SUGAK. 



G19 



though alike in chemical composition. Cane-sngar 

 is found in the stems and roots of many grasses, es- 

 pecially sugar-cane, sorghum and Indian corn ; in 

 fleshy roots, as the beet, carrot, turnip, sweet potato, 

 etc. ; in the sap of many trees, especially the date- 

 palm and sugar-maple ; in most sweet f raits, pump- 

 kins, melons, sweet potatoes, etc. ; and in the nectar 

 of flowers and glandular exudations of certain plants. 

 Of the total sugar-product the sugar-cane yields 

 about 60, the beet-root 35, the date-palm 3.5, the 

 sorghum-plant 1.75, and the sugar-maple .5 per cent. 



The Sngar-cane, Saeckarum oj/ficinarum, is a kind 

 of gigantic grass, with a solid stem, 1 to 1J inch 

 thick and 8 to 10 feet high. The stem is jointed at 

 distances of 3 to 6 inches, and sends forth leaves 3 

 or 4 feet long, which fall with the ripening of the 

 plant. The flower stem, called the " arrow," is 7 or 

 8 feet high, smooth and jointless, bearing a panicle 

 of soft, silky flowers. The ripe stem contains a 

 pith of dirty-white color and open cellular tissue, 

 which is filled with the saccharine juice of the plant. 

 Numerous varieties of sugar-cane are cultivated, dif- 

 fering much in character, though most botanists 

 think that they all came from one species. Of these 

 varieties those most cultivated in this quarter of the 

 world are the Creole or Madeira (the common sugar- 

 cane), and the Otaheite, a taller variety, whose yield 

 is larger and its juice more easily worked. Tho 

 Batavian, Chinese, and other varieties are cultivated 

 to some extent. The Salangore is one of the most 

 prolific, and has been known to yield as much as 

 7'200 Ibs. of sugar from one acre of canes. The 

 sugar-cane thrives best in warm, moist climates, and 

 finds its most luxuriant development on islands and 

 sea coast regions, perhaps from the moisture of the 

 sea-breezes. It reaches its greatest perfection with- 

 in the tropics, and cannot be successfully cultivated 

 in frosty regions. Even in Louisiana it is often in- 

 jured by frost. 



The sugar-cane, which had long before been cul- 

 tivated in the West Indies, was introduced into the 

 United States about the middle of the last century. 

 It is said to have been brought by Jesuits from San 

 Domingo, and cultivated on the banks of the Mis- 

 sissippi, above New Orleans, about 1751. Some 

 authorities say that the first sugar-mill was built on 

 the Mississippi in 1758, and that the culture pros- 

 pered ; but others say that the manufacture of cane- 

 sugar did not begin till 1764, and did not prosper, 

 there being very few sugar-estates in Louisiana 

 when ceded to the United States in 1803. In 1818 

 25,000 hogsheads of sugar were made. Up to that 

 time the cane was ground by cattle, but steam- 

 grinding was introduced in 1822. The sugar-district 

 at present extends on both sides of the Mississippi, 

 from about 60 miles below New Orleans to 7irariy 

 200 miles above, and also along Bed river and 

 many bayous. The culture has been introduced 

 into. Texas and is increasing in all the Gulf States. 

 Yet in all these States the cane is liable to injury 

 from frosts, which occasionally cause serious reduc- 

 tion of the crop, while droughts and the overflow of 

 rivers also act injuriously. The sugar-cane is ex- 

 posed to many animal pests, chief among which are 

 rats. These gnaw the standing canes, and let the 

 air into the pith and juice, fermentation and acidity 

 resulting. White ants are also very troublesome in 

 some localities, while there arcs several borers, 

 plant-lice, etc., which do great injury to the canes. 

 Various more or less effective methods have been 

 introduced to mitigate these pests, the mongoose 

 being employed successfully by some planters to get 

 rid of the rats ; while turkeys, insectivorous birds, 

 ichneumon flies, and ants are useful as natural ene- 

 mies of the boring larvae. 



The cane is propagated only by means of cuttings, 

 no kind of cultivated sugar-cane being known to 



perfect its seed. These cuttings are planted at in- 

 tervals of 2 feet, in rows 3 feet apart, though this 

 differs in different localities. Hand-holes are dug to 

 set out the cuttings, thoiigh this method is being re- 

 placed, particularly in Louisiana, by the use of the 

 plough. After the first cutting, new plants, known 



j as "ratoons," grow up from the roots, and this 

 method of growth is sometimes continued for 20 



! vears before the vitality of the old roots is ex- 

 hausted. When the canes are ready for harvest they 

 are cut with hatchets as close to the root as possible, 

 the juice from the lower joints being the richest. 

 The tops are discarded. The canes are crushed iu 

 mills by heavy rolls, an average yield of 60 per cent, 

 in juice being thus obtained. There is great loss in 

 this method, however, and a new process, known as i 

 diffusion, is now becoming general. In this the pith 

 is treated with successive applications of water, into 

 which the juice diffuses, the yield being much greater 

 and the juice purer, while the residuum of molasses, 

 being free from plant-tissue, is of better quality. 



Next in importance to the cane as a sugar-producer 

 is the Beet-root. Up to the 18th century only cane- 

 sugar was known in commerce, but in 1747 it was 

 discovered that beets contained about 6 per cent, of 

 sugar. During the Napoleonic wars, when the Eng- 

 lish blockade deprived France of sugar, Napoleon had 

 experiments made on many plants, and, as beet-root 

 proved the best, a beet-sugar factory was established 

 at Lille in 1810. After the peace this industry, 

 which had gained considerable development in 

 France, declined, but improved processes brought it 

 into vogue again, and at present beet-root sugar has 

 largely driven cane-sugar out of Europe. The ef- 

 forts to introduce the beet-root sugar industry into 

 the United States have not met with much success. 

 An attempt was made by Vaughan and Konaldson, of 

 Philadelphia, in 18oO, but failed from ignorance of 

 the proper process. At that time the European 

 beet yielded only 4 to 5 per cent, of sugar, though 

 the present yield is from 8 to as high as 14 per cent. 

 In 1839 D. L. Child, of Northampton, Mass., made 

 1300 Ibs. of beet-sugar. Nothing further of impor- 

 tance seems to have been done till 1863, when a large 

 factory was established at Chatsworth, 111. Other 

 factories have since started in that region, but none 

 of them have been very successful. In I860 experi- 

 ments in beet-root sugar-making began in California, 

 and in 1870 the Alvarado Sugar Co. was formed. 

 Other companies have since been established, with 

 good promise of success. Yet they have met with 

 difficulties from want of experience, while there are 

 obstacles in making beet-sugar which do not exist in 

 the case of cane. The product of sugar is but two- 

 thirds that of cane, while the juice is highly charged 

 with impurities which need removal by expensive pro- 

 cesses. The total annual product of beet-root sugar 



' in this country is estimated at 2000 tons, but there 

 are indications of a steady increase. (See AGIUCDLT- 

 tJKB, Chap. V. 2. Beet.) 



The chief native source of sugar in the United 

 States is the Sugar- or Bock-maple, a tall and orna- 

 mental tree which flourishes widely throughout 

 North America, though its abundance has been 

 greatly reduced by the too free use of the axe. Its 

 sap yields a profitable percentage of sugar, but the 

 manufacture of sugar from it has as yet been mainly 

 confined to farmers for home consumption. The 

 season of maple-sugar making is very favorable for 

 farmers, being in the early spring before the begin- 

 ning of farm-work. At the first thawing of the 

 ground, in middle or late February, the flow of sap 

 begins, and the sugar-making continues through 

 March and into early April, though the sap gradu- 

 ally diminishes in its saccharine qualities. The sugar- 

 sap season is thus about six weeks long, the average 

 product of sugar being one pound to 4i or 5 gallons 



