C7>c RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Experience with Sorghum Sirup 
A Practical Pancake Sweet 
ULTIYATION IX WISCONSIX.—In a recent 
issue experience in raising ami mannfactnre of 
sorghnm for simp was asked for. I\Iy experience 
in raising sorghnm has been confined almost wholly 
to southern Wisconsin, hut I see no reason why it 
Avould not do as well in any state of the same lati¬ 
tude. It does well as far north as ^Minnesota and 
south as far as Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Select 
soil a little sandy hut not too dry. Do not plant on 
low land or too I'ich soil or freshly manured land un¬ 
less put on one year before the planting, or the sirup 
will be strong in flavor and dark in color. I’reparo 
the soil by thoroughly pulverizing to get a good seed 
bed. Plant two inches deep in rows ft. 10 in. by 
o ft, having the wide rows north and soutli to let in 
the sun, which helps mature the cane earlier. Plant 
Amber; I prefer the Plack Spranglehead. The clump 
or bunch head is good; 10 or 12 seeds in a hill, 
and then thin to five stalks when three inches high. 
If you get two or three spears as a stand in a hill do 
not i)lant over, as suckers will come later, and then 
thin to five stalks. Cane is rather slow to come and 
grows quite slow at first, but grows fast later on. 
IIAID'KSTIXC.—After the crop is matured the 
seed is black. It should be cut when the seed passes 
out of the dough and begins to harden quite a little. 
If the season is dry it ought to be cut. If wet it 
may stand a little longer. Cut before frost. Well- 
ripened cjine will stand quite a freeze. It should be 
strii)i)ed of leaves and immediately cut. When ready 
to cut take a knife-edged lath and beat off the leaves 
clean. Cut as close to the ground as you can with 
a corn hook .so as to leave a squai’e 
cut on the cane. It will keep better. 
Top the cane just below the first 
joint, as the top sap affects the color 
of the siru]). Make into sirup as 
soon as cut, if possible. If this can¬ 
not be done stand it up like a corn 
shock in the ffeld, or in the mill yard, 
as the air will circulate through it 
and it will be all right for 10 or 12 
days if it cannot be made up before. 
Never lay it fiat down exi)osed to rain, 
as it will pack together so tightly it 
will not dry out, and will mold and 
affect the quality of the sirup. Cane 
handles better if laid in small ])iles 
when cutting, butts all one way^ and 
then bind butts and top with twine. 
It will save time in handling. 
SHUT* - MAKIXC. — Making t h e 
siruj) is a very important part of the 
cane business. I have made as high 
as 5,000 gallons in one season, but 
usually about 8.000 gallons, and have 
found that hardly any two crops give the same grade 
of sirup, owing to .soil conditions. I use wood fuel, 
direct fire under pans; skimmer and finisher 80 
feet long .set on brick or cement arch, fire-brick, 
front, four-foot grate, and iise four foot wood; 12S 
cubic feet of soft wood will make about 100 gallons 
of .sirup. (Jood grade sirup depends on the way the 
sap is handled while the green scum is being taken 
out. I have used several kinds of evaporators, but 
the self-skimmer suits me best, for the reason that 
it reduces the labor one-half. Its mode of operation 
purifies the .sap thoroughly before it enters the fin¬ 
isher. Sirup to k(‘(‘i» well should be boih'd to weigh 
111/2 Cl’ l‘-2 Ib.s. to the gallon, and should be thoroughly 
cooked at a temperature just below scorching, which 
gives that finished flavor desired in .sorghum sirup. 
Sap can be evaporated without sufficient heat and 
then you will have a jelly-like sirui) which will not 
keep. One gallon per square rod is an average yield, 
though 200 gallons per acre or more is not \incom- 
inon. Sirup sells for about $1.25 per gallon at the 
present time. o. g. cKANUAni.. 
IVisconsin. 
Free Analysis of Farm Specimens 
AKDLY a week pa.sses without a letter from 
readers who have .some 'fertilizing substance 
to have analyzed. As manufacturing increases, 
more and more wastes are discovered. Some of 
them have real fertilizing value, and may be bought 
at times at a compai-atively low figure. They are 
sometimes offered by the owners at a low price in 
order to get rid of them, but fiirmers hesitate to 
buy, and lightly so, until they can have an analysis 
made so as to know just what they are doing. Many 
of these farmers feel that, especially in times like 
the.se, the State .should examine these .sub.stances and 
determine their value if they have any. A jn-ivate 
analysis generally costs more than the farmers are 
njacl- Jrrscii Rooster. Fif). 3/fG. See page 112. 
willing to risk on such a matter. When these sub¬ 
stances are sent to the Experiment Station, the usual 
reply is that no approiiriation has been made for 
doing work of this kind; therefore it is impossible to 
attend to it. All of the Stations do moi’e or less of 
this work Avheuever they can, but they cannot make 
this a .general practice because their laboratories are 
fullj' occupied, and such work costs considerable 
money. 
The State of Florida, however, has a system of 
doing much of this work free. Fnder the Florida 
supiilies will be m.ade by the State f'ommission. 
Anyone living in that State is permitted to draw 
samples from feed or fertilizer which he has pur¬ 
chased, and .submit them to the State laiboi-atory 
for free analysis. The State collects a fee of 25c a 
ton on all fertilizers and feeds .sold in the State 
legally. As stated, any pur(;haser ma.v send a sample 
of the fertilizer or feed to the State Chemist, with 
fair restriction with regard to samplin.g, so that ju.s- 
tice will be done to the manufacturer. For example, 
if I buy a (luantity of fertilizer, or an outfit of feed, 
and have any doubt about its (luality, I can draw a 
fair sample of the goods in the presence of witnesses, 
Block ./crsrii (JUtnt Hen. Fig. SlfH. See page 712. 
695 
send one sample to the State Chemist and deliver the 
other sample as a check. The State Chemist will 
make an anal.vsis fi’ee, and if it is found below gu.ar- 
antee I ma.v use his figures in demanding and secur- 
in.g a settlement. Free amil.vsis has also been made 
of mau.v substaiH'os. In the Florid.a annual report 
we find notice of 125 substiuices thus analyzed. They 
include water, soils, limestone, pliosiihate. rock, muck, 
whiskey, soap, meat and con tents of cows’ stomachs 
and of ,‘i chicken’s crop! 'Phis service was given 
freely and was of great benefit to Florida people. 
Florida is the first State to do such work. It ought 
to be extended and made a p.-ii't of evoiy experiment 
station’s duty. 
Making Sugar Beet Sirup - 
T o a beet su.gar maker of 10 years experience it 
looks as thoiygh the Ik S, Department of Agri¬ 
culture had set a lot of people to “barking up the 
wrong tree.” when it advises them about making a 
sirup at homo from beets. 
If a million dollar .sugar factory under chemical 
conti’ol and highly .skilled labor cannot produce a 
good edible .sirup from boc’^s without fir.st crystalliz¬ 
ing out the sugar to purify it, what sort of stuff is a 
novice likel.v to obtain? 
Here is the process used in sugar factories: The 
beets are washed, .sliced, diffused with hot water. 
Ilesulting juice is heated to coagulate albumen, lime 
is added, it is then carbonated with gas, filtei’ed 
through filter-presses, limed again, carbonated again, 
filtered again, and then is sulphured and filtered a 
third time. Thus clarified, the thin juice is evapo¬ 
rated under partial vacuum by steam heat until it 
is a thick sirup of a light yellow 
color. 
Surel.v this ])rocess produces a bet¬ 
ter grade of the beet sirup than any 
novice can hoi)e to make with his 
home facilitie.s. Yet, when people 
taste of this factory made sirup, a 
majorit.v will de.scribe the taste as 
iiastg. A few people will pronounce 
it i)alatable. Ih'ct juice contains bit¬ 
ter substances and potash salts which 
can only be separated by cry.stallizing 
out the su.gai-, which is just what the 
factory does in order to produce 
while gi-anulated sugar. The home 
m.ade sirui> is likely to bo darker in 
color and inferior to the factory pro¬ 
duct. 
A better way to utilize the .sugar 
beet at home is to cook and eat the 
laaffs; they contain about three times 
as much sugar as the red garden 
beet .and are i>referable. 
I Ix'lieve the onl.v ])ractic.al sources 
of home made .sirups are maple, sor.ghum and sugar 
cane; as these juices all have an agree.able flavor 
^\ ithout any ])articul,ar clarification, and they are 
probably more wholesome than the refined sugars. 
Over-refining of such foods as sugar, flour, and 
rice, i.s a bane of modern fashion—i.s exi)ensive, 
wasteful, .and only serves to give emi)lf)yment to 
more dentists and phy.sicians, and a few more re- 
finer.s, millers and middlemen. In the c.ase of beet 
sugar it is necessaiy to I'efiiu? it thoroughly in order 
fo make it palatable, but not .so with the sugars 
inentioiu'd. . clark. 
Ingham Co., Mich. 
Brush Burner 
E have h.ad a numhei’ of (piestions from i)eople 
who want to know' wliat a bru.sh burner is, 
and we have ])rinted one or two pictures showing 
devices of this kind. The j»icture at Fig. .‘144 is re¬ 
engraved from Farmers F.ulletin No. 1)17, which is 
issued by the Department (»f Agriculture at 'Wash¬ 
ington. This shows a bru.sh burner used in Cali¬ 
fornia. A trame is made of ii'on inping. lined with 
sheet iron body mounted on wagon. This is driven 
through orchard, and the primings thrown into the 
box. A fire is started .so that the prunings are slowly 
burned as the trees are trimmed. Then at intervals 
the ashes are thrown out to be used as a fertilizer. 
This .S'aves picking up the brush and burning it in 
great piles later on. and seems to give very good 
satisfaction. IMany other types of burners are made, 
freipiently by u.sing part of an old boiler, and mount- 
ing it on a sled or .stone boat. The object in every 
case is the same, and that is to burn up the trim¬ 
mings as fast as they are cut. 
Mitoii of the so-called seed corn is hardly good enough 
for feed. 
A Farm Woman''s Garden. Fig. S47. 
Fertilizer Law' free analysis of fertilizer .and feed 
