8 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, 
ment of the present and prospective condition of these industries, my 
attention has of late been more especially given to the question of pro- 
ducing large supplies of sugar from sorghum and raize, and one or two 
other sugar-yielding plants. 
Satisfied of the extraordinary qualities of a variety of sorghum called 
the “Minnesota Early Amber,” I procured as much of the pure, well- 
cured seed as possible, and distributed the same in every Congressional 
district in the United States. The results of this distribution have 
been uniformly favorable, and the variety is recognized as a great acqui- 
sition, yielding everywhere a large amount of rich saccharine juice, 
which, under proper treatment, gives a first-class article of cane sugar 
and sirup, the yield being from 120 to 250 gallons of heavy sirup te the 
acre. Mr. Seth Kenny, of Morristown, Rice*County, Minnesota, who 
first made sugar from “ Karly Amber” cane, writes that he has made 
this season, for himself and neighbors, 4,240 gallons of sirup, of which, 
at the time of writing, he had sold 720 gallons at 7 cents per gallon, 
and 13 barrels of which were grained into mush sugar. A large amount 
of sugar and sirup was made in other parts of Minnesota during the 
past season from this “ Early Amber” cane, and much excellent sirup, 
with some sugar, in many other parts of the country. 
Many of those who have planted this sorghum the past year an- 
nounce their intention of cultivating an increased area another season, 
which goes to show that the crop has not been unprofitable. 
There being no vacant space in the grounds attached to the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture suitable for the purpose of conducting experiments 
in this direction, I was compelled to seek the aid of farmers in the vicin- 
ity of the city, and it was with some difficulty that any one could be 
found in the neighborhood of Washington who would consent to plant 
seed of the “‘ Early Amber” cane, a crop of which was desired for experi- 
ments here. Small patches were finally planted on three farms, but 
these were allowed to grow without thinning, and of course the product 
was in no sort a typical one, the cane used in our experiments (de- 
tails of which are given elsewhere) being only large-sized grass, not 
exceeding the girth of a man’s thumb, rather than the full-sized stalk to 
which it would have attained under moderately favorable cultivation ; 
and yet, despite this and other untoward circumstances attending our 
experiment, it has sufficed to demonstrate the fact—if, indeed, other 
demonstration than the practical results as to sorghum in Minnesota 
and elsewhere, and maize in Pennsylvania, were needed—that: there 
exists in these two plants a large amount of sugar, which may be readily 
obtained, and that the aggregate amount possible from this source 
would be practically unlimited. Indeed, were but one or two per cent. 
of our present corn crop given over to the production of sugar it would 
readily yield an amount equal to the entire annual importation of this 
important product. 
The experiments thus far made have scarcely been sufficient to accu- 
