Have the sorghum sugar results ever led to any rea- 

 sonable hopes of such accomplishment outside of the 

 laboratory experiments, which prove absolutely noth- 

 ing? 



If we, on the other hand, admit that Mr. Lover- 

 ing's statements are correct, and, also, that the most 

 recent data upon sorghum has, at least, some truth, 

 the problem is not even then practical, and cannot 

 compete with the sugar beet. We will make a few 

 calculations based upon Government sorghum figures, 

 and compare these results with those beet-sugar results 

 already obtained. We give herewith the number of 

 gallons of sorghum syrup obtained from an acre in 

 several States of the Union ; and, as shown, the 

 average yield is 128 gallons; the average value, fifty 

 cents per gallon. 



As to the cost of a cultivation of sorghum per 

 acre, we quote from a recent book upon so-called 

 Northern sugar cane as follows : 



Preparation of the soil for planting, _ $2 oo 



Planting seed, i <x> 



Working through twice with one-horse plow, 2 oo 



Hoeing and thinning four times, 4 oo 



Stripping blades, one hand four days, 4 oo 



Topping cane one and a half days, i 50 



Cutting and hauling cane to mill, one hand and team three days, 6 oo 



Use of land, 5 oo 



Total, $25 50 



In this same essay it is estimated that the cost of 

 working up syrup is twenty cents per gallon. For 128 

 gallons before mentioned, it would be $25.60. The 

 total cost of preparing the resulting syrup from one 

 acre alone for market would be as follows : 



For cultivation, $25 50 



For manufacturing, .2560 



Total, $51 10 



28 



