THE CULTIVATOR. 
223 
THE SUGAR CANE AND CORN-STALK SUGAR. 
Messrs. Editors —An article in the Cultivator, (May 
number,) page 150, calls for, and is deserving a reply 
from me; and although you are probably ere this, in pos¬ 
session of a more full explanation from me in Mr. Ells¬ 
worth's (the Commissioner of Patents) Report, page 159, 
I will briefly explain: 
In attempting to make sugar from corn-stalks, we too, 
were disappointed in not being able to effect granulation. 
Probably if we had lowered the knives, or waited a few 
days for it to have ripened higher, it would have granu¬ 
lated, and the juice would have been sweeter; though 
8 degrees specific gravity is a good average for cane. 
The odor from the kettles while boiling, was very of¬ 
fensive, and the flavor of the syrup disagreeable and well 
-expressed by Mr. Patterson of Tarentum, Pa. If, as you 
state, “ soon after a critical period, the sap changes, and 
cannot be made to granulate,” this would greatly hazard 
the crop, for a rainy season might prevent its manufac¬ 
ture at that period. 
Again. Our crop was by no means extraordinary— 
2,750 pounds per acre is not extraordinary. It was good; 
well cultivated, and on good ground, though not manu¬ 
red, except the trash for ten years had been left to pul¬ 
verize on the land instead of burning it off as is the cus¬ 
tom here. There is a difference between plant cane and 
rattoon cane. It is considered good economy to culti¬ 
vate rattoon cane when it will yield 1,000 pounds per 
acre or even less; because it requires so little cultivation 
or no planting, and ripens early. 1,000 pounds may be 
the average per acre of the crop in Louisiana. A good 
planter will make more. Plant cane on good land, well 
cultivated, will average from one and a half to two hogs¬ 
heads, say from 1,500 to 2,000 lbs. per acre, often more. 
4,000 lbs. have been made where the ground was well ma¬ 
nured, on an acre. I am speaking of facts. I know su¬ 
gar planters may deem it bad policy to make these state¬ 
ments; fearing lest other sections of the country may 
suppose sugar planters are getting rich too fast, and be 
induced to lower the tariff. But if it be so, why is not 
the cultivation more extended ? Why not make less cot¬ 
ton and more sugar. There is ample good sugar land in 
the sugar district in Louisiana to supply the whole coun¬ 
try. I hope the experiment on corn sugar will not be 
abandoned till it be fully tested on a large scale at the 
north. Let only those who are able to lose, first try it. 
I feel sure it will prove a losing business. 
In comparing our poorest yield to your best, many may 
be deceived. Shubael Tillotson. 
New River, La., May 24, 1844. 
THE VERMONT STUMP MACHINE. 
Editors of the Cultivator —When I first saw a 
draft of the Vermont Stump Machine, in the October num¬ 
ber of the Cultivator, I resolved to make one, which I 
accordingly did the past winter. It appeared to me a 
very unwieldy thing, and as my land was uneven, I 
thought it not firm enough to answer the purpose. To 
obviate this difficulty, I made it somewhat different, and 
I think better. The machine is much smaller than the 
one described in the draft. The wheel is only 8 feet 5 
inches, shaft 11 inches, upright parts 7 feet high, and 
standing 8 feet asunder. I framed a piece 5 by 7 across, 
just near enough the tops of the posts to allow room for 
the shaft and chain to work, braced it at the corners with 
old tire, 2 feet long, a f bolt through each end, and 
through the upright and cross piece, which holds it firm¬ 
ly together. I then hollowed out the tops of the posts so 
as to lay the shaft in them. The wheel works outside of 
the post as near to it as possible. Thus the objection 
urged by a correspondent, that it would crush down, is 
removed; and even on land that is hilly, by going up 
and down, it will work pretty well. Some of my friends 
ridiculed the idea of drawing stumps with such an arti¬ 
cle; but their notions were changed when they saw it in 
operation. I consider it a valuable invention. The 
stumps that I undertook to draw had been cut some 4 
years, and not large. After breaking some of our com¬ 
mon log chains, I procured one made out of f inch bar, 
which I think will stand a stronger machine than mine: 
but on putting a double team to the rope, I broke the 
arms of the wheel; so I let it stand, and planted my 
corn, intending to renew the operation again. The arms 
were only 2 by 6 inches. I think a machine can be 
made strong enough on this principle to draw any ordi¬ 
nary stump after being cut 3 or 4 years. If any one 
thinks it too much on one side, which might be the case 
if the wheel is large, let him put a wheel at each end of 
the shaft outside of the posts, which will balance. He 
then may apply force to one or both wheels as the case 
may require. 
Chester county, Penn. 6 month 3, 1844. J. W. 
N. B. I think the machine described in the February 
number of the Cultivator, is about the right size. If he 
would frame a piece across, it would not require propping 
on the side of a hill, nor would the oxen pull it to pieces 
so easily. The piece may appear in the way, but the 
shaft being much larger, it will not be much obstruction 
to the chain. 
SOUR SOILS. 
I have just read the article of “ A. J. P.” in the last 
number of the Cultivator, and I wish to invite his atten¬ 
tion to one fact, which though not decisive perhaps on 
the subject, is certainly worthy of consideration. This 
fact came under my personal observation last year, and 
is as follows. On the farm of Dr. C. S. Button, of New¬ 
ark, Wayne county, N. Y., there was laid, ten years ago, 
about 150 rods of lead pipe for the conveyance of the 
water of a spring, from a hill side over a valley, to his 
dwelling. The water ran freely for nine years, and then 
became obstructed. The pipe was examined at various 
points, and found perfectly sound and uninjured, except 
on a part of the hill-side, where an abundance of sorrel 
grew ( Rumex acetosella ); here it was strongly corroded, 
and in several places actually eaten through, which 
caused the obstruction. This fact was the more striking, 
as all the other parts of the pipe were so little injured by 
time that even accidental scratches upon the lead re¬ 
mained unaltered. 
It can hardly be supposed that the corrosion was caused 
by the acid actually existing in the plant, brought into 
contact with the pipe, as the latter was buried from two 
to three feet below the surface. 
A. J. P. states that lime, “even if applied in immense 
quantities,” does not prevent the growth of sorrel. Lime, 
however, has been found greatly to lessen its growth. 
On the grounds of W. S. Dell of Junius, Seneca county, 
N. Y., which partake of the character of what is gene¬ 
rally known by the term sour soils, and where sorrel 
grows abundantly, the plentiful application of lime has, 
with the exception of a few straggling plants, caused its 
entire disappearance. 
There are some plants which are regarded as existing 
solely on sour soils; among these is the yellow pine, 
which immediately perishes if removed to those of a dif¬ 
ferent character; and even when a body of earth is car¬ 
ried with its roots, it only survives just so long as the 
roots are confined to this body of earth. The effect of 
lime on such a tree in its native locality, would be inter¬ 
esting to know. Sorrel (Rumex) will grow on land 
where the yellow pine perishes. Hence perhaps the 
reason lime does not wholly remove it. 
The preceding facts of course are not intended to de¬ 
cide this question, but rather to keep it in a state of sus¬ 
pense, until more is known. The great difficulty' of de¬ 
termining the constituents of the soil, and their various 
combinations, are not always duly estimated; the single 
fact, that distinguished chemists have made out, as they 
supposed, some twenty different substances constituting 
that particular portion of soil known as vegetable mould, 
and are still at variance on the subject, shows that these 
are matters not to be settled in a day. 
Macedon, N. Y., June 10. J. J. Thomas. 
To remove grease spots from a book, apply a quan¬ 
tity of pulverized prepared chalk or whiting, to the pa¬ 
per on one side, and then warm and melt the grease by a 
hot flat iron on the other side. As soon as the grease 
thus becomes liquid, the chalk will absorb it. 
