THE CHINESE .SUGAR-CANE. 21 



but little chance of success in a northern climate, 

 as a large proportion of that which is uncrystal- 

 lizable is not only a loss in the manufacture, but 

 an obstacle to the extraction of what is crystal- 

 lizable. 



" It must not be understood, however, that the 

 produce of this plant is unprolific or difficult to 

 obtain, but that, all tilings being equal, its nature 

 renders it more abundant in alcohol than in sugar. 

 Yet it w^ould be very different in the warmer cli- 

 mate at the South, where the sugar-cane is diffi- 

 cult to be obtained, in requiring protection from 

 frost. From experiments made by M. Vilmorin, 

 on some dried stalks of sorgho sent from Algeria, 

 it proved that the product of sugar obtained from 

 them was infinitely superior to that produced 

 from the same plant which had been cultivated 

 near Paris. I was also informed by Mr. Wray, 

 who experimented upon the juice at Natal, that 

 the proportion of crystallizable sugar quite pre- 

 dominates where the climate allows the plant 

 fully to mature. The chief advantage of the 

 sorgho, as a sugar-plant, is the facility of its 

 cultivation, and the easy treatment of the juice. 

 It is thought that the rough product may sur- 

 pass that of the sugar-cane in those countries 

 w^here the latter is an annual, and, like which, 



