Introduction of Imphee and Sorghum. 79 
single seed germinated in a garden at Toulon, and that if 
by any attack of insects, by injudicious planting, cultivating 
or manuring, or any one of a thousand possible mischances, 
the plant springing from this one seed had been destroyed, 
France and America might for years have been without 
knowledge of the Chinese sugar-cane. The capitalist might 
never have hesitated whether to invest his means in build- 
ings and machinery for purifying its juice, and the farmer 
never counted the cost of its cultivation. Fortunately the 
plant grew and escaped all dangers, and in due time 
furnished the seeds sufficiently matured for subsequent pro- 
pagation. 
The Chinese cane has a very lofty and well-propor- 
tioned stalk, with a graceful, bushy, bowingtop. Its seeds 
are of a very dark purple colour and almost black. Among 
the principle difficulties which it has to encounter during its 
growth are our heavy prairie winds. These winds break 
and bend the plants to the earth, and when broken or bent 
they seldom make good syrup. The Chinese are more 
slender and more liable to be thrown down than the Imphee 
canes. We have never succeeded in making much sugar 
from the Chinese plant, but it makes a more pleasant syrup 
than the Imphee tribe and is far more freé from acid, When- 
ever the cane is injured in any way it changes the colour 
of the syrup and gives it an acid taste. aes 
The Imphee canes are from the south-eastern coast of 
' Africa, as already stated. Mr. Wray, tells us that there 
are sixteen different kinds of these African canes. The 
Imphee tribe, which have been introduced by this gentle- 
man, are certainly far superior to all others for sugar-making. 
Their crystallization is much coarser than that of the Chi- 
ese, which is of a quite floury texture ; and there is evidently 
a marked distinction found in our experiments between 
the Imphee cane and that which is called the Chinese 
- Sorghum in respect to their real value for producing sugar, 
the former giving about seven-tenths, while the latter gives 
only about two-tenths sugar. The juice of the Imphee is 
far more limpid, and contains much less of that mucila- 
ginous substance, -known among farmers as white glue 
scum, than that of the sorghum ; subsequently it crystallizes 
much more easily, and we believe that there is as much 
real sugar in the Imphee canes as there is in any of the 
canes raised in the tropics. We have taken from one 
gallon of mush syrup, weighing thirteen pounds, eight 
pounds of sugar, as course-grained as any of southern pro- 
