234 N. H. STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the mind of every intelligent farmer that this plant pre- 

 sents, at the present time, a promise of reward for its 

 culture unequalled by any which has been introduced upon 

 our soil since the iutroduction of the cotton crop." 



SORGHUM SACCHARATOI. 



To the Secretary of the N. 11. Agricultural Society: 



Dear Sir : — Agreeably with your request, I send you a 

 brief statement of my experiment with the Chinese sugar 

 cane, (^sorghum saccharatuni.) 



In May, 1S5G, I received a small parcel of the seed from 

 the Patent Office. About the 2.5th of that mouth I planted 

 ten hills of it on light sandy soil, for many years cultivated 

 as a garden, on which horse manure and ashes had been 

 spread l^eforc digging, and no manure in the hills, follow- 

 ing the directions accompanying the seed in plauting — " 6 

 seeds to the hill, reduced to 6 at first hoeing, hills 2 1-2 

 feet apart." It came up well, but so small and so much re- 

 sembliu'jr witch-grass as to be difficult to distincruish it, aa 

 only could be done by its greater firmness to the touch. — 

 Its growth, at first, was discouragingly slow. Wlicna foot 

 high it was severely riddled by hail, from whicli, however, 

 it soon recovered, and made an exceedingly rapid growth, 

 80 that by the last of Sc})tember it had attained an alti- 

 tude of eleven feet. Hoping to ripen the seed, (but failed,) 

 I left it standing beyond the proper time for gathering, for 

 syrup, and until it had been touched by a slight frost, when 

 I placed it, standing erect, in an out-building open to the 

 air, where it remained several weeks, lessening of course, 

 by this drying, the amount of juice to be obtained from it. 

 About the middle of November, to test its capability for 



