THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



515 



ed by wheat, — I may remark, that our laundresses l The laet member of the gramineous tribe, 

 are chiefly indebted to its (iirina lor that important whicii remains lo be noiiced on this occasion, is 

 article in iheir operations, known t)y the name olj the sugar cane, {Saccharum o§icinarum, /,.) 

 starch: and in the olden time — when, whatever j This interesting plant more nearly resembles the 

 may have been the interior condition of the head, I Indian corn, in its structure and general haliit,* 

 fashion required the exterior, at least, to be con- I than any o( the other grain-bearing grasses ; hut, 

 epicuously decorated, — the same amylaceous ex- | uiiidie them all, its value consists, not in its teeds, 

 tract supplied the hair-dresser with his poivder. \ bul in the rich saccharine juice contained in its 



j pitliy stem. It is found only in warm climateg, 



j and flourishes best in the deep rich soils within 



the tropics, or in the lower latitudes of the tempe- 



As we have neglected the external finish, so ela- 

 borately besiowed on the pericranium, by our 

 ancestors, ii would seem to be but reasonable that 

 we should give the more attention to the lurniture 

 within! Although capable of yielding alcohol — 

 like all the farinaceous seeds — wheal is generally 

 too valuable, as an article of food, to be desecrat- 

 ed by the process of distillation. 



In our notice of the cerealia, the last in order 

 — and, as is supposed, the first in importance, by 

 reason of its extensive use, — is the rice plant. 

 (^Oryza sativa, L.) The beautiliil grain which 

 this grass aflords, — though considered by us, here, 

 more as a delicacy than as a standing dish, — is 

 the principal sustenance of millions of the human 

 race. Being a kind of semi-aquatic plant, rice 

 flourishes best in grounds that are low and marshy, 

 or so situated that they can be overflowed — though 

 there is a variety, called upland, or mountain rice, 

 which is much cultivated : and every where. 



rale zones. It is propagated by cuttings of the 

 jointed stem, planted in rows somewhat alter the 

 manner of Indian corn. The diameter of the 

 culm does not much exceed that of good speci- 

 mens of maize, — while it varies in height li-ora 

 8 or 10 to 20 leet, according to the character of 

 the soil. As it is not cultivated lor its seeds, it 

 is of course rarely permitted to flower; but is 

 gathered while the rich juices are yet dili'used 

 throughout the stem. When these juices have 

 acquired the proper degree of maturity, the culms 

 are crushed between rollers, — the saccharine liquid 

 is expressed — and conveyed into boilers, for the 

 purpose of driving ofl", by evaporation, the redu-ii- 

 dant watery portion. This being done to the 

 proper extent, and the impurities duly removed, 

 the sugar is precipitated in crystals, — leaving a 



within the tropical, and adjacent regions, where | dark rich syrup above, which is familiarly known 

 circumstances are favorable to its culture, this ad- j to us all by the name of melasses. These crys- 

 mirable grass is to be Ibund. In the southern '^^'s, when separated and drained of the syrup, 

 parts of India, as I have had occasion to witness, I are lelt in various conditions of purity, — and con- 

 the dense and squalid population is almost exclu- I stiiute the different sorts of our common brown 



sively subsisted upon rice. The elegant prepara- 

 tions of this grain, which crown the tables of the 

 wealthy in oriental climes, must be seen, and 

 tasted, to be duly appreciated. It is also much 

 used as food, in Roman catholic countries, in the 

 time of Lent. This plant belongs to a small sub- 

 division of the grass tribe, in which Ihe flowers 

 are often lumished with the extraordinary number 

 of six stamens— OT possibly they may each con- 

 sist of two florets concentrated within the proper 

 envelopes of a single flower, by which crowding 

 process, all the parts of one of the florets, excep" 

 the stamens, may be suppressed, or abortive; a 

 phenomenon, of which it is believed there are 

 many analogous instances in the economy of ve- 

 getation. The seeds are closely invested by the 

 inner chafiy envelope, or paleaj, after the manner 

 of oats and barley; and while thus coated are 

 known in the east by the name of padda. They 

 are deprived of this covering by passing them be- 

 tween millstones properly adjusted for the purpose, 

 and are thus prepared for the culinary department, 

 much in the same way that hulled and pearl bar- 

 ley are manufactured. The albumen, or farina- 

 ceous portion of rice, is of a remarkably pure white, 

 almost translucent; and of a very bland, nutri- 

 tious quality. The gluten which it contains, ena- 

 bles the Chinese to manufacture from it various 

 ornamental articles of great beauty and delicacy. 

 This gluten is also said to be an important ingre- 

 dient in the preparation of Japan paper. The art 

 of extracting alcohol firom the seeds, has been ap- 

 plied to rice as well as to the other cerealia. The 

 fiery liquor called arrac, the generic name in the 

 east for alcohol, is obtained by distillation from 

 rice, in conjunction with sugar, or the juice ol 

 some species of palm: and in China, an amber- 

 colored wine is also made from that grain. 



sugar. Subsequent boilings of the syrup aflbrd 

 a crude precipitate, of inlerior quality, known 

 in commerce by the name of Muscovado sugar, — 

 a term corrupted from the Spanish word Mascaba- 

 do, — and which, itselfj is derived from the phrase, 

 mas aca6a4o— signilying more done, or finished : 

 — i. e. the sugar, in this case, is the result of a 

 further and concluding process.f Our loaf sugar, 

 and candies, are obtained simply by re/i?iJ7ig- the 

 aforesaid saccharine crystals still further ; viz. 

 by dissolving them again— separating all foreign 

 matters fi-om the solution, by means of lime, 

 alum, white of egg's, and other clarifying mate- 

 rials— and then reducing the purified liquid to the 

 proper state for a second crystallization. Thus 

 are we furnished, by this magnificent grass, with 

 the purest, most nutritious, and universally pala- 

 table, of all the ingredients that enter into the 

 composition of our food. The large portion of 

 the globe adapted to the growth of the plant, 

 and the copious product of its juices, render it 

 probable that the cane will ever be our principal 

 resource for the supply of sugar. The maple 

 may furnish a tolerable substitute to foresters, 

 who live remote Irom the channels of commerce, 

 — and systems of policy, or other considerations, 

 may induce a pariial resort to the beet, to obtain 

 this delicious and indispensable commodity: — 



* Although in the structure of the culm, and gene- 

 ral external appearance, the sugar cane has some re- 

 semblance to Indian corn, the botanical characters of 

 the inflorescence are more allied to those of andropo- 

 gon, or what we denominate Indian grass ; and hence 

 it is arranged in the subdivision of the grasses, called 

 andropogoneee. 



j"Mascabado, adj. que se aplica al azucar infe- 

 rior que sale de la ultima cochura." Diccionario de 

 la Jicademia Espanola. 



