24 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



Sucrose by polariscopo, average fur the season per cent.. 9. 75 



Sp. gr. Batumi, average for the season degrees.. 7. 57 



Against last year's polariseope percent.. 11.11 



Sp. gr. Lanine" degrees.. 7. 33 



The bulk of the crop "was Amber and Orange ; tho per cent, of juice ranged from 55 

 per cent, to 40 per cent, on the uustripped canes, over half the sugar being left in 

 the bagasse. 



We have two mills; the second one was not properly rigged up, 

 Being afraid the cane would get over-ripo, as it has always done before, we planted 

 later than usual. The season turned out very wet and cold. The Orange did not 

 ripen until October 29, except in those fields where phosphoric acid was put in the 

 hill. A storm in September prostrated the Amber. For these two reasons we had 

 bad cane from September 24 to October 29. During this time no pan failed to granu- 

 late, but the yield of sugar was poor. From October 29 until the end of the season 

 the cane was first rate. The extreme low price of sugar and the high price of choice 

 New Orleans molasses cause/1 us to make a better sirup than we would ordinarily 

 have done. In this way over*100,000 pounds of sugar was allowed to go into the mo- 

 lasses simplv because this vear it paid to do it. 



Yours truly, H. A. HUGHES," 



General Manager Hio Grande Sugar Company. 



Prof. H. W. Wiley. 



Table of daia derived from preceding letter. 



Acres (about) 



Tons - 



Tons per acre 



Pounds sugar made 



Pounds sugar per ton 



Gallons molasses 



G allons molasses per ton 



Average per cent, of sugar in juice 



- Average per cent, of juice expressed 



The total value of sugar produced, at 7 cents per pound, was 



Add bounty, 1 cent per pound 



Value of molasses, at 42 cents per gallon 



Bounty on cane ($1 per ton) 



Value per acre (circa) 



The yield, it will be seen, did not equal that which has been calcu- 

 lated. A portion of the sugar was, however, not recovered from a de- 

 sire to make a high-grade molasses. ■ 



OUR OWN EXPERIENCE WITH CANE GROWN NEAR WASHINGTON. 



From our own experience it has been learned that single milling, i. e. } 

 passing canes through one three-roll mill, gives so poor a yield that it 

 must necessarily be abandoned at least with sorghum. Tropical canes 

 seem to mill better than the stalks of sorghum, and single milling of such 

 canes may continue to prove profitable. It is evident, however, to every 

 practical worker, that a system of expression which gives only 45 to 50 

 per cent, of the total juice of the cane is too wasteful to meet the con- 

 tinued approval of farmers and manufacturers. 



Double milling is doing much to remove this difficulty. This division 

 has made only a few experiments with double milling, and these show 

 a yield of nearly 65 per cent, of weight of cane. In the establishments 

 where this process only has been used, estimates have been made of its 

 efficiency. These estimates, however, may be wide of the truth, but we 

 may safely say that double miUing increases the yield of juice 10 to 15 

 per cent. 



The soil in the vicinity of Washington is not suitable to the growth 

 of sorghum cane. It is true the yield of cane this season was far bet- 

 ter than it has ever been heretofore since the Department undertook 



1,000 

 6, 705 

 6, 795 

 282,711 

 41.6 

 55. 000 

 6. 09 

 9. 75 

 47. 00 



$19,789 77 

 2,827 11 

 23, 100 00 

 6,795 00 



52,511 88 

 §50 00 



