, round 
 and full. In time of growth and goodness of juice, it is 
 very similar to the Boom-vwa-na ; its stalks are small, but 
 numerous. They both ratoon well from first cuttings. 
 
 " Shlagoo-va " (Red Imphee) "is slightly inferior to the 
 three last named varieties, but is nevertheless very valua- 
 ble, and much prized by the Zulus. It takes three and a 
 half months to ripen, and becomes a tall, good sized plant, 
 but its chief distinction is the exceeding beauty and ele- 
 gance of its seed heads. The foot-stalks are extremely 
 long, which causes them to have a graceful drooping, 
 while the seed cases, or sheaths, vary in color from a deli- 
 cate pink to a red, and from a light to a very dark purple, 
 but each color very bright and glistening, forming on the 
 whole an extremely beautiful appearance. 
 
 " Shla-goon-dee, This is a sweet and good variety, and 
 19* 
 
222 NATURAL AFFINITIES — INFERENCES. 
 
 under favorable conditions produces fine-sized stalks. The 
 seed lieads are very stiff and erect, and the seed vessels 
 are compact and very close. It usually takes three and a 
 half months to reach maturity, and it ratoons very quickly, 
 as the following memorandum of my diary will show : 
 'December 13th. Cat down a small patch of imphee, and 
 dug up the ground for the purpose of planting arrow-root, 
 but some of the imphee not being entirely eradicated, 
 sprung up afresh, some roots having fifteen stalks each. 
 On the 18th of February, one of them (Shla-goon-dee) 
 was upwards of six feet in height, with a thick stalk, and 
 the seed head just thrown out, being only two months and 
 five days from its being cut down and apparently de- 
 stroyed.' This bunch of seed I gathered during the first 
 week in March, and I have it now in England. 
 
 " Zim-moo-ma-na. This is likewise a sweet and good 
 variety, with seed heads upright and compact, and fine 
 plump seeds, very numerous. 
 
 " E-hoth-la, Boo-e-a-na, Koom-ha-na, See-en-gla, Zim- 
 ba-za-na, and E-thlo-sa, form the remainder of the fifteen 
 varieties, each differing slightly from the others in its 
 saccharine qualities, as well as in appearance, but still 
 easily distinguished from each other by any one who .has 
 studied them." 
 
 It will be seen from the above descriptions, that the 
 imphees now most commonly grown in this country have 
 already suffered considerable modification. The Neea- 
 zana and Oomseeana have improved. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 OTHER PRODUCTS. — SYNOPSIS OF PROCESS OP 
 MANUFACTURE. 
 
 Success in Sugar Manufacture in a great degree dependent upon 
 Economy in the Use of the Waste Products — Value of the Cane 
 Trash for Manure — Paper Manufacture — Rooiing — How Silk, 
 Wool, and Cotton may be dyed various Colors from a Material 
 contained in the Seeds and Trash — Use of defecated unripe 
 Juice as a Source of Grape Sugar, to add to Grape Wine by Dr. 
 Gall's Method — Uses of the Seed, etc. — Vinegar. 
 
 Synopsis of the Process of Manufacture — Cream of Lime — Mode of 
 Purifying Barrels. 
 
 The utilization of what are commonly regarded as the 
 waste products of a sugar manufactory is of much import- 
 ance. Although the capacity of the plant for the produc- 
 tion of sugar and syrup is to be regarded as the principal 
 and almost exclusive element in any rational computation 
 of its value, we should not lose sight of the fact that success 
 in this branch of industry at the North will depend in a 
 great degree upon the skill of the sugar planter, in making 
 the best possible use of every material within his reach. 
 
 It is of primary importance to him to increase the pro- 
 ductiveness of his lands to 'the utmost extent within his 
 power. It has already been shown (Ch. VII.) how the 
 trash pile may readily be made subservient to that end by 
 restoring annually to the land most of the substances ne- 
 cessary to the growth of future crops, which are annually 
 
 (223) 
 
224 OTHER PEODTJCTS. 
 
 removed with the cane. This use of the trash and of all 
 other waste materials, derived from the plant or introduced 
 during the process of manufacture, will generally be found 
 preferable to any other uses to which they may be applied. 
 It has been found that a cheap and good quality of paper 
 can be produced from the crushed cane, and where a paper 
 mill is convenient, it may be more economical to dispose of 
 it for that purpose, provided that a larger quantity of ma- 
 terials, as valuable for manure as the trash, is purchased 
 and returned again for the price for which the latter was 
 sold. 
 
 There is another use, however, to which cane trash may 
 be put, that well deserves attention. It has been known 
 for some years past, that the Chinese produce in fabrics of 
 silk and wool a beautiful red color, which is derived from 
 the seeds of sorghum. Experiments made both in this 
 country and in Europe, likewise show that the same dye 
 may be obtained from the crushed canes. For this purpose 
 they must be sheltered from the rains after they are re- 
 ceived from the mill, and thrown in close piles until fer- 
 mentation sets in. Afterward the heaps are to be opened, 
 and stirred frequently to prevent heating, which would 
 destroy the coloring matter. When their color has changed 
 to red or reddish brown, they are then cut up, washed and 
 dried. A weak lye of caustic potash may be used to extract 
 the color from them.* By neutralizing this alkaline solu- 
 tion with a weak solution of oil of vitriol the color falls in 
 the form of red flakes, which are easily soluble in alcohol, 
 alkalies, and diluted acids. 
 
 To Mr. Henri Erni, Chemist in the National Agricul- 
 tural Department, we are indebted for the following obser- 
 
 » A. Winters, in Liebig's Jahresberioht, 1859, p. 754; quoted by Weth- 
 erill, Ag. Eep. 1862, p. 535. 
 
SORGnUM DYE. 225 
 
 vations respecting the mode of using this new dyeing ma- 
 terial, derived from experiments conducted by himself in 
 the laboratory at Washington City : 
 
 * " The simplest solvent is alcohol (very expensive at 
 present). Dilate acids were resorted to with very good 
 success, and at an expense and trouble hardly worth men- 
 tioning. The seeds were boiled in vinegar, or in water to 
 which oil of vitriol had been added, before heating, until 
 the mixture tasted as acid as vinegar. Other acids, such as 
 tartaric, oxalic, etc., can be used, but are more expensive. 
 When the liquid assumes a red or rather an intense orange 
 color it is ready for use. The articles to be colored are at 
 once brought into the hot solution, and agitated until the 
 color no longer increases. They are at once removed and 
 dipped into a weak solution of salt of tin (chloride of tin), 
 obtained by dissolving tin in hydrochloric acid. They are 
 then exposed to the air for a short time, and washed. 
 
 " Cotton and silk may thus be colored red, wool turns to 
 a beautiful purple, and an almost unlimited variety of colors 
 and shades may be obtained by substituting for salts of tin 
 other mordants. All the various shades of red, purple, 
 orange, gray, etc. are thus produced from the same bath, 
 the cloths being afterward drawn through solutions of pro- 
 tochloride of tin, bichromate of potash, sulphate of copper, 
 ammonia, lime-water, snbnitrate of bismuth, etc. Yellow is 
 produced by adding to the seed sufficient nitric acid to form 
 a thick mushy mass. Too much acid will make a straw 
 color. 
 
 " The dye turns solid by standing, and may thus be stored. 
 To dye silk or wool yellow, the solid dye is dissolved in 
 boiling water, the goods dipped into it and afterward 
 washed. 
 
 * Report of Department of Agriculture, 1864, p. 532, 
 
Missing Page 
 
SORGHUM FLOUR. — VINEGAR. 221 
 
 thus prepared differ but little from those prepared from 
 well-ripened grapes, and are much to be preferred to the 
 fermented fruit juices in common use. 
 
 Sorghum seed has frequently been used for the manufac- 
 ture of a kind of flour which has proved to be nutritions 
 and valuable. It somewhat resembles buckwheat flour. 
 In the Southern States particularly, large quantities of it 
 were used during the late rebellion. That made from cer- 
 tain varieties of cane contracts a light pinkish color from 
 the outer covering of the seed. The seed, ground with 
 oats or corn, or without intermixture, forms a valuable feed 
 for horses and cattle, and is considered to be equal to rye 
 for this purpose. The whole grain boiled is also excellent 
 food for cattle or fowls. From thirty to fifty bushels of 
 seed may be grown upon an acre of ground. The blades, 
 and young cane from the second cutting of early ripening 
 varieties, may profitably be cured (see Ch. XII.) and used 
 as hay. 
 
 The scum produced in this process is very valuable for 
 feeding swine for fattening, but the precaution must be 
 taken to commence feeding it in small quantities, gradually 
 increased, and always in connection with grain. It should 
 not be fed in a fermented condition. 
 
 Ordinary cane juice is capable of being converted into 
 from 5 to 9 per cent, of alcohol. The mode of making 
 vinegar from sorghum juice, or from the washings of the 
 pans, the filter, etc., differs in no respect from that ordina- 
 rily pursued in converting cider into vinegarj except that 
 when the juice of cane is used, it must previously have 
 been thoroughly defecated. Before fermentation a cupful 
 of fresh yeast must be added to each cask. 
 
SYNOPSIS OF THE PROCESS OF MANUFACTUEE. 
 
 Into one division of the double tank M, admit the juice 
 from the mill through the pipe (Fig. 5) represented below, 
 
 Fig. 5. 
 
 and placed as indicated in Ch. XV., adopting the precau- 
 tions there mentioned.* If the mill is placed upon a plat- 
 form (Ch. XXV.), a straight pipe only is required 
 
 Fill up one division of the tank to the mark, and turn 
 the current of juice into the other. Add gradually to the 
 former milk of lime until the red litmus paper changes 
 color, stirring the juice well. Then pour in the proper 
 measure of the clarifier, and stir. Meanwhile, the fire has 
 been kindled in the furnace. When the water in the evap- 
 orator is boiling briskly, open the gate of division A for its 
 escape into B. At the same time permit the prepared 
 
 * For the bucket upon the head of the pipe a larger vessel may be sub- 
 stituted (if preferred), consisting of a tightly jointed box about 2 feet 
 in length by 15 inches in width and the same in depth. Two or three 
 light frames, covered with coarse canvas, iitting into grooves in the 
 sides of the box, divide it transversely into compartments, through 
 which the juice passes successively, entering the box at one end and 
 passing out into the pipe at the other. All the suspended matters in the 
 liquid are thus removed, and with the advantage that the canvas strain- 
 ers in the upright position are not easily clogged, and are removed with 
 facility when it is necessary to clean them. The first of the series of 
 strainers should be coarse, so as to arrest the grosser impurities, such as 
 fragments of pith, etc., and the rest successively finer. A modification 
 of this simple arrangement constitutes the celebrated leafjilter of Mr. 
 Jos. S. Levering. 
 
 (228) 
 
SYNOPSIS OF THE PROCESS OF MANtTFACTTJRE. 229 
 
 juice from the tank to enter A in a small continuous stream. 
 (See directions, Ch. XV.) Draw off the water succes- 
 sively from all the divisions of the pan, and admit in its 
 place the clai'ifled juice. The boneblack filter should pre- 
 viously have been carefully filled with well washed, odor- 
 less (well burned) animal charcoal. Retain the water upon 
 the filter, so that it may cover its surface, until the syrup 
 is to be admitted into C, when it must be allowed to es- 
 cape in advance of the juice. Admit the syrup into 
 the finishing pan D, at intervals, in sufficient quantities, but 
 not to a greater depth than 1| inch at a time. Boil for 
 Byrup to 228° F., or for sugar to 230°-232° F. 
 
 For the defecation of juice which is more than ordina- 
 rily impure or unripe, the first method indicated in Ch. 
 XX. is perhaps to be preferred, but the second method 
 should generally be employed when the cane is in good 
 condition. 
 
 Remember to keep the depth of juice in A at about ^ 
 inch, and never flood it. The central square betweeen the 
 ledges should be continually overspread by a sheet of 
 boiling juice. Do not permit the filter to be overflowed, 
 but allow the syrup in the filter to cover constantly the 
 surface of the charcoal. 
 
 Syrup for crystallization should be allowed to accumu- 
 late in the cooler, and should be removed at night to a 
 room kept heated to not less than about 80° F. Observe 
 the precautions to be used in filling the boxes, draining, etc. 
 (Refer to Ch. XYII., etc.) 
 
 Cream of Lime. This should always be prepared be- 
 forehand, from good quick-lime, as follows : Upon a half 
 peck of lime, freshly slacked, pour two or three gallons of 
 boiling water, stir the mixture, and let the lime have time 
 to settle to the bottom ; decant the clear liquid ; pour 
 
 20 
 
230 SYNOPSIS OF THE PROCESS OP MANUPAOTUEE. 
 
 upon the lime another gallon or two of hot water, and 
 decant a second time. Place the washed lime in a deep jar, 
 mixed with just enough of water to make a mixture of the 
 consistence of very thick cream. The coarse particles will 
 fall to the bottom, while the finer sediment will occupy the 
 upper part of the jar. Dilute it with a little water when it 
 is to be used. 
 
 Cleansing of Barrels. Syrup barrels of all kinds, and 
 especially those which hare contained old molasses, should 
 be thoroughly cleansed. The importance of this will be 
 bettej appreciated when it is known that if it be neglected 
 or imperfectly performed, a refined syrup will acquire from 
 the barrel a flavor which will render useless all the care 
 and skill previously bestowed upon it. The barrels should 
 first be washed out by pouring hot water into them, turn- 
 ing them frequently, and standing them up on each end 
 alternately until the water has abstracted all that it is ca- 
 pable of dissolving. Lime-water may then be poured in, 
 the bung inserted, and the casks turned at intervals, for a 
 day or two, as before. Finally rinse them out, and suspend 
 into each barrel, upon a bent wire, a lighted sulphur match, 
 made beforehand by dipping a piece of cotton cloth into 
 melted brimstone. A narrow slip of muslin may be so 
 prepared, and afterward cut into pieces of three or four 
 inches square, one of which is sufficient for fumigating 
 a single cask. Insert the bung while the match is burning. 
 Afterward withdraw the wire, and keep the barrel bunged 
 up until just before it is to be used, when it should be care- 
 fully rinsed out. 
 
 New casks of oak may be purified simply by introducing 
 into them a few gallons of lime-water, or a smaller quantity 
 of thin milk of lime, and rolling them about frequently, 
 80 that the whole of the interior may be saturated with 
 
HOW TO REMOVE "TANG." 231 
 
 the lime solution. Wasli out with a little fresh water when 
 they are wanted for use. 
 
 A mouldy smell or iang may be removed by introducing 
 a peck of wheat or rye bran, mixed with a little warm 
 water, into the barrel, and add to it a cupful of fresh yeast. 
 Insert the bung loosely, and let the mixture remain in 
 the barrel for a week. Turn the barrel occasionally, and 
 during the fermentation which ensues, the mouldiness will 
 be entirely removed. The fermentation will be more rapid 
 if the cask is kept in a moderately warm place. 
 
232 WEIGHT or SUGAR, ETC. IN 100 LBS. OP JUICE. 
 
 I. 
 
 Table " Showing the quantity of sugar contained in one hun- 
 dred pounds of expressed cane juice, or syrup, of good quality, 
 and also of the quantity of water that must be evaporated, to reduce 
 the same to the state of saturated syrup at each degree. A saturated 
 solution of very pure sugar contains five parts of sugar and three 
 parts of water. This is indicated by 34° of Beaum^'s sacoharo- 
 meter, at the temperature of 82° Fahr." — Dutrone. 
 
 Degrees of 
 
 
 
 Weight of Water in each 100 lbs. 
 
 of Juice or Syrup, beyond the 
 
 water of solution. 
 
 density by 
 
 Beaiim6'a 
 
 Scale. 
 
 Weight of Sugar ii 
 lbs. of Juice or 
 
 each 100 
 Syrup. 
 
 
 lbs. 
 
 oz. 
 
 dT. 
 
 lbs. 
 
 oz. 
 
 dr. 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 97 
 
 
 15 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 94 
 
 "{ 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 91 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 88 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 
 85 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 
 "7 
 
 82 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 7 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 79 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 14 
 
 11 
 
 4 
 
 76 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 11 
 
 73 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 70 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 20 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 67 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 22 
 
 
 15 
 
 64 
 
 11 
 
 4 
 
 13 
 
 23 
 
 14 
 
 5 
 
 61 
 
 12 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 25 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 58 
 
 18 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 27 
 
 9 
 
 2 
 
 55 
 
 14 
 
 1 
 
 16 
 
 29 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 52 
 
 16 
 
 1 
 
 17 ' 
 
 31 
 
 4 
 
 
 50 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 
 
 18 
 
 33 
 
 1 
 
 "e 
 
 47 
 
 
 15 
 
 19 
 
 34 
 
 14 
 
 13 
 
 44 
 
 "i 
 
 14 
 
 20 
 
 36 
 
 12 
 
 3 
 
 41 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 21 
 
 38 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 38 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 22 
 
 40 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 85 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 23 
 
 42 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 32 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 24 
 
 44 
 
 1 
 
 14 
 
 29 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 25 
 
 45 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 26 
 
 47 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 23 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 27 
 
 49 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 20 
 
 9 
 
 G 
 
 28 
 
 51 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 17 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 
 29 
 
 53 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 14 
 
 11 
 
 4 
 
 30 
 
 55 
 
 O 
 
 5 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 3 
 
 ' 31 
 
 56 
 
 15 
 
 12 
 
 8 
 
 13 
 
 2 
 
 32 - 
 
 58 
 
 13 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 14 
 
 1 
 
 33 
 
 60 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 2 
 
 16 
 
 
 34 
 
 62 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
SUGAR IN SOLUTIONS OP DIFFERENT DENSITY. 
 
 233 
 
 II. 
 
 Table by Dr. Evans, showing the per cent, of sugar in solutions 
 of different degrees of density, according to the scale of Beaum^, 
 and corresponding specific gravities. 
 
 Degrees of 
 density, 
 Beaumg. 
 
 Sugar 
 
 in 
 
 100 parts. 
 
 Specif, grav. 
 
 Degrees of 
 density, 
 Beaum^. 
 
 Sugar 
 
 in 
 
 100 parts. 
 
 Specif, gray. 
 
 1 
 
 ■018 
 
 1-007 
 
 19 
 
 •352 
 
 1^152 
 
 2 
 
 •035 
 
 1-014 
 
 20 
 
 •370 
 
 1-161 
 
 8 
 
 •052 
 
 1-022 
 
 21 
 
 •388 
 
 1-171 
 
 4 
 
 •070 
 
 1-029 
 
 22 
 
 •406 
 
 M80 
 
 5 
 
 •087 
 
 1-036 
 
 23 
 
 •424 
 
 1^190 
 
 6 
 
 •104 
 
 1-044 
 
 24 
 
 •443 
 
 1.199 
 
 7 
 
 •124 
 
 1-052 
 
 25 
 
 •462 
 
 1-210 
 
 8 
 
 •144 
 
 1-060 
 
 26 
 
 •481 
 
 1-221 
 
 9 
 
 •163 
 
 1-067 
 
 27 
 
 -500 
 
 1-231 
 
 10 
 
 •182 
 
 1-075 
 
 28 
 
 •521 
 
 1-242 
 
 11 
 
 •200 
 
 1-083 
 
 29 
 
 •541 
 
 1-252 
 
 12 
 
 •218 
 
 1-091 
 
 30 
 
 •560 
 
 1-261 
 
 13 
 
 •237 
 
 1-100 
 
 31 
 
 •580 
 
 1.275 
 
 14 
 
 •256 
 
 1-108 
 
 32 
 
 •601 
 
 1-286 
 
 15 
 
 •276 
 
 1-116 
 
 33 
 
 •622 
 
 1-298 
 
 16 
 
 •294 
 
 1-125 
 
 34 
 
 •644 
 
 1-309 
 
 17 
 
 •315 
 
 1-134 
 
 35 
 
 •666 
 
 1-321 
 
 18 
 
 •334 
 
 1143 
 
 
 
 
 III. 
 
 Table showing how a saturated solution of sugar is affected by 
 being reduced to different degrees of density, as indicated by the 
 thermometer, commencing at the point of saturation. This table 
 was prepared with great care by Dutrone from actual experiments. 
 By means of it the number of pounds of sugar, which will crys- 
 tallize in syrup of any given density, aa determined by its tempera- 
 ture at the boiling point, may be accurately predicted, and the 
 
 20* 
 
334 SOLUTIONS OP SUGAR AFFECTED BY DENSITY. 
 
 number of pounds of water which it has lost by evaporation between 
 the temperature of saturation and the given temperature. Also the 
 number of pounds of sugar and water respectively, which remain 
 combined in the form of syrup (drippings). At 81 -5° F. (22° Eeum. ) 
 Dutrone found that three parts of water and five parts of sugar 
 form a saturated solution. He formed a saturated syrup therefore 
 consisting of 60 pounds of water and 100 pounds of sugar, and 
 upon this the table is based. 
 
 If 160 pounds of such syrup be raised from the boiling point, 
 219° F. to 232° F. (for example), 33 lbs. 11 oz. 10 dr. of water will 
 have evaporated; 56 pounds of sugar will crystallize when the 
 syrup is cooled to the proper temperature and treated in the regular 
 manner, and 26 lbs. 4 oz. 6 dr. of water and 44 lbs of sugar still 
 remain combined. 
 
 To determine this it is necessary only to have a, thermometer 
 which will register accurately the temperature of the boiling syrup. 
 
 Degree of 
 
 therm t'r, 
 
 Fahrenheit. 
 
 Weight of Sugar 
 
 wliich separates 
 
 in crystals. 
 
 Weight of 
 
 Water 
 evapurated. 
 
 Weight of Sugai- 
 yet comhined 
 
 with water in the 
 state of syrup. 
 
 Weight of Wa- 
 ter still com- 
 hined with 
 sugar in the 
 
 state of syrup. 
 
 219 
 
 221 
 
 22S 
 
 226-6 
 
 228 
 
 230 
 
 232 
 
 234-6 
 
 237 
 
 239 
 
 211 
 
 243-5 
 
 246 
 
 248 
 
 260 
 
 262-6 
 
 266 
 
 267 
 
 259 
 
 261-6 
 
 264 
 
 266 
 
 268 
 
 270-6 
 
 273 
 
 276 
 
 277 
 
 279-6 
 
 lbs. 
 
 8 
 19 
 30 
 41 
 62 
 66 
 60 
 63 
 66 
 69 
 72 
 75 
 77 
 80 
 83 
 86 
 87 
 88 
 90 
 91 
 92 
 94 
 95 
 97 
 98 
 99 
 100 
 
 oz. 
 ...„. 
 
 ...„. 
 
 4 
 3 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 "Y 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 ...„. 
 
 6 
 1 
 4 
 7 
 2 
 6 
 ...„. 
 
 2 
 
 dr. 
 
 U,s. 
 
 4 
 11 
 18 
 24 
 31 
 33 
 36 
 38 
 39 
 41 
 43 
 46 
 46 
 48 
 60 
 61 
 52 
 63 
 64 
 66 
 65 
 66 
 57 
 68 
 68 
 69 
 60 
 
 oz. 
 
 '12" 
 
 8 
 
 "9" 
 3 
 
 11 
 3 
 1 
 4 
 7 
 4 
 
 ...„. 
 
 7 
 1 
 
 6 
 1 
 1 
 
 3 
 12 
 7 
 3 
 6 
 14 
 7 
 
 dr. 
 
 "ii" 
 
 14 
 
 16" 
 4 
 10 
 
 "io" 
 .„„. 
 
 8 
 10 
 
 "ii" 
 
 6 
 
 "16" 
 
 "16" 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 Ihs. 
 
 100 
 
 92 
 
 80 
 
 70 
 
 69 
 
 48 
 
 44 
 
 39 
 
 36 
 
 33 
 
 30 
 
 27 
 
 25 
 
 22 
 
 19 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 14 
 
 oz. 
 12" 
 
 "ii" 
 12 
 
 13 
 14 
 16 
 ...„. 
 
 11 
 13 
 
 "12" 
 10 
 15 
 12 
 9 
 14 
 11 
 
 dr. 
 
 lbs. 
 
 60 
 
 65 
 
 48 
 
 42 
 
 35 
 
 28 
 
 26 
 
 23 
 
 21 
 
 20 
 
 18 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 13 
 
 11 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 oz. 
 ...„. 
 
 7 
 
 "T 
 
 12 
 4 
 
 13 
 16 
 12 
 8 
 12 
 ...„. 
 
 8 
 14 
 
 "ib" 
 
 14 
 
 15 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 12 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 dr. 
 
 ""2 
 
 2 
 
 ...„. 
 
 12 
 6 
 
 "T 
 
 "12" 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 ...„. 
 
 10 
 
 "e" 
 ...„. 
 
 8 
 8 
 8 
 8 
 
 14 1 
 
 1 
 
pelioot's table. 
 
 235 
 
 IV. 
 
 Peliqot's table for determining the per cent, of sugars in a solution 
 by saocharate of lime 
 
 Quantity of 
 sugar dissolv- 
 ed m 100 parts 
 
 Density 
 
 of 
 Syrup. 
 
 Density of 
 
 Syrup when 
 
 saturated with 
 
 100 parts of residue dried 
 at 120° (Cent.) contain— 
 
 of water. 
 
 lime. 
 
 Lime. [ Sugar. 
 
 400 
 
 1-122 
 
 1-179 
 
 21-0 
 
 79-0 
 
 37-5 
 
 1-116 
 
 1-175 
 
 20-8 
 
 79-2 
 
 &50 
 
 1-110 
 
 1-166 
 
 20-5 
 
 ■ 79-5 ' 
 
 32-5 
 
 1-103 
 
 1-159 
 
 20-3 
 
 79-7 
 
 30-0 
 
 1096 
 
 1-148 
 
 201 
 
 79-9 
 
 27-5 
 
 1-089 
 
 1-139 
 
 19-9 
 
 80-1 
 
 25 
 
 1-082 
 
 1-128 
 
 19-8 
 
 80-2 
 
 22-5 
 
 1-075 
 
 1-116 
 
 19 3 
 
 80-7 
 
 20-0 
 
 1-068 
 
 1-104 
 
 18-8 
 
 81-2 
 
 17-6 
 
 1-060 
 
 1-092 
 
 18-7 
 
 81-3 
 
 15 
 
 1-052 
 
 1-080 
 
 18-5 
 
 81-5 
 
 12-5 
 
 1-044 
 
 1-067 
 
 18-3 
 
 81-7 
 
 10.0 
 
 1-036 
 
 1-053 
 
 18-1 
 
 81-9 
 
 7S 
 
 1-027 
 
 1-040 
 
 16-9 
 
 83-1 
 
 5-0 
 
 1018 
 
 1-026 
 
 15-3 
 
 84-7 
 
 2-5 
 
 1-009 
 
 1-014 
 
 13-8 
 
 86-2 
 
 Tables of Weights anb Measures officially recognized in the 
 United States by recent Act of Congress. 
 
 MEAStfRES OP LENGTH. 
 
 Metric Denominations and Values. 
 
 Equiyalents in D nominations in use. 
 
 Myriameter .-. 
 
 Kilometer 
 
 H»-ctonieter.,.. 
 
 Dekameter 
 
 Meter 
 
 10,000 meters, 
 
 1,000 meters, 
 
 100 meters, 
 
 10 meters, 
 
 1 meter, 
 
 -jljyth of a meter, 
 
 j^jj^th of a meter, 
 
 6-2137 miles. 
 
 0-62137 mile, or 3,280 feet and 10 inches. 
 
 32S teet and one inch. 
 
 393-7 inches. 
 
 39-37 inches. 
 
 3-937 inches. 
 
 0-3937 inch. 
 
 0-0394 inch. 
 
 Decimeter 
 
 Centimeter.... 
 Millimeter 
 
236 
 
 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 
 
 MEASURES OF SURFACE. 
 
 Metric Denominations and Values. 
 
 Equivalents in Denominations in use. 
 
 
 10,000 square meters, 
 
 100 square meters, 
 
 1 square meter, 
 
 2*471 acres. 
 
 119-6 square yards. 
 
 1550 square inches. 
 
 Are 
 
 
 MEASURES OF CAPACITY. 
 
 Metric Denominations and Values. 
 
 Equivalents in Denominations in use. 
 
 Names. 
 
 No. of 
 liters. 
 
 Cubic Measure 
 
 Dry Measure. 
 
 Liquid or "Wine 
 Measure. 
 
 Kiloliter ) 
 or atere J 
 
 Hectoliter... 
 
 Dekaliter.... 
 Liter 
 
 1,000 
 
 100 
 
 10 
 1 
 
 
 1-308 cubic yards.... 
 
 2 bus. & 3-35 pecks.. 
 9-08 quarts 
 
 264-17 gallons. 
 
 26-41T gallons. 
 
 2-6417 gallons. 
 1-056T quarts. 
 
 0-845 gill. 
 0-338 fluid oz. 
 0-27 fluid drm. 
 
 f-jJjjth of a cubic) 
 
 . i meter J 
 
 10 cubic decimeters.. 
 1 cubic decimeter.... 
 
 f ■y'jjth of a cubic I 
 
 1 decimeter f 
 
 rlO cubic centi-i 
 
 X meters J 
 
 1 cubic centimeter... 
 
 Deciliter 
 
 Centiliter 
 
 Milliliter.... 
 
 6-1022 cubic inches 
 0-6102 cubic inch.... 
 0-061 cubic inch 
 
 WEIGHTS. 
 
 Meteic Denominations and Values. 
 
 Equivalents in 
 
 Denominations 
 
 IN use. 
 
 Names. 
 
 Number 
 of grams. 
 
 Weight of what quantity 
 of water at maximum 
 density. 
 
 Avoirdupois 
 Weight. 
 
 Millier or tonneau 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 100,000 
 
 10,0U0 
 
 1,000 
 
 100 
 10 
 
 1 
 iV 
 
 1 cubic'meter 
 
 2204-6 pounds. 
 220-46 pounds. 
 22-046 pounds. 
 2-2046 pounds. 
 3 5274 ounces. 
 0-3527 ounce, 
 15-432 grains. 
 1-5432 grains.. 
 0-1543 grain. 
 0-0154 grain. 
 
 
 
 
 Kilogram or kilo 
 
 1 liter 
 
 1 deciliter 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■j^th of a cubic centimeter 
 10 cubic millimeters 
 
 
 
 
 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Acid in sorghum juice, influence ofi 132, 
 133. 
 
 how neutralized, 101-104. 
 
 in syrup3, effc'Ct deconipoaition, 167. 
 Affinities of different varieties of cane, 
 
 lilt). 
 Alirend's experiments with oats, 31. 
 Albumen of cane juice and acid, 132. 
 
 IQ delecation, 134. 
 
 combined witli tannin, 137. 
 tannin and alumina. 
 
 io acid syrup, 167. 
 Alcohol, use of, in analysis, 193. 
 Alum, injurious effects of, 139. 
 Alumina, gflatinous, in def.^cation, 135. 
 
 objection to it removed, 135. 
 
 decolorizing power of, 136, 
 
 sulphate of (neutral), 13S, 139. 
 Ammonia, effect of, as a manure, 48. 
 
 incroasL's quantity of gluten, 49. 
 
 as a neutral salt in juice, 49. 
 
 under stimulation by, 50. 
 
 when properly applied to caoe, 51. 
 
 and gypsum, 60. 
 
 salts and lime in juice, 133. 
 Analysis of sorghum juice, 174. 
 
 by Dr. Jackson. 174. 
 
 by l*rof. Smith, 174. 
 
 by Madinier, 175. 
 
 by Dr. M'etbenll, 180. 
 
 by Vilmoriu, 176 
 
 approximate, method of, 191, 192. 
 
 Peligot's methoti, 198. 
 
 accurate quantitative, 193, 195. 
 
 Fresenius' mode of, 196. 
 Ancients knew little of sugar, 15. 
 Apparatus, ev-iporating range, etc., 97,98. 
 Arabians carried the cane to Mesopota- 
 mia, 16. 
 Ash of the seed, composition of, 51. 
 
 dried plant, 52. 
 Avequin, experiments with cane mills, 
 127. 
 
 Barna, use of, for storing cane, 172. 
 Barn-yard manure, 49. 
 and trash cane, 56. 
 Barrels for syrup, how to cleanse, 230. 
 Boaumfi's hydrometer, 19U. 
 Beet sugar, 20. 
 Begasse (see Cane Trash). 
 Benjamin, exiJeiiments with mills, 127, 
 
 12S. 
 Bisulphite of lime in Melaeu's process, 161 
 Blodget's Climatology, 69. 
 Bluff soils of the West, 65. 
 Bone-dust as manure, 57. 
 
 Boneblack, condition in which to be used, 
 143. 
 how prepared, 143. 
 manner of using, 143, 144. 
 revivificiition of. 144. 
 new mode of revivifying, 145. 
 properties of, 145, 146. 
 substitutes for, 146. 
 filtration by this mode, 141. 
 removes all harsh flavor, 141. 
 remuves lime, etc., 142. 
 decoloiizes, 142. 
 
 removes all suspended matter, 142. 
 filter, how to use it, 106. 
 
 Cane, hnw protected ftom frost, 171. 
 
 ti'ash as manure, 53. 
 various uses, 54. 
 mode of converting into manure, 
 55. 
 
 versus cotton growing in the South- 
 west, 67. 
 Centrifugal drainer, 122. 
 
 construction of, 123. 
 
 advantaa;es in using, 122. 
 Cereal and siiccharine plants, 26. 
 China, climate of, 214, 216. 
 
 early planting in, 215. 
 
 geographical range of sorghum in, 
 214. 
 Chinese cane (see Sorghum). 
 Chloride of lime and ammonia, 61. 
 Climate of the Zulu country, 216. 
 
 of N'oi thern China, 214, 216. 
 
 and distribution of species, 68. 
 
 subtropical summer in U. S., 68. 
 
 sum mer isothe rms of 70° and 72°, 69. 
 
 of sugar district of the U. S., 70. 
 
 and sorghum, 23. 
 Climatology of tropical cane, 19. 
 Coal, bituminous, Uow used, 104, 
 Coloring matter of juice, how removed, 
 
 137. 142. 
 Composition of juice, 95. 
 Cooler fur syrup, 100. 
 Copper test, 193. 
 
 Cotton, dye for. from sorghum, 225. 
 Cream ofiime,how prepared, 214,217, 229. 
 Crystallization of sugar, why unsuccess- 
 ful, 111, ISO. 
 
 process, how conducted, 114. 
 
 precautions to be observed in, 117. 
 
 impeded by presence of acid, 137. 
 
 promoted by filtration, 142. 
 
 what necessary to, 95. 
 Cryst-allizing vessels. 111. 
 
 (Dutrone'a boxes), 112-114. 
 
 (237) 
 
238 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Crystallizing, mode of using, 113, 114. 
 Cultivation of sorghum, 25. 
 
 adapted to waats of the plant, 25,33, 
 
 wlien it should ceaae, 45. 
 
 (after-cu'ture), 43. 
 
 plan fur farmera, 171. 
 
 Defecation, importance of, 156 
 
 and the '-striking point," 109. 
 explanation of first method of, 134. 
 
 second, 135. 
 advantages of, 137. 
 why neceasiu-y, 95. 
 Density of syrup, determined by finger 
 test, 1U8. 
 thermometer, 108. 
 Drainage of sui^nr, 115. 
 theory of, 115,116. 
 liquoring process, 116. 
 directions for, 117. 
 Tiisseis I sugar moulds), 116, 117. 
 "liquor," lis. 
 syiLip of (mol asses), 119. 
 liquor from refined juice, 120. 
 P.iyeu's directions in, 120, 121. 
 by prt-ssure, 121. 
 
 objections to, 121, 122. 
 centrifugal machine, great advant- 
 ages oi, 122. 
 impeded by presence of acid, 133. 
 eaily ripening conducive to, 73. 
 good, how to secure, 42. 
 Dutrone'a cry.stiLllizing boxes, 112-114. 
 Dyeing materials from seed and trash 
 221-226. 
 
 Early planting of cane in China, 215. 
 why necessary, 34-37. 
 and root development, 36. 
 climatic conditions, 36. 
 and early ripening, 37. 
 other reasons for, 38. 
 in CInna, 38, 215. 
 and tillering, 44. 
 and when to plant, 37. 
 ripening, how secured, 71. 
 
 importance of, 72. 
 ■ and nature of the plant, 73. 
 
 influence of drainage upon, 73. 
 
 and selection of seed, 73. 
 
 elevation of surface, 73. 
 
 southerly slope, 74. 
 
 course of cane rows, 74. 
 Europe, introduction of sugar into, 16. 
 Evaporation, how managed, 94, 102. 
 in open air ( Payen), 150. 
 vaciium pans, 152, 
 by the conlmon mode, 163. 
 how best conducted, 153. 
 in pans with channeled surfade, 165. 
 Evaporating range, general directions fur 
 
 using, 171. 
 
 Farm machinery for sugar making, 171 
 Fehliug's solution (test), 193. 
 
 how prepared, 194, 195. 
 
 how to use, 194, 195. 
 Filter, uses of, 105. 
 
 Filter, mode of using, 106. 
 
 how to prepare for use, 106. 
 Finishing pan, 92. 
 
 . best form of, 148. 
 Flour from surghum seed, 227. 
 Food of the cane plant, 46. 
 
 mineral, special functions of, 52. 
 France, Noith of sorghum in, 175. 
 Freezing of cane, how prevented, 88. 
 
 experiment, 89. 
 Fresenius' method of analysis, 195. 
 Frost, effect under different cii'cum- 
 stances, 81. 
 
 upon ripe cane, 85. 
 
 and fall plowing, 40. 
 Fuel, how economized, 99, 154. 
 Fumigation of casks, '23'). 
 Furnace, construction of, 99, 102. 
 
 Gall, Dr., method of wine making, 226. 
 Geographical distribution of different va- 
 rieties, 2 1 3. 
 Gluten in the seed, 49. 
 Grape sugar {see Sugar). 
 Grasses, annual growth of, 31. 
 Guano, how and when applied, 51. 
 Guinea corn or doura, history of, 212-211 
 Gyp-iuni and early planting, 38. 
 
 as a fertilizer, 57. 
 
 Liebig'a observations upon, 60. 
 
 Harrifi' experiments upon manures, 57. 
 
 H.irvesting of cane, 81. 
 
 Heat, action of upon siirghum juice, 147. 
 
 how regulated in furnace, 147, 148. 
 
 injurious when prolonged, 148. 
 
 effects not always visible, 149. 
 
 Soubeiran's experiments, 149. 
 
 and open air evaporation, 150. 
 
 imperfect defecation by alone, 163. 
 
 and evaporating surfaces, 163-166. 
 
 and lime, 166,167. 
 Hue, Abbe, observations on sorghum, 24. 
 Hydrometer, uses of, 189. 
 
 Illustrations, evaporating range, IVontiS' 
 piece. 
 
 Fig. 2, 44. 
 
 Fig. 3, 186. 
 
 Fig. 4, 186. 
 
 Fig. 5, 228. 
 Imphee, Wray's description of, 217-222. 
 
 must not remain uncut long when 
 bhided, 82. 
 Iron paint for tanks, etc., 99. 
 
 Jackson's analysis of ash, 51, 52. 
 Japan, sugar grown in, 214. 
 
 climate of, 214. 
 Johnson, Prof. S. W., action of gypsum, 
 
 Juice of sorghum , effect of manures upon. 
 48. ^ ' 
 
 neutral salts in, 49. 
 influence of common salt upon, 50. 
 
 of soils, 63, 64. 
 quantity extracted by mills, 124r-138. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 239 
 
 Juice of sorghum, yield, how increased, 
 1-28-131. 
 
 cbomic;il action of lime upon, 132. 
 
 renioviil of harsh flavor from, 141. 
 
 evaporation of, from utored cane, 88. 
 
 deffcation of, 91. 
 
 chemical conatitution of, 95. 
 
 how to tpat, 184. 
 Jnico pipe (illustrated), 228. 
 
 Leaf growth and root growth, 32. 
 
 expansion, period of, 36. 
 Leaveii of cane, when to remove, 81. 
 
 function of, 81, 82. 
 
 valuL^ as fodder, 81. 
 Liebig's observations upon gypsum, 60. 
 Lime, cream of, bow to prepare, 22^, 230. 
 
 application of, Wl, 104. 
 
 how removed from bonebiack, 142, 
 146. 
 
 chemical action upon the juice, 132, 
 134. 
 
 as a fertilizer, 57. 
 Limfistone soils, influence of, 64. 
 Litmus paper, how naed, 101. 
 
 Maceration of cane by steam and press- 
 ure, 129. 
 Maize, geographical range of, 69. 
 Manufacture of sugar, 91. 
 methods of, 155. 
 on the farm, 169. 
 Manures for cane, 46. 
 
 nitrogenons Influetjce of, 47. 
 
 on Southern cane, 50. 
 from cane trash, 53, 55, 223. 
 waste products, 56. 
 Melsen's process of d<-fecation. 159-162. 
 Meteorological spring in the Middle 
 
 States, 36. 
 Microscopic section of Chinese cane, 186. 
 
 Neeazana cane, 186. 
 Mills for crushiiig cane, 124, 171. 
 inefficiency of, 125. 
 results of trials (Guadaloupe), 126. 
 (West Indies), 127. 
 (Lnuiaiana), 127. 
 how to remedy defects, 128-131. 
 speed of rolls of, 128. 
 length ofroUs of, 129. 
 improvements in suggested, 130, 
 with fuur rolla, etc., 129. 
 position of the, 97. 
 Missouri, '-volunteer cane" in, 35. 
 
 "Bluff" soils of, 65-67. 
 Molasses, what, 119. 
 Monsoons, influence on climate of China, 
 
 215. 
 Must, improved by addition of grape 
 sugar, 226. 
 
 Neeazana, or white imphee cane, 219. 
 Neutralization of juice with lime, iQl. 
 
 Oats, analogy to sorghum, 31-33. 
 Ohio terrace soils, tff . 
 Oomseeana cane, 221. 
 
 Orange, Borthelot and Buignet'a experi- 
 ments, 205. 
 
 Paint for tanks, etc., 99. 
 
 Paper frum cane trash, 224. 
 
 Patent recipe venders, 180. 
 
 Payen's di rections for draining sugar, 120. 
 
 Peiigot'a method of analysis, 198. 
 
 Physiology of tlie seed, 28. 
 
 Planting season in China, 214, 215. 
 
 Plaster of Paris !is manure, 57. 
 
 Pluw, uae of double Michigan, in sod, 40, 
 
 Plowing in the fill, 38. 
 
 advantage of deep, 39, 
 Poke weed in " Bluff" aoils, 66. 
 Potash in sugar plants, 61. 
 
 as manure, 57. 
 Prince Salm Hortsmar's experiments, 52. 
 Process of miinufacture described, 101. 
 
 synopsis, 2^8. 
 
 Range of sorghum northward, 69. 
 
 Indian-corn, 69. 
 Range, evaporating, deacribed, 98. 
 Red imphee, des'ci'iptiou of, 221. 
 Refining and evaporation, simultaneous, 
 
 105. 
 Refining process, 92, 
 Richardson, Sir John, disti'ibution of 
 
 plants, 17. 
 Ridging of tand in the fall, 40. 
 
 and early cultivation, 43. 
 
 bow performed (ill us.), 41-45. 
 
 advantages of, 45. 
 
 and drainagu, 42. 
 
 and evaporation, 42. 
 
 and aeration of soil, 42, 
 Ripening of cane, indications of, 82. 
 Root and stem, unequal development, 
 30, :n. 
 
 at different stages of growth, 32. 
 
 development and climate, 33. 
 and early planting, 33. 
 
 in subaoil, 64. 
 Rotation of crops not necessary, when, 53. 
 
 Saccharate of lime (test), 198. 
 
 Saccharometer, what, 191. 
 
 Scum, use of, for feeding swine, 227. 
 
 how separated, 92. 
 Seed of sorghum, uses of, 227. 
 
 us'rd in dyeing, 224, 
 
 germinates early, 36, 38. 
 
 selection of, 26, 
 
 qualities of good, 28. 
 
 teat ot germinatiug power, 28. 
 
 liquid manures for, 29. 
 
 steeping of, 29. 
 
 physiology of the, 28. 
 
 yield of, from Si'rgbum, 82. 
 
 may be inci'-eased, how, 47, 
 
 ash of, analysis, 51. 
 
 steeping solutions for, 73. 
 Silk, sorghum dye for, 224 
 Soils, quickening powei of some, 73. 
 Soil, value of, fui- -■'II X u- growing, 62. 
 
 combinations witliin the, 62. 
 
240 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Soil, texture, etc., of, 63. 
 
 influence upon cane, diflferent kinds, 
 63. 
 of calcareous soil, 64. 
 
 wesiprn " lilnff," 65. 
 
 natural drainage of, 66. 
 
 of Ohio terraces, 67. 
 
 of Nnrthcrn China, 215. 
 
 the Zulu country, "216. 
 Sorghum sugar cane, sketch of its his- 
 tory, 20-24. 
 
 south African or imphee, 20. 
 
 relations to soil and climate, 23. 
 
 true character, how known, 24, 
 
 relaiionship to Indian-corn, 25. 
 
 systematic culture uf, 26. 
 
 Chinese variety, 27. 
 
 imphee canea, 27. 
 
 unequal development of stem and 
 roots of, 31. 
 
 howada|»ted to our climate, 31. 
 
 lengtii of periods of growth of, 33. 
 
 analogy of, to oats, 31-33. 
 
 " volunieer," 35. 
 
 peneral condition of, in 1864, 181. 
 
 Ciiinese, composition of staik, 124. 
 
 food of th,p plant. 46. 
 
 analysis of ash of seed, 51. 
 . ash of dried plant, 52. 
 
 influence of g.vpsuin upon, 59. 
 
 influence of soil upon, 63. 
 
 northern range of, 69. 
 
 period of growth of, 70. 
 
 influence of tillering upon, 78. 
 
 analogy to wheat, 79. 
 Species, what are, 210. 
 
 are Chinese and imphee of different, 
 211. 
 Specific distinctions, based upon what, 
 
 212. 
 Specific gravity bottle, 190. 
 Stalk of cam*, hnw its bulk increased, 59. 
 Store-houses for cane, 86-88. 
 S^toiinp; of cane, 85. 
 Stripping of can'e, 82. 
 Sugar, per cent. of. in sorghum, 181. 
 
 in syrups, Wetherill, 182, 
 
 fruit, what, ]85. 
 
 grape, what, 186. 
 
 in ceils of c;inc (illustrated), 186. 
 
 distinction between cane and grape 
 in the solid form, 187. 
 in solution, 189. 
 
 estimation of, by copper test, 193, 
 195. 
 
 how made to crystallize, 93. 
 Peligot's method, 198. 
 
 from starch. 18. 
 
 in honey, 18. 
 
 grape, low rank of, 18. 
 
 from maizp, IS. 
 
 pioduction in the U. S., 19. 
 
 plants which yield, 17. 
 
 making at home, 169. 
 
 separation of, ]5fi. 
 
 of cane, action of lime on, 133. 
 
 Sugar, liquid, what, 95. 
 
 grape, 133. 
 
 in the plant, whence derived, 51. 
 
 promotion, how retarded, 71. 
 
 how graded, 116. 
 
 ■white, how made, 118. 
 
 moulds, 116. 
 
 yield, how increased, 125. 
 
 production, value of, from sorghum, 
 173. 
 
 production, Lovering's experiments, 
 178. 
 Sugar cane (tropical) and sorghum con- 
 trasted in botanical characters, 
 201. 
 
 period of growth, 202. 
 
 propagation, mode of, 202. 
 
 tillering, 203. 
 
 climate, 203. 
 
 soil, 203. 
 
 manures, 204. 
 
 matuiity of juice, 204. 
 
 chemical composition, staVe, 207. 
 juice, 2u8, 
 
 history of, 16. 
 Sugar beet, 20. 
 Sugar cane in Louisiana, 19. 
 
 maple, geographical range, 17. 
 product of, 19. 
 Subacetate of lead (test), 191. 
 Sulphate of ammonia as a fertilizer, 60. 
 Superphosphate of lime, 58. 
 Swalhnv, G. C, Missouri Q-eol. Eept., 66. 
 Syrupa, analyses of, 182. 
 
 Tables, 232-236. 
 
 Tang, how removed, 231. 
 
 Tank, juice described, 98, 100. 
 
 Tannic acid in defecaiion, 134. 
 
 Test paper, use uf 101. 
 
 Tests, quantitative, of sugais, 192. 
 
 Thatching with trash, 87. 
 
 Thermometer, use of, 108. 
 
 Tillering and early planting, 44. 
 
 opposite opinions coucerning, recon- 
 cilpd, 75. 
 
 natural to sorghum, 77-80. 
 
 and deep culture, 7y. 
 Tilt pan, how used, 1U7. 
 Topping of cane, best mode of, 83. 
 
 Under draining, 41. 
 
 Vacuum pans, 152. , 
 
 Vari itiou, capacitv of sorghum for, 216. 
 
 Varieties, what, 211. 
 
 Vinegar from sorghum, 227. 
 
 Waste products, how utilized, 223. 
 Wetherill, Dr., analysis by, 180. 
 White imphee, 219. 
 Wine, how improved, 226. 
 Wray, Leonard, account of impheea, 217- 
 222. 
 
 Zulu country ia South Africa, 216.