THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



53c 



July it produces two cuts; so, surel)', if sown in 

 August it will produce one. 



At all events here its utility is not problematical ; it 

 is an accomplished fact, but all its uses may not yet 

 be developed. 



It was introduced five or six years ago by Monsieur 

 de Montigny, the French Ambassador at Shanghai, 

 who also sent over the " ignarae" as a substitute for the 

 potato — (More of this some future time) by sending 

 new seed to the Agricultural Society of Paris. 



la August, 1855, the Committee of Agriculture ap- 

 pointed a deputation to inquire into its merits. Sep- 

 tember 4th, they found at the farm of Monsieur de 

 Daire, at St. Roche les Amiens, a small piece six yards 

 by seven, which was then six inches high. They 

 went again on the 22ad of same month, and found 

 during these 18 d*ys it had advanced to 30 inches. 



Oct. 22, 1857, in ihe Napohonien MonUeur de la 

 Somme, was inserted : " Many of our farmers have had 

 great success this year with the sorgho plant grown for 

 hay. It has given most extraordinary crops : one piece 

 produced al each cutting 21,000 kilogrammes on 42 

 acres and 20 centares. Now this is equal to 60 tons per 

 English acre, for all the three cuttings — 20 tons per acre 

 each mowing.'' 



March 7, 1858, the Mercurialc des Halle, at 

 Marches, says : " Seven hectares were sown last year by 

 Monsieur Noiiel, at the farm Isle Commune, St. 

 Denis en Val-Soiret. The produce of one cutting on 

 one hectare was weighed, and it amounted to 73,000 

 kilogrammes ; it was consumed by 80 fatting bullocks, 

 and 10 horses, from Sept. 2nd to Nov. 10th." This is 

 30 tons per English acre at one cut;ting. These ac- 

 counts may be looked upon as correct ; there are too many 

 oflScials here to give information to the authorities, and 

 too many agriculuirists anxious for the truth in this 

 sort of statements, to allow me to think for a moment 

 there is any doubt about tbem. In fact, I believe the 

 Minister of Agriculture would cause the editor to be 

 punished in some way, if he allowed untruthful state- 

 ments of crops to appear in his paper. It does seem 

 most enormous, and yet it is also added : " Had it been 

 cut at twice, the amount of weight would have been 

 much more." The land, no doubt, was as rich and as 

 highly manured as almost any in the world. However, 

 if we get two-thirds of this, we need not be dissatisfied. 



In the South of Franco it is grown for sugar ; sown 

 one-fourth the thickness, and allowed only to produce 

 one stem, which is harvested in October, and contains 

 fifteen per cent, of sugar — the leaves being given to 

 cattle. This I do not expect will ever be done 

 in England, consequently I will confine my observa- 

 tions to its applicability to hay or cattle soiling. 



It may be sown from the 1 st of March to July ; the 

 early-sown pioducing three mowiags, the later two. You 

 cannot over-manure for it, as the coarseness of it seems 



not to affect the love the cattle have for it, nor its fat- 

 tening qualities. As soon as land is ready, you hoe out 

 lines two inches deep and a foot apart, and drop the seed 

 in these lines from three to four inches apart. It is a 

 very branching plant, and requires room : on a large 

 scale, of course, it would be drilled. It is covered in 

 the usual way, and in a couple of weeks is seen just 

 coming through; in two more it is four inches high. 

 You will now hoe it when you please : it will only re- 

 quire once doing, as it so smothers the weeds that they 

 cannot grow. But being at these intervals, a horse- 

 hoeing would not be a bad thing, with two horses, each 

 walking in the furrows four yards apart, and two hoes 

 following them, and at each end of the work the hoes 

 being set one row nearer each other. la this way the 

 plant is never trodden by the horses. I never saw this 

 done except by the market gardeners near London, but 

 it is an excellent plan. It seems not to be so rapid in 

 its growth in its early phases as afterwards : for that 

 reason it would not be amiss to steep the seed before 

 sowing. In June it is a yard high, and fit to commence 

 cutting. Should you prefer making it into hay, now is 

 the time. It is said to lose two-thirds of its weight, but 

 here they sadly overmake all their hay and clover. The 

 latter end of June and July is a time when a crop like 

 this comes in very conveniently for soiling — the tares are 

 done, the first crop of clover is all cut, and the after- 

 grass in the meadows is not yet ready. If not mown 

 till arrived at full maturity, it attains the height of eight 

 to nine feet; and, from what I have heard, I believe in 

 that state, if properly harvested and cut into chaff, all 

 things would eat it, and thrive on it exceedingly. There 

 seems little risk of a plant, as no insect will touch it. 

 When the crop is finished in November, and you plough 

 it up, the roots are excellent for hogs, boiled like pota- 

 toes. Thus all is valuable. 1 believe, although we may 

 never produce sugar from the full-grown stems, we may 

 make an excellent white wine, or vinegar, and even mo- 

 lasses. At all events such things have been made from 

 it in tlis North of France, where I am this 19th day of 

 May sitting by a good fire, and feeling glad I have it. 

 Whatever they do here, I am sure we can do ; but until 

 we know that it will ripen sufficiently perfectly to pro- 

 duce the required quantity of saccharine matter for these 

 purposes, it would be useless to fill your paper with an 

 account of the different processes. SuflSce it to say, 

 they are so simple that they come within the means and 

 powers of the smallest farmer; indeed, here it is consi- 

 dered as great a boon to the little as to the large culti- 

 vator. During this summer I shall most likely see much 

 more of the management and uses of this plant, and 

 shall most certainly forward to you any further infor- 

 mation I may obtain, and think of interest to my 

 brother-farmers. 



An English Farmer in France. 

 Lille, May 19/A, 1858. 



