The Press. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1894. SUGAR BEET.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 8929, 20 October 1894, Page 6

The Press. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1894. SUGAR BEET.

As will be seen from to-day's telegrams, one of the few mqpsures brought forward this session which, if passed, would have done credit to tbe Government, has been dropped. We refer to the Beetroot Sugar Bill. Ministers appear, however, to have attached very little importance to if, for they lefc its introduction to the close of the session, aud then, without any real effort to pass it, have included it in the list of , the slaughtered iunocents. Yet in these days of agricultural depression we cannot afford to neglect' sources of income aud wealth which Under more prosperous conditions might seem .trifling. Au4 as our imports of raw and refined sugars amount to about £500,000 per year, it is clear that if the growth of sugar beet should prove to be remunerative, it may come to be a valuable addition to our list of products. Wβ believe that experiments in this direction have yielded good results, and there is little reason to doubt that if carried out Systematically on a larger scale, with proper facilities for baud ling the products, results would be fairly satisfactory. The Victorian Government has had elaborate calculations made as to the prospects of the industry iv that eotony, and the figures arrived at are rather startling, it is alleged that Victoria consumes 50,000 tens of sugar per year at au import cost of I £1,000,000j that to yield this quantity of sugar 450,000 tons of roots i would be required, the. value of which td farmers would be about £330,000. The area of land required for its cultivation would be 30,000 acres, and the hands for whom employment would be found in tillage, manufacturing, refining,. &0., about 12,000. In addition to these subsidiary occupations, manufacturicg implements, machinery, manures, «fee., would employ several hundreds of men, and there would also be considerable sums derived from railway traffic, coal, and lime, and so on. The estimate appears to be calculated on a somewhat coo liberal soale, but even if tbe figures have to be heavily discounted, it is evident that the matter is well worth consideration. American growers ia Nebraska can raise sugar beet at a colt per acre of £2 17s 6d, iuoiudingploughlngi harrowing, rolling, drilling, seed, ftunniug, hoeing, and cultivating. To this is added Idol per ton for harvesting, hauling, and railage to the factory. A crop of 12 tons per acre, yielding 14 per cent, of sugar, is said to give a net revenue of £4 10s per acre, or a crop of 15 tons, yielding 16 per cent., X 9 per acre. Even on the lower scale there would seem to be a good margin to pay rent and profit, after allowing for higher cost of handling the product. Nor is this all. The tops of tbe beets when out off, and the residuum of pulp from which the. sugar has been extracted, furnish excellent fodder for feeding cattle and sheep. If not wanted for jrfityatWfirj) use the palp can be stored in silos, and kept for an almost indefinite time. Indeed, it is said to improve in quality with keepiiiif, and te have a nutritious value »ix

or eight times as high as Indian corn. Beet culture necessitates a considerable amount of labour, aud would, therefore, be more suited to the small than the large farmer. Factories would have to be located at or near centres of population, and would be a special boon to men cultivating small areas of good land with domestic labour. The district surrounding Christchurch is chiefly ocoupied in such small holdings, and this locality offers special advautagea for an experiment in this industry. Whether our land and climate is suitable for the purpose or not remaiue to be proved, and evideuce should also be obtained as to the price a factory could afford to pay for roots of a given riohuees, in order that the refined product could be plaoed on the market in competition with imports from other countries employing cheap labour and possessing the utosC highly improved machinery for treating the sugar cane. These are questions which should be investigated by our agricultural experts aud associations, aud we commend them to their consideration.

It is no light uudertakiug to develop a new industry in a new country, arid under untested conditions. No doubt numerous - difficulties will present themselves, aud persistent effort will be necessary to carry it to a successful issue. But if success may reasonably be expected, we should not shrink from the initial risks and troubles. The beet industry has grown to huge propor* tiona iv Europe, and is rapidly developing in America, and, as we have said, we cannot afford to negleot any* thing which will add to the variety of our natural resources, and promote the prosperity of our people. For these reasons we greaUy regret that the Government have taken so little trouble over the question. If ouotenth the time that has been wasted over proposals which must repress i iid us try aud enterprise, had been devoted to the consideration of problems for increasing the productive industry of the country, the taxpayAru of the colony would have had less reason than, they have to rejoice at the prospect of au early prorogation of Parliament.