218 



SORGHUM. 



Cuba and Louisiana, for they are careful to cut off and leave upon the 

 field tlie upper and immature portion of the sugar-cane, knowing by 

 experience that, by sending it to the mill, it results in actual loss ia 

 their product of sugar. 



That their practice is entirely justified by the results of analysis, 

 will be seen by reference to the table below, which represents the 

 average results in each case of four analyses of the juices from the 

 butt, the middle, and the top, of three varieties of sugar-cane grown, 

 in Louisiana. 



T.^BLE SHOWING RELATIVE VALUE OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF SUGAR-CANE STALK. 



From the above results, there would seem to be, in the immature 

 sugar-cane top, a close resemblance to the immature stalk of sorghum, 

 and yet the analogy ceases so soon as the sorghums have attained full 

 maturity; for, as the results of very many analyses show, there is prac- 

 tically no difference in the juice from the upper or lower half of the 

 sorghum stalks. 



This difference is probably due to the fact that, owing to the short 

 season, comparatively, it is impossible for the sugar-cane to reach, even 

 in Louisiana, a condition of full maturity. 



The Increase in Sugar during the later Stages in the Development of the Sor- 

 ghum is not the Result of a Loss of Water or Drying Up of the Plant. 

 This is a matter of such great practical importance to the manufac- 

 turer of sugar from the sorghums, that a fuller discussion of the facts 

 obtained by analysis is justified, since, if it were true that the absolute 

 amount of sugar present in the plant was at its maximum during the 

 early stages in its development, it would certainly be advisable that 

 the crop be worked at such time as showed the greatest per cent of 

 juice, since, obviously, a larger per cent of the sugar actually present 

 in the plant would be extracted by pressing the cane at such time as 

 showed the maximum per cent of juice. 



It is true, as will be seen, that the per cent of juice expressed by the 

 mill is greatest in the earlier stages of development ; and it is also true 



