Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/179

 SOEIA SOEREL 171 grown in this country, is much too small to make its extraction profitable; and the plant is now cultivated for the sirup or molasses. "Well ripened canes yield about one half their weight in juice, of which from 5 to 10 gallons, according to the soil and climate, will make one gallon of sirup ; the yield of sirup aver- ages from 150 to 175 gallons to the acre, though in exceptional cases the returns are much larger. The sirup varies, according to the care and skill given to its manufacture, from a dark greenish brown color with a repulsive grassy flavor, to a fine amber-colored, honey- like fluid, which, having no characteristic fla- vor, is preferred by many to any other sirup. The evaporators now in use allow the juice to be concentrated without undue exposure to heat, while the scum is readily removed; lime is used in correcting the acidity of the juice, which for the finest product is filtered through animal charcoal. The total produc- tion of sorghum molasses in the United States was 6,749,123 gallons in 1860, and 16,050,- 089 in 1870. Of the latter amount Indiana produced 2,026,212 gallons, Ohio 2,023,427, Illinois 1,960,473, Kentucky 1,740,453, Mis- souri 1,730,171, Tennessee 1,254,701, and Iowa 1,218,635. As fodder it is not always relished by cattle, and it is now regarded as less valu- able than maize. The seeds are fed to poul- try, cattle, and hogs, and bread- has been made from the flour. The begasse, or refuse from the press, has been used to make the coarser kinds of wrapping paper ; the scum and wash- ings of the evaporators are converted into vinegar. In France sorghum has been culti- vated as a source of alcohol. SORIA. I. A K province of Spain, in Old Castile, bordering on Burgos, Logrofio, Sara- gossa, Guadalajara, and Segovia; area, 3,836 sq. m.; pop. in 1870 (estimated), 158,699. Mountains border three sides, and the surface is broken. The Douro rises near the N". boun- dary, and flows first mainly S. and then W. into the province of Burgos. There are large forests of pine, oak, and beech. The roads are mere tracks, only practicable for mules. II. A city, capital of the province, on an irregular eminence on the right bank of the Douro, 113 m. N. E. of Madrid ; pop. about 5,500. It is surrounded by old walls. The site of ancient Numantia is supposed to have been a few miles N. of Soria, but no positive traces of it remain. SORREL, the plant rumex acetosa, a native of Europe, Asia, and arctic America, which has long been in cultivation. The genus ru- mex (the ancient Latin name) belongs to the polygonacece or buckwheat family, and consists of more than 100 species, several of which, either indigenous or introduced, are found all over this country and are popularly known as docks. Sorrel is a perennial, with a tuft of radical leaves which are 4 in. or more long, and arrow-shaped at the base ; its flower stalks are 2 ft. or more high, bearing leafless panicles of unisexual, dioecious, or sometimes monoecious flowers, which are apetalous, small, and greenish, often turning red; the calyx deeply six-cleft, the three inner segments en- Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) the variety called "Belleville." larging in fruit, orbicular, and somewhat petal- like, enclosing the triangular nut. The leaves are pleasantly sour, owing to the presence of the acid oxalate of potash. In France half a dozen varieties of this are cultivated, of which the Belleville is the most popular. Though sorrel is rarely eaten by the English, the French regard it as one of the necessaries of life. It is used in salads and in soups, but more commonly it is dressed in the same man- ner as spinach ; if too strongly acid when pure to suit the taste, it is mixed with spin- ach or patience dock. While it is compara- tively little known in this country, its use is increasing, and it is now quite regularly found in the markets. Sheep sorrel belongs to the Sheep Sorrel (Rumex acetosella). same genus, and is E. acetosella, introduced from Europe, and one of the well known weeds of agriculture; it grows from a few inches to a foot or more high ; the lower leaves are