GRASSES FOR MISCELLANEOUS PURPOSES 73 



states that in 1909 Louisiana produced 4,941,996 tons of 

 sugar-cane, which was an increase of 57 per cent over 

 that produced in 1899. 



Sugar is contained in the juice of the cane, this being 

 extracted from the stalks by crushing between rollers. 

 The juice is neutralized with lime, boiled and clarified, 

 and concentrated in vacuum pans. The sugar separates 

 in crystals. The remaining liquid is called molasses. Rum 

 is made by distilling fermented molasses. The sugar-cane 

 often flowers abundantly in the tropics, but rarely produces 

 seed. It is propagated by cuttings of the stem. 



97. Sorgho, or sorghum. — ^As indicated in Par. 57 

 there are several varieties of sorghum, some of which, the 

 saccharine sorghums, have a sweet juice containing enough 

 cane-sugar to make the extraction a commercial possibility. 

 In the region from Kansas to North Carolina a small 

 amount of sorghum is grown for the production of sugar, 

 most of which appears on the market in the form of syrup. 

 The total amount of sorghum syrup produced in the United 

 States in 1909 was 16,532,282 gallons.* The five leading 

 states were Kentucky, 2,733,683; Tennessee, 2,076,339; 

 Missouri, 1,788,391; Arkansas, 1,140,532; North Carolina, 

 1,099,346. 



TEXTILE GRASSES 



98. The most important textile grass is esparto, the 



fiber of which is used for paper and cordage. It is grown 

 chiefly in Spain and North Africa. In Algiers the grass is 

 called alfa. Annually there are imported into England 

 over 200,000 tons of esparto tc be used for the manufacture 

 of paper. Two species of grasses furnish the esparto of 

 commerce — Stipa tenacissima and Lygeum sparteum, 



*13th Census. 



