37 



GROWING SUGAR CANE FOR SIRUP MAKING IN MISSISSIPPI. 

 By E. E. HUDSON. >><// Agent. 



The making of cane sirup is not carrir.l on extensively in this section of the coun- 

 try because there is no good market for sirup here. There are only two or three 

 miKs that make sirup to put on the market, ami these an- not very large ones, aver- 

 aging about 800 gallons per day. The majority of the planters have their own mills 

 and make sirup only for private use. The best quality of sirup made this season 

 \va> from cane grown on sandy bottom land. This depends altogether, however, on 

 the season. If it is a wet season the pine uplands produce the best quality of cane, 

 but when the season is very dry the bottom lands give the best crop. 



The varieties of cane planted here are the white and the red or Cuban cane. The 

 white cane, however, is not very hardy and therefore is not planted very exten- 

 sively. Some of the planters, if the winter is not very severe, allow their stubble to 

 remain in the ground, covering it over with earth to preserve it, but if there is a hard 

 freeze during the winter they plow the stubble up and plant seed cane. 



Cotton seed and cotton-seed meal are used altogether for fertilizing the cane. Some- 

 times stable manure is used, but not often, as it is thought to detract greatly from the 

 sweetness of the cane. The following table shows the quality of the juice sampled 

 at Mississippi factories, together with the character of the land on which the cane 

 was grown : 



TABLE XIX. Composition of cane juices sampled in the vicinity of Magnolia, Miss., and 



character of soil. 



