8 NORTHERN SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



ternal thermometer. This slowness of change of temperature is es- 

 sential to the preservation of the sucrose in the juice. 



On the 14th of January, 1884, the ground being then frozen, the silo 

 was opened and a bundle of canes taken out. Following are the results 

 of the examination : 



ANALYSIS OF CANE FROM SILO JANUARY 14, 1884. 



Percentage of juice expressed 68. 9 



Specific gravity, 8° B = 1. 057 



Percentage of sucrose 8. 39 



Percentage of other sugars 2. 36 



The next analysis of the cane from the silo was made February 27, 

 1884. At this time the winter was practically over, and the results of 

 this analysis show that the cane had been kept with a loss of only a 

 small portion of its sucrose. 



ANALYSIS OF CA^fE FROM SILO FEBRUARY 27, 1884. 



Percentage of juice expressed 73. 67 



Specific gravity 1. 057 



Percentage of sucrose ^ 7. 00 



Percentage of other sugars 3. 13 



These experiments are interesting in that they show the possibility 

 of preserving canes in this way. It is, however, a question of practical 

 importance to know if such a method of preservation would be useful 

 in preserving cane for manufacturing purposes. This question, how- 

 ever, could only be answered by conducting the experiment on a large 

 scale in connection with a sugar factory. I shall also try planting some 

 of these canes in the spring, and notice the character of the crop which 

 grows from them.* 



Since undertaking the above experiment I have learned that sorghum 

 is preserved in silos in Japan. Following is a report of Consul-General 

 Van Buren on this subject: 



The sugar of Japan is made from that species of the sorghum plant known as the 

 Chinese sorghum. It grows luxuriantly in all the southern portions of the Empire 

 north of the thirty- sixth degree of north latitude. 



The whole product of the Empire in 1878 was 64,297,380 pounds. Importation in 

 1878 was 67,434,805 pounds. For three or four hundred years the processes of granu- 

 lating and refining sugars have been known and practised. Sorghum is not grown, 

 as Avith us, from the seed, but from cuttings. lu September selected stalks are cut 

 and buried in trenches a foot deep. Through the winter from each joint' of the stalks 

 sprouts grow. In the spring these joints are cut ofi" and set out in rows 15 to 18 

 inches apart, and about the same distance from each other in the rows. The ground 



* The last examination of the siloed cane was made April 1, 1884. Results: 



Weight of cane pressed, kilograms 7. 53 



Per centage (»f juice expressed 73.81 



Specific gravity 1. 05 



Percentage of sucrose 5. 89 



Percentage of other sugars - 3. 72 



The attempt to grow a crop from the joints of the preserved cones proved futile. 

 The germs at the joints were dead, and in no case was a growth obtained. 



