IV PREFACE. 



matiori, on the part of the public, he was induced, 

 at the suggestion of a friend, to get up this little, 

 unpretending volume. No merit is claimed for it, 

 other than that it is the truth, and the whole truth, 

 so far as the experience of the writer goes, and so 

 far as he has been able to obtain information from 

 other sources ; for he has carefully avoided every- 

 thing that did not seem to be well autlienticated. 



The writer hopes and believes this little work 

 will prove useful to those who wish for information 

 in regard to the new plant of which it treats. He 

 has given all the information that could be obtained 

 on the subject. The work was attended with some 

 difficulties, owing to the fact of the recent introduc- 

 tion of the plant, and consequently the short time 

 there has been to try experiments with it. The 

 writer feels a deep interest in this subject, and that 

 has led him to bring this before the public. But, 

 while he gives the result of his own experience, he 

 also gives a statement of most of the experiments 

 that have been made in the country. For an ac- 

 count of these he is indebted to Richard Peters, 

 Esq., who furnished a detailed report of his trial of 

 the cane ; D. Redmond, editor of the Southern Cul- 

 tivator ; the Patent Office Reports, and some of the 

 agricultural papers North and South. 



The object of this work is to supply the public 

 with accurate knowledge concerning this new and 

 valuable plant, — Chinese Sugar-Cane. How far 

 he has accomplished that object the reader must 



iudge. 



^ ^ J. F. C. H. 



Newton Centre, Dec. 20th, 1856 



