716 



SORGHUM. 



SOUTH CAROLINA. 



varieties of sorghum grown experimentally in 

 the United States show this result: Percentage 

 of sucrose, 16'18; percentage of glucose, 1*8; 

 percentage of solids not sugar, 3-08 ; percentage 

 of available sugar, 11-3; pounds of sugar per 

 ton of cane. 136. Further experiments at that 

 time showed that sorghum, unlike sugar beet, 

 contained various noncrystallizable sugars re- 

 quiring much skill in their separation. It was 

 also shown that sugar from sorghum could be 

 made profitable only by using all the waste prod- 

 ucts. A strong manure is formed from the 

 scums and sediments. A similar use can be 

 made from the bagasse, or crushed cane. The 

 proportion of molasses to sugar is much better in 

 sorghum than in the ordinary sugar cane. A 



fallen of molasses, weighing 11-28 pounds, gives 

 75 pounds of absolute alcohol ; 3'03 pounds of 

 alcohol at 90 per cent. ; and 5'5 pounds of rum 

 or whisky. In preparing sorghum the cane is 

 cut into pieces an inch long, and then passed 

 into a machine, where 30 knives completely 

 separate the fibers. The earlier processes in the 

 United States used rollers for extracting the 

 juice. It was found that only 40 or 50 pounds 

 of sugar to a ton of cane was saved by this 

 method. A special agent was sent to Europe to 

 study that process in beet-sugar making known 

 as " diffusion," or " saturation " ; and experi- 

 ments were at once made by Government agents 

 at a factory in Fort Scott, Kan. By the old 

 process the juice was crowded from the cane by 

 direct pressure, and the average yield of sugar 

 was a trifle over 50 per cent, 'of the quantity in 

 the cane ; although as much as 80 per cent, had 

 been obtained in the best mills. By the new 

 process of diffusion the juice is freed from the 

 impurities that were found under the earlier 

 process ; the yield from the cane averages 120 

 pounds of sugar to the ton, and in some instances 

 it runs as high as 135 pounds. The diffusion 

 process extracts the juice of the cane by soaking. 

 A factory with a capacity of 200 to 250 tons of 

 clean sorghum cane a day requires a diffusion 

 battery of 12 cells, with a 'total capacity of 1,344 

 cubic feet. The total cost of making the sugar 

 at Fort Scott averaged $2 a ton, about the orig- 

 inal cost of the cane. The manufacture is en- 

 couraged by a bounty of 2 cents a pound by 

 the State of Kansas. It is estimated that a ton 

 should yield 100 pounds of first sugar, 28 pounds 

 of second sugar, and 16 gallons of molasses. The 

 refuse cane may be used for fuel in the factories, 

 for fodder, or even for a coarse grade of wrap- 

 ping paper. 



The latest experiments with sorghum show 

 that it can not be cultivated in the United States 

 north of the thirty-ninth parallel of latitude. 

 The best soil and climate are those of southern 

 and western Kansas and the Indian Territory. 

 Other favorable localities are in Tennessee, 

 Louisiana. Arkansas, North Carolina, and Texas. 

 A more hardy plant of the sorghum family, 

 known as the "early amber," is cultivated to 

 some profit in Minnesota anrl the Dakotas. A 

 common average from 1 acre of the cane is 160 

 gallons of juice. The cane also produces an 

 abundance of seed, from 20 to 25 bushels an 

 acre ; and this is almost as valuable as corn for 

 feed. The average yield of dry sugar to the 

 gallon of sirup is about 4 pounds, although it 



has gone as high as 7 pounds. The crop itself 

 is as sure as the corn crop ; but it is important 

 that the cane should be gathered at the right 

 stage of maturity, and that the juice should be 

 expressed at once ; also that it be immediately 

 converted into sirup, else there is a large per- 

 centage of loss. The early amber was first 

 grown in Minnesota in 1878, the seed coming 

 from Indiana. As with many other products, 

 the profit on the sorghum grown in the United 

 States depends upon a good water supply and 

 the nearness of factories to the fields and to 

 cheap fuel. Experiments are now making upon 

 many varieties of sorghum, under the care of the 

 Agricultural Department of the United States 

 Government, in Maryland, near Washington. 

 The labor is performed by the employees of the 

 Maryland Agricultural College, on it's grounds. 



SOUTH CAROLINA, a Southern State, one 

 of the original thirteen, ratified the Constitution 

 May 23, 1788 ; area 3,750 square miles. The popu- 

 lation, according to each decennial census, was 

 249,073m 1790; 345,591 in 1800; 415,115 in 1810; 

 502,741 in 1820; 581,185 in 1830; 594,398 in 1840; 

 668,507 in 1850; 703,708 in 1860; 705,606 in 1870; 

 995,577 in 1880 ; and 1,151,149 in 1890. Capital, 

 Columbia. 



Government. The following were the State 

 officers until the inauguration of the newly 

 elected officers, about Dec. 1 : Governor, Ben- 

 jamin R. Tillman, Democrat ; Lieutenant-Gov- 

 ernor, Eugene B. Gary ; Secretary of State, J. E. 

 Tindal; .Treasurer, W. T. C. Bates; Attorney- 

 General, 0. W. Buchanan ; Comptroller, W. H. 

 Ellerbe: Superintendent of Education, W. D. 

 Mayfield ; Adjutant General, Hugh L. Farley ; 

 Railroad Commissioners. Jefferson A. Sligh, D. 

 P. Duncan, and H. R. Thomas ; Chief Justice of 

 the Supreme Court, Henry Mclver; Associate 

 Justices, Samuel McGowan and Y. J. Pope. 

 Judge McGowan retired July 27, and was suc- 

 ceeded by E. B. Gary. 



Finances. The cash receipts for the year 

 ending Oct. 31 were $1,661,100:17. Of this 

 $932,438.20 was for taxes, $463,011.19 from t\ 

 State dispensary, $57,827.13 from phosphate roj 

 alty, and $43,423.88 from the privilege tax on 

 fertilizers. The expenditures for the same time 

 were $1,888,828.72. The large items are: For 

 the State dispensary, $458,580.30 ; for State in- 

 stitutions, $259,326.27; interest on public debt 

 and expenses, $269,755.56; loans, $158,153.52; 

 redemption of brown consols, $168,146.42; sah 

 ries, $149,317.70. The cash balance at the 

 ginning of the year was $227,728.55 ; at the end, 

 $203,253.24. The cash liabilities were $402,215.08, 

 and the liabilities other than cash $6,476,544,02. 

 A loan was taken by the Governor and Treasurer, 

 under an act of 1893, of $100,043.49. In fulfill- 

 ment of the contract made by act of 1892 with 

 the holders of the new brown 4 per cents, issued 

 for the redemption of the brown consols, 

 phosphate royalty received from Jan. 1, \i 

 was placed to the credit of the sinking fund fc 

 the reduction of those bonds and that stock 

 the amount of $56,373.73, of which $25,400 

 invested in securities as required by the act. Tl 

 total valuation of taxable property is $174,607, 

 833, against $170,242,261 in 1893. " 



Education. The report of the State Superii 

 tendent of Education shows a total of 226,7' 



