516 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



These results astound me, and prove Sorghum as a sugar producing 

 crop to be valuable beyond niy wildest imaginations. I proceed to the 

 proof. 



Three years' experiments have proved beyond a doubt that, on average 

 soils, in an average season, with ordinarily decent cultivation, as for maize, 

 the Early Amber Sorghum will, in the northern part of New Zealand, that 

 is, from the Bay of Plenty (perhaps even from Napier) northwards, produce 

 a crop of from 12 to 16 tons of cane per acre. Two years' experiments 

 prove that from each ton of cane from 80 to 90 gallons of juice can be 

 expressed by very inferior machinery. Two years' experiments prove that, 

 if that juice is evaporated in an open evaporator down to 13-15 gallons 

 (that is to say one sixth), a rich syrup results, which will remain unaltered 

 by fermentation for many months. The analysis of the Colonial Laboratory 

 proves that each gallon of this syrup, weighing about 13 lbs., contains 

 9^- lbs. of cane-sugar, besides 7*15 per cent of grape-sugar or glucose. That 

 means that each ton of cane produces 9J lbs. x 13 gallons (taking the 

 lowest quantity) = 123J lbs. cane-sugar ; and that means that every acre 

 produces (taking the lowest average of 12 tons cane) 1,482 lbs. cane-sugar, 

 besides grape-sugar and other what may be called waste products, such as 

 the leaves and seed — valuable for cattle- and fowl-feed. The value of this 

 product of sugar, at £30 per ton, is nearly £20 per acre. This, it will be 

 observed, is taking all the products at the lowest quantities actually pro- 

 duced. Probably the amount of sugar to syrup, 71*6, shown by analysis to 

 be present, might not practically be secured ; but, even allowing a large 

 margin, the result is extraordinary. When I compare this with the latest 

 American results taken from the St. Louis Republican of 30th November, 

 1882, kindly furnished me by Mr. Consul Griffin, it will be seen that 

 the Early Amber Sorghum produces here a greater weight of cane 

 and developes nearly double the quantity of sugar that it does in Illinois, 

 where the Sugar Company at Champaign pays 10 per cent. The following 

 is the extract referred to : — 



" A company at Champaign, Illinois, which has recently made thorough 

 experiments in the manufacture of Sorghum sugar, professes to have 

 reached results in the highest degree satisfactory and conviucing. The 

 company's experiments were made on the cane grown on 200 acres, culti- 

 vated by itself, and that grown on 50 acres more by farmers in the 

 neighbourhood. The latter was bought at $2 to $2 50 a ton. It has 

 made 125,000 lbs. of fair sugar, worth 8£ cents a pound, and 22,500 

 gallons of molasses worth 44 cents a gallon. This shows an average gross 

 product of $80 per acre. "What the nett product is we cannot tell 



