REPORT OT^ TTTE CHEMIST. 



59 



experiments appear to prove that this troublesome operation of strip- 

 ping may be avoided without any diminution of the amount of juice or 

 of suga/obtained therefrom. 



Below are the results obtained from stripped and unstripped sorghum, 

 calculated to the raw stalks used. 



By raw stalks is meant the stalks as they were cut in the field — leaves, 

 tops, and all. 



Sorgbnm. 



Avera<i6 per 

 cent, of juice 

 to raw stalks. 



Arerage per 

 cent, sirnp 

 in juice. 



Stripped sorghnm, two experimeuts ... 

 TJnstiipped sorghum, five expeiiiuenta. 



35.02 



40. ca 



15.00 

 15.47 



From the above it will be seen that not only was an increased amount 

 of juice obtained, but that this juice gave an increased percentage of 

 simp, and there appears nothing unusual in the treatment of this juice 

 from the unstripped cane, nor was there any appreciable diii'erence in 

 the readiness of the simp to crystallize, nor in the character of the sugar 

 finally obtained. 



Although perhaps further experiments are desirable before consider- 

 ing this point as settled, it would appear from the above that not only 

 was stripping unnecessary, but that it really involved a loss in the 

 amount of sugar to be obtained ; at least the above results indicate a 

 difference of twenty per cent, increase in product in favor of the un- 

 strii)ped cane. It is not improbable that the above result is due to the 

 fact that the leaves in passing through the mill tended to iill up the in- 

 terstices between the compressed cane, and thus prevented the expressed 

 juice from flowing through between the rolls with the bagasse. In case 

 of discoloration by action of moisture or other causes, it will, however, 

 be advisable, and probably necessary, to strip the stalks. 



Several experiments were also made with both corn-stalks aud sorghum 

 to determine the relative value of the upper and lower half of the stalks, 

 with the results given in the following table : 



Com and aorghum. 



Corn-stalks, butt ends, Jfo. 3 

 Cora-stalks, top ends, No. 4 . 

 Sorghum, butt ends, Xo. 8 . . . 

 Sorghum, butt ends, I^o. 10. . 



Sorglitiro, top ends, No. 9 



Sorghum, top ends, Ho. 11 . . . 



Percentage of 

 sirnp in juice. 



14.62 

 13. 4C 

 1G.41 

 16.47 

 14.70 

 14.23 



Nos. 8 and 9 were the butts and tops of the same stalks, and were cut 

 just after a rain, as were also Nos. 10 and 11, from which the rain had 

 evaporated, and the difference in yield of juice and sirup between butts 

 and tops is nearly constant. The increase in specific gravity of the 

 juice from butts over that from the top is also worthy of notice. 



From the above table the conclusion from the average results is that 

 the proportion, by weight, of sugar in the lower half of the stalk is to 

 the sugar in the upper half as follows : Corn butts to corn tops as 159 

 to 100 ; sorghum butts to sorghum tops as 131 is to 100. As will be 

 seen by reference to the first table, the stalks of both corn and sorghum 

 in the above experiment were di\ided almost equally by weight into 



