ner of forwarding samples of grape juice and wine to this department for examination. By not carefully excluding the external air, the liquid becomes spoiled while in transitu. Mr. Heald calls the grape of this wine the Fox grape; but this term is hardly specific enough, as in various localities different varieties of vine receive this title. No information of the exact grape yielding the juice sent from Albany, examined as above, could be obtained. The chief value of such analyses reverts to the individual, and is of little public good.

Before agriculture can hope to attain a rational amount of assistance from chemical science, there must exist the closest possible union of the field and the laboratory. It is not sufficient to know merely what amount of mineral elements is contained in a root or a grain crop, and whether the soil contains such total quantities, to answer the question whether that crop can be grown profitably on that soil. As regards the plant, it is necessary to know, in addition, at what period of growth any or all of these elements are taken up from the soil; and on the part of the soil, it is requisite to know whether it can eliminate the quantity needed at the time required. Many soils contain every mineral eleinent which a crop requires, but are so slow in decomposition that the crop fails for want of the supply at the right time. Now, to ascertain these wants, and the time when they are felt, experiments on the growing plants should be made almost weekly; and thus a constant communion of work between the chemist and the agriculturist is called for, in order to work out a complete solution of the questions arising in the history of the growth of any of our food crops. This has already been attempted by Professor Anderson, in connection with the Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland, upon two of the most common cropsturnips and potatoes; and though his experiments are neither wholly exhaustive ror of conclusive value here, yet, as examples of the road which chemistry and agriculture must travel together for mutual benefit, they are invaluable, and stand as models for future work. The opportunities which this department enjoys, in the possession of a garden and farm, which may be placed in connection with the laboratory, particularly favor this line of investigation; and arrangements have been made, in conformity with the foregoing expression of views, to ascertain the ratable growth and mineral appropriation of some of our most common crops, at different and progressive stages of their growth. Analyses of crops made.in Europe are uncertain guides on this continent, and serve only for general results. Before we have exact knowledge of the wants of our crops, it will be necessary to make, beforehand, a series of analyses similar to those alluded to above; for, inasmuch as the climate of Europe and mode of cultivation differ from those on this continent, so will the proximate principles, in relative amount, differ even in the same species cultivated in both places. The influences of season and climate in developing one set of principles, and of delaying the appearance of another, have been as yet but little studied in our country. It is proposed, during the coming summer, to make a series of analyses on a few of our growing crops, in order to ascertain and determine some of the physiological conditions in the life of these plants; and as the sugar interest is one of great importance in the United States, preparations have been made, by the selection of pure French seed for planting on the farm of the department, to examine the growth of the sugar beet, in reference to the appearance of the sugar in the juice, so as to be able to determine its ratable increase, and the point of growth at which the amount is highest. It is proposed to apply the same mode of analysis to growing sorghum; and thus, having soil, manure, and cultivation of these two valuable sugar-yielding plants under observation and control, it is confidently hoped that some results valuable to American agriculture will be obtained.

Sugar plants.-The lateness of the season when I entered on duty prevented any experiments on the fresh plants. During the early spring, some experiments upon an improved mode of clarifying sorghum juice and sirups were carried out in the laboratory by Mr. William Clough, of Cincinnati, the able editor of the

Sorgo Journal. The improvement consists in the use of metallic salts, of high specific gravity, which, in their passage through the hot and neutralized liquor, carried downward, by their mechanical effects, all impurities, and in a few minutes produced a clear and fine looking sirup. The insolubility of the preparation used as the clarifier serves as the protection to the sugar liquid, so that no poisonous or unpleasant impregnation can occur. Mr. Clough's experiments were satisfactory and successful.

A portion of the sorghum grown in the garden during the past summer, after having been cut in August, was stacked on the ends, stripped of the outer loose leaves, and left in this condition out of doors in the early winter. In the months of December, 1866, and January following, several of these stalks were examined in the laboratory, with a view to ascertain what change had been effected by the exposure to the air, and the occasional night frosts of the late fall. The general result was that the juice had a higher specific gravity, and a larger percentage of sugar, than were yielded by the living cane. The stems examined on January 23d yielded: Total sugar in cane juice, 20.00; cane sugar, 11.10; glucose, 8.90; specific gravity of juice, 1.069. The density of the juice and the total amount of sugar yielded are much higher than that of the fresh sap; the effect of the stacking in air is to evaporate a portion of the water of the sap, leaving a relatively stronger juice. This juice obtained in January may, with advantage, be compared with the juice obtained from the fresh stalks, immediately after being cut, on September 27, 1866. The determinations were made by Dr. J. R. Hayes, then the assistant in the laboratory, upon new varieties sown in the garden, and marked Nos. III and IV. No. III. Specific gravity of juice, 1.083; uncrystallizable sugar, 4.38 per cent.; cane sugar, 7.86 per cent.; total sugar in juice, 12.24 per cent. No. IV. Specific gravity of juice, 1.075; uncrystallizable sugar, 3.60 per cent.; cane sugar, 5.94 per cent.; total sugar in juice, 9.54 per cent. Contrasting the amount of sugar in the fresh and dry cane, the latter greatly preponderates; and were the question only on the amount of sugar to be obtained, the decision would be in favor of working on the partially dried canes; but on observing the ratio of glucose and cane sugar in the fresh juice and that expressed later, it will be remarked that the relative amount of glucose is much higher, so that the sugar appears to be gradually passing into glucose the longer it remains in the cane, showing that the fermenting causes are as active within the stem of the drying cane as after the juice has been expressed and exposed to the air. Several attempts were made in the laboratory to granulate the sugar of this juice; but whether neutralized and defecated or not, the invariable result was the disappearance of cane sugar, and a uniform sirup of uncrystallizable sugar. Thus far, then, laboratory examinations indicate the necessity of evaporating the juice of the recently cut canes, if it is desired to obtain any crystallizable sugar. The dark coloring matters appear also to adhere more closely to the sugar in the juice of dry canes.

It is obvious to every one connected with agriculture that, since the farming community has in practice determined upon the extended cultivation of sugaryielding plants, there can be no doubt of the duty resting upon the department, and the advantage to be gained by its efforts, to aid the producers in the advancement of their object by affording whatever assistance lies within the power of science. Considering the wide extent of our country, there never can be in true agriculture any clashing of interests, as to what plant is fittest to be grown for yielding sugar. The variety of the climate and the necessities of the cultivator forbid the country to depend on one plant alone. Where the cane ceases to grow, the sorghum and the beet can enter into the rotation, and even these two cannot be considered competitors. The beet produces chiefly cane sugar, and crystallizable sugar can be readily obtained from it. Its refuse, while of no high value as a food material for cattle, is eminently valuable as a manure. The sorghum, while it contains some cane sugar in its early juice, loses it as it ad

vances in life, and in all cases, by the usual methods of defecation and clarification, its existing sugar is almost wholly converted into uncrystallizable sugar; so that, while for sirup-making alone the sorghum may be superior, it is inferior to the beet as fresh food or fodder for cattle, or as a plant from which sugar can be readily obtained. Considering the universal consumption of sugar by the population of this country-at a rate approaching twenty-five pounds per year for each individual-the rapid augmentation of our numbers, and our dependence upon foreign countries for the greater portion of the supply of this necessary article of diet, the attention of the agricultural community might profitably be directed toward the culture and growth of those plants which not only yield sugar, but are otherwise so useful for fodder and fresh food, and for manure. The statesman acknowledges the propriety of raising crops for our own consumption when the balance of trade is against us, and every consumer desires the home production, if thereby the article be cheaper. After a few decades have passed, the amount of sugar required to be imported for our own use will be enormous. At present we supply only one-third of the demand, leaving nearly 350,000 tons of sugar to be supplied from foreign sources-an amount which in every future year will need to be increased. Thus the necessity for the more extended cultivation of sugar plants is incontestable.

There are but two of these at present known to the civilized world which can, by processes of manufacture, steadily and profitably yield crystallizable sugar. These are the sugar cane and the beet. There are few countries so favored by their extent as to be able to cultivate both plants. The sorghum and maple, as sources of sugar, may be placed out of view, inasmuch as the supply of sugar from both is limited, and the separation of the sugar is not a remunerative process. In all our northern and northwestern States we have the climate, soil, and other favorable conditions for securing a large yield from the sugar-beet; and to the farmer, whether raised for its sugar, or for its fattening qualities for stock, or for its manure yield, it is one of the most valuable of the crops which are embraced in his rotation. The raising of beets for sugar is not, like that of sorghum, an experiment on which opinion is divided. Half a century of growth in France has made it the sugar plant of that country. It has extended into Germany, Prussia, and Poland, and would long since have been the source of the sugar crop in England did not her colonial policy forbid its manufacture. The processes and machinery are brought to a high perfection, and the manufacture of beet sugar is now carried on with the same exactness and economy as that pursued in a cotton mill or other factory. If we add to this the fact that even a slight chemical experience in the matter justifies the assertion that beets raised under an American summer are relatively more saccharine than those grown in Europe, there is certainly a sufficient stimulus to cultivation, and insured security against experimental loss, to justify the American farmers, north of Mason and Dixon's line, in planting large breadths of land in this beet, and in forming manufactories in the vicinity to work them up.

Seeds of the most approved varieties of French and German beet having been imported by the department, a series of experiments on their growth and relative value will be carried out this summer, the results of which will be communicated in a subsequent report.

Setting aside the value of the sugar beet, there are some results of observations made in the laboratory, which appear to indicate that the common varieties of beet will, under proper cultivation, yield a large share of sugar juice-larger, in fact, than is usually supposed. In this respect, the "long yellow turnip beet" yielded a considerable excess over the "Englefield orange globe" and the "Carter orange globe." Thus, of the two varieties cultivated in the garden, under similar conditions, the quantity of juice yielded and residue left were very different. Sixty-eight ounces of each, crushed and pressed, yieldedLong yellow turnip, 12 ounces of juice, and 56 ounces of residue.

Englefield orange globe, 71⁄2 ounces of juice, and 604 ounces of residue.
The juice itself varied in the most marked manner.

Although these beets were of large size, and therefore did not yield a percentage of sugar equal to younger roots, yet the quantity obtained from the long yellow turnip was unusually large. While it is not advantageous to have very large roots for sugar extraction, there is also no economy in the use of very small ones, on account of the increased labor in the necessary cleansing processes, though they are relatively richer in sugar. In order to obtain the greatest amount of sugar the root should be pushed on rapidly in growth, and be retained in the ground the shortest time possible. A plentiful supply of water in the early summer favors this very much. If the growth of the beet be delayed till late summer, a portion of the cane sugar is liable to be lest by conversion into glucose and lactic acid within the plant. Strong manures, yielding ammonia, appear to favor this change. As the beet family are potash-loving plants, the manure should be chiefly farm-manure, in moderate quantity, with plenty of wood ashes, as these develop the growth of leaves with rapidity, and increase the quantity of sap in the young plants. The results of Corewinder's experiments on the sugar beet, cultivated near Lille, in France, show that the addition of guano to the plants diminishes the amount of sugar in the juice. It would appear as if the introduction of ammoniacal salts into the body of the root favors rapid oxidation, and thereby destroys the cane sugar. The natural acids of the beet are malic and oxalic, the latter being predominant; and as this acid is the result of partial oxidation (or of deoxidation) within the vegetable, its presence might be made to serve as an index to the conditions of the plant favorable to the preservation of cane sugar, and its quantity might be increased by judicious additions of manures containing potash.

An experiment carried out at the Beet-root Sugar Company's farm at Chatsworth, Illinois, during the past year, obtained an average of crystallizable sugar in the juice equal to 7 per cent.; this falling to 5 per cent. upon refining. So rich a product for the first year is very encouraging, as the result was obtained on the ordinary soil, unmanured, but rich in native fertility. The beets were not crushed immediately on being raised, owing to the want of machinery; but it is asserted that a loss of but one per cent. of sugar was the result of four months' delay in expressing the juice. Should this account be verified by further experiment, the value of the beet would rise in comparison with sorghum, since it does not appear possible, from results given in this report, to obtain crystallizable sugar from partially dry canes without considerable loss.

MINERAL AND METALLURGIC ANALYSIS.

Under this class are placed samples of minerals used in the arts and manufactures, and the ores of the common and noble metals, as iron, lead, copper, zinc, tin, manganese, silver, and gold.

Samples of paint-earths, as substitutes for oil-colors and suitable for out-door work, pipe-clays, fuller's earth, pottery clays, and similar minerals have been

forwarded to this office by farmers and others, from whose ground they were taken. These have been uniformly examined and reported upon. Numerous samples of gold and silver ores and other metalliferous minerals have been forwarded for examination and report, as well from agriculturists as from private parties not owning the lands from which they come, all requiring a minute and full chemical assay to determine their exact value. A few of these have been actel upon; but it would be very desirable if this last variety of analysis were omitted in the laboratory, as it requires special arrangements not otherwise necessary in an agricultural laboratory, and also has no claim upon the attention of the department, having no bearing upon agricultural progress. Moreover, it occupies a vast deal of the time which otherwise would be more appropriately devoted to the special art for the advancement of which this department was founded. The propriety of any department of the government authorizing work to be done for the benefit of private enterprise is questionable, and as there are at all times abundant sources of employment for chemical science in connection with agriculture, a few of which are alluded to in this report, the work in the laboratory should be confined within its proper sphere of limitation.

Respectfully,

Hon. ISAAC NEWTON, Commissioner.

THOMAS ANTISELL, M. D.'

REPORT OF THE STATISTICIAN.

SIR: I have the honor to report upon the facts of agriculture and its productions, its changes and its progress, for the year 1866. It has been a period fraught with interest, full of fears and expectations, and crowned with mingled disappointments and successes. While the war raged, plenty ruled; and the year of the greatest military loss and despondency was that of the largest agricultural abundance and hopefulness. The God of battles lighted with smiles the fields of Ceres as an earnest of the light so soon to be shed on those of Mars.

THE CROPS OF 1866.

During the period since 1863 there has been a gradual and regular decline in the more important cereal products, not in itself sufficiently marked to cause hardship, except to the poor, but made more grievous to the great mass of consumers by reckless speculation facilitated by a plethora of monetary circulation and the ease of conversion of national bonds to the ordinary uses of currency. This country has not been singular, during this period, in a dimininished production of cereals. The year 1863 was also one of plenty in England, France, and Europe generally. The following is the estimated acreage and product of wheat in France for that and the two succeeding years:

The hectare is 2.471 of our acres, and the hectolitre 3.8375 bushels, and the yields above equivalent respectively to 19.3, 19, and 15.9 bushels per acre. The year 1860 was also one of moderate production in France.