Ill 



when the price of alcohol was 171 francs per hectoliter (26.40 gallons), he could realize 

 a profit of 8313 francs, and with the price of alcohol as low as 70 francs per hectoliter, 

 tin- profit from 1 hectare would bo 3340 francs. 



Under the influence of these encouraging results, the question as to the culture and 

 distillation of sorghum could not be doubtful. 



The most important establishments were able to distill from 8,000,000 to 10,000,000 

 kilograms of sugar cane in the districts of Haute-Garonne, Pyre"u6es-0rientales of Vau- 

 cluso, and in Algiers. 



Five years later, that is to say, in 1862, all this grand agricultural and industrial 

 movement had disappeared, all the large and small distilleries had closed, with great 

 losses, and the culture of sorghum caiie was almost entirely abandoned. 



What have been the causes of these great reverses after the grand success of the 

 beginning so generally and so well established? 



Certain circumstances have led the author of this article to occupy himself per- 

 sonally in the culture of sorghum, mostly with a view to its industrial utilization. 

 Ho took an active part in the grand movement of which sorghum was the object in 

 1856 to 1862; he has followed all the phases of its prosperity and of its decadence as 

 propagator and a-s victim ; he has been able to study the causes of the failure and the 

 means of avoiding it, but the discouragement from all sides became too great for him 

 to examine with coolness and mature thought or to attempt new efforts. In 1863 he 

 finally abandoned sorghum, which every one else had already given up, as the captain 

 abandons his ship at last, when it sinks under his feet, and the distillery " St. Michel," 

 at Avignon, was, like the other establishments, closed up and abolished. Since that 

 time, and uutil within the last few years, sorghum has given no signs of life and no 

 further publications upon the subject have been made ; but generations pass, the de- 

 feats of the past lose their intensity, prejudice isdissipated, and there is born of these 

 disasters a new breath of yonthfuln ess which creates new projects. 



We have studied much into the details and the causes of this failure in France 

 in many manufactories established in the south for the distillation of the cane using 

 several millions of kilograms of stalks each season. The first year the productiou in 

 alcohol was, from 100 kilograms of stalks, 7.50 liters or quarts, or 22 pounds. 



The second year the production from the same amount of stalks was 6 liters; the 

 third year, 4. 50 liters ; the fourth year, 2 liters. 



It was discovered that the cause of this reduction in the quantity of alcohol, and 

 consequently in the quantity of sugar, was due to the fecundation of the sugar cane 

 by the broom cane, or Sorghum vulyarc, which is cultivated iu great quantities in tin- 

 same localities. The crossing is caused by the pollen from the broom cane being car- 

 ried by the winds to the sugarcane, and the consequence of this fecundation was that 

 the seeds which had received this attaint, when resown, produced stalks full of white 

 pith without juice, like the stalks of broom corn, or stalks half pithy, which, instead 

 of containing 90 per cent, of juice, contained only 15 or 20 per cent., and this juice 

 was of a quality which produced a small quantity of sugar. 



All means employed to overcome this imperfection were without success. One 

 could distinguish by the peculiarities of the spike those stalks which had not been 

 tainted by the pollen from the broom corn, but this influence was invisible iu the 

 seed, which had been fecundated by the pollen to such an extent that, although taken 

 from stalks containing 15 per cent, sugar and sown the following season, would pro- 

 duce only degenerated cane. 



We have seen stalks of sorghum cane produced from the planting of seeds from the 

 same spike, of which the primitive stalk contained 1C percent, of sugar. give bunches 

 of seeds and single seeds presenting such entirely ditVeivnt characteristics that they 

 would serve to constitute as many different varieties, more or less rich in sugar, and 

 which in reality were only the product of a degeneracy under the influence of a 

 crossing more or less pronounced in each seed. 



Such an experience for several years was disastrous, and it is upon this hybri- 

 dizing of the sonrhiim cane and the broom cane that all the resnonsibilitv must bo 



