II. S. OLCOTT ON THE SORGHO AND IMPIIEE. 411 



History of the Sorglio in the Southern States. 



Mr. D. Ecdmond, Associate Editor of the Southern Cultivator, 

 gives the following account : 



In the winter of 1854-5, I obtained per mail, through a seed- 

 importing house in Boston, two ounces of what was then denom- 

 inated " Chinese Sugar-cane, or Holcus saccharatus." I am not 

 aware that any of this seed had been distributed from the Patent 

 Office in this neighborhood up to that time, nor had I then any 

 other evidence of its value than the newspaper advertisement 

 which induced me to send for it. I have since learned, however, 

 that the Patent Office distributed a small quantity of seed in the 

 spring of 1854 ; and that, prior even to that time, the plant had 

 been tested to a limited extent by a few gentlemen in the vicinity 

 of New Orleans. Nothing satisfactory, however, was known of 

 the plant here at that time ; and wishing to have it thoroughly 

 tested, I sent small samples, per letter, to various agricultural and 

 horticultural friends in Georgia and the adjoining States, request- 

 ing them to communicate to me the result of their experiments 

 with it. For myself, I merely planted seven or eight hills, in 

 rather poor ground, in my garden, and watched its growth with 

 considerable interest. At first I was disappointed, and quite 

 ready to rank it among the many humbugs of the day, as it came 

 up very weakly, like grass or Egyptian millet, and grew off quite 

 slowly. In a few weeks, however, it began to shoot upward with 

 great rapidity, and in less than three months attained the height 

 of ten feet, with large and well-filled heads of seed. When these 

 seeds were nearly ripe, I incidentally cut one of the stalks, peeled 

 off the hard outer husk, and was quite surprised to find a solid 

 pith or core, of about three fourths of an inch in diameter, crisp, 

 brittle, and of an exceedingly sweet and pleasant flavor — entirely 

 unlike any thing of the corn-stalk family that I had ever tasted. 

 It was, in fact, ready-made candy ; and as soon as the younger 

 members of the family and the negroes " got the taste" of it, I 

 was obliged to interdict its farther use, in order to save seed. 

 When the latter were fully ripe, I cut off the heads and saved 

 them carefully, noticing, with some surprise, that the leaves or 

 blades of fodder were still as fresh, green, and succulent as ever. 

 The stalks were then cut off near the ground, and fed, leaves and 

 all, to my horses, mules, and milch-cows, all of which ate of it 

 with the greatest apparent relish and avidity. Considering that 

 crop disposed of for the season, I paid no more attention to the 

 stubble or stumps until I happened to notice that, millet-like, they 

 were shooting out anew, and pushing on for a second growth. 

 This growth I watched with some interest until the first frosts 

 checked it, at which time the stalks were six feet high, full of 

 broad and juicy leaves, and with the second crop of seed just 

 making its appearance above the "boot." 



