109 



in our corn stalks is 74,240,000 tons. Since the animal production of 

 sugar for tlir whole world is only 0,000,000 tons, it is seen that by a 

 failure to utilize the means of wealth which were so carefully pointed 

 out we waste a quantity of sugar twelve times hirgi'i 1 than the whole 

 product of the world. 



lint this is a theoretical computation. Let us take the actual yields 

 which the committee found had been obtained :' 



It will bo .seen that in successive years there was also obtained from tho stalks of 

 common mai/e-, after the ripened grain had been plucked, at the rate of DOO pounds of 

 nilgai 1 to the acre. It also appears from the correspondence submitted that many 

 parties have practically secured results nearly equal to these in their work. 



At 900 pounds per acre 64,000,000 acres would give 57,000,000,000 

 pounds, or 28,800,000 tons. 



Those of us who have been brought up on a farm and know by ex- 

 perience the exceptionally juicy and saccharine character of the corn 

 stalk when the ears are fully ripe can appreciate the explanation which 

 the committee makes of Mr. Thorns' failure to secure sugar from the 

 stalks. Crcdat Judcms Apella. 



The above opinions show the danger of forming conclusions which 

 from insufficient data or from data which are partial, are not safe guides 

 to the whole truth. 



It is evident, therefore, that the committee of the academy, having 

 now before them the data derived from the attempts at manufacture on a 

 large scale, to which I have referred, would compile a summary wholly 

 different from that given in their report. 



There is one fact, however, which is emphasized in the analytical data 

 which demands careful attention. It is seen by numerous analyses of 

 the juices of a single or a few stalks of sorghum that they are capable 

 of furnishing a large yield of sugar. 



The question therefore arises, "May not a whole crop of this kind be 

 produced?" 



Without referring to the analyses which were made before, it will be 

 sufficient to cite those made by the Department at Fort Scott, Kans. 



I call attention first to some analyses made of the juices of a few canes 

 expressed by a small "hand-mill": 2 



1 Op. d.,p.48. 



2 Department of Agriculture, Div. of Chemistry, Bui. No. 14, p. 15. 



