ON CHEMICAL YIELDING PLANTS 



My own experiments with the cane have not 

 extended beyond the greenhouse, but I have found 

 that the seed germinates readily there, although 

 only a few seeds out of a handful may grow; the 

 contrast in this regard being very striking with the 

 seed of the allied Pampas-grass, which is as 

 dimunitive as that of the sugar-cane and not dis- 

 similar in appearance, but which germinates 

 promptly almost to the last seed. 



ALLIES OF THE SUGAR-CANE 



I have experimented more extensively with 

 certain relatives of the sugar-cane of the tribe of 

 sorghums. 



This includes not only the sorghums that 

 produce the syrups, but also broom-corn, Kaffir 

 corn, and a score or so of allied plants, some of 

 which have great value as fodder plants. 



The best known of the sorghums shows its 

 relationship with the sugar-cane in that it produces 

 a syrup which, although not of the same chemical 

 composition as cane sugar, is very sweet and 

 palatable. 



Sorghum differs very radically on the other 

 hand from sugar-cane, in that it is a hardy annual 

 plant. It came to us from China but probably 

 originally from South Africa, and it proved adapt- 

 able to our soil and climate almost everywhere. It 

 is grown in practically every state in the Union, 



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