58 



REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



The amount of sugar in the Early Amber cane, dry, is to tlie amount 

 present in the Earh'- Amber bagasse, dry, as 100 is to 55.74. 



In Honduras cane, dry : Honduras bagasse, dry : : 100 : 57.08. 



In Bgj'ptian sugar-corn, dry : Egyptian sugar-corn bagasse, dry : : 100 : 

 38.75 



As Tvil! be seen from these analyses — 



Per cent. 



The Honduras cane, fresh, contained sugar 7.62 



EaTl.y Amber cane, fresh, contained sngar 8.42 



The Egyptian sxigar-corn, fresh, contained sngar 3. 94 



While the sngar remaining in thehagasse, calculated to the fresh cane which pro- 

 duced these bagasses, gave as follows : 



Per cent. 



Honduras sorghum, sugar 3.49 



Early Amber sorghum, sugar ..., 3.16 



Egyjttian sugar-corn, sugar 1. 14 



In other words, it wlU appear that there was occasioned a loss of— 



4G.4 per cent, of the sugar present in Honduras sorghum. 



37.4 per cent, of the sugar present in Early Amber sorghum. 



28.9 per cent, of the sugar present in Egyptian sugar-corn. 



The importance, therefore, of a good mill cannot be overestimated, 

 and it is desirable that efforts be made to devise some process by which 

 results approximating those obtained in the extraction of sugar from 

 beets shall be attained, since it is obvious that, should the beet-sugar 

 industry be conducted in so wasteful a manner as is the production of 

 sugar from cane or from sorghum, this important industry could not 

 survive a year, even in those countries most favorably circumstanced in 

 regard to the production of beet sugar. 



For convenience the foUo^vdng results, which were obtained last year, 

 are appended, since these experiments were only confirmed this year, 

 but the results have not been tabulated. 



In the experiments made with corn-stalks the stalks were invariably 

 stripped, the tops being cut off at about the second joint. The percent- 

 age of stripped stalks, leaves, and toiis is given in this table : 



Corn-stalks. 



Per cent, of i Per cent, of 

 stripped leaves and 

 stalks. tops. 



No.l 



No.a 



Nob. 3 and 4 . . . 

 Average 



32.09 



On account of the trouble in stripping the stalks, experiments were 

 made with stalks unstripped, the tops alone being removed, and these 



