Newspaper Page Text
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THE SOUTHERN WORLD, DECEMBER 1, 1882.
Norglium Sugar.
A committee of the National Academy of
Science has made a report upon the “scien
tific and ecunomic relations of the sorghum
sugar industry,” which appears elsewhere.
The committee find as a result of their in
vestigation that the analyses made in the
department of agriculture not only confirm
the fact of the presence of sugar in the juices
of 8orgham and maize in notable quantity,
but they.also establish the fact that the sor
ghum yields in its juice, when taken at the
proper stage, about as much cane sugar ns
the best sugar cane of tropical regions. The
committee also establishes the fact that the
cane (sorghum), when sugar iB the object,
should be free from suckers and immature
stalks, should be cut when the seed nre ripe
and should be worked up immediately. The
prevailing opinion has been that the cut
stulks might be stored away for weeks after
cutting without any resulting lossordetri
ment, and it was even contended that such
delay and “seasoning” of the cane would
give better results. It was further found
that the idea that has prevailed that the ef
fect of rain would be manifest in the diluted
juice, and that conversely a prolonged
drought would result in concentration and
dimunition of the juico is utterly unfounded
in fact, and incorrect. The chief difficulty
in the way of crystalizing the sugar from
sorghum and maize is the presence of n pe
culiar gummy substance which is formed
during the process of manufacture. The
committee express confidence in the commer
cial success of the sorghum sugar industry
nnd recommend still further investigation
into the effect of fertilizers on the growth of
sorglium and maize, variety of soil best
adapted to the production of sugar in those
plants, the methods of defecation, and the
use of lime or some other alkaline agent.
We fail to see anything of value in the
deductions of the committee that was not
before either known or within easy discov
ery of the practical sorghum sugar grower.
It has been generally agreed for years past
that sorghum cane contains a large percen
tage of cane sugar,but no method has yet been
devised by which the sugar can be cheaply
nnd certainly rendered. The difficulty
of crystalizing the sugar owing to the pres
ence of gummy substances has all the time
been the chief and insurmountable obstacle
in the way of success, and the committee do
no more than recommend “further investi
gation." This is very well, and we are hope
ful that some cheap nnd certain process of
manufacture that will overcome this diffi
culty may soon be discovered.
In regard to maize sugar the report is not
so encouraging, since it does not endorse the
enthusiastic views of the late Commissioner
of Agriculture, Gen. Le Due, who, if we re
member correctly claimed that crystalized
sugar from cornstalks could be produced at
a cost of VA cents per pound, nnd that the
corn-stalk juice yielded an average of over
ten per cent of its weight in crystalized
sugar. We are hopeful of the sorghum sugar
prospect but have little faith in ordinary
maize in competition with sorghum, tropi
cal cane and sugar beets. B.
Reduce The Cost of Labor.
As “there are more ways of killing a dog
than joking hint to death on butter," so
there am other ways of reducing the cost of
labor than simply to reduco the daily or
monthly wages paid. Indeed wo think that
low priced labor is rarely cheap labor in the
true sense. As a rulo, in any community
where wages are low—compared to the actual
cost of living—production is either stinted
in amount or unprofitable in flnnl results.
The wages paid to labor must necessarily be
limited by the net results to the employer,
and this consideration controls the price
paid, even more than the absolute efficiency
of the labor. There are thousands of the
better class of Negro laborers now working
in our cotton fields for eight to ten dollars
per moftth and rations—in all about twelve
to fourteen dollars—whose labor, the same
in amount and skill, would command twice
as much in New York or Massachusetts.
Why is this? Decause the system of farming'
that has heretofore prevailed in the South
has not been sufficiently remunerative to
enable the farmer to pay higher wages. In
fact, he has been paying relatively higher
wages—higher in proportion to net results—
than are regularly paid in tho North, where
ordinary field laborers, no better than our
best, receive twice or thrice as much. The
common complaint throughout the 8outh is
of the inefficiency, of Negrojabor; but it is
well to consider if the farmer is not more to
blame for the unprofitable results of labor
than the laborer himself. The object of
every thinking farmer should be to produce
the greatest results in proportion to the cost
of operating. Now on the ordinary cotton
farm, the cost of labor, low at it it, is the
chief item of expense in making a crop, and,
it may seem strange to say, it is less under
our absolute control than any other item.
AVe must pay sufficient wages to support the
laborer, whether his labor is efficient or not,
or discharge him. But if we connot make
him work better we can at least make his
work more effective by providing good plows
nnd hoes nnd other farm implement, by high
manuring and skillful management on our
pnrt. In doing this we nre simply reducing
the cost of labor by taking such measures or
adopting such a system as are under our
control, and which will enhance the value
of the results of labor. The element of labor
is thereby rendered less prominent as kn
item in the expense account. AVe invest
more in improved methods, mow in fertil
izers, more in live stock, more in improved
implements, and allow the investment in
labor to remain the same. This is one se
cret of Mr. Furman’s success and is an im
portant factor in solving the problem of how
to render labor efficient. It requires about
as much lnbor to prepare and cultivate an
acre that will yield only one fourth of a bale
of cotton as it will to do tho same work with
the addition of enough manure to increase
the yield to one bale per ncre. It will re
quire some lnbor, of course, to distribute the
manure, but this will be small compared to
tho result, and will be more than compen
sated by the increased yield. The invest
ment in good manures, especially composts,
is the best investment that a farmer makes;
it generally yields from twenty-five to one
hundred percenton cost of manure, includ
ing all labor and cost of materials. It is,
then, tho policy of the farmer to increase
his amount of the investments that yield
the greatest profits, just as the merchant en
deavors to increase the sales of such goods as
give the best returns. Just in proportion as
he does this his business prospersand he will
grow rich. This will inevitably lead him to
what is known as high farming or the “in
tensive system.” Indeed this U high farm
ing- B
promptly. As fast as cut out each piece
should be thoroughly rubbed with salt and
spread on shelves or boards until early next
morning when they should be packed as
closely and in as large a bulk as possible fill
ing all the vacant spaces with salt. Saltpe
tre is not indispensable, but a teaspoonful
to each joint gives the lean parts a fine col
or and greater firmness besides assisting to
preserve the meat. AVe would advise its
use by applying it to the flesh side near the
bone of each “joint."
ncKi.ED romc.
AVe have often wondered why farmers in
the extreme South do not practice the plan
of keeping pork in pickle for summer use.
AVitli ordinary precaution there is no diffi
culty in preserving it sound and sweet for
any reasonable length oftime. By adopting
this method large hogs, even, may be butch
ered in March, if not fat before that time.
Pickled pork is fully equal, and many think
it superior to, the best bacon. It is espec
tally adapted for boiling with vegetables. A
tight barrel aud plenty of good salt are all
the accessories that are absolutely necessary,
provided—the pork is on hand ; for like the
recipe for cooking a rabbit you must first
“catch the rabbit," and we fear many of our
readers are without the hog.
It is also a good time to put down a few
barrels of corned beef in order next summer
to vary the monotony of a daily diet of west
ern bacon. B.
Intensive Farming.
Farm Work for December.
“hog killing.”
This month brings no special duties for
the attention of tho farmer, if we except the
butchering of hogs. In the sunny South
probably more hogs are killed in January
than in any winter month, for the reason
that our hogs are usually not “fat enough to
kill” in December. But this ought not so to
be. Although January is usually a colder
month than December, it does not follow
that pork killed during the former month
will be more likely to keep well. On the
contrary, the experience of those who have
tried both is in favor of the earlier killing,
becauso the weather is not apt to be too
cold for the salt to “strike well” and the pork
can be hung up and thoroughly dried before
tho skipper fly makes its appearance in the
spring. Fat hogs killed in December make
cheapor pork than when killed a month
later, because a given quantity of corn or
other feed will produce more flesh and fat
if fed during mild weather.
Hogs ought to
be fat by the first of December; and it is poor
economy to continue to feed them from the
corn-crib after they are fat enough for good I “““"‘f 1 ™ lwu ua,eso1 cotton-
pork and the weather is cold and otherwise ° nly
AVe do not propose to write an essay under
this trite caption, but having just finished a
careful second reading of the capital address
of Mr. F. C. Furman, (which we had heard
delivered at Marietta,) we wish to present a
few thoughts that have been thereby sug
gested. Mr. Furman claims to have made a
success in intensive farming, to the extent
at least of demonstrating that by high ma
nuring our ordinnry worn uplands can be
brought up to the capacity of one and a half
bales of cotton per acre. AVise and reliable
gentlemen have visited liis farm since the
address was delivered, and they testify that
the actual yield of Mr. Furman’s farm
when all is gathered, will probably equal if
it does not exceed his August estimates. So
far, so good. No proof was needed to con
vince the Intelligent, reading farmer that
such results were attainable—on small areas
at least; but most farmers have been slow
to believe that the system of high farming
could be so rapidly extended to so large an
area even,as 65 or 85 acres. This much, then,
has been accomplished: Mr. Furman hn£
verified his own expectations and proved to
the incredulous and doubting mind that a
bale of cotton, and even more, may be pro
duced from each of sixty-five acres of worn-
out land. This result has been reached, too,
in only five years. Let us tabulate the an
nual showings of the sixty-five acres:
1st year no manure 8 bales
2d “ 500 lbs compost per acre.... 12
3d “ 1,000 “ “ “ 23
4th “ 2,000 “ “ “ 47
5th “ 4,000 “ “ “ say 80
Considering the quantity and quality of
the compost used the annual increase in the
yield of cotton does not appear remarkable.
During the four years in which tho compost
was applied, the aggregate amount applied to
each acre was 7,600 pounds. In the same
four years the aggregate increased yield of
each acre over the natural production of the
unassisted soil was just two bales of cotton—
are
not generally understood. Hogs intended
for killing should fast for from twelve to
twenty-four hours preceding the fatal mo
ment The water should be heated to a
temperature of from 150 to 170 degrees Fah-
land would have produced without the ma
nure. This result does not strike us as re
markable, certainly not incredible, in the
light we have endeavored to present it. i , „ .. . . —
Each pound of lint cotton has reauired 7W 8 ^ stetn M ** “ een recommended and
j e * . . 1 I iAIKrht fnp vaavo In UaU J «
the amount applied. When a small amount
of fertilizer or manure is applied the grow
ing crop appropriates nearly all of it; and
the larger the application the greater will be
the proportion left in the soil. This is just
the principle upon which Mr. Furman’s re
sults are based and upon which rests all sub
stantial soil improvement. In his essay he
well puts it thus:
“Ascertain carefully and accurately what
elements, organic and inorganic, it requires
to make a given crop, and in wbat propor
tion of each, then make your manure for
that crop so that it will return to the soil
what the crop takes, in the proportions in
which each element is taken, being careful
to return each time a little more than the
crop takes away. Now thisis not difficult to
do, and doing this is intemive farming.’’ We
would amend the above dictum a little. Al
though it is perfectly practicable to ascertain
from reliable tables of analyses “what ele
ments, organic and inorganic, it requires to
make a crop, and in what proportion of
each," it is not practicable for every farmer
to mako a compost that •“ will return to the
soil what the crop takes in the proportion
in which oach element is taken.” Nor is it
necessary to be very accurate even were it
possible. A farmer may safely rely on re
turning to the soil tho nnimal manures re
sulting from feeding the crops grown on the
soil and the cotton seed and other similar
products, with the addition of phosphoric
acid. He may, if he desires, institute a sys
tem of tentative manuring with the view to
ascertain what elements and in what pro
portions give the best results when applied
to the soil. This method is comparatively
slow, but is sure; and far superior to chemi
cal analysis of the soil in determining what
is needed by the latter.
This leads us to consider the merits of Mr.
Furman's formula, as it is now called. In
this we find nothing new—it being substan
tially the same formulaas that recommended
and published by the Commissioner of Agri
culture for six years past. Indeed, Mr, Fur
man does not claim originality, and we pre
sume he does not insist upon the exact pro
portions. It is certainly by no means im
portant that the formula, as given by him or
announced by the Department of Agricul
ture, be strictly followed in putting up a
compost. It is intended only as a general
guide in the formation of a compost, which ^
may be varied between wide limits, accord-
to each farmer’s relative supply of the sev
eral ingredients.
In conclusion we would not seem to inti
mate that every farmer or even more than
a very small per centage of farmers, is so
situated that they can do as Mr. Furman is
doing, and on as large a scale. We are in
formed that he lias convenient access to a
livery stable in the city of Milledgevllle, •
from which he gets the larger part of his ma
nure at merely nominal rates. He charges
the compost nothing on this score. He may
and probably does command more ready
cash capital in proportion to the area culti
vated than many farmers can command.
But he evidently has what every farmer
should have—plenty of pluck and energy.
He is enthusiastic in his chosen pursuit. He
may fail, after all, to grow rlbh by farming,
but he will have marked the way for others
to follow, and they may avoid his errors and
mistakes and profit by bis example. The
whole country—North, South, East and
AVest—has been aroused by the publication
of his essay, and many farmers will adopt
the " Furman plan ” next year. To all such
we say, go flow. Commence as he did the
second year and do not attempt to start
abreast with him at the beginning of the
sixth year, but build up surely and without
risking all on a single die. There is nothing
new in the “ Furman system." He is sim
ply illustrating—with great intelligence and
marvellous nerve and energy the “ intensive
... - . pounds of compost to produce it. which is at f* u 6ht for years in books and agricultural
renheit-preferably about 160-and kept at the rate of increase of one hundred pounds iournal8 ’ and practiced on a le «* extensive
that Dolnt during the scnldW r, . . ,ureu poimas , . , , .
scale by others who have gone before.
B.
S&EStiS* 8 ¥ 8C ? ldlDg Pr0CC ^ by of seed cotton for each two hundred and fifty
addition of hot or cold water as may be nec- pounds of compost applied. This is much
essary. or the purpose of regulating the less than the average Increase by the use of ’ 8lnce the above was written we have been In
temperature, a thermometer is almost indis- composts when applied in comnarativnlv ( orme<,b 3 r Mr. pu rman that be does not get manure
pensable. A little tar, turpentine or ashes small amounts «. ® ora P ar “ tlve Jy |™ m .“ urces 0Ut,We hl > ,Rrn *- He bas, however,
IrL'n'af "rToT ** 52lBSKl manure tromnvea horaee and mnlee.
merciful way to ki!u hog b to kn«k "iTm orAkrioSturooM^ ^ ^ ?° ramlMlone1, Tl '° Slate tairot South Carolina, atColum-
fu tho head with one blow of a large ham nmfn^rioil’n/rh™ 0 ^’ 8A ® ,re(ut «*' bta > attracted the largeet crowd that haa ala*
ro°^Tn,,r\,;;“ dShoSg” I tsstsa ZTd 1 ”'^ "I I *srz
departments were well represented. The ex
hibition of live stock was good, and the show
very attractive,
was a success.
they should, if possible hong until thorough post applied EvervZT™ ? I COm ' Wb,tlon ° f H ve stook was «°
ly cold as the -utting out process wUl£ RulTtL^ncreiZ° f a * ricultural machinery
thereby greatly facilitated. If the weather, Lure of imy kind Xnot^Ktfn^Ta** n*' 6 falr in every re8peot
however, is only moderately old, It will be corresponding or proportion^ mtesof°£ ° re “‘P» i “ ,s n d “« the energy and enterprise
safer to cut up the carcasses pretty soon so crease in the yield. The larger tlfeannllil « F*' P ' D,,ncan - P res,dent . »" d T. W
that the "animal heat” wfll escape more 1 Won the less the per centage of ilc^Le X ,n ‘ ere8t8 ° f the