424 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



be obtained. Seed that has been grown in a somewhat warmer climate than that in which it is 

 to be planted is best for the Northern States. It should also be from a pure variety and 

 unmixed with other plants. It is a well-known fact that sugar-canes and similar plants, such 

 as corn, millet, broom-corn, etc., will readily mix when planted with or near each other, 

 greatly to the deterioration of the product; hence the importance of obtaining good seed. It 

 is the only safe way to procure it from some well-known and reliable source. 



Soaking the seed in tepid water from twelve to twenty-four hours before planting will 

 cause it to germinate sooner. It may also be tested by putting a little of the seed in some 

 earth and keeping it in a warm place, or by putting it between two layers of thin muslin 

 saturated with water, and placing it in damp soil for a few days, watering slightly occasion 

 ally. If it germinates readily by either of these methods, it is quite probable that it will do 

 so when planted in the field. The planting should be done as early as the ground is suffic 

 iently warm, and there is no danger from frost. The planting is generally in hills, drill-culture 

 not usually being considered so satisfactory in results as hills, since the latter admits of culti 

 vation in both directions. The rows should be about three feet apart, and the hills two feet 

 apart in the rows. It is well to put plenty of seed in each hill to make allowance for such 

 as may not germinate, and afterwards thin out the plants, leaving from six to eight of the 

 most vigorous ones to grow. From twenty to twenty-five seeds to the hill would be sufficient. 

 Care should be used not to cover the seed too deep, as it would be liable to rot in the ground, 

 if the weather should be cool and wet. For early planting, a half inch of covering will be 

 sufficient. When the planting is late in the season, and the ground warm and dry, it will be 

 well to cover to the deptli of an inch. 



Cultivation. When sorghum-plants first make their appearance from the ground 

 they much resemble broom-corn, or a species of very coarse grass. The growth in the first 

 stages is very slow, the plants being feeble, but in a little time, with a suitable soil, it will be 

 quite rapid. As soon as the plants are up, the cultivator should be used in destroying the 

 weeds. It is very essential for the welfare of the crop that the soil be kept clean of grass 

 and weeds during the early period of its growth, for as its progress in growth is then slow, 

 it will soon be choked with the fast-growing weeds, if neglected. This is the period when 

 the crop is said to be &quot;made,&quot; and the culture it then receives has more influence in deter 

 mining the yield than that subsequently given. When the stalks are five or six inches high, 

 the plants should be thinned out in the hills, leaving from six to eight of the best. Careful 

 culture is essential until the plants zfre about three feet high, after which it will in a great 

 measure take care of itself. If the cultivator is used afterwards, it should be run very near 

 the surface, as deep tillage would be liable to injure the roots, and thus injure the stalks. The 

 culture throughout is similar to that of corn, except it does not extend as late in the season. 



Harvesting. The time for harvesting sorghum is when it has reached that degree of 

 maturity that the seed cannot be crushed between the thumb and finger. At this period the 

 saccharine matter is in the greatest quantity in the stalks, and the glucose in the least. If 

 cut before this period, there will be much waste, and the juice will be of inferior quality. 

 The cane should never be touched by the frost. The time for cutting imphees, or African 

 cane, is earlier than that of sorghum, and may be when the seed is in the milk state. Some 

 planters claim that it may be worked up at any time from the period of the falling of the 

 flowers until the seed is ripe. 



It is better to have the cane ground at once as soon as harvested. When this is done, 

 it may be topped in the field, cutting off one or two joints, and the leaves stripped off, after 

 which it may be cut and taken to the mill. When not worked up at once, the tops and 

 leaves should remain on until ready for grinding, and the stalks stacked in the field like corn. 

 By leaving the tops and leaves on the stalks in such cases, cane can be kept three or four 

 weeks without much injury. It should not, when stacked, be exposed to rain or frost. The 



