THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



Vol. III. 



JUNE, 1836, 



No. 2. 



EDMUND RUFFIIf, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. 



For the Farmers' Register. 



ON THE AGRICULTURE OF FLORIDA. 



Importance and value of ike sugar crop. 



JVascissa, Florida, j^/pril 12, 1836. 



Mr. Editor: The avocations of the planting 

 season have so absorbed my attention, since n))- 

 last letter, tiiat I have had iiitle leisure lor writing. 

 My crop being now, however, well "laid in," 1 

 avail ol' your lavorable notice of my former com- 

 munications, to send you, as promised in the con- 

 clusion oi" my essay, No. 4, "'the details of my 

 experience, as far as it has yet gone in this district 

 of Florida, in the cultivation of cotton and sugar.'" 

 The object of this exposition, being a comparative 



verely as it was, could have been more taken una- 

 wares" by their cold-hearted destroyer, than I felt 

 myself to be. I had not seen trost lor ten years ; 

 and had not the least knowledge of its chemical 

 action on the sugar cane. Guided, therefore, by the 

 " usage of these parts," I persevered in boiling 

 the cane juice, as rapidly as it could be expressed. 

 For a week, 1 tried all my skill to granulate the 

 juice ; but with every addition of alkali, and all 

 other " means and appliances to boot," whicii my 

 experience could suggest, my labor was fruitless. 

 Excess of boiling, with an excess of lime and 

 alum, brought the juice to the consistency of paste, 

 without the semblance of crystallization — tough 

 and stringey. Without alkali, it burnt in syrup. I 

 at once changed my operations, and, with a loss 

 of near 15 acres of my cane, I ceased " boiling" 



inijuiry into the profiis arising ti-om these two j and conmienced " mattressing" in the field. This 

 valaable crops, and the prac^Va!;////;/ of their being is a technical term, expressive of the mode prac- 

 here advantageously combined, must be my sutK-ticed in Louisiana, of securing the cane against 

 cient apology flir its egotistical intrusion upon li-ost, and is intended when rtg/tf/i/cfone, to be done 

 your readers. My first operations in planting, m before the frost strikes the vegetation. Unfortu- 

 this Territory, were begun in March, 1834. I'nately, I had neglected the premonitory system; 



commenced as prudence best dictated, in a " small 

 way." The vvhole amount of capital invested 

 did not exceed ij? 12,000. The crop tended was 

 80 acres of cotton, 40 acres sugar-cane, and 60 

 acres corn and other provisions. The effective 

 force consisted of 12 full hoe hands, and 4 boys, 

 each with a mule and plough. I may here say 

 that 1 had, at this tiire, newly arrived fl^oni the 

 West [iidies, and had located in the " Middle 

 District", with the expectancy of establishing a 

 sugar plantation ; to the management of which 1 

 had been professionally bred. My greatest atten- 

 tion, therelbre, was given, on this trial year, to the 

 cane portion of my crop; which, to increase my 

 labors, was entirely " rattoons," and had re- 

 mained the previous winter, wholly unprotected 

 and exposed. There were no "supplies" to he 

 had, and the season of my conunencement being 

 late for planting, I lelt no little anxiety for my 

 " standing crop." I need not follow the details ol 

 my husbandry. I erected a wo den mill, with live- 

 oak rollers, and calculated for four mules ; and 

 repaired roughly the dilapidated log houses which 

 had the year previous served f()r the manufacture 

 ofsugar. The whole expenditure for these " make 

 shift" requisites did not exceed !g200. 



The cane had a favorable season, and grew 

 finely. At six months' age, it equalled in sweet- 

 ness the West Indian cane of nine months ; ex- 

 hibiting therein the rapiility of Floridian vegeta- 

 tion, and the congenial heat of our summer for 

 cane. 



On the 24th October, " the day I well remem- 

 ber," there fell "a killing /"ros^, that nipped me 

 in the bud" of high and lolty expectation. Vege- 

 tation was by it destroyed; and the cane. " but 

 yesterday," all green in rich luxuriance, now 

 stood in the "sear and yellow leaf" I immedi- 

 ately began "cutting" and hurried preparations 

 for manufacturing; in which the unprecedented 

 earliness of the frost had found me dilatory. In- 

 deed, 1 question whether the cane, injured ee- 



and had nothing left but mere experiment. I cut 

 down the cane close to the ground, (digging it up 

 with a hoe, by the roots is more advisable,) and 

 threw three rows in one, in "windrows," across 

 the field, taking care to place the foliage of one 

 stool of cane over the buts of the previous one; thus 

 laying them to the height of three to four feet like 

 a thatrhed roof. I allowed three weeks to elapse 

 before disturbing the " mattresses," during which 

 time, the weather was alternately cold with fi-ost, 

 and warm with rains. On the 20th of November, 

 or thereabouts, I again began "grinding." To my 

 surprise, the saccharometer exhibited an increase 

 of two degrees, it having held only seven in Oc- 

 tober, and now gave nine. I had no longer difR- 

 cuhy : the sugar appeared in " character distinct," 

 with a large, firm, and sparkling grain. The juice 

 had become darkened in color, almost black, but 

 that was easily corrected; its yield was at times, as 

 we expressed the finer canes, fully a pound of raw 

 sugar to the gallon of raw juice. I never used 

 more than eight ounces of lime to the 100 gallons 

 of juice. I am particular in giving you this his- 

 tory of my original proceedings; for others may, 

 therefrom, gather experience; and, as it esta- 

 blishes the fact, in my mind, that " mattressing" 

 the cane for a limited period, even after the frost, 

 so fiir from injuring its return, will in this climate 

 increase it. 1 can only account for it, in the sup- 

 position that, by evaporation, the solid juices be- 

 come concentrated ; and from the warmth gene- 

 rated by " mattressing," acquire viscidity and 

 sweetness ; and which, if not continued too long, 

 increases the yield of sugar, but, if allowed to 

 remain indiscreetly, would as certainly generate 

 acetous acid, and fermentation. If this supposi- 

 tion be correct, it on!}- requires to be firmly esta- 

 blished, and generally known, to render a combi- 

 nation of sugar and cotton, in tiiis district, not on- 

 ly a feasible crop ; but, under all seasons, a certain 

 and profitable one : and, I should be much- 

 pleased, Mr. Editor, to receive your chemical opi- 



