66 THE CHINESE SUGAR-CANE. 



to use it, even if it did not assist in clarifying , 

 for we know it will neutralize the acid which the 

 juice .ontains, and so make it more pleasant to 

 the taste, and tend to preserve it longer. The 

 syrup alluded to, which Mr. Peters made, I have 

 seen ; and noticed that it was of a darker color, 

 and not so heavy as that which I made, for the 

 reason it was not boiled so much. Still, the syrup 

 is such as would sell readily at the prices named 

 by Prof. Battey. I add the following from the 

 National Intelligencer : 



" The Chinese Sugar-cane has come to be the 

 ordinary name of the Sorgho Sucre, a most val- 

 uable plant of the sugar-cane order, and, there- 

 fore, allied to the maize or Indian corn, but more 

 nearly to the broom-corn. Its cultivation has 

 commenced amongst us, and there is now in 

 Washington more than an acre of it, growing 

 luxuriantly, and promising a yield of considerably 

 upwards of one hundred bushels of seed, besides 

 many tons of stems and foliage, rich with sac- 

 charine fluid and solid food, material for horses, 

 neat cattle, and swine. Not only here, but in 

 various and widely- distant parts of the Union, 

 has trial been made of it, and with uniform 

 gratifying results. We have read a letter from 

 a farmer in Illinois, who has tested its character, 



