THE CUBA REVIEW 



13 



arise in the marketing of this product, since 

 the world's supply of potash is controlled by 

 a German sjTidicate prepared to crush any 

 competition; this monopoly of potash is 

 keenly resented in the United States, where 

 any source of supply would be eagerly wel- 

 comed, and where we should have to look for 

 a market. 



"I would, in addition, point out to you that 

 the recovery of alcohol, potash, and nitrogen 

 from the molasses presents no technical 

 difficulties, as many plants on the Continent 

 of Europe already work up beet molasses. 

 The process is simple, and the plant not ex- 

 pensive: I estmiate that ten centralized dis- 

 tilleries, established at different points in 

 Cuba, could be erected for a capital cost of, 

 say, Sl,800,000, and that these woidd be 

 capable of treating the whole molasses output 

 of Cuba. 



"The one outstanding troul)le in Cuba is 

 shortage of labor. The increase of the capa- 

 pacity of a luiiit of labor through the medium 

 of mechanical appliances will always be of 

 great Ijenefit to a community such as exists 

 iii Cuba. A cheap source of power, at present 

 almo.st wholly imutilized, is availalile, and I 

 believe that it would be greatly to the ad- 

 vantage of the Republic." 



SORGHUM AS A SUGAR PRODUCER 



Mr. James H. Dod, of Santa Clara, Cuba, 

 has sent us a long and interesting letter 

 criticizing Dr. Prinsen Geerlig's remarks in 

 Bulletin No 14 of the Agricultural Research 

 Institute on the raising of sorghum in India, 

 and especially where he seems to infer that 

 "it is conclusively demonstrated that sorghum 

 cane could not be raised for sugar-making 

 purposes, and also that the ])rnl)lem was 

 settled for India." It has been showni, claims 

 Mr. Dod, by one of the prominent native 

 writers that India closely resemljles Cuba as 

 regards its ])lant life, and this being so, he is 

 of th9 opinion that no one should say that 

 sugar-making fi'om sorghum steins cannot lie- 

 come a commercial success in India until 

 further experiments have been made in the 

 wa3' of plant and seed selection, cross-breed- 

 ing, intensive cultivation of seed beds, etc., 

 and especially in setting aside special pUnts 

 for seed supplies only. 



Dr. Prinsen Geerlig alleges that "it was 

 discovered that as long as the seed had not 

 matiu-ed in the cane it was impossible to get 



the juice to crystallize; but towards the close 

 of the vegetation the syrup was 13.3 per cent. 

 of the weight of the cane." "It is but 

 natural," claims our correspondent, who we 

 \\ill now leave to tell his own tale, "that the 

 plant should fii-st produce the starch neces- 

 sary for tlie future generation before it com- 

 mences to form glucose, which seems to be the 

 preliminary stage in the production of crys- 

 talUzable sugar in the plants. It appears, 

 then, to be quite evident that we are not giv- 

 ing it 'a square deal' when we are expecting 

 to extract two crops from it simultaneously, 

 one of the graha or seed, and the other of the 

 sugar. To do so is an injustice that no one 

 ever dreamed of committing with the sugar- 

 cane, which we might suppose to be able to 

 bear the double bm-den, and much less with 

 its rival, the beet, from which we only ask a 

 yield of seed from one set of plants, and of a 

 crop of sugar from another set, getting the 

 sugar first. Natm-e, it is true, is always per- 

 forming miracles in our behalf, but not exacth- 

 of the arbitrary kind that has been demanded 

 of sorghum. If we ever again insist upon her 

 becoming an industrial sugar producer, let 

 us give her at least what appears to Ije a 

 reasonable chance by relieving her of what 

 seems to be the principal impedunent, i. e., by 

 cutting away all signs of seed making as fast 

 as they appear. This done, we would have 

 some right to hope that the plant could in 

 time be taught to devote all its energies to 

 making the crop we expect, and not to one 

 {i. e., the seed) which we do not need. It 

 has been abundantly shown that some plants 

 niay, under iiroper guidance, change their 

 natin-e quite as much as hmnan beings do. 

 So certain did I feel of the validity of this 

 principle, that as long ago as 1890 I wrote 

 an article, which was published in the Louisi- 

 ana Planter, suggesting trials with sorghmn- 

 planting in the United States. But as too 

 ofte I happens when a new idea is submitted,' 

 it was summarily rejected by those who 

 thought they had good reasons "to know 

 better," and one director of an agricultural 

 station, who had for years been endeavoring 

 to improve the plant by methods that proved 

 to be less suitable or jiractical, at any rate less 

 commendaljle, went so far as to say that the 

 plan was \mworthy of consideration, and much 

 less of being tested. Nevertheless, ver>' soon 

 after this, however, the Louisiana Planter 

 published a report showing that a tribe had 

 been discovered in the mountains in India 



