1882.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



103 



clear that he is $25 riclier, and so is the coun- 

 try. But liere the inipirt has exi;ee(lcd tlie 

 export by $2.5, and if tlie balanco of trade 

 theory of Mr. 'R. Is correct, il is a most un- 

 fortunate transaction for the country! On 

 the other hand, if owinj; to a fall in tlie 

 market at tlie place to which the produce was 

 exported, or other cause, only $80 is realized 

 for it and brought home, then, aceordinij; to 

 tlie .same theory — our exports haviiif; ex- 

 ceeded the imports— it shows a liiglily pros- 

 perous condition of our foreign trade ! It 

 seems to rae that a theory leading to such 

 a conclusion ought to be explained or aban- 

 doned. 



Is it not clear, in the li<;lit of common 

 sense, that the only advantage to the country 

 from its exports is, that we are thereby enabled 

 to import in their place something more val- 

 uable or desirable than what was exported ? 

 Is not every dollar's worth exported for which 

 we do not or cannot imjiurt something of 

 equal or greater value, etlbrt wasted and 

 money tlirown away?—/. P., LancMster, July 

 7, 1882. 



US. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



To the Manufacturers of Sugar from Sorghum, 



Beets and Other Sugar-Producing 



Plants in the United States. 



Congress in the appropriation for this De- 

 partment, for the fiscal year cornraeiiciug July 

 1st, 1882, has provided for "experiments in 

 the manufacture of sugar from sorghum, beets 

 and other sugar-producing plants " 



In view of the experiments which have al- 

 ready been made at this department, I have 

 determined to institute the following plan for 

 the coming season, in obedience to the act re- 

 ferred to. 



Provision has been made for continuing the 

 chemical analyses of sorghum at the labora- 

 tory of the department, should this be deemed 

 necessary, in order to add to the information 

 already obtained by investigations not only 

 here but also in the Agricultural Colleges of 

 this country. 



On assuming the duties of my office in 1881, 

 I found IS.') acres of sorghum containing 'y2 

 varieties which had been planted in Wash- 

 ington for use of the department. On being 

 informed that time had arrived for manufac- 

 turing sirup and sugar, I engaged the services 

 of an expert in sugar making who had been 

 highly recommended for the position of super- 

 intendent, and operations were commenced 

 on September 20, at the mill erected by my 

 predecessor, on the grounds. These opera- 

 tions were continued with slight interruptions 

 until the latter part of October, at which 

 time the supply of cane became exhausted. 

 Forty-two acres of the crop were overtaken 

 by frost before being sufficiently ripe for use, 

 and this portion of the crop was so badly 

 damaged as to be unlit tor manufacture. The 

 yield of caue per acre, on the 93 acres gath- 

 ered was two-and-a-half tons ; the number of 

 gallons of sirup obtained was 2,977 ; and the 

 number of pounds. of sugar was 1(3.5. The ex- 

 pense of raising the caue was $0,;589.4;5; and 

 the expense of converting the cane into sirup 

 and sugar was $1,607.59— an aggregate of 

 $8,557.04. 



The manufacture of sorghum at the de- 

 partment therefore has been found to be so 

 expensive and unsatisfactory that the work 

 can evidently be better conducted elsewhere. 

 To repeat the experiment of last year would 

 be uifwise under any circumstances, and it is 

 made doubly so by the impossibility of procur- 

 ing the sorghum caue at any reasonable price 

 in this neighborhood, after the discouraging 

 crops of hist year, and by the additional fact 

 that the appropriation is not available until 

 too late in the season for planting to begin. 



Wliile therefore such scientific investiga- 

 tion as is deemed necessary at this department 

 will be continued — the experiuunt of manu- 

 facturing can better be conducted by those who 

 have thus far furnished us all the vauable in- 

 formation we have ; and this work I refer to 

 the niiinufacturers thetnselves,to whom I sub- 

 mit the following proposition. 



Each manufacturer is requested to submit 

 an account of his work to this department, 

 covering the following points, viz : 



1. An accurate account of the number of 

 acres of sorghum brought to his mill; the 

 number of tons of cane manufactured; the 

 yield of sorghum )ier acre; the mode of fer- 

 tilizing; the time of planting; the time re(iuir- 

 ed for maturing the iilant; and the value of 

 the crop as food for cattle after the juice 

 has been expressed. 



2. The amount of sugar manufactured ; the 

 amount yielded per ton of caue; the quality 

 of the sugar; the amount of sirup manufac- 

 tured; the process of manufacturing; the ma- 

 chinery used; the success of the evaporator, 

 the vacuum-pan and the centrifugal in the 

 work of manufacturing. 



3. The number of hands employed in the 

 mill; the cost of fuel; the cost of machinery; 

 the wages paid for labor; and the price of sor- 

 ghum raised at the mill if not raised by the 

 manufacturer. 



The returns when received will be submit- 

 ted to a competent committee for examina- 

 tion, and in order to compensate the manu- 

 facturers for the work of making these returns 

 I propose to pay for the ten best returns the 

 sum of $1,200 each,— the decision to be made 

 by the aforesaid committee. Each return 

 must be sworn to before a competent otHcer. 

 Sugar Beets. 



I have distributed to ninety persons a sup- 

 ply of the best sugar beet seed which I could 

 obtain; and I would request each person hav- 

 ing received tliis seed to .send to this depart- 

 ment a statement of the amount of land 

 planted by him; the yield per acre; the fertili- 

 zers used; the value of the crop in the market. 

 I also request each person making this experi- 

 ment to forward to this department a sample 

 of the crop for analysis. The directions for 

 this will be issued hereafter. An accurate 

 statement of the process of manufacturing 

 beet sugar in this county is of great impor- 

 tance, and I propose to compensate the man- 

 ufacturers for preparing such statement by 

 the payment of the sum of .$1,200 for each of 

 the two best returns submitted to a committee 

 SIS in the case ot sorghum. 



Other Sugar- Producing Plants. 



The promise of 1000 pounds of corn-stalk 

 sugar per acre, which was made in 1841, and 

 has often been repeated with great confidence 

 but at the expense of the com crop and in ad- ( 



dition to it, not yet havitig been fulfilled in 

 manufacture, the experiments not having 

 been sati.sfaclory, and the business not having 

 been followed up, it is not deemed necessary 

 to institute sugar making experiments in this 

 direction during the jiresent year. The same 

 may be said of many esculents which have 

 been classed as sugar producers. 



All proposals to enter upon this work for 

 the department must be laid before the Com- 

 missioner on or before August Ist, 1882. — 

 Geo. B. Lnring Cotnmissioncr of Agriculture. 

 Washiwjton, D. C, June &h, 1882. 



THE HAPPY GRANGER. 



Statistics show that so far this season the 

 •South has drawn on the North tor wheat to the 

 value of $55,(100,000 ; corn, $50,000,000 ; pro- 

 visions, $72,000,000— making an aggregate of 

 $177,01 0,000. The sum indicated will make 

 a very large hole in the net value of the 

 South's cotton crop. The les.son of the past 

 season, it is satisfactory to know, howe'ver, 

 has not been without some excellent results 

 in inducing the planting of an extended acre- 

 age in brcadstulfs during the present year. 

 As far as Texas is concerned at lea.st, the 

 prospect for crops is simply the best that 

 has ever blessed the State. From all quar- 

 ters and in all directions reports come in that 

 the prosjiect for corn, wheat, oats, barley, 

 millet, etc., was never better than at the 

 present time, and that the State is fairly 

 groaning under the abundance. The oat and 

 wheat crops are the largest ever grown in the 

 State, the question now being to find markets 

 for the product. Both these cereals are as- 

 sured, subject to the contingencies of harvest- 

 ing. Fruit of all descriptions is plentiful and 

 assured. Corn is in fine condition and well 

 advanced, while fat cattle and splendid grass 

 are the universal rule in every portion of the 

 State. In fact, everything in the eatable line 

 that grows in Texas has never been known to 

 be in greater abundance or in better condition 

 than at the present time, with the prospect 

 that the State will not only have enough to 

 supply all wants for those who are here and 

 who are daily coming in, but large surplus to 

 sell to the outside world. There has not been 

 a great increase in the acreage planted in cot- 

 ton in Texas, perhaps 5 percent, covering the 

 excess over last year, as applied to the whole 

 State. The plant is backward throughout, 

 from all that can he ascertained, with the ex- 

 ception of the Brazos bottom district and 

 some few spots in Southern Texas. Yet the 

 stand is generally very fine, the crop clean, 

 and the plant is healthy. 'With favorable 

 weather from now on as much cotton will be 

 made in the State as can be well picked, but 

 of course the contingencies based on a late 

 crop have always to be considered in this con- 

 nection. The bread and meat question has 

 been attended to, however. Should the cotton 

 crop turn out short the chances are that fair 

 Iirices for the staple will more than make up 

 the dill'erence, and Texas this year will be a 

 buyer of neither bread nor meat in Western 

 or Northern markets. Altogether, tlie sturdy 

 granger has a right to bo haiipy over the pros- 

 pect generally, in Texas, and with him the 

 commercial interests of the State, so closely 

 identified with agricultural prosperity. — Oal- 

 veston, Texas, News. 



