47 



The varieties planted at Baton. Rouge were Early Amber, Early 

 Orange, Link's Hybrid, and Honduras. 



They were planted in rows 4 feet wide, and seed lightly covered. 

 The cultivation was the same as that given to corn, after thinning it to 

 a stand of one stalk to every 4 inches. 



The storm of the 19th of August completely prostrated the canes, and 

 on September 12 the entire field was green with a luxurant growth of 

 suckers. 



The varieties grown at the North Louisiana Experiment Station, 

 Calhoun, La., were: 



1. Minnesota Early Amber seed, from Ne- 4. New Orange seed, from Kansas. 



braska. 5. White India seed, from sugar experi- 



2. Early Amber seed, from Department of ment station. 



Agriculture. 6. Link's Hybrid seed, from sugar experi- 



3. Early Orange seed, from Department ment station. 



of Agriculture. 7. Golden Rod seed, from Kansas. 



These were planted on April 18, thinned to a stand, and cultivated in 

 its order with the corn crop. Here flat cultivation was exclusively 

 practiced during the season, while at the other two stations high ridges 

 were required for drainage. 



These plantings were made with a view of testing, by mill and labor- 

 atory experiments, the adaptability of sorghum as a sugar crop to 

 Louisiana. If sugar can be made profitably from sorghum anywhere 

 in the United States it should be done in Louisiana. Chemical anal- 

 yses show a larger percentage of sugar and a smaller quantity of glu- 

 cose in sorghum grown in Louisiana than anywhere else in this country. 

 At least the published analyses now at hand verify this assertion. 

 Again, could our sugar planters be persuaded that sorghum could bo 

 made to yield a profitable quantity of sugar, say even 1,000 pounds 

 per acre, they would soon adopt it as an adjunct to the cane crop. Once 

 establish the fact that sugar can be profitably made from sorghum, and 

 it will become exceedingly popular with all cane-growers, for the fol- 

 lowing reasons: 



(1) By planting different varieties and at different times it can be 

 made to ripen in Louisiana at any time from July to November thus 

 giving employment six mouths to an expensive machinery, which is 

 now engaged only sixty days in grinding the cane crop. 



(2) The cost of seed required to plant a crop of sorghum is very 

 small, quite insignificant compared with the large amount required for 

 cane. 



(3) The ease and cheapness with which this crop can be grown. 



(4) The value of the seed for forage a by-product without cost, save 

 the expense of carefully housing. 



Again, there are vast tracts of rich alluvial lands in the middle and 

 northern portions of the State which are too far north for cane and 

 which will grow excellent crops of sorghum. These lands are now in 

 cotton, but could it be aemonstrated that they could grow sorghum 



