SUGAR BEET CULTURE.

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1422, 13 August 1881, Page 4

SUGAR BEET CULTURE.

-%■'' — : -TiIR following is the concluding' , v portiou ,q£ Mr, W. A. Grahaui-'s At the piicos quoted -)00 acres of well cultivated beet->, in suitable boil, can be *mado ! to produce upwards of £80,000 worth of Bu/iir, independent of the large' amount of fuddur fir utoo'c Of coarse huclv lcsulti cannot bo expected from our lands for sotno time to come, neverthpless byi .steady 'perseverance and iti«lu>ti y I believe wu o/iu equal, if not exceed the best' results in Europe. From 6 to S per cent of sugar pays the manufacturer in Humbnrjr :<() per cent dividends. The average of last year's tests, .from analysis made -by Mr J. A Pond, chemist, Auckland, exceeds 11 pei cent, which, which after allowing 1 2 per cent as diffeience between chemical test and practiotl working in the mill, still leaves a margin in our favour, which, added to the high rent for lands in Europe, and the exciee and other heavy taxes will go very far to counterbalance the extra price iv labour here, and consequent cost of production. The average rent of land in Lille and Valenciennes districts* is at least 150 francs (£6) per acre. Manckes. One word regarding manures. Rich lands, like valuable animals, are none the •worse for proper treatment and feeding. The miser's advice is, don't borrow money to buy more land, but borrow to buy nianures. No matter how good your land may be, suitable manure for a root crop adds to your profits. With regard to sugar beet for sugar purpose, as before stated, bait is the danger to be avoided, therefore any nrnuuro containing unit, in any qmntity is to bo avoided, ronsequeutly stable man tiro is not good. Superphosphate of litne, bonedust, and buch like manures are the bfst ; chemical nwnures give tne bestiesolts in sugar. (JONCLUoIOX. Iv conclusion, I would state my opinon that biigur makin<r would be very suitable to our native population, and would encouragethem to becomeindtistrious. Thelarge nativo population would commence cultiuatiug the root itself, as ho does not value the time he expends on his cultivavations ho much as we do ; moieover he would prove a good customer for the biigar and molasbes.

Appendix. LABOUR AND GENERA h ESTIMA.TFS. 150,000 lbs per diem factory, on the ba*is of 4s per diem of 12 hours, the work being continuous day and uitrht. " With perhaps the exception of two or three men no skilled labour is required in new beet xoot sugar works, as ruost of the operations are of a simple mechanical nature, easily taught to inexperienced country hands by a competent superintendent and his overseers." The rate of wages quoted above is low as compared with colonial rates (being computed by European authorities), but from the following reasons may be found not so far below the actual results here as at first sight may appear :—: — Ist Intelligent colonial youths from respectable working classes will be found competent to take positnus assigned in the estimate to mon in many instances 2nd Women wotkeis are abo estimated .it one and the tame rate of 4a per diem. 3rd The pi ices obtained for the manufactured sujrar will be very lari/ely in excess of the piice.s quoted in the return columns. 4th Higher ler eentages of sugar from beet grown heie may confidently be expected, lo per cent having been the result of the tc^t from roots pi own last yrar at Pukerimu, in Waikato, by Mr Watson, from a sample of seed hont from Hamburgh. The aveiage of tents made exceeded 11 per cent. " The calculation is based upon a campaign of 100 working days " 1. — Washing and Pulting. £ Transportation and washing oi the bras 14 men, 2 shifts, 2,800 days labour at 4s .. .. .. oGO Press dep.utincnt. 28 men, 2 shifts per 24 hour*, r>,GOO days at 4s .. 1, 120 Sack washing .nid d. lining, 8 women, 1,008 days at 4s .. .. 320 2. — Dfikc\tio><. 8 men per 24 hoiu.% 800 days' labour at 4s . . . . . . 160 3. — Scums. C men per 24 houis, GOO days at 4s 140 4. — CAJUtONATION. 200 daya at 4s 50 Monte-jus . .. .4" C.ii borne nciil (preparation of) .. 40 sth.— Fh-tbauox. 3 men every 24 houis at Is .. ... GO 6 , — C'onckntr \tion . Concentration... . SO 7. — BoiLiN<;. Boiling ... 80 8 — Crystallisation ANn Centrifugals. 1,500 days' lfiboar .. .. .. 300 6. — GENERATION OF STEAM. 2 shifts of 3 men, 600 day.s at 4s .. 120 10. — Breaking AM) Packing. 5 men at 4s . . 100 11.— Men in Y\eds. 5 men at 4s . . . . . ... 100 12. — Management. 1 general superintendant and two overseers . . 800 1 general book -keeper and clerk... 320 13. — KxTHAb. Carpenter, plumber, and smith (3 mouths) . . . . 300 Extra pay to skilled Inborn era, &c. 500 General total cost of labour for 1 year 5,190 Campaign — Coal, 600 tons at £1 600 Lime, 4,soo buchels . ... 300 # Bone black (waste). . . .. 100 Purchase^ beetroots, 15,000,000 1bs at 12s per ton .. .. .. 4,500 Add 20 per cent, for incidentals . . 2,1 00 Insurance, taxes, &c, .. ... 400 Interest on capital invested . . 96i) 14,150 Returns. Ist Sugar from 15,000,000 lbs beets at 8 per cent, of sugar, the sugar being sold at £24 per ton . . . . 14,400 2,700,000 lbs pulp calculated at J ,d per lb . . 5,620 5,000 gallons of molasses at Is per gallon . . 250 Residues and fertilisers.. . . 200 20,470 Deducting annual expenses and interest as stated 14,150 Leaves net annual profit 6,320

There is every reason to believe that the average return of sugar obtained from colonial beets will range as hiprh as 10 per cent, instead of 8 per cent. Taken as the basis this would add £4,000 to income available to meet extra cost of working expenses. During the season of 1838 and 1869 in the Zollverein, 2.500,000 tons of beet roots produced 207,500 tons of sugar— a return of 8 40 per cent. ■ ,-Ai co-operative company producing their own beet root would also save the farmer*' profit on roots. „Th6aboT6 rates would give upwards of 22( per cent, interest on £30,000 expended. , „ , ',, 1 .'" Mr BaWohon, miking his calculations,

arrives at' the conottmon*'£h''at as high asj 48 per cent. be A.rtt»lised from a! similar factory above described upon an; invested cupital of £30,008. '■

,' ' t . First Cost. ( , .' : , | The first outlay, for establishment of mnrbinerv, >Miilclin«rs, &c.', may be esti- • ' miated as f ollbw^ :— • ' { • ' "'•

Cost Thick in* England. 1 £ ' Production of steam:.'. , ....- ...,, 925! Washing and pulping 1,91)7! Dcfecntion ...; , ... 295! j Scums ... .r ... 134 i Sackn, trays, «ack washing . . 620 O.irbonatitiQU ... .. .. (53? Filtration 595 Evaporation of juice. . .. ... 2,300' Crystallisation und turbines ... 7GO Bone black department 257 Pipes und cocks 750 Packing and unpacking ... . . 400 Tubs and tanks 60 Brickwork 500 Sundries and tools 400 Carriage of 200 tona machinery ... 250 10,845' Erection of works 2,000| First cost of bone black .. .. 312> Extra freight, incidentals, and contingencies 1,843 Gives aum total required ... 16,000 for a manufactory of Bugar from beet roots grown on 500 acres of ground, and which ought to produce at least 1,200,000 lbs of raw sagar. In its natural state the pulp contains from 70 to 72 per cent, of moisture, and thus it embodies a much larger per centage of solid feeding matter than the root from which it is obtained.

I Analysis of Beet Root Pulp refuse FROM LaVENHAM. Moisture 70.11 * Albuminous compounds (flesh forming matter) 2.20 Sugar 3.39 Mucilage and pectinous compounds 1.93 Digestible cellular fibre 15.13 Woody fibre (cellulose) 5.32 Mineral matter (ash) 1.87 100.00 * Containing nitrogen 0.361. We learn from these analytical results :— Ist. That pulp contains in round numbers 30 per cent, dry feeding matter. 2nd. That an appreciable amount of sugar in retained in the pulp. 3rd. That a large proportion of the fibre is readily digestible. 4th. That beet root pulp contains a J considerable amount of albuminous or flesh forming matter. Composition of a Specimen of Beet Root Pulp produced ix France. Moisture 70.88 Albuminous compounds (flesh forming matters containing nitrogen 0 382) 2.38 Mucilage pectinous compounds and a little sugar 6.59 Crude cellular fibre 16.43 Mineral matter (ash) 372 100 00

AvmtAOE Composition op Beet Root PtTj,i>, Refuse Pulp of Sugak Manufac tomes. Water 70.00 Sugar ... 1. 5 Albuminous compounds (flesh foi ruing matters) .. .. 2. 5 Crude Fibres and a little lactic aoid 24. 0 Mineral matter (ash) 2. 0

100.00 Refuse pnlp will keep for months in trpnches, which are best lined with brickwork, the pulp being compressed into them by means of a rammer, and then covered with straw, and a thick coat of earth. It undergoes a partial fermentation after a period of three weeks, which only tends to make it more palatable for farm stock. It is feed for cattle, sheep, &c, mixed in various proportions with bran, cut straw, wheat, meal, oil cake, or some other nntritous substance. In order to prevent lone continued use from rendering it distasteful to the animals it is generally found advantageous to slightly salt it by sprinkling it with salt and water at the time of serving it. Some of the mixtures which are considered best on the continent for the feeding of live stock are the following, (the quantities are for every twenty-four hours) :—: — For fattening an ox — 501t>s well pressed pulp, 12H)d hay, 31bs oil cake. For fattening a wether — 81bs pulp, \ lb hay. For feeding a ewe— 2^lbs pulp, dry fodder. Pigs do very well indeed when fed on pulp mixed with meal. The proportions of these mixtures may, however be varied for domestic animals so as to suit their exigences. William A. Graham.