258 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 



Attention is now being given to the production of a cane sirup 

 of uniform standard quality. This work promises to be of the 

 greatest economic importance to the cane-producing States. 



A more extensive market for cane sirup is of great importance 

 in the agricultural scheme of a large area of the South. In many 

 sectiojis cotton can no longer be profitably produced on account of 

 ravages of the boll weevil. It is necessary to adopt a more diversi- 

 fied scheme of agriculture, and sugar cane is one of the crops upon 

 which greater reliance should be placed. It is one of the surest 

 crops which can be grown in this region. The harvesting and pro- 

 duction of cane sirup come at a time of the year when the farm 

 labor can be used very advantageously for that purpose. There is 

 ample evidence that the farmers of the South are greatly desirous 

 of increasing their acreage of sugar cane. This is not possible, how- 

 ever, unless a more adequate market is developed for cane sirup. 

 This market can not be extended unless cane sirup of uniform and 

 satisfactory grade can be consistently produced. This, in turn, 

 depends upon the successful working out of certain chemical and 

 technological problems. These problems are therefore the key to 

 the entire situation. 



It is planned under this project to continue the work started last 

 year and to study systematical^ all factors Avliich aro involved in 

 the production of high-grade cane sirup of uniform quality and to 

 work out all corrective measures which it is necessary to apply to 

 present practice in order to accomplish this end. 



Outside of Louisiana, sugar cane is grown solely for production 

 of cane sirup. This is tlie sole manner of utilization, since the sirup 

 is not of sufficient purity to be utilized in the manufacture of sugar. 

 The value of sugar cane as an agricultural crop is, tlier 'fore, de- 

 pendent solely upon an adequate market for cane sirup. Extension 

 of the market beyond a local one has been greatly handicapped by 

 the fact that cane sirup as produced by a large number of farmers 

 has varied greatly in quality. The planters need technological 

 assistance and advice in solving this problem. 



During the past year the Bureau of Chemistry has received a 

 large number of insistent requests for assistance along this line. 

 The farm bureau federations in various Southern States have organ- 

 ized cooperative cane-sirup associations for the purpose of blending 

 cane sirup on a large scale in central reliandling and canning plants. 

 The bureau has been asked to undertake the solution of chemical 

 and teclmological problems involved in this plan of operation and 

 work is now under way. These cooperative associations are plan- 

 ning to use the invertase method developed in the bureau for the 

 purpose of producing a sirup which will not crystallize. These asso- 

 ciations have also requested that the bureau imdertake systematic 

 research work for the purpose of solving all remaining difficidties 

 which stand in the way of producing a uniform cane sirup of high- 

 est grade. "While a great deal of progress has been made, a number 

 of important points still remain to be worked out on a satisfactory 

 basis. Among these may be mentioned the best manner of treating 

 low-grade sirup, improved method of clarification so as to secure a 

 brilliantly clear sirup free from sediment, use of mechanical filtra- 

 tion, and introduction of vacuum-pan evaporation. In other words, 



