OTHER FARM CROPS 647 



leaves and tops. A considerable amount of feed can be secured in 

 this way. The combined method of feeding and fertilization is the 

 one prevalent in Europe. Our laxity in fertilizing lands would reduce 

 the probability of their elements of fertility ever getting back to 

 the soil. 



There are different methods of feeding these tops. The most 

 simple method is to turn a large number of cattle in the field to con- 

 sume them at once before they have had time to lose their succulency 

 through drying ; another is to allow them to cure on the ground, the 

 same as hay, and then to store them or stack them, feeding them at 

 will; another is to mix them in making ordinary silage, or with 

 the pulp in the silo. The choice of method depends upon the cir- 

 cumstances, facilities, and the plans of the farmer. Feeding them 

 is commendable, as the manure is returned to the soil. In the beet- 

 sugar countries of Europe beet leaves are not only used fresh but they 

 are often kiln-dried, the same as pulp, pressed and baled, and sent 

 out for common consumption. In this way they lose their local 

 use for fertility but they are a source of revenue to the farmer. 



Alcohol and Vinegar. Beet molasses contains about 50 per cent 

 of sugars capable of fermentation. One gallon weighing about 12 

 pounds contains approximately 6 pounds of sugar, which will produce 

 about 3 pints of 95 per cent alcohol. In other words, for every 2^2 

 gallons of molasses 1 gallon of alcohol can be made. 



Alcohol can be produced from whole beets at an actual cost of 

 about ten cents per gallon, and from the waste molasses of a beet- 

 sugar factory at a less figure. 



With reference to vinegar, it is claimed that much of the vine- 

 gar now in use is made from corn which costs about $14 per ton, 

 while the waste beet sirup costs the vinegar factory about $2 per ton, 

 and that more vinegar can be made from a ton of molasses than 

 from a ton of corn, and of better quality. 



Other By-Products. Considerable has been printed in the public 

 press about discoveries of other commercial products to be obtained 

 from the refuse of the sugar of the sugar factories. It is claimed that 

 the pulp can be dissolved into five distinct valuable commercial com- 

 modities: ' Alcohol, pure carbon, glue, glycerin, and acetate of 

 lime. (Mes. of Pres. on B-S. Indus., 1903.) ^" 



SORGHUM. ^ 



The term "sorghum" includes all the groups popularly known 

 in this country as sorgo or sweet sorghum, kafir, broom corn, shallu, 

 kowliang, durra, and milo. It covers also an enormous number of 

 cultivated forms in other lands with the possible exceptions of a 

 few, which, as pointed out in botanical history, may perhaps be re- 

 ferred to Andropogon halepensis rather than to A. sorghum. In 

 this connection the sweet sorghum only will be considered. (B. P. 

 I. B. 175.) 



Sorghum Suited to Different Localities. Sorghum has been cul- 

 tivated in this country for fifty years, yet no general selection of the 

 best varieties for sirup making has been made. Extensive correspon- 

 dence with sirup makers in all sections shows no general preference 



