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THE SUGAR SORGHO. oe 
the materials which compose it, and preserve in it a more constant 
moisture. In general, the fertilizers formed by vegetable matters un- 
dergoing decomposition, are more efficacious for sacchariferous plants. 
The land destined for the sorgho should be well prepared by deep 
plowing and deep harrowing. It is necessary that it should be a, cer- 
tain depth. The plant thus gains a stability, and finds itself to make 
a more rapid growth, besides having at its disposal more moisture. 
The plantation can be made in two different ways—by sowing in a 
hot-bed and transplanting, and by sowing in the field. In Algeria 
and the south of France this last method will be preferred. Fora 
great number of localities in the center of France, the Chinese method 
of replanting will be more profitable, but with the condition that labor 
shall be abundant.* 
The field sowings should be made when the late frosts are no longer 
to be feared ; that is to say, in Algeria during the month of April ; in 
France, from the middle of April to May, according to the position, 
more or less northern, in which we find ourselves. It is good to sow 
when the earth is a little moist on the surface, because then the seed, 
which requires to be slightly covered, germinates more rapidly, and 
grows very vigorously. It would even be well to water the ground if 
it was too dry at the time of planting. 
It is the practice to sow m lines of different width, according to the 
situation, in Algeria. Mr. Hardy has adopted three feet two inches as 
his width. In Provence, several agriculturists have chosen a width of 
about three and a quarter feet. But thisis a matter of choice and 
locality. Sowing in the hot bed is done in March and in April, upon 
a border sheltered from cold winds. The plants are transplanted 
when they have acquired a height of about fourteen inches. For the 
field sowings, the first hoeing is given as soon as the sorgho has at- 
tained about fourteen inches of height, and at the same time is thinned 
out from fourteen to sixteen inches in the rows. The superfluous plants 
can be fed to cattle. In the course of the vegetation of the sorgho, 
* M. Itier, who has recently given us the details of the culture of the sorgho in 
China, recommends strongly the adoption in France of the system of transplanting. 
For our part, we do not believe it will succeed ; at least, that it will not be adopted as 
the profitable practice of cultivating sorgho in the thickly populated er of the 
North * * * * * # 
