REPORT OF THE CHEMIST 109 
Permanganate Rapid oxidation. 
AgNO, Heavy precip., reddens by light. 
NH,OH Fiocky precip. 
Ammon. acet. zinc. Heavy precip. 
Ba O, He Heavy precip. 
Cu (C. OH; O2)» Precip. sol. in excess. 
Cochineal solut. Purple flocky precip. 
Fehling solution, Gives a flocky precip., soluble in an excess, but 
reducing only slightly, even on long boiling, and 
that probably owing to a trace of sugar in the 
gum. 
As has been said before, the gum is colored bright blue by iodine and 
acids, but only under certain conditions. It must be in a dry state be- 
fore adding H Cl, and the iodine must be in alcoholic solution. A 
solution of K I and I in water gives a violet coloration. In this respect 
the gum agrees perfectly with quince mucilage, which gives the same 
reactions with iodine peculiar, it seems, to these two substances. 
That it does not rotate the ray, of light shows that it is quite different 
from any of the true gums, which are all optically active, dextrin, which 
it resembles in many other respecis, having a specific rotation of +2.35°. 
In a pure condition it has no odor, but the alcohol which is decanted 
from it in the process of washing has a powerful odor similar to ginger- 
bread, and from this smell the alcohol cannot be purified by distilla- 
tion. It seems to be identical with the disagreeable odor of the alcohol 
distilled from the sirup, and to it is due, perhaps, the disagreeable 
taste sometimes perceived in sorghum sirups. 
Analogous experiments with cane molasses show that the same or a 
similar gum is present in cane, but ina very much smaller amount. 
Whether the gum is already formed in the plant at the time of expres- 
sion of the juice is a question still open, but from analogy we might 
reason that there is at least a time at which we should express the 
juice from the canes to obtain a minimum of gum. No method for 
the removal of the gum after its actual formation seems possible. A 
quantitative estimation by Mr. Wellington shows that there is about 9 
per cent. of the substance in the sirup on which we have worked. 
The following reports received by the department during the past 
year will show the practical results thus far secured in the production 
of sirup from sorghum. These results are arranged according to yield 
per acre. 
1. Edgar Beebe, La Fayette County, Wisconsin, 320 gallons good, clear 
sirup. 
2. J. W. Henry, Pikeville, Bledsoe County, Tennessee, 275 gallons 
heavy sirup. 
3. Peter Spear, Bledsoe County, Tennessee, 275 gallons. g 
4, C. A. Harrison, Van Buren, Michigan, 260 gallons, very fine, onsand 
ane 235 gallons, good, on heavy clay; 232 gallons, good, on light 
oam. 
5. J. B. Brown, Redwood County, Minnesota, 220 gallons dense 
sirup. 
6. H. Ff. L. Lagenhadt, Miami County, Obio, 173 gallons. 
7. Wm. Bb. Simpson, Laclede County, Missouri, 170 gallons. 
8. O. J. Mallory, Levanna, Cayuga County, New York, 167 gallons 
extra sirup. 
va John Higinbotham, Richland County, Wisconsin, 160 gallons 
good. 
