VERMONT. 



811 



25, phosphoric acid 12, and potash 6 cents per 

 pound. In the West the stalks aro not taken 

 from the ground, but are plowed under in the 

 spring, much to the discomfort of the man bold- 

 ing the plow. Experiments show that only a 

 small percentage of the nitrogen found in the 

 crop is absorbed from the soil ; and, as that is 

 tho highest-priced ingredient in all commercial 

 manures, it would very much lessen the cost 

 of raising corn if a considerable part of it could 

 be omitted. 



Tho following is the reported yield and value 

 of the wheat-crop in tho respective States for 

 the same year : 



The cost of raising wheat in Michigan, where 

 good land is held at $80 to $100 per acre, and 

 where no manure is used and the crop is alter- 

 nated with clover, is as follows : Plowing and 

 harrowing, $2; seed, $2.44; harvesting, $2; 

 threshing, $1.75 ; interest on land, $5. This 

 makes a total cost of $13.15, leaving a profit of 

 $8.20, which, however, is only to be counted 

 once in two years, as the crops are only taken 

 off the land every alternate year. In Iowa 

 the cost of plowing, harrowing, harvesting, 

 and threshing is $5.25, of seed $1.74, and the 

 interest on the land $1, making the total cost 

 of cultivation $8.99 and the profit $2.76. In 

 Kansas nearly the same figures hold true. In 

 Vermont the cost of growing and harvesting 

 is estimated at $19.95, making the profit $7.45. 



In an agricultural meeting at Montpelier, 

 Professor Collier of Washington described 

 some experiments he had made in raising sor- 

 ghum, lie tried five kinds early amber, Chi- 

 nese, white Liberian, Honduras, and pearl- 

 millet. He made analyses of the cane at 

 several stages of its growth. The pearl-millet 

 yielded the best results, which were better 

 than any published analysis of the sugar-beet, 

 and equal to that of Louisiana sugar-cane. Tho 

 juice analyzed between the 15th of August and 

 the 1st of November showed 14-67 to 17 per 

 cent, of cry stall! zable, and from 65 to 154 per 

 cent, of non-crystallizable sugar. The Hondu- 

 ras variety yields the heaviest crop of cane, 

 but will only grow in the Southern States. 

 Tho early amber, which will grow wherever 

 Indian corn can be raised, will produce with 

 good cultivation two tons of sugar to the acre. 

 Professor Collier has made many experiments 

 also with corn-stalks. Stalks when ripe, after 

 the corn has been harvested, yielded 10'90 per 

 cent, of good sugar. From tho results of forty- 

 five experiments in making sugar from sor- 

 ghum-cane, he believed that wherever Indian 

 corn will grow the cane will yield an average 

 of sugar per acre equal to or above that of the 

 sugar-lands of Louisiana. The process of ex- 



tracting tho juice and making the sugar is not at 

 all difficult. There should be a good strong mill 

 to get ont the juice, which as soon as got oat 

 should be heated nearly to the boiling-point, 

 and slacked lime mixed to tho consistence of 

 thick whitewash should be added ; after which 

 it should be brought to boiling, and tho scum 

 taken off as is usual in maple-sugar making. 

 After this it should be taken off and allowed 

 to cool and settle, where the clear liquid could 

 be drawn off and then boiled down in an ordi- 

 nary pan or evaporator ; and by this process 

 nineteen twentieths of the sugar could be se- 

 cured. He would not advise the farmers to 

 make sugar, but sell the sirup to the refiners, 

 who could do the work more cheaply and ef- 

 fectively. The refiners would now buy 100,- 

 000 barrels of high-grade sirup at good prices. 

 After the juice is pressed from the corn or 

 sorghum stalks, he believes, analysis shows 

 them to be worth ton for ton as much as be- 

 fore they were pressed, though of course the 

 amount would be much less. The pressed 

 stalks or "bagasse" were just in the condition 

 for feeding or for putting up in " silos" used for 

 preserving corn-fodder green. Professor Col- 

 lier expressed the opinion that in ten years the 

 United States, instead of importing 811,767 

 tons of sugar as in 1877, might export a mil- 

 lion tons; the State of Illinois might yield an 

 amount equal to the entire present import. 



The State Grange, at a meeting in Mont- 

 pelier, gave expression to the old grievance 

 against the railways in the following memo- 

 rial to be presented to Congress : 



To the Honorable the Senate and House of Jfepresenta- 

 tlees of the United States of America, in Congress 

 assembled : 



We, the citizens of county, State of , do 



most earnestly and persistently insist that tho Con- 

 gress of the United States enact such laws as will al- 

 leviate the oppressions imposed upon us by the trans- 

 portation monopolies that now control the interstate 

 commerce of our country. Railroads, or railways, as 

 they aro severally styled, exact fluctuating and ex- 

 cessive rates of transportation both for freights and 

 p:i.-M.'i lifers, and in all such arbitrary exactions are a 

 law unto themselves, being beyond pe reach of State 

 legislation, and heretofore unrestrained by Congres- 

 sional enactments. 



While general prosperity pervades tho land, agri- 

 culture, the corner-stone of our national pro-.'! 

 depressed. The surplus of our farms is wrenched from 

 us to enrich these giant monopolies. A buoyant mar- 

 ket instantly enhances the freight-rates of transporta- 

 tion, robbing the producer of well-earned profits, and 

 levying upon the consumer unjust taxation. A de- 

 pressed market maintains the previously enhanced 

 freight-rates, and in neither case do these common 

 carriers attempt to promote the public weal. 



The patience of an industrious, law-abiding people 

 is sorely tried, and with anxiety they look for relief 

 to your honorable bodies, from whom alone relief can 

 come. That it will come in the near future, we have 

 every reason to hope. To hasten its coming, we re- 

 spectfully urge upon your bodies the enactment of 

 such laws as will prevent fluctuations in frviirhts, and 

 unjust discriminations in transportation charges. 



And your petitioners would ever pray. 



Merino-sheep breeding is again becoming 

 profitable, and very high prices are paid for 



