1862. 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMEK. 



39 



[For the lUinoU Farmer,] 



Culture of the Sorghum and its Man- 

 ufacture into Sirup. 



Ed. Farmee : — Having been requested to fur- 

 nish you a statement of my process of cultiva- 

 ting the sorghum plant, I comply with pleasure. 

 In the first place, to secure a good crop of cane, 

 I am particular in selecting seed, and I find the 

 best mode is to go through the standing cane 

 and select the largest and best ripened heads, 

 and hang them till dry in some shady place. 

 This process insures a good article of seed, and 

 also tends to give an earlier maturity to the cane. 

 "When planting time comes on, select a p'ece of 

 dry land with a sunny exposure in preference. 

 Subsoil the ground as deeply as possible — if any 

 clodg remain, harrow it thoroughly, lay off in 

 rows, each about three and a half feet apart, (I 

 lay off th'ee rows at a time with what is usually 

 termed a corn marker), drop eight or ten seed 

 in each hill, cover with a two horse harrow. 

 The seed in this latitude should be put in the 

 ground as early as possible in the spring, say 

 the 10th of April, or sooner if the ground be in 

 proper order — the sooner the cane is planted 

 and started, the better. There is no danger of 

 the seed rotting if the ground selected be dry. 

 By thus planting early the cane ripens much 

 sooner, is much heavier, and of a superior qual- 

 ity. As soon as the cane makes its appearance, 

 run a one-horse cultivator through it so as to 

 prevent weeds and grass from hiding it. As 

 it gets large enough to see it in the rows both 

 ways, use a one-horse plow with the bar next to 

 the cane. When you get over it in this way, 

 take a cultivator and level down the ridge made 

 by plowing ; then turn cross ways with the cul- 

 tivator. After this use the plow, and do not be 

 afr&id of plowing too deep, but do not hill it up 

 too much — it needs the hot rays of the sun about 

 its roots. If any weeds or grass should get in 

 the hills, they must come out, and the sooner the 

 better. Cane raised in the weeds and grass is 

 scarcely worth making up; cane kept entirely 

 free from weeds and grass will yield fifty per 

 cent more sirup than that which is just planted 

 and and let go at the mercy of Providence. Pro- 

 vidence generally has but little mercy on such 

 cane, and less on such cane growers. Cane 

 planted at the time above mentioned will be 

 ready for crushing by the 20th of August. As 

 soon as the top part of the cane heads turn black, 

 commence stripping the blades off; crowd the 

 blades in between the stalks near the ground ; 



let them cure about two days, then bind them in 

 bundles and stack or put them under shelter* 

 This is much better food for horses than hay. 

 Cut the heads off the cane while standing, then 

 throw in piles till cured, then put them under 

 shelter; this is worth as much for stock as a crop 

 of oats on the same ground would be. Cut the 

 cane close to the ground, and haul it to the mill 

 immediately. If the weather be warm in the 

 latter part of the season, before frost comes, it 

 may be cut and piled in a shed for two or three 

 weeks without spoiling, but If the weather be 

 hot, it should be made into sirup the same day 

 on which it is cut. Cane will grow on the same 

 ground year after year without any perceptible 

 ■diminution in quantity or quality. I have raised 

 two crops of volunteer cane the finest I ever saw. 

 The cane came up as thick as wheat over the 

 ground. I took a plow and plowed all up ex- 

 cepting rows, which I left four feet apart one 

 way, tend(d as usual, thinned down to the pro- 

 per quantity, manufactured it in August, and 

 made a very superior quality of sirup of it. I 

 use, in crushing cane, a large four-horse, three- 

 roller cast iron mill — the rollers are horizontal ; 

 I wouldn't hav« upright rollers as a gracious 

 gift, and be compelled to use them. To my mill 

 I have attached the horse power of a threshing 

 machine, which turns the mill by the use of a 

 large tumbling shaft. With this mill I crush out 

 a thousand gallons of juice per day with all ease, , 

 and more if neeessary. 



Taking one day with another, we averaged 

 about seven hundred and fifty gallons of juice > 

 This we evaporate down to seventy-five gallon s- 

 of sirup; hence, we consider seventy-five gallons 

 per day our average work, (that ie, by daylight. ) 

 We arose one night, for the sake of experiment, , 

 at about half-past 12, started the mill and pans 

 to work, and at sun down we had made one hun- 

 dred and thirty-five gallons of superior sirup, 

 such as no blunderer can make. 



In making up the juice, that is, evaporating i f 

 into sirup, I use two of Cook's justly celebrated 

 evaporators, made by Blymers, Bates & Day, o 

 Ohio; I use Nos 2 and 3; let the juice first on to 

 No. 3, under which I have an intense fire. This 

 tremendious heat causes the juice instantly to 

 flash into foam, (the hotter you get this evapora- 

 tor the better); skim the scum cff as faet as it 

 rises. The juice by tbis time is as clean and 

 pure as water. Keep a constant stream of this 

 pouring on No. 2, under which have a moderate 

 fire; let the sirup thus made pass off into a cooler. 

 I use a number of coolers, and let the sirup ge 



