100 



Forty-two tons of clean cane grown in Indiana were also worked for 

 sugar. The quantity made was 2,8GO pounds, or 3.39 per cent., equal 

 to 67.8 pounds per ton. 1 



Further attempts were made by the Department in Ottawa, Kaiis., in 

 1885 to manufacture sugar from sorghum. The process of diffusion was 

 employed. Expensive machinery was provided and one satisfactory 

 trial was made. Unfortunately the actual number of tons of cane used 

 could only be estimated. The estimate was based on the weight of 

 masse cuite obtained, and is without doubt very nearly correct. The 

 quantity of sugar made was 1,420 pounds, estimated at 95 pounds per 

 ton. 2 A subsequent trial failed to produce any sugar. 3 



Further attempts were made by the Department in 1886 to manu- 

 facture sugar from sorghum at Fort Scott, Kans. The diffusion pro- 

 cess was employed. The average weight of masse cuite was 12 per cent, 

 of the weight of the cane used. 4 The weight of cane worked for su- 

 gar was 2,322 tons. 5 The weight of sugar made was 50,000 pounds. 6 

 Weight sugar per ton, 21.6 pounds. 



MANUFACTURING TRIALS WITHOUT THE DEPARTMENT. 



I could not give here all the incidental attempts at making sugar 

 which have been made in connection with the manufacture of molasses 

 from the time of the introduction of the sorghum plant into this country 

 to the present time. I will confine myself to a brief review of the at- 

 tempts which have been made to produce sugar. 



CRYSTAL LAKE, NEAR CHICAGO. 



I believe the first attempt to make sugar from sorghum on a large 

 scale in this country was at Crystal Lake, near Chicago. The factory 

 was under the direction of Mr. J. B. Thorns. According to the report of 

 the National Academy of Sciences on sorghum 7 



In 1879, with a " miserable mill," lie obtained juice of 8 B. (specific gravity 1,060), 

 and from a gallon of sirup weighing 11 pounds got a yield of about 4 pounds to the 

 gallon. He obtained from 15 to 23 gallons of sirup to the ton of cane, weighing 11 

 pounds to the gallon, the sirup yielding 4| pounds sugar, polarized 53. Of amber cane, 

 which is the only sort he has worked, has known as high as 21 tons cut to an acre, 

 and states 12 tons as an average. He sold of the crop of 1879 over 50,000 pounds of 

 good C sugar, which was tested in Boston and New York, and polarized 96 per cent, 

 of sugar. In 1880 his crop of about 300 acres was nearly all destroyed by a hurricane 

 and the product of about 30 acres of damaged cane was all made into sirup, which 

 polarized only 42 per cent. 



1 Op. cit., p. 52. 



2 Department of Agriculture, Div. of Chemistry, Bui. No. 6, p. 9. 



3 Op. df.,p. 13. 



4 Department of Agriculture, Div. of Chemistry, Bui. No. 14, p. 36. 



5 Op. cit., p. 35. 

 e Op. cit., p. 36. 



7 Report Nat. Acad. of Sciences, p. 36. 



