it is to be hoped some process may yet be invented by which the 

 syrup can be crystalized at will. The constituents are the same, 

 only having one equivalent more ot hydrogen and oxygen than 

 carbon. It is undoubtedly due to the presence of some acid, as 

 cane sugar can be converted into glucose by the addition of acids, 

 or by passing a stream of air through the boiling syrup. In this 

 inventive age the mind of man has only to be turned to this subject 

 and it will be done. 



The Imphee cane, as a rule, produces more crystals in the syrup 

 than the Chinese, consequently the latter is more universally culti- 

 vated, being better suited to making syrup. Besides, the African 

 or Imphee cane grows much taller and is easily blown down by 

 high winds, making a tangled mass in the field very difficult ta 

 harvest. 



CULTIVATION AND HARVESTING. 



Sorghum will grow and thrive, like dhouro, on the poorest soils. 

 When the earth is parched up by drought it maintains its fresh, 

 green color, and continues to grow. However, it will thrive better 

 on rich land, and, though the juice may have more water, it will 

 make far more syrup. The roots of sorghum penetrate the soil 

 farther than any other cereal, and consequently deep plowing is 

 absolutely requisite for a full crop. Not only should the plow, but 

 the subsoiler should also be applied. On good land it grows to a 

 height of fifteen or eighteen feet, on poor, badly prepared land it 

 stops at five or six feet. Because it will grow on poorer land than 

 other plants is no evidence that poor land is better for it. There- 

 fore let the land be in good heat and the increased quantity of 

 syrup will well repay the labor. On gravelly or sandy subsoils^ 

 the roots will go four or five feet deep, and on this kind of land, if 

 rich, it will make far more syrup and of a better quality. 



It should be planted in drills three feet apart, and in four or five 

 days the young tender stalks will come up, looking very much like 

 grass. But it will soon begin to grow rapidly, and outstrip grass 

 or weeds. When three or four inches high it should be chopped 

 and thinned out, and but little more work need be done to it. Two 

 plowings are all it should receive, as the roots penetrate the ground 

 so thickly the plant would receive more injury than benefit if 

 plowed after it is three or four feet high. Besides, by that time 



