No. 6. 



White Hogs. — Corn-Stalk Sugar. 



195 



pheasant ; if he had seen any of that particu- 

 lar cross, lie would have known belter. If I 

 could say what I wish on the subject of the 

 travels of our Eastern friends, without fear 

 of offence, I would just hint the probability 

 of their being more gratified, and of reaping 

 more wisdom as well as profit, by going 

 abroad in their own country, rather than by 

 visiting foreign lands in the expectation ot 

 speculating in stock, a very precarious busi- 

 ness at best. Mr. Allen complains of the 

 enormous expense of shipping animals from 

 England. I fear if his expenses of travel 

 were to be spread over the few animals 

 which he has brought over, the accotmt would 

 deter many from making the experiment in 

 future. I wish that we could tor once come 

 down to the improvement of our breeds of 

 cattle without the vile spirit of speculating 

 for money ; but that has been our easily-beset- 

 ting sin, from the time of the Merino-mania 

 to that of the multicaulis and the black Al- 

 bany Berkshire fever, "All wrong, depend 

 upon it." 



I have heard that when John Lossing 

 found that A. B. Allen had gone to England 

 to import big Berkshires, he had the precau- 

 tion to sell out his Albany Berkshires, mak- 

 ing a profitable speculation of it. That was 

 wise ; for he may now either go back to the 

 breed by which he has made thousands of 

 dollars, or forward, into the Konilworth ; and 

 IS he knows so well how to "strike the iron 

 while 'tis hot," he may make capital stock 

 by commencing with such hogs as those de- 

 ^cribed by Homer P]achus, at p. 329 of the 

 Cabinet, vol. V., which might be denominated 

 the improved-improved Kenilworth White 

 Berkshires; he will not bo at a loss for indi- 

 vidual names, for there may as well be .$300 

 \Dhite Maximas, as black ones ; but he had 

 lest be quick about it, for in this part of the 

 country, where that breed has long been 

 known and properly appreciated, persons may 

 36 found who will "hit the right nail upon 

 the head,"* and go into the business at once. 



G. H. D. 



j Chester Co. 



j For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Corn-Stalk Sugar. 



* In the last Cabinet now before me, I find an 

 irlicle over the signature J. M. C, on the 

 ?ubjpct of "Beet and Corn-Stalk Sugar." 

 The writer, in his eagerness to demonstrate 

 he entire want of originality in every thing 

 hat I have done in relation to the latter 

 irticle,.has fallen into several errors, which 

 night have been easily avoided had he exer- 

 ;ised a reasonable degree of care in the selec- 

 ion of authority upon which to found his 



* A favourite expression of Grant Tliorburu, when 

 peaking of liis success in life. 



statements. In the first place, I have no 

 patent-right for the manufacture of sugar 

 from corn-stalks, nor do I expect to procure 

 one. The field is open to J. M. C, or any 

 one else who may choose to enter upon it, 

 and reap the harvest "without money and 

 without price." 



Whether this harvest is worth the reaping, 

 each one must judge for himself. All the 

 facts in relation to it coming under my obser- 

 vation, either have been, or will be, given to 

 the public without concealment or exaggera- 

 tion : let them pass for what they are worth. 



Mr. C. says that "the proportion of sugar 

 obtained from corn-juice is very great, and not 

 easily to be accounted for ;" his surprise is 

 very natural, for he remarks in another place, 

 "that the whole operations were evidently 

 performed in the most ignorant and ineffec- 

 tual manner." It would indeed be wonderful, 

 if such a blundering hap-hazard process (as he 

 insinuates was actually employed) should pro- 

 duce an article pronounced by good judges to 

 be so fair in quality — the very molasses con- 

 taining .50 per cent, of crystallizable sugar ! 

 This view of the case is truly extraordinary ; 

 but it is still more wonderful that Mr. C. 

 should not have perceived its unreasonable- 

 ness, and been led at least to suspect that 

 there might be some mistake about his "con- 

 vincing tact." A few words of explanation 

 will be sufficient on this point. The articles 

 sent to the horticultural exhibition, were, as I 

 expressly stated, sugar and st/ntp, not molasses. 



Let it not be supposed, says Mr. C, "that 

 I wish to detract an iota from the merit which 

 is Mr. Webb's due; I am willing to award 

 him a medal, &.C., but hundreds of old people 

 will tell him that they accomplished this 

 thing of making sugar from corn-stalks long 

 before he was born." These "hundreds of 

 old people" admit, however, in the same 

 breath, (according to Mr. C.,) that they did 

 not make sugar — only molasses. 



With respect to the medal above-men- 

 tioned, as far as I can gather Mr. C.'s mean- 

 ing, he appears willing to award it to me as 

 a testimony of merit, for having performed, 

 in the most inefl^ectual and ignorant manner, 

 a thing which hundreds of old people had 

 done long before I was born. Now, with all 

 due thanks for the kind intentions Mr. C. 

 may entertain in making this proposition, I 

 beg leave to decline its acceptance ; hoping 

 long to be preserved from the infliction of 

 such doubtful honours, and much preferring 

 that those aforesaid hundreds of old people 

 may continue to wear their laurels undis- 

 turbed. 



" The simple operation of extracting the 

 ear in its embryo state, by which to concen- 

 trate the juices of the stalk, has been prac- 

 tised (says Mr. C.) for ages upon the cocoa- 



