HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 157 



ber as it is earlier thau the old Chinese Sorgho, and very rich in 

 saccharine matter. We propose to carry on these investigations 

 until we can develop varieties adapted to all localities in the 

 state. 



I tell you, gentlemen, we have accomplished more here in the 

 past thirty-five years in this industry in this country than was 

 accomplished in a hundred years in Europe in the development 

 of the sugar beet, and in a few years more no doubt most of 

 these causes of .discouragement will be swept away. In a few 

 years, instead of importing one hundred millions of dollars 

 worth of sweets to supply the people of this country, we will be 

 exporting it by the hundreds of millions of dollars worth to the 

 people of other countries. 



Mr. Ridout. I would inquire as to the cost of making syrup? 



Mr. Kenuey. I work the farmers' cane separate and they pay 

 in a share of the syrup. There is one thing I would like to 

 speak of. I do not strip my cane any more. I wait till the 

 leaves are partly wilted and I run the cane through with the 

 leaves and without extracting the bitter taste. I save the labor 

 of stripping. The cane is cut up and allowed to stand till the 

 leaves show a shrunken appearance. Then they can be run 

 through the mill, and we use one -fourth less lime in clarifying 

 than if we work it up with the leaves stripped. It seems to 

 draw out the impurities if left in the shock, and we make the 

 syrup with less lime and consequently of a lighter color. I 

 think that is the finest kind of syrup I can make that is made 

 when the leaves arc well wilted. 



This industry I consider is away past the experimental stage. 

 It can be made very profitable, and when you can make a good 

 article of syrup there is a market for it. I would like to see 

 many others take hold of this industry and carry it along. I 

 don't intend to leave it myself. 



Capt. Blakeley. Mr. Hughes gives an illustration of the ma- 

 chinery used in the establishment I have referred to. He uses 

 the diffusion process. He had thirty-three acres of cane to work 

 through the mill. He found he could not work up the cane suc- 

 cessfully with the machinery he had. In that process the cane is 

 cut into two-inch pieces and passed through a series of fans and 

 the leaves are all blown away. In this way he gets rid of leaves 

 and shives which carry a good deal of gum and extraneous sub- 

 stance, troublesome in manufacture. His diffusion battery cost 

 $3,000, and the process he has employed works very satisfactory 

 and complete. 



