298 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
dressing of salt, before spring. Save all old bones, soap- 
suds, dead leaves, decaying, vegetables, Soc., &c., and 
make up into compost heaps for future use. Plow and 
subsoil your ground for the planting of young orchards, 
directions for which were given last month, and will be 
repeated in our next number. November, December and 
January are the best months for planting trees, vines, &c. 
THE STRAWBEKRY PATCH. 
The best soil for this delicious fruit is a sandy or even a 
gravelly loam, moist, and rich in vegetable manure. An 
excellent compost for acre of ground would be 60 bushels 
of leaf mould from the woods, 20 bushels of leached ashes, 
5 bushels lime and 3 or 4 quarts of salt. Mix thoroughly, 
let it stand 2 or 3 days, scatter broadcast and plow in. 
Then harrow or rake the surface, making it fine and set 
your plants in rows 3 feet apart, and 1 foot to 18 inches 
in the row. After the plants become well rooted, cover 
the whole ground with partly decomposed leaves from 
the forest, leaving nothing exposed but the stems and 
fruit stalks of the plants. 
CHINESE SUGAR CANE; ITS VALUE AS A SUGAR, 
GRAIN FORAGE AND PRODUCING PLANT. 
In the winter of 1855, the junior editor of this journal 
obtained from Boston a few ounces of seed of this plant, 
then newly imported from France. It came very highly 
recommended as a sugar -producing and forage plant, but 
having a vivid recollection of many previous disappoint- 
ments with new fangled “notions,” we concluded to test 
it cautiously and moderately. In order, however, to give 
it a fair chance, we distributed small parcels per mail to 
friends in various portions of Georgia and the adjoining 
States, and planted for ourselves only 7 or 8 hills, in a poor 
spot in our garden. At first, it came up like grass or 
Egyptian Millet, and grew off slowly and weakly ; but, 
in a few weeks, it began to shoot upward, and in less than 
three months attained the height of 8 or 10 feet, with large 
and well filled heads of seed, somewhat resembling Broom 
Corn, but covered with a black husk or chaff. Passing by 
it one day, when the seeds were nearly or quite ripe, we 
concluded to test the sweetness of the stalk: so, cutting 
a moderate sized cane near the ground and peeling off 
its hard outside coat, we found a solid pith of about three- 
fourths of an inch in diameter, crisp, brittle and of an ex- 
ceedingly sweet and pleasant flavor— wholly and entirely 
unlike anything of the corn stalk family that we had ever 
tasted. It was, in fact, ready made candy ; and as soon 
as the younger members of the family and the negroes 
“got the taste” of it, we were obliged to interdict its further 
use, in order to save seed. When the latter were fully 
ripe, we cut off the heads and saved them carefully, notic- 
ing, with some surprise, that the leaves or blades of fod- 
der were still as fresh, green and succulent as ever. The 
stalks were then cut off near the ground and fed, leaves 
and all, to our horses, mules and milch cows— all of 
which ate of it with the greatest apparent relish and avid- 
ity. Considering that crop disposed of for the season, we 
paid no more attention to the stubble or stumps, until, we 
happened to notice that, millet-like, they were shooting out 
anew, and pushing on for a second growth. This grov/tii 
we watched with some interest, until the first frosts check- 
ed it; at which time the stalks were six feet high, full of 
broad and juicy leaves, and Avith the second crop of seed 
just making its appearance above the “boot.” 
Fully satisfied by this time that it was valuable at least 
for the production of soiling forage and dried fcdder, we 
next turned our attention to its saccharine properties, and 
fortunately induced our friend, Dr. Robert Battey, of 
Rome, Ga., who was at the time pursuing the study of 
experimental chemistry in the well known labratory of 
Prof. Booth, of Philadelphia, to test it. As the result of 
his experiments. Dr. Battey sent us three small phials — 
one containing a fine syrup; one a sample of crude, 
brown sugar ; and the other a very good sample of crys- 
talized sugar. This we believe to be the first crystalized 
sugar made in the United States, from the juice of Sorgho 
Sucre; and as Dr. Battey’s opinion of its A'alue as a 
plant fully agreed with the reports of the French savoms 
who had investigated its properties, and with our own 
convictions, we this year disseminated it more wide- 
ly and planted nearly two acres, for the express purpose 
of raising the seed and testing the ability of the plant to 
bear repeated cuttings, like the Egyptian and other varie- 
ties of Millet. It was planted very late, on poor soil, and 
has received but imperfect culture ; and yet at the present 
time (August 25) a portion of it has been cut three times 
and is growing off finely, while the remainder has ripened 
its seed, and will yield a full crop of excellent fodder after 
the present stalks are cut off at the ground and crushed 
for syrup, or fed out to our stock. 
So much for its introduction into this section, and itshis- 
tory among us thus far. It is our deliberate opinion that 
for “soiling” (cutting green, repeatedly) ; for the produc- 
tion of syrup, sugar, cider or wine, alcohol, fodder (and 
grain, at the same time,) it will be found invaluable to 
the South, and that no plant of recent introduction am ong 
us can at all compare with it. 
We take pleasure in appending two articles of great in- 
terest in connection with this subject ; the first from the 
able pen of our friend, Gov. Hammond, of South Carolina, 
and the second from a late number of the Washington 
National Intelligencer : 
REPORT 
Of an Experiment in making Syrup from the Chinese 
Sugar Cane Corn or Sugar Millet, made to the Beech 
Island Farmefs Clubf August 2, 1856. 
A rule of this Club, requiring every member to make 
and report, each year, an agricultural experiment, I will 
take this opportunity to acquit myself of that duty. One 
of our members (Mr. Redmond, of the Southern C'ldtivator) 
distributed among us, last winter, some seeds of what is 
commonly called Sugar Millet. He very kindly gave me 
enough to plant half an acre — about a pint. I prepared a 
plot of ground on a Northern slope of old, stiff and worn 
out land, in such a manner and with so much manure- as 
would probably have made it yield, with average seasons, 
about 20 bushels of corn per acre. On the 22d of March 
I planted the Millet seed in 3 feet drills, dropping every 
18 to 20 inches some 6 or 8 seed. It was plowed and 
hoed often enough to keep the grass down, and about the 
1st of July began to head. The heat had then been un- 
