DIRECTIONS FOR CULTIVATING CORNSTALKS AND MAKING SUGAR. 
241 
From, tke Saturday Courier . 
DIRECTIONS FOR CULTIVATING CORN¬ 
STALKS, AND MAKING SUGAR. 
In various portions of the country, the cultivation 
of corn for the manufacture of sugar continues to 
excite attention. The public are seeking information 
upon the subject, as the discovery that sugar can be 
made from the stalks of corn is of recent date. We 
take pleasure in presenting our readers any facts that 
may be of importance upon the subject. Dr. Nau- 
dain, of Delaware, who has had opportunities to 
gather knowledge upon the various experiments that 
have been made, presents some views which will 
not fail to be regarded with interest. 
With regard to the culture, it is stated that corn 
should be planted as broom-corn is commonly planted, 
very close in the row, probably a stalk every three 
or four inches. The tillage will be the same as 
for broom-corn. When the young ears begin to ap¬ 
pear, it is necessary to pluck them off carefully, and 
to repeat the gathering as often as necessary, so as 
to prevent tke formation of any grain. Because, if 
grain be allowed to form, it takes all the sugar from 
the stalk. About the time the corn begins to harden, 
the making of sugar should be begun. 
It is not necessary to say anything about a proper 
mill to crush the stalks and separate the juice, because 
wills of the cheapest kinds only should be employed 
aow, until the business would fully warrant an ex¬ 
pensive outlay. It would probably be found that 
the common cider mill, with plain cylindrical nuts, 
would be quite sufficient for the farmer who would 
raise a fourth or half an acre of corn for sugar, for 
his family, and this quantity would be quite suffi¬ 
cient for satisfactory experiment. 
YVhen the juice is separated from the stalk, about 
a table-spoonful of whitewash, made of the beat quick¬ 
lime , and about the consistence of thiek cream, should 
he added to each gallon of the juice, and then the 
boiling should commence. The scum that rises 
should be carefully removed ; and the juice, if this 
process has been properly conducted, will be quite 
clear, nearly colorless. Then commences the process 
of evaporation; and when the juice has boiled down 
in about the proportion of eight gallons to one, the 
boiling will be completed, and it may be poured out 
into a shallow, tight wooden box to grain. 
It has been ascertained, although as yet the reason 
is not known, that if the juice be boiled in a deep 
Vessel, like the common cooking vessel, sugar will 
seldom be obtained; while, if it be done in a shallow 
vessel, so that the juice at the commencement of the 
boiling shall not be more than three to live inches 
deep, sugar would be obtained without difficulty It 
lias been ascertained, also, that the sugar from corn 
will not grain so readily as that from sugar-cane; 
and in some instances, it has remained more than a 
week after the boiling before the sugar was formed, 
and yet excellent sugar was made. 
It should be particularly remembered, that the 
juice should be boiled as soon as separated from the 
stalk. It becomes acid very soon, and no sugar can 
ihe made if the juice be allowed to stand two or three 
hours before it is boiled. The juice will even spoil 
in the stalk before it is ground, if the stalks be eut 
off a few hours before grinding. It is necessary, 
then, that every part of the process should he done 
with the greatest despatch. The stalks should be 
brought to the mill as soon as cut, and ground imme¬ 
diately. The vessel for boiling ought to be properly 
filled in two hours grinding, and the process of boil¬ 
ing down should immedrately commence, and be 
continued until completed. 
Excellent syrup, superior to the best molasses, will 
be obtained by observing the above directions, and 
boiling five gallons of juice to one gallon. 
The juice of the corn-stalk is very rich in sugar, 
when cultivated in the manner suggested. Tested 
by Beaume’s sacharometer, the instrument used to 
measure the strength of syrups, the juice of the corn¬ 
stalk weighs 10 to 10$ degrees, which is about the 
weight of the best cane in the West Indies, and is 
richer than the juice of the cane in Louisiana, which 
is seldom heavier than 84 degrees. 
One gallon of juice will produce nearly 1$ pounds 
of sugar; and one acre of good corn will yield, if 
carefully expressed, from 700 to 1000 gallons of juice. 
From the South Carolinio/n. 
I have but little information to add to the above 
article. My kettle holds eighty gallons, though a 
sixty gallon kettle might answer the purpose, but 
probably it would be best to procure a shallow vessel, 
as above recommended, for making sugar. 1 made 
three boilings before I made good syrup, not boiling 
down sufficiently the two first boilings. Prepare 
yourself with a skimmer, a gourd with a long handle 
will do, to remove the scum when it begins to boil, 
and for a short time after. Leave off skimming when 
you see the dark glutinous scum is pretty well re¬ 
moved. Also, prepare yourself with an iron ladle, 
with an iron handle attached to it about three feet 
long (which any blacksmith can make), perforated 
with small holes. Whoever attends the kettle must 
use this ladle in raising the juice with it, when likely 
to boil over. When the juice boils down consider¬ 
ably, you will see the bubbles begin to show and 
burst on the surface. When you see a few such 
bubbles, if it be your object to make syrup, I think 
then is the time to take it out; but if you wish the 
syrup to granulate, boil till the bubbles become ge¬ 
neral on the surface. You can also test it, by dip¬ 
ping out some syrup with a tablespoon, and when it 
cools sufficiently, by taking it between your thumb 
and forefinger; and if it inclines to rope, it is syrup, 
but if it will rope about an inch it will granulate. 
You can boil rapidly at the commencement, while the 
juice is thin, but as it thickens boil with more mode¬ 
ration. If you boil too rapidly after the bubbles be¬ 
gin to burst on the surface, you will certainly bum 
it, and it will give it a candy taste. If you cannot 
get lime conveniently, lye will answer the purpose. 
I should say, put in about half a pint of lye to every 
fifteen gallons of juice. Throw in the lye or white¬ 
wash made from the lime, immediately after you quit 
removing the glutinous scum. When you have 
boiled to satisfy yourself, lake out the syrup and put 
it in some shallow vessel to cool. I am inclined to 
think, when the juice has been extracted from the 
stalks by a wood mill, that if they were chopped up 
and boiled in water, good vinegar could be made Irom 
them. I advise you to build a wood mill. The ex¬ 
pense is trifling. You can get a mechanic in my 
I neighborhood, who will build you one for twenty 
I dollars, by furnishing him two assistant hands; 
