124 



atmosphere, causing a difference in the amount of water contained by the 

 plant at different times. It is quite an important matter, however, to 

 ascertain the point in the development of the plant when it contains its 

 maximum of sugar, especially if this point is coincident with some out- 

 ward appearance of the plant by which the proper time for working it 

 up may be known; and the difficulties in the way should not deter us 

 from a progress in that direction. It has been asserted that the sor- 

 ghum cane is ready for working as soon as the seed is mature. Our work 

 on development, and observations in general would lead us to doubt the 

 truth of this tenet. The juice does not attain its maximum of sucrose or 

 of purity until long after the seed is sufficiently mature to germinate. 

 From the above tables it will be seen that the canes improved materially 

 after the seed had become perfectly hard and brittle, and after the ap- 

 pearance of the canes in general would have led most practical sorghum 

 men to pronounce them overripe. With the exception of the White Afri- 

 can, none of the varieties used commenced to deteriorate until after there 

 had been heavy frosts, about tbe middle of October. All were varieties 

 that are rather late in maturing, as work was not commenced in time 

 to follow the development of any of the earlier varieties. There is lit- 

 tle doubt but that the later varieties are generally harvested too early 

 in the work of the factories; and the necessity is evident of either making 

 late successive plantings of the earlier varieties, planting varieties which 

 ripen intermediately between the early and late, or of selecting from the 

 later varieties with a view 10 their earlier maturation. It is a pretty 

 general observation in our experience that the ripeness of sorghum cane 

 is overjudged when based upon its external appearance, and doubtless 

 many of the published analyses which have brought disrepute to sor- 

 ghum as a sugar-producing plant, aside from the cases where it was 

 grown too far north to permit of its maturing, were made upon canes 

 which had been cut when the seed, but not the juice, was mature. 



SUMMARY OF THE ANALYSES OF DIFFERENT VARIETIES. 



Ill the following table the highest result attained by average samples 

 from plots of the different varieties grown is given. In nearly all cases 

 the sample showing the highest content of sugar gave also the best 

 results in the other two essentials, viz, minimum of glucose and maxi- 

 mum of purity; but where this rule did not hold good, the anal3'sis 

 which showed superiority in two essentials was inserted as the maxi- 

 mum analysis attained by the variety during the season. 



