VoL. I. AUGUSTA, Ga., MARCH 29, >813. No. 1. 
CORN STALK SUGAR. 
Numerous experiments liave been tried in 
various parts of the country, the past year,, with 
respect to obtaining sugar from the corn stalk. 
1 could, indeed, hardly be expected that per- 
sons entering into it without much knowledge 
of the process of manufactiu'e, and, in many 
cases, never having been furnished with any 
plan on which to conduct it, and possessing no 
requisite marhinery, and before the difficulties 
attending its granulation had been removed, 
would be successful in their efforts. Yet the re- 
•sults have every where been so satisfactory, that 
thoijgh but little'sugar has been made, no one 
person from whom we have heard, expresses a 
doubt of its entire practicability, or the lea.st 
discouragement. On the contrary, they, one 
and all, confidently assert that the product will 
yet become a great staple in our country. An 
excellent molasses, or syrup, has usually been 
obtained; and were this the only thing secured, 
yet, in this point of view, it would doubtless 
prove a great desideratum. 
Mr. Webb of Wilmington, Delaware, to 
whom the countrj" is .so particularly indebted for 
introducing this discovery to notice, *and for his 
perseverance in demon.strating its practicability, 
made a definite experiment on a certain amount 
of land, sown as he had before recommended. 
Speaking of his former views, he says; “These 
anticipations have been more anAnwre cnvfirm- 
ed by every swceeding step in the investigation ” — 
He says further: “There was no deficiency in 
the corn; it was entirely in our mode of treating 
it; and, after all, the failure was only in crys- 
talization.” It appears that the com was fully 
ripe before the least preparation had been made 
for manufacturing it; and, after this, delaj's were 
occasioned by breakages, incident to new ma- 
chinery, b)'' which the progress was so hindered 
that a considerable part of the crop was killed 
by the frost before it could be ground. He goes 
on to observe that the greatest part of the sugar 
he obtained was from this frost-killed corn, and 
says: “This fact is important, as it shows the 
superiority of tlie corn over the cane.” In this 
point it would seem he is mistalten, according to 
the account above given of the cane crop of 
Louisiana. He further says: “We obtained 50 
gallons of syrup, which (being boiled to the den- 
sity of sugar,) was much richer and better than 
the best sugar house molasses; part of it was 
sold at -SI per gallon. We also had 10 gallons 
of syrup evaporated in broad shallow vessels; 
this crystalized readily, and made good sugar.” 
Again: “Besides the products above mentioned, 
we obtained from the acre about 40 gallon? of 
vinegar. The fodder was equal in value to two 
tons of hay; and there were 20 cart loads of 
stalks after passing the mill. One-fourth of the 
crop was lost in consequence of being prostrated 
by a storm late in the season, and another fourth 
from the stalk being imperfectly pressed. Con- 
sidering eveiy thing, the result' is satisfactory.” 
A fair review of the progress of this experiment 
fully justifies his language: “I do not think that 
anv manufacture ever promised better, in the 
early stages of its introduction.” In the Farm- 
ers’ Cabinet for Jan uar}’-, 1843, a corre.spondent 
of that journa , who.se opinion seems entitled to 
consideratiott, remarks: “Few persoris would be 
apt to calculate the expense attendant on even a 
small experiment in the making of sugar, wheth- 
er from the cane, the beet, or the corn stalk; all 
who know any thing about it, hoAvever, are 
aware of the fact that the process, even from the 
first, is proverbially laborious, careful and ex- 
pensive.” 
“Mr. Webb’s apparatus cost him about 8300. 
I should rather add 81000 to that sum. In my 
own opinion, the cause of the failure in the at- 
tempts to make sugar from the beet has arisen 
from the single circum.stance ofits never having 
been taken up on a sufficiently exten.sive scale. 
In France, there is no difficulty or delay expe- 
rienced; but there the machiner}" is equal to the 
labor required.” The writer also relcrs to hlr. 
T. Morgan, of Louisiana, and says “that, ac- 
cording to his experience, the juice of the corn- 
stalk, as stated by the saccharometer, is rtco tenths 
stronger than the juice of the Louisiana sugar 
cane — a circumstance accounted for by the fact 
that the cane does not fully ripen in Louisiana, 
so that the juice is incipient.” 
On the other hand, the com ripens jrerfectly, 
and then affords a juice properly coinected and 
rnatiu'ed, and hence defecation of it is remaika- 
bty easy. He further says; “I have been in- 
formed that Mr. Morgan was so well satisfied 
of the cultivation of the cornstalk for the purpose 
of rrraking sugar, that he, the last year, gave or- 
ders for the growth of a certain breadth on his 
sugar plantation in Louisiana, the pa.st summer, 
so as to give him a full boiling of juice for his 
vacuum pan, that the trial might be made on a 
.scale .sufficient to produce actual results, by 
which to calculate, in a pecuniary point of view, 
the real value of the cornstalk in the manufac- 
turing of sugar, but that his intentions were 
frustrated, levelled to the dust, by a storm, which 
prostrated the com, and entirely ruined his pros- 
pects.” Speaking of some samples of sugar 
manufactured by Mr. Webb, he says: “It has 
been objected, that the grains are not so large 
and fully developed; it is only a wonder that any 
grains at all should be made to appear, from the 
manner in which the granulating process had 
been compelled to be carried on. Mr. Morgan, 
with his 10,000 gallons of liquor, at 45°, would 
soon be able to give a better account of the mat- 
ter.” 
Mr. Blake of Indianapolis, in Indiana, also 
tried an experiment on a large scale; but not 
having as much previous knowledge of the pro- 
cess as Mr. Webb had, did not succeed in ob- 
taining sugar. He sa}"s that he made in all, out 
of absut 4i acres, about 270 or 280 gallons thick 
sjunp; 25 gallons of the juice ma le 4 gallons of 
the syrup; and he is well assured that he left in 
the ground com one-third of the juice. His 
corn was planted four feet wide, and drilled one 
way. He planted about six acres, but a portion 
of it was pro.strated by a storm, and so was not 
used. He found that wooden cogs and journals 
&r the mill wmuld not answer, and recommends 
ii on-bound and iron-plated, and metal cogs and 
journals. He had no previous knowdedge of 
sugar-making, of any kind, and ol' course had 
to encounter all the difficulties of a learner. — 
For boiling, he used common 15 gallon iron 
kettles. The great difficulty he found was in 
arriving at the graining point in boiling. His 
plan was to boil the juice of the cornstalk, as 
soon as the scum w'as removed, dovm to a strong 
sjTup, and then put it into a cooler, or large tub, 
having two or three inch holes, one in a level 
with the bottom, the others an inch and a half 
from the bottom, and let it remain to the next 
day, and then boil it down to the graining point. 
He says also, “my main object in trying the ex- 
periment was to ascertain whether cornstalk 
contained saccharine sufficient to make it an ob- 
ject to cultivate it hereafter, as one of the great 
staples of our State. On this point, I am satis- 
fied that, in a few years, it will become an arti- 
cle of export and of great v'alue to the w >t.” — 
“My molasses is esteemed b}' all who ta.ste it. 
to be superior to New’ Orleans.” “From expe- 
riments I made when I had got my mill to work 
well, I could grind 300 gallons of "juice in about 
18 hours’ work, with two horses, allowing one 
hour for each horse at a time; two boys could at- 
tend the mill with ease.” 
“From the best estimate I can make of the 
cost per acre, in removing the ears, blading, top- 
ping and cutting, hauling, grinding and toiling. 
&c., it was between 812 and 81 5. Of course, it 
would haA’e cost much less, if I had been as well 
organized as I could be, were I to carr}’ on the 
business upon the same scale hereafter; boys 
can do most of the work.” He also expresses 
his full intention to go into the business with a 
A’iew to permanency and profit. 
Other* also in Indiana, tried the experiment 
with various success, and by a communication 
from i\Ir. Plummer, of Pachmond, in that Ftate, 
it appears that, in all cases, the success equalled 
expectations as to the quantity per average acre; 
but the qirality was not so fine as expected, and 
it was supposed some added more cream of lime 
than W'as nece.ssar}'. The sugar, however, piw- 
ed equal to about second quality New Orleans. 
He also remarks, that they found wooden rollers 
AA'ould not answer'as well, as they w'ere liable to 
cirt in ridges, and thus mirch of the .‘saccharine 
matter was lost. He further suggests, that, by 
planting the corn some days apart from each 
other, one mill might serve a number ofpersoss, 
and thus the expense be lessened. The farmers 
there, he adds, as an evidence of their confidence, 
do not expect to open their sugar trees again. 
The conclusion is expressed by sev'eral, that 
from COO to 1000 pounds of sugar may easily be 
procured from an acre. 
Another person speaks of obtaining half a 
gallon of syrup from a bushel and a half of 
crushed stalks. Mr. Goodrich, of Terre Haute, 
in Indiana, is also stated to have produced from 
eight gallons of juice twm gallons of molasse.s, 
pronounced b}' competent judges equal to the 
best sugar-house molasses. 
Mr. James T. Gifford, w’ho tried some experi- 
ments w’iththe corn stalk, on examination, found 
that the butt of the stalk remaining in the field 
retained its juice and saccharine matter until 
the hard freezing in November caused fermenta- 
tion to commence, from which time the saccha- 
rine matter vA'as too acid. It is also said that su- 
gar has been made of the water in which the 
ears of com have been boiled; from whence it 
has been inferred that the cob contains much 
saccharine matter. Mr. Knapp, of Waynes- 
ville, Illinois, in a communication made to the 
Union Agriculturist, for October, published at 
Chicago, says; “I hasten to sarq briefly, that I 
have made about six gallons of maize molasses 
from what w'as judged (not measured) a barrel 
of expressed juice of the stalks. I find there is 
no difficulty whatever in clarifying the juice 
wfith hydrate of lime, skimming until it boils, 
and then straining through flannel. An immense 
quantity of extractive matter in the form of a 
