On the Composition of Sorghum Saccharatum. 



Composition of Sorglium on the 26th of September. 



The plants were cut about 4 inches above the ground, 

 analysis was made with the whole plant. 



The 



a. Oeneral Composition. 



In Natural Dried at 



State. 212. 



Water 81-80 



Soluble organic matter 8-16 44-83 



Soluble mineral matter '74 4-07 



Insoluble organic matter 9'07 49'83 



Insoluble mineral matter -23 1-27 



100*00 100-00 



b. Detailed Proximate Composition of Sorghum Saccharatum, September 



26th, 1859. 



In Natural Dried at 



State. 212. 



Water . 81-80 



jfAlbumen 



\0ther soluble protein compounds 



Sugar 



Wax and fatty matter 



Mucilage, pectin, and digestible fibre 

 Soluble mineral matters 



f Insoluble protein compounds 

 Indigestible woody fibre (cellular) . 

 Insoluble mineral matters 



*Containing nitrogen 

 {Containing nitrogen 



37 

 1-16 

 5-85 

 2-55 

 2-59 



74 



66 

 4*05 



23 



100-00 



245 

 106 



351 



2-03 



6-36 



32-15 



14-01 



14-26 



4-06 



3-62 



22-25 



1-26 



100-00 



1-34 

 58 



1-92 



Total quantity of nitrogen 



The sorghum contained, it will be noticed, nearly 6 per cent, 

 of sugar on the 26th of September. Cattle supplied with this 

 grass at that time greedily ate it, and, to all appearance, did well 

 upon it. 



The proportion of sugar in the whole plant is about the same 

 as that in carrots. 



On examining the stumps which were left in the ground, they 

 were found much sweeter than the upper part of the stems. The 

 difference in the taste was so marked, that I had made two direct 

 sugar-determinations by the fermentation process. 



The first determination was made in the stems cut about 2 

 inches from the ground. It gave 7*65 per cent, of sugar. 



The second was made in the upper part of the steins, cut about 

 12 inches from the ground. It yielded 3'60 per cent, of sugar, 

 or not quite half the quantity which was found in the lower part. 



At the same time I determined the amount of crude fibre (the 

 part insoluble in water) in both cases, and found in the lower 



