THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA.

Waikato Argus, Volume II, Issue 103, 6 March 1897, Page 4

THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY OF CALIFORNIA.

ITS DEVELOPMENT AND FUTURE POSSIBILITIES. (Continual J. Reports from the Watsonville factory state that the run of 1890 was the largest in the history of the enterprise. More than 110,000 tons of beets were used, while in 1895 the aggregate was 77,000 tons. The factory runs night and day dining the crushing period, and employs something over 300 men, divided into two shifts. These shifts alternate, working two weeks at night and two weeks at day work. "When the factory closes clown quite a force of men have to be employed putting in new machinery and preparing for the next season. During the past year a new industry has been star'ed in connection with the Watsouville factory which promises to develop large proportions and prove very profitable to the originators. It is the fattening of cattle for the market on beet pulp. The beets are run through machinery which cuts them into thin strips. Then the sugar is extracted by boiling. The refuse is carried by buckets run on a trolley system to a pit, where it is dumped in immense piles. This pulp is then mixed with bran and chopped grain and is fed to hundreds of cattle at the feed yards, situated near the factory. This and an abundance of water is all the feed they get, and it is claimed to be the cheapest and quickest fattening process known. Cattle are brought from as far as Arizona to be fed upon this pulp. When the mill fitst started this pulp was considered of no use and was taken by rail and dumped at Moss I.inding, but since then every bit has been,saved. A treat many farmers in the vicinity buy it and feed it to their cattle. In reference to this subject of br-et pulp and its usefulness for cattle feeding purposes the State University has recently issued'a bulletin from which the following is taken : "Sugar-beet pulp is one of the best adaptable materials for silage that the feeder can procure. One of the difficulties encountered in siloing is the exclusion of air from the mass (luring the curing process. With corn, clover or any of the fodders used for this purpose much trouble is at times experienced in properly firming the different layers as they are placed in the silo, in order to leave no air spaces in the mass. The reason for this is that if much air is present fermentation will be carried on to such an extent as to spoil a considerable portion of thd food. In the cise of beet pulp we do not have to contend with any of the inconveniences just noted." The pulp as it comes from the diffuser iu the sugar factory is in the best possible condition for siloing. It is wet, the pieces are exceedingly small and the mass is quite homogeneous. Hence, when placed in the silo it packs itself and fills up every available space, without any intervention on the part of the fillers —a behaviour that is very different from that of any other food. For this feedstuff, then, a shallow rectangular or square silo would answer the purpose equally as veil as a deep round one—the style found to yield the best results when corn or clover are siloed. The deeper the silo the greater the pressure, and, therefore, the less air remaining in the silo ; the circular shape is adapted so as to do away with corners. As California is so peculiarly well adapted to growing beets for sugar making it is a matter of considerable importance for the farmers of this State to carefully study the question of receipts and expenses in this promising new industry ; also to compare the net results with those derivable from grain growing, for instance, it must be remembered that beets should not be grown year after year consecutively on the same soil. The land should have a rest for at least, one year, and, what is still better, for two years, after being cropped to beets by planting to wheat or some other cereal. This method will give the best results, and most remunerative returns, while at the same time sustaining the productiveness of the soil. Thus on a tract of 150 acres a farmer should plant only fifty acres in beets each year. The second year the second fifty acres can be planted and the third year the third fifty acres. In' this way there will be fifty acres in beets every year and each fifty acres will have two years' cultivation to some other product before being again planted in beets. Even at Idol. 50 per contaHor wheat, been for sugar making would pay infinitely better. The value of beets is placed at Idol. 50 to 4dol. per ton, though farmers would no doubt receive more than this if their crop contains a high percentage ot sugar, the sales being made on the basis of the saccharine substance of the beets, which will be determined by analysis. Another very important feature of the business is that farmers receive cash for their beets and they are not dependent upon the fluctuations of a market influenced by heavy speculative operations. In order tint a farmer may be enabled to form some idea of the quantity of beets that c*n be produced on an acre of laud the following figures are submitted :An acre is 20S - 7 ftet pquare. The rows of beets being twelve inches apart, each acre contains about 205 rows, the beets being twelve inches apart in the rows, each ro\ contains about 205 beets, while making an allowance for irregularities. Thus we get a total of 42,025 beets to the acre. With the average weight of each beet as indicated in the first column, the result iD pounds and tons is given as follows : Pounds Tons

From these statements it will be seen that there is a variation of from twentyone tons to thirty-three and threefourths tons of beets per acre. Estimating a crop on the bash of twenty-one tons to the acie, and the sel ing price at 4dol. per ton, woulu give the farmer JS-ldol. per acre gross prollts. Allowing the total expense of planting, cultivating, harvesting and hauling to the facat 34dul. per acre, which is an extreme maximum figure, would leave a net profit to the farmer of 50dol. per acre. This is on a low estimate »s compared with 'JOilol. net per lore for wheat or barley. Considerable of the machinery now in nse in the largest beet-sugar factories in the State was brought from Germany. This was done a-s a matter of necessity because it was a new kind of machinery that had never before been constructed iu the United States, but it is now a known fact that American artisans will find no difficulty iu producing as good machinery in the future as any that could be imported. If ten or a dozen factories were to be erected in California within a yeur, the making of the machinery alone world circulate between 4,000.(')OOdol. aiuir>,ooq.ooodol. for wages and material. In addition there would be abundant employment for men in erecting the buildings, and a large force ; of hands would be employed while the !

mills were in operation. The increased profit accruing to farmers from their lands would enable tliem to give larger orders for supplies to the merchants with whom they deal. Beet-sugur growing will stimulate agriculture generally, build up an active trade for miles around every factory, induce the coming of home-seekers, and enhance the value of lands throughout the State. It will also enable California fruitgrowers ro utilise even more fully than ever another everyday necessity of life that the State produces in abundance and for the supplies of which it is independent of the outside world. The larger the fruit-growing industry becomes the grrator will be the demand for supplies of sugar for canning purposes, md in this way one industry will help the other. Beet-sugar manufacture has attained vast proportions in Europe during the past twenty years. There arc now nearly 1100 factories for the making of raw sugar from beets, of which 412 are in Germany, 208 in Russia, and 239 in Austria, besides a number in Frauce and other countries. The present production of beet-sugar in German} is about 1,800,000 tons per year, of which less than one-third is consumed at home. The present product in France is about 600,000 tons annually. In order to show the development of beet-sugar making in Europe, it may be stated that in 1872 the total output of the continent was only 873,000 tons, mostly in Germany. In 18S4 it was 2,305,000 tons, with Germany still in the lead, and in 189,") it was 3,500,000 tons. This enormous increase is due to the bounty system that is practised by the European nations. This is done for the purpose of encouraging and building up the agricultural industries of those countries. There seems to be no reason why the United States cannot produce all the sugar needed for homo consumption, beside being able to follow the exampleof Germany and export a large quantity every year. But even though production should be limited to supplying home requirements, it would open a great source of wealth to American farmers. Under the McKinley tariff measure there was a provision for the payment of a bounty on American-grown sugar. The effect was wonderful as a stimulus to the industry. In 1500, the year before the McKinley bounty law was in force, the total product of beet-sugar in the country was about 8,000,000 pounds. Of this all but 850,000 pounds was produced in California. Under the stimulus of the bounty the manufacture of beet-sucar npidly increased until 1894, when the total production was over 52,000,000 pouods. About four-fifths cf this quantity, or 40.000,000 pounds, was produced in California, while the remaining one fifth was produced in Utah, Nebraska and Virginia. This production is of very small proportions, however, when compared with the present home requirements of this country. Another very important feature which should not be overlooked is the employment of labour about the factories and the consequent disbursement of large sums of money in wanes. It has probably never been calculated -that the monthly payments made by each factory during the season to the millmen and employees will aggregate fully 75,000d01., and possibly more, for labour and operating expenses. This means nn expenditure of from 300.000 to 400,000d01. during the months of the year the factory would be in full operation. Such large disbursements would constitute a very important factor in the welfare and pros pei ity of each town where a factory might be located. The question has repeatedly been asked, How cau the farmers in a given locality secure the establishment of a beet-sugar factory in their neighbourhood ? The answer is simply this—they should apply to the (Jhino factory or the Watsonville factory for directions as to the method of procedure. In the first place, experiments in beet culture should be carefully made in the proposed locality. If the results show that beets will grow say fourteen tons and upwards per acre, and that the percentage of saccharine substance is sufficiently liinh, there should be enough farmers make contracts agreeing to furnish a factory with the beet crop of, say, 3000 acres, with an agreement to increase the acreage each successive season until the full capacity of the factory is provided for. Generally speaking, it would requ're about 30,000 acres to support the establishment and maintenance of a factory ; not that a factory would consume the annual prod'ict of that acreage, but rather about one-third of that. {To he continued).

Weight of beet. per acre, per acre. 1 pounfl 42,025 21 «j pound 3 52,530 20i l.V pounds 03,037 311 M pounds 73,453 3G T i 2 pounds 84,050 42 This would be the result in the case of very rich land, but for a medium grade soil the beets would be planted ai.steen inches apart in the row, giving a total of 155 beets in each row At this race of production the yield per acre would be 33,775 beets, and th. a comparative figure would be as follows :— Pounds ' Tons "Weight of beet. per acre, per acre. 1 pound . 33,755 J0J If pound.s 42,218 J21 pounds ... . 50,612 25' Impounds . 50,106 29.V 2 pounds . 67.550 33v