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No. 9.Tits Solatium Convention.a/. In our report of the proceedings of tho meet^ ing of tho State Boaid of Agriculture, aw the delegates from county Agricultural Secio ties, wo omitted any report of the discuasioi art on the Sorghum aud its products, on the ac rta* count of tire Inteness of the hour when tin re. Convention adjourned. We hare since beei fiivored with a report by a gentleman, whlt; my was present and noted the principal point 'nS made in the discussion.—Indiana Journal. nso THE SOHO HUM DISCUSSION.I of The Delegates from the County Agricul tural Societies met, on Friday evening, at • College Hall, to exchange opinions on the Sor ' ghum question.life, Mr. Dennis presented an iron roller, whicfc snd was covered with tin, by a process whkl me would render the covering us durable as thlt; out ro^er‘tae^* The object of this improvement was, to prevent tho acid in the juice from dis-P°** coloring it which it would certainly do with ive tho iron roller. Every one who had used on them had observed how soon the bright roll-the or blackened by exposure to the air aftei pressing cane, aud when again used, how er~ soon the roller again become o right. In such tof cases the acid combines with the iron, prodo* his cinga rust, which was incoporated in the . 0f juice when the roller is again used. Hence . the difference in the color of tlie molasses made when the juice had beeu expressed by lu_ wooden and iron rollers.•- Ir. Warder, of Cincinnati, expressed hissatisfaction with tho improvod roller. it , showed in the end, every difficulty in the ° way of success with the Sorghum would be aid overcome. He entered into a chemical ex-rt, planatioti of the causes which rendered tha er, discoloration of the juice very certain when the iron roller was used, and he had always had doubts of their suitableness, but the t0 roller exhibited by Mr. Dennis showed that its the difficulty had been overcome. Tho present year had been so extremely unfavorable to tlie growth of the cane that no material progress had been made over that of last year, but although at first, ho had doubted success, he now hoped that it would yet be f if completed.,jl* Dr. II row a spoke at considerable length on the nature of the cause. In a green state it contained gum and acids, which had *een so troublesome to those who had been experimenting. Both thoso were converted into sugar by the refining process, aud hence it became an important object to so cultivate the plant as to perfect its growth as much as -®0 the season would permit. The soil and cultivation should be the best. Every side shoot should be carefully removed, as it cannot be matured, and one of these in a dozen of perfect stocks would prevent the crystali-zation of all.ed He then adverted to the action of the acids on iron rollers, and on iron boilers. Tho roller shown by Mr Deunis would prevent discoloration, because these acids did not act n“ on tin. By neutralizing these acids, with lime or soda, before the juice wa3 put into iron boilers, such boilers could be used as ^ well as any other.He sDoke highly of tho cane as a fodder ’ crop. Ho had fed it to hogs, cows and horses all of which have thrived well upon it, and »h seemed to prefer it to corn. For his cows he [s liad cut it in small pieces, in the beginning of ’ the winter, mixing it with their bran, and ' each had increased in milk about one quart * h- day.jr- Dr. Warder remarked that his experience of the sorghum, as a fodder crop, was very different. His pigs seemed to relish it, but his horse would Dot touch it. A fodder crop must be for winter purposes, and it must be easily cured. Iu those qualities there i9 no crop at all equal to that of corn.Mr. Boilman concurred in the opinion just expressed by Dr. Warder against the sorghum os a fodder crop. Year before last he had raised about three acres of cane, and after feeding stock hogs with cut up corn, until they began to improve, he fed them with as much sorghum as they would cat until the hard freeze of the 18th of October. The hogs were fond of it—some preferring the seeds and others the stalk—but he could not see that they improved on it. After the 18th of October, he turned them on the cane yet remaining, and not a stalk was eaten. They consumed the seed, but not rapidly, prefonng blue grass.At the same time he had steers, four and a half years old, and they eat tho blades, but could not cat the stalk on accounk^fitshardness. He had to cut it up in pieces about six inches long for horses, and they would cat throe or fourata time and leave the rest. He had fed them so often with tho same result that ho was satisfied the sorghum would not be valunble as a forage crop.Tho reason ho believed to be that sugar was not the proper condition of the plant for fattening purposes. Thaer and other European writers havo stated that the cattle eat greedily the sugar beet, but sooner or later they entirely refuse it This fact indicates that starch and the oils and not sugar, are the prop or forma of vegetable growth for fattening purposes.A gentleman whose name we did not learn, continued the discussion, by detailing various experiments in planting, cultivating and manufacturing the cane, but they differed in nothing from mauy others already given to the public.The remarkable excellence of the new crop f of Ixusiana sugar and molasses show how I great is the difference of the product from a perfectly matured cane, and an imperfect one. l’ho crystallization of the sugar and taste of 1 the molasses almost entirely depend on the complete maturity of the plant, and, hooce, until a season comes which will enable our farmers to grow such a mature plant, no success can be hoped for.
Newspaper Details
Delphi Weekly Journal
Delphi, Indiana, US
Wed, Jan 19, 1859
Page 5
Full Page
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Anonymous
USA 01 Jan 2024
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