VOL. XIX.
\%INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, JAN 5, 1884
NO. 1.
INDIANA CANE   GROWERS.
Fall Report dP Proceedings nt Second
Ajuuuiil Session Hold In tills City,
December 20, 27 aud 28.
Addresses by Members nnd Visitors. Discussions nml Comments.—Work
of tho Association.
The Indiana Cauo drowers' Association,
like all our other Stato agricultural asso-
alatioiiB, is coinpoieU of men enthusiastic
oyer their work and full of business. Tho
three days they spent ln this city last
week, in second annual convention, wero
crowded full of addresses, talks, discussions, and questions and answers on a variety of sorghum subjects that tho uninitiated would scarcely dream of. That the
industry is rapidly growing is proven by
the number in attendance, thero being
three or four times as inanv as wero present at tho last meeting; and" that it has not
Set reached anything liko a perfect growth
i abundantly shown by the manifest in-
eomploteness of present systems of manufacture- of sugar aud syrup, aud by tbo
wholesalo cross-questioning among the
makers, who seemed to be as a rule very
uncertain as to tho best and most economical methods of doing a great many of lliu
things necessary to their business. In
tact, sorghum manufacturing ls yet in its
infancy. Thero is much to be taught and
much to bo learnod. Systems aro to be
discussed, this or that man's defecator or
evaporator to be tried, chemicals and combinations of chemicals for bleaching and
purifying to be experimented with, and
all the results of these trials to be brought
together and compared and used as tho
basis for new attempts, before sorgbnm
making can be reduced to the most paying
basil.. That such associations as the ono
that met here last week contribute largtly
to such results thero can bo no doubt; and
as the sorghum industry is one tbat Interests e*'ery farmer and "planter, as well as
.i-ie nn i that grind the cane, tho Indiana
FA-.M_.lt pro.Kises to devote considerable
attention to eane growing interests, and
freely offers space in its columns to any
that desire to &«k or answer questions or
discuss any subject iu connection therewith.
Tho association met ou Wednesday of
laat week in the rooms of tbe Stato Board
of Agriculture, aud tlrst after tho preliminaries wus tho
Ai)Di:i_.s op Tni: pi.f__ide.ct,
Ai Furnas, of Danville, Ind. lie said:
. The task before us, as cane growers, is
one of great significance. The peoplo of
the United States consume SlUO.OjO/JOO
worth of sugar yearly, three-fourths of
which conies Irom abroad, leaving about
ITi.OOi-.OOy aa the margin for us to work ou
before homo demand is satisfied. Our success is therefore- linked with a most important and profitable industry. That
there is much to bo learned in every, department augurs much for our ignorance.
There aro man}- pointsot diflerenco among
us; many points have been generally accepted aud afterwards proven to bo wrong.
There is much need of investigation. "Sor-
guin" has been a term of reproach, but the
tide of popular sentiment is now setting
in such a direction us to indicate better ac-
oeptauco iu the future. Improvement
must be our motto, and to improvo wo
must collect our knowledge. Our society
will give us accumulative intelligence.
' There is a strong demand for assistants
In Uio manufacture of syrup and sugar.
Tho active, intelligent man that has devoted some time to tlie *50>-ghuin business,
and has become reasonably expert, can
easily lind employment at wages as high
as ia paid to engineers aud other skilled
workmen iu places of trust and honor.;
Last fall I had a communication from Arkansas, inquiring for competent helpers
in sorghum making. The story of frost-?
k-illad Indiana cano had led Arkansas peo-
j_U  to thin..-   that our  skilled  s^rgUuia
\    • e*
vtorkers
would bo  over plenty  and thev      Mr. Horton:
.,         .            Tho ground that will raise, supplied by tho soil.
"were anxious to socuro them, oilering high   tho heaviest, soundest corn, without man-1 fed to  poultry and
wages for oillcient help. Thero is nn am
plo Held hero for wide-awake, enterprising
young men. Many of our manufacturers
are afraid to extend their business for wuut
of elUcient trusty help.
OFFICKIU4 FOlt 1S8..
After tho  president's  address,   officers
wero  elected for the  ensuing year as fol
Uriug, will ralso the best cuno.
C. M. Swnrlz, of Illinois: I prefer river und
Ik.Uoih   for  mnlier  eane, and   whlto oak
land  for  orange.   Wo must put tlio right
scod In the right soil.   I uso mauuro when
needful, with no ill results.
Mr.   Anderson:   I use  rich,   black  noil
well manured for   my cano, ami   can freo
Tho  crop ls usually
other stock  and their
I excrement is seldom   returned to the field
lows: President; A. Furnas, Danville; the resulting syrup of all Impurities by
vice-president,    E.    W.    Doming,   West  defecation.
Point; socrotarv, W. I-. Anderson, Ijuio- ' Mr. I-iotzman: Tho kind of soil, kind of
ga; treasurer, "W. F. Llotzmau, Center cane, mode of manufacturing and the
Valley. character of tho season, wet or dry, aro all
This was followed by a paper on the snb-  factors ln this   problem.   In a wet season
Joct "The ilydro-Carbous as Food," by       . fresh manure will injure tbe syrup.
tin. t. w. Johnson, I    At tho opening of tho mooting ou
of   Danville, Ind.    Dr.  Johnson's address ' tiiciisday mounino,
was a protty thorough scientific discussion o,0 discussion turned ou tho treatment of
of tbo subject,and included somo facts not „,„„• ■„ plaining, ltegarding tho soaking
weU understood by peoplo generally. Tho (>f B00<. tll0 testimony eonllictod. Somo
substance of what ho said is hero givon:     j jllui foima n  \im, nov(.r to „,>__ und gave
There Is food for the body andfood for a, _ reiu,on that In case of sudden wot
tho mind. They aro always combiued.but 1 weather, making it impossiblo to sow aud
ln varying proportions, and the character,' thus leaving the sprouting seed on hand,
of tho kinds of food most largely used by ' ti,ev wcr0 vcrv „pt _,, Bpol'. This was Int.t
a given ppoplo can always show an equlv- ' i)V ti10 Htatemcnt that the seed could bo
alentiu the-character of that people, 'lhe dried out after soaking aud kept iudeli-
inllu.nce.pf food and diet cjin bo distinctly j uiteiy. As to the amount sown, Dr. Fur-
traced in the savagoandin tho civilian. ,,lils w)Wi ;-,;<; pounds lo tho acre, and Mr.
Food is divided into two classes; lirst, in- Doming 1(1 pounds. Mr. I), thought that
trogenous (including albuminoids etc.) ,10t ,„ore tlmn half of tho H(H.(i coul,| orai.
and second, hydro-carbons, (including 1Kirilv be depended on to sprout. Several
fats, oils, sugars, etc.). A preponderance recommended thorough cultivation, using
of  nl rogenous  food dovoleps the typical • t_,„ p*ow when possible.
brain of  tho wild man and heathen,—nn-     ,        .     ,, *    __   	
certain, vleldlng to fAtoand eLAm^nuablo l VI'" *n r<- T* N'10'""
to grasp "hard facts.   Hydro-carbons doter-      Ky Invitation, Dr. Itrown, of the Indiana
mine the lymphatic, quiet, watchful,studl-   Farmer,   read a paper on "Tho Eflbcta of
ous, fact  seeking minds of  tho races that I Sorghum Culture ou tho  Soil."   Wo givo
go to tho soil for their food.   Nitrogenous i it verbatim.
food   furnishes  tho supply demanded bv      Tho  sorghum  saechtiralum of  tho bota-
wasting  tissues.   Hvdro-carbons  furnish   nists   has been  generally  grouped in tho
the actual force and heat supply for all
muscular and mental exertion. Tho predominance of either in dailv food determines, to a great extent, tho character of the
consumer. The relative amounts of each
requisite for a man in a normal state aro
not easy of determination. A very small
proportion of nitrogenous foods is required, as there Is very littlo actual tissuo
waste. An average man needs about 300
grains of nitrogenous nourishment .and
4,800 of hvdro-carbons in 2. hours, tho proportion being thus about 1 to 1G. As u
people, wo aro using too great a proportion
of nitrogenous foods, and thus are robbing  , .,   j 	
the soil unnecessarily of its properties of j prepared to shoot out a now stalky In this
fertility. Hydro-carbons aro all drawn
from tne air; tho sugar that you get from
your cane conies from tho air, and does not
exhaust tho soil. Tho United Suites is
growing grandly—at the rate of $2,300,000a
day—in actual wealth, but It comes from
tbe soil and cannot bo replaced. What
part ot our wealth comes from the cane industry, from syrup and sugar, is not oniy
needed as food but is an absolute gain
from an inexhaustlblo source of supply,
tho air. '
REMARKS.
In reply to a query, Dr. J. stated that tho
sugar of the cano camo entirely from tho
air. The leaves and stalks aro largely from
the soil.
. Mr. Anderson: I know of a piece, of land
that has had cane on it 24 years in succession, and is now as good as now.
Dr. Johnson: It is so with a dairy.   But-
same family with tho "Indian" corn (r.ea
maize), but some have placed it with tho
niillcts. Its botanical character, however,' allies it with a specilie group com-
l*osod of several varieties each of broom
corn, doura (or Egyptian corn), and sorghum, embracing the impheo variety.
With all of theso it readily cross fertilizes,
producing proline hybrids. In somo of
its habits it very nearly approaches the
xacchariiittm ojficinarum, or tropical sugar
cane. Unllko tho maizo and most of the
millets, when It has ripened its seed, tho
stalk dies only to tho first joint below tho
panicle, whilo at each joint below this it is
It shown Its tropical lineage. Its deep and
strong roots, also, indicato tho purposo of
sustaining moro than ono summer's stalk,
leaf and seed. In a climate freo from
frost, it may be readily propagated by layers after tho manner of raising tho tropical
cane.
Tho sorghum, liko all its congeners, has
a strong root-, penetrating tho soil deeply,
and on a fertile soil making a rapid growth
aud producing a heavy crop. Pretty well
authenticated reports of 40 tons per aero
have boen made, and all this was the product of but about four mouths'growth. I
need not say that If all this bo removed
from tbo soil without adequate return, its
cultivation must bo very ejthausting to
tho land cultivated. It should bo remembered, however, that of this great weight
of crop at least 70 per cent, is water. An
average crop of  sorghum is about 15 tons,
ter comes mainly from the air and does not and of  tho early  amber less  than  that
exhaust the soil.   Stock feoding does.
Dr. Furnas:   Maple syrup deranges the
svstem,   while  sorghum   does not.   Sor-
g°hum is very health giving.
■ Mr. Clark:  Why does one piece of  land
produce moro sugar than another?
Dr. Johnson: Because tho plant must be
made before tho sugar can be formed.
ltegarding tho kind of soil best adapted
to the growing of cane. Mr. Osborne said:
Cano grown on rich soil Is largo, but whito
After subtracting 70 per cent, of water.we
havo left but 11,000 pounds' of dry matter,
which is not a very large draft on tho soil.
But if sorghum be cultivated for tho manufacture of sugar or syrup, and tho refuse
returned to tho soil, the loss will bo very
small. In fact, if nothing but the sugar is
retained and tho entire crop besides returned to the field that produced A, there
would be no actual loss; for pure sugar
leaves no ash on being burned, and there-
ttnd pithy on tho insido; the quantity of j fore has nothing iu it that came from the
juice is not projiortionato to tho size of "tho soil. Sugar is a simple hydro-carbon
j stalk, and tho quality and color of tho | mado from the elements of carljonie acid
juice are not up to the standard. The best aud water which the plant obtained cither
land is alight clav or sandy sugar. treo directly or indirectly from tho air. But
soil. Fresh stable manure deteriorates the : tho crop is not raised wholly for Its sugar,
lyrup. I There is always a considerable  amount ot
i Mr, Gates: I find tbat. white oak clay seed, which is a truo cereal, and, like other
land or gravelly sugar ground U befit for grains, rich iu potash aud the phosphates
sorghuiu cane. of lime aud magnesia;   allot   which v.«re
Is therefore lost tho soil. The solid
matter of the stalk contains a largo amount
of mineral substances drawn exclusively,
from tho ground where lt grow; anil
whether sorghum shall bo considered an
exhaustive crop or not will de'icnd on tho
disposal which tho farmer makes of this,
waste material. It it bu carefully returned
to tho soil and plowed under to rot, the'
soil will bo constantly enriched in organic
matter, and but lightly taxed in its mineral elements. But it must bo borne in
mind the sorghum has a stronger incrustation of sillelous matter than any of our
Held crops, except, perhaps, its cousins tho
broom corn and doura; and on this account it decays slowly when returned to
tho soil; ami*even in the compost heap if
requires eighteen months or two years to
rot lt perfectly. This fact that sorghum
draws strongly on tho soluble silica of the
soil, should give us a hint to follow lt with
somo crop which has an uuglazed stem.
Tho bagasse from tho mill may be burned
and tho ashes returned to the soil, thus
securing the mineral elements of tho crop
in a form available for immediato usu, but
with tho loi-s of tho organic matter.
The deep penetration of tho central roots
of tho sorghum, and tho heavy mass of superficial roots will operate favorably for
tbo supply of mineral to shallow rooted
subsequent crops. If a sorghum crop is
cut in September and the ground unmed--". '
utcly leveled witii a heavy harrow, and
Bowed in wheat with clover tho noxt
spring, and the clover followed tho second
vear with corn, tho ground will bo found
In excellent condition. If tho bagasse has
boen composted, it may bo spread after the
removal of the clover crop, nnd immediately turned under, cither for a wheat
sowing the same fall or for a corn crop the
next spring. With some such rotation as
this sorghum culture will hardly oxhaust,
the soil as rapidly as corn farming. But'
with careless, wasteful cultivation, the-
crop may well be considered an exhaustive^
ono. ' ■■' _
EX-OOVEI-NOIl COLEMAN,
of   Missouri, being  present/was called ou
for a few remarks,   lie said:
I havo attended a considerable number
of moetings of cano growers West and
.South, and havo nover seen a moro erithu--
siastic convention than this one. In yorir
work as sorghum growers you havo much:
to opjiose. There Is a prejudice against
sorghum that must bo overcome. There"
is u large working field for sorghum men.
Wepay other countries annually $140,000,-'
000 for sugars and syrups. Tho'beot sugar,
industry iu tho United States has proven
to bo a "failure. Beets aro hard to ralso
successfully and besides aro exhaustive tol
tho soil. Sorghum cano is the opposite.
It is ..reasonably sure crop, and is not exhaustive. It lies with the cano growers of
tho North and West to supply this largo
demand for sugars. The planters of tho
South are unskillful, - not economical,
thriftloss and lazy, and cannot compote
with Northern producers ina faintrial., •
To make a success at syrup making do two
things: First, mako a good articlo; second,
drum it over tho country as wholesale inen:
drum their wares.
[COXCLUIJED SBXT WE-K.]        ,    \.   .
Experience with Sor_rl_un-. <•"    .
Editors Indiana Farmer:     . ; ,
I seo there is much interest taken in,
sorghum and somegood articles havo been
written on thesubject. Icouldnotbo attho
converition but will ■ givo some experience
for .tho farmers. I have been manufacturing molasses 18 years aud raising cane for
25 years. I havo"worked tho cauo Irom the
samo patch for 18 years, and tho same
plot has been planted to cano for 23 years,
and there seems to be no aeed of any fertilizer. Thero has beon but one application
of manure the whole time. The molasses
la mucli : better than when first planted
and < seems tu improve each year. The
orange cane seems to be the .best of all wo
havo tried, if planted ou good soil and
started early. ■       SS. P.
Ladoga, Montgomtry county, D«_a. 2.