535 The Chinese Sugar-Cane. [December, 



corn. In some of these hills I planted the seeds of this sugar-cane, 

 dropping eight seeds in a hill, making thirty-seven hills in all. I 

 worked the cane precisely as I did the corn, giving it three plowings 

 and three hoeings. In four months from 'the time the seed was 

 planted, the cane was fully matured. It then measured ten feet six 

 inches high, and one inch and three-eights in diameter at the butt 

 end. The joints average twelve in number to the cane, measuring 

 from six to eleven inches long, the shortest at the bottom and the 

 longest at the top. As soon as the seed was ripe, another head of 

 seed put up out of the second joint from the top, and in a short 

 time grew as high as the original head, though not quite so large. 

 By the time the seed on this head began to turn dark, a third head 

 sprung up from the third joint, which was about the size of the last 

 head, and now a fourth head is making its appearance from the 

 fourth joint. Where this shooting forth of new heads would end, 

 if no frost should come to kill it, I can not tell. The roots, where 

 I cut off some of the canes some time ago, are sending up new 

 sprouts, some of which are four inches high. I am of the opinion 

 that the Sorgho Sucre is a perennial plant, and would grow all the 

 time if there were no severe cold to kill it. It appears to surpass 

 everything we can plant in producing fodder for cattle. There are 

 commonly twelve leaves on a cane, and these measure, on an average, 

 three feet long, and three inches and a half broad. We commonly 

 plant two stalks of corn in a hill. I had eight canes in the same 

 space, each cane producing full as much fodder as one stalk of corn. 

 At this rate, which is to me matter of fact, one acre of cane will 

 produce as much fodder as four acres of corn. But I am persuaded 

 that I might have planted the cane in drills of three feet apart, drop- 

 ping eight seeds in every space of eighteen inches, and by this means 

 have eight times as much fodder as corn loould produce. 



One head of seed that I picked up at random measured three gills, 

 and one gill contained eight hundred seeds. I then selected a large 

 head, and measured it, and found it to contain four and a half gills 

 of seed. The thirty-seven hills that I planted produced three pecks 

 of seed ; this, after drying it two days in the sun, weighed thirty-two 

 pounds. I had no mill to squeeze the cane, in order to make exper- 

 iments in syrup and sugar. I made a little roller, which I thought 

 might press out some of the sap, but it was a failure, for want of 

 power. It flattened the cane, but did not press out the sap, of which 

 the cane appeared to be fall. I twisted a joint with my hands after 



