1883.] QUESTION BOX. 249 



I had planted corn on that ground." ^I was almost ready, be- 

 fore it came up, to go and plant it over with corn ; but for some 

 reason I left it. I did not take any particular pains in taking 

 care of it. I simply ran through the little patch of it that I 

 had with a cultivator, and very carelessly hoed it, — much 

 more so than any other crop I had. It grew very fast, and 

 then, later, I hoed it once more. That is all I did to it. 

 When the time of harvest came, I was more determined than 

 ever that I would never raise any more. I took one stalk 

 and stripped it, and my wife and children spent a whole day 

 at that work, and she got discouraged, but we thought we 

 would take it to the mill. That was a great bugbear in the 

 way, for the mill was away off over the hills, and I had got 

 to hire cattle to draw it ; and the difficulties loomed up so 

 much that I thought I couldn't overcome them. But after I 

 obtained the syrup, I was so pleased with it, that I thought I 

 would never say anything against raising sorghum. I have 

 got the article, and you could not buy it of me for a dollar a 

 gallon. My neighbors also have it, and value it very highly. 

 One of my neighbors made cake with it that was equal to any 

 cake made with sugar. We went to her house last winter 

 and participated in a molasses-pull, and better candy I never 

 made in my life than that. Another neighbor cannot make 

 gingerbread with any molasses she can buy in the market, 

 but with this syrup she can make the nicest gingerbread. 

 And so I want to stand up in favor of it. I do not know of 

 anybody from Bolton who is here to stand up for it, but every 

 body who has raised it speak of it very highly. But people 

 are prejudiced against it because they call it " sorghum." 

 It is not sorghum ; the proper name is " Minnesota amber 

 cane." The old-fashioned sorghum, that was raised ten years 

 ago, was such black stuff, and had such a tang to it that 

 nobody liked it, and people have got the idea that this is the 

 same thing. There is no tang to this syrup. I don't think 

 it is equal to some syrup I have eaten, but I say, for two- 

 thirds of the purposes for which sugar is used, this will take 

 the place of sugar. 



