An acre of land cultivated in sorghum yields a greater tonnage of
valuable products than in any other crop, with the possible exception of
hay. Under ordinary methods of cultivation, ten tons of cleaned cane per
acre is somewhat above the average, but under the best cultivation the
larger varieties often exceed twelve, while the small early amber
sometimes goes below eight tons per acre. Let seven and a half tons of
cleaned cane per acre be assumed for the illustration. This corresponds
to a gross yield of ten tons for the farmer, and at two dollars per ton
gives him twenty dollars per acre for his crop. These seven and a half
tons of clean cane will yield:
750 pounds of sugar.
1,000 pounds of molasses.
900 pounds of seed.
1,500 pounds of fodder (green leaves).
1,500 pounds of exhausted chips (dried). A total of 5,650 pounds.
The first three items, which are as likely to be transported as wheat or
corn, aggregate 2,650 pounds per acre.
Sorghum will yield seven and a half tons of cleaned cane per acre more
surely than corn will yield thirty bushels or wheat fifteen bushels per
acre.
In the comparison, then, of products which bear transportation, these
crops stand as follows:
Sorghum, at 7½ tons, 2,650 pounds per acre.
Corn, at 30 bushels, 1,680 pounds per acre.
Wheat, at 15 bushels, 900 pounds per acre.
The sugar from the sorghum is worth say 5 cents per pound; the molasses,
1¾ cents per pound; the seed, ½ cent per pound.
The sorghum products give market values as follows:
750 pounds sugar at say 5 cents,[2] $37.50.
1,000 pounds molasses at say 1¾ cents,[2] $17.50.
900 pounds seed at say ½ cent,[2] $4.50.
Total value of sorghum, less fodder, $59.50.
The corn crop gives 1,680 pounds, at ½ cent $8.40.
The wheat crop gives 900 pounds, at 1 cent, $9.
[Footnote 2: The sugar sold this year at 5¾ cents per pound, the
molasses at 20 cents per gallon, and the seed at ---- per bushel
of 56 pounds. The seed is of about equal value with corn for
feeding stock.]
Thus it will be seen that the sorghum yields to the farmer more than
twice as much per acre as either of the leading cereals, and as a gross
product of agriculture and manufacture on our own soil more than six
times as much per acre as is usually realized from either of these
standard crops.
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A new process for producing iron and steel direct from the ore has been
brought out in Russia. Under the new process iron ore, after being
submitted to the smelting processes, is taken direct from the furnace to
the rolling mill and turned into thin sheets of the finest charcoal
iron. At present the process has only been commercially applied with
charcoal fuel, but experiments are stated to have shown that equal
success can be obtained with coke. The secret of the process lies in the
construction of the furnace, which is said to be simple and inexpensive.
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