TRANSACTIONS. 227 



products to be conjointly obtained. On the otlier hand^ 

 Mr. Wray says the Zoulous-CafFers are in the habit of pull- 

 ing off the panicles of the plant the moment they appear, in 

 order to augment the quantity of saccharine matter in the 

 stalks. This question may be of some importance in our 

 Southern States, should this plant supersede in any manner 

 the sugar cane. Having considered some of the probabili- 

 ties of this product in an econymicaf point of view, it re- 

 mains only for me to recommend it to the attention of others 

 who may have opportunities to cultivate it, and the means 

 and talent to prove or refute, by direct experiments, its 

 worth." 



CULTURE AND PREPARATION. 



The method of cultivation which has been generally re- 

 commended by experimenters, is to prepare the soil as for 

 Indian corn. In planting for seed, in this •northern climate, 

 it is best to plant at a good distance, that the seed and the 

 cane may attain their full development and maturity. The 

 rows should be three feet apart or more, and the plants 

 from one to two feet distant in the row or drill. It is yet 

 questionable, as it is with corn, whether the suckers should 

 be removed or not. Dr. Battcy, a Georgia experimenter, 

 gives a method of culture, harvesting and preparation, ac- 

 companied by the results of his experiments. With a few 

 changes, his plan is regarded as very useful, and perhaps 

 as easy and economical as any that has been published. 



" After the first season, when a full supply of seed shall 

 have been secured, a better-paying syrup crop may be 

 grown by closer planting. The space between the roAvs 

 may be three feet, and the seed put in, say, two or three 

 every six inches; when well up, the stoutest and healthi- 

 est plants should alone be allowed to stand. The cane, 

 when very young, presents so much the appearance of grass, 

 that an advantage may perhaps be gained by dropping 

 some other seed with the cane, that the latter may be more 



