. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. SUGAR-CANE CULTURE FOR SIRUP PRODUCTION. 43 increase the profits. There is yet another phase of the industry that merits consideration while striving to increase profits, viz, the utiliza- tion of by-products. UTILIZATION OF BY-PRODUCTS. There are three by-products: (1) The leaves and tops, (2) the bagasse (pomace, or mash), and (3) the skimmings, all three of which are almost completely wasted under present practices. The leaves and tops, removed from the cane at harvesting, are usually allowed to remain in the field
. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. SUGAR-CANE CULTURE FOR SIRUP PRODUCTION. 43 increase the profits. There is yet another phase of the industry that merits consideration while striving to increase profits, viz, the utiliza- tion of by-products. UTILIZATION OF BY-PRODUCTS. There are three by-products: (1) The leaves and tops, (2) the bagasse (pomace, or mash), and (3) the skimmings, all three of which are almost completely wasted under present practices. The leaves and tops, removed from the cane at harvesting, are usually allowed to remain in the field until they become dry and are then burned. The production of tops per acre, if weighed fresh, is 3 to 4 tons. To a small extent they afford pasturage to stock, but as a rule they soon become weathered and worthless for feed. Some attempts have been made at curing the tops to feed in the winter,. Fig. 18.—A silo in Louisiana built especially for sugar-cane tops. but the weather conditions are usually unfavorable unless the farmer has shelter in which to cure them. A more hopeful method of pre- serving them is by making ensilage of them. (Fig. 18.) At the experiment field at Cairo, Ga., experiments were conducted during the last two years which indicate that siloing for feed is an excellent way to utilize the tops. The cattle took the silage readily and thrived on it. The chemical analysis showed it to be but little in- ferior to silage from whole corn in nutritive value. A characteristic sample upon analysis gave percentages as follows: Moisture, 75; ash, ; crude protein, ; crude fiber, ; ether extract, : nitrogen-free extract, The acidity, normal alkali per kilo, was 124 c. c. The shortage of available roughage for winter feeding in the cane-sirup sections makes this silage more valuable than its chemical composition would indicate. To assure good silage from the cane tops the silo should be filled before the cane is frosted. In. Please note that these
Size: 2230px × 1120px
Photo credit: © Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauth, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectagriculture
