THE 



OIN C I NN AT 17 S. 



VOL. 11. DECEMBER 1, 1857. NO. 12- 



THE" SORGHUM" AS A SUGAR PLANT, ETC. 



Since the introduction of this plant into the United States, sanguine 

 hopes have been entertained that it would prove a valuable addition 

 both for forage and sugar. It was introduced to us through our 

 Patent Office Reports for 1855, with the following flattering recom- 

 mendation. 



" This plant — the Sorghum Saccharatum — perhaps has stronger 

 claims on the American Agriculturist than any other product that 

 has been brought to this country since the introduction of cotton or 

 wheat. The stalks, when nearly mature, are filled with a rich saccha- 

 rine juice, which may be converted into sugar^ syrup, alcohol, or heerj 

 or may be used for dyeing wool or silk, a permanent red, or pink ; 

 and the entire plant is devoured with avidity, either in a green or 

 dry state, by horses, cattle, sheep, and swine, and its value for feed- 

 ing animals alone, in every section of the Union where it will thrive 

 can not be surpassed by any other crop, as a greater amount of nu- 

 tritious fodder can not be obtained so cheap, on a given space, with- 

 in so short a period of time." 



Such endorsement from such high authority, as might be expected 

 in this fast age of ours, when information outflies the wind, set our 

 whole country into a perfect frenzy of excitement. 



Thousands of bushels of the seed have been spread, and thousands 

 of acres have been planted, and thousands of experimenters have been 

 employed, from the cook in the kitchen to the chemist in the Labora- 

 tory; and lime, and soda, and eggs, and milk, and all other known 

 substances, used in purifying, defecating and neutralizing, have 



