SORGHUM AS A SOURCE OF SUGAR. 635 



"VYith the aid of this liberal appropriation, and of numerous sub- 

 stantial gratuities to individuals, the development of this industry was 

 still slow. In 1826 only 1,500 tons of beet-sugar were produced in 

 France, but after that time the increase was more rapid, and we find 

 France producing 420,396 tons of beet-sugar in ] 879. 



From small and inauspicious beginnings the beet-sugar industry 

 has slowly grown, until it is securely established in France, Belgium, 

 Austria, and Germany. At present, three eighths of the sugar used by 

 civilized nations is produced by the sugar-beet. In like manner, the 

 production of sugar from sorghum may not attain great proportions 

 until some years have passed, but the plant is richer in sugar and is 

 much more easily cultivated and handled than is the sugar-beet. The 

 production of sorghum-sugar at a profit is less problematical than was 

 the successful manufacture of beet-sugar when Napoleon issued the 

 decree which laid the foundations of the beet-sugar industry in 

 France. 



The results of recent investigations of sorghum in the hands of 

 other experimenters, as well as the immense amount of work done at 

 Washington, have been rendered available, for the general reader and 

 those interested in scientific and practical details, by a recent book 

 written by Dr. Collier.* In this work, of over five hundred pages, a 

 great number of scientific and economic problems are discussed, and 

 our present definite knowledge of various points, formerly disputed, is 

 clearly stated. The chemical changes occurring in the plant during 

 its development have been recorded with an exactness suited to delight 

 the student of vegetable physiology, while the practical sugar-maker 

 need not look in vain for the latest information as to machinery and 

 manufacturing processes. Farmers wishing to grow sorghum are told 

 what varieties are most likely to succeed in [Northern and what other 

 varieties in Southern latitudes, and ttie best methods of planting, fer- 

 tilizing, and securing the crop are carefully described. 



In fact, this work has been well done, and its completeness is 

 creditable alike to the thoroughness and the ability of the author. It 

 is fortunate for this industry and for the country that these investiga- 

 tions have been prosecuted by a chemist so competent, and it is to be 

 hoped that Congress may see fit to continue this work under the direc- 

 tion of Dr. Collier. 



In view of the fact that the special committee of the National 

 Academy has reported as its opinion, based on facts thus far presented, 

 that the production of sugar from sorghum is likely to prove a com- 

 mercial success, this country can well afford to expend liberal amounts 

 of money for a continuation of these investigations, and for a practical 

 demonstration of the cost of manufacturing sugar on the large scale. 



* " Sorghum : Its Cultivation and Manufacture economically considered as a Source 

 of Sugar, Sirup, and Fodder." By Peter Collier, Ph. D., late Chemist of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Cincinnati : Robert Clarke & Co. 



