47 



by a high content of reducing sugar or glucose, which rendered it 

 essentially a molasses-producing plant rather than a sugar-producing 

 one. The idea of developing a new variety by the crossing of these 

 two old and standard varieties has been fully carried out during the 

 four years of experimental work, and the result has been the establish- 

 ment of a new variety which in all of its characteristics and sugar-pro- 

 ducing qualities has proved in practice to be the very best of all the 

 varieties of sorghum. It may be said, therefore, definitely, that this 

 cross has been fully established by four years of selection and will pro- 

 duce now a perfectly uniform plat of sorghum, having high sugar-pro- 

 ducing qualities. In the plat of this variety which was grown at 

 Medicine Lodge during the past year it was difficult to distinguish, in 

 looking over the field, more than one size of stalk or more than one 

 degree of maturity. 



It will be seen at once that one of the chief points to be kept in view 

 in the development of a variety is to have it uniform, so that when it 

 reaches the proper period for manufacturing the whole of it may be 

 ready; otherwise we would have a plat of cane some of which was very 

 ripe and already in the retrogressive stage, and part of which was in 

 the proper degree of maturity for manufacturing, and the rest of it not 

 yet mature. The faulty character of the juice of such a plat of cane 

 can be easily understood without further illustration. If the work of 

 the station had never resulted in anything more than the establish- 

 ment of this variety it would have paid a thousand-fold the cost of its 

 conduct. 



While this is the most striking illustration of the good effects of the 

 station work, it is by no means the only one. During the season of 

 1888 a package of seed was received from Dr. Peter Collier, director 

 of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, from 

 some varieties with which he had experimented during the time he held 

 the office of chemist of the Agricultural Department. This variety 

 has proved to be one of the very best for the semiarid regions of Kan- 

 sas and adjacent States. In recognition of the eminent service which 

 Dr. Collier has rendered the sorghum-sugar industry I have directed 

 that the better one of the varieties in this package of seed should be 

 named Collier cane. The chief characteristics of this variety of cane 

 are high content of sugar, low content of reducing sugar, great hardi- 

 ness, and an especially light seed top, which enables the canes, although 

 rather slender, to withstand the severe gales of Kansas. In the plat 

 grown at Medicine Lodge during the past season for sugar-making pur- 

 poses it was also found to resist longer than any other variety the 

 action of the frost. Late in October, when all the other varieties in the 

 expermental plat had been frost bitten, a great number of the leaves 

 of the Collier variety were still green and vigorous. Its working in 

 the experimental factory was only inferior to the Colman cane, and as 

 a practical sugar-maker this variety must be ranked next to the Col- 

 man cane. 



