300 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
Preparing' for the Sugar Crop. 
Thousands of acres of Chinese Sugar Cane 
are now growing in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, 
Iowa, Kansas, and even in California, to say 
nothing of the large tracts planted in many of 
the other States. As far as heard from, with 
very few exceptions, the cane is maturing well, 
often remarkably so, and ripening heads indicate 
that the season of manufacture is at hand. For 
several years people planted more as an experi¬ 
ment than for profit, and in many cases the cane 
was suffered to waste for want of suitable imple¬ 
ments to grind and evaporate the juice. The 
low price of Southern and West India sweets 
was not favorable to the profitable growing of 
the northern cane, with the limited knowledge 
then possessed. The case is far different now. 
Sugars are high, and the results of the past few 
years’ experiments have proven that not only 
syrup of good quality, but well grailled sugar 
can be manufactured from the northern cane at 
a profit, even were prices much lower than at 
present. Much, very much is due to improved 
implements or mills for grinding, and especially 
for evaporators which will rapidly convert the 
juice into a thick syrup for granulating. Con¬ 
spicuous among them, and apparently quite in 
advance of others, is Cook’s Rocker Evaporator, 
with which many tuns of sugar were made last 
season, and hundreds of tuns will doubtless be 
turned out this Fall. The manufacturers say 
Ohio is good for 6,000,000 gallons of syrup, and 
they are turning out 100 evaporators per week. 
But what we wish to urge now is that suitable 
provision be at once made for promptly work¬ 
ing up the coming crop. Too much reliance 
should not be put upon neighborhood mills, and 
evaporators, convenient and economical as they 
are, for with the vast amount of cane to be dis¬ 
posed of, some will doubtless spoil before it is 
reached in rotation. Every person who expects 
to raise a few acres of cane each year, needs a 
good iron mill and a medium size evaporator, 
aud he should not leave the procuring of them 
until wanted for use, as there will doubtless be a 
scarcity the present season, so great is the de¬ 
mand. A poorly made, light mid is linle better 
than nothing- —o ften worse. When the cane was 
first introduced, hand mills were to do the crush¬ 
ing, but with two strong men at the cranks it 
was found that but a small portion of the juice 
was extracted. Next wooden rollers and light 
iron mills were tried, only to break down in the 
midst of the work. A strong three roller mill, 
worked by at least two horses, is needed where 
much grinding is to be done, the feeding rollers 
being i inch apart, while the final pressure is 
given by rollers which run directly upon each 
other, the whole keyed up very strong. 
If the cane can not be used up before heavy 
frosts, let it be cut and either stacked in the 
field, covering with straw, or packed away in a 
shed or barn to be worked up as soon as practi¬ 
cable. It Is better to strip off the leaves before 
grinding, which may be done with the hand 
after cutting, or by striking them from the cane 
with a forked stick, while standing. Save the 
ripest heads for seed, and remove at least 2 feet 
of the upper end of the stalk as worthless. 
The juice should be rapidly evaporated as 
soon as it is expressed, using some kind of a 
shallow pan so as to expose as much surface 
as possible both to the fire and air. Cook’s 
Evaporator alluded to above is admirably cal¬ 
culated to effect this. To granulate, set the 
thick syrup in shallow vats or other vessels, in 
a moderately warm place, and stir occasionally. 
After it has grained put in barrels or hogsheads 
with holes in the lower end to drain off the mo¬ 
lasses or syrup. Of course everything connect¬ 
ed with the grinding and boiling should be done 
in a cleanly manner. Nothing is needed to 
clarify the syrup, if it is rapidly concentrated 
and the scum faithfully removed, nor will such 
syrup need going through the refining process 
of the sugar house to fit it for market. 
About Milking Stools—A New One. 
Milking stools are dangerous articles in some 
barn-yards:—not in themselves, but as weapons 
in the hands of passionate men or boys, with 
which to belabor the frightened cows. This 
may have caused their banishment from many 
premises, as we have frequently seen milkers at 
their work on their bended knees or “ sitting 
standing ” as if doing penance for their want of 
patience. Instead, however, of dispensing with 
the bench, we would banish the milker who mis¬ 
used it by lifting it against the animal. 
Some time since we received from J. E. Cut¬ 
ler, Essex Co., N. J., a drawing and description 
of what he claims as an improved milking stool. 
It is shown so plainly in the illustration that lit¬ 
tle description is needed. It is simply a bench 
long and wide enough for an opening in one 
end to hold the pail while milking, and afford 
a comfortable seat for the milker. The idea ap¬ 
pears to be a good one, where the cows are all 
gentle, as they should be. But what if she give 
a sudden kick, as impulsive animals sometimes 
will ? The pail could not well be overturned, 
but there might be danger of her stepping into 
and through the pail. With this exception it 
may answer well. Mr. Cutler says he has used 
such a one for months, and finds it j ust the thing. 
A Good Bow-Pin. 
P. M. Church, Chippewa Co., Mich., sends to 
the American Agriculturist a description of the 
simple and effective bow- 
pin, shown in the cut. It is 
made of half-inch round 
iron, with one end bent, to 
drop into a half inch hole 
in the top of the yoke, and 
the other made slightly tapering for easy inser¬ 
tion through the bow. The head of the pin rest¬ 
ing in the yoke prevents all danger of its slip¬ 
ping from the bow. 
Heading Late Cabbages. 
It sometimes happens, either through the late¬ 
ness of the season,, or neglect in early planting, 
that cabbages do not head completely before 
cold weather sets in. These are often fed out 
to cattle, or thrown away, while by a little care 
they might be made to head during the Fall and 
early Winter. To accomplish this, proceed as 
follows: first, make a wide trench, and trans¬ 
plant the cabbages into it, setting them together 
in a triple row. At each end of the row, drive 
in a crotched stake, and lay a rail from one to 
the other, to form a ridge pole a foot or more 
above the cabbages. Make a roof of old boards 
or slabs, one end resting on the pole, and the 
other on the ground, so as to shed water. Over 
this, lay a little straw, six or more inches thick, 
and when Winter sets in, put on as many inch¬ 
es of earth, making the surface smooth and 
hard, so as to be nearly rain-proof. At each end 
of the row, leave a ventilating hole, which must 
be loosely filled with straw in cold weather. 
Cabbages so managed, will continue to grow, 
and will fill up their heads considerably before 
mid-winter. When taken out in Spring, they 
will be tender, crisp, and beautifully blanched. 
Good Corn for Next Year. 
Something may be done this month toward 
securing a good corn crop next year. First, as 
to the seed. It is established beyond doubt that 
the largest and best formed ears will be most 
likely to yield good successors. Before com¬ 
mencing to husk the crop, go through the field 
with a bag or basket, and pick the best, giving 
preference to the stalks yielding two or more 
good ears. If this be done before the whole 
crop is ripened, all the better, as the earliest can 
then be selected. By attending to this latter 
point a few years, the period of ripening for the 
whole crop, may be advanced several days, 
which in short seasons, might make a difference 
of many dollars in the net results. 
Gather selected ears enough for your own use, 
and several bushels to sell to your less careful 
neighbors, who will next Spring be willing to 
pay an extra price for good seed corn. 
Trace up the ears into bunches of convenient 
size, and hang them in a warm loft, secure from 
rats and mice, and where they may dry thor¬ 
oughly before freezing weather. The vegetat¬ 
ing power of corn is often destroyed by being 
frozen before the moisture is out of it. The 
water expands in freezing, and thus disorgan¬ 
izes the texture of the germ. 
Then, as to the ground to be cultivated in com 
next year: If it be heavy clay, or contain a 
large portion of that element, it will greatly aid 
next year’s crop to plow it up this Fall, and 
leave it unharrowed. The lumps will be pul¬ 
verized, insects will be destroyed, and if this be 
done early, the first crop of weeds and grass 
will spring up only to be cut down by the frost’s 
keen scythe. We would advise spreading ma¬ 
nure upon such lands before plowing. Being 
covered, it will not be wasted by washing away; 
the small pax-t of its substance which may be 
dissolved, will be absorbed and held by the sur¬ 
rounding soil; mix it with the soil, and the 
speedy frosts will prevent loss by fermentation. 
Another important advantage gained will be the 
more thorough commingling of the manure 
with the soil, made by the cross-plowing next 
Spring. The more intimately this is done, the 
more certain will be the good effects of manure 
upon the growing crop. 
In plowing uiidrained fields, arrange the lands 
with a view to carrying off surplus water. By 
a well planned series of dead furrows, the 
ground may be made ready for the Spring 
plowing several days earlier. Thorough under¬ 
draining is the best remedy for dropsical fields, 
but furrows are better than nothing. 
How to Harvest Carrots. —Send a man 
with a sharp hoe through the rows, to cut off 
the tops. Then, beginning on one side of the 
patch with a plow, cut a deep fun - ow close to 
the first row of carrots; a second furrow will 
completely unearth them. Two boys with bas¬ 
ket^ will soon fill a wagon. When the crop is 
harvested, the land will be already fall-plowed. 
