THE ^ AMERICAN 1 SUGAR MNDU ^ SUGAR? BccTVB A PRACTICAL- /AANl FOR-FAR/AER (^ OR-/AANUFACTUR CAPlTALISToR LABOf STATESMAN OR' STUDENT eso a HERBERT '-MYR1CK '^ r>r- 18 ut. ft/ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. c^t^"^ Chap....^^.rtoi)yriglit No. ShelL A Z UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ' Oif "-^ AjO*: 3 VJ FEBj^l 1899 ">ttR;- FEB,,! 1899 THE AMERICAN SUGAR INDUSTRY A practical 77ianual on the production of Sugar Beets and Sugar Cane, and on the manufacture of Sugar therefrom PREFACED BY A TREATISE ON THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF THE WHOLE SUGAR QUESTION AND ITS BEARINGS UPON AMERICAN AGRI- CULTURE, MANUFACTURES, LABOR AND CAPITAL Constituting a handbook for the Farmer or Manu- facturer, Capitalist or Laborer, Statesman or Student ^^ HERBERT 'mYRICK ^/Juthor of " Sugar, a New and Profitable Industry," " Leaf Tobacco," "The Hop," "How to Co-operate," Editor American Agriculturist, Orange Judd Farmer, The New England Homestead, Farm and Home, Treasurer American Sugar Growers' Society, etc., etc. i8gg ORANGE JUDD COMPANY }^ew York Springfield, Mass Chicago V: Copjrinht. 1399. Orange Judd Company II 30G13 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. « a; '^ . g =» :S V "S '-' o « _ £§ =p 5 t- te 3 o o . o^ ^;= ^ o •■ ta ^CC' ^ ■-' r .•■ C ^ O 3 s So: — '"' ^ — ^ 5 2-o'a S ^ a; " 21; -'o ® "5 ci o S; i; o o c£.2S| ■*^ - &— '^w PS 5 2 5^ :t 9 o M o 3 ^< ,2f o « o ^.:p be— « o >, o 3 a; ■; C — >" L- t. W ^ — ^ ci o „ ^ i3 ® - '*^> -^'^ o — x-d tJSc=S 1 1899 V.>JT\«^ f^^\ ^m ' RRFSf? DISTANT VIEW OF PACIFIC SUGAR FACTORY Fropi southwest. At extreme right-liand corner of main buiMing, rear, vertical lime kiln is shown. Other buildings as described in Part Four, Chapter III. Table of Contents* PAKT ONE— ECONOMICS OF DOMESTIC SUGAR PRODUCTION. Chapter I— SITUATION OF THE INDUSTRY at the opening of 1899— What the industry means to the United States — Its great possibilities recognized by Congress The Dingley tariff a just measure — The effect of that law— Remarkable progress during the past three years — The vitality of this industry — What is now needed. Chapter II— DOMESTIC SUGAR VERSUS "EXPANSION "—The interests at stake— What there is in it for the annexationists — Unlimited possibilities of sugar pro- duction by the yellow races — Protection for the American farmers and laborers — The English tariiT applies to colonial equally with foreign produce— Industries to be hurt by absorption — Shall the American farmer be sacrificed? — Loss of revenue and increased taxation — No compensating advantages — These views endorsed by organized agriculture and labor. Chapter III— THE HAWAIIAN IMPOSITION— False representation regarding coolie contract labor — More than deliberate bad faith — Abuses among coolie slaves — Some interesting sidelights — An American oligarchy. PART TWO— THE CANE SUGAR INDUSTRY— The area capable of growing sugar cane — Peculiarity of the crop — Present obstacles to the cane industry — The great trouble in the sugar cane industry — The soil adapted to sugar cane — How the soil is usually prepared — Culture — Harvesting — Rotation of crops— Eow to start the cane sugar industry — Description of manufacture — Quality and grades of the product. HI IV TUE SUGAR INDUSTRY. PAKT THREE— THE BEET Sl'GAR INDUSTRY IN AMERICA PRIOR TO 1897. CiiAiiEK I— WHAT HAD BEEN ACCOMPLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES— Failure of early attempts — An exception — Honor to whom honor Is due — Recent development — The record in brief — What of the future — Elementary principles — Technical terms explained — Qmility of the beet sugar — How beet sugar is made. Chapter II— HOW THE INDUSTRY GREW IN EACH STATE— California, the Spreckels enterprise at Watsonville — Alvarado's persistent fight and final triumph The marvelous results at Chino — The new factories in California — Nebraska's try- ing experience and ultimate success — W^onderful results in Utah — In the Pecos val- ley of New Mexico — Scientific and practical tests to demonstrate the adaptability of the sugar beet crop to conditions in other states, including results of the 1896 crop. CiJAPiKR III— CULTURE OF THE SUGAR BEET— Climatic conditions— Varieties of beets — Soils for the sugar beet — Rotation of crops — Feeding the plant — Plowing — More about subsoiling — Preparation of seed bed — Seeding — Hoeing — Thinning out — Irrigation — Harvesting — Storing beets — Feeding and storing beet pulp, tops and molasses. CnAiTER IV— COMMERCIAL ASPECTS OF THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY— Cost and profits of beet culture — Actual recent experience of practical farmers in rais- ing beets on a large and small scale — How the industry employs and pays labor — It.3 manifold advantages — The brilliant promise to capital, provided the American market is reserved for American sugar — How to start a factory, its location, iequirem.ents, equipment, management, etc. — Cautions to all new to the industry. PABT FOUR— PROGRESS IN AMERICA'S SUGAR INDUSTRY SINCE 1896. CiiArxER 1— DEVELOPMENT EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI— As to New England- Remarkable conditions in the state of New York, which bids fair to be a hotbed of the industry — Splendid prospects in Michigan, a great sugar state — Pennsylvania and Ohio — The middle south — Indiana and Illinois — Michigan's and Wisconsin's peculiar qualifications for beet culture and sugar making. Chapter II— FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE MOUNTAINS— A banner campaign in Nebraska — Encouraging conditions in Minnesota — The Dakotas and Iowa and other sugar states — Conflicting views from Kansas and Missouri — The Mountain states as beet sugar centers. Chapter III— THE BEST DEVELOPMENT ON THE PACIFIC COAST— A new fac- tory's encouraging start in eastern Oregon — Washington in line — Millions going into beet sugar enterprises in California — Largest beet sugar mill in the world — The model beet sugar plant of America — Other factories and notes of progress. Chapter IV— LESSONS OF MOST RECENT EXPERIENCE— Mistakes to avoid- How to insure success — Latest teaching from science and practice in culture of the beet — Steam plowing — Use of beet pulp — Other hints. APPENDIX — Reference tables and statistics — List of places that want sugar factories — Directory and advertisements of manufacturers of sugar mill machinery, imple- ments for culture of beets and cane, seed, supplies, etc., etc. Author's Preface* In January, 1897, appeared the author's first book on this subject, entitled "Sugar, a New and Profitable Industry in the United States, for Agriculture, Capital and Labor, to Supply the Home Market with $100,000,000 of Its Product." That book was received with favor, not only among farmers and capitalists and by the press, but especially in the Congress of the United States and by American statesmen at home and abroad. National legislation favorable to the development of our domestic sugar-producing industry was enacted by the Congress during the summer of 1897. This was followed by a phenomenal interest in America's domestic sugar industry, which, however, gave way to uncertainty with the advent of the Spanish war and the problems raised thereby. Provided those problems are now solved with due regard for American interests, it only needs proper direction and right management to secure for the United States large and permanent good from a vast development of its domestic sugar-producing industry. Many of those best capable of judging have been kind enough to partly attribute the promising outlook for this new industry, at the outbreak of the Spanish war, to the book referred to, to the American Sugar Growers' Society organized by the author, and to the agricultural joui-nals under his editorial direction. This would seem to impose upon the author a moral obligation to do whatever lies in his power to help the industry through its new politico-economic crisis. It also seems incumbent upon the author to present the important scientific, prac- tical and financial results of the seasons of 1897 and 1898, in addition to the fruits of all prior experience. Thus unfortunate and costly mistakes in this new industry may be avoided, and uniform success attained by both farmer and capitalist. In order that Congress and the general public, as well as farmers, may obtain a true idea of the magnitude and promise of this new industry in various directions, an appendix is added to accommodate the announcements of machinery builders, furnishers of seeds, supplies and implem.ents, communities that want sugar mills, settlers, etc. No one can look through these announcements without being deeply impressed, while they also constitute a most useful directory of everything pertaining to the sugar industry. Embodied in this new edition are Parts Two and Three from the author's first work, the better to reflect the evolution of the industry and to emphasize the teachings of experience. This is perhaps an unique plan in a bock, but if so it is merely in keeping ^ith the unique spectacle of a nation of 75,000,000 people attempting to speedily develop its domestic sugar industry. THE AUTHOR. •S ■» "5 5 OJ iC s 9 Ji a s^ s O I. p »— p. cS o s ■ -G 0.P 2 K Ih r^ ^ 1 « a h ;2 M 5* o •2 'g 2 q: - 53 o 1— 1 IP S ■- * ACQ *i a, i iiS •S£-^ 4) P.O 6? r rt t* ee p. U 03 THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. VII h w o 5 o o d z w H c/) W (U 0) c« ^ ■C -^ aj ,5 ^ s 0^ S5 fc S^^- > s l-H 1^ ?i > ,2 -^ a rt ^ t- ••> 5 2* 1— 1 5^ ^ o u >.-a u o 1— I -tf-^ £ ® - fl ^ S £t5 •<- •« ■P c3 ;5 .- bci n •c g w cr o* '^ I, » so ^ C c l—i op,- a ;o B 2 ® g''^? dd S K- 3 m •d I, "■ m ^55 H a » g w « p c > « p «• ;c P =♦ •-I'd S "d B P. M > mill gn of 1 erest a H K- 2s a -Tl < S" " p- B B" 5' 5" 5 » B B i ^. ff '< Si- ft g rr = 5= 6 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. With sugar cane, the industry prior to the war was conducted by slave labor and without much enterprise, the increase in slaves being an element of the profits. The industry was destroyed during the war. It took 20 years thereafter and an expenditure of $21,000,000 to rebuild the levees and reclaim the plantations, and it was not until 1878 that I,ouisiana's product was restored to the figures of 1844 — 115,000 tons. From 1878 to 1886 there was much trouble with high water and crevasses, while as early as 1884 an era of low prices set in, which were helped by a reduced scale of duties. Almost any other industry would have succumbed to such adverse influences, but our sugar producers, though discouraged, would not admit defeat. They established an experiment station to learn more about fertilizing and chemical control of sugarhouse work, changed in a large measure to the central factory system — just as the dairy people have done — im- proved the sugarhouse equipment, and by 1890 had doubled the crop of 1878. Then came the "bounty" period, in which the growth of production in four years was from 165,000 tons to 324,000 tons. Then came reduced duties in 1894, following which sudden change many plantations were sold for a song. But the Dingley tariff of 1897 restored fair pros- pects for the cane sugar interests of the United States. Another reason why the beet sugar industry did not develop much prior to 1890, was that the United States department of agriculture, discouraged by a few failures, or blind to the merits of the beet I'oot, led a wild-goose chase after sorghum. The possi- bilities of sorghum are not denied, but the practical realities of cane and beets are such as to eclipse sorghum for commercial purposes. After it had been demonstrated that sor- ghum was not a reliable sugar plant, as compared with sugar cane or the beet root, government spent m.illions or" money and years of time upon it. Sorghum could be cheaply raised like corn, v/as not a "back-bending crop" like the beet. The American Agriculturist did what it could to stem the sorghum craze by showing what the beet sugar industry was doing in practice compared to the meager results of the sorghum theory, but it took years of bitter and costly experience on the pai't of government and farmers to vindicate our position. So the sorghum craze, fed from national and state treasuries, swept over the country for a dozen years. Brt as it exploded, more work was done with sugar beets, until, when the McKin- lej' law of 1890 was enacted, experience had pointed out the way to the success that has since been achieved. But hardly had a few beet sugar factories been established under the McKinley act before its repeal was ordered by the people. In spite of the ensuing uncertainties, the development of this industry since 1894, and especially since 1897, is proof conclusive of its necessity and its advantage to the whole United States. Beet culture, however, cannot be learned in a single season. It is high farming, in- tensive horticulture, like the market gardening near our great cities, which is the result of fifty years of experience. Under the best management it takes from two to four seasons for the farmers in any locality to learn how to grow beets to the best advantage. Until this is done, the sugar factory is not assured of an abundant supply of beets of proper Qualitj^ Meanwhile the immense investment is at a risk — from $350,000 upward in each factory, and at best the factories can run only 100 or 150 days during the year. Experi- ence in this country has demonstrated that where the industry has survived this first stage, it has in every case become well established, to the satisfaction and profit of the farmers, laborers, railroads and capitalists interested in the business. And since the world's production of beet root sugar has increased from about 2,500,000 long tons in 1884 to almost double that quantity as the average since 1892. the general success of this industry is no longer questioned by any well-informed person. Indeed, nearly two-thirds of the world's consumption of sugar in 1898 came from beets. CHAPTER 11. DOMESTIC SUGAR VS. "EXPANSION. Nothing less than immediate, unconditional annexation of Porto Rico, Cuba and the Philippines and their admission to the Union as territories, with all the privileges of interstate free trade, irrespective of their form of government! This demand comes from Spanish property holders on these islands, and from a small but powerful coterie in this country that seeks to monopolize the cheap labor and marvelous productiveness of the tropics. Whether or not this demand is generally joined in by the so-called "expan- sionists," or "imperialists," those elements of the body politic are being industriously but stealthily "worked" in the interest of this scheme. WHAT IS THERE IN IT FOR THE ANXKXATIONISTS? By remission of duties they would make an extra profit of $30 to nearly $40 on every ton of sugar, $5 to $8 on every pound of cigars, $1.50 on every pound of wrapper tobacco, 35 cents on every pound of filler tobacco, $25 to $40 on every ton of rice and pro- portional extra profits on all early or tropical fruits and vegetables. Because of the cheapness of production with tropical climate and labor, the profits of the business under free admission to this market would be quite "beyond the dreams of avarice." These crops and industries here in the United States would of course be ruined by such competition. The inability of the domestic grower of beets and cane and of the manufacturer of sugar therefrom to compete with the tropics (at least for many years) is shown by the following comparative exhibit, based on official data and gold values: United States Yield of sugar per acre, tons 1% Cost of sugar per ton $75 This is a fair mean under average conditions, though the yield for the United States may be criticised as too high and the cost as too low. On the other hand, experts will claim that the tropics can produce more sugar per acre and at less cost. Quite likely the latter is true, for only on this basis can an explanation be found for the momentous increase in imports into the United States of sugar produced by the yellow races — from 250,000 tons in '92 to 600,000 tons per year. And this while Cuba's industry was almost prostrated by war! In Egypt alone, over $50,000,000 have been invested in cane sugar houses and plantations within the past few years, mostly English money, at vast profit, owing to cheap fellah labor and great productiveness of soil under irrigation. Vast projects for further extensions are under way in Egypt and other parts of Africa. The enormous profits in the Sandwich Islands are due in part to the marvelous pro- ductivity of Hawaiian plantations. The Ewa boasts of having produced an average of SVo, tons of raw sugar per acre in 1896, or four times the largest yield ever reported from Louisiana cane or California beets. Reports of the Ewa, Hutchinson and other planta- tions give the cost of production at from iy2 to 2 cents per lb, compared with 3 and 4 (7) West East Indies Indies Hawaii 2y2 21/2 4 $40 $20 $35 8 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. cents as the cost of making raw sugar from cane in Louisiana or beets in California or New Yorlt after the industry is well established. The enormous increase in the Hawaiian sugar industry, the immense plantations that are being developed and the preparations now on to double and triple the sugar output of those islands, are now matters of com- mon notoriety, that have already caused a saturnalia of speculation. Cuba has practically unlimited possibilities for sugar production. Porto Rico, though comparatively small in area, can, on a conservative estimate, produce almost as much as the present total yearly production of sugar in the United States! The Philip- pines possess sugar potentialities of unknown extent. Much the same may be said of the tropical production of tobacco, rice, fruits, vege- tables PROTECTION FOR THE AMERICAN FARMER AND LABORER, for the grower of sugar beets and sugar cane, against such competition will be necessary for some years to come. Every legitimate argument for the protection idea applies to this demand. None will undertake to gainsay this statement. The battle for protection has waged these many years, during which the farmer has been more or less skeptical ot its benefits to him. But irrespective of politics, the farmer (led by the Patrons of Husbandry) has come to agree that so long as there is a tariff he wants as much as the other fellow. And since only duties that directly benefit the farmer are those on agricultural produce imported, because not yet grown here sufficiently to supply the market, on such produce the farmer wants such protection equally with the manufacturer. Now, if Congress overthrows such protection by admitting free sugar, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, rice, etc., besides adding to direct taxes, while at the same time continuing the manufacturers' protection, let no one be surprised if the farmers and working people vote in 1900 or 1904 to pitch the custom houses into the sea! If there is to be any protection, the farmer wants whatever will benefit him. If there is to be free trade, then the farmer wants "freedom" for all. Of course the loss of revenue that free trade would involve would have to be made good by a federal income tax. THE ENGLISH TARIFF APPLIES TO COLONIAL EQUALLY WITH FOREIGN PRODUCE. The American farmer is perfectly right in this position, whatever are the relations ot the United States to the tropics. Even England imposes the same duties on imports from her colonies — tea, coffee, tobacco, liquors, etc. — as from other countries. She gets one-fifth to one-fourth of her revenue from this source. Now the whole imperialistic idea in the United States to-day rests on the claim that the United States Congress has ample powers to apply different tariff rates, other taxes and other forms of government in its dependencies in the tropics than are made mandatory within this union of states by the federal constitution. LOSS OF REVENUE. To admit tropical produce duty free would speedily sacrifice upward of $100,000,000 of tariff duties yearly. The $50,000,000 annually paid in duties on imported sugar and $20,000,000 on imported cigar-leaf tobacco (Table E, appendix) would largely go into the pockets of plantation and manufacturing syndicates in Cuba and the Philippines. Revenue lost by the free admission of other tropical produce would go far to make up a total yearly sacrifice of $100,000,000. For it must be borne in mind that, with such THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. U an enormous indirect bounty, production in the tropics would be vastly stimulated, and those regions would supply this market with millions of dollars' worth of produce and materials now obtained from other countries. INCREASED TAXATION AND NEW TAXES. There would naturally be a constant ratio of increase in such loss of tariff revenue on tropical production. Of course this loss of $100,000,000 in the customs would have to be made good by increased direct taxation of our people here at home. The government expenditures incident to the war of 1898 and a policy of "expan- sion" will extend the annual expenditure of 1890 to '96 by a sum variously estimated at from .$100,000,000 to $300,000,000 yearly. It is easy to see how, with loss of revenue inci- dent to tropical free trade, taxes are likely to be increased by fully $250,000,000 annually. This statement is not at all extravagant, in view of the proposed larger army, which alone is estimated to cost $90,000,000 a year by its author (Mr. Hull), and $150,000- 000 by the minority of the House committee on military affairs. If the army costs $120,000,000 a year, it will equal what France and Germany each pay for an army five times as large. Besides this, the United States is paying out $150,000,000 yearly for pensions. With decreasing imports and increasing expenses, surely this is no time to sacrifice the customs revenue. Indeed, a revenue tariff on certain articles now admitted free of duty, may be necessary. TO SACRIFICE THE AMERICAN FARMER for the benefit of colonial syndicates and Spanish real estate owners in the tropics is too preposterous to be seriously entertained for a moment. Yet it is the price demanded by certain annexationists. They bitterly resent the idea that the United States can impose duties on produce from the Philippines or Porto Rico after those islands have been ceded to the United States, but boldly demand free trade. This is rot the place to consider the various suggestions that have been made concerning the relations of the United States to the East and West Indies. But true it is that in an economic sense the issue is mainly agricultural. The farmer is the man whose business will be hurt the worst by annexation. The farmer is the man who, already bearing an undue proportion of the taxes, will be loaded down still more by the proposed additional taxes of $250,000,000 yearly. To rob him of his best market, to destroy his most profitable crops, to annihilate the sugar industry that means millions for a new and money-making crop, and then to pile more taxes onto him — no! Amer- ican farmers will not for a moment submit to any such proposition. No political party has yet indorsed such an outrageous plan. The president is firmly against it if his advice about Cuba is to be taken at what he says. INDUSTRIES TO BE HURT RY ABSORPTION. The best things in agriculture to-day in the United States are the specialties that free trade with the tropics would knock out. That policy would permanently blight Flor- ida and almost annihilate her agricultural industries, making Florida only a way sta- tion to the tropics. It would seriously compete with the important industry of growing early fruits and vegetables, both in southern and northern states. It would probably obliterate cigar leaf tobacco culture in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida and Texas. It would transfer to Ponce, Santiago, Havana and Manila the vast cigar-manufacturing industry of the United States, whose skilled labor and mil- lions upon millions of capital could not compete with labor at one-fouith our wages 10 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. working on tropical leaf. The extent to which the vast semi-tropic fruit industry of the south, southwest and Pacific coast would he injured by free trade with the East and West Indies is self-evident. The fruits of the northern belt would also be affected. The production of sugar in the United States, already given a hard blow by the annexation of Hawaii, would be most seriously interfered with. In fact, sugar raised by the yellow and black labor of the East and West Indies, if admitted duty free, would prob- ably annihilate our domestic sugar-producing industry. Louisiana and Texas alone can produce cane sugar enough to supply the whole country. Beets for the manufacture of sugar are now being grown with wonderful success in every state and territory from New York and Virginia to the Pacific. Such factories as are already established for the manufacture of beet sugar are doing splendidly over the Spanish war. Millions of capital are now ready to embark in numerous beet sugar enterprises in twenty states the moment Congress declares against free sugar from the tropics. Thousands upon thousands of farmers in the sugar-beet belt are eager to grow all the beets needed to supply this country with all the sugar it consumes. Farmers realize that at $4 to $6 per ton, sugar beets afford the new and profitable crop they so much need. From both the agricultural and manufacturing standpoints, the beet-sugar indus- try in the United States is way beyond the experimental stage, and with a continuance of the present federal policy beet sugar offers one of the safest and most profitable investments for capital, agriculture and labor. And this in face of the fact that the aver- age annual wholesale price of granulated sugar fell from 7.6c per pound in 1889 to 414c m 1897, while to-day sugar is cheaper than ever before. SUGAR BEETS A PROriTABLE CROP. An acre of corn at the west, yielding 40 bushels of grain worth 15c per bushel, will buy something more than 100 lbs of granulated sugar at the grocery store. That same acre of land devoted to sugar beets will produce 2,000 to 3,000 lbs of refined sugar, like the finest white sugar you can buy. The corn under such conditions returns about $6 per acre for all the labor and capital invested in that crop. Sugar beets yield $25 to $50 per acre, and while they require far more labor, they pay for it and leave a net profit of $10 to $25 per acre, which is handsome compared to the meager returns from corn, wheat, oats, etc. SUGAR AND THE MONETARY TROBLEM. The country has been convulsed over the proposition of free silver coinage at 16 to 1. The most ardent advocates of that policy have not proposed to coin more than 100,000,000 silver dollars per year. Now without discussing the pros and cons of the silver question, no one will deny the benefits that would accrue by keeping at home the 100,000,000 of (gold standard) dollars that are sent out of the country each year for sugar. If this sugar is all paid for in money (instead of partly in merchandise), keeping at home this vast sum would infiate our per capita circulation nearly $1.50 each year or $15 in ten years, and in fifteen years it would double our present per capita circulation. Certainly it would help to solve the currency problem to keep at home the money that now goes abroad for sugar. THE CASE IN A NUTSUELI.. The fact is that, after having given freely of our blood and treasure to drive out their Castilian oppressors, Spanish proprietors in the East and West Indies now seek a yearly bonus of untold millions from their deliverers. And certain combinations in the domestic sugar, tobacco, trucking and fruit trades have entered iato an unholy alii- THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 11 ance to this end. So long as their enormous profits are sure, they don't care if thereby vast and promising domestic industries are destroyed, and $250,000,000 a year new taxes are piled upon the American tarmer and people. History fails to reveal so shameless a conspiracy of pelf at the national expense. Its success would cause a moral decline and undermining of the basic principles of government that bode far worse for the republic than the sacrifice of men and money in the tropics and of material prosperity at home that this nefarious plan would involve. NO COMPENSATING ADVANTAGES OF IMPORTANCE have yet been demonstrated for such a result. It is probable that exports of certain manufactures from the United States to the tropics would be somewhat increased. It is true also that such an impetus to tropical sugar would greatly enlarge the demand for sugar machinery, etc., in those regions, but the whole world would compete in burnish- ing this machinery. Even if the United States furnished it all, the business thus obtained would not equal the volume of trade that would be created by building and equipping the nearly 1,000 factories (at an expense of $:J00, 000,000) needed to supply the domestic con- tinental market with sugar from crops grown by American farmers. It is also claimed that such free trade with the tropics would vastly increase the export of cereals, meats and dairy products from the United States to those sections. Experience emphasizes the error of this hypothesis. The productiveness of the tropics is so liberal that the masses there do not require to import large quantities of food oroducts, nor have they the ability to pay for such products. Experience under the reciprocity features of the McKinley tariff of 1890 showed how small was the increase in the market for American grains and meats in the West Indies, compared to Great Britain and Europe. Nor is there much force to the argument that: free tropical or colonial sugar would materially reduce prices to consumers in this country. It might for a short time, or just long enough to kill the domestic industry, but that accomplished it would be compara- tively easy for the sugar trust (which is back of this annexation scheme) to control the supply and again force up prices. It must be remembered that the price of sugar at the present time is just about what it was under the free sugar McKinley tariff, with its bounty of 2c per lb to domestic producers. The present price of sugar is nearly 50 per cent, less than during the ninth decade. Sugar is as cheap here as in England, while it costs our consumers only about 5c per lb compared to 7 to 14c in Europe. IN CONCLUSION. There appear to be no valid reasons for sacrificing the interests of domestic sugar producers. There is every reason for maintaining the present tariff against all imported sugar from wherever it may come, for at least ten years. American agriculture and labor believe the American Congress will do just this, the American people will back up such a policy, and the early future will vindicate its "Wisdom. 12 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. GENERAL VIEW OF THE rUTTi DTNOS A GLIMPSE INTO ONE OF THE INTERIORS. The first New York Beet Sugar Company's establishment at Rome. N. Y. Main building 150x50 feet, three stories ; another, one stofy . same size ; a third is 140x120 feet, boiler-room 60x80. Equipment from abandoned factory at Farnham, Quebec. CHAPTER III. THE HAWAIIAN IMPOSITION. Not content with securing the annexation of the Sandwich Islands under false pre- tenses, the coterie of cane sugar planters who control Hawaii now seek further special advantages at the expense of the American people and of the domestic taxpayer. I use the term "false pretenses" advisedly. It was persistently represented by the Hawaiian sugar monopoly that no further increase in the production of sugar was pos- sible in those islands. So adroitly was this point argued, that even the Honorable Secretary of Agriculture was led to indorse it, and it was then believed by every Senator and Representative who finally voted for annexation under the stress of war, which was also unduly magnified. IT WAS ALSO FAT.SELY REPRESENTED that, though sugar cane had of late years been grown only by coolie labor under con- tract, the planters would abolish the contract or slave system if the islands were annexed, and would hold themselves amenable to the labor laws of the United States. To give color to this claim, a bill to prohibit importation of coolies was before the Hawaiian legislature in the spring of 1898. It was defeated, of course, as it was meant to be. The facts in the case were succinctly set forth in the San Francisco Chronicle for April 2, 1898, as follows: CONTRACT LAW THEIR SALVATION — PLANTERS SAY ITS ABOLISHMENT WOULD MEAN THEIR RUIN. HONOLULU, March 24. — The sugar planters are up in arms against a bill now pending in the Legislature providing tor the abolishment of the labor contract system now in vogue, by which a laborer who deserts from a plantation can be arrested and thrown into jail until he is willing to return to his work and have all costs of his capture and detention assessed against him. The planters say that under the present condition the abolishment of the penal contract law would mean the utter ruin of every plantation on the islands. At a meeting of a committee representing the Planters' Association and the House Committee, to which the bill was referred, such men as John H. Hackfield, W. G. Irwin, F. M. Swansey, C. Bolte and H. Renjes were present, and all expressed the opinion that the passage of the bill would deal a death blow to the sugar industry. The planters explained that the laborers brought to Hawaii are picked from the lowest classes in Japan. It is necessary to advance from $130 to $150 to each laborer to get him here. If, when he arrives he cannot be held to his contract, the plantation not only loses the man, but the money invested in him. The new ruling of the Cabinet regarding the employment of European labor, the planters said, would secure immigration of white labor that, in a few years, would entirely replace the Asiatics on the plantations. This proposition to abolish the coolie system was therefore a false representation for political effect upon Congress and the American people. At the very time it was being advanced at Washington, the Honolulu government was granting special licenses to the planters to import Japanese and Chinese coolies under contract. The new ruling, to encourage European labor, was another false representation, at least in effect, as (13) 11 TUE SUGAR INDUSTRY. subsequent importations of labor have been 90 or 05 per cent. Japanese and Chinese coolies. BUT THIS DELIRERATE BAD FAITH IS NOT AT.L. The government of the islands, which is admittedly merely holding over until Congress provides a permanent form of administration, has been diligently granting additional licenses to import coolies under contracts. These contracts run from three to five years. It is now brazenly asserted in official circles at Honolulu that, even if the United States government applies its alien-contract laws to Hawaii, the coolies who are now being rushed into the islands will be compelled to serve out their time. Hono- lulu advices dated October 11, 1808, and published in the American newspapers, reported the arrival of 2,000 coolies, and it is stated that the total importations during the calen- dar year 1898 will exceed 10,000 coolies. The "hoUl-over" government at Honolulu has thus not only violated its moral obligations to Congress and the American people, but has done everything possible to gain added advantages for the island planters, in opposition to the laws of the United States . Still more: The Hawaiian planters now insist upon the right to continue the importation of coolies. They have urged this point most emphatically upon the honor- able commission appointed to investigate and report a plan for administrating the islands. The planters have further boldly declared their purpose to maintain a lobby at Washington until Congress grants them the right to contract labor in perpetuity. History fails to record so colossal an exhibition of "gall." Granted free admis- sion to the United States market for 20 years, this little body of Hawaiian planters drew $70,000,000 in bounties from the American people's remission of duties, until they became the wealthiest body of like numbers in the world. Annexation now perpetuates this remission of duties to an amount that will probably exceed $10,000,000 next year and is likely to largely increase in future. The planters are thus practically freed from taxation to support the United States government. In addition to all these priceless advantages, obtained largely as a result of bad faith, the Hawaiian syndicate now demands the right to employ slave labor! ABVSES A>[ONG THE COOLIE SLAVES. The condition of these contract coolies is in many respects worse than that of slaves. They are paid $13 to $16 a month, less ?3 to .?5 per month deducted for food furnished, be- sides which they are given fuel, sheds to live in, and receive medical attention when sick. Their roofed sheds are filled with bunks. The immorality among them is most shocking. It cannot be even referred to in print. If the contract laborer refuses to work, the law allows his owner to fine him and he is also imprisoned until he does work. These coolies are procured by false promises of "an easy job." .Japs resent the imposition and are cross and anxious to better their condition. They are kept at work only by severe overseers and fear of losing every cent they have earned, which can be taken away from them by the legal system of "fines." In a word, these coolies are owned bodily by their employers, and are so maltreated that they seldom renew their contracts and desert at any opportunity. Once a coolie gets free of his contract, he returns to his native land, or if he stays in Hawaii, it is as a "free" laborer. The very language of the plantation is that of slavery, with its "contract-men" for bondman or slave, and its "free labor." SOME INTERESTING SIDELIGHTS ou the contract-labor system are afforded by the following verbatim report, copied from The Hawaiian I'Jaritrrs' Monthly for December, 1897, Vol. XVI, Pages 595-6: THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 15 "To the President and members of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association: — Some time ago your committee on labor mailed to the managers of all the plantations a circular letter asking for information in regai-d to the condition of labor on their estates. \ .11 \l'> t • .-l^n^ n -, f f ♦ MICHIGAN'S FIRST BEET SUGAR FACTORY Property of the Micliifian Sugar Co., Bay City, Bay Co., Michigan. Capacity, 350 tons of beets per day, 3,500 acres contracted for the '98 crop, and some 7,500,000 lbs. of sugar were made during its first campaign ended in December, '98. The capacity is to be doubled for '9.1, and 7,500 to 10,000 acres of beets are wanted. The building is '.'64x108 ieet, and four beet sheds 30x300 feet, witli railroad and wagon tracks to each shed. A series of 19 questions were put to each, with request that they answer them carefully and ill full, they being assured that no one but one member of the committee would have access to their replies, and they would not be published except as a total. Replies have been received from all the managers but one, and the result of your committee's labor Is embodied in the following: "average number of laborers employed ditring the year 1897. Contract Free Laborers Laborers Total av. no. Japanese 6,379 !-j,371 11,750 Chinese 5,-518 1,986 7,504 Portuguese 394 1.562 1,956 Hawaiian 430 988 1,418 Other nationalities 419 Total 23,047 "Supply of labor — 45 well supplied, 6 were not: 25 reported many desertions, 21 none, 5 a few; nationality giving trouble — Japanese, a few reported Chinese; contracts expiring during year 2,235, as a rule contract men did not renew; 23 planters had diti:- culty in securing free labor, 28 had none. Rate of wages — 7 paid $13 per month, 6 paid $14, 20 paid $15 to $15.50, 8 paid $16; Hawaiians were paid $17 and up. Portuguese $18 and upward." Hi THE SUGAR IJSIDUSTEY. From the foregoing, observe that Japanese furnished a little over one-half the sugar labor, Chinese about one-third, balance Portuguese one-sixth, with Hawaiians, South Sea Islanders and a few other nationalities. AN UX-AMEKICAX OLIGARCHY. Even the San Francisco journal that ordinarily favored annexation, cannot stand this, but says: "But the planters, having got used to coolies, want to keep them. That is natural enough, but it is not a consideration that appeals to people over here. Nor will Americans sympathize with their aspiration to maintain Hawaii as a rich man's paradise. The manner in which this is done is to use coolies, not merely in the cane fields, but in the trades and small retail enterprises to crowd out white men who might, if permitted to stay, outvote the sugar party in the affairs of the islands, secure the gov- ernment, amend the labor laws, impose a fair rate of taxation upon the sugar estates and throw open the public domain. "In their opposing attitude the Hawaiian planters resemble their prototypes, the slave-holding aristocracy of the south. They have no use for "poor white trash." Given their baronial acres, tilled by coolies and just enough white men to do their police work for them, and they are content. So long as the coolies are in hand they can keep the obstreperous and independent white at a distance. If he comes as a laborer he is con- fronted with a glutted muscle market; if he comes as an artisan, a skilled Japanese is set up in the same business to underbid him; if he wants to be a merchant, an Asiatic with planter backing drives him away. This is the Hawaiian fashion of managing things, but it is not American style, and we do not believe that Congress will engraft it upon the American system. "The planters can till their fields with white labor under the profit-dividing sys- tem now being tried near Honolulu and still make fortunes. They can also do it by employing white farm hands directly, and for the general good of Hawaii they should be compelled to take some such course by the passage of laws discriminating against Asiatic labor in faver of the kind employed in this country. Otherwise Hawaii will be an anachronism in the American form of government." Certainly, with all its advantages, natural and artificial, there is no special cir- cumstance to justify Congress in perpetuating the contract-labor system on Hawaii. -./■ ,—■ v- .'1^■■•V•*'^'•'""••i■"■**•• /T *...;«!)'r.* ' ■ PART TWO. THE CANE Sugar Industry. BY PROF. W. C. STUBBS, Director Louisiana sugar experiment station at Audubon Park, New Orleans; director Louisiana state experiment station at Baton Rouge; director of the North Louisiana experiment station at Cal- lionn, etc., etc. Note.— This chapter Is designed to give a clear Insight Into this great Industry at the South, but elaborate details of culture an o C w > > r > z > >— t o 2! r o a t— I M ►H > > 22 THE SUGAK INDUSTRY. and tear. Hence the depreciation account of a sugarhouse is a very large item, [fc will be seen from this how different this industry is from running a refinery on raw sugar the year through, and how different it is from other kinds of manufacturing. THE SOIL BEST ADAPTED TO SUGAR CANE is a sandy loam, rich in vegetable matter. The cane does not seed, and since we grow it exclusively for sugar, the draft upon the soil is not heavy, provided the fod- der and tops, the bagasse from the mill, and the ashes from the sugarhouse, are all carefully returned to the soil. But to make a crop profitable, a large amount of ton- nage must be secured. It is nothing unusual to secure a crop of 40 to 45 tons of stripped cane per acre (though 20 tons is a fair average over a large area). Forty tons means fully 70 tons of green matter growing upon one acre of land; and while the per cent of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash is comparatively small, the aggregate of these three ingredients removed from the soil by such a crop is large. The cane seems to be specially adapted to soils of an alluvial character on account of the tendency of these soils to make weed. The "raging fertility" of such soils has to be dampened by the growth of just such crops as sugar cane, which is a gigantic grass, befoi-e it can be adapted to the gi'owth of cereals or other crops raised exclusively for the seed. Hence, the alluvial lands of Louisiana are peculiarly and singularly adapted to the cultivation of cane. THE SOIL IS USUALLY PREPARED in the following manner: Thoroughly broken with two to four horse plows, thrown up in beds six to seven feet in width, the middles deeply plowed and opened, and at intervals of short distances, what are termed quarter drains, running at right angles to the rows, are cut, leading into the ditches so that excessive rainfalls may be car- ried off without injury to the soil. This plowing is usually done in the fall; — though sometimes, from necessity, it is forced into the spring. PLANTING. After the soil is well prepared, the rows are opened with a double mold board plow, and the canes are deposited in this furrow — two to three continuous canes along the whole length of the row. These canes are then cut with a- cane knife to adjust them to the ow, and covered either with a plow, a cultivator, or with a hoe. The planting is done any time between September and April, It is usually done by hand, though we have one or two cane-planting machines that have been experimenting in this line. After the cane has heen planted, from each joint where is an "eye," springs a sprout. To assist this sprout in reaching the surface early in the spring, it is customary to scrape off the excess of dirt which was placed on the cane in the fall or early spring in order to protect it against the cold. CULTURE. After the cane has obtained a "stand," it is then cultivated, largely after the order of corn, care being taken to preserve always the cane upon a ridge so that the excessive rainfalls of summer may be easily disposed of. It is usually laid by in June > w a o > r > > o o a w, r o d 24 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. or early in July. After "lay by," the cane grows very rapidly, particularly if fre- quent showers at short intervals conspire with w^arm weather. After the cane is planted we usually get two crops, sometimes three, from the same pJanting. The first crop is usually termed the "plant cane, " and the second and third "first stubble" or rattoons. Cane is planted in this state so as to secure a continuous stand at maturity of from three to five stalks to the running foot. The stalks usually weigh from 2 to 4 lbs apiece. Like all grasses, cane tillers or suckers very greatly, and during the summer months many of these suckers or tillers perish. Hence the necessity of not planting cane too thick or too thin. If planted thickly, it will exhaust its energies in trying to sucker — a natural quality which seems to be exer- cised. If planted too thinly, the field will be filled at harvest with a large proportion of immature suckers, low in sugar. HARVESTING. In Louisiana the general harvest begins in October and lasts till January. In trop- ical countries grinding does not begin before January and usually lasts till June or July. In Louisiana, on account of the severity of our winter, cane must be harvested in the fall and winter or be killed. It is therefore only about eight or nine months old when worked in the sugarhouse. In tropical countries it is frequently fifteen and sometimes eighteen months old when harvested. Hence the superiority of tropic- al canes in sucrose over those grown in the southern part of this country. In the latitude of southern Louisiana, we make a crop every year, while in the tropics only two crops are made in three years. Our less yield per acre than in the tropics is therefore somewhat made up. But, per contra, in the tropics, they only plant cane once in four to six years, while we must plant every other year. ROTATION OF CROPS. In Louisiana the regular rotation of cane is as follows: Cane, two or three years, and then followed with corn, sown broadcast at lay by with cowpeas (usually the clay variety), and the entire mass of vines and stalks turned under in August or Septem- ber, and replanted in cane. HOW TO START THE CANE SUGAR INDUSTRY. A community can experiment to demonstrate what it can do with sugar cane in this way : Let each individual plant sugar cane on a small area and manufacture it on a small scale, with horse mills and open evaporators, according to the old-fashioned sys- tem. In this way, the saccharine content of their cane and the average available tonnage per acre can be established. Then, they can present to the commercial world a valid argument to enlist capital in a factory. The average yield being say 20 tons per acre, 5000 acres would be required to furnish the maximum crop of 100,000 tons that can be worked up in a single season by a modern factory of large size. Certainly nothing less than 2500 acres under cane each year would answer for a modern factory. The Louisiana experiment station at Baton Rouge has published a bulletin (No. 5) giving full directions about sugar making on a small scale, which also gives direc- o c: H H I— I % Q in a Q > o w r o cl h- ( I— I > 26 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. tions for culture of the cane in a small way. A copy of it will be sent free to any- one who applies to Baton Kouge for it in person or by mail. The difficulties in securing a central factory for working up sugar cane are dependent entirely upon the slowness with which sugar cane plantations can be established. Cane plantations must be established before the factory will be secured, and farmers are slow to establish a crop which requires three years of work and patience, unless they have "an assurance doubly assured" of a factory. DESCRIPTION or MANUFACTURE. Cane is hauled from the field and dumped alongside a moving platform, which SUGARHOUSE ON ADELINE PLANTATION, FRANKLIN, LA. This plant is owned and operated by the Oxnard family, who are also interested in the beet sugar factories at Nortolk and Grand Island, "Nebraska, and Cliino, California. Like the latter plant, the Adeline sngarhouse has all modern improvements. This is the only instance we know of in the United States in which the comparative merits of the cane and beet have been closely compared for a series of years. conveys it to the mill, and drops it, end on, into a chute which abuts upon the first mill— generally a three-roller mill, giving two pressures. Thence a conveyor takes the crushed cane to a second mill, where it gets a final squeezing and is ejected in a pretty dry state (called "bagasse"). This is conveyed by a third carrier to the bagasse furnace, wherein it is consumed as fuel and supplies steam power and steam heat to the sugar house. Or, the cane may be cut up into small pieces by specially designed knives and carried into large cast-iron cells known as diffusers. Here they are treated by the diffusion process, as described later on in the chapter on manufacture of sugar from beets. The juice, as it runs from the mill, is strained and limed and passes into theclari- fiers, where the temperature is raised and the lighter impurities come to the surface ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SUGAR. 27 and are skimmed off, while the heavier go to the bottom, and the clear juice is drawn off and sent to the boiling-down apparatus, double or triple effect. Here it is con- centrated into a syrup, again treated to remove impurities, and then goes to the vacuum pan, where it is boiled to grain. The contents of the pan are then sent to the centrifugal machines, which separate the sugar from the molasses, and the barreling of the sugar completes the cycle of operations. A second crop of crystals, of lower grade, is made from this molasses, and its molasses is the final by-product. The scums and settlings are passed through filter presses and quite a quantity of sugar recovered from them. A sugarhouse turning out one ton of sugar per hour will require about 90 men, skilled and unskilled, from the chemist to the trash boy. CANE STUBBLE DIGGER. CULTIVATOR FOR CANE. QUALITY AND GRADE OF PRODUCT. The product from such a modern sugarhouse is called "centrifugal" sugar, as con- trasted with sugar made by the old-fashioned, open-kettle process, which is known as 28 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. ** open -kettle" sugar. By the latter system, the juice of the cane is evaporated in four large iron kettles arranged in a line. The juice, after being sulphurized, is drawn into the hrst or Grand kettle, where it is limed, heated and the scums removed. It is then drawn into the second or Flambeau kettle, where it is brushed and cleaned, then passed to the th'rd or Syrup kettle, where it is furthsr brushed, thence passed into the Batterie, where it is reduced to the granulating point. It is then dipped out into joolers and run into large strainers, which allow the molasses to drain off. The resulting "open-kettie" sugar is then ready for the refinery, and constitutes what was formerly known as brown sugar, but very little of it now reaches the market until after it is refined. The commercial grades of these two kinds of sugar: Open-kettle sugars are raw and unrefined, the name of each grade, beginning with the lightest color, is as follows : —Choice, Strict Prime, Prime, Pully Fair, Good Fair, Fair, Good Common, Com- mon, and Inferior. The best grades of centrifugal sugars are almost as good in quality, appearance and saccharine strength as the best grades of refined sugar resulting from the refining processes employed in the very extensive refineries, most of which are operated by the "sugar trust." The best grade of centrifugal sugar is known as Plantation Granu- lated, and the other commercial grades are graded according to appearance, color, etc, as follows : Plantation Granulated, Off Granulated, Choice White, Off White, Gray White, Confectioners' Yellow, Choice Yellow, Prime Yellow, Off Yellow, Seconds. VACUUM PAN, At the Lehi, Utah, beet sugar factory- PART THREE. The Beet Sugar Industry. Prior to the close of J 896. Embodying the actual results of all American beet sugar factories, the methods of the most successful jiractical beet growers in all parts of America, and the lessons acquired by the scientific work of the United States Department of Agriculture (Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, Chief of Division of Chemistry), and of the various State agricultural experiment stations. BY HERBERT MYRICK. C (8 "> 5 I? O Cm « X o < in w »— I (-et-Miaar foiiipanlf^ operatiii'.; facto- ries at Norfolk, Oraiid I^laml aiieen the head and front of the development of the beet-i«ui;ar industiy in the United States as a coni- uiercial enterprise. See jiages H-3o. 32 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. the machinery removed to California. Late in the '70's, beet-sugar factories were established at Portland, Me, Franklin, Mass, one in New Jersey, and another in Dela- ware. In California, the Alvarado plant was established in 1870, and one at Sacramento in 1873, and one a distance below that city at Istleton in 187-1 or '75. The two latter soon failed, and an attempt at Los Angeles, along in 1878-9, never amounted to anything. ALL THESE EARLY ATTEMPTS FAILED for the reasons stated on Page 12 and also be- cause at that time other crops were so much more profitable that farmers would not grow beets, in the culture of which they were wholly ignorant. The then high-priced lands of the east, with the exi^ensive manuring and labor involved in the crop, did not make sugar beets profitable with farmers. The factories, in the east at least, were not located so as to secure a large supply of beets from the immediate neighborhood, and high freights cut down the farmers' returns. The factories were compar- atively small, and with a limited supply of beets of uneven or inferior quality, their operating expenses left no margin of profit. Later, attempts were made to establish the industry in Canada, and a factory was established at Eerthierville, Quebec, and another at Parn- ham, Quebec, but the French Canadians did not have sufficient enterprise to grow the beets, and with mismanagement of the factory, the industry languished in spite of a small subsidy from government. The Eerthierville plant was removed to Eddy, New Mexico, in 1896, and the Farnham outfit to Rome, New York, in 1897. The Dominion government encouraged the industry by a direct subsidy of (we believe) one cent per lb, but it was not continued long enough to overcome the indisposition of farmers to raise the beets, although the Farnham enter- prise got $44,000 from this source in the years 1892-3, and Eerthierville $41,000 in the years '95-6. AN EXCEPTION-HONOR TO AVHOM HONOR IS DUE. The factory at Alvarado, California, started in 1870, is the first sugar factory which A TYPICAL SUGAR BEET. This hept was spleotert for illustration herein from a lot of 57 tons of "mother beets" ehosen for seed- Browiucr punioses bv the Utah Sucar Co. The above enpravltisr Is just half size. The oriclnal l)eer was 13 iiirhes long, exelnsive of an inch or two broken off the tip. It weighed 2R onnees ar.d contained 17 % snu'ar, of R4 i)uritv. >'or seed grow- inc, the top is left as shown, but for the factorv, the butts of stems and woody matter forming the oval top are cut off square and clean. :; s ►?; d ftl r> o (c B • » ^ 0- r a THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 33 to 3 g & S ^ S « ^. 3 P X' ^ S' S' = O CB 3 rt- — t -, i T ^ 2. J, g 1^ O g; (R 3 f' f^ 3 . -- y — Ct "5 »> ^ 5 '^ "■ 3* "T 30 3, 3 'r t:^ » 00 - ct> OR >1 ^ r» ►1 tB i^ 2. S^ 3* "^ P g = ^-^ a"" vj 3 '5 >d ;t3 I z ^ 2, •'■ P ^ !^ 2 fB ^ M 2 2. r< •■ -: re 3 r- < <^i =^ 2 in ^i|l'= W § .$ ^ ^ o B -^ e ^ £ PI 2. 3 3 a 2 H - ^ > 5> > iiy Ivai foil sue nno ^ «■ ft 3 o, CD s, 5 cS > TO c - ^ 3 n es tl as lo by tl tha iven H ?■ '^ * - » ^ c» 3 O 2. P ^_ »■ H- >< 5 ? PI » ^5 « rn ;i! " 2 * itle ly b fac s ca ers p "d ? tti s ^ ° - « a 2. •< ^ tie- 1 < " P ^ 3 p e, 3 P -^ 2 2 a S 5: a 5- « g s- . a a _. o 34 THE SUGAR INDUSTKY. has continued its existence to the present time. Its machinery came originally from the failures in Illinois and Wisconsin. The Alvarado enterprise struggled along for years, while the farmers were learning how to grow beets, and while the quality of beets was being improved. Too much credit cannot be extended to E. H. Dyer, and his son, Edward F. Dyer and others, for their persistent work at Alvarado. Dr. C. A. Goessmann, a German sugar expert, conducted the first scientific experi- ments in sugar beet culture at the Massachusetts Agricultural College, 1873-6. Had Goessmann's teachings been followed, the present condition of our American beet sugar industry might have been reached ten or twenty years earlier. Lewis Ware founded the journal, "The Sugar Beet," in 1880, having previously revived the Alvarado factory, was instrumental in starting the factories in Maine, Massachusetts and Delaware, has devoted time, brain and money to developing the industry, and deserves full credit. Dr. H. W. Wiley, chief of the division of chemistry. United States department of agriculture, when in charge of the sorghum work, as early as 1884 investigated the sugar DB. C. A. OOESSMANN. LEWIS S. WABE, DE. H. W. WILEY. beet in California and reported favorably upon it. In 1883 he urged that stations be established to experiment with beet, cane and sorghum, but was not allowed to carry out his plans until 1888-92. Since then the department has actively promoted the industry. The real impetus given to the beet sugar industry as a practical commercial enter- prise in the United States dates from the time the Oxnards took it up late in the '80's. After large experience in the cane sugar and sugar refining interests in the United States, Mr. Henry T. Oxnard made a special study of beet sugar abroad, and became convinced of its possibilities here. With characteristic energy, enthusiasm and ability, Mr. Oxnard spared neither labor nor money in conducting a grand campaign of education, in the course of which he has expended largely of his private fortune. He was also the organ- izer of the American Beet Sugar Manufacturers' Association in 1891, and as its president has served without salary and mainly at his own expense. Mr. Henry T. Oxnard has backed up his faith with immense investments in sugar factories, by giving away many tons of beet seed, and is to-day the recognized head of the industry in the United Stales. With the aid of his brother, James G. Oxnard (a sugar engineer of large practi- cal experience), James G. Hamilton and others, the favorable legislation 36 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. of 1890 was obtained, and the great beet-sugar factories at Chino, Grand Island and Norfolk were built by different companies, of all of which Mr Henry T. Oxnard is president. During 1896-7 he has been indefatigable in political circles and at Wash- ington to secure a fair chance for the industry against foreign competition. He has now organized a construction company through which to give the full benefit of his experience, and of the body of trained experts associated with him, to those who contemiilate building or operating beet-sugar factories. RECENT DEVELOPMENT. Results at Alvarado finally attracted the attention of Claus Spreckels, the Hawai- ian cane-sugar king. Thoi'oughly informed upon the beet-sugar industry in his native country (Germany), Mr Spreckels realized three things : (1) That it was only a question of time before the United States would abrogate the one-sided reciprocity treaty with Hawaii that was making him immensely wealthy; (2) that there was no reason why this country should not produce its own sugar, California offering ideal advantages; and (3) that in the battle for supremacy the beet is destined to win. With his usual keen business judgment, Mr Spreckels erected a small beet-sugar fac- tory at Watsonville, which turned out about 1000 tons of sugar from beets grown in 1888. The plant was enlarged in time to profit by the McKinley bounty, and has gone on with uninterrupted success until it converted into sugar more than 160,000 tons of beets grown in 1896. The Oxnards established the great beet-sugar factory at Chino, Cal, in time to work up the 1891 crop, and in the campaign of 1895 it handled 83,000 tons of beets. The Oxnards had the sugar factory at Grand Island, Nebraska, done in time to work up 4500 tons of beets grown in 1890, and it converted about 25,000 tons of the '96 crop of beets into sugar. The same interests built the factory at Norfolk, Nebraska, which worked 8000 tons in its first (1891) camjiaign, and upward of 50,000 tons in 1897. Local capital and the characteristic enterprise of certain men Iprominent in the Mormon church, led to the establishment of the factory at Lehi, Utah, which handled nearly 10,000 tons of beets in its first campaign (1891), and nearly 45,000 tuns of the 1896 crop. O. K. Lapham also established a small plant at Staunton, Virginia, that demonstrated the practicability of the industry, but was burned in 1894. The factory at Eddy, New Mexico, was got in operation in time to work up a few thousand tons of the '96 crop, and the same can be said of the new plant at Menomonee Falls, Wis. THE RECORD IN BRIEF. Such is an outline of the beet-sugar industry in America to the opening of 1897. The bounty of two cents per pound for fifteen years offered by the McKinley tariff', Aug 6, 1896, gave a great stimulus to an industry which years of extensive and costly experimenting had shown could be developed in this country. But before much could be done, progress was arrested by the Wilson tariff, Aug 28, 1894, removing the bounty and substituting a duty of only 40 per cent ad valorem, with constantly de- creasing prices, due to the unfair competition of European export-bounty-fostered sugars. As usual, it took the farmers several years to learn how to grow beets, and it was not until 1896 that these factories were supplied with all the beets they could possi- CD P P ►1 p 2. 2. O s- rt p p- H 2- - ^ i' 1 1 ; S =^ <1 i" ^ _ _P . _ 3" p " '" 5 2 f^ '5 ET. "■ p p tn -I c pu P p c a "* ^ . ^ £ c c 5. i s S5 J £! ^ — o p P I-;- p 2 c TO ?r « a- s; ■A a E'13 f: ='■ P- &. ^ O a Cf. ^ B "7 K! a ' GO Ct = 5 = H 2 - r 5 1.^% • » ^ 8= 5 ^. fC O a; C -« S^ ac — < S ET :r- — — 1^. ^ » o en 5' !^ £^ o , p !" .^- ^ B S^ ° p c^ "1; W2 Q. S ?r CD ►-■ cap El pJ £- « —CD „ CD ^^ -• d :, « J= r' S^ 3 s tr. ^ ►, ^<> I— CD C P- J CD CD -^ « ■-.. 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S -^ 3 » p: a. = £ E « < ^. B a S. 5 ■"< 85 i '-'(D— 5Bcdb-i i_i a P © S E B- p J^ K CD CD . 38 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY, bly work into sugar. This season was a disappointment at Cliino, where the expected crop was considerably curtailed by drouth. At Lehi, on the other hand, too many beets were grown— the factory could hardly work them all. We are under obligations to Willett & Gray for the following. SUMMARY OF BEET SIGAR PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES: [III Ions of 2240 pounds.] 1830, A few hundred pounds 1884, 953 tons 1831 7, None 1885, 600 tons 1838-9, 1,300 lbs 1886, 800 tons 1839 62, None 1887, ?55 tons 1863-71, 300—500 tons per annum 1888, 1,910 tons 1872, 600 tuns 1889, 2,600 tons 1873, 700 tons 1890, 2,800 tons 1874-7, Under 100 tons per annum 189), 5,359 tons 1878, 200 tons 1892, 12,091 tons 1879, 1,200 tons 1893, 20,453 tons 1880, 500 tons 1894, 20,443 tons 1881-2, Less tlian 500 tons 1895, 30,000 tons 1883, 535 tons 1896, 40,000 tons AVHAT OF THE FUTURE ? Wherever factories have been established, farmers are now eager to raise beets for them at $4 to $5 per ton. Offers have been made to grow beets for the older fac- tories in 1897 far in excess of their capacity. Watsonville could not accept half the acreage offered. Tn such cases, the factories contract only with those growers who have shown the most interest and the ability to furnish beets of the best quality. Mr Spreckels has under construction at Salinas City, California, what is destined to be the largest single beet sugar factory in the world, with a capacity of over .300,000 tons of beets during a campaign of about 100 days, that will be ready for the 1898 crop, and will require 25,000 acres of beets for its supply. At Alamitos, Califor- nia, a new factory will be ready for 1897 with a capacity of 350 tons of beets per day. The first New York Beet Sugar company hopes to have the machinery from the plant at Farnham in operation at Rome, Xew York, in time to handle 30,000 tons of the 1897 crop. Several of the existing factories propose to enlarge. There are a number of other factory enterprises that are more or less organized. About 1000 communities in the cane and beet sugar belts are anxious to secure beet-sugar factories or cane-sugar houses. There is no question about the prompt and extensive development of the industry, if congress extends to it satisfactory assurances that the American market will be preserved for the American sugar producers. Without this, the business will stop right where it is. ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES. Before proceeding to give details of just how the foregoing has been accomplished and a full discussion of what has been learned from all past experience that may guide us in the future, a few elementary points shouid be understood. TECHNICAL TERMS EXPLAINED. Prof W. A. Henry covers this point very clearly in these words: What is meant by "per cent of sugar in the juice" and by co-efficient of purity? A hundred pounds of sugar beets contain about 95 pounds of juice. This juice not only contains sugar O DC M m C > > o o H !2 V ^ r ?^ M tn > 40 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. but various other substances, largely mineral matter, which are a great hindrance, causing serious losses of sugar during the manufacture. A hundred pounds of average beet juice will carry about 15 pounds of solid matter, of which twelve pounds may be sugar, and three pounds matter not sugar. If we divide the number of pounds of sugar (12) by the total pounds of solid matter (15), we get .80, which sum is called the co-efficient of purity; that is, beet juice with 15 parts solids, 12 of which are sugar, is said to have a co-efficient of purity of 80. If the sample of juice contains 16 parts solid matter and 12 parts sugar, as before, then the co-efficient of purity is only 75. When reducing the beet juice to make sugar, each pound of foreign matter, not sugar, keeps at least one pound of sugar from crystallizing. This true, we sea at once that the manufacturer desires beet roots not only carrying much sugar but also with a high co-efficient of purity. Immature beets, those grown on soils rich in vegetable matter or fertilized with fresh barnj^ard ruanure, those grown on land recently cleared from the forest, or on drained swamp lands, are all liable to carry a great deal of solid matter not sugar in the juice, and consequently are quite unsatisfactory to the sugar manufacturer. Large beets are likewise always poor in sugar. The leaf stems ot the beet, as well as the crown of the beet root itself, also carry much foreign mat- ter. In practice, the manufacturer recovers about 7 out of every 10 pounds of sugar contained in the beet rott. It should be added that the apparent co-eff.cient of purity of the juice is fre- quently misleadlx.fe, since it takes no account of the nature of the non-sugars present. The real purity of the beet is also to be distinguished from the apparent purity of the juice. The real purity of tliv3 beet is obtained by dividing the percentage of sugar in the beet by the total solid matter therein ; the apparent purity of the juice by dividing the percentage of sugar therein by the apparent percentage of solids as indicated by the Brix spindle. QUALITY OF THE BEET SUGAR. ( Whenever the subject of beet sugar is brought forward the first inquiry usually made is, "Is beet sugar white like other sugar and does it not have a peculiar taste?" In its very beginning, when struggling for recognition in Europe, the beet industry was handicapped by the claim that its sugar was not equal in quality with that yield- ed by the cane plant of the tropics. England did not wish to recognize any competitor with the cane sugar of her dependencies. In brief, to answer the questions asked above, the refined sugar from the beet root equals in all particulars that yielded by the cane plant. Enormous quantities of beet sugar are now being shipped to this country from Europe, mainly Gei-many, and the chances are more than even that the persons who question the purity and flavor of beet sugar are using it daily in their tea and coffee. HOW BEET SUGAR IS MADE. The large illustration on Page 30 gives an admirable view of the interior of the Chino beet-sugar factory, which will help to niake clear this description of the proc- ess of manufacture. First, the beets are brought in by the farmers and deposited in large sheds with V-shaped bottoms, which are connected with the factory by means ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SUGAR. 41 of channels, through which a moderate flow of water carries the beets into the first washing machine. By means of a spiral, the beets are tumbled about, washed and carried on until they drop into an elevator, which carries them to the top of the building, where they pass through an automatic weigher and are sliced in such a manner as to open up the pores of the beet as far as possible. The sugar beet is very similar to the ho)ieycomD, and in its little cells is secreted the sweet matter, so that in slicing, it is desirable to open up as many of these little cells as possible. Hence the necessity of having the knives sharp, so that the cells may not be ruptured, but clean cut. As these slices come from under the cutter, they are put in what is known as a diffusion battery, shown in the center of the foreground of illustration on Page 30. In this battery, the sugar is extracted by soaking the sliced beets in water. Warm water is turned into the contents of a large iron jar holding several tons of sliced beets. This water circulates through the mass of cossettes (the name given to the slices of beets) and passes out through the bottom by means of a pipe which enters the top of Jar No 2, the water being forced along by pressure. From one battery to another, this liquid passes along until it has gone through 14 cells or jars, when it is shown that sufficient water has passed through Jar No 1. The water is now turned off and No 2 becomes No 1 and No 1 is emptied of its cos- settes and refilled, becoming No 14, and so the circle is continued all day and all night, procuring in this way all the sugar in the cossettes in liquid form, which now has the color of vinegar. This liquid is now taken to a measuring tank near by from which it goes to a mixer, where it is mixed with lime and then put into a huge tank for carbonation, in which the lime and all foreign metter it contains is rendered insoluble by means of carbonic acid gas forced through the uottom of the carbonation tank. Then the mixture comes through the filter press room where, by means of an elaborate series of frames, it is filtered, and becomes transparent. The process of mixing, carbonating and filtering is then repeated for the second time. This fin- ished, the syrup is treated with sulphur fumes and then passes into the quadruple effect, which is four large boilers in which the water contained in the syrup is evapo- rated, when we have what is called "thick juice." This syrup is boiled in the vac- uum pan, and now becomes raw sugar, and is then run into the centrifugals and made into white sugar. The sugar is now damp, like wet snow, and by means of a granu- lator, it is dried, and through different sieves is separated into the finer or coai>er- grai;tecl sugar, ready for the maiket. E. >- OHAPTEE II. HOW THE INDUSTRY HAS GROWN IN EACH STATE. CALIFORISriA. The Golden State is on the eve of an enormous development of her beet-sugar industry. The remarkable success of this industry in recent years has stimulated both capitalists and farmers to push this new industry to the utmost in case the American market is reserved for American sugar. Experiments in many parts of the state have been conducted extensively during the past six years. In many of these cases, the beets have been raised on a large scale and shipped to existing factories, some being hauled long distances. In other cases, tlie crop has been used as feed for stock while the farmers were learning how to raise the crop, and demonstrating the adaptability of the sugar beet to their pe- culiar soil by having the beets analyzed at the state experiment station. It is now evident that there are hundreds of square miles of the richest land in the world avail- able for sugar-beet culture in the Golden State. The factory of the Alameda sugar com- pany, at Alvarado, will probably be en- larged this year. During the campaign with the 1896 crop, it has worked up about 55, 000 tons of beets. Their sugar content varied from 12 to 18 per cent, with from 70 to 88 per cent co-efflcient of purity, averaging over 15 per cent of sugar and 81 purity. We give on Page 33 an excel- lent photo-engraving of tliis historical [fioneer factory. In the 1895 campaign Alvarado worked 27,385 tons of beets into 5.400,000 lbs of sugar, the beets averaging 13 per cent of sugar. MR SrUECKKLS' ENTERPRISE AT AVATSOXVILLE in Santa Cruz county, near tlie coast, about 75 miles south of San Francisco, and 25 miles north of Monterey, has the credit of standing at the head of the sugar industry PRESIDENT ALLEN. R. M. Allen, president of tlie Aiiierioati stiyar growers' society, is also president of tlie Nebraska state sugar growers' society and one of tlie largest growers of sugar beets iii the country, having grown 500 acres of beets annually for the past six years. He is also a large cattle feeder and is pro- foundly impressed witli the vast possibilities 3 43,773 83,035 7.2G 7.50 11.7 9.16 11.03 13 14 14 l.j 15 1,888 2,103 3,276 2,748 3,303 1,510 1,680 2,621 2,198 2,670 Aug 20 July 13 July 31 Aug 2 July 9 Oct 31 Oct 11 Nov 4 Oct 24 Xov 14 73 91 97 85 129 179 288 509 526 644 28,108 86,852 15,592 111,431 161,129 1,02G 3,952 7,532 4,736 10,393 S3.90 4.26 4.26 4.66 4.35 $28.37 31.95 49.84 42.69 47.98 48 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. ing an immense amount of information about the industry and its growth- THE KKSULTS .\T CHIXO FOR ITS FIKST FIVE YEARS. Acres of beets grown, Tons of beets produced, .\verage yield of beets per acre, tons, Per ceut of sugar in beets, ♦Crude sugar per acre, lbs, *Pave sugar ]ier acre (80%), Began making sugar. Finished making sugar. Days in operation. Average weight of beets worked daily, tons. Average weight of sugar made daily, lbs, Total weight of sugar made, tons. Average paid farmers per ton beets, Average return per acre, *Estiniates or data figured by the autlior, the otlier facts being all furnished from the company's books. The ton is of 2000 lbs. Granulated sugar only was made in '91, raw sugar only in '92 and '93, while the product of '94 was all the best grade of refined white granulated sugar except 1009 tons (2,017,363 lbs) of raw sugar, and in '95 only 51 tons (102,286 lbs) of raws. Among the most successful beet growers for this factory are the brotl^ers Gustaf- sen, who averaged 15 to 20 tons per acre. The Dethlefsen brothers averaged 20 tons per acre on 2.jO acres in the comparatively poor season of 1896, and will double their area in 1897. They give their crop close personal attention, and no detail that will con- tribute to success is omitted. They have fully determined that there is a certain profit in intelligent beet culture, and well they may, for their net profits above all expenses and good pay for their own time and ability, have averaged over $30 per acre. To protect their interests at the factory, planters have a strong union, which chooses its own chemist, weigher and tare man to keep tab on the beets as delivered, to see that full weight is credited on each lot, and that the deduction for tare is not too large, while the chemist's duplicate analyses are a check on the factory tests. At the annual meeting in December, 1896, of the Chino beet growers' union, numbering 106 farmers, ic was reported that 48, 139 tons beets were harvested and marketed. The average price per ton was $3.78, representing a total of about $180,000 paid for this season's beets. The average sugar content was placed at 14 per cent. In addi- tion to the present membership, there are nearly 100 farmers who make a business of growing beets, and it is hoped these may also be brought into the union, in order to secure the best possible administration of the business affairs of growers. At tlie beginning of the season an assessment of 4c per ton Avas levied on all Chino beets to defray factory and office expenses of the uuion, including tare man and check chem- ist. The close of the season finds a surplus in the treasury which makes it possible to rebate lie per ton. Thus it cost less than 3c per ton harvested to carry on the business of the union. The Chino factory uses oil for fuel, from 75,000 to 100,000 barrels during a cam- paign, which comes through pipes from the oil company, 14 miles distant, although it is hoped to get a supply near by from oil wells on the ranch. It consumed 12.5,000 tons of limestone in 1895. its 21 artesian wells furnished nearly 4,000,000 gallons of 5U THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. water daily and it paid $100,000 in wages to the 350 men employed in and about the factory. THE NEW FACTORIES IX CALIFORNIA. VVork is going forward on Mr Spreckels' immense plant at Salinas City. While it will have a capacity of some 3000 tons of beets per day of 24 hours, it will practically consist of three sets of machinery under one roof, each of 1000 tons capacity daily. Mr Spreckels will have to pay out $12,000 a day for beets and $5000 daily for labor and other materials at the factory. According to this estimate, the daily expenses will average no less than $17,000, or nearly $2,000,000 for a campaign of under four months. It was expected at first that this immense plant would be ready for the 1897 crop and before it was decided upon, Mr Spreckels insisted on having contracts with farmers to grow 25,000 acres of beets. It now appears that delays in making the machinery are such that the plant will not be in operation until 1898. While it will use the product from 25,000 to 35,000 acres of land annually, fully 100,000 acres will be involved, in order to permit the necessary rotation of crops. Farmers in the contigu- ous country, however, are ready to grow 100,000 acres of beets every year if factories are put up to work them. The Los Alainitos Sugar Co is building a large factory in the center of the Los Alamitos Rancbo, which contains 6700 acres of choice sugar-beet land belonging to the Bixby Land Co, which has contracted to furnish the sugar company with its full complement of beets for a term of five years. This ranch lies about ten miles inland from the sea, near Los Angeles. The climate is perfect the year around. The soil is a deep, sandy, sub-irrigated loam, having been deposited for centuries by the over- flow of the San Gabriel river, and according to the artesian-well borings, its depth exceeds 400 feet. It is believed that there is sufficient moisture in the soil to produce beets in the dryest years without irrigation. The factory is being equipped entirely with American machinery by E. 11. Dyer & Co of Cleveland, Ohio, who furnish both buildings and machinery and turn them over to the sugar company when in full oper- ation. The frame of the factory is of steel and the walls of brick and will be equipped to work off 350 tons of beets per day of the 1897 crop. The building is so large that more machinery can be added to doubie the present capacity at the mini- mum of additional expense. Great nare has been given to so plan the building and machinery as to secure the utmost economy of labor and fuel. These works will han- dle 350 tons of beets per day with less than 100 men, and consume under fourteen per cent of lignite coal for fuel. A sectional view of the structure is given on Page 37. Many of the sugar factory propositions in California are awaiting the action of congress. Should it be favorable, several new enterprises will be established in time to handle thousands of additional acres of beets in '98. NEBRASKA. The efforts to establish the beet-sugar industry in iN'ebraska date back about ten years, and her experience is typical of the obstacles in the way of the industry. A factory was established at Grand Island in 1889, by the Oxnards, being aided by the gift of land and a cash bonus, while the state offered a bounty of one cent per pound on the sugar, which yielded the factory $7,304 on the product of its first campaign on the crop of 1890. The law was repealed at the session of '91. Meanwhile the 62 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. Oxnards had established another factory at Norfolk, in the northwestern part of Nebraska, but the farmers were siow to take hold of the industry, and with the re- peal of the state bounties and the national elections of '92 forecasting the repeal of the McKinley bounty and lower prices fcr beets, a decided set back was given to the industry. On top of this came the drouth year oi 18'J4, with disastrous results. The factories having been obliged to reduce the price from $5 to $4 per ton^ not enough were planted to run the factories a reasonable length of time, even had the season been favorable. The state came to the rescue and by the act of March 25, 1895, offered a bounty of I of a cent per pound on all sugar manufactured, provided the price of beets was raised from $4 to $5. This bounty therefore amounts to an extra bonus of SI per ton on the beets to growers. Thus encouraged, 5000 acres were secured for the Norfolk factory and 4000 for the Grand Island factory for the 1895 crop. The spring was nut favorable, the early summer was dry, but later fine-growing weather promised a mag- nificent crop. Then came what the beet planter dreads almost as much as the cane planter fears early frosts : September opened with a general rain followed by a period of high temperature. The nearly ripened beets, responding to the moisture and warmth, began a period of growth, drawing sustenance from the sugar already stored. Before they could again begin elaborating sugar, a period of cold and cloudy weather set in, checking growth and leaving the beets in an immature condition as a result of these unprecedented climatic conditions. The result was that many beets were re- jected by the factory because, being below 12 i^er cent sugar and under 80 puritj', it did not pay to work them at $4 per ton. This caused much dissatisfaction among growers, who at first complained that the factory tests were not reliable, but they employed a chemist of their own and also had analyses made by the state experiment station. This work supported and justified the results reported by the factory chemists, and convinced farmers that the fault was in the weather and not in the factory. But for the determined efforts of the Nebraska beet-sugar growers' association, it is possible that the whole industry might have stopped then and there. As the bounty was supposed to stand for another year, a grand effort was made to give the industry a thorough trial in 189(5. The result was all that could be expected. The crop was perfect in every particula', t'^o weather in September, Octi>ber and Novem- ber was as usual all that could be desired, and the factories worked np over 75,000 tons of beets. Farmers have made handsome profits on the 1890 crop, they feel that they have thoroughly mastered»the culture of the sugar beet, and they offer to grow many more beets for 1897 than the factories can possibly work up, even should the beets be siloed so that the factories can run until March 1, as was the case at Norfolk on the 1890 crop. Growers who had contracts the past year want to double or triple their acreage and hundreds of others are anxious to i-aise beets on their own lands, or lease lands for the beet crop of 1897. And this in spite of the fact that Nebraska's supreme court has decided that the state bounty (of which $50,000 was paid on the '95 crop) is not payable unless the legislature specifically appropriates the money there- for. Whether the state will pay this bountv of $1 per ton on the '90 crop is not yet settled, but it is evident that the state will not renew the bounty, so that -unless na- X X > w w td H w en > o H 53 - Q 33 ?> w r > p Z M 03 54 TUE 8UGAK INDUSTRY. tional legislation and advancing prices for sugar increase its value, the price of beets for 1897 will be not over $4 per ton. That was the price for '9(3, the extra dollar being conditional upon the state v>aying the bounty. THE KECORD OF THE BEET SUGAR IXDUSTRY IX NEBRASKA. The dry season of 189-1 produced beets of a low water content that yielded an aver- age of 21G lbs of refined sugar to the ton, compared to 176 lbs the year before. In 1895, on the other hand, late rains and a warm fall started a second growth which in- creased the size and weight at expense of sugar, which averaged only 150 pounds of refined to the ton. The average for the last campaign will be fully 200 lbs of refined sugar to the ton and will thus compare with previous years since the factory began operations : /-Tons of beets ' ^vorked-^ ^Graniilatesfully produce our first crop of sugar beets. But the problem has been most happily solved, and to-day Utah produces sugar beets that are fast ap- proaching in quality those of the oldest beet-growing countries. The growing of this plant is a departure from the usual methods of farming as practiced by the ordinary farmer, in that no part of it can be neglected, or even done MAP OF EASTERX NEBRASKA Sliowing location of the two beet sugar factories at Xorfork and Grand Island, and principal points at which beets are grown for shipment. (From Bulletin 44, Nebraska experiment station at Lincoln.) in a haphazard sort of manner, without sacrificing the crop. It requires intensive cultivation in every sense, but it pays well, a larger cash return beine obtained from one acre of beets than from three acres of grain. As the farmers gradually become more familiar with the crop, they steadily increase the yield in tons per acre as well as the sugar quality of the beet. The farmers of Utah for the first two years took hold of the beet industry cau- tiously and lightly, preferring to carefully test its merits for themselves before risk- ing too much on a new crop. There were some failures and many successes, but they soon discovered its value, and the increased acreage offered since then has been so great that for the past two seasons the sugar company could not accept it all. At the present writing (March, 1896), there are already applications for over 1000 acres of beets more than can be accepted for the coming season of isito. During the sugar campaign just closed, the Lehi factory received 33,108 tons of beets from 3300 acres, an average of 11.54 tons per acre; 300 acres averaged about 7 tons, 2000 acres about 11 Machine Shops, Boiler House and Lime Kiln. Rear View of Main HiiihUn^'. PICTURES OF OREGON'S FIRST SUGAR WORKS. 58 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. tons, while the remaining 1000 acres made about 14 tons per acre of trimmed beets delivered at factory. At $4.25 per ton, the farmers got nearly $162,000 for the crop, from which was made neai'ly 7,500,000 lbs of refined granulated white sugar. Com- pared with the previous years the following TABLE SHOWS THE PROGRESS OF THE INDUSTRY IN UTAH. 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 Acres of beets grown. 1,500 1,500 2,755 2,850 3,300 Tons of beets produced, 9,960 9,816 26,800 32,694 38,108 Average yield of beets per acre, tons. 6.6 6.5 9.7 11.47 11.54 Per cent of sugar In beets, 11.0 11.8 11.6 12.7 13.5 Purity of sugar, per cent, 80.0 80.0 79.5 80.2 81.5 *Ci"ude sugar per acre, lbs. 1,452 1,534 2,250 2.913 3,116 *Pure sugar per acre, lbs. 1,162 1,227 1,719 2,336 2,539 Began making sugar, Oct 12 Sept 26 Sept 19 Sept 25 Sept 5 Finished nialcing sugar, Dec 8 Nov 13 Dec 21 Jan 5 Dec 31 Days in operation, 58 49 94 103 118 ♦Estimates added by the author as matters of interest. About 45,000 tons of beets were worked in 1896, for wliich $4.25 per ton was paid, or a total of about $190,000; paid for labor at factory about $35,000, for coal $30,000 and for other supplies $25,000. The methods of manufacture have practically reached the same degree of perfec- tion in the successful factories of this country as they have in Europe, showing that the essential factor for the success of the beet-sugar industry of America is the beet root itself. The factory at Lehi, Utah, was the first one to be planned and constructed by Americans and equipped throughout with American machinery. It certainly has many features of excellence to commend it over the European factories. The machin- ery of itself is more effective in many ways, and its arrangement is such that there is a saving of at least one-fourth the number of hands required in a European factory of the same capacity. During our campaign of 1895, out of which 113 days were oc- cupied in cutting and working beets, it worked an average of 337i tons per day, with a factory of only 300 tons guaranteed capacity. As appears from the table above, the length of a beet-sugar campaign is necessarily limited to a few weeks after the har- vesting period, for the beets cannot be kept very long without so deteriorating as to be unprofitable for manufacturing purposes. The total yearly expenses, therefore, of an investment of from one-half to three-quarters of a million of dollars, have to be made during a campaign of 90 to 110 days. The engravings herewith, from photographs taken especially for this work, give an admirable insight into this Utah enterprise. It was projected by men of Utah, who furnished all of the $600,000 invested in the plant, with its 1000 acres of land, with silos and pits for pulp and yards for feeding it to stock. Many shares in the factory are owned among the farmers, and it is in that sense co-operative. The two principal buildings are entirely of brick, the walls being two feet thick, the founda- tion laid deep, and the piers sustaining the main weight of the machinery being solid masonry resting on bed rock. The main building is 180x84 feet, three stories high. The annex is 184x60 feet. In the latter building are contained ten horizontal tubular boilers, with a generating capacity of 100 horse power each ; twenty large char-filters, char kiln with all the necessary apparatus for revivifying the bone charcoal, and the lime kiln, which treats about seventeen tons of lime rock each 24 hours, the carbonic acid gas having to be retained from the lime, as it is necessary in the manufacture of sugar. All the ground floors are solid concrete y. J2' O &- «t> fO Jp " c- 0) ^ 3 3 rt- 3 i-S •-' (JQ (t> P ri- •■^ P "^ qs CD ►c ^ c- CD s 5. ^ 3^ 3 M ^ ^ O 3 03 CfQ ja _. (» >" ^ O J^. CO CD r. CD P O CD H 5. c- S' ^ CD o o Id w o o w < > r r M ^ DO W M H W G Q CO ^ Ms ?> r1- o c H o CD :o I-! k! o 3 '7' M >< O o 60 THE SUGAR IXJ)LSTRy. and all the buildings are lighted with electric lights, which is generated on the prem- ises. There are two sugar store warehouses ; one 75x40 feet, tlie other 125x40 feet, the total capacity of which IS 40,000 bags of sugar. The total weight of machinery is upwards of 1000 tons. So prosperous has Lehi become that in 1896 there was not a single delinquent tax- payer. This is a remarkable fact for any town, but especially for a western commu- nity which has more or less "floating" population. But the Lehi people are "stay- ers" since the sugar industry is established. NEAV MEXICO. The Pecos Valley Beet Sugar Co established a factory at Eddy, New Mexico, late in 1890, and are planning for a 700-ton plant 75 miles north of that place, to be erected this year. The Eddy plant was late in starting, and from Nov 25 to Jan i, '97, re- ceived 3706 tons of beets and the total supply was about 18,000 tons. Many farmers irrigated too much and others did not cultivate properly, but in spite of these obsta- cles the first crop averaged about 12 tons per acre on the 1500 acres grown, while some fields, properly worked, made nearly 20 tons per acre, the range in yield running gen- erally from 8 to 16 tons per acre. The sugar content ranged from 14 to 21 percent and over 80 purity, and the average for the total tonnage will "probably be close to 16 per cent." Enough has been done to indicate that the arid southwest is likely to prove well adapted to the sugar beet. In spite of the unusual winter weather, in spite of a late start in making sugar, and in spite of all the numerous obstacles that beset such an enterprise the first season in a new country, the company report that their ' 'most sanguine expectations are being realized." Making every discount possible for the claims of interested parties, it is evident that a brilliant start has been made for the Pecos Valley sugar industry. Seldom, if ever, has an enterprise of this kind in the United States done as well its first year. WISCONSIX. A sugar factory was erected at Menomonee Palls, Waukesha Co, Wis, about fifteen miles northwest of Milwaukee, in 1896. The enterprise was due to the efforts of Mr K. G. Korn, who has patiently worked for years to develop the enterprise. He is the general manager, having entire charge of designing the factory and building and installing the machinery. He gave his time to the work without pay until the factory was in operation and had the machinery built at machine shops in Milwaukee. On account of the disturbance in financial affairs, the factory was not ready for business until January. '^7, but it had nearly 18,000 tons of beets in silos waiting to be manu- factured into sugar, as illustrated and described on Page 61. The campaign closed late in March, '97, with a satisfactory run up to latest reports. The greatest difficulty Mr Korn found was to get farmers to grow the beets, but after an 18-months' canvass he succeeded in getting a ten years' contract for growing 2500 acres of beets from 350 farmers within a radius of ten miles of the factory. The contract agrees to pay $4 per ton for all beets testing 12 per cent sugar, $5 for those testing 16 per cent, and an annual premium of $50 for the best grown field of beets. An average test from several of the largest crops of '96 show from 12i to I'H per cent sugar, and it is believed that M -- H- r+ Til i iiile 6, the en la tion. 2^rt * ^ »» = X eg-- — ^^^^ (/) 55 -(, (t 05 ^ -1 • M, :i3 .■r^^ o 1— 1 ^?-^?^ z o i; »^ cd 2'^^^ M hott was ■briii s we S s -; o (/: w - a~ HH Z 2 £. <: -c „r3 r « ^ are ilat onl 1 th 00 te k--^. o S|l 2 i^- 5 -c ^3 " p CD fP ft » =■ •o a?D ^ pP 3"^ » o 2. » s - ^" ..0-2, w ' ^ t 6; _ -■ Q - "^ 3 S-am •C'^O 3- (s o < 2 H ^ a 3 3 3 S-* 2 o >f o 3 1 „ 3 r r w > o O g w o 62 THE ttUGAR INDUSTRY. the yield will average 12 to 14 tons per acre; many raised 15 to IS tons per acre, and one crop made 23 tons of good beets i)er acre. The factory, illustrated on Page 61, has a capacity of 27") tons of beets jier day of 24 hours. This factory is the outcome of elaborate inquiries conducted by the Wisconsin ex- periment station that show almost the entire state to be wonderfully adapted to the sugar beet. The beet ripens onlinarily by Sept 15 or 20, and until Nov 10 there is little danger from cold, but after that silos will be necessary if a factory is to run much over 00 days. Hundreds of pounds of beets have been grown all over the state and analyzed at the station, showing total averages of from 12^ to 14i per cent of sugar, while many samples ran up to IS per cent and the co-etficient of purity aver- aged over 80. The Vilmorin gave the richest sugar and the Despez Richest the next. As a result of all this v/ork, there is a deep interest in the sugar question. OTHER STATES. So much fo'" results in >er beet per acre per acre Mette. 32.7G 26.5 10.05 5326.5 lbs 2.66 tons Viliiioriii's Imperial, 34.16 34 6.92 4705 " 2.35 " D K'wanz, 30.59 24.77 9.38 4246.5 " 2.12 " Average of all. 32.50 28.42 8.78 4759.4 lbs 2.37 tons These plots were small, and it is to be supposed that the yield was much largei than could have been secured on large areas and that the beets selected were larger than the average. During the season the beets stopped growing in midsummer, and became nearly ripe. Fall rains started them to growing most vigorously and they put out new leaves, which without doubt greatly diminished the sugar content. The largest yield (D. K'wanz) was 56 tons per acre with 8.5 per cent of sugar. The next largest (Vilmorin's Imp) was 54 tons with 5.05 per cent sugar. Westchester county reported a yield of 12 tons and 12. 7 per cent sugar of the variety Vilmorin's Im- proved, and Seneca county 6 tons with .5.7 per cent sugar. The yields and per cent of sugar were extremely variable. In 1893, eight plots of Dippe's Kleinwanzlebener, in various counties, gave an average of 21 tons with 12.86 j)er cent sugar. Twelve 1) m z H X p] w l-H o c > DC > o O 64 THE SUGAR INDUSTKY. plots of Knauer's Imperial, variously distributed, gave an average of 26 tons with 12.5 per cent sugar. Seven plots of Vilmorin's Richest gave l-t tons with 13.2 per cent sugar. Clay soils gave 13 tons with 12,5 percent of sugar (all varieties) ; clay loam 22 tons with 13.1 per cent sugar, and sandy loam and gravel 28 tons with 12.6 per cent sugar. We now have two imported varieties growing which will be tested Liter. — [Prof I. V. Roberts, director of Cornell agricultural experiment station and professor of agriculture in Cornell university. Middle States— Comparatively little has been done in Pennsylvania. In New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware, no proper tests in beet culture have been made re- cently, but good beets were gi'own in the 70' s, and there is no reason why the crop should not thrive on certain soils properly fertilized. Recent Maryland tests have not given promising results. Ohio — The experiment station has done little in this line, but private tests are encouraging, and thousands will be made in 1897. Missouri— In 1890, on upland limestone clay loam of average fertility in Boone county, yield per acre highesL 19 tons, lowest 12, average 15; sugar, highest 18 per cent, lowest 10, average 14. In 1891, same farm, yield 8 to 12 tons, avei'age 10; sugar 7 to 14 per cent, average IH. In '92, tests were made in five northwestern counties, northeast nine counties, southwest five, southeast one county, representing seven dif- ferent varieties and 55 samples : Per cent of sugar in beets, highest 19, lowest 4. 6, average 9.8; purity, 47.5 to 79.3 per cent, averaging 67.3. These varieties at the sta- tion in Boone county that year yielded 9 to 12 tons per acre, mean 8.8 tons; per cent of sugar 7 to 13, average 11; purity 65 to 75, average 70.' Director Waters says : "Results thus far not encouraging, soil much too compact and hard; Missouri lies south of best sugar belt, mean summer temperature 6 per cent higher than in counties producing this crop most successfully. " We suggest much more work for several seasons before throwing Missouri out of the sugar belt. Oklahoma— Little work done. Director Morrow "believes climatic conditions give little prospect of success." But if beets do wonders in Pecos valley, N M, they ought to be tested thoroughly in Oklahoma. This also applies to Indian Territory. Kansas— Many plots of sugar beets grown at state experiment stations at Man- hattan and other parts of state, '90-2. First year not conclusive; 360 tests in 56 coun- ties were unsatisfactory in '91. owing to climatic conditions. For '92, the station and 85 farmers over the state raised beets, but the season was again unfavorable and the results "cannot be regarded as lending great encouragement to the hope of the suc- cessful establishment of the beet-sugar industry m this state. There are, however, a considerable number of samples showing a high percentage of sugar." More work is needed and evidently irrigation or other i isurance against drouth is required. South Dakota— Experiments wore conducted in every county, 1889-93, results in four bulletins, of which Nos 27 and 34 can still be supplied. Yield 10 to over 40 tons of beets per acre on acre plots running from ]5 to 20 tons as a fair average; sugai content 9 to 20 per cent, very few samples below 12 mostly 13 to KJ per cent, three- auarters of all samples showing 16 per cent sugar or more. Chemist J. H. Shcpard 66 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. concludes: "The state is well adapted to sugar-beet culture, tonnage very high, pu- rity co-ellicient quite satisfactory, averaging about 85." North Dakota— E. F. Ladd, chemist, reports analyses of beets grown in *91 froxu 129 farms in all parts of state, yielding estimated average of 13 tons per acre, containing 7 to IS per cent sugar, average 11.43, i)urity 46 to 98. In '92, Prof Ladd believed other crops would be more profitable in most of the states; his letter in the fall of '9(3 expresses no opinion. But further private tests and experiments in Utah, Nebraska and Wisconsin, prove beyond question that the beet sugar industry can be made a great success in most parts of North Dakota. MicHiGAX — Tests were made all over the state in 1891. Season was unfavorable, drouth serious, results conflicting. In western counties 28 farmers reported an aver- age of 15 tons of beets per acre containing over 14 per cent sugar; southeast, 21 re- ports averaged 16^ tons and 13^ per cent sugar; central, 40 reports averaged 13 tons of 14i per cent sugar; northeastern, 49 reports averaged 15 tons and 13i per cent sugar. This makes a promising outlook for both farmer and manufacturer, especially in southern Michigan. See Bulletin 382, Experiment Station, Agricultural College P O. Indiana — About 300 analyses reported (by H A.Huston, chemist) of beets grown in 150 different localities all over the state in 1889-94, show highest yields of 12 to 42 tons per acre, lowest 3 to 13 tons; sugar, in juice, highest 14 to 18 per cent, lowest 5 to 10; purity, highest 87 to 90, lowest 58 to 70. Small plot tests prior to '94; that year, ten fields of i to 1 acre averaged 19 tons per acre, and half of these fields gave beets of quality sufficient for sugar manufacture. Chemist Huston adds: "Beets of satisfactory quality can be grown in all parts of Indiana. With one exception, all correspondents who have raised beets in large plots believe that at $4 per ton this crop would pay a profit." H. Cordez, who has been working for two years to estab- lish a factory near Evansville, southern Indiana, obtained 15+ and 16 per cent sugar of 85 to 90 purity in small plot tests in '96. Illinois— Because farmers failed to raise enough beets to run the factory at Freeport many years ago, and because on some soils the crop did not seem to thrive, the impression has gone out that this state could not grow beets. The experiment station has done very little to ascertain the truth. Until the matter has been as widely tested as in Minnesota or Wisconsin, correct judgment cannot be formed. Until such tests prove to the contrary, we shall believe Illinois has thousands of acres that can be readily adapted to this crop. Minnesota (Prof Henry Snyder) — It has been the aim of the state experiment station to test, in as thorough and impartial a way as possible, the adaptability of Minnesota's soil and climate to the growing of sugar beets. The work has been car- ried on for eight years, during which time 1079 samples of sugar beets have been ana- lyzed, showing of sugar 10 to 20 per cent, an average of 14 per cent; purity 70 to 94, an average of 80i. The beets have been grown in a large number of counties through- out the state. It is believed that the experiment station has demonstrated that sugar beets, with a high per cent of sugar and co-efflcient of purity, can be raised in Min- nesota, at a cost of $2 to $3 per ton. The average yield per acre was 15 tons. Iowa— For the purpose of ascertaining by repeated experimentation how well Iowa is adapted to growing sugar beets, we began in 1891 and have grown and tested 5 w 1) PI (/) w PI w G > □d pi p) H w d Q > o o r PI a: G8 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. sugar beets every year since that time. We have probably three or four acres grow- ing on the station grounds at present. Seed has been sent to a majority of the coun- ties of the state, so as to give us wide and comprehensive reports regarding tlie abil- ity of our state in its several counties to grow beets with a sufficient percentage of sugar to make the industry pr.ihtable. We also, in 1891, conducted an experiment on the college grounds with a piece of land over an acre in extent, having different kinds of soil and treated different ways, 80 as to ascertain what soil is best and what method of cultivation is advisable. From the whole lieid, we got an average of 20 tons to the acre with 14,14 per cent sugar in the beets, and 70 per cent average purity of juice. We grew this field of beets under twelve different conditions. We used different kinds of fertilizers on three pieces, but got no evident benelic; we got our highest average of sugar from the piece of ground from which woods had been cleared off, 15.17 per cent of sugar with 82.3 purity of juice. We let one part of the field on low, rich loam grow the beets as large as we could possibly grow them by thinning them out; the average pu- rity of juice went down to 72.8 and the sugar in the beet was 11.52. Only three of the twelve conditions gave us sugar in the beet under 13 per cent. We got the great- est tonnage from early planting; subsoiling gave us the best shaped beets. The per- centage of sugar was affected by rains in October causing a second growth. Our high- est analyses came from beets averaging 13 ounces trimmed, and yielding 12 and 13 tons per acre; our highest yield of sugar per acre came from beets averaging 21 ounces trimmed, and yielding over 28 tons to the acre. Clay soil gave us the highest per cent of sugar, comparativelj higher purity, and lowest tonnage per acre. We had no distinctively sandy soil. Reports from different counties in the state show a wide range of sugar per cent and purity co-efficient. The highest we have received comes from Muscatine county; over a hundred farmers reported from that county in 1891. About 10 per cent re- ported a sugar per cent under 12, while half of the number report the sugar in the beet over 15 per cent, and some run as high as 19 per cent. I have no doubt that a large area within the state will grow sugar beets profita- bly. The purity of the juice is not as high in our state in all parts as it is in others, but the yield per acre has much to do with the profitableness of the crop, and from reports of the growth of beets west of us, I am satisfied that our tonnage is much heavier than is common in drier states. Iowa soil is so well supplied with plant food of all kinds, organic and mineral, that no fertilization is required. We sent to Louis- iana and got the most approved sugar-cane-growing fertilizers, but were unable to see any improvement whatever from their application. Our soil has abundant lime, pot ash, phosphoric aci ty ^ Ti o o ^ r 3 ^ »3 r) w 0. ffi > 13 p] S" d o t~' ttl n M "1 M (t H 1 ^ w 2. •-* s o > w »" ^ » 5- > ^2. DO *:^ td 76 THE SUGAR INDUSTRi. as to make the least degree of laxity in its treatment exceedingly dangerous to its qualities." The two kinds niin^d are preferred in California, Nebraska prefers Dippe la plus Riche, Dippe Klein Wanzlebener, Original Klein VVanzlebener, and Vilmorin's Im- proved White. The two latter varieties are mainly grown in Utah. No variety of sugar beet is suited to all conditions. Different soils and treatment make peculiar demands upon the variety. Experience with varieties in other parts of this or foreign countries is not a safe guide. The only practical way is to find out by actual experiment on each farm which variety does the best in yield and quality un- der its conditions. The seed must be good— of strong germinating power. "Cheap" CROSS-SECTTON OF BEET Elustrated on page 32. Tljis cioss-sectioii is life size at tlie jioint of largest diaiueter. The dotted lines show the concentric rings of growth. seed is in the end the most costly. This country is producing some seed now, and in a few years will doubtless grow all its beet seed, as discussed later in this chapter. Size of Beet— It is generally considered tliat large beets, weighing more than 3 lbs, are usually of poor quality. This depends entirely upon the soil upon which they are grown, and upon the variety of seed. As a general rule, however, it can be said that the large beets are lower in (jualily than small ones. The size most desired is from U tf) 2 lbs in weight. Wliere beets are too large or too poor in quality to be worked at the factory, the.v can be utilized f(n- stock feed. For this purpose the beets are considered in France worth 7.5 jier cent as much as the price that is paid for thiMu for sugar making. In France, almost twice as many beets are grown for THE BEET SUGAR INDUbTRY, 71 SUGAR BEET MOLASSES Snowing relative quantity of grannluted sugar and of molasses obtained from a beet. About one- half real size. Determination by G. W. Siiaw, Oregon Exp( riment Station. Engraved from a photo- graph used to illustrate his bulletin, No. 53, April, 1898. tS TIIK SIKJAK INDUSTRY. Htock food ;is for sn<,Mr. In Miiil. country Hk' Iciivcs uro sold to adult eruto tobacco and it i« .said that in souu* vhhvh fully (^nou^li to ])ay for tiio expensoH of cultivation. SOILS T()K TlIK SUOAK HKKT. This plant thrivos on a widti varioty of soils. In Virginia, a wann clay or slaty soil, mixed with sonui sand and having a depth of 15 inches or more, gave the best re- sults. In otiier states wlicni the industry is not yet established, experiment shows that the plant thriv(\s on nearly all kinds of lands, iiut never select poor land— use the best soils available. It seems to do best in these regions on what fanners ordina- rily call good potato or corn hind. TIk! soil must be well drained, for while the beet reciuires al)undaiit moisture during the growing jieriod, it does not thrive with "wet feet." It th(U'(d'ore do(^s niu( h bcttcM- in some soils than in others. The soil must possess good (h^plli, for tiie beet is a dee|)-rooting i»lant, going down 12 to 18 inches. In Nt'l>raska, llie best scnl to jiroduce a largt^ tonnage is tlie so-called bottom land. Hilly land produces generally a Ix'tter ([uality, but. does not come up as well in quan- tity. The more linui the soil contains the richer tlui bt^ets would be. Under no cir- cumstances should si^ed be jdanted in soil which is sandy enough to blow. In Utah, and also in the Pecos valley, where one has i)lenty of water for irrigation, a nice sandy loam is prefiu-red, but if the water supply is scant a clayey soil is better. In C'aliforniii, the rich, strong, sandy loams that i)roduce heavy crops of wheat and barley yield 15 to 25 Ions of rich beets ])er acre under i)roper rotation, but lower lands, when well drained of wet or that enjoy natural sub-irrigation from the lower stores of water, are often still Ix-tter. It has b«H'n foinul at Chino that even when the lower or more moist lands contain as mucji as 12, ()()() lbs of alkali salts per acre to the d(«pth of three feet, the beet does well in yield and «iuality, providcnl the amount of common salt in tiie soil do(>s not, i'xceed 0.04 i»er cent or 1500 lbs jwr acre to the depth of three feet. Hut it is wisest t,o verify on a small scale the adaptability of doubtful land before jdanting a large area of it. New land, by which we understand land that has only been broken one or two years, shoidd never bo chosen for beets, as it produces a crop inferior in yield and quality. In Utah, the best results in sugar and purity .ire obtained from land that has been in small grain and the best tonnage is obtained from land that has previously had potatoes. Alfalfa hunl is j^ood for beets, provided two crops of small grain are first grown \\\wn it to get, rid of tlie roots. For preparing new land for beets, noth- ing is better than to lirst i)lant alfalfa or iit'ld i)eas, the latter to be plowed under when in llower. Sage brush or nu'sciuiti' land is excellent, provided it is thoroughly subdued by preparatory crops, and can be irrigated. It is also important that the soil bo such that the beets can be easily extracted from the ground by a beet puller or plow without breaking the root and without hav- ing a lot of soil adhere to it. In this ])articular. the sandy loain is ideal. To dig the root from a clay or adobe soil is hard work; in such soils the beet tip often breaks olT when ripe, and much soil adheres to tht> beets, thus adding to the freight and to the "tare." liOTATION OK ("KOrS. This is highly important. Heets may do well year after year on the sair.e land, especially if ]>roperly manured, but the constant draft upon thi^ soil for the same pro- TIIK UKICr HUGAK INDUSTIiY. 79 portions and kiiul.s of food wliioh this i)l;ui irivolvos, must soon impair results. Throe ci-ops in succession in Noljrasku's rich .soil showed markod deterioration in (luality. Constant croppin^' with beets also lends to i)erpe(uate or multiply any pests (insect or fundus) of this plant. It is truc^ that beets havt) been f,M"<»wn contiiniously on the same land in California for a do/a^n years, without api)arent injury to yield or (pial- TYPES OF SUBSOIL PLOWS To follow In llu! Inflow allci' Uki llist pluwliig by ordliiury plows GANG PLOW WITH SUBSOTLTNG ATTACHMENT. ity. but this do((s nf»t K<'iin«ay the axiom abov(! laid down. Thus far, best tonnage and <|uality liave l)een secuHMl in California from beets grown on tlui land (^very third year, and in Nebraska every fourth yoixr. New land should l)e subdu) barh^y, (4) Ijcets. Muth Is yet to be li'iirn«'d iibout the best rtjtations undcu' American ct)n KKMOVKK IN lOIIO I'OUNDS 1CA( 11 Ol' ItKKT ItOOTH ANDHKKT I.KAVKB. Uoota Luavea Total Cdiislltiieiits lbs lbs lbs I'olHsh. 3.3 C.5 9.8 I'liosplioilc u<-lulp is nnl to stock and their manure applied to the land, more or less potash is lost in process by leaching or in the molasses, etc, as well as by failure to utilize all the liquid manure. Potash and phosphoric acid can bo used very freely on beet lields and .seem to do bet- tor together than when applied separately. This is not so with nitrogenous manures or ammoniated substances, which tend to produce a quick and heavy growth of the beet aneiisable. underlaid with a compact subsoil or hardpan, or those which have been plowed at the same depth for a number of years, forming a hard layer at the bottom of the fur- row, are the ones chiefly benefited by this mode of culture. This practice on any kind of soil, unless it is hardpan, would obviously be unnecessary during seasons when rains are sufficiently frequent to furnish the necessary moisture for growing crops. During wet weather the operation might result in a jiuddling of the soil, to its great injury. It is only during very dry seasons when its full benefits would be seen, but for the past 10 or 12 years in the most prominent grain and vegetable ])rotiucing states, there has occurred in the summer or early fall a drouth which very materially shortened the crop. So true is this, that farmers and gardeners in states compara- tively free from .severe drouths have begun to seriously consider some method of bridging over this disastrous period, especially injurious to the market gardener and fruit grower. In practice it has been found that unless the soil is unusually comjiact, b6 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. trt^tment once every three or four years is amply sufficient. With increasing drouths, however, it may be found desirable to subsoil every two years. The work is most profitably done in the fall, as this gives an opportunity for the land so treated to ab- sorb the fall rains, winter snows and any moisture which may be iirecipitated before spring plowing is possible. This is specially true in parts of the far west, where winter irrigation is practiced. The streams there during early fall or winter usually supply sufficient water for irrigating, while during the dry season they fail. Admitting, then, that subsoiling ought at least to be tested, the question of ob- taining suitable and most desirable plows is important. The common practice, as before stated, is to follow the ordinary breaking plow with a filow constructed espe- cially for subsoiling, types of which are illustrated herewith. These cost all the way from $10 to $18. They can be obtained of any of the prominent plow firms. Onu company manufactures an attachment, or rather a subsoiler, which is substituted for the front plow on a four-horse gang. There is no getting around the fact that subsoil plows pull hard. In the case of the gang subsoiler, a good four-horse team takes it along quite readily, but if the ground is especially hard, it would need one or two ex- tra horses. With the ordinary subsoiler, which follows in the furrows of the plow, it is customary to use two horses, but three or even four are more satisfactory. During the past four years many careful tests with subsoiling have been con- ducted at American experiment stations and by practical farmers. The results, care- fully compiled by Mr C. A. Shamel in American Agriculturist, are somewhat conflicting, though only a few were with sugar beets. In New York and Kansas no decided advantage was obtained. In South Caro- lina on sandy soils, the effect was not appreciable. In Indiana and Iowa, the prac- tice was advantageous in sugar beet culture, as better formed beets, with a higher per cent of sugar, were obtained. Corn in tliese two states was not benefited. Prac- tical farmers in Kansas find subsoiling beneficial, Mr Kelsey of Oakland, Shawnee Co, stated to the agricultural board that in 1894 land subsoiled yielded 65 bu of corn, while that not so treated produced only 35 bu. Millet on subsoiled land yielded well; on untreated it was a failure. The effects last about three years. Subsoil one-third of the farm each year. Mr Peckham of Haven, Reno Co, obtained substantially the same results. Experiences in Illinois are somewhat difficult to obtain, as but little work has been done along this line. In general the facts in this state agree with those from Kansas and Nebraska. The most marked results are reported from the Ne'^raska experiment station in Lancaster Co, by Prof Lyon. The soil in most parts of Nebraska, and where these experiments were tried, contains very little sand and is made up mostly of silt, or of the ordinary dark mud so familiar to residents of the corn belt. Because of the small amount of sand, the soil compacts quite readily, becoming almost as firm as so much clay. It is well supplied with plant food, and when stirred sufficiently deep so as to take up water, is very productive. Good results from subsoiling were very marked. Land subsoiled four years ago for sugar beets and not treated since, was this season planted to corn. A field not so treated lay alongside. Both were upland, with a gradual slope toward the east, and consisted of a fine loam with considerable vegeta- THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 87 ble matter. The results were so marked that the exact row of the subsoiled field could be told, because of its superior excellence. The stalks on the unsubsoiled land were badly dried up and contained no ears, while those on subsoiled land were large, green, and produced a fair yield. Such results are encouraging, and show that with very little extra expense good crops can be raised with less rainfall than is generally supposed. If the effect is not apparent the first season, it makes itself felt in the course of two or three years, the reason being that if very little rain falls after sub- soiling, the small amount of moisture sinks rapidly into the soil and is retained there until the plant roots need it. After the practice has been started, the excess of wa- ter beyond the demands of the soil continues. Subsoiling is especially adapted to Nebraska, because the annual rainfall is less than in most arable portions of the coun- A HAND PLANTER FOR BEET SEEDS. Smaller drills like the one illustrated liave been used with satisfaction, but tins new No. 5 drill is still better and larger, while so simple as to insure the most even seeding and covering. It can be regulated to drop any desired number or vpeight of seeds," at varying distances apart, or in hills; is equipped with marker. try. Added to this is a very dry atmosphere, and periods of extreme heat accompa- nied by high winds. The following conclusions were reached for Nebraska : Subsoil plowing, although conserving moisture, does not produce it and is therefore not a substitute for irrigation where rainfall is too small to produce crops. Where the sub- soil is hard, subsoiling is recommended ; when loose it is not profitable and may be injurious. Do not subsoil when wet, as there is danger of puddling the soil, thus leaving it in a worse condition than before. Ground subsoiled in the fall has an am- ple opportunity of absorbing the greatest rainfall. Subsoiling in spring may be detri- mental in extreme dry weather, as the water is partially removed from the young plants by the absorption of the dry bottom soil. PREPARATION OF SEED BED. Land that has been fall plowed must be harrowed as soon as the frost is out of the ground and the soil is dry enough to prevent sticking. This work will level the S8 ^HE SUGAK INDUSTRY. ground, thereby holding the moisture in the soil, and increase the germination of the weeds, etc. To secure a good crop, it is absolutely necessary to kill all the weeds in the ground before seeding. Here is where most failures occur, and if weeds are al- lowed to get a start, the cultivation of the crop will involve much minecessary and expensive hand work. Therefore, to prepare a good seed bed, we advise working the soil four to five inches deep with a pulverizer, or better yet, with a corn cultivator, once lengthwise and once crosswise, making sure not to miss any spot in the field, as it is necessary to loosen any weeds that may have already sprouted. In California this has to be done whenever the weeds may start. Then harrow lengthwise and crosswise to level the soil perfec ly and finish killing the weeds. After this, pack the top soil to a depth of two to three inches well with a heavy roller; never use a plank float for this work, as floated ground is never well packed, and will besides increase blowing and washing. The better the soil is packed after the weeds are killed, the better the beet seed will sprout. All the above work must be performed at a time when the ground is in good working condition ; that is, not too damp, as the working of wet soil must be strictly avoided. As beet seed requires considerable moisture to germinate, it would also be a great loss to the beet grower to allow the soil during the preparation of the seed bed to dry out; therefore in dry weather or in an average season, the field must be prepared and seeded the same day, this being the only way in which the moisture can be kept in the ground under the usual west conditions — a great feature in crop raising and especially so in beet culture. To prevent the soil blowing, which is very disastrous to the small beet plants (in Nebraska, even the best black bottom land will blow, if level and fine, which it must be to sf^cure a good crop), run a light harrow over the field, after rolling but before seeding. This harrow must be very light and can be easily constructed and without much expense by using 2x2 pine pieces for the beams and large nails for the teeth, only letting them project below the beams H to 2 inches. This harrow must simply scratch the soil (not over half an inch deep), thus giving a rough surface, which will prevent blowing except on dry, sandy soil, on which, for this reason and some others, sugar beets should never be planted. The soil must not be loosened again by a deep harrowing, as this would injure the germination. There is a tendency to neglect some of these various preparations of the soil, but except on certain lands particularly adapted to the crop, every step above enumer- ated is essential. Too much (tare cannot be devoted to the preparation of soil and seed bed, for upon it success largely depends. Even if the season is unfavorable, the crop \\ill do enough better on a well-prepared soil to pay for the labor, while in a favorable season, this work will yield a handsome dividend. It will be seen that such preparation is directly contrary to the careless way in which the land is usually worked for field crops. Eight here is where beet culture differs from that of almost any other croji. It involves intense farming of the highest type. Not one of the old market gardens about New York, Philadelphia, or other eastern cities is more care- fully worked than the sugar beet requires for best results. SEEDING. To secure a full yield, it is absolutely necessary to have a good stand. It is much easier to thin out surplus beets with a good stand, than to have to plow under the THE BEET SUGAK INDUSTRY. 89 entire patch and replant it in case of a poor stand. It is desirable that when the plants come up they should nearly touch each other, but there is no necessity of over- crowding, as this occasions extra labor in thinning out. Or the seed may be planted at a distance of three or four inches in the rows in groups of three or four seeds. Formerly only 10 or 15 pounds of seed per acre was sowed, but American experience during the past six years has emphasized the importance of sowing at least 20 lbs of seed per acre. Then, should the weather be dry, the best seed will come up first and there will be enough for a good stand. On the other hand, should a crust be formed on the field after a heavy rain, one plant would help the other to break through the PLANET JR. NO. 11 DOUBLE WHEEL HOE CULTIVATOR, RAKE AND PLOW. ground. It is easier to do a little extra thinning than to replant. If seeding a small patch by hand, less seed will be required if the work is done carefully. Almost any garden drill can be adapted to sowing beet seed, but for larger fields the four-row horse drill is used. Seeders made especially for this purpose, seeding lour rows at a time and dropping the seed continuously in rows 14 to 19 inches apart, (according to the fertility of the soil) will plant 10 to 12 acres per day. Never plant over three-fourths of an inch deep, but see that the earth is well packed around the seed by the press wheels attached to the back of the drill, because by pressing the surface the necessary moisture for germinating in a dry season is drawn by capillary attraction out of the deeper soil. The heavier the soil and the earlier the planting, the shallower must the sowing be in order to prevent the seed from rotting in the ground. The deeper the seed is planted, especially in heavy soil, the weaker the i 90 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. plants will be if they come up at all. Therefore avoid deep planting, which invaria- bly gives a poor stand. The least covering of moist earth, well packed about the seed, is sufficient to sprout it. The rows may be 10, 12 or 14 inches apart if it is intended to weed out by hand; or 18 to 21 inches if the horse hoe is used. Time for planting is when the soil is warm enough to germinate the seed. This is usually about two weeks or so earlier than the average farmer would think of plant- ing corn. In California it may be any time from January to June, in the central west from April 20 to May 20 , further east May 1 to June 1, and for the south March 1 to May 1. Xo hard and fast rule can be laid down; the intelligent observer can judge from the season and condition of soil. The young plants should show in 7 to 21 days, according to the season. If the stand is poor, cultivate it out and reseed the whole field; or replant the poor spots. Parties growing a large acreage and not having very much help, will do well to plant the crop in sections, at intervals of one week apart, in order to gain more time for thinning; however, do not plant too late, for in that case the beets will not be strong enough when the dry season sets in, and will therefore suffer from the drouth, while the earlier and consequently stronger plants will thrive well and a heavier and better crop be insured. You had much better hire help during thinning time than to plant too late. If beets are planted at great distances apart, they become large in size and freely absorb salts from the soil. To avoid this it is necessary to plant close together, thus dividing the available salts in the soil. Sugar is largely formed in the beet from the air through the leaves, and these should be many in number and of fair size, hence it will not do to overcrowd the plants. CULTIVATING. This work is performed with one-horse cultivators, which work one, two or four rows at a time. If after sowing, a heavy rain should cause a crust to form on the field, the light harrow previously described to prevent soil blowing is recommended ; but this only in case the seed has not germinated, as otherwise it would be better to run the cultivator over the field, following the rows, which can be done easily before the seed is up, as the marks of the press wheels can be plainly distinguished. This work, how- ever, can be better done by hand hoes (11 inches wide; see Hoeing). As soon as the beets break througli the ground and the rows can be followed, the cultivation must begin, the earlier the better, not only to destroy the weeds, but to loosen the soil, which permits the air to penetrate, thus forcing the growth of the beet and improv- ing the quality. It is very important to kill the weeds before they get above the ground, or at least before they become well-rooted. This can be easily accomplished by cultivat- ing the field with the flat shovels every eight or ten days, care being taken to set the knives as close as possible to the rows, and never over two inches from the rows as long as the beets are small. As the beets grow older, however, the shovels should be run gradually farther away from the beets, and also deeper, until the leaves meet in the center of the rows, by which time the cultivation should have reached a depth of THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 91 6 inches, and should then cease, as the beets are ready to lay by. Besides destroying the weeds, this repeated cultivation prevents evaporation from the deeper soil, and secures a good and healthy growth. Never hill the beets, as level land keeps the moisture best. Keep the horse cultivator going whenever weeds appear, or a crust forms, until the beets have grown so large as to prevent this work, when they may be " laid by." In Utah and California, four cultivations and one hand hoeing, besides one spacing and thinning, is all the crop requires, but in Nebraska winds and drouth may necessi- tate more work on the crop. Frequent stirring to a depth of two or three inches is one of the best means of preventing loss of moisture from below during a dry spell. This point cannot be too carefully observed whenever a drouth threatens, and if this cultivation is well and frequently done, the crop will stand quite a severe drouth without much injury, if the ground was previously prepared as described on Page 83. Hoeing has been rendered more effective and less expensive by the use of the various horse hoes and cultivators illustrated, but the use of these machines is to be supplemented in the field with the hand hoe. Great care must be exercised in using any cultivating machine, for if the setting up and use be not carefully looked after, the weeds will not be extii-pated, while whole rows of beets may be cut down. Fre- quent hoeing and cultivating cannot be too highly recommended, for, as they say in Germany, "sugar is hoed into the beets." In Knauer's experience (Germany) a plot hoed once yielded 7 tons of beets per acre, twice gave 8 tons, thi-ee times gave lOf tons, four times gave 121 tons, while a field hoed five times yielded over 13 tons of dressed beets per acre, thus doubling the yield over thy plot hoed only once. It will be seen from the foregoing that flat culture and rows is the universal rule at present in America. Mr Lewis S. Ware, editor of The Sugar Beet, states in that paper for January '97, illustrating a French machine for harvesting beets in hills: "We have on many previous occasions urged that hill cultivation should be given a fair trial ; it enables the tiller to get from beets most satisfactory results. The objec- tion, evidently, is that special agricultural implements are needed. In Europe, the rows on hills are either single or double; when single, the harvesting with ordinary plow may give good results, but it is very much more expensive than it would be with a special double row harvester. AVhen in single rows on hills the distance be- tween rows is 2Hto 23^ inches; when in double rows on hills the distance is 9 to 11 inches, while the hills are at distances which vary from 27 to 31 inches. There can be no doubt as regards the yield in hill cultivation ; it is equal and, in many cases, is superior to flat cultivation, as the roots in growing find less resistance to overcome and have their plant food within easy reach, and through the soil there is a better circulation of air; furthermore, there need be no evil effects from badlj' drained or damp soils which, under ordinary conditions, are almost worthless." This point is worthy tUe attention of American growers, though the fact that flat culture and drills have thus far been universal, indicates that they are generally satis- factory. One thing is certain, that hilling shoukl not be practiced on dry and warm soils, for there it can only work harm. Hilling up may be of benefit on cold and wet soils, but these are properly treated by drainage. Of course if the soil gets washed 92 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. away from the plants, the earth should be drawn up about tnem, as that portion of the beet that shows above the soil is of inferior quality. HOEING. The first hoeing, which is very important for the growth of the small plants, must be given with an ordinary 11 inch hoe between the rows, going li to 2 incnes deep, and as soon as the beets break through the ground, or if crust is formed, as soon as this occurs, following the press wheel marks. As the ground will have become packed during the bunching (or spacing) and thinning, thus preventing proper circulation of air, and the young plants, moreover, will have become weakened by their disturbance; and for the further reason that it is cheaper to do it then, the second hoeing should be given with a 7-inch hoe the day after the beets are thinned, and never later than a few days after, care being taken to kill the weeds out close to the plant, but in such a manner as not to loosen or injure the beets. As the horse cultivator only loosens and clears the ground between the rows, the hoe must perform this work between the different plants. This hoeing should be 3 inches deep. A similar hoeing may be necessary twice after this, the lasi depending upon the freedom from weeds, also upon whether the ground is loose enough to enable the roots to grow. Both of the last hoeings should be as deep as it is possible to make them without injuring or loosening the plant. Under ordinary circumstances no work should be necessary in the field after 80 days from the time of planting except the final and deepest horse cultivation. THINNING OUT. Care should be exercised in doing this part of the work, as it is the most impor- tant of all the cultivation and care of the crop. It can only be neglected at the expense of yield and quality of crop. It is very necessary that this should be done just at the right time, and the sooner it is done the better for the growth and yield of the crop. As soon as the beets have four leaves, they should be thinned, and must not remain longer than one week without thinning, as the roots will entwine around each other if left longer, and make the thinning detrimental to the plant that is left. To perform this work, the beets should be spaced or bunched (directly after a horse cultivation) with an ordinary 6-inch hoe, cutting 6 inches of beets out and leaving a 2-inch bunch, containing from three to six beets. After the beets are bunched, the healthiest plant in each bunch is selected by the thinner to be left standing, his finger is placed firmly against it to prevent its being disturbed, and the other plants are pulled out by hand, together with all the weeds nearby. This operation will leave one strong single plant every 9 or 10 inches, and the ground should be pushed up well around each, but not packed. Of course, it is better to select the strongest and most thrifty plant, even if it is not at the regular distance, than to chose a weak- ly or spindling one at just the right distance. If thinned when only four leaves are on the plant, the top soil is still moist, and the beets left have no difficulty in taking hold and growing with renewed vigor, but the disturbance occasioned by thinning a few days later is not so easily overcome. The top soil is then dryer, and the young beet receives a set back that will certainly THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 93 1 1 » a D ?^ oper esso G CO ated f bee r »§ H P M :o a » > &^ o ■^ e- H ^ 2. H-i 2 W z Oi » > n •tj 5* :,^ p 5 "■ 2 ^^ 2 c 2 It p] - c nty.C Chapt w » s» ..J 94 THE SUGAR INJ)USTKY. PLANET JR. T\A/0-HORSE CULTIVATOR. affect the yield. Where weeds or insects are not to be feared, the spacing may be done a few days before thinning. On the other hand, if there is any reason to fear loss of the young plants, it is more prudent to wa.it a little longer before doing the work of spacing, and in this case thinning should follow spacing without any interval. If the land is very rich, the final plants are left as near together as 6, 7 or 8 inches, while in Utah, under irrigation, the plants are even thinned to 4 inches. The distance apart at which the beets are left depends not only upon richness of the soil, but upon the probabilities of its having sufficient moisture. In the rich moist land the beets' can stand closer together than on dryer and lighter soils. By spacing with a hoe a more regular distance is secured between each beet, and all the weeds in the row are destroyed at the same time; the crust is also broken up that has been formed by the pressure of the wheel of the seeder, and it removes any seeds from the row that may not yet have germinated, thus avoid- ing, when harvest time comes, the appearance of a lot of small beets that had grown up from these seeds. This spacing with the hoe is also apt to increase tonnage and percentage of sugar. The leaves of the plant are the means through which it obtains most of its sugar. This substance is composed of carbon and oxygen, both of which are mainly taken in by the leaves, the former as carbonic acid. Mr Ware, in his great work on the sugar beet, summarizes experiments by himself and others to show that the saccharine content of the beet improved with the num- ber and weight of its leaves. "Each leaf has apparently conuuunication with a given portion of the beet, and supplies it with the nourishment it requires. The outer leaf corresponds with the inner portion of the root; these representing the older leaves, we may conclude that they have fur- nished the larger portion of the saccharine elements. During the growth of the leaf, the root increases but comparatively little in si^.e, and as soon as completed, the con- trary action takes place. Evidently, the greater the size of the leaves, the larger the amount of the elements they are able to abstract from the surrounding air, and the total weight of the leaves is, up to a certain period, greater than that of the root." The smooth and tapering shape of the root desired depends mainly upon the soils whore it grows and the preparation the soil has received. The variety of seed used has of course some influence on shnpe of root, but the most desifable seed for this ANOTHER FORM OF CULTIVATOR. Tills .idniii'iible Phiiiet Jr. tool as a beet horse lioe, has a one and tliree-fourths inch cultivator tooth, two six-inch hoes, a twelve- inch special flat sweep, and a jnilverizer. The latter is a very iisefnl attacliment, level- ing and fining the surface and killin^ small weeds. M o o p 5 5! — Q "-) »: W P C H H b; •3 H o ffi o 1— 1 ff 2 a :2 P D s 2. W S H P* w g 1 ^ 85 3 O & o 1 H 1 ffi M ^ r > ^. s w 96 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. purpose will not give roots of satisfactory form on an unfavorable and poorly pre. pared soil. It is senseless to blame the seed for faults in the soil. IRRIGATION. Utah has solved the problem of growing beets by irrigation. Her experience teaches many practical lessons that are being heeded in drouthy or irrigation regions. Too much water, applied too often or at the wrong times, is bad for tonnage and quality. Great damage is done to many fields of beets by inexperienced farmers flooding the land and allowing the water to stand about the small plants, then neglecting to cultivate until the soil has baked. Even in Utah, it is still recognized that the management of irrigation to produce the best results is a delicate matter, and not yet fully understood. Untimely irrigation may utterly destroy the value of the roots for sugar making, and the necessity of varying the application of water according to the nature of the land, in order to secure good results, implies the exer- cise of much judgment and experience in the matter. But with due regard to all these alleged disadvantages of irrigation, it is the universal judgment of Utah beet growers, after six years' experience, that they are far outweighed by the benefits of irrigation. The production is more certain, and the harvest more safely assured, than where the caprice of heavy rains or excessive drouth has to be contended with. The results are always moi'e certain where irrigation is necessary and this is the greatest stimulant to proper methods in applying water. Mr George Austin, field manager of the Utah Sugar company, has had more experience than any other man in growing beets by irrigation. Mr Austin says: "^fter the thinning is done we run a cultivator drawn by a horse through the rows, but great care must be taken not to cultivate too deep or hill up the young plants, as they require all the air and sunlight that it is possible for them to have. After the first cultivation we generally hoe them the second time to clean out all the weeds in the rows and remove any surplus beets that may have been overlooked at the time of thinning. By this time the beets should be far enough advanced to commence pre- paring for irrigation. This we do by using the same cultivator, attaching a small 6-inch furrower on the rear end, and we cultivate every other row, leaving a nice little di<^ch of sufficient size to carry the water without flooding the beets. The sec- ond watering we alternate the rows — this method usually gives enough moisture each watering, but this kind of irrigation, however, depends entirely on the slope and condition of the land. If the land has much of a slope, and is inclined to be a light, sandy loam, it may be necessary to water each row every time you irrigate during the season, but the latter is an exception to the rule with us. "We never commence irrigating until the beets show they require moisture, (usually letting them suffer a few days), and by so doing it always gives us a nice shaped, long, tapering beet. If the first watering is applied too early we usually have a short, spriggy, undesirable beet. Too much manure or alkali will have the same effect on sugar beets. We generally have to make cross ditches on our beet fields on about every 20 to 30 rods, depending upon the slope and nature of the land. If we run the water farther than this it usually saturates the upper part of the field too much, before the lower end gets sufficient. Great care must be taken in turning the THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 97 water on the beets not to force too much into the furrows, causing it to flood or over- flow, and this must be avoided if possible. Therefore it is essential to select land for this crop, as much as possible, with a nice slope. We always cultivate the rows after each watering as soon as we can, cultivating them from 5 to 6 inches deep. This allows the beets to develop, and also helps to retain the moisture much longer than it would FREMONT SUGAR BEET CULTIVATOR. This Nebraska invention is the result of several years' work in the beet fields of that state. The machine is simple, light, compact and easily adjustable for either deep or shallow cultivation. The four spiders provided are used in case the soil becomes crusted on the surface, thereby preventing the beets from showing tlirough the ground. There are four knives that are used in cultivating (he beets when very small. These are different from any used heretofore, and are so shaped as to permit the party handling the machine to work very close to the plant without danger of covering the plant with dirt. The four small shovels are used for the deeper cultivation, and the two large shovels are for the final and deepest cultivation. PLANET JR. BEET GROWERS' HORSE HOE. This machine has been perfected by Utah experience, and is very poywlar there. The teeth loosen the soil thoroughly without throwing earth on the small plants. The little plow at the rear is the ir- rigating tooth,*' to make a clean furrow through which the water will run for irrigation. otherwise. Care must be taken all through the season not to hill up the beets, or break off the leaves. We generally water our beets two to four times during the sea- son, and it usually takes about 20 to 30 days after the last watering before the beets are ready for harvesting." Mr Morgan Woodhouse, another Utah grower of experience writes: "My idea is to let them go as long in the spring without water as you dare, say until the bottom 98 THE SUGAR INDUSTEY. leaves wilt down and the tops begin to change from a light or yellowish green to a dark green. After the first watering they should be kept wet. i would not be in fa- vor of going to an extreme, but 1 would not allow them to get dry if I could help it. The length of time between waterings should vary, according to the land, from 8 to 14 days. The last watering should be about the last of August or the first of September. ' ' Another expert, Mr Samuel Taylor says: "I do not believe it is good to irrigate too soon. Let your beets get up and get them thinned, letting them have a pretty good start. When the lower leaves begin to wilt and the tops turn a dark green, the water should be first applied. Of course when you start you must keep it up. Three or four waterings will make a good crop of beets. Four are better than three, and if you can get four good irrigations on a crop of beets I am satisfied they will mature and make a good crop. With respect to the last watering ; one year we were told to stop watering too early and we lost a great many beets by it. I would water the last time about the last of August, if watered up to this elate the beets will be all right." In Nebraska it is felt that proper irrigation will often insure the crop, but expe- rience has so far been limited. Mr F. Wietzer, field manager for the Norfolk fac- tory, summarizes the matter for this work as follows: "We have taken much interest in irrigation of sugar beets. Last year there was raised 90 acres by irrigation, and the results were very satisfactory, as well in quality as quantity. Beets should never be irrigated until they show actual need of it. No water should be put on them as long as there is a natural supply of water in the ground, for too much water is almost as disastrous as not enough. After you have onco commenced putting water on land, it dries out more quickly than before and will require watering the second time. The number of irrigations that a crop requires during the season depends entirely upon local surroundings, nature and condition of land. The first irrigation should not be before the middle of June, and no water should be applied after the first week in August. Beets should never be irrigated in the fall, for irrigating at that time will bring forth new tops and give the roots a second growth, which is disastrous to the quality. A very advantageous method of irrigation is this : When the spring is very dry, to soak the land from the irrigation ditches, and then as soon as the soil is dry enough, prepare seed bed and plant seed." Mr Granger, field manager of the Utah Sugar Co, spoke of irrigation at length in his address before the Pecos valley beet growers in New Mexico. Among other things he said: "As soon as you have commenced irrigating, see that the beet is kept sup- plied with sufficient moisture to keep it thrifty. It will take thirty days from the last irrigation before you can harvest, usually; on very sandy land twenty-five days, on clay land thirty days. This delay is necessary because, when you are through irrigat- ing for the last time, the beets are nearly through growing and the sugar is forming. When given an irrigation, the sugar in the beets will go down for fifteen days, and it will take a little longer to get back again. A great many people ask me how many times they shall irrigate. I cannot tell them without seeing the field. When the leaves wilt down in the middle of the day it is not so bad, but when they stay wilted in the cool of the evening, give them a drink. Let them suffer a little for water in the fore part of the season; it will force the taproot to reach down for moisture. In THE BEET SUGAR IXDUSTKY. 99 irrigating beets, we take every other row, and find that the water when run slowly will irrigate both. Then we alternate the next time, and run water through the other rows, giving the beets moisture on both sides. After every irrigation cultivate as deep as you can, practically eight inches. It is necessary to loosen the ground around the beet so that it may have a chance to develop. To do this we take a little A-shaped sweep, with the point running into the ground, and all it does is to lift the ground a little, but it loosens the soil around the beet. In Utah, our water is run to us in canals and ditches in which we are all interested, and have turns to use it. Only two or three nights before I left home, I found a water notice at my house, stating that the water would be given me at 8 that evening and taken off at 4 in the THE MOLINE BEET CULTIVATOR Can be used to work either four or two rows. Tlie gangs are so adjusted that tliey can be handled with ease, and the shovels are so adjusted as to be run right up close to the beets. Tliis cultivator is widely used in American beet fields. morning. At 4, my neighbor is there, and he takes it. We never have more than 30 minutes to the acre in Lehi, and sometimes it is cut down to 1-5 minutes, during which the water is allowed us." William Bone, Jr, another very successful beet grower for the Lehi concern, say.= : "I think beets can hardly have too much water at certain times, which can only be judged by practical experience. A great deal depends upon the season and the land, too. I would not water them until they show that they need it the first time. In naturally light land they will stand watering pretty early. They should have at least two good cultivations before they are watered at all. In regard to the last watering, my idea is with them the same as witli any other crop. If you let any crop \yithei and die, it is not good for anythinii. It naturally loses its strength and vitality. 100 THE SUGA.R INDUSTRY. Water will not stop the beets from ripening, that is, unless the land is wet and clayey, and of course a person should know better than to water such land late in the season. Beets that have been well watered will not be affected nearly so much by the late storms as those that have not been well watered. My experience is that beets need some alkali, but I do not think that very strong alkali land is good for them. There is naturally more or less alkali in all our land, unless it is the light, loamy soil. Beets like manure. Even here in Utah, all our land needs manure for beets. Of course a person can go to an extreme, but as a rule all our lands need manuring. There is one thing more about preparing land for beets : I am sure that many of our people tramp their land too much. Some of it becomes packed very heavy before the beets are put in. After the beets have come up the land cannot be cultivated too much." We may add that frequent and thorough culture is the best substitute for irriga- tion. With it, the beet will stand quite severe drouth. Daring the great drouth of '94, in the valley of the Platte, Nebraska, beets stood the drouth better than corn did, for tne subsoil is of sand and the water is only 10 to 15 feet below the surface of the ground, so that the roots of the beets can almost penetrate to the water. HARVESTING. It requires about four and one-half to five months after planting to procure ripe beets, although in California the time varies from 120 to 160 days. After they have been in the ground that length of time, and the outer leaves turn yellow and die down, it is an indication that the beets are ripening. The maximum of sugar and purity is usual- ly obtained during the month of October over much of the country where ordinarily se- vere winters are experienced, but in the Southwest and California, maturity on moist and late lands may not be reached until considerably later. The factory usually sam- ples several fields before advising growers to enter upon the general harvest. As the beets increase in tonnage mostly during the last six weeks of their growth, the har- vesting with full force should not bo started too early. On the other hand, the beets must be out of the ground before hard freezing weather, as alternate freezing and thawing injui'es the sugar content. In case of a severe freeze before harvest is com- pleted, it may be best to leave the balance of the roots in the ground for a few days until normal weather is restored, as the quick thawing out of the beets might seri- ously impair their sugar content. The beets may be plowed loose from 8 to 10 days before removing from the ground, using a plow with a thin blade, which splits the soil between the rows. In- stead of the share it has a narrow blade in the nature of a subsoil point, enough to carry it deep into the ground. The use of the plow avoids the injury to the beet caused by spades, hoes or shovels, and it is then easier also to remove the b*^et plant from the hard soil. Treated in this manner, the roots ripen and gain in weight and sugar; the earth adheres less to the root and can be shaken off with ease. In Ne- braska, a two-horse puller is used (Page 105) which loosens the beets, but leaves them in the ground. Whatever method is employed, the tops are taken hold of by boys, who pull the beets and throw them into piles. Another set of boys cuts off the tops with a beet knife, and for this purpose, the point of an old scythe set in a handle is about as good a tool as one can use, or a corn knife. The topping is best accom- THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 101 = 5 &s 2 ^ 2. 2, » ^ 5 crt; p "d ^ y: C^ ^ C ai 1 H" 2" ~ *; 5 = ^ a ? D te ^ JO o d — 2 o » r- tS £ 2 5 £ f: •§ "! O T! P = -! a s. « 2 ::• ^ < r' » (t O >Q - 2 — o ii n. ff ^ n TO 2 ^ 3 p C H rt a B" S* » « » p o o 53 r o :d w d ^ 2. ft N v; 'r3 O" £7 - Cp = 2.1 S. TO =* 2 = » ■ -t 2. 2 S '^ fp >- "d W = g ir i^ ^ p. • m 3 O - H-- *• r* M. i^ CD w o - ?;• £ o 5 » » M 5 PI > r o 102 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. plished by a deep, straight cut across the beet without whittling, including the base of the rough portion of the top, from which the leaves grow It is important that the top of the beet be cut off down to the neck so as to in- clude with the top all that portion of the beet to which the stems of the leaves have been attached. "The object of removing this portion of the beet is to prevent the mineral salts, which have accumulated in large quantities therein, from entering the factory. These mineral salts exercise a very deleterious influence on the crystalliza- tion of the sugar, and therefore should be removed. They are well fitted for fertili- zing purposes and are of more value when left upon the soil than when removed to the factory." These tops of the beets, with the attached leaves, are admirable for fodder. Another important point in harvesting beets is to have them as tree from dirt as possible. When beets arrive at the Nebraska factories, an average 50 lbs is taken from each load. They are tlien thoroughly washed and examined to see if properly topped, then weighed again, the loss determining the tare. The greater the amount of dirt on the roots or the more improperly they are topped, the larger is the loss in weight or tare. The farmer not only has to stand this loss but he also bears the ex- pense of hauling and handling this unnecessary dirt. Not only that, but the dirt adhering to the roots is the finest part of the soil and very often the richest and best portion, and in a few years, a surprising amount of soil is thus taken from the land. Some careful beet growers not only try to deliver beets as clean as possible, but in- stead of returning with their wagons empty, load up with the waste deposited from the washer at the factory, which contains not only the rich earth that has been washed from the beets, but also the tip ends of roots, etc, all of which possess ferti- lizing value of importance. Several harvesting machines to both dig and top the beets have been tried but up to the past season, all have been discarded. Numerous clever and j)i'a<-*tical minds are at work on the problem and it is probable that a satisfactory machine to take the beets from the soil and top them will soon be perfected. There are several very suc- cessful machines for simply digging or plowing out the beets, several of which are shown in the accompanying illustration?. The beets, after being topped, are then thrown into wagons, covered with sacking and hauled to the factory, or stored in silos in the ground. In delivering beets from the field to the factory, wagons hauled by horses or mules are usually employed in this country. It is a question, however, whether a more economical method is not possible, when the factory is in the midst of the beet fields. In this case, a movable railway with light rails and sleepers, that could be moved quickly and cheaply as the beets were harvested, would enable one horse to draw a car containing more beets than the ordinary two-horse wagon will carry. An overhead trolley upon which bas- kets of beets are drawn by ropes might be used, or on a large scale, where a factory is equipped with electricity, a movable overhead trolley employing electrical power to push the car along, might be feasible. Beets cannot be hauled by wagon more than from 4 to 8 miles without its costing more than the traffic will bear. Of course THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 103 where they are delivered to the railroad, the loaded freight cars are run by a si)ur track direct to the factory yard or shed. Mr Ware says that "A great mistake made by many farmers is not to cover their beets as soon as pulled, for if left on the ground they may lose 6 per cent moisture in 24 hours. Place them in silos, if possible at once, until needed at factory. The loss of moisture can attain within a few days 20 per cent, the quality of the juice is not THE MATURE SUGAR BEET. Plant 150 or 160 days old, Vilmorin variety, with its root system, about one-twelfth natural size. This plate from Bulletin 44, Nebraska experiment station, evidently reduced one-half from larger plate in Bulletin 27, Division of Chemistry, United States Department of Agriculture. improved, changes take place, and the manufacturer frequently has considerable dif- ficulty in working such beets. The farmer loses, so does the manufacturer. A neg- lect of this kind is more serious than most American farmers realize." STORING BEETS. In the mild climate of California, the beets are dumped in large sheds at the fac- tory, or are simply left in huge piles outdoors. The loss in sugar content seems to be 104 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. comparatively slight for a few weeks, and the beets are worked up before material injury occurs. In the colder climate of Utah, where the temperature goes as low as in any part of the United States, it was formerly thought that the beets must be carefully stored in expensive silos or sheds. Hence when the Lehi factory was first tuilt, the five frost proof beet sheds shown on Page 111 were built — of lumber, the walls being lined with straw. Each shed is 500 ft long and 26 ft wide, constructed with a sluice in the center so that the beets can be shoveled into it and brought to the factory by water, which is not only economy of labor but it gives them a thorough washing. Manager Cutler writes: "We have discovered since then, that frost is something we are not afraid of, providing that our beets are brought here in a perfect state. We have erected since then several platforms, one of which has sides to it, but the top is left entirely open. It is 500 feet long by 34 feet wide, and will hold fully 3000 tons of beets. We also have other platforms with a sluice in the center, but without any sides, and we use a movable railroad track— as fast as the beets are unloaded the track is moved further out, until we have an enormous pile resting on the plank or plat- form as above described. This system has Avorked admirably, and the best beets we had stored were those that were left entirely open to the weather. The system of storing in large open piles has proven satisfactory under our conditions. We have stored some 6000 tons of beets in piles on the bare ground, sluices having first been constructed to carry the beets by water to the factory from the piles. When the frost came(and we had the temperature as low as 10 degrees below zero in December, 1896, ) it froze over the surface of the stored beets to the depth of two or three beets, but there was enough vegetable heat generated in the large pile to keep the beets in good condition dnd we have never yet lost a beet from frost. We are more afraid of the sun's rays than we are of frost. There was some loss of sugar in the small outside layer of beets that was frosted, but it was not enough to be of much importance, and the loss is infinitesimal compared with the expense of storing in sheds." The two past seasons are the only ones in which this method of storing in large open piles without protection from the weather has been tried in severe American winters. The author is not yet ready to recommend this method, as a general prac- tice, in the severe cold weather and alternating freezing and thawing of a northern winter in the middle or eastern states. It should be carefully experimented with un- der the conditions in each locality. This plan is not feasible on the farm. Even in Utah, the factory authorities have preferred that the farmers store their late beets in the field according to the system much in vogue in Europe. When this is done, the factory pays the farmer 25 to 35c per ton for thus storing the beets and delivering them when wanted. For this pur- pose, the Utah plan is to dig a few rows of beets, then to run a tongue scraper down the field, making a shallow trench. As the beats are dug and topped, they are thrown into this trench and covered with leaves, a furrow is plowed down each side to drain off the water, if it should storm, and the leaves are covered with a little dirt to keep them from blowing off the beets. The beets thus stored have generally come in good condition. Some were frozen, but as a rule, the farmers feel that they can store the beets and deliver them at almost any time within two or three months in good condi- THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 105 tion. At the same time, experience at the Utah factory is rather against trying to make too long a run, owing to the possibilities of loss in quality as well as other chances. Siloing in the field has to be more carefully done in Nebraska, and after six years* experience the Norfolk factory recommends this plan, which is a modification of Eu- ropean methods: "In the first place do not harvest your beets until they are ripe, as green beets do not keep as well in silos as ripe ones, and besides should you harvest when too green they might not contain the necessary 12 per cent of sugar with 80 purity. In an average Nebraska season no beets should be siloed before October \ THE WALKING BEET PULLER. Tills homely device is much used. There are several varieties of it. The tool is quite popular in lieu of a better one. 15th, and if the weather is warm it would be better to wait until the 20th, but in no case should the beets be allowed to remain unharvested (and not siloed) until the ground freezes. Frost-bitten beets will not keep; therefore all beets that you silo must be free from frost and be covered up the same day that they are harvested. "We would advise making five to seven silos to the acre, placing not less than two tons in each silo. When ready to silo, lift Uie beets from 40 to 45 rows with a horse harvester. These loosened beets must then be pulled out of the ground by hand and thrown in piles. It is advisable, in case the strip you have lifted contains 45 rows, to make a pile every six rods the length of the strip, and as this section of the 45 rows 106 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. is about four rods wide and six rods long, each silo would thus contain the beets from 24 square rods (about one-seventh of one acre). To prevent unnecessary handling it is advisable to first pull out the beets from the middle of the marked 24 square rods, placing them in such shape as to make a vacant place in the center about one rod wide and two rods long, then to pull the balance of the beets, throwing them into a windrow close to and surrounding this vacant spot. When this is finished, top the beets (at the base of the bottom leaves) with one stroke of the knife and throw them in the vacant place, making a pile four feet wide and not over three feet high, the length of the pile depending entirely upon the yield. After all the beets are topped and piled up in proper shape, cover the pile with six inches of dirt, being careful not to have any leaves or straw on the beets or mixed with them, and also to leave wide open a hole one foot in diameter, every five feet on top of the pile (at least two in each pile), for ventilation, as beets will sweat some after siloing. "It is generally advisahle not to put much more than six inches of dirt over the beets in October, but to keep them free from frost you should cover the silo before the weather gets cold, say about ten days or two weeks after harvesting, in any case before hard frost sets in, evenly, with five to six inches of loose straw, leaving the ventilation holes uncovered, and i^lace about two inches of dirt on top of the straw to prevent it from blowing away and for the purpose of packing it, as wdien well packed it will best keep the cold air out of the silo. Thus the covering will finally be com- posed of six inches of dirt, two inches of packed straw and then two inches more dirt. In an ordinary season such covering should keep your beets from freezing, but should there be exceptionally cold weather you might find it necessary (in case "we have not ordered all your beets delivered to the factory by that time) to cover the re- maining piles with some long manure. As soon as the covering of silo freezes two inches, ^hut the ventilation holes with dirt and then keep them shut," Formerly the farmers were opposed to thus storing the beets, even when paid 30c per ton for so doing, but experience in '95 and '96 convinces them that it is an advan- tage to the grower also because it gives him a longer time in which to deliver the crop. Concerning the way in which beets keep in these silos, Mr Wietzer of the Nor- folk factory writes us : "Regarding loss in actual sugar of beets kept in silos, we have no actual results, but we have found that beets lose very little or nothing of their saccharine matter •within the first two months after siloing. In the old country, it is no secret that beets lose at least 1 to li per cent of saccharine matter during a three months' time in silo, mostly in cases when weather is warm. Experiments made within the last few years have, however, shown that beets raised without fertilizer lose compara- tively very little in silos, while beets raised with nitrate of soda show the greatest loss." Summarizing the most recent European experience on this point Ware says: "It has been demonstrated that the loss of sugar in silos is due to elevation of tempera- ture and too much ventilation, the greatest loss of sugar always corresponding to the most active respiration of the plant. From this the conclusion might be drawn that by keeping air out entirely the problem could be solved; but decomjiosition of the roots then would certainly follow. When ventilation is too active, considerable loss THE BEET SUGAll INDUSTRY. 107 of moisture is the consequence; and when this is excessively low the protoplasms die, followed by alteration in the beet cells. The most desirable temperature for silos appears to be 35.6 degrees to 41 degrees F. Avoid all bruises of roots to be kept. is a maxim never to be lost sight of in beets that are to be stored. Twist off the leaves, but do not attempt topping." We may add that ^Nebraska experience is BEET HARVESTER ^A^ITH TOPPING ARRANGEMENT. This invention of the Jolmson Harvester Co., Bntavia, Xew York, has now been so perfected as to do its work most satisfactorily. It digs and lifts the beets, cuts off the tops and delivers the topped beets at the side of the row ready for factory or silo. This machine is rapidly coming into general use. It will be noticed that the above corrects the reference to this subject on Page 102. against the hint in the last sentence, as two handlings of the beets cost more than the loss in sugar due to absence of top or necks on beets in silo. The system of drying beets has been tried on a small scale in California. In that extremely dry and warm climate, the fresh beets when sliced shrink to one-fourth their original weight by loss of water in from three to four weeks' exposure to air and sun. These topped beets contain from 50 to 65 per cent of sugar and can of course bft shipped by rail any reasonable distance. The process has only been tried on a small scale and great care had to be exercised to keep the beet chips from fermenting and 108 THE SUGAll INDUSTRY. spoiling entirely. Whether tliis can be guarded against sufficiently to make the drying process practical remains to be seen. Should it prove to be feasible, it is possible that such evaporated or desiccated beets might be kept to supply the factories when their original stock of beets was exhausted. In the absence of larger tests of this necessity, it is useless to speculate about it, and the expense of cutting and drying the beets seems to be an almost insurmountable obstacle. FEEDING AND STORING BEET PULP, TOPS AND MOLASSES. The pulp from the beets after the sugar is extracted, makes an admirable feed for all stock — horses, cattle, sheep, swine and poultry. Yet its value for this purpose is only beginning to be appreciated in this country, though in Europe the farmers would no more think of allowing beet pulp to go to waste than our farmers would think of <'uring hay for fuel. At the Utah factory, a feeding company has contracted for all the pulp for a series of years, and have erected adjacent to the factory (so as to save all hauling and handling possible) a complete system of sheds and feeding pens. Two thousand head of cattle are fattened here each season for market. They eat the pulp greediij', consuming from 100 to 125 lbs per head each day, besides about 15 lbs of hay. These cattle command a very good market, the meat being very juicy and tender. The cattle fatten quickly under proper conditions and as the company gets the pomace or pulp for nothing, except the cost of removing it from the factory, the enterprise is a profitable one. The past season over 1000 sheep were fattened here on pulp. At Watsonville, 1700 cattle were fed at the creamery silo, and beets that fall froni the wagons there are also used as stock feed, whereas it was formerly neces- sary to dump the pulp in the ocean to get rid of it. Dairymen pay 15c per ton for having the pulp loaded on cars at factory, and 50c to $1 per ton freight, so that it costs them 75c to $1.15 per ton, besides hauling from local depot to farm; at these terms, they consider it the cheapest and best feed. The feeding value of beet pomace depends mainly upon the quantities of protein (nitrogenous matter), sugar, starch, fiber and fat it contains, and upon the propor- tion of these ingredients that are digestible. The California experiment station's analysis of beet pulp may be compared as follows with ensilage of corn fodder and green clover: TOTAL ELEMENTS OF ANIMAL FOOD IN 100 LBS. Beet Clover Corn pulp silage silage Water, lbs, 90.0 72.0 70.6 Ash, lbs, 0.3 2.6 2.6 julp silage 90.0 72.0 0.3 2.6 1.5 4.2 0.4 1.2 3.1 8.4 4.7 ll.C AMOUNT OF FOOD DIGESTIBLE ELEMENTS IN 100 LBS Beet, Clover Corn pulp silage silage Protein, lbs, 2c, 1.3 2.0 1.4 Fat or oil, lbs, 2c, 0.4 1.0 0.6 Fiber, lbs, Ic, 2.5 4.4 6.5 Sugar, starch, etc, Ic, 4.2 9.2 ,5.6 Feedin*y fodder, with cottonseed or linseed meal, pea meal, or bran. Always begin feeding the pulp to milch cows in small quantities, say 5 or 10 lbs at a meal, gradually increasing as the cows get used to it. Another advantage of beet pulp as feed is that it can be kept tor months without loss of quality by storing in silos. Says Prof Jaffa of the California experiment sta- tion : "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 during 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 110 IHE SUGAR INDUSTRY. mass. The reason for this is, that if much air is present, fermentation will be car- ried on to such an extent as to spoil a considerable portion of the food. In the case of beet pulp, we do not have to contend with any of the inconveniences just noted. The pulp as it comes from the diffuser in the sugar factory is in the best possible con- dition 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 avail- able space, without any intervention on the part of the fillers — a behavior 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 well as a deep, round one— the style found to yield the best results when corn or clover is siloed. The deeper the silo the greater the pressure, and, therefore, the less air remaining in the silo; the circular shape is adopted so as to do away with corners. It is thus obvious that the expense attending the construction of the silo for beet pulj) would be much less than where other fodders are used. In regard to the covering of the material while silo- ing, the beet pulp has the advantage over corn and clover in that it covers itself, forming a seal, which thoroughly excludes the air. Another point which must not be lost sight of is, that when the beet pulp silage is fed, the portions can be removed much easier and with more facility than is the case where we are dealing with corn, etc. Wherever beet pulp silage has been tried it has met with the best of success, as the animals greatly relish it." The beet tops and waste beets comprise a considerable tonnage where several acres of beets are raised. This material is also excellent for all stocks, imparting a rare flavor and color to beef or pork, beside making rapid gains in live weight. Feed- ers about Watsonville are especially enthusiastic over the feeding value of this beet top waste for hogs as well as cattle and milch cows. Similar reports come from Utah and Nebraska, thus fully confirming European experience. These tops will not keep so long as the pulp will, and the sooner they are consumed the better. The tops (leaves), with the neck' or upper part of beet that is cut off, constitute about 15 or 20 per cent at least of the gross weight of the crop, so that a yield of 15 gross tons per acre would give about twelve tons of dressed beets and three tons of tops. Many European feeders consider this fodder worth as much as the best hay, pound for pound. .Mr Ware says in a recent issue of The Sugar Beet, speaking of Germany: "A fac- tory working 40,000 tons of beets per campaign has 22,000 tons of residuum pulp which, when dried, weighs 2750 tons, the cost of drying being $5 per ton, or a total of $13,- 750. The product found a ready sale for $17,200, leaving a profit of $3450. Owing to the low market price of molasses, this residuum was mixed with the cossettes during their drying. One hundred pounds of fresh cossettes can absorb lbs of molasses, the product after drying weighing only 15 to 18 lbs. The money value of beet tops and leaves has been determined by analyzing them, and allowing that carbohydrates have a recognized market value. According to all calculations made they should not be sold for less than $1.60 per ton when considered collectively." The molasses residue from beet-sugar factories has not been much fed in this country. In Europe, however, it has been generally used for this purpose, about one- fourth of the product of many German factories being fed. The great difficulty has CO PI H 0) H O Q PI (/3 P] D > H H W C > w C O > o o ID ;> >< > o H 112 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. been to find a proper fodder with which to mix the molasses in order to counteract the purging effect which molasses alone (or in conjunction with some other feeding stuffs) exercises on cattle when fed with it, even in small quantities. The latter difficulty has apparently been met by mixing the molasses with a dust or mull ob- tained from the moss turf that grows on peat. This moss turf is obtained by being torn up or teased out by a machine for making moss litter called a "Wolf." It is taken from the upper strata of high-lying peat moors, and consists largely of the dried but non-decomposed fiber of the plants Sphagnum cuspidatum and Eriophormn lati- folium. The acids contained in this moss turf seem to neutralize the salts in the mo- lass3S and render them harmless, thus counteracting the severe purging caused by molasses alone. It is not claimed that this peat stuff itself has any direct feeding value, its usefulness being confined to neutralizing the laxity of the molasses. About 35 lbs of this stuff is used with 65 lbs of molasses, though the proportions vary, and there are several patent processes. The stuff has to be mixed with the molasses wjiile hot. It is being largely fed in Germany, where great claims are made for it, though some feeders dispute these assertions. It is claimed to be much cheaper than the best fat-producing foods, keeps the animal in health, is a good substitute for bran, gives a glossy appearance to the skin, improves quality and quantity of milk, in- creases weight and improves flavor of meat and can be stored an unlimited time. The average American farmer will not use any such material. He can, however, mix molasses with cut straw or hay. German experience indicates that the use of molasses in this way increases the amount of actual food elements in the fodder that are digested. The straw is cut into snort chaff and the molasses poured over it, which is first thinned a little with water. To every 100 lbs of chaff, add 20 lbs of molasses. Feed with 15 ibs of cottonseed meal or linseed meal or a larger quantity of wheat bran. After cows get used to it they will consume daily 20 lbs per head of this straw chaff with a relish, besides uncut straw and other coarse stuff. The results are most satisfactory. This feed has been found to be most excellent for sheep, hogs, cattle and even horses, but with all stock the feeding with molasses should be- gin with very small doses. Increase the molasses ration very gradually. Mr R. M. Allen, who, as manager of the Standard Feeding Co, Nebraska, speaks from long experience in the feeding of beets, necks and tops, says: "I regard it as probable that the profit derived from feeding the waste products of the factory and those parts of the beet left in the field will be almost as great as the profit from the manufacture of sugar. Cattle feeding is a branch of the business that I consider al- most as important as sugar manufacture." PESTS OF THE BEET. Thus far the most serious obstacles to the production of large quantities of rich beets in the United States have been unfavorable climatic conditions, too much or too little rain or drouth, early frosts, too little sunshine with unseasonable weather during the growing and harvesting period. What can be done to mitigate these natu- ral conditions has been considered in the previous pages. Thus far the crop has not suffered materially from blights or other fungus pests. Beets are sometimes hollow in the center and in that case lack both weight and quality, but this trouble mainly THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 113 occurs only in soil deficient in plant food. Improper germination can be avoided by the use of proper seed and the methods of planting already described. Insect pests have thus far not proved extremely destructive. The garden web- worm {Eurycreon rantalis) has been perhaps the worst pest. The worm is not quite an inch long, pale or dark yellow, marked with distinctly jet black spots. It feeds on a great many plants, and has several natural enemies. The worm spins for itself a delicate silk cocoon in the debris on the ground at the top of the beet and transforms to the chrysalis stage, in which it remains from one to two weeks. The young worms devour only the surface and substance of the leaf on the side where they are, leaving the veins and opposite epidermis untouched, producing a skeleton leaf. Where the tops are not intended to be fed to stock, Mr Lawrence Bruner, entomologist Ne- braska station (Bulletin 16) recommends spraying with a solution of one pound of London purple or Paris green in 200 gallons of water, applied with the modern spraying apparatus, by which the poison is dis- tributed in a very fine mist. The pale flea beetle (Systena blanda), varying from black to nearly yel- lowish white, gnaws the leaves full of holes upon either side, causing a blis- ter-like appearance, like leaf spot or leaf blight. Spraying with kerosene emulsion drove it away and the arsenical spray effectually removed it. Other flea beetles and blister beetles are sometimes destructive and if necessary can be destroyed as just described. A variety of bugs and a few leaf hoppers are sometimes destructive, the most practical remedy for them being to destroy their natural food plant. The various cutworms sometimes do much damage by eating off the small beet plants in May and June, in Nebraska. All of these cutworms have parasites that usu- ally keep them from breeding very rapidly, except when some unusually favorable conditions of soil or climate occur. The very best remedy that has thus far been sug- gested and tried against cutworms is the use of poisoned grasses, cabbage leaves, or clover. This is done by taking these substances and tying them into loose bunches and then sprinkling them with a solution of Paris green or London purple, say a ta- blespoonful to a bucket of water. Then in the evening scatter these poisoned baits over the field between the rows of beets, <;abbage, etc. The worms will be attracted NEBRASKA SILO FOR BEETS. Oro-^s section. The pile of beets is about 4 feet wide and 3 feet hi!>h covered with six inches of soil. Hefore severe weather sets in, cover with six inches of straw, and then two inches of soil. V— Ventilating holes, one foot in diameter, every 5 feet. See Pages 105107. 114 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. to them, eat and die. These baits should be renewed several times at intervals of two to four days, according to the state of the weather and the abundance of the worms. BEET SEED PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. At least twenty pounds of seed per acre are required for planting sugar beets. At 12 to 20 cents per lb, this represents an investment of $2 to $4 per acre for seed alone. When from 3000 to 20,000 acres of land are planted to beets for each factory, according to its size, it will be seen that this beet-seed question is a most important one. Up to the present time the bulk of the beet seed used in America has been im- ported from Germany and France. Experiments at the department of agriculture's sugar beet station at Schuyler, Neb, with later work by H. H. Nicholson at the Nebraska state experiment station, and the experience of our western beet growers, warrant the conclusion that Ameri- ca can produce its own beet seed. The Utah Sugar Co has 57 tons of mother beets laid by for planting for seed purposes early this spring, a sample of t^is lot being illustrated on Page 32. They are packed in dry sand and kept at a low temperature to prevent sprouting. These people are now raising quite a large amount of their own seed, have met with great success, and expect by 1898 to cease importing beet seed into Utah. Of course it is very necessary for those who are experimenting in raising beet seed to try small quantities of every variety that comes to their notice. Nicholson truly says that "We cannot build up a great sugar industry, stable and in- dependent, until we have all its absolute requirements in and on our own home soil. We must be free from all possible danger of having our seed supply tampered with, and we must develop varieties of beets adapted to our soil and climatic conditions." Prof Nicholson considered this matter quite fully in his address to the Nebraska beet sugar association, November, '97, from which we quote the following: The serious difficulty and the great danger— danger to the industry as a whole— in attempting to grow and use our own seed, lies in the lack of proper, I may be par- doned for saying the lack of scientific, selection of parent beets. In this question, of the selection of mothers, is the key to the whole situation. It is a purely scientific question — a question that has been reduced to an exact science by the great breeders and seed growers of France and Germany. If we would not meet disaster, we should sit at their feet and patiently learn the details of procedure. If, for example, we select this year our best beets— those that will average 16 per cent in sugar— for seed, we will undoubtedly obtain very satisfactory results when this seed is planted. By continuing this process year after year we will soon have difficulty in finding 10 per cent beets— the average sugar content and purity will be- gin to drop, in accordance with a natural law that all animal and plant life, especially those cases where special features have been artificially developed, tend to return to lower forms. To keep ou'- beets up to a high grade, then, we must keep introducing props and supports in the way of careful selection in regard to specific points. This introduces into seed growing the elements of science and of expense and lifts the business into the position of a specialty, to be followed only by those content to make it a lifework. It is a question, perhaps, whether there is yet a sufficient demand for seed in this country to justify the specialist or the capitalist, or both, to enter upon the profession 116 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. of breeding beets for seed, as that is wliat it amounts to. Naturally, the business of producing the seed begins under and"is fostered by the factory management. It is greatly to the credit of the American manufacturers that they have thus early taken the initial steps. But, as has been indicated, tlie attendant expense, the necessity for special knowledge, anil the extreme care necessary at every step, soon throws the business into the hands of specialists. As has been intimated, the problem presents two important phases, tirst to jno- duce seed of a very high grade, and, second, to maintain this grade against a constant tendency to retrogression. The solution of these questions has demanded not only the practical experience and skill of seed men, but all the resources of scientitic in- vestigation. For these reasoi>s there has grown up in the sugar-beet-producing re- gions of Europe a class of professional beet-seed growers. Some of these, as Dippe Brothers, Knauer and Schreiber, in Germany ; and Vilmorin, Desprez, and Legras, in France, have made reputations world-wide and have amassed fortunes in the busi- ness. Their methods are based on strictly scientific principles. Details of procedure vary according as this or that feature is made more prominent. In no case do these, or other reputable growers, allow seed to go on the market until it lias reached a certain standard of excellence through several years of upbreeding. As an example of the extreme care necessary to maintain seed at a high grade, I will briefiy outline the ordinary practice of the Dippe Brothers, on their extensive beet farms at Quedlinburg, Prussia. Assuming, for the start, seed oi the highest at- tainable quality. This- is jdanted in the spring in the usual manner and the crop cared for in all respects as a good beet farmer would handle u crop for the factory. In the fall, at the time (.»f harvest, the beets are carefully examined as to their phys- ical characteristics of form, color, size, shape, contlition of leaves, and method of growth. Those coming up to a standard previously fixed upon are reserved for seed, while all others go to the factory. This selection usually reserves from one-sixth to one-eiglith of the crop as mother beets for the next season. In the early spring of the second year, these mother beets are taken from the silo and subjected to a chemi- cal analysis, for the purpose of securing, for planting, only those of high sugar con- tent and purity. The analytical process, in brief, consists in taking a small sample from each indi- vidual beet in such a manner as to fairly represent the whole beet — this does not in any way injure the root for planting. Tlie juice is then expressed from the sample and polarized. In this way, all of the beets reserved the previcnis fall are divided into three classes, viz: First, those that fall below a certain minimum per cent of sugar, say 1»» per cent, these go to the feed stable; second, those that in sugar con- tent run ret A'een Irt per cent and IS per cent will be planted as seed-prod'icing or mother beets; third, tlmse that run above IS per cent in sugar will be planted for seed to keep up the stock. For convenience, we will call these Classes I, II and III, and confine our atten- tion to Class II. When tlii-i cliemical selection has finally been made, the beets in Class II are planted. In the autumn the seed stalks are cut, the seed thrashed out, cleaned, and put away for the winter. In the following spring— the third from the start— this seed is planted, Init in a manner a little ditferent from the ordinary, inas- THE BEET SUGAR IXDUSTilY. 117 much as the rows are closer together and the beets are thinned to a distance of from three to lour inciies, the object being to produce a very small and rich beet. The usual summer care is given, and in the autumn these very small beets are harvested; another selection on the basis of their physical characteristics is made, and those re- tained are carefully stored for the winter. In the spring of the fourth year these small and very rich beets are planted for seed production. According to this method, seed to be offered for sale comes on the market in time to be planted during the fifth year after the fii'st steps in its production were taken. This plan, or one similar, is adopted by all successful seed-growing specialists in the old country. Of course, aft- er the first lot is ready for market, each succeeding season furnishes a crop. The only long delay comes in starting. The questions of ex- penses and profits can hard- ly be touch ad upon in this paper. During the four apparently unproductive years, while he is maturing his first crop of seed, the seed grower is marketing at the factoi-y six-sevenths of his beet crop. With the harvest of the first crop of seed, and thereafter, he will have to sell both a crop of beets and a seed crop. Attempts to reduce such propositions to a basis of figures are always hazard- ous. The main features, in this case, are clear pnough that I will venture on some approximations as to the amount of land required and the current operations and expenses during the four years that the first crop is being prepared for market. Assuming that 80 tons of seed are needed to supply the present demand in this state, and that we are to attempt to supply tiiis with a well-bred native seed, I will follow, in the main, the plan of the German seed growers. We will start the first year with ten acres planted with the best seed attainable. Assuming an average yield of ten tons per acre, we will harvest 100 tons of beets. Making our selection for mother beets will remove from sale about one-seventh, or some foui'teen tons. We will have for market, then, 86 tons of beets. The second year will see the first year's operations repeated in every detail. Irs addition, we have to make the chemical selection of mother beets for planting, from the 14 tons reserved the previous autumn, and the planting and caring for, say, one acre of seed beets. Assuming now 28,000 beets to be analyzed and selected; two chemists, with proper appliances and assistants, can make 4000 tpsts per day. or this selecting can be made in seven days at a cost not to exceed $500, including everything CROSS SECTION WISCONSIN SILO. Sec Pasje U5 for Reiieral view of these silos. Tlie pile of heets Is about 6 feet wide and 2>^ to 3 feet Iiinli. covered with 18 inches of soil, with a (V) ventilating tile every 6 feet that can he closed after the beets have sweated. 118 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. thing except the laboratory and its permanent equipment. In this selection we will retain one-seventh of the beets, giving us 4000 roots, enough to plant one acre— the remaining six-sevenths go for cattle food. We have in operation, then, land as fol- lows : Ten acres sown with seed and one acre planted with mothers. In the fall the beet ci'op is harvested, selections made as before for mother beets, and the remainder sent to the factoiy. Seed is harvested, cleaned, selected, and stored for the next year's use. The books for this season would show a small excess of expenditure over income. The third year, all operations of the second year are repeated in detail. In addi- tion ten acres of choice land will be sown with seed selected from the previous year's crop, with the object of producing small and very rich beets. In the fall we will har- vest a crop of beets for the factory and to furnish mothers for the next year; a crop of seed for further selection, and a crop of small beets of this year's growing. Land in use this year: ten acres sown with original seed; ten acres sown with our own seed of the previous year; one acre planted with mother beets. The books of this year will also show an excess of expenditures over income. Fourth year; all of tne work of the third year is repeated. In addition to this, we plant 100 acres with choice roots from the small and very rich beets grown the previous year. This fail we will harvest beets for the factory and for mothers; seed for further selection; small, rich beets for flnal seed production, and from 80 to 100 tons of seed ready for the market. Aseuming 80 tons of seed, and a price of 15 cents per pound, the seed product of the fourth year would be worth $24,000. If care has been observed at every step in breeding, this seed ought to be worth, by reason of the higher return it will yield both to the grower and manufacturer, at least five cents per pound more than foreign-grown seed. Each succeeding year now of operation, on the basis and on the scale of these preliminary years, will yield for market from 80 to 100 tons of seed, worth from $24, 000 to $40, 000. To actually produce the seed requires, then, the use of not more than 150 acres of land at one time. A proper rotation of crops would demand, for seed growing on the scale thus briefly and imperfectly outlined, not less than 040 acres. Of course, there will be many difficulties to be met and overcome. In tliis state, one of these will be the prevalence of winds at certain seasons of the year. It is pos- sible that this trouble may be met by planting rows of corn at intervals among our seed beets, to act as wind breaks. Certain it is that we shall find some way to meet that and similar difficulties. European beet growers and manufacturers have established careful rules to secure the best quality of seed. They require that the seed must be from the last crop. It must be of such quality that 100 large seeds must furnish 150 sprouts, and 100 small seeds at least 130 sprouts, these should show within 14 days from the beginning of the tesr. Not more than 20 per cent of lifeless seed will be admitted. Moisture in the seed should never be more than 15 i)er cent of the total weight, because more of it causes mold, which injures germinating power. There must be about 45 seeds per gram, or about 22,500 per pound for large seed. CHAPTER IV. COMMEKCIAL ASPECTS OF THE BEET SUGAE INDTJSTEY. COST AND PROFITS OF BEET CULTURE. Experience affords widely varying data as to the expense of producing beets and the profits of the crop. In unfavurable seasons, or when growers have not learned how to raise the crop most economically, expenses may be comparatively high and the yield inferior in quality and quantity, thus making the cost per ton very high. Mr Leavitt, an extensive Nebraska beet grower, informs us that his first crop cost him $44 per acre to "lay by" until ready to harvest, to which had to be added ex- penses of digging and delivering to factory, so that even at $5 per ton they yielded but little if any profit on the crop ordinarily obtained. But his sixth successive crop (1896) cost only $11 per acre to lay by, and at $4 per ton the crop yielded a substan- tial profit. This is probably a greater saving than will occur with the average beet grower, but it illustrates in a striking way the possibilities of economy in beet pro- duction. The value of land, expressed either in rent or interest and taxes, and the amount and cost of fertilizers employed, are also varying factors, as well as yield. We caution farmers and capitalists against basing estimates upon extraordinary yields per acre, either in quantity or quality. While it may be that the crop may oc- casionally go as high as 20 or 25 tons per acre, and return an apparent profit of $40 to $60 per acre, that is no more a fair criterion to go by than to judge of the possibilities of corn culture on the basis of a yield of 135 bushels of crib-cured shelled corn per acre (which was grown in the American Agriculturist's contest in Marlboro county. South Carolina, in 1889), when a fair average yield of corn is 25 bushels per acre. Here is the place for farmers to start right, and not to deceive themselves with fancy figures. Far better for all concerned to go into this industry on so conservative a basis that their estimates are excelled in actual results, than to start with exagger- ated ideas, failing to realize which causes discouragement and disaster. On this point Mr Weitzer, field manager for the Norfolk factory reports: "Our six years' experience in Nebraska has shown us that seven tons of beets per acre pay for all the team work (at 50 cents per hour), all the hand labor (at 7^ to 15 cents per hour) performed on the field, also for seed, rent of land and machinery and freight; all of the yield above this tonnage being clear profit. Ten tons may be regarded as an average crop per acre, although much higher yields are made. A good farmer, who takes the right care of the crop and selects proper land, should, in an average season, raise not less than twelve tons per acre. Our old beet growers even claim to be able to raise, in a good season, by using richly manured bottom land, 25 to 30 tons per acre, which yield has already been obtained by several parties." Valuable information upon this point is furnished by a tabulated statement of the experiences in 1896 of 49 growers of 1442 acres of beets for the Norfolk and Grand 130 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. Island factories, as collected by the Nebraska beet sugar association, and published ia its Hastings proceedings for 1896. The area harvested by each grower was from 3 to 80 acres, averaging about 18 acres to each farmer, exclusive of one who raised 455 acres and another with 174 acres. At the time of the Hastings convention, Nov 17, about half these beets had been delivered to the factory, the balance being ensiled for de- livery later. The reported yield was 17,924 tons from the 1442 acres, or an average of 12t tons per acre, ranging from 8 to 20 tons per acre— the larger yields upon the smaller tracts. The proceeds for beets sold were estimated at $90,016, or $62.40 per acre. This was based on $5 per ton for beets, of which $4 was paid by the factory and $1 was claimed under the state bounty offer. If the latter is not paid, the gross proceeds are about $12.50 per acre less, averaging just about an even $50 per acre. The ex- penses reported average $36.88 per acre, leaving average net profits of $13 per acre, as follows : Per acre For 1442 acres Cost of seed, .-.....- $3.00 $4,363 Rent of land, 3.96 5,708 Value of all laV>()r, 25.56 36,976 Other expenses, 4.36 6,302 Total expenses, -...--. $36.88 $53,349 Profits, $13.12 $18,751 Total receipts at $4 per ton, $50.00 $72,100 This shows an average cost of just about $3 per ton of beets delivered to the fac- tory, including wagon haul and railroad freight, on a crop of 12i tons per acre, over nearly 1500 acres in various sections of Nebraska, and representing all sorts of culture and soil. Closer analysis of the returns shows that the larger yields of the more careful cultivators were produced at a cost of $2 to $2.50, and in one or two instances even less. It is to be regretted that these figures are based on estimates at close of season, not upon actual accounts, though our inquiries indicate that the items of cost are above che actual, if anything. It is to be remembered, however, that the foregoing figures are for ah exception- ally favorable season. They are based upon the experiences of the better growers also — intelligent men, experts, of several years' experience; the other kind, who most need its help, don't attend the beet growers' meetings. Even the best men could not make so good a showing for the unfavorable year of 1895. Yet here are the figures for the '95 crop upon 40 acres grown by Petti'nger Brothers at Albion, Boone county. Neb: EXPENSES. Seed for 40 acres, $107.00 Hand work at f 12 per acre, 480.00 Extra labor, 150.00 Topping beets at $3 per acre, 120.00 Freight at 80c per ton, 538.40 Total, $1399.40 PROCEEDS. 577% tons dressed beets over 12% sugar 80 purity at $5 per ton of 2000 lbs, $2888.33 461/3 tons inferior at $2.50, 115.83 Received for siloing 258 tons at 30c, 77.34 Total, $3081.50 Deducting the expenses reported ($1399.40) from the gross proceeds ($3081.50), there is left $1682.10 as the net return for the team work, use of land, pay for superintendence and profit. This is $42 per acre for these items on a crop that dressed nearly 15 tons per acre, when sold at $5. This price includes the $\ state bounty. Deducting that, or $15 per acre, leaves .$27. A detailed statement of Pettinger Brothers' experience is printed on Pages 126-127. Mr R. M. Allen, president of the Nebraska beet sugar growers' association and of the American sugar growers' society, says that the result of his six years' experi- ence is that "The cost of growing beets to farmers in Nebraska is from a minimum of THE BEET SUGAR USTDUSTRY. 1^1 $2 per ton delivered at the factory, up to a figure where it becomes unprofitable to raise them even at $5 per ton. The average cost to farmers probably ranges f)"om $2. 50 to $3.50, with an average yield of from 10 to 12 tons. These figures do not include rent, fertilizers, or profit. The first two large areas of beets raised under ray own charge cost $3. GO and $3.80 per ton, respectively (actual book accounts), the first being a year of very high cost and the second a drouth year of decreased yield." Mr Allen submits detailed statements of these (1893-4) crops as printed below, but we understand his 1896 crop was grown at very much less expense. RESULT OF CHOP. 1893 1894 Number of fields grown, 21 23 Number of acres grown, 500 569 Lowest yield per acre. 9 tons 6.6 tons Highest " " " 30 " 19.5 " Average " " " 1714 " 10 net tons Net delivered at factory 15 •' 10 " " Gross tonnage, 8709 6165 Net tonnage shipped. 7514 5803 Shrinkage, 13.43 % 5.8% Total cars shipped. 436 346 Average sugar content. 11.94 % 14.95 % Highest " " 15.50 % 18% Average purity, 77% 79% Highest 86% 86% EXPENSES PEK ACRE. 1893 1894 Cleaning off corn stalks, $3.50 a$2.00 Flowing, 2.20 2.01 Harrowing, 1.30 .50 Rolling, .50 .31 Seeding, .40 .30 First hoeing, 4.00 1.44 Thinning, 13.00 5.84 Two times hoeing after thinnin g, 12.00 612.97 Cultivating, 2.15 1.82 Seed, 2.25 2.00 Cost of laying by 41.30 30.16 Harvesting, 6.00 C6.00 Hauling and load ing, 6.75 2.13 Total cost of cr( )p per acre, $54.05 $38.29 Cost of beets per net ton, $3.60 $3.82 a Manuring. 6 Second hoein g $5.25. 3d $4.81, 4th $2.91 per acre, c Plowing out cost $2 per acre, pulling and topping $4. In Utan, the average cost of cultivating, harvesting and delivering a crop of 12 tons of beets per acre to the factory, not to exceed four miles distant, is from $28 to $35, and at $4 per ton this leaves a net income of $13 to $20 per acre, besides the $28 or $35 worth of labor furnished by the farmer and his family and teams, for which he gets paid in cash. Going into more detail, the TJtah Sugar company says that, if everything is hired or if the labor is charged for at the price it would cost to hire it, the expense of cultivating beets in Utah would be about as follows: "Preparing soil for seed, $3.50 per acre; that is, plowing, harrowing, leveling, rolling and the neces- sary work to make a proper seed bed. Twenty pounds of seed per acre will cost $3, and planting with the seed drill 50c per acre. Thinning costs about $5 per acre, but this item will be less after a few years' experience. The second hoeing is as neces- sary as the thinning, and costs $2 per acre. We irrigate two to five times, as the case maybe, averaging three times; at 40c per acre for each irrigation, this would cost $1.20, though it may cost more the first season. We cultivate six times, three before irrigation and three after, at a total cost of $14.40. Plowing out the beets in the fall will cost $1 per acre. We pay 50c per ton for pulling and topping the beets, which, lor an average yield of 12 tons, is $6 per acre. This makes a total expense of $30.60, exclusive of use of land and manures, paying highest market prices for all labor." One of the most extraordinary financial statements ever made by an American beet grower is that submitted by James Bardin, of Monterey Co, Cal. In 1892 he shipped 6082 tons of beets to the Watsonville factory from 225 acres of land, making the i)henomenal average of 27 tons of dressed beets per acre. The cost of seed and planting averaged $5.12 per acre, harvesting $7.45 per acre, cultivating and weeding 12'Z tme sugar industry. was done by contract by Chinese at $1.65 per ton, while the freight was 75c per ton. This made a total cost per ton of $2.83, and as the beets were sold at $5 per ton at the factory, it left $2. 17 per ton for the use of land and net profit. Adding net gains from stock fed on beet tops, Mr Bardin shows an average return of $59.33 per acre for his own time and use of land, or a total profit of $13,352. Mr Bardin says there is just as much money now in raising beets at $4 per ton as there was then at $5, because freight has been reduced 25c per ton, contracts for taking care of crop, hoe- ing, thinning, topping and loading into wagons have been reduced 65c per ton, and the crop can be handled 10c per ton cheaper now on account of improved machinery, making a total of $1 reduction to offset the decline of $1 in the price. Mr Bardin writes us that in 1893 and 1895, he was not directly interested in growing sugar beets. In 1894, he planted 450 acres to this crop, but the land was not in good condition and the yield averaged only 13| tons per acre dressed weight. Part of the tract was new land that had not been cleaned but one year, and some had been planted to crops which the beet does not follow well. In 1896, he planted 260 acres, which were all harvested before Oct 1 and averaged between 16 and 17 tons per acre for the whole tract. One of these fields of 80 acres, planted the first week in March, yielded 25 tons of dressed beets per acre. Another field of 100 acres was not all planted until the latter part of April, and owing to the extremely dry season made not more than 8 or 9 tons per acre. If the season had been favorable, he believes the whole tract would have averaged 25 tons and is perfectly satisfied with the crop as a profit earner, when sold at $4 per ten. Mr Bardin's items for planting th? 225 acres first mentioned were: Labor $450, seed $180, use of beet drill $22.50, barley fed to teams when planting $10.50, hay fed (at $8 per ton) $200, wear and tear of tools $150, total $1,152.50 for planting. The detailed account for harvesting shows that the expense was $1677. Caring for the crop was contracted for by Chinese at $1.60 per ton, or a total of $10,166; freight at 75c per ton cost $4561, making the grand total for all expenses $17,556. The receipts being $30,908, left the net profit above stated of $13,352. This is an extraordinary result of an extraordinarily favorable season, which even Mr Bardin himself has not since been able to duplicate. Moreover his land is in beets only one season in three years, and his last crop averaged only about one-third as large a crop as the phenom- enal results in '92. Even under the most favorable Californian conditions, therefore, it is safe to discount this result fully one-half and we doubt very much if the major- ity of California beet growers average $30 per acre per year, for use of land, for their ability in running the business and for net profits over and above all other expenses of every kind and nature. ACTUAL EXPERIENCE OF FARMERS IN RAISING BEETS ON A LARGE AND SMALL SCALE. PettJnger Brothers of Albion, Boone Co, Nebraska, writing in September, 1896, said : "Nebraska farmers are only just beginning to know a small part of what there is to learn about farming, and especially sugar beet raising. In Boone county, the first sugar-beet crop was planted in 1884. Our first crop contracted for consisted of ten acres. The soil was prepared and the crop planted the best we could with such instructions as were given by the factory, but the soil was a little sandy, and during THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 133 June abi^u/; Imlt the crop was cut off by drifting sand, or buried out of sight; what was saved y^exied about SIX tons to the acre. While this was a very light crop, we tolt encouraged io try again. At first we did our own hoeing and thinning, but have since had Germ.ai-Jlussians to do this work; they are by far the best and cheapest labor. The following spring, we contracted to put in 40 acres. The soil is a slightly sandy bottom land, jasi: sandy enough to work nicely, with a good clay subsoil. The field planted in '95 had been a timothy meadow for about 12 years previous to plow- ing for beets. We ploved ^ix or seven inches deep, following in the fall with a sub- soil plow, going to the depth of six inches more, stirring the soil thoroughly to the depth of twelve or thirteen inches and harrow- ing each day's plowing as 'it was done. For the seed bed, the field was gone over three or four times with a disk harrow, working the top , . "SMOOTHER FOR BEET LAND, MADE OE A thoroughly ; then we took a railroad iron, put railroad rail. on eight horses and went over the ground until tius leveiei-is 28 ft long and bent slightly » ,, ^1 rrn • i-i ■ • in the middle SO that it will not turn over— a it was perfectly smooth. This smoothing iron cm-ve of say 2 ft in the length of the iron. .,, , , I 1 •.! IT T1 „ -i- 1^ ,<-*-„., (-!,„., The horses are hitched far enoiigli from the IS illustrated herewith and I like it better than g,,^jg ^^ ,,^3^^ t,^g ,1,..^^^ ^f the teams will make ■\ Imrrnnr fl<5 it mrkss thp <«nil bpffpr anrl mnkps t'le iron plow level. Hitch the liorses so a nariOW, as it paCKS tne sou oetter ana m.lKeb ^j^^t the curve is to the front as portrayed a splendid, fine, seed bed, without which it is 'ii^ove. if the cxu-ve is to the^rear thejrou t ' ' ' will dip in the middle and the ends draw up of but little use to plant beets. Preparation of and it will not work satisfactorily. the soil is the main point; you cannot get the seedbed too good. One great thing is not working the top too fine. In this preparation, most of the work can be done with a disk harrow, as it does not crush all of the small clods, thus preventing blowing and cutting off by the fine dirt and sand that is driven over a field that has been so thor- oughly worked. Planting was begun May 1 and finished May 25. A little re-plant- ing was done June 10, A good stand h;is never failed us if the ground is in perfect shape at the time of planting. Planting is but littl^ trouble, the seed being put in from i to I of an inch deep and covered with a moist soil. The Jewell planter was used last year with good success. We never use flat shovels in cultivation, preferring the goose-foot shovels, which we like much the best. Thinning i« begun when the plants are two inches high. We bunch thin and clean all of the small weeds out at one time and are particular that this work is well done. Cultivation is kept up every week or ten days as long as we can get through them; in all, about five times, "In 1895 the mode of work was changed but little from that of the preceding year. We were a little more careful as to details. Pains are taken that all weeds are killed before planting. Plant as soon as the soil is ready. Do not let it lay three or four days after it is ready to plant, as the weeds get just that much of a start. We think if we get our crop started right, future cultivation is easy. During the sum- mer of '95, most of our crop was irrigated the latter part of July or early August, Irrigation is what saved our crop from testing low, as they grew and ripened. When the late rains came in the fall, they did not take on a second growth but retained their ripeness and sugar. Out of 56 carloads shipped to the factory, only four loads went below 12 per cent sugar and 80 per cent purity. Last year we did not irrigate, but I believe it will pay as a rule. Our beets were not as good last year as in '95; the early part of the season was too wet. The ground on which the '95 crop was 124 THE SL'GAR INDUSTRY. raised was put to corn, beets and chicory last year; tlie corn was a good average crop of 50 bu or more per acre, tlie beets were as good as tlie average of tlie field, and the chicory from this field took first premium at the state fair. I believe that 12 tons can be raised every year if the work is done properly. The beet crop of '95 was heavy and it was impossible for the factory to receive and store what beets they could not work up before they would freeze in the ground or in piles, so they gave the farmer about 30c per ton for siloing a portion of their crop and holding it five or six weeks, thus giving the factory a chance to take those siloed beets later in the season. This same crop furnisheci a splendid feed of beet tops for milch cows, making the entire feed for our 26 head from Oct 1 to Jan 1. They produced an extra flow of milk and it tested high at the creamery. An acre of beet tops is worth from $3 to $5 as feed for cows and hogs, both of which eat them greedily." Here are some reports from farmers at Chino, Cal, for the seasons of 1891-4 inclu- sive : E. M. Day planted 25| acres to beets, from which he harvested 409 tons, for which he received $1400. On his home place he had 5| acres, the beets from which brought $525, or $91.. 30 per acre. On another ten acres he harvested 204 tons, which brought him $4.50 per ton. This makes the returns for the ten acres $918, or $91.80 per acre. The $1400 he received for his entire crop was all clear gain, except $40 he paid out for wages and $75 for seed and use of cultivator. Himself and two boys, one 11 and the other 15 years of age, did enough work on their own crop and in exchange with their neighbors to clear all expenses on their own crop except the $115 noted. In other words, Mr Day's summer work on his beet crop has brought him just $1284 in clear cash. Besides this, he has taken care of, cut and harvested ten acres of alfalfa of his own, raised fourteen acres of barley, and did $50 worth of work cutting alfalfa and barley for other people. This will go a long way towards paying all his living expenses for the year, and his beet crop can be counted clear gain. Mr Day says he lived in Nebraska for twenty-five years and in all his farming experience he has never done as well as he has here, or found the product that paid as well as sugar beets. George C. Moore rented 36 acres, whicii he planted to beets. He did the team work and a large part of the labor upon thp crop himself, hiring no more than he could avoid. He is an energetic, painstaking and careful man, and his care has been well rewarded. In making a statement of his expenses on the crop, he included his own labor and that of his teams. His actual expenses in money were thei-efore much less than the figures given. He sold 649 tons (at $4.25) for $2. 758.25; expenses : Plowing $72, preparing ground $27, seed $64, planting $12, thinning $108, cultivating $25.20, hoeing $70, pulling and topping, $374.50, hauling $299.60, factory expenses $.52.45, total $1,104.75; rent, 25 per cent, $6^4.56; grand total, $1,789.31; net profit, $968.94. Peter Varner harvested from eighteen acres 360 tons of beets, or twenty tons per acre. For these he realized $3.90 per ton, or $1404 for his crop— $78 per acre. Less than three years ago Mr Varner came to Chino with no capital whatever but his energy, his perseverance and his i)luck. He has recently purchased $3000 worth of land for a home, and he is paying for it with money realized from beet farming. He THE BEET SUGAR IKDUSTKY. 125 says he is satisfied that there is no other line of farming in California in which he can do as well as growing sugar beets. N. S. Rice planted sixteen acres, from which he harvested 201 tons net, or about 12i tons per acre. At $5.60 per ton, these brought him $816.52, or $51.04 per acre gross. The money he actually paid out in raising and harvesting the crop was as fol- lows: Seed $57, thinning $54, plowing and planting $30, topping $10, total $242. All the rest of the work was done by himself and no account was kept of it. This leaves his returns on the sixteen acres $574.52. W. C. Eightmier harvested from twenty-seven acres 400 tons, or an average of 15 tons per acre. They analyzed between 13 and 14 per cent sugar, makintr an average DELVER FOR V^ORKING THE SUBSOIL. Machines of this cliaracter are not nserl in America, l)ut are considered almost indispensable in Europe. The worit of the delver begins where the subsoil jtlow left off, the delver running after it to still more deeply stir the sub- soil so that the beets have i he least possible resistance to overcome in their descending development. Mr Ware says In The Sugar Beet for November, 1896, from which our engraving is taken : " This delving operation is frequently con- tinned even after the roots have attained considerable size, that is, after weeds are little to be dreaded and when the cultivators are no longer necessary." It is easy to see how useful such an implement can become, especially during a long dry spell, when the lower portions of the soil are frequently too hard to admit of a thorough penetration by the shoots and hairy growth of the beet. price of say $4.10 per ton. This would give Mr Rightmier in the neighborhood of $61.50 per acre from his field. Another field of eight acres gave 172 tons of beets averaging 14f per cent sugar, 21i tons per acre at $4.50 per ton, or a return of $96.75 an acre for the field. HOW THE INDUSTRY EMPLOYS AND PAYS LABOR. The chief item in raising sugar beets is labor. It constitutes from 60 to 75 per cent of the total expense of beets delivered to the factory, and in some cases even more. Out of average expenses of $36 per acre in Nebraska, over $25 was for labor. Mr James Bardin's 225 acres that produced such a profit in 1802 (see page 121), was sowed to barley the next year, the crop yielding 3500 lbs per acre and at 65c per cental made a net profit of $12.75 per acre — about one-fifth the profit on sugar beets. He paid for labor on this barley crop $360, while the labor on the beet crop on the 126 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY, same land the year before cost ^10, (5GG. Adding $3500 for payroll to labor at factory during the time required to manufacture the crop into sugar, labor got about $15,000 out of this beet crop. In other words, for every dollar paid for labor on bar- ley, there were paid $41 for labor on beets, so that "for every man who gets a job on a grain crop, 41 persons get a job on beets." Skilled labor is not required for much of the work of pulling and harvesting, while some of the thinning and weeding can be done by boys and girls. The crop thus furnishes an extremely important home market for a grade of labor that other- wise would hardly be employed at all. Indeed, such labor can be worked to better advantage and more cheaply than Chinese contract labor. James Hopkins, Jr., of Watsonville does not believe in paying $1 per ton of beets for Chinese labor, as his crop last year, worked with white boys and girls, cost him only 75c per ton for labor. Of course boys will be boys, and it is necessary to work in the field with them your- self, but under proper supervision boys and girls will work rapidly and well and are to be preferred to the contract system. If 25 or 30 per cent can be saved by employ- ing boys and girls, it amounts to many thousands of dollars each year. ;No other crop is so attractive to the laborer of all ages and grades of skill as the sugar beet. It gives employment not only to the farmer, but to every member of his family, pays them spot cash for this labor and yields a fair profit besides. J. W. Johnson made a studj' of this point in the Nebraska beet lields in '96 and reports in the State Journal: "The net profits of the growers, in one case amounting to $1400 on 80 acres, does not alone measure the importance of the industry. Its value to the community consists chiefly in giving employment to all people who want to work, and to that class who are unskilled and can perform only the simplest kind of labor. Anyone who can handle a hoe or pull weeds can earn money all summer in the beet fields. Anyone who can hold a sharp corn knife in one hand and a beet in the other can top beets and earn $1.25 a day. Any man can load beets into a wagon from the Hel 1 and can shovel them out of the warehouse at the factory. All this labor is availalile to those who need labor most. There is $25 worth of cheap labor in every crop of beets produced. A large part of this goes into the pockets of poor people who have no ability to make i)lans for themselves, or to sustain themselves in any other way except by manual labor of the simplest kind." PRICE OF BEETS. The price paid for beets is for the net weight of trimmed and washed beets as delivered at the factory. When beets arrive at the factory, an average 50 pounds is taken from eacli wagon load, thoroughly washed, examined to see if properly topped, and then weighed again, the loss determining the tare. This tare should not be over 5 per cent, if the beets are properly harvested and prepared. Two systems of paying for beets are in vogue, a straight price and a graded price. The beet grower who gets a straight price per ton knows what each ton will bring beyond question, and knows that lie can sell all of his l)eets that come up to the required standard, which is usually 12 i)er cent sugar of SO inirity. Beets poor in quality are refused or accepted at a much lower price. On the other hand, if paid according to the amount of sugar in the beet, the careful farmer who grows rich beets will get a better price. THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 127 The Sprecke^s factory at Watsonville and his new mill at Salinas pay a straight price, at present $4 per ton, though before the repeal of the McKinley bill it was $5 per ton. We believe the Alvarado factory has also paid a straight price. At Chino, how- ever, the first five-year contract was based on $3.50 per ton for beets containing 12 per cent of sugar and 25c additional for each additional 3 per cent, and under it farni- erk received an average of $4.50 per ton. In 1896, contracts were based on $3.25 per ton with an additional 25c per ton for each percentage above 12, which has netted the growers nearly $3.78 per ton. To protect their interests, the growers are well organ- ized and choose their own weigher and chemist and also their own tare man, the expense being about 3c per ton. In Nebraska, at first $4 per ton was offered for 12 per cent beets of 80 purity, the price being advanced 25c for every additional percentage of sugar, up to $7 for beets containing 20 per cent sugar, but it was afterwards found to be more satisfactory to have an average price for all beets above 12 per cent sugar with SO purity, and tliis price was fixed at $5 per ton (including the $1 state bounty). If the beets run below this standard, they are accepted at half price. In Utah, the plan was tried of pay- ing different prices for different qualities of beets, but it proved so unsatisfactory to farmers, that one fixed jirice of $4.25 was established for all beets containing 11 per cent sugar of 80 purity, the price for 1897 being $4, and beets below this standard are not accepted at all. Where the farmer is careful with his growing crop and at harvest sorts out all the large coarse beets, this crop will usually fulfill the contract. HOW TO GET A SUGAR FACTORY. The first step to take to get a beet-sugar factory, is to demonstrate that your township, county and district can grow the right kind of beets in profitable quan- tity. If your farmers have not demonstrated this fact, apply to your state experi- ment station for particulars about tests that have been made in other parts by the state. Get all the points you can from your experiment station — that's what it is for, to help your farmers and free of cost to them. Then from the instructions given in this book, let every farmer grow half an acre or less of beets. Have samples of all these beets analyzed at your state experiment station* to determine their sugar con- tent and purity. Keep a record of all these crops, the soils and conditions under which they were grown, yield, cost, etc. Repeat these tests a second and third year if necessary, to establish the fact that your locality is adapted to the crop. A small patch of beets on various soils on each farm is better for testing than a few large areas. The beets can be fed with profit to stock, if no factory is available to which they can be shipped. Tins sort of preliminary work has been done for years in many parts of California and accounts for the firm position of the industry in that state. Analyses of beets grown under all sorts of conditions and soils will enable any practical beet-sugar man to decide whether such locality can be depended upon to furnish beets in sufficient quantity and quality to operate a factory successfully. There is no doubt in the least of the reliability of the laboratory or analytical work of our sugar chemists. Consequently, we were surprised to have a gentleman who was supposed to know something about the industry advise localities wanting sugar factories to begin by establishing a small distillery. "With a capital of $30,000, such See addresses of experiineiit stations at bottom of next page. ViS THK SIGAK INIHSTKY. ;i phuit oouUl work ;>0 tons of boots ihm- ilay. using all roots furnishod. Evory gallon of jniro alcohol obtained corresponds to a certain per cent of sugar in the beet. Then, after the farniers had learned liow to grow beets, the puirhase of beet-sugar machin- ery could follow." This suggestion is not practical at the pre-^ent time, if indeed, it ever was. In the lii-st place, analyses will determine the sugar content, and sec. ondly, such a distillery would not pay. The tax on alcohol is too high and it requiifes a very large amount of grain to give to alcohol frtnn boots the necessary life. In^sitles, the whisky trust would interfere with the sale of such a product. The thing has been tried with molasses from (.Jrand Island at the Columbia distillery in South C^uiaha. It was found there was no money in it. Mr Thomas R. Cutler, man- ager of the I'tah sugar company, informs us that he has investigateil this matter tlior- oughly in both American and foreign countries, and luvs concluded that in the United States it wouUl be unprofitable. The beets and other essentials satisfactorily provided for. the one vital question becomes: Will farmers contract for a series of years to grow "JoW to lO.tXX^ acres of sugar beets for the factory, depending upon its size, at an average of say $4 per ton delivered at factory, with the full benetit that may come from whatever state or national aid may be extended to the industry? The locality that is able to otYer the l>est guanuitee of this kind is the one that pother things being equaP will prove most attractive to any who may be seeking investment in sugar factories. To conduct all this work to the best advantage, a local organization is desirable. For this purpose let all interested unite in forming a local bianch oi the American * THK ST When? UK»ateu)i. I'liloulowu : Canol«r:»ko Station ; H. Bonlon. .XKIKONA - l^»oson : W. S. IVvol. .VKKANSAS— FHvetieviUe; R. L. Bouiu'U, 0\i.lKOKMA— Berkeley : K. W. H^l!;.■u^1. CoLORAiHv— Fort CoUins: Alston EUiii. Co>NKt"ncvT— XewH-Hven : StHte stitlion: S. \V. .lohnson. Storns: Stori-» St.-tiion; \V, O. Atwalor. 1>KI.AWAKK-Ne\v!»rk : A. T. Xe.ile. Fi oi«ii>A— l^ake City: O. Olute. tJKOKe.iA— EJtl»eriiuont : R. J. KtHiiiinj:- llvvH«>— Moso\>w: C. P. Fox. ll-l.txois— rrlvHiis* : K, IV-iveuvvrt, IMUAXA— I-;«r:>yetio: O. S. Flumb. Iv^WA — Atues: .lauios Wilsv>i\. Kansas— M;u»l»!»ita«: G. T. Fait^ oiilM. KFNTrcKY-Lexington : M. A. I.OCISIAXA— AudiiKin rark. Xew Orle;»n<: Stisiar St.>«tion. Raton Rotijw: Stale Station. Cal- houn : Sort It LAUiisiatta Station : Vr. C. Stubhs VTK AOKlCrLTCRAl. KXPKKISIKNT u»l jH^stotftoo address of the itireo Maixk— ».>rv>no: C. I>. Winnts. Makyuxmv— College Fjvrk: R. H. Miller. Massach csktts— Amherst : H. H. OvK>.lell. M ICH to AX —A jinoM 1 1 UR»1 College ; C. i>. Sniiih. MiNXKSOTA— St Anthony Park; W. M. l.iirjrvtt. Mississim— Agrioultur:*! oo 1 ■ lejre: S. M. Traey. MlSSOlRl— Columbia : H. J. Wa- ters. MoxTAX.\— Boieman : S. M, Kmery. Xkbkaska— Lincoln: G. E. Mao- l.eaii. Nkvai^a— Reno: J. E. Stnbbs. Nkw HAMrsHiKK— Durham: C. S. Murklaii.l. XKW .Tfksky— New Bninswiek K- B, Vvvirhees. Xkw Mkxico— Mesilla Park: C, T. .Ionian. Xkw York— Geneva: State Sta- tion: W. H. Jorttan. Ithaca Cornell University Station: I P. Rol>erts. XoRTH CAROLtXA—Raleigh : H B. Battle. STATIONS. tor or person in charge. NoKTH Dakota- Fargo: J. H. Worst. OHii>— WiHvster: C. E. Thome. Okuxhoma— Stillwater: G. E. : Morn.>\v. ' Orkoox— Cor\-allis: H. B. Miller. Pexxsv Lv AXi.\— State College: H. P. Arn)sl>y. Rhopk Ist-xxiv— Kingston: CO. Flasg. SiHTH Carolix.*,— Clemson Col- I lojre: E- B. Crruchead. SocTH Dakota— Brov^k in gs: J. H. Shev'>ar\l. Tkxxksskk— Knoxville: C. F. 1 Vanderfonl. Tkxas— College Station : J. H. I Connell. I'TAH -l.«>g;»n : I.. Faster. Vkkmoxt— Burlington: J. I- Hills. ViROtxi.v— Blacksburg: .T. M. Mo- Bryde. Washixotox— Pttllman : E. A. Bryan. : Wkst ViRGlXl.\— Morg;»ntown: .T. A. Myers. Wtscoxsix— Madison : W. A. Henry. 1 Wyomix*.^— Lixramie: FJ*.Grav«s. 130 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. Sugar Growers' Society. Then you wilJ be leagued with similar efforts all over the country, provided the society is thus supported, and in many ways can benefit by such connection. As to financiering a sugar factory enterprise after it is demonstrated that your community can furnish the necessary beets, there are numerous methods. On gen- eral principles, we do not favor paying a bonus outright to secure an industry, although this is a very common method. If outside capital is necessary, it can usu- ally be attracted by the offer of tlie community that wants a factory to furnish a part of the money. Suppose, for instance, it is desired to erect a plant which, with working capital and all appurtenances, requires an investment of $500,000. Instead of offering a bonus of lands or money, let the community offer to take one-fifth or two-fifths or even one-half of the capital stock, provided outsiders will furnish the other half and the expert management the enterprise requires to be successful. Let it be constantly borne in mind that such management is quite as essential as capital. And if the community supplies some of the money, the enterprise will be assured of a more direct interest and heartier support than if it was wholly owned by outsiders. Farm- ers might take an interest in the factory by agreeing to pay for their shares partly in cash and partly in beets. Except in the very newest regions, where money is extremely scarce, the people in almost any county can raise a goodly sum of money for an investment of this kind if they really mean business. Of course the rights and interests of all the parties to such a trade should be properly seen to, but as a rule we believe in this policy of home talent and home money building up home indus- tries. It fosters a spirit of thrift and enterprise that is often lacking in communities that are supported by industries operated wholly by foreign capital. If, however, the people of the locality will not put up any money on any of these plans, let them not find fault that they have to depend wholly upon outside capital. Judging from some of the criticism we have heard of the Oxnards' investment in beet-sugar factories in Nebraska, some of the people of that state at least consider it almost a crime for an outsider to invest his money in new industrial enterprises! We can but believe, however, that such critics constitute only a small fraction of the population of that great state. Such critics should understand that other states are only too anxious to attract outside capital, and many towns seem to be ready to make even extravagant efforts to obtain it. But we also feel that some of such enterpris- ing communities would accomplish more in the long run by putting more of their own money into these new industries. "WHERE AND HOW TO START A SUGAR FACTORY. In starting a sugar factory, it is necessary to erect the plant where there is rail- road competition. Transportation of beets and factory supplies is a most important consideration, requiring the lowest possible rates. The sugar itself is also a bulky product, the distribution of which among local and more distant markets must be fairly considered. The nearer the factory can be to the beets, the better. Unlike other manufactur- ing enterprises, it should be in the beet fields and not close to a town. If it is possi • ble, the sugar factory should be located in the very center of farming districts, where THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 131 at least 10,000 acres of good beet land could be controlled within a radius of not more than six miles, so that the beets can be delivered by wagon. This saves an immense amount of expense in railroad freights. Moreover, the factory cannot get quite as good results from beets grown at a distance as from those close at home that are delivered by wagon with the least delay after harvest. An abundant supply of pure water is imperative and perfect drainage is absolute- ly necessary. Plenty of pure lime rock, containing a very small percentage of silica, is required. Also coal, coke or oil for fuel. All these bulky materials should be available at the least expense for freight as well as first cost. No factory should be built with a capacity of less than 300 tons of beets per day of 24 hours, and it should be so designed that the capacity can be increased in future at the minimum of expense. The cost of operating such a plant is 25 to 50c per ton of beet worked less than for a factory with half this capacity. The limit of size beyond which profitable economies cannot be obtained seems to be about 1000 tons of beets per day, as the latest improved large factory— Salinas mill — is practically three sep- arate outfits of 1000 tons capacity daily, but under one roof. It has been suggested that branch jilants be established for making a crude prod- uct to be transported by rail to a central factory, where the process of manufacture and refining might be completed. Such plants for making a crude product would, of course, cost a small sum compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars required in a large beet-sugar factory. Up to the present time, however, all experience with existing methods is against this proposition. Only the larger factories are able to run to-day in this or other countries, and many small factories in foreign parts have had to close their doors during the past few years of lower prices and increasing competition. To meet these conditions, it is imperative that the factory operate on a large scale and in such a way as to reduce to a minimum the expense per ton of beets or per pound of sugar. It costs relatively but little more for the experts and labor to operate a plant capable of working up 600 tons of beets per day than one of half that capacity. The beet is such a bulky product that every possible means must be taken advantage of to keep down the expense of handling or working it. There are many pretty the- ories about what might be done, but the average investor or farmer realizes the ne- cessity of sticking close to the latest improved methods thiit have demonstrated by actual experience to be money makers. Of course improvements in sugar manufacture are even more likely to be made in the future than in the past. There has been much talk of late of the new process of crystallization in motion, the Seffens process, osmosis and several others, but it costs enormously to introduce them and it is a question to be decided in each case whether the result pays in dollars and cents. American genius may yet solve these and many other problems, including the matter of small factories, refining, etc, but meanwhile, those who are in the business for revenue will let the "other fellow" do the costly experimenting. In order to compete witli the sugar trust, our American beet-sugar factories have been equipped with refining outfits and thus realize the refiners' prof- 132 IHE SUGAK INDUSTRY. its. Mr Ware says that in Europe, the tendency is to abandon this plan, the facto- ries making raw sugar to be shipped to refineries. It is quite possible that the system of branch factories tributary to a central plant, similar to the Cambria factory in France, may at some time be established in the United States. The Cambria central factory is located in the midst of beet fields and is also near limestone quarries and coal mines, and has water transportation for all these raw materials. There are 10 rasping stations, the furthest being nine miles away from the central factory, with which they are connected by pipes at these sta- tions. The beets are washed, weighed, sliced, and run into the diffusion batteries in the way common in American beet-sugar factories. The juice from the diffusion bat- teries is then treated with a solution of lime to keep it from acidulating and is forced through pipes to the central sugarhouse, where it is at once carried forward in the manufacturing process in the usual way, with certain modifications. This concern works up 3000 tons of beets daily and with its rasping stations gives employment to 2000 men, women and children. How to build a factory.— AU preliminaries having been satisfactorily adjusted and the company ready to build a factory, let it invite bids from the various Ameri- can firms that make a specialty of this work. The announcements of these experts will be found at the close of this book. They are sufficiently numerous to insure competition and the lowest prices consistent with quality of the machinery required. Some of these concerns can also furnish expert managers to conduct the sugar factory through the first campaign, until others can be educated for the purpose. We cannot too strongly urge our readers to in this way get the benefit of all American experi- ence, as well as competition among factory contractors and outfitters. COST OF A BEET SUGAR FACTORY. Kilby Mfg Go's estimate of approximate cost of building a sugarhouse and refinery of a daily (24 Lours) capacity of 350 to 400 tons of beets. Stone work, foundations and floors, --...... $12,500 Steel and iron, structural frame and roofs, ....... i6,500 Brick work, ---.........12 000 Windows and doors, ---........ 650 Hardware, ----........ 700 Painting, 800 Tarred paper for roofs, .......... 300 Vitrified pipe, -.-..-...... 900 Cornice, cutters and leaders, -■....... 300 Lumber, 5^000 Freights on materials, .......... 4,000 Erecting labor of steel and iron frame, ........ 2,000 Beet sheds and storage for bef'ts, ........ 5,000 P"lps'lo, 4,'oOO Complete machinery for refinery, ........ 225,000 Machinery foundations and masonry for boilers, ...... 5,000 Fire clay, fire brick, etc, for boilers, kilns, etc, ...... 4,500 Pipe covering, ............ 2,500 Labor erecting and starting machinery, ....... 20,000 Hardware, belting and other fixtures, ........ 5,000 Freight on machinery, .--....... 35,000 Salaries erecting superintendent and necessary help to superintend erecting and starting of sugarhouse and refinery, including traveling and other expenses, 15,000 Total, $376,650 The Walburn-Swenson Co writes: "The cost of machinery complete for a factory of 300 to 350 tons of beets per day, the whole to be of the very best design and work- THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 133 manship and capable of making white sugar direct from the beets, without any- refining, would be in the neighborhood of $170,000 on cars in Chicago. The machinery for a factory having double this capacity would cost in the neighborhood of $260,000. The cost of a first-class brick building, including boiler house for the smaller size factory, would be from forty to fifty thousand dollars. This would also include foun- dations, lime kilns, etc. Just what the cost of the sheds for holding the beets would be, I cannot say, but I am of the opinion that four or five thousand dollars would be sufficient to cover this item. All the castings, etc, for the lime kiln are included in v.- ^»*-'*" A BIG PILE OF BEETS AT ALVARADO, CALIFORNIA, Showing also the sluiceway of running water by which the beets are carried into the factory. the price of machinery, and the brick work would be easily within the above cost of buildings. A building for the larger plant would probably cost $75,000. There is no doubt but what there is a great misconception as to the cost of a fac- tory of this kind, and many people write us, thinking that with an old building and second-hand boiler and engine that has been used for some other purpose, they have a good nucleus for a beet-sugar factory, and for twenty or thirty thousand dollars it can be all fitted up. Any attempt of this kind is simply throwing money away, and it would be a great misfortune to the beet-sugar business to have it gone into with- out sufficient capital to erect a factory of proper size, as well as of the most modern 134 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. construction. The machinery, of course, comes very high, but it must be built in such a way that there will be no mistake about its working, as breakdowns and delays are fatal to the industry during the short season they have to work." As competition increases the number of macliinery builders and the demand for apparatus of the same kind and dimensions increases, these prices will doubtle?«s be reduced. ON THE MANAGEMENT OF SUGAR FACTORIES. A factory having been well located, properly constructed and equipped, its proper management involves three essentials. First, expert or scientific oversight of the processes of sugar manufacture ; second, the utmost economy, good managemen:^ and businesslike methods in conducting the work of manufacture, seeing to it that there is no unnecessary expense or waste, that labor and machinery are constantly employed to the best advantage and that all the operations of manufacture are man- aged in the best way possible ; third, proper financial or business management, in obtaining supplies, selling the product and attending to the manifold and extensive financial operations involved in so large an enterprise. The thoroughness with which each of these essentials is observed will govern the profits of the enterprise. No one should put money into the business on the supposi- tion that it is a bonanza that can be conducted carelessly or wastefully or in defiance of business principles. Within a few years, the number of sugar factories will be such that, with competition from abroad in the desperate efforts of the foreign sugar industry to throttle American interests, only the best-managed concerns will operate at a satisfactory profit. The fact that a plant can run only about one-third of the year, makes the "dead season" a long one, and also increases the depreciation in machinery. The earnings of the business should be sufficient not only to pay a rea- sonable dividend upon the capital stock, but also to keep up the plant, and to charge off liberally for depreciation. Unless this is done, after a few years repairs will not only consume all profits but perhaps require additional capital. Even in Germany, many failures have occurred in sugar factories, but in 90 per cent of the cases, bad manage- ment was the direct cause. "Great progress has been made in the actual science of sugar extraction. Not many years since, it was considered highly satisfactory if molasses residuum repre- sented 4 per cent of the total weight of beets worked while now in many factories 1| per cent is the least amount that is considered to represent good work in German fac- tories. An improved process of sugar manufacture in Germany is claimed to greatly reduce the bulk of molasses, to only 1.38 per cent of the total weight of beets worked at the factory. In a German factory working under favorable conditions during the past campaign, the beets averaged 12.92 per cent sugar and the extraction was 12.26 per cent, the loss consequently being 0.66 per cent of the weight of the beet". This loss was made up as follows: In the residuum cossettes 0.25, waste water from diffu- sion 0.12, filter press scums 0.25, second filter scums 0.03, Avhich means a total of 0.65, leaving O.Ol per cent unaccounted for. There was consumed limestone 4.6 per cent weight of the beet, coke 0.69 per cent, fuel 10.2 lbs per lb beets." Mr Ware also cites a 550-ton factory (in Germany), where the expense of factory operation of $2.03 per ton of beets in 1893 was by closer management reduced to $1.52 THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY, 135 three years later, when it was for fuel 4oc, lime and coke 10c, labor and siloing 56c, maintenance and depreciation 15c, sundries 22c. AS TO CO-OPERATIVE SUGAR FACTORIES. A great deal of loose talk has been indulged in upon this subject. Farmers and others who would not co-operate or work together to conduct the simplest form of a country store, creamery or co-opei-ative marketing, have proclaimed learnedly as to the advantages of co-operative sugar factories. The ideas expressed have been in the main crude and unbusinesslike, though the object sought is highly commendable. In this, as in all other co-operative effort, it should be distinctly understood that co-operation is not a new method of conducting business but simply provides a differ- ent method of dividing the profits of industry — to labor or produce rather than to cap- ital. "The same principles that govern success in acquiring profit on capital, apply to the acquirement of profit to divide upon labor. Industry, application, persever- ance, good judgment, all are required in the co-operative as in the existing methods of industry. Co-operation is not a means whereby the business of production and distribution will run itself and pour a golden stream into the pockets of the people. True co-operative effort is by no means independent of the everyday principles that underlie success in any undertaking or business." Especially is this true in the beet-sugar business. The factory must be located, built, equipped and managed with the utmost wisdom and in the best possible way. This can only be obtained by employing persons of experience in the industry, pref- erably those who have had experience under American conditions. These experi- enced persons must also be reliable, or they may so conduct the enterprise as to use much more money than is absolutely essential. All these points must be properly safeguarded, whether the sugar factory is owned co-operatively, or by a stock com- pany, or by a single individual. In either case, it must be run on the same business- like basis. Indeed, a factory that is owned co-operatively— that is, by beet growers in part in connection with others — should even be better managed than a private enterprise, because so many are ready to criticise the slightest mistake. Farmers who think a co-operative factory is one that will pay them more per ton for beets of inferior quality than a private factory can afford to pay for rich beets, will be wo- fully deceived. A factory can get no more out of the business than there is in it. In a strictly co-operative factory, each shareholder has but one vote, irrespective of the amount of money he has invested. Out of the receipts of the business, the co-operative factory would first pay all expenses, a reasonable sum for depreciation and reserve, a fair rate of interest on capital, and the balance would be divided pro rata on the beets furnished, just as the co-operative creamery pays for butter. If the season is good, the beets rich in sugar, and the markets favorable, under good man- agement such a co-operative factory might possibly pay mor.i than one conducted by the ordinary system, but under unfavorable conditions, the loss would come upon the beet grower for the co-operative factory, as against the stockholder in the capitalistic factory. In other words, true co-operation means that the co-operators assume the risk of the losses as well as the profits of the business. If fai-mers ai-e willing to go in with all these points thoroughly understood and on a basis that will insure proper management, then co-operative sugar factories may 136 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. be attempted. To embark on so gigantic a scale on any other basis is folly doomed to failure. The whole country is strewn with wrecks of co-opex"ative failures due to failure to appreciate the above facts, and to absence of the co-operative spirit. On the other hand, certain forms of co-operation have been made a great success in the United States. The author's book, How to Co-operate (price 50c in paper, $1 in cloth, from Orange Judd Company), may be consulted for further particulars. BRILLIANT OPENING FOR CAPITAL. Providing always that the American market is reserved for the product of Ameri- can farms and sugar factories, it can be demonstrated by figures based on actual experience that a sugar factory enterprise is a fairly profitable investment, if prop- erly managed from beginning to end. Without such management, even a gold mine will fail to pay. Detailed estimates of expenses and profits vary so widely with varying conditions that it is useless to attempt to submit any here. Such an investment in a beet-sugar factory, under the above conditions, should be able to pay an annual dividend of six to ten per cent on its capital stock, after making liberal allowance for depreciation and setting aside a reserve for contingencies, maintenance and improvements. This is after the enterprise is well established. The first few years it might not do as well as this. Some failures will occur if any of the well-known essentials to success are neglected. Under favorable conditions the industry may pay more than this. But take it one year with another, conservative management should readily divide six to ten per cent, besides keeping the property in such shape as to be able to close out the business at any time and return the shareholders one hundred cents on the dollar. To do this, however, the factory must net at least four cents per pound for its sugar and with proper legislation to protect against subsidized foreign competition and to guard the industry so far as possible against monopoly at home, this price may be expected to prevail for some years. The sugar could then be retailed to the con- sumer at about present prices, and American farmers, laborers and capitalists would put into their pockets the millions upon millions that now go abroad for sugar. Without such legislation, however, this promise will never be realized. We have seen during the -past three years the almost utter ruin of our old established cane- sugar industry, simply because the American market has been open to free sugar from Hawaii and to bounty-fed sugars from Europe. It cannot be too often reiterated that unless the American market is reserved for American sugar, the outlook for our domestic sugar industry, both beet and cane, is indeed poor. But protect the indus- try in the American market for a few years, and it will then be able to hold its own against the world. Indeed, we shall be surprised if this policy does not make Amer- ica the greatest sugar-producing nation on earth. ADVANTAGES OF THE INDUSTRY. Assuming that the American market is assured for American sugar (unless this is done, we might as well drop the business right here and now), the advantages of the industry may be thus summarized : To agriculture, it affords a new crop that puts into the farmer's pocket money that would otherwise go out of his community and out of the country ; by thus reduc- THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 137 ing the area of other crops, it helps all farm values; the beet requires good farming and is an educator in thrift and does not rob the soil. To labor, the beet-sugar industry offers a new field for employment of both skilled and unskilled labor of all ages, and pays a satis- factory price for it in money that would other- wise go out of the community and out of the coun- try. To capitctl, irork very satisfactorily, doing the work as fast as a team will travel. A subsoil plow, or a common plow with the mould board removed, may be used to loosen the roots. Pull them by hand, throwing into piles and topping with a knife. This knife should be heavy enough so that the crown can be removed at the earth- line by a single well-directed blow. "It is important that farmers should understand how to properly trim the beets, for if too much of the crown is left on, carrying with it its large percentage of impurities, the value of the beet for the manufacturer is much reduced. When on a visit to the sugar factory at Rome. N. Y., the past autumn, a dozen men were found at work in the yard removing the crowns from improperly trimmed beets that had been delivered by the farmers.. The factory people found it to be better economy to employ men to remove the crowns, rather than to work the beets with the crowns on and sufi'er the loss of sugar that would not crystallize in consequence. The farmer gains nothing by sending to the factory improperly trimmed beets or those loaded with dii't, as the state weigher samples each load, washes, and if necessary trims the sample and determines the percentage of dockage. The farmer not only gets nothing for the crown at the factory, but loses its value on the farm as stock food and fertilizer. The picture on PagelOl show sheets properly and improperly trimmed. Where a large portion of the beet grows out of the ground or is ill-formed on account of the soil having been badly prepared, the pei'centage of waste is very much increased. "If the beets are not needed at the factory as fast as harvested, they may be pitted or siloed in the field the same as potatoes, and drawn or shipped to the factory later, when the pressure of farm work is not so great. In pitting it is essential that the beets shall be quite mature before harvesting, and that they be secured before freezing occurs, as imniature or frosted beets will not keep well." The Cornell station found (Bulletin 143) that, on the average, 100 lbs of the whole beet plant, as grown in New York State, consisted of 57 lbs beet without crown, 17 lbs crown and 26 lbs leaves. In 100 lbs of beets from which the leaves were removed, there o ^ 2 - o - T. r, E*' ^^ 80 ton nd cai er dri ry off lengt into _^ e« P< -3 « « capaci s rebur ck. Th stacks 1 throug dryer, *« « "S e m £ high, wit wise be Ic with fire imped. T t gases p through +J t, *J 3 o . UJ D 3 P,^ M ^ ^ 2 <£ -^ . -C ?- K t- 0) - ^ W ■^ - <^ -c ~ ^ u X ^ ■- «J . M 2 q: ^1 - >■&? o J3 X h rt (U i (B - ~ •- ** " ^' a; ^ to ^» > ■^ s 3 ® s 2 o ' a> i - ;^ c3 - 03 M ? S B S ~ , .S O O 2 - , — — x: .^ r: -C £ S - O >- u i> cr u > S to c3 rt - ® THE BEET SUGAK INDUSTKY. 153 were 19 lbs of crown and 81 lbs of trimmed beets. Hence, from its analyses, the Cornell station concludes that, when freshly harvested and not withered; Phos- Nitro- Potash phoric Water gen acid Pounds Pounds Pounds Pounds 1 ton of whole plants (roots, crowns and leaves) contains 7.98 11.30 2.28 1583.3 1 ton of leaves contains 12.80 21.80 2.28 1554.2 1 ton of beets (roots and crowns) contains. . . . 0.17 7.54 2.27 1593.5 1 ton of leaves contains 12.80 21.80 2.28 1554.2 1 ton of crowns contains S.CO 9.00 2.40 1594.6 1 ton of crownless beets contains 5.60 7.20 2.24 1593.2 Factory by-products. 1 ton of extracted cossettes*, or beet pulp 1.82 1.72 .32 1828.0 1 ton of molasses* 21.40 65.20 .34 832.0 1 ton of lime-cake* 2.48 3.05 8.47 871.2 Now, if the leaves are left in the ground or fed to stock, and the crowns are fed to stock and the manure put back on the land, the soil is robbed only of the plant food in the crownless beets — say 4 to 6 lbs of nitrogen, 5 to 8 lbs of potash and 2 to 3 lbs of phosphoric acid for every ton of trimmed beets removed. * The extracted cossettes, molasses and lime-cake were received from the Rome beet sugar factory. The extracted cossettes, or beet pulp, is a by-product of the diffusion tanks. The molasses is a by-product of the centrifugal machines. The lime-cake is a by-product of the carbonation tanks. The lime-cake contained 25.96 per cent, of lime (CaO) Note. — The pounds per ton of any of the above stated plant-foods, divided by 20 will give the iier cent of that plant-food in the material, — thus : 7.98 lbs. nitrogen -f- 20 = 399 per cent of nitrogen in whole plant, or 0.399 of 1 lb. of nitrogen in 100 lbs. of the whole plant. .; ' >Tl'^'^.'-'- ■■■ PROPOSED SUGAR FACTORY AT CARO, MICH. Arrangements have about been completed for the erection of a beet sugar factory at Care, Tus- cola county, jAlicliigan. This will be the second sugar factory in this slate, the other "being at Bay City, forty miles from Caro. It has been demonstrated tliat'the soil of Tuscola county is well adapted for raising sugar beets, containing a high percentage of saccharine matter, and that the farmers are perfectly willing to make contracts for producing a certain tonnage. Tlie proposed factory will be over 4no feet long and 200 wide, (covering somewhat less than two acres of ground. The beet sheds will occupy a like area. The factory will cost when completed $500,000, and will work uyi 500 tons of beets ]ier day. Over 50,000 tons will be needed for one season's run, and the farmers will be paid $200,000 for raising and delivering this amount. 154 THE SUGAK INDUSTKY. MICHIGAN A GREAT SUGAR STATE. The admirable work of the state experiment station and of farmers in testing the culture of sugar beets in the various counties has resulted in a magnificent showing. A large part of the state proves to be peculiarly adapted to the crop. The yield per acre ranges from 12 to 18 tons. In '97 nearly 500 samples from 64 counties made the remark- able average of over 16 per cent, sugar, averaging 83 purity, while 465 samples properly grown on the right kind of soil averaged 16.48. The state bounty of Ic p lb on all sugar produced for at least seven years from March 26, 1807, led to the erection of the factory at Bay City, which closed its first cam- paign in '98, and its capacity is to be doubled for the '99 campaign. Another factory of 750 tons' capacity is to be built at Bay City or vicinity in time for the campaign of '99, and another at Caro, Tuscola county, of 500 tons' capacity. The labor cost of growing an acre of beets under adverse conditions at the agricultural college farm near Lansing was $29.40, reckoning man and team at 25c per hour, man alone 12i^c, boy 8c, while the aver- age yield per acre was over 14 tons. In 1898, the farmers' pi'ofits ran from $15 to $30 per acre, after allowing $6 per acre for rent, paying full prices for labor and other expenses. The greatest profits were made where women and children were hired at 65 to 75c per day. Much of the labor was done by children at a time when the schools were not in session. Altogether the industry may be said to be an established success in Michigan, and the farmers are ready to raise beets tor all the factories that may be built. WISCONSIN EXPERIENCF, HAS BEEN SINGULARLY INSTRUCTIVE since the appearance of the author's first book in January, '97. At that time, it seemed as though the little sugar mill at Menomonee Falls, Waukesha county, as described on Page 60, would ultimately be a success. It proved, however, that some of the machinery was not properly constructed, the mill was very late in starting up and we believe the creditors came down upon it before the campaign was ended. The financial tangle has not been cleared up as we write, while some experts who have looked over the plant criticise the outfit very severely. Be it fully understood, however, that the trouble in this case was not with the farmers or the beets, but was wholly with the factory, its equip- ment and management, and was mainly due to prolonged lack of capital. It is too bad that the well meant efforts of the builder should have ended so disastrously. The inci- dent emphasizes the importance of sufficient capital and proper equipment and right management in the factory as well as in the field. We let our original paragraphs on this factory siand v/ithout change, simply to emphasize the importance of the lessons taught by the outcome. This result should not discourage the beet sugar industry in Wisconsin, for that btate has shown a marvellous adaptability to the crop. The Northwestern Beet Su^ar Company's factory at Merrillan, Jackson county, is to be ready for the '99 crop. It will probably have a capacity of 500 tons of beets per day and is contracting for several thou- sand acres of beets. Wisconsin not only has a soil and climate adapted to the sugar beet, butaconsiderable proportion of her thrifty farmers of German birth have had considerable experience with the crop in the old country, and are anxious to have home markets cre- ated for this new crop in their new homes. IN OTHER STATES. Pennsylvania is coming to the front with tests of sugar beets of gratifying quality. Of course the crop does better in some soils than in others, and yields from eight to 20 tons -■ 2 -! Q Irll = ^ - 5" « ai < ^ *^ ^ f^ ?■ s m 2 ■ o o * aq rc » s =■ > £. - p z o ct S: ►— * 2 o-S () « ?? S > to o r -■ p "1 3 1 ^ ~ ►^ > O P w CCS c :i P 5-^ " *x\ § 2 £■ evated shed ii cells. ^ P3 tu revolvii ning wu s iUustra 0) C- a Cf^ :•■ T. S ^ S to' 2. ® M, B ^ g "^ - *» p p C ^ rt ?»■ o o o -• ~ W S (t S o 156 THE Sl'GAK INDUSTUY. per acre. Director Armsby of the state experiment station at State College, Center county, reports for this work the following gratifying exhibit: 1898 1897 No. of farmers in the state who grew beets in an experimental way, about 1000 No. of samples received at station from crop grown in 495 83 No. analyses embraced in following figures 492 83 Highest and lowest sugar in beet, per cent 17.4-77 19.7-7 Average sugar in beet, per cent 12.3 12.1 Purity, highest and lowest, per cent 98-66 94-60 Purity, average, per cent 81.7 79.7 In Ohio, the interest in sugar beets continues very keen. In spite of the extraordi- narily unfavorable season of 1S9S, the tests made by the Ohio experiment station (A. D. Selby, chemist) showed a range of from over 8 to 1.5 per cent, sugar, with an average of 11.4, compared to 13.3 in '97 for the entire state. The leaf spot tuns\is,Pcrcospor(ibcticola, injured beets greatly in '98. About 400 farmers have grown beets in an experimental way in both years, with results that are thus summarized in a forthcoming bulletin from the state experiment station at Wooster: Av. Weight Sugar in Number of beets beets, Purity Co- samples ozs. per cent. efficient Section, etc. 1897 189S. 1S97 1898 1897 1898 1897 1898 Southern section 67 50 31.4 18.4 12.2 10.9 75.3 76.9 Middle section 132 153 32.6 19.6 i3.2 11.1 78.0 76.9 Northern section 355 295 29.2 25.0 13.6 11.6 79.4 78.7 Entire state 554 498 30.6 22.7 13.5 11.4 78.7 77.9 Indiana is certainly a sugar beet state, and the encouraging prospect there a few years ago is now more than confirmed. Efforts to secure factories are being made in various parts of the state and seem likely to succeed soon at Fort Wayne and North Judson. Prof. C. S. Plumb, director of the Indiana experiment station, writes us: "The lower results of 1898 crop are due to a very warm, moist summer and fall, which did not permit the beets 1o properly ripen in many cases. In certain sections of northern Indiana, however, in spite of these adverse conditions, many fine results were secured, grading considerably above manufacturers' requirements." In the following table, no averages are given. In view of the fact that many growers do not follow directions for growing the beet, so that the crop over the state is more or less improperly grown, we regard average figures as unfair and misleading: 1898 1897 No. of farmers in the state who grew beets in an experimental way, about 1173 500 No. of samples received at station from crop grown in 425 307 No. of analyses embraced in following figures 425 307 Highest and lowest sugar in juice, per cent 17.2-6.4 22.9-6.3 Purity, highest and lowest, per cent 96.8-64 96.4-57 Illinois has an enterprising state sugar beet growers' association. In co-operation with it, farmers in various parts of the state have conducted experiments with the assistance of the experiment station connected with the University of Illinois at Cham- paign. During '98, the local organizations at 10 or 12 points each grew from five to 10 acres of beets for commercial purposes under direction of an expert. The tonnage was exceedingly high, but the sugar content somewhat lower than in '97. Prof. Davenport, director of the station, concludes that the results are upon the whole quite promising. i 3" to S srS €'' c o i 3- I'' > ^^ H o » w B CO I J » r III ^ a % Ml I— I J o s o 2. D « > 158 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. Previous experiments have shown the capacitj'^ of many sections of the state to raise rich beets. The Illinois Sugar Refining Company has been organized to build and equip a beet sugar mill at Pekin, Tazewell Co., 111., which will have a capacity of 350 tons per day with provision for doubling it. This concern is contracting for several thousand acres of beets in '99 and thereafter, and will pay for the same $4 per ton delivered at the factory, for beets testing 12 per cent, sugar and 80 purity, and 25c for each 1 per cent of sugar above that. ^^^^ ^^^^ middle south. In New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware, v/hat tests have been made in growing the sugar beet have so far been unsatisfactory in yield of beets, sugar content and purity. Another effort was made in 1S98, w-hen 51 New Jersey farmers planted their crops., but only 24 sent samples to the experiment station. These tested 7.5 to 13.9 per cent, sugar, of 70 to 88 purity, averaging 11 and 78. Director Voorhees writes us (Jan- uary, 1899): "The results of our experiments in growing sugar beets are not encour- aging — the sugar content Is, on the average, too low to make it advisable to grow them for manufacturing purposes, besides, the yield was not large enough in the case of those which showed a reasonably high content of sugar to make it profitable for farmers to grow them at the usual price paid. I do not know at present of any parties who are contemplating the manufacture of beet sugar in this state. We have not published any bulletins on the subject, as the data have not warranted such preparation." Efforts were made in 1897-S to establish a sugar factory near Richmond, Va., but without success. More cultural tests are needed in both the Virginias before one can pass intelligently upon their adaptability to this crop. North Carolina and Kentucky results during the past three years have not been encouraging, though the tests were not extensive. In Tennessee the prospect is much more hopeful. YARD OF BEETS AT ROME (N. Y.) FACTORY. Showing where the beets are slioveled into the water trough in which they are partially washed on their way to tlie factory. IN THE LOS ALAMITOS SUGAR WORKS. At the left, two carbonation tanks out of a row of eight. At right, sacking the refined sugar. CHAPTER II. From the Mississippi to the Mountains. great interest in minnesota. For more than 10 years the farmers of Minnesota have been growing the sugar beet in an experimental way. They have been ably assisted by the state experiment station at St. Anthony Park. The results up to date were published in Orange Judd Farmer in the fall of '96 and aroused a still keener interest. Early in '98 the station published a bulletin summarizing its results for the past 10 years. This demonstrated conclusively that Minnesota is capable of producing high grade sugar beets. This last exhibit, and the Dingley tariff, removed all possible doubts and led to the establishment by the Min- nesota Sugar Company of its factory at St. Louis Park, near the twin cities, for which 2200 acres of beets were contracted in this state. Two weeks before the close of the season the factory chemist stated that the average of 1100 samples was a sugar content of 14.04 per cent, and a purity coefficient of 83. This was practically the average reported by Chemist Snyder of the station for the previous 10 years, 14.22 per cent. Mr. Snyder, who deserves unstinted credit for his persistent efforts in behalf of the industry, writes us: "This factory has made a successful run and has produced a very high grade of granulated sugar. The factory has a capacity of 350 tons per day, and it is the intention (159) 160 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. to double its capacity before the next crop is harvested. There is one encouraging feature regarding the production of beet sugar in this state, and that is, the unusually high quality of the beets. This year the early varieties of beets planted under favor- able conditions were ready for the factory about August 25, which made a working season of over three months. The station has been making numerous analyses of limestone from different parts of the state with the view of locating the high grade stone most suitable for refining beet sugar. There is an abundance of lime in the state, and so far five localities have been found where high grade limestone may be obtained suit- able for beet sugar purposes." THE MINNESOTA SUGAR COMPANY. Beet sheds and flume in foreground, factory proper in background. The mill at St. Louis Park closed its first campaign December 10, 1898. Many farmers failed to live up to their contracts, and only 12,000 tons of beets were received from about 1200 acres, while 2200 acres were contracted. However, farmers are eager to enlarge their area for '99: many who never raised beets want to contract, and their encouragement has decided the company to double its factory, and to contract for 5000 acres for '99, in hopes of starting up in October and running to the middle of January. Factory furnishes seed at 15c per lb, and leases implements for culture at 25c per acre for each machine. It offers $.3 per ton for beets containing 10 per cent, sugar, of at least 78 purity (nothing inferior to this standard accepted), $3.50 for 11-78, and $4 for 12 to 14 per cent, and 78 purity, and 25c for each additional 1 per cent of sugar above 14. As the average for 1898 was 141/2 per cent., many going up to 16 or 17 per cent., it is hoped THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 161 CENTRIFUGALS AT THE MINNESOTA BEET SUGAR FACTORY. One of the notable achievements In this industry is the equipping of our domestic sugar factories witli American made machinery. Most of the new mills now being built are fitted throughout with machinery and appai'atus made in the United States. The factory of the Minnesota sugar company is a case in point, our illustration showing the centrifugals made by the American Tool and Machine Co., Hyde Park, Massachusetts. The many improvements in American sugar machinery also make it very popular in both domestic and foreign sugar houses. Over $200,000,000 worth of machinery and apparatus will be needed to fit out the number of mills required to produce in the United States the sugar our people consume. 162 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. that future years will see averages of 15 to 16 per cent. The company has about $500,000 invested, its mill is first-class and it has done a vast amount of work through its agri- cultural department to teach farmers how to grow beets, having had three and four experts constantly employed in this way. The accompanying pictures give more facts about this promising plant (see also Page 5). The state is expected to revive the bounty of Ic per lb. WELL ESTABLISHED IN NEBRASKA. Nebraska had a fair season in 1897 for sugar beets and for her two factories at Grand Island and Norfolk. The 1898 campaign was entirely satisfactory in its results, farmers and mill owners are well. pleased, a million dollar beet sugar factory enterprise is to be established at Ames, Nebraska, on the ranch of the Standard Cattle Company, and an immense acreage of beets is being contracted for 1899. The state experiment station continues its good v/ork and has "made some 10,000 analyses of mother beets that have a high percentage of sugar — 18 to 19 per cent." After all its trials and tribulations, the beet sugar industry is now well established in Nebraska, to the great advantage of its farmers and laborers, and at a fair profit to investors in its sugar factories. The campaign of 1898 at Grand Island was very gratifying for the large yields per acre. One large tract, well cultivated, made 21 tons per acre, and the whole area har- vested, 1970 acres, gave 18,16.5 tons of dressed beets, net weight at factory. These beets averaged 14 per cent, of sugar of 81 purity, or the best showing yet made. The product was 3,595,000 lbs. of standard granulated sugar, or 197 lbs. of sugar to the ton of beets, besides molasses and reworkings. In previous seasons, the factory has got from 122 to 175 lbs. refined granulated per ton of beets. In '96, it made 2516 tons of sugar from 80,100 tons of beets, and in 1897 got 3399 tons sugar from 38,600 tons of beets. The area contracted in '98 was reduced, owing to the uncertainty over Hawaii, but a very large acreage is being contracted for this mill for the '99 campaign. The Norfolk factory also made a good campaign in 1898, receiving upwards of 50,000 tons of beets, which averaged over 14 per cent, sugar and SO purity, and made some 10,000,000 lbs. of sugar. It has extracted 157 to 218 lbs. of sugar per ton of beets in pre- vious seasons, the highest in '97. In that campaign, it made 3970 tons of sugar from 36,270 tons beets, grown on 4029 acres, or an average extraction of 10.95 per cent., on a run of 110 days. The campaign of '97 resulted in 1588 lbs. of granulated sugar as the mean for each acre of beets harvested. Land all through the vicinity rents for $4 to .?7 an acre, averaging about $5. Says the Norfolk l\'cv:s: "The average yield of the 1898 crop has been from 10 to 12 tons, giving the farmer a gross revenue of from $45 to $54 to the acre. As the cost of raising beets, through a better understanding of the crop, learned by experience, is never more than $25 per acre, and more frequently less, it will be seen that there is no other crop that can compare to beets for profit." OTHEi: WESTEEK STATES. Iowa experience since '91 confirms Secretary Wilson's opinion on Page 68. Eighty samples were analyzed at the state experiment station by Chemist J. B. Weems, between August 27 and Oct. 29. '98, of which 38 contained less than 12 per cent, sugar and below 80 purity, while the rest ranged from 13 to 16 sugar and 78-80 purity. Out of 55 samples received from October 29 to December 14, '98, 20 were less than 12-80, 13 were between 12 and 13 and over 80, and the rest ran up to 15-17 per cent. The evidence is conclusive that Iowa is a great sugar state. Missouri has been a center of great interest, but the results in beet culture in that state are not encouraging. Wc do not yet say that there are no localities in THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 163 Missouri adapted to a commercial success of this business, althougti Prof. H. J. Waters, director of the state experiment station, writing us Dec. 29, '98, concludes: "The results of all the work done by this station and the United States government indicate that there is little to encourage the hope that Missouri will soon become a sugar producing state." Some 1200 farmers grew bsets in an experimental way in '98 and about 1100 in '97, but GLIMPSES INTO THE OGDEN (UTAH) SUGAR HOUSE. Center illustration shows lower floor, look- ing toward base of diffusion batteries. Upper picture, two of the four large evaporators. Lower view, crystallizers. the results of "98 were not as good as the previous season. Out of 150 samples analyzed, only seven showed as much as 12 per cent, of sugar in the beet. The continued wet v/eather of spring greatly delayed planting and the warm wet weather in fall pre- vented beets from maturing perfectly. Kansas is another state that, like Missouri, gives conflicting results. Prof. J. T. Willard, director of the experiment station at Manhattan, writes us Jan. 2, '99, "I know of no serious efforts at present to establish beet sugar factories in this state and should discourage such until a careful test of the proposed locality had been made." He submits tables of a large number of analyses of beets grown in Kansas in '98 and '97, 164 THE SUGAR livIDUSTRY. showing from 8 to 17 per cent, sugar in beet and averaging II14 to 12 per cent., with a purity average of 76-78, and running in some cases over 90. These figures certainly show encouragement, in contradistinction to tlie idea that has been circulated that Kansas could not produce rich beets. A classification of the past two years' work is thus described by Director Willard: "I have arranged this year's results by counties from northwest to southeast across the state. A study of the figures from that point of view discloses some inter- esting facts. Of the 20 growers living northwest of a line connecting Washington and Stanton counties, which cuts off less than one-third of the state, five or 25 per cent, of them sent samples containing over 14 per cent, of sugar, 11 or 55 per cent, of them sent samples containing over 1.3 per cent, of sugar, and 15 or 75 per cent, of them sent samples containing over 12 per cent, of sugar. Of the 90 growers living in the part of the state southeast of the line named, or in over two- thirds of the state, four or only about 4 per cent of them sent in samples containing over 14 per cent, of sugar, 16 or about 18 per cent, of them sent in samples containing over 13 per cent, of sugar, and 20 or 22 per cent, of them sent in samples containing over 12 per cent, of sugar. The line named is approximately parallel to the isotherm of 70 degrees for the monthsof June, July and August, and about 200 miles southeast of it, as located by Dr. Wiley. It would seem that northwest of the line the prospect for successful beet production, especially by irrigation, is very good. The advantages of a successful sugar beet factory to a local- ity are very great, but the injury of a boom collapsed is only too well known to our citi- zens. If the experiment station saves us from the latter it will repay its cost for many years: it stands ready to assist to the former if its analyses of properly grown beets point to commercial success in that line. Let every locality hoping to establish this indus- try, first thoroughly test its soil capacity and the willingness of its citizens, by showing that it can raise the necessary raw material, before it puts money, or more likely bonds, into an exoensive factory." Colorado has certainly demonstrated her adaptability to the beet sugar industry. Large crops of rich beets can be grown in a variety of places. The average quality of sugar upon 600 fields or plots of beets grown in 1898 was over 15 per cent, of sugar of over SO purity, and the yield was from 12 to 20 tons per acre, average 16 tons. The results in some sections are astonishing, notably in the Arkansas, Platte and San Luis valleys. In each of these localities, the farmers are ready and eager to pledge the necessary acre- age for one or more factories which could be located convenient to cheap and good coal, lime and water. "As high as 36 tons per acre have been obtained under irrigation in Weld and Larimer counties, and a shipment of these beets to the Grand Island factory in Nebraska resulted in an average of 13 lbs of pure granulated sugar to 100 lbs of beets, or 9,360 lbs of refined sugar per acre." (?) The Colorado experiment station at Fort Collins makes the following report: 1898 1897 No. of farmers in the state v/ho grew beets in an experimental way, about 600 275 No. of samples received at station from crop grown in 850 225 No. analyses embraced in following figures 454 156 Highest and lowest sugar in beet, per cent 22-8 17-6 Average sugar in beet, per cent 15.4 10.8 Purity, highest and lowest, per cent 91-50 89-46 Purity, average, per cent 80.1 73.6 It is probable, in fact certain, that more people raised beets than the figures given above, but as they made no report we cannot count them. The figures for 1897 include a great many green crops '■ampled early in the season; more than half the samples are of this kind. The average of the ripe crops is 12.8 per cent, sugar in the beet and 78 per cent, purity. In 1898 the samples were not taken until most of the crops were ripe. The year 1897 was very unfavorable for sugar beets, while 1898 was rather favorable than otherwise. Had every analysis of each year been included, the above figures would be scarcely changed. THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 165 o H X Cd w n H w DC m a > H H W Q D M :^ w G O > 166 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. Certain sections of Wyoming produce heavy crops of rich beets, especially under irrigation. The same is true of Idaho, Nevada and North Dakota. In South Dakota, many experiments have been tried for several years which demonstrate the adaptability of the sugar beet to that region. In '97, probably 1000 farm- ers grew beets in an experimental way, and out of 300 samples received at the state experiment station. Director Shepard reports that the sugar in the beets ranges from 12 to 23 per cent., average 16.4, with a purity of from 72 to 92, and average 86, a remark- ably high showing. The past season 25 farmers have been growing the beet on a com- mercial scale, from one-fourth to one acre, to determine the profits of the crop, at Brook- ings, Huron, Yankton, Sioux Falls and Aberdeen. Samples from these crops show from 13 to 26 per cent, sugar of 77 to 94 purity, also a fine exhibit. "Montana can grow a sufficient quantity of beets in any one of several agi'icultural valleys to supply several factories. The beets would meet the requirements for sugar content and purity." Thus writes Director Emery of the state experiment station at Bozeman. He submits figures showing a large number of tests in '97 and a lesser number in '9S, that show from 10 to 20 per cent, sugar in the beet of from 63 to 96 purity, or an average of about 16 per cent, sugar and something over 80 purity. "The lowest results are obtained where alkali is excessive and serves to lower the average." In the southwest, Oklahoma and the extreme west of Texas will probably be found to contain much good sugar beet land. Arizona certainly does, but of course needs irri- gation. New Mexico has one sugar factory at Eddy, in the Pecos valley, southeastern part of the territory. The country is so new that the settlers have much to learn about grow- ing the crop, and the factory has hardly had a fair chance yet, but there is every reason to believe in the ultimate success of the industry in that section. One carload of beets in '96 averaged 24 per cent, sugar of 92 purity. The factory sliced 134 tons per day the first season and 160 its second campaign. Some 30 tons of mother beets, planted from seed in February, '98, averaged 19-84. The '98 crop on 2000 acres ranged from 7 to 15 tons per acre, averaging 16 per cent., and with favorable conditions should make 20,000 tons. 1898 1897 1896 Acres of beets grown loOO 19U0 1500 Tons of beets produced 9000 5700 7800 Average yield of beets in tons per acre. . 6.0 3.0 5.2 Per cent of sugar in beets 14.5 14.2 16.2 Per cent of purity in beets 87 80 82 Per cent of sugar extracted from beets ... 10 _ 10.53 5.77 Pounds of sugar made per ton of beets 200 " 210 116 Pounds of sugar made per acre of beets 1200 633 600 Tons of sugar produced 900 600 450 Days factory ran 60 40 60 rnosPERiTY i:\ vt.mi. We are now able to add the results of its last three campaigns to the exhibit of Utah's first sugar mill at Lehi, published on Page 58. Its '96 and '98 campaigns were both very successful, but the "97 season was bad for beets and unsatisfactory for the mill. The '98 campaign was the most successful season for both farmers and factory since it started in '91. Many fields averaged 15 to 20 tons of dressed beets per acre. While only about the same amount of beets was received as in '96, improvements in quality of beets and in methods of agriculture and manufacture have helped along. The amount of sugar in the beets has averaged 14 V2 per cent., compared to 12.6 last year, 13.9 in '96, and around 11 percent, in the previous seasons. This factory has paid particular attention to theselec- THE BEET SUGAE INDUSTRY. 167 Q W % w C Q > O p > o H H O O w c H 168 THE SUGAR INDUSTRV. tion of mother beets and propagation of the best seed, with encouraging results specified. A considerably larger area has been contracted for the '99 crop. Farmers have been well pleased with the results, while the factory has also earned a handsome dividend. Its reports enable the author to make the following comparisons: 1896 1897 1898 Acres of beets grown 3,200 2,500 3,200 Tons of beets produced 43,500 17,500 43,150 Average yield per acre, tons 13.5 6.75 13.5 Per cent, of sugar in beets 13.9 12.6 14.5 Purity of sugar, per cent 82.5 82.0 83.0 Crude sugar per acre, lbs 3,753 1,701 3,915 Refined sugar per acre, lbs 3,096 1,3['5 3,549 Refined sugar per acre obtained, lbs.. .. 2,862 1,355 3,422 Began making sugar Sept. 15 Sept. 25 Sept. 8 Finished making sugar Jan 23 Nov. 23 Dec. 28 Tons of sugar made 4,578 1,858 5,000 Percent, sugar extracted 10.6 9.9 11.8 Lbs sugar extracted per ton of beets 212 198 236 "•tv liPPiw^p^^ UNLOADING BEETS AT THE LA GRANDE FACTORY, OREGON The beet sheds are 400 feet long. Factory in background, viewed from soutliwest. The second sugar mill to be established in Utah is the Ogden Sugar Company, whose factory at Ogden made its initial campaign in 1898. The company was not organ- ized until December, '97, but in spite of that late date, succeeded in getting about 2000 acres planted in northern Utah, the crop from which has to be hauled from one to 100 miles. The manager wrote us November 3, 1898: "We are just now in the midst of the 1898 campaign, having worked something like 12,000 tons, and expect to work altogether about 25,000 tons; the highest yield to an acre has been 30 tons, the lowest 71/2 tons. The per cent, of sugar varies from nine to 20 per cent.; the average is about 14 per cent., with an average of 80 per cent, coefficient pur- ity. We pay $4 per ton for beet^3 delivered at factory. The sugar produced is excellent. The campaign began Sept. 27, and we expect it to end early in December. Our valley is THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 169 not very old, and we do not anticipate any trouble from frost, hence have not taken any precaution to store beets against frost. Next year, when we expect a great quantity of beets, we will doubtless investigate that matter. The farmers who have intelligently taken care of their crops are very well satisfied, but those who have failed to do so are correspondingly dissatisfied, and attribute the result to almost any other cause than their own neglect. The factory is not in a position to make a truthful complaint for a first year's run, but should we have to compete against cheap land and cheap labor produc- tions of the West Indies and Philippines, of course the entire enterprise would cease, the money invested be lost and the source of revenue for 1000 or more farmers be absolutely stopped. We expect next year to grow about 5000 acres, and with the average produced this year, we expect a yield of over 60,000 tons of beets. We shall commence our campaign as early as Sept. 1, and hope to run at least 100 days." THE PULP DUMP At the Minnesota Beet Sugar Factory. >. :Ti X -r 1 - C2 I I ? 1 -. '^^"fi* o ir> r^ ^3 — < li^ z sS !* e3 " > > I I I I I I Ml ,1 M I I I M I I I _ c >c CO ^ -c M ^^ -)< M C5 1- o c -^ -^ ■* C-. Ti "-1 ., X -r T) S ci I- .^ -^ c ,_; ^ j^ '(•,-( t- to e-i L^ — w * CC « ^ I- o ic ir: •£ ^ 'O Ti o X o CO t- t- ^ —I -T o — = 11: ^: " - «£ ?i t- „■ ^' *' M = o i; -. c; rt 4© ;c vr — o ,-i m c: c-i -r iC Cv ^ "C ut ^H ^^ :;. cr. lO 1^ -^ c; I- I- o £J •-> ^ I- o I- c. ro c-< "- = C5 _: _• !t -^ <- ""• C3 c-V"**.-; iti 9.« ■-, ^ " ~.^. ^- S ■* ~,t- 2 -l"'-t ^ «l - 1' — — 3 t-f lO II cf to to ■» O O C -<< C'l O C5 C5 -l< • lO C5 to O X -^ ^ 1-1 C-l I - -.O V , h <» 'XI < :": -1 ic '' to tc — -^, o to t^ c; cs i^ M t* c^ »-* ri'-!^Sq-:'^g3-cig*«s:: ^ X — co^*cto _ ;2 cc'c-r c^'i-<" '^ h u -f o -- S <= ■* " -r J3 « lo o t - t; ' -■ u- o irJ < X ?53-5-§:^^"S£st^^SJiss -^ Uh i-c- -H<^x-f 0) aj c-Jci ecu cd <: t-toto9'^'^^'^®tooo, 1 . S u o sj *- X^ = - a •X A Q. aD ^^5" .^^5 c/^ - ,." •" ^ -t tf a; - >« l- S.^' 0'-— -^u-i '3 5? s_- s§^r-x--5^'o W » - -:■«„- ?:^ "xEl^'Sr J;5=£4;o5 H r. H a: £ 5 S '■" rt =* * « •■- f aj £ ^ ■?; 7" d; 2 'r; 55 M CHAPTER III. OS THE PACIFIC COAST. Washington is the only state on the Pacific coast, which, at this writing (January, '99) hasnotone or more beetsugar mills. It is probable, however, that two factories will be built in Washington in time for the '99 crop, one in the Yakima valley and the other at some other point in eastern Washington. Experiments continued over a series of years indicate that in Washington, as in Oregon, there is some danger of a second growth of beets, owing to warm rains in the fall, on the coast slope, but this trouble seldom occurs east of the mountains. Oregon has proven to be a remarkable state for raising a heavy tonnage of rich beets, where the culture has been properly followed. The first factory in the state was built in 1898 at La Grande, Union county, northeastern Oregon, not far from the Idaho line, by the Oregon Sugar Company, as is described in connection with the accompanying illustrations. Considering the haste with which this enterprise was started and the inex- perience of the farmers in growing beets, its first campaign was quite satisfactory. The company writes us as follows: "Our beet crop for 1898 was very light, onlj^ some 8151 tons being harvested, from which we manufactured 1,850,000 lbs. dry granulated sugar.- Drouth (unusual) and the hurried work necessary to get everything into operation during this season, and the ignoranceof the farmers in regard to the growing of this crop, are the causes of the short- age in tonnage. Another cause was the mistaken idea that beets could be grown like wheat, in tracts of hundreds of acres. Instead of the growers confining themselves to 10 or 20, or possibly 40 acres, they contracted to grow 100, 200, and in some instances as many as 600 acres of beets. The result was, few hands to thin, cultivate and harvest, and the crop was neglected. For next season a strong effort is being made to divide up the large areas into smaller tracts, and induce bona fide settlers to come in and work up this land to sugar beet culture. Indications are that there will be quite a number of people, who understand this industry, com.e here during the winter, prepared to begin operations early in the spring. Although our season was a short one, the run was very satisfactory in every respect. The yield of sugar per ton of beets was large. The beets yielded a heavy per cent, of sugar, averaging 15.72 per cent, with 84.6 purity." An average of within a fraction of 16 per cent, sugar in the beet and 85 purity is absolutely unprecedented in the beet sugar industry of the world. If such results can be obtained during a first sea,son with unusually unfavorable climate and all other condi- tions against a good crop, certainly the industry ought to be a success in future years, as its agricultural details become better and better mastered. A MARVEI.Ol'S SUCCESS IX CALIFORNIA. All that was said about the beet sugar industry' in the Golden state in my book two years ago (see Part 2, Chapter II herewith) has been more than confirmed by experience since. And this in face of the fact that, owing to the worst drouth in 40 years, the season of 1898 was agriculturally the most disastrous that the beet sugar industry of California ever saw. Without exception, all of the old factories in the state have largely increased their plants and output since .1896, and several new mills have been constructed, or are now being completed for the '99 crop. A number of other factory enterprises are also being worked up, and will doubtless be built, unless Congress puts a premium on free (171) i;-2 THE SUGAR IXDUSTKY. fuigar from the tropics. The illustrations in this book give full particulars about both new and old factories. The mill at Spreckels is the largest beet sugar factory in the -world, con- siderably exceeding the largest institution of its kind in Europe. The great plant of the Pacific Sugar Company at Oxnard, with its daily capacity of 2800 tons of beets, is two- thirds as large as that at Spreckels (see Page VIII). The other mills have a capacity of 1000 tons or beets daily. California has the great advantage that in some sections planting can begin on the upland and earlier and warmer soils in January and February and continue upon the lower and colder soils until well into May. This enables the harvest to begin in August and continue until January again. No protection, except sheds to keep off the rains, is required for the beets after they are harvested. Director Hilgard adds: "The perfect ventilation so secured maintains the sugar content of the roots unchanged for a much greater length of time, the temperature being sufficiently low to prevent a tendency to sprout until about the middle of February, when, as a rule, the beets are still in better average condition than whpre they have to be stored under- ground. There is thus no difficulty whatever in lengthening the campaign in California to full six months, and probably more, if early shipments from the southern part of the great valley should be found feasible. "In respect to the growing and cultivation of the beet. also. California enjoys a not Inconsiderable advantage in the fact that the absence of summer rains in ordinary sea- sons does away with a large proportion ot the expensive manual labor in hoeing and weeding, wliich forms a considerable item in the cost of production both in Europe and in the east. With thorough preparation ot the soil, a single weeding is sufficient, where elsewhere three are necessary in order to carry a clean crop to maturity." Much stress is also attached to the higher sugar percentage and greater purity secured by California beets, it is true that many crops have been delivered to California factories that contained from 15 to 18 per cent, sugar in the beet with a purity coeflacient of 80 to 85. In Europe, the percentage ranges from 12 to 14, and at the best Silesian fac- tory, at Stobnitz, runs as high as from 15 to 16 in good seasons. In view of the remark- able richness of beets that are being grown in other parts of the United States, notably in New York, Michigan and Oregon, it may be a Question how far California possesses any advantage in this respect. Time alone will tell. It is certain, however, that California possesses a large area of magnificent beet land, "especially in the valleys of the coast region, from Mendocino to Los Angeles, and the Sacramento and lower San Joaquin valleys." The success of the crop in southern California on properly selected soils has also been most marked. Prof. Hilgard points out that less than one-tenth of the entire valley area in the state would produce the present estimated annual consumption of sugar in the United States. To test the availability of alkali lands for beets, many experiments have been carried on at various sub-sta- tions under Prof. Hilgard's direction, and he concludes: "It has been proven beyond question that sugar beets of good, and even high grade, both as to sugar and purity, may be grown on lands containing as much as 12,000 pounds of alkali salts per acre to the depth of three feet; provided, that the percentage of common salt in the soil does not exceed an average of .04 per cent., or 1500 pounds, per acre. Even this may not, of course, represent the maximum compatible with good quality, but is the highest figure that has yielded stich, viz., good quality, in the course of our experiments thus far." The historic Alameda Sugar Company's mill at Alvarado continues so successftil that $200,000 were spent in doubling its capacity for the '97 campaign. A picture of the mill, as enlarged, is given on Page 33. The campaign of '96 lasted 154 days — Aug. 24 to Jan. 24. The average purity in 1S98 was 83, very good. The company is contracting for 10,000 acres of beets for '99, and with a six months' campaign, expect to work up 100,000 1T4 THE SLGAR IXDUSTltY. to 125,000 tons of beets, for which $4.50 per ton will he paid, same as in '98. The drouth of '98 caused only 4000 acres to be harvested out of 6000 contracted, and reduced the yield seriously, the product being 3634 tons granulated sugar, compared to 5000 tons previous season. 1898 1897 1896 1895 1894 189.3 1892 Acres of beets grown. 4,000 4,808 3,500 2,400 2,894 1,803 1.594 Tons of beets produced 36.500 48,773 48,500 27,400 39,800 20,300 15.000 Av. yield per acre, tors 9.1 10.2 13.9 11.4 13.7 13.7 11.3 Av.percent. sugar in cossettes 14. 14.2 13.9 14.1 11.56 15.5 12.53 The New Union Sugar Company is under the same management as the Alameda Company. Its new mill of 500 tons' capacity, and capable of being doubled and tripled, is located on a fine tract of land in the northern part of Santa Barbara county, four miles south of the line between San Luis Obispo county and six miles from the Pacific ocean. It is situated by a lake 11 miles in circumference, and within a radius of 50 miles are 130,000 acres adapted to the crop, traversed by two railways. There is an unlimited sup- ply of water for iirigating purposes. The Union mill is contracting for 8000 acres of beets at $4 for '99. Secretary Coftln v.'rites us in .January, '99: "Since August, we have been plowing 50 acres per day with our steam plow tackle, similar to that used by Mr. Lilienthal. We plow from 12 to 15 inches deep. There are about 4000 acres of our own that will thus be plowed. The tract is being plowed and ditched by accurate survey in accordance with an irrigation system which covers the entire tract." ELEVFX YE.VRS OF THE WATSOXVII.LE FACTOUY. A picture of the beet sugar mill at Watsonville, California, is given on Page 170, together with its record for the ten years 18S8 to '97 inclusive, as originally compiled by the author. Last year (.1898) was the worst season known in the state for 40 years, owing to drouth, which caused an unfavoi'able sugar campaign. Hauling beets to the Watson- ville mill began August 5, closed November 5, '98, with a total of 57,761 tons of beets delivered from 7200 acres, at $4 per ton. Under the ideal conditions of 1896, the 25,000 acres contracted for 1898 should have yielded 350,000 tons. The table (Page 170) shows a steady development and affords the best data extant for judging of the ups and downs of this industry, from both the farmers' and manufac- turers' standpoint. It will be noted that during these 10 years the yield of beets on nearly 60,000 acres has averaged 11 tons per acre, including good, bad and indifferent sea- sons. The farmers have received from $4 to $5 per ton, or an average of about $4.50. This has amounted to from $27 to $68 per acre, averaging $50 per acre. The cost of production and delivery of beets to the factory has varied in that vicinity from $20 to $35 per acre, including the labor of the farmer himself or his family and teams, as well as his hired help, all at cuiTent prices. It will be seen that while the crop afforded comparatively small profits the first season, once the culture of the crop was fully understood and the industry well established, it proved to be the most profitable staple crop the farmer could raise This one mill has paid $3,000,000 for this new crop and as high as $700,000 in a single year. But for the establishment of the fac- tory in that vicinity this vast sum would not have been paid to these farmers, but would have gone out of the country to pay for imported sugar. It required 7 to 12 tons of beets to make one ton of sugar, and the greatest varia- tion was in tv/o succeeding years. This shows the wide fluctuation in quality of beets, due to climatic conditions. The average of 8.9 tons of beets to make one ton of raw sugar, or of 9.8 tons to make one ton of refined sugar, is decidedly better than the best fac- THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 175 tories in Germany can show during the same eight years. It will be noted that the quan- tity of raw sugar produced per acre varied from about 1500 to a little over 3500 lbs during the eight years, averaging 2700 lbs, with some decrease in the amount of refined sugar. This is just about half the production per acre from cane on Hawaii. It is interesting to observe also that the price of sugar fell 40 per cent, during these 10 years and is to-day lower than ever. Many other facts of interest are shown by the table. The run of 220 days by the factory on the 1894 crop was the longest campaign ever made by any beet sugar mill in the world, but the actual hours run in the '96 cam.paign of 170 days were almost as many, when the factory sliced an average of nearly liOO tons of beets per day of 24 hours, from which 136 tons of sugar were made daily. Regarding the season of 1898, P. W. Morse, the agricultural superintendent, writes: "The drouth was severe on the farmers, yet taught a needed lesson in compelling attention to the necessii.y of irrigation in our valleys that have a semi-arid climate. The droath also forced an unwelcome fallow upon the lands of many farmers, which, how- r 5181 ^asifi nil ts^8Ds§3 till ^ ssfla ss SKETCH OF THE UNION SUGAR WORKS. Now being' completed for tlie 1899 campaign, witli a capacity of 1000 tons of beets per building 240x110 feet, of brick and steel. Located in northern pan of Santa Barbara county, six miles from the ocean. day. Main California, ever, is not an unmixed evil, as among other minor benefits farmers will be partly com- pensated by an increased yield next year. For 1899 we shall pay $4.50 per ton of 2000 lbs for beets. With sufficient rainfall this winter, we shall have between 40,000 and 45,000 acres planted. Under favorable circumstances this should insure full campaigns for both the Salinas and Watsonville factories, which are under the same management." SUCCESS OF THE ESTABLISHED FACTORIES. The Chino Valley Beet Sugar Company's factory at Chino, in San Bernadino county, has had two good seasons and one poor one since the exhibit on Page 48 was made np of its first five campaigns. In 1896, it worked up about 66,000 tons of beets, the crop being reduced by drouth. Its campaign of 1897 was almost ideal, the factory running 151 days on 97,197 net tons of beets that contained an average of 15.1 per cent, sugar and 17(3 , THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. yielded 24,303,000 lbs. of standard granulated. There were harvested for the mill 9678 aci'es, out of 10,000 contracted. The gross weight of beets delivered by farmers on the Chino ranch to the Chino factory from July IS to Dec. 20, '97, was 53,624 tons, and the net weight for which they were paid was 50,639 tons. The difference of nearly 3000' tons, or 5.47 per cent., represents the tare, or reduction for weight of dirt on beets, poorly topped beets, etc., as determined by the tare-man appointed by the beet growers' union. These beets averaged 14.9 per cent, sugar and 78.5 purity. The net price received by the farmers averaged $4.23 per net ton, or a total of $210,862. Nearly as much more was paid for some 50,000 tons additional received at the factory from other localities. The bulk of the beets was delivered in September, October and November. In 1898, the unprecedented drouth caused the results of the previous campaign to be just about cut in two. The output of sugar was 12,063,782 lbs. A total of 47,302 tons of beets was consumed, and the percentage of sugar was approximately 13 per cent. The farmers received $192,272 for their beets, for which they were paid a fraction over $4 per ton. For 1899, the Chino factory is contracting for 12,000 acres and hopes to get 150,000 tons of beets. Arrangements for irrigation have been made by many growers, so as to be independent of drouths. The Los Alamitos Sugar Company has completed its mill, an imperfect sectional view of which, to explain the process of manufacture, is given on Page 37, and a pre- liminary notice on Page 50. For its first campaign of 1897, 2800 acres of beets were har- vested, that yielded 29,542 tons, containing an average of 15.73 per cent, of sugar in the beet, and making a total product of a little over 6,000,000 lbs. The machinery was in operation 105 days, and the farmers were paid an average of $4.16 per ton. Some of the beets ran as high as 20 per cent., and the average of nearly 16 is, we believe, one of the highest yet reported for any campaign. The soil in that vicinity is remarkably adapted to the crop, but, like the rest of the state, suffered severely from the unprecedented drouth of '98. For its second campaign, 1898, the Los Alamitos Sugar Company reports: "On account of the severe drouth we did not plant more than 1400 acres. Of this amount we got a stand of about 300 acres, from which we received 3000 tons of beets, which pro- duced 6000 bags of sugar. Under usual normal conditions, we should have planted 7000 acres, and from this we should have received about 70,000 tons of beets, which would produce about 14,000,000 lbs oi sugar, so you can see that this year's campaign was quite disastrous to the company. We have made contracts for 1899 to have 8000 acres planted; up to the present time (Dec. 6) have not had any rain, but there is plenty of time yet, and if it comes this month or in January wc are sure to get a good crop." We believe the richest crop of beets on record was worked up at this mill. It was grown in Orange county, and averaged 27 per cent, sugar of 88 purity! The Crockett Sugar Refining Company, with a capital of $2,000,000, has an enor- mous plant at Crockett, on San Francisco bay, with a capacity of 350 tons of cane and 1000 tons of beets per day. It was started to refine Hawaiian sugar, and during the interim to manufacture beet sugar. It is contracting for 10,000 acres of beets per year and is cul- tivating 1600 acres of beet land itself near the factory. It pays $4 per ton for beets test- ing 15 per cent, sugar, with 25c extra for each additional per cent, of sugar. It draws its supply of beets mainly from Contra Costa. Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties. It is in charge of experienced sugar people and there is every reason to expect its permanent success. THE LATEST MODERN ENTERPRISE. What is said to be the model beet sugar factory of the world is the new plant of the Pacific Sugar Company at the new town of Oxnard, near Ilueneme, Ventura county, Call- -♦ to ^ TO 3 w V- ~ -*-' . 2.0 St o !'E "^ 5 s n ''S o « fD 3 S- "Ti ^ Q > 2 X (/) CfQ ^ a 5" ^ ^ a W O „ S M 5- O ^ (/) p (-1 TO '-I S Q S > so CTQ Z = r s' r 178 THE SUGAR IXDUSTRY. fornia, some 3i/4 miles from the ocean. The illustrations on Pages II, III, VI, VII, also on Pages 147, 152 and 157, with their accompanying descriptions, convey a perfect idea of this beautiful establishment — the latest triumph of American experience and genius, and embodying all that the Oxnards and their experts have learned — or invented. Its boiler house, 195x55 ft, contains fourteen 250 h p boilers (3500 h p in all), capable of working under 200 lb steam pressure. The boilers and lime kilns are fired with crude oil brought from a pipe from the wells 35 miles distant, and standing in two tanks, each 85ft in diameter, 30 ft high and with a capacity of 30,000 bbls each. Three large pumps are required to force water into storage tanks on top of building. The supply, 10,000,000 gal- lons daily, comes from flowing driven wells nearby, and the waste water runs into the ocean through a canal 6 to 8 ft wide and 4 to fi ft deep. The beets are received at the fac- tory on the elevated driveway of the beet sheds, 300x100 ft, and the wagons dumped (by electrically operated hoisting engines) into storage bins having a combined capacity of 5000 tons, from which the beets are floated, as used, by a stream of water running in a concrete conduit to the factory proper. The refrigerating plant makes 200 tons of ice daily. Twenty-eight pumps of large size are used to circulate the various juices about the factory. The plant occupies 100 acres. It will consume 1000 tons of beets daily in '.99, and 10,000 acres have already been contracted for, but by 1900 the full capacity of 2000 tons daily will be reached. Over 20,000 acres will be needed to furnish the necessary sup- ply of beets, say 250,000 tons, and at an average of $4 per ton a million dollars will be paid out by this mill alone for this new crop annually. The town of Oxnard, close at hand, bids fair to become a model city with every modern improvement. All this section can be irrigated from the underground water shed, 130 to 250 ft below the surface, which is inexhaustible, being fed by the Sierra water shed and kept in by the ocean. Says Chief Engineer Bauer: "A three-inch well can be sunk for a tvitie, comparatively speaking. A hundred dol- lars will cover the cost, and its flow will irrigate many acres of this fine, moist soil. The farmers will be independent of rains then. The beet will hunt for water a long way down. Why, in Paris I saw a beet whose fine, silky tendrils had gone down 23 feet." THK CULTURE OF BEETS FOR THE SPI5ECKELS FxVCTORY has been for years under the general charge of Mr. P. W. Morse, the agricultural superin- tendent. He prepared a very complete statement of the methods in vogue about Watson- ville, from which we quote below. After emphasizing proper selection of soils and drain- age from an excess of water in winter. Mr. Morse says: "Frrtilizatian — This is very little practiced in this valley. There is no pressing need for it just now, and land owners seem to prefer to utilize the resources now existing in their soil. Of course no land is inexhaustible, but soil that produces 20 tons of beets to the acre needs no fertilizer at present; and so long as the average yield of beets continues to increase, it is improbable that fertilizers will be used. I am pleased to observe that most of our farmers refuse to sell their beet tops, and thus save a great waste of valuable fertilizing material. Many of our farmers help to keep up the quality of their land by adopting systems of rotation. "Notation — And there is no doubt that, with a proper system of rotation and careful farming, the need of fertilization will not be apparent for many years. The beet appears to thrive better after certain plants than others. Here, beets yield most following pota- toes and least following grain or hay. In those portions of the valley in which potatoes are not grown, corn, beans and alfalfa are the best crops to precede beets. The rotation giving best results here is : First year, potatoes, corn, beans or alfalfa; second year, beets; third year, barley; and is adopted by many farmers. It would be w^ell if all farm- THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 170 ers would adopt some such system. To an eastern agriculturist such a rotation may appear to be a terrific strain upon land ihat is not fertilized, but so far the land snows no sign of deterioration. "PloiriiKj — In plowing- and preparation of the soil for beets our farmers usually plow but once, and complete the preparation of the soil by working from the surface, without turning the soil over again. The reason for this is that, if land is re-plowed late, we may not get sufficient grain to work the surface fine enough for a seed bed for the beet seed. In late plowing there is also the chance of losing moisture that may not be regained, for, after March ana even February, our spring rains cannot be relied upon However on badly drained land, or land foui with weeds, two plowings may be neces- sary. The plowing is deep, from 10 to 12 inches, and is performed by single or two-gang sulkies, drawn by four to six horses. Sub-soiling is not practiced, for, when the top 12 LARGEST BEET SUGAR FACTORY IN THE WORLD. Near view of mam building of new beet sugar mill at Spreekels, in tlie Salinas valley, iMonterey Co.,Cal.. V)Uilt by ihe Spreckels Sugar Co., Clans Spreckels president. This structure is 582.\10'_' feet, five stories high, contains 3500 tons of steel and 4.000,000 brick, and with the accompanying buildings, machinery, etc.. represents a cost of $2,500,000. The bcjiler liouse is 559xG8 feet, 22 feet high, contains 24 enormous boilers and four economizers, and its steel smokestacks are 21G'feet higli, 13 feet in diameter and each weiglis 1000 tons. The machine shop and carpenter shop is 559x40 feet, 22 feet high ; oil house 20x32, warehouse'80x200, scale house 21x32, office 70x70. A reservoir for water holds 1,300,000 gallons, be- ing 22 feet deep and 200x60 feet. Tl'iere are also enormous silos for pulp, beet sheds, etc., tlie wiiole plant covering some .500 acres. A distant view of llie factory, giving also an idea of the surrounding country, appears on Page 170, and on Page 181 is a different view sliowing boiler sheds, etc. inches is plowed, the soil below is generally too wet to work, and sub-soiling would then do more harm than good. The cultivators used, 1 am glad to say, are all made by our local shops and are exceedingly well suited to the work. A couple of deep cultivatings, with a few hr.rrowings and a rolling or dragging, are usually sufficient to complete the prepa- ration of the soil. Our farmers have grown proficient in working the soil for beets, and r 180 THE SUGAU IISTDUSTRY. tlie percentage of failures on account of poor farming in this respect has been reduced to nothing. In former years it was formidable "Soir'ni!/ is done entirely with drills, sowing rows about 20 inches apart, seed being furnished by the beet factory, and in the performance of this somewhat delicate operation our farmers need no pointers from anybody, save in the matter of straight rows. Not enough attention is paid to drilling straight rows. It is rather surprising that our farm- ers, who are so straight in all other dealings, should be so crooked with their beet rows. A great help in late sowings, say after the middle of May, ts the addition of V-shaped irons to the drill, which push aside the dry surface of the soil and enable the seed to be sown in moisture at a moderate depth. About ten pounds of seed are sown to the acre. "Tliiiniiiif; (iikI HvciiKi are usually contracted together with topping and loading into the wagon at $1 per ton. There is a growing disposition on the part of farmers to hire labor by the day and look after the field work personally. In this way many farm- ers work their beets for as low as 70c per ton, and in one instance last year it was done lor 55c per ton. The work was done better, and resulted in higher yield and increased profit to the farmer. The contract system is a makeshift, which worked well when labor was scarce, but should now be discarded, as labor is abundant and there is no good reason for retaining it. "Spacing and thinning beets are important operations and should be done under the eye of the farmer. Our beets are spaced from eight to "12 inches apart, according to Quality of land, and should be all thinned before they are four inches high. Cultivating and weed cutting between the rows by horse power has greatly increased of late years, and saves an immensity of labor. Weed cutters are made to take two or four rows at a time, and are drawn by one or two horses. [ noticed one four-row weed cutter last sum- mer that worked twelve acres per day. These implements are made by the farmers them- selves, and work well when the drill rows are straight. The rule for cultivating between rows in summer is to go as .shallow as possible. Some few farmers practice hilling the soil against the beets, but I have never observed any benefit to come from it. After the leaves cover the ground all work on the field should cease until the beets are ripe. "Harrcstiii!/ — The farmer does not have to bother his head about the ripeness of his crop — the factory settles this point for him and orders the beets to be delivered as it may require them. After the beets are ordered in, comes the plowing out. The plow used for this purpose has two shares, which straddle the row to be plowed out. It is usually drawn by two horses, and gives the soil and beets between the shares a slight lift, sufficient to loosen the beets, which then remain standing in the soil, ready for the laborers to pull them out by the leaves. The beet plow must be strongly made and firmly braced. The top must be wide enough to allow the beet leaves to pass through without catching. If any dead beet leaves are lying on the ground, it is advisable to fix two rolling cutters in front of the plow, setting them so as to cut the ground to a depth of a couple of inches. The plowing will then be smoother and will be easier on both horses and men. Beet plowing is not well done unless every beet in the row is loosened without mutilation. It is in plowing out that the advantage of straight rows is particularly noticeable, as it is far easier to plow out a straight row than a crooked one. It is false economy to buy or keep an imperfect plow. Our local blacksmiths make splendid plows, and, if you tell them what you want, they will furnish an implement that will do perfect work. I have often seen farm hands breaking off the roots of beets with imperfect plows or careles.? plowing, and leaving two or three tons of such broken roots to the acre in the ground. The parts of roots left in the ground are an absolute loss to the farmer, and if harvested would pay for a new plow many times over in a season. "T(ti)i)iii(i of the beet should bp done with one stroke of a knife. Here 12-inch THE BEET SUGAll INDUSTRY.- 181 butcher knives are used for the purpose. The crown and leaves, together with any por- tion of the beet growing above ground, should be cut off, leaving nothing but the root that has grown under ground to be taken to the factory. The old method of pulling and topping was to throw the beets into piles, top them and load into wagons with baskets. The newer and better way is to lay the beets in rows with heads one way. The topper then, after slicing off the heads, places the topped beets head down in rows, and with the tails in the air. They are then thrown into wagons by hand. It is a curious sight to see a field of beets thus standing in long rows in the reverse direction to which they grow. The advantages of the new method are that the beets are topped quicker, dry better in wet weather, are more easily loaded into wa,gons, and save the expense of baskets. The tops are also better distributed over the ground. "Hauling beets has evolved a new form of wagon rack in this valley. It is in the shape of a wide, shallow box, raised high above the wheels, wliich it overhangs a few inches. It is not a thing of beauty, but it answers better than the old style of rack in that it is easier to load and unload, and a heavier load can be hauled with it. Such racks mounted on wide-tired gea.rs weigh about 8200 pounds, and from 4 to 4i/^ tons can be hauled in them with four horses on a good road in dry weather. They are unsuitable for bad roads, as they are top heavy and liable to turn over. Good roads are indispensable to the beet farmer. No traffic is harder on roads, and this is due to the immense volume of it and to the heavy loads hauled." -r-TOJrHi ^^^ ,^ , „._.., . H.llll.l'"»« ".'••"Hill ;"!!•'' ii'i J i i;Liiiiiiiii«iiimi"«"" "'"MWi ,,-— ^M ^ Mil iiiiii'lll Liii lltitilll DISTANT VIEW OF THE MAMMOUTH SUGAR MILL. Of the Spreckels Sugar Co., at Spreckels, in the Salinas valley, California, showing steel frame of main structure 582x102 feet, with boiler house 559x68 feet in foreground. See Pages 170 and 179 for other engravings and descriptions of this largest beet sugar factory in the world. 'Z s < ~ rt « rt o ^ ■% a, ^ 2 z o Si r 1 ^5- h- 1 h ? ^ -n- < ^•s g h = 2 Z i; J! 5) < in cS J J, ^ a "3 'C "sHi < :-"•= z < es a eleva extre U) <"-• > . ^ D ■Ei^ < a, ♦^ < ^°l — aj 3 U) ^ J ■- = 5 5 J ' - ^ . s = " £ - ear ' to ecti E «(-.--> i w >.5i i ^ ^ — a; . 2 =2 ?= 2 > o i r -" .= d: ~ ee 5 a; 5 c3 1 <*- ?- *^ a < O "" s - a 2 « 5 bD *= a; D ^ =.= ?: m = •=«?- - .- c : ? ^ rt C a; !- dJ V ■" tr =« rt = 5 = =- l; cr ct .a: .^ '2 "*- rf m 5 rNTAlN AST) PRAIKIE STATES. Utah. — statement of actual expenses on a crop raised for the Lehi factory by Mr. Granger, its superintendent, at $2.50 to $3 per day for man and team: men $1.25 to $1.50, boys 50c to $1 per day. Mr. Granger says: "The very conservative estimate of only 13 tons per acre is used here merely to show what size crop can be made to pay well. By figuring on a yield of from 18 to 25 tons per acre— which is not at all extravagant— the possibilities of the crop may easily be recognized. A great number of farmers who raise beets for the Utah Sugar THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 187 Company make a net profit of from $30 to $50 per acre, after allowing themselves and family full wages for all work done on the crop." Mr. Granger's figures follow: Fall plowing, ] 2 inches deep $ 2.75 Pulverizing in spring 1.00 Rolling 25c planting 35c GO Fifteen pounds of seed, at 18c 2.70 Rolling previous to thinning 25 Cultivating previous to thinning 50 Thinning 4.50 Hoeing after thinning 2.00 Furrowing out for irrigation twice, at 25c 50 Irrigating twice, at 40c 80 Cultivating after irrigation twice, at oUc 1.00 Plowing beets out at harvest time 1.50 Pulling beets after plow 2.00 Topping 13 tons, at 35c 4.55 Sacking and hauling 13 tons (3 miles), at 65c 8.45 Total expenses $33.10 Yield, 13 tons, at $4 (this price paid at Lehi) 52.00 Net profit per acre $18.90 Iowa.— Saylor's report gives the account of H. C. Graves & Son, who raised 4lya acres of beets at Council Bluffs, and shipped to the factory at Norfolk, Neb. They figure a shrinkage in weight in transit of 5.2 per cent., equal to $171.82, and paid in freight $896.71. These two items, amounting to $1,068.53, would have been saved if they could have deliv- ered to a factory direct from, the field. The crop averaged 15% tons per acre, average tare 8.83 per cent., average sugar content 14.4. At $5 a ton the actual profit was $31.98 per acre, or if for nearby delivery, $.?7.33 per acre, but at if 4 per ton, $15.75 should be deducted from either profit. Total cost Preparing 41% acres $ 81.00 Bunching and thinning plants 153.10 Replanting by hand .... 32.60 Hoeing four times 102.70 Cultivating weekly for six weeks 137.85 Digging 84.10 Pulling and topping by hand 283.75 Hauling to cars 285.95 Seed 100.20 Machinery 38.75 Total .'51,300.00 Freight to Norfolk on 717.37 tons, at $1.25 896.71 Total cost of crop laid down at factory ."^2,196.71 $5 per ton for 654.1 net tons 3,270.50 Allowance received and for tops for cattle feed 229.67 Rebate to us on shrinkage in shipment 24.00 Total receipts $3,524.17 Total expenses ; 2.196.71 Net profit for use of land $1,327.46 Cost per acre $ 1.95 3.69 .78 2.. 50 3.30 2.05 6.83 6.89 2.41 .93 $31.33 21.60 $52.93 78.80 5.53 .59 $84.92 52.93 $31.98 1 188 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. Herman Swatcher of Norfolk has giovn beets every year since 1890, at a cost per acre varying from $28.60 to $31, and getting a yield of from 6 to 17 tons per acre. His profits per acre have ranged from $11.40 up to $37, except that on the '94 short crop there was a loss of $4 per acre. His '97 crop averaged 10 tons per acre, at a cost of $2.86 per ton, delivered at the factory, yielding a profit of $1.14 per ton, compared to from $1.5S to $2.18 in previous seasons. Nebraska experience is that, as a fair average for a series of years, beets at $4 a ton will pay all expenses of production, including use of land, taxes, etc.. and a net profit over and above everything of fully a dollar a ton, or $10 to $15 an acre. I.\ THE E.\Si'. New York — N. D. Lapham made a special study of methods and results of sugar beet culture in Wayne county, v.estern New York, in 1898. A large number of farmers reported to him who had shipped their crop to the factory at Rome, N. Y. Their yields of di'essed beets averaged IS tons per acre, or from 10 and 17 tons in "flat" land and upland to over 21 tons on sandy loam. These beets mostly contained 14 to 17 per cent, sugar, all of over 80 purity, and netted $5 per ton at factory, including $1 state bounty. Mr. Lapham made an effort to ascertain the cost of growing beets, based on $3 per day for man and team, $2 for m.an and horse, and $1.25 for man. William Facer's ligures ran up to $76.25 per acre for a crop that yielded 14,620 lbs. and sold lor $111.24, making a net profit of $35 per acre. H. G. Hotchkiss had 13 acres raised on shares, kept a strict account, and found that the total cost was $503.75, or an average of $38.75. Allowing 35c per ton freight and deducting the total expenses from $85.38, the income derived per acre, for the crop of 17 tons, and there is a net gain of $46 per acre. At 15 tons, the net gain would have been $35.90, and at 12 tons $20.00. In all cases the tops and crowns are left on the farm for fodder. Mr. Lapham figured that corn yielding SO bu per acre (worth at present 20c per bu. and stalks $5), would net less than $5 profit per acre, while the average potato crop pays less than $20 per acre profit. The average of over 18 tons of beets per acre gives a surplus in favor of the beet over potatoes of over if33 per acre. Mr. Lapham concluded: 'I wish to emphatically state that without one excep- tion the Wayne county producer informs me that, considering prices of farm pi'oduce as they have been for many years, also taking into consideration the comparative labor necessary, there is nothing so profitable as the sugar beet for our farmers to raise." Mr. Facer's estimates, on the above basis, follow: Drawing manure and fitting land $ 7.00 Sowing seed 50 First hoeing 5.00 Second hoeing 6.00 Third hoeing 5.00 Cultivating six times 6.00 Pulling and topping 15.00 Drawing to market 5 miles, 16 loads 24.00 Cost of shipping 7.75 Net for manure, use of land and profit $76.25 Received for 22.3 tons per acre, at $5 per ton $111.24 STEAM PLOWING EOR TliE Sl'G.Vn lUET. Steam plows have been in limited use for many years. Under certain conditions they do excellent work and are economical. One steam plow company guarantees its six- gang plo\\ and 16 horse-power engine to turn over as much ground as six three-horse teams., provided the soil is firm enough to carry the engine, is free from stumps and THE BEET SUGAR INJJUSTKY J81J rocks, not too wet and has no grades or hill of more than one foot rise in 10 feet of distance; and good fuel and water are provided. Ill the United States the level prairies of the west offer the best field for the vise of steam on the farm, particularly those sections where most of the farm work is during the dry season, as in California, New Mexico and parts of Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and Arizona. There the ground is sufficiently firm and dry to support an engine, and is also level and free from obstructions. On large wheat ranches steam plowing is popular, pro- vided fuel is not too expensive and water is near at hand. Steam plowed, 10 inches deep. Team plowed, eight inches deep. EFFECT OF DEEP PLOWING ON BEETS. The beets are fair samples of the two crops. The deep-plowed land yielded 1/4 to I/3 more weight per acre, and the larger beets were richer in sugar, contrary to tlie usual rule. The picture on Page 93 represents a steam plowing scene near Pleasanton , Ala- meda county, California. At each end of the field an engine is placed and the carriage to which the plow is attached is drawn back and forth by means of a wire cable 3000 feet long. Two engines of 12 horse-power each are required to do the work here. The plow is a four-gang reversible balance plow. This plan has several advantages. Softer or I'.IU THE SUGAR INDISTKY. looser grciincl can be plowed, as the engines do not move across the field while at work. Another method of plowing with a stationary traction engine is to run the cable entirely around the field, letting it turn the corners on strongly staked pulleys. A two-wheeled set of gangs is used and fastened onto the cable at any desired point. The engine may now stand still and draw the plow back and forth across the field by simply winding the cable upon the reversible drum s+tached to the underside of the boiler. The illustration of the Mexican plow herewith shows an engine coupled directly to the plows. Where conditions are favorable this method is used very satisfactorily. The two-engine system is used quite extensively in the Hawaiian Islands, there being thirty-three sets in use there now, each one of which will turn over about ten acres a day with a four-fur- row plow. Mr. E K. Lilienthal, who has made a careful test of plowing at various depths and with teams and steam engines at the California farm alluded to, writes us in the highest terms of steam plowing for beets. It enabled him to plow to a depth of 16 inches, and the beets on such land were 25 to 33 1-3 per cent heavier than on soil plowed by ^IRELl teams. The importance of deep plowing is obvious, and he has yet to find an implement that equals the steam tackle illustrated on Page 93. Under this system, beets that weighed four pounds each ran high in sugar and were acceptable at the factory. Mr, Lilienthal adds: "I have plowed over ."00 acres this fall with this steam tackle, and could go 18 or 20 inches deep as well as 10, if it were advisable. In former years I endeavoied to fall-plow with horses, getting uneven results, but have always been con- vinced of the necessity of steam plowing, and after seven years' experience with it, I am for it every time. The land is treated in the spring exactly as though it had been horse- plowed in the fall, but the rows are placed 16 inches apart on this steam-plowed land, Instead of 20 as by the old method. We use 12 lbs of seed only, as we are not obliged to reseed, since the deep cultivation holds the moioture and insures sprouting of seed. Under THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. I'Jl tbeae improved methods and with an ordinary amount of rainfall, we expect over 20 tons per acre on each and every acre seeded. Our experience in the unprecedentedly dry season of '98 shows that this is a very conservative estimate for deep plowing and thor- ough cultivation." Of course many soils are of such a nature that too deep plowing or turning up of the subsoil, does more harm than good. In such cases, subsoiling beneath the surface plowing will accomplish the desired result. A f'AXTION TO THE INEXrERIENCED FARMER. He is the one who usually thinks he knows most about raising sugar beets. If he is a westerner, he starts out to raise 100 or 200 acres of beets before he has learned how to grow one acre. The result is failure and disgust. We find that the man who has had the most experience in growing beets is the one who takes the fewest risks, who realizeis how much even he has to learn, who does everything thoroughly and who is usually well satisfied with the result. Charles F. Saylor, who made a special inquiry on this point for the United States department of agriculture, truly says in his report (Page 178, document 396, H. R., 55th Congress, 2d session): "We found, as a rule, that the farmers who were raising sugar beets for the first time were going more upon their own experience and knowledge of growing field crops than they were upon the directions given them by the department and experiment sta- tions. They seemed to think that these directions were superfluous, calling for work that was difficult, and requiring the planting and the cultivation of the beets in a manner that was totally foreign to their experience and therefore wrong. They failed to appre- ciate the fact that they were dealing with a new feature in farming, or one which they had hitherto neglected, and in modifying the directions they were violating some funda- mental principles on which the success of the sugar beet for factory purposes depends. They seemed to look upon the experiment of growing the sugar beet as a thing in which there was no remuneration, and therefore a thing on which they could not afford to waste much time. In considering these experiments in growing sugar beets, the general public may get an indication of the first great dilficulty the industry in this country is to meet and master, and that is the education of the farmer to the necessities of the cul- tivation required." IRRIGATING THE SfGAR BEET. This subject is so new, and to many sections so important, that to the facts stated on Page 96, the following summary should be added of Mr. Saylor's inquiry for the United States department of agriculture (1898^: "Experience has demonstrated that irrigation should be held off as long as possible and applied as little as possible. AVater should not be applied by irrigation until the nat- ural supply has failed, and even then the grower must be careful not to apply too much. Too much is as disastrous as not enough. We have learned by talking with those experi- enced in the application of water by irrigation of the tendency of the land to dry out quickly after being irrigated, and of the ground to become packed, so that cultivation must follow as soon as practicable after irrigation. "It has been noticed that the beet has a tendency to send down its taproot deep into the soil, and especially is this true in the earlier stages, if the necessities of the case demand it in order to procure moisture, and this is to be desired. If water is applied too lavishly in the beginning, this tendency of the beet is arrested, and it shows a disposi- tion to rely on an artificial supply of water rather than seek its own, and we have thus Interfered with a natural tendency that is desirable in the growth and maturity of the beet. The effect will be, under these circumstances, that the taproot will divide and the beet will become bunchy and sprangle out. assuming a form entirely undesirable. "The beet may show a tendency to slightly droop its leaves and to become lighter in color, but this does not indicate that irrigation is needed. If the beet recovers its vigor in the evening, it is a sufficient indication that it is getting along all right. When it comes to suffer from drouth, the tendency will be to droop and get darker in color, and it will 192 THE SUGAR IIsTDUSTKY. not apparently recover vigor with the approach of the cool of evening. This is the time to consider the question of applying irrigation. "We have noticed two methods of irrigating beets, either of which seems to accom- plish the work successfully. One of them is to plant the beets in rows, say, from 18 to 20 inches apart, and then when it is desirable to turn on the water, a small furrow is run between every other row by the use of an implement made for this purpose. The water is then turned on and allowed to trickle down these furrows. This causes the water to pass down on one side of every row in the field, and leaves the space between every other row that is not so furrowed. When it becomes necessary to apply water again, a furrow is made between the rows not furrowed before, the former furrow having been leveled up by cultivation. "The second plan is to plant the first two rows the usual width apart, say, from 14 to 20 inches, and then the next space between the other two rows will be considerably wider, say, up to 26 inches apart. This wider space is entirely for the purpose of having an irrigating furrow, which is made in a similar maner to the one described above, the wider space occurring between every couplet of rows. In either case, water can be held in these furrows by throwing a shovelful or two of dirt into the furrow in front of the water until the ground becomes thoroughly saturated around the beets, and then the obstruction is removed, and continued down the furrow. Of course the supply furrows are conducted along the higher places and the cross furrows arranged in such a way that all parts of the field are reached. This simply suggests that the grower, in the application of water by irrigation, must thoroughly understand the science of economically distrib- uting the water in the field, which is a question too broad to be entered into here, but by experience the farmer becomes more or less adept. "In regions where the beets are started in the spring with moisture from rainfall, it is the aim of the grower to produce his crop with four or five irrigations of the beets. After they begin to ripen, all irrigation must cease, for the same reason that it is not desirable to have a rainfall after the beets are ripe." MORE AEOt'T BEET PULP. American farmers are slowly but surely learning to appreciate the great value of beet pulp for stock feeding. Two years have added much to the stock of experience cited on Pages 108-112. Mr. Saylor found by inquiring of many who had had extensive experience in feeding pulp to cattle general agreement on these points: Pulp feeding aids the work of digestion; the same amount of feed adds more fat and flesh to the animal; an animal will be prepared for the market six weeks earlier, showing a wonderful economy of time and feed. He obtained the following detailed report from John Reimers of the Grand Island (Neb.) Live Stock and Commission Company, who has had long experience in feeding pulp on a large scale: "I consider it a valuable food in connection with grain and other feed, as it is a great digestive food and appetizer. Tt has some fattening qualities, but I do not depend on it for that purpose, but mainly to digest the other foods. "When I begin feeding cattle, I use for the first few days from 20 to 25 lbs. of pulp per head daily, with hay and a little grain or meal mixed with it. Then increase gradually to 40 or 50 lbs. per head. I have also tried SO to 90 lbs. per head, but am positive that this is of disadvantage in fattening cattle, as they eat less grain and meal. Too much pulp is inclined to be loosening. Cattle can be put on full feed of grain much quicker with pulp, as it helps to digest this food and lessens the danger of overfeeding or get- ting the cattle stalled and foundered. "After feeding from 90 to 100 days, I would advise going back gradually to 20 and 25 lbs. of pulp per day, and increasing the grain food, of which each feeder must judge for himself the amount his cattle can stand. Cattle eat as much grain per day with the lim- ited amount of pulp as they do without it, but this food in connection produces flesh more rapidly, and thereby shortens the feeding season. "I find it better to feed ground feed with pulp rather than whole grain, but the pulp is beneficial with any kind of food. I have found, when feeding pulp with the same amount of roughness and grain that generally is required In the west to fatten cattle, that I could pat on an extra gain of from 50 to 75 lbs. per head, or I can make the same amount of gain as I obtain in the ordinary way of feeding in three-fourths of the time. THE BEET SCJGAR INDUSTRY. 193 READY TO UNLOAD BEETS AT FACTORY DUMP. HOW THE UNLOADING IS DONE. Showing also liow a sample basket of beets is taken to be tested for sugar content. At the Los Alamitos sugar works. 19i THE SUGAR I^'DUSTRY. and consequently save considerable grain and roughness. The pulp-fed cattle will sell as readily as any other, as they dress and ship as well, even for export, which I myself have tried. "I consider the pulp also a great food for stock cattle, if mixed with roughness, as it is a wholesome food and makes young stock thrive and grow. Cattle will eat poor and dam- aged roughness, which they otherwise would not touch, if mixed with pulp. I have fed fresh pulp direct from the factory and also so-called sour pulp after it had been in silo. The pulp will keep in silo for years, but it will shrink some. The result is virtually thp ?ame in feeding either kind of pulp, and I consider them equally good, only that some- times it takes three or four days before all the cattle learn to eat the sour pulp, while they will all eat fresh pulp readily the first day." For milch cows, this pulp is an A 1 feed, and is prized accordingly, especially by dairymen in New York state. P. W. Morse, agricultural superintendent of the Spreckels sugar mills, wrote in January. 1S99: "The demand for beet pulp, which has already risen to the capacity of our Watsonville (Cal.) mill, was intensified the past year by the scar- city of feed, and a fancy price could have been obtained for this product, if we had taken advantage of the situation. This was not done, but pulp was supplied at 10c per 2000 lbs. F. 0. B. wagons or cars at mill, and parceled out among beet raisers. The value of beet pulp for fodder is well appreciated here and far exceeds the nominal price we charge. We furnish the pulp to beet raisers in proportion to the number of acres of beets planted, and this privilege to buy pulp at a nominal price is sought after, and is a factor in obtain- ing beet contracts. We are content with the greater common interest promoted between mill and farmer and a constantly appreciating market for the pulp." In California, farmers keep pulp in cheap silos, made in or above ground. For the latter, a slatted structure like a corncrib is often used, which allows the water to drain out. The mass will thus shrink one-half in weight during six months. "Four months after such storing of pulp, the silo was opened, and it was found to be a compact mass, free from odor and without the taste of potash. Mr. White stables his cows at night, and the pulp is fed to them at that time — 70 lbs. to the animal— and they clean it up. They take to it with eagerness. Mr. White says that from the same number of cows he is making twice as much butter as at this time last year, when the cows were well fed on other feed. The increase in milk production since his cows commenced feeding on siloed pulp has also astonished Mr. White. When properly handled, the beet pulp will prove to be as rich stock feed here as it has been demonstrated to be in Europe; but it must be siloed. Age and fermentation improve it. Mr. White hauled his pulp about eight miles; he estimates that it cost him when ready for feeding (and he figured cost of hauling, loss by shrinkage, etc.) not to exceed $1.40 per siloed ton — and he is confident that no other feed approach- ing that price can equal the milk and butter showing of siloed pulp feed." In Utah and New Mexico, certain parties are coining fortunes by fattening vast flocks of sheep for market on alfalfa and beet pulp. The sheep get two lbs. of hay and from three to four lbs. of pulp daily. The pulp gives the best results in both cattle and sheep feeding in Utah after being fermented in the silos for 30 days. At Eddy, N. M., the sheep ate from four to eight lbs. of pulp and one lb. of hay per head daily. At Shel- ton. Neb., where 25,000 lambs were fed on pulp from Norfolk, they consumed three lbs. per head per day. Hake Bros, of Grand Island fed 20,000 lambs about four lbs. of pulp and 1 to iy2 lbs. of corn meal per head per day mixed, besides what hay they want. The sheep take to the pulp readily. Dried beet pulp from beet sugar factories has been used to some extent as a cattle food by Swedish farmers and there found very satisfactory. In some cases the molasses which naturally accumulates at the beet sugar factory is mixed with the pulp and the whole is dried. Practically all the pulp made in European beet sugar mills is utilized for THE BEET SUGAR lNDU!5T]iY. 195 -x\ - ■ W UNLOADING BEETS INTO RAILROAD FREIGHT CAR. A strong net is placed in the botlom of the wagon or oart, the ends of tlie net lapping over the two sides. Tlie beets when dug are thrown by hand into tlie wagon, which is then driven to the freight car. Here the net on tlie side next the ear is attached to the car, as shown above at 6. Tlie two ends of the net and tlie further side of the net are fastened together and made fast at a. Here a chain is attached, leading over the car to where a team of horses are hitched to a whiflietree. The team starts up and thus dumps the whole wagon load of beets into the car. The whole job takes but a few minutes and saves all hand work. Indeed, the beets are not touched by hand or by liaiid tools after being thrown into tlie wagon from the tiekl where they grew. 196 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY-. feed. The weight of the pulp is about half as much as the weight of the beets that go into the factoiy. In other words, a ton of pulp can be depended upon for every two tons of beets sliced, after the water is partly drained out. STORING BEET TOl'S. Beet tops make excellent feed, but some growers are so situated that the best use they can make of them is to plow under the tops and necks. Mr. Ware, in the Sii(j' y. AN OREGON FIELD OF SUGAR BEETS. Tliis crop made nearly 14 tons per acre, in spite of 1898 being a poor season and tlie tirst year beets were j?rown on this land or by this tarnier They averaged I6V2 per cent, sugar of 83 purity. J, Ogran of Waupaca, Wis., paid a tree peddler $1 per lb. for sugar beet seed guaranteed to be of exceptionally rich quality. Samples of beets grown from this seed contained only 8 to 10 per cent, sugar in the juice with a purity of 68 to 71. These are some of the poorest analyses made at the Wisconsin station that year, most of the other samples run- ning from 12 to 18 per cent. This shows conclusively the importance of seed of the best varieties." The Importance of good seed in sugar beet cultivation cannot be too strongly em- phasized. The United States consul at Magdeburg writes that because of the absolute superiority of German beet seed, not less than 100,000 bags of it were bought by French- men last year. It sells in Saxony at 8 and 10c per lb., which is a moderate price, con- sidering that it takes at least four years to get the seed into market. Second-class seed is sold there at 5 and 6c and is mainly shipped to Russia and the United States. This inferior seed produces a beet that will yield 1 to 2 per cent, less net sugar in the factory Thus, if it takes 55 tons of seed to produce 50,000 tons of beets, the consul fig- ures that the saving on first cost of cheap seed would be some $3000, but the beets there- fore would yield $30,000 worth less sugar. In other words, the best seed would earn $27,000 more for the factory than poor seed under like conditions. nOUNTIFS TO THE SUOAH INDUSTRY. The enormous and rapid development of the beet sugar industry in Europe is partly due tc the way in which it has been stimulated by direct subsidies from the gov- 198 I THE SUGAR IXDUSTKY. ernment. In addition to extraordinarily high protection against foreign competition by means of very liberal duties on imported sugar, direct export bounties are still paid in Europe as follows: France pays a bounty of 30 to 39c per 100 lbs. on all domestic sugar exported; Germany, 27 to 38c; Austro-Hungary, 27 to 42c. A direct bounty on production of 45 to 51c per 100 lbs. is paid in the Netherlands, and Bulgaria pays the extraordinary bounty of 4c per lb. for 10 years. In the United States, the bounty of 2c per lb. provided for in the McKinley tariff of'l890 was offset by the admission of imported raw sugars free of duty. The system of direct bounties paid bj' the respective states has been tried in this country with some success. The present encouraging condition of the industry in Utah was brought about in the first place by the state bounty of Ic per lb., which helped the Lehi factory over its first season or two. Nebraska would have had no beet sugar factory, probably, but for the bounty equal to $1 per ton on beets grown in the state, which was paid for the first few years. The law provided a bounty equal to about Ic per lb. on sugar, conditional upon the farmers being paid at least $5 per ton for beets. In New York, the bounty paid by the state also helped to insure a speedy begin- ning of the industry. It became a law May IS. 1897, and appropriated $25,000 to be appor- tioned to sugar manufacturers pro rata, provided that none received more than Ic per lb., and provided that not less than $5 per ton was paid for beets grown in the state by others than the munufacturer of the sugar. The law also authorized the state commissioner of agriculture to spend 10 per cent, of the appropriation in practical and scientific experi- ments in growing sugar beets. It provides for the inspection and sampling of beets. In 1S98, S50.000 was appropriated for this bounty. In New -lersey, the legislature cf 1898 passed a similar law, but it was vetoed by the governor, on the ground that experiments did not indicate sufficient grounds for believing that the industry could be made a practical success in that state. In Washington, the legislature of 1897 passed a law offering a bounty of Ic per lb. on sugar made within the state containing 90 per cent, of crystallized sugar, produced from beets for which not less than $4 per ton had been paid. This bounty goes to any factory that is completed prior to November 1, "99, and shall continue for three years. Michigan, by act of March 26, '97. offers a bounty of Ic per lb. for 90 per cent, crys- tallized sugar made from beets for which at least $4 per ton of 2000 lbs. has been paid, for all beets containing 12 per cent, of sugar, and a proportionate amount shall be paid for beets containing a greater or less per cent, of sugar. The law carefully provides for inspection, weighing, etc., and appropriates $10,000 for paying the bounty, with the pro- viso that any deficit be paid from the general fund not otherwise appropriated, to which is added a final section, as follows: Sec. 8. Every person, firm or corporation that shall erect and have in operation in this state a factory lor the manufacture of sugar from beets, with a capacity of 2000 lbs. of sugar or upwards per day while this act is in force, shall be entitled to receive from the state the sum of Ic per lb. for all sugar manufactured from beets at such fac- tory, for a period of at least seven years from the taking effect of this act. Under the latter clause there is no limit to the amount the state may be called upon to pay, and as the Bay City factory during its first campaign of '98 made some 7,500,000 lbs. of sugar, it draws $75,000 bounty from the state. This law has led to the placing of contracts for the erection of at least two other factories in Michigan as we write, so that '99 will see at least three factories operating in that state that will pay for beets upward of $500,000 a year. Exemption from taxation for all property invested in the beet sugar industry (except special assessments for local improvements in cities and villages) is offered by THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 19'J Wisconsin for five years from 1897. Wyoming exempts from all taxation for ten years. A number of state legislatures will now be asked to furnish a bounty of some form for a few years. In most cases they will probably accede to this request. It will do much to insure a supply of beets the first year or two, or until farmers generally have learned to grow the crop to advantage. In all such cases the law should be so worded that a bounty of Ic per lb. should in effect go to the producer, so that, instead of $4 per ton, he may get $5 per ton for beets. States may well afford this encouragement to their farmers for a few years, because one or two successful factories in a state will mean the HAND CULTIVATION (DF SUGAR BEETS. Tills shows the Planet Jr. double wheel hoe in a field of beets, leaving the crop clean and thoroughly worked, and the ground level, using the cultivator teeth only. From a photograph taken in central New York* establishment of others. Moreover, such a state bounty will be some offset to the uncer- tainties of congressional action. It will not be necessary for any state to offer a bounty for a long term of years, nor do we approve of such, but under present circumstances, some special local encouragement for a few years, under proper safeguards, will prove to be a good policy for all concerned. A FEDERAL fJOUNTY. Speaking of the possibility of protection to the domestic sugar industry beingthreat- ened by the admission of sugars from the tropics duty free, Mr. Ware says in The Sugar Bnct for October, 1898: There is only one remaining solution for promoting the beet sugar industry iu this country, and that is a bounty on home production and exportation. European expert- •)()0 THE SUGAR INDUSTRY. ence shows that not only does a well-arranged bounty force the manufacturer to improve his processes, but encourages the production of more sugar than the local demand needs for its consumption. Tne bounty as it hitherto existed in this country was upon sugar extracted; the effort of manufacturers, then, was to secure that bounty, regardless of careful scientific processes. The good that could follow was and will always be tempo- rary. On the other hand, if we admit that an average factory can extract 10 lbs. of sugar from 100 lbs. of beets, let a bounty be paid to those manufacturers who exceed that amount. To accomplish this, superior beets and machinery are needed, higher prices would be paid to farmers, who will thus receive a great encouragement for the produc- tion of roots having a high sugar percentage. Let manufacturers receive from the United States government one cent a pound for all sugar exported; let all new and existing fac- tories pay a tax into the treasury in amounts proportional to their annual production. This method would prevent the louilding of patched-up so-called beet sugar factories and would encourage the erection of beet sugar plants only after the latest and most im- proved designs. Ample capital could be secured for their working; the government tax would be a trifle as compared with the profits to the manufacturer and farmer. With Cuban, Porto Rican and Philippine sugars in competition, the American beet sugar industry could hold its own. The monopolists of these islands will cause, sooner or later, a rise in the price of sugar per pound: home beet sugar will derive the benefit just as it does in California. Another question remains, should not the United States government collect an export tax on sugar leaving the islands now under our flag? This would be a means of forcing each state to pay the war expenses incurred by its annexation. >'EW STANDARD OF PAYMENT. Beets are usually paid for by two plans: (1) At a straight price, say $4 per ton, for all that test 12 per cent, sugar of 80 purity or above; 2, at a graded price, say $3.50 per ton for 12 per cent, and SO purity, and 25c more for each additional 1 per cent, of sugar or 25c less for each reduction of 1 per cent, sugar. By the latter plan, beets con- taining 16 per cent, sugar would net $4.50 per ton, against only $4 by the first plan. The graded price is an effort to pay for beets according to their quality. But it is not a strictly accurate method, as it is based only upon the quantity of sugar. The scien- tifically exact plan would be to grade the price upon both quantity and quality. A beet of 16 per cent, sugar of 90 purity is worth considerably more than orte of 16 per cent, and 80, but by the grading now in vogue they would be paid for at the same price. Prof. P. G. Sukey, chemist at the University of Michigan, calls our attention to Stamner's method of meeting this difficuity, as outlined in Prof. Sukey's article in the Louisiana Planter, Dec. 11, '97. He would base contracts for beets on a standard of 10. called the "number of value." Thus a beet containing 12.75 per cent, sugar and a purity of 78.75, multiplied together and divided by 100, would be the standard, for which he pro- poses that $3.80 should be paid. For every additional number of value 20c per ton more should be paid, and for every number of value below 10 should be deducted 20c per ton. We figure that the new method would compare with the present graded or straight prices as follows: Price per ton of beets Sugar X purity gives number of valu e 11x75 — 8 12x80 — 9 12.75x78.'; '5—10 13.25x80 —10 13.25x85 —11 14x80 —11 14x86 —12 15x80 —12 15x87 —13 16.25x85 —14 New Graded Straight method method method $3.40 $3.25 $4.00 3.60 3.50 4.00 3.80 3.50 4.00 3.80 3.50 4.00 4.00 3.50 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.20 4.00 4.00 4.20 4.25 4.00 4.40 4.25 4.00 4.60 450 4.00 THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 201 Stamner's number of value is fully as simple as the present graded method and more accurate. Either plan of grading encourages the production of rich beets. Stamner's method is to beets what the Babeock test is to rream. But lots of farmers are suspicious of either test, and prefer a straight ^rice, regardless of quality. That is why it is adhered to at Lehi and at the Spreckels factories, though these beets are almost always well above 12 and 80, so that there is little risk to the factory and the bother of testing is avoided. The other factories in this country grade the price, but not all on exactly the same basis. THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE published in the spring of 189S, a bulletin giving a comprehensive account of all its work with the sugar beet up to that time. Writing in January, '99, Dr. H. W. Wiley, the chemist, says that the analytical data obtained from beets grown in '98 corroborated entirely the results of the season of '97. "The best results have been from beets grown in New York, Michigan, northern Indiana, northern Ohio, Wisconsin and Minne- sota. I do not think that a final study of our data will cause any change, either in the area mapped out as probably suitable for the industry nor in the distribution within that area of favorable localities." NEW POINTS FROM THE SOUTH. Florida is becoming very much interested in sugar cane. Analyses made at the Florida experiment station of the crop grown during 1898 showed from 20 to 29 per cent, sucrose. The average of the station's crop when harvested Dec. 5 was 25 per cent. The station has demonstrated that with Spanish moss the crude juice of the sugar cane can be nicely clarified and the sugar made therefrom given a light brown color. It can be further whitened by refining with clay that has been slightly blued by the introduction of a little powdered ultramarine. The effect is an apparently white sugar, really no purer or better than the yellow article, but which meets the public demand and sells for a better price. These methods of making a colored product of sugar and syrup on the farm with comparatively rude and expensive methods are attracting great attention and caus- ing a large increase in the cultivation of sugar cane in Florida. 4*. '^. THINNING AND CLEANING BEETS, LA GRANDE, OREGON. CLAUS SPRErKKLS. K. H. DYER. EDWARD F. DYER. APPENDIX. <*) Some Leaders in Creating This New Industry. A REMARKABLE MAN AND HIS WONDERFUL CAREER. Claus Spreckels was born in Hanover, the young German arriving at New York in 1830. He became the proprietor of a small retail grocery store. With the discovery of gold in California, he closed his business in New York and went to the Pacific coast — not as a prospector or a miner, but as a merchant. He continued as a grocer, maintaining the reputation he had gained in New York as a keen business man, but achieving no special prominence. After 25 years of fairly prosperous business, he began outside invest- ments. They proved most profitable and he soon sought larger fields. He became known as a speculator in sugar, and studying this trade carefully, he found that it was then, dependent upon a supply from outside sources and was extremely costly on the Pacific coast. In deciding upon a location for the production of sugar, he found a Paradise in the Pacific ocean — the Hawaiian Islands — and here Mr. Spreckels settled. Sugar could be raised more cheaply here than in the United States, and could be shipped to the Pacific coast cheaper tlian from the sugar producing regions of the Union. Mr. Spreckels was always prominent among the white population, and devoted his time largely to securing sugar plantations. -Just how he obtained control of the entire sugar output of the Sand- wich Islands will probably never be known. He did, however, and long before 1885 was known as the sugar king of the Sandwich Islands. His power was far greater than that of the native ruling inonarch. All the sugar plantations were under his personal control, and all the product was refined at his plants and later sent to the United States. It was during this period that he accumulated his enormous fortune which enabled him to successfully contend against the sugar trust. When that gigantic monopoly undertook to drive him out of the sugar business on the coast, he not only successfully contended against it, but, erecting a big refinery at Philadelphia, brought the trust to terms in its very home. The trust bought out his eastern business at his own price and agreed to leave his western business alone. He made several millions in this deal. Mr. Spreckels early saw the immense possibilities of the beet sugar industry in the United States. He was so impressed therewith that he gradually sold out his Ha- waiian interests, as the success of the beet sugar industry was demonstrated at Watson- ville, Cal. The eleven years' record of that enterprise is stated on Page 170, and was such as to warrant Mr. Spreckels in building the largest beet sugar mill in the world. It is located in the heart of the rich Salinas valley, California, and the new city of Spreck- els is grov/ing up about it. A full description of this mammoth plant is a feature of the present book (see Pages VIII, 170, 179, 181). This vast enterprise is a fitting monument to the man, who is one of the typical "makers of the west." Mr. Spreckels married early in life. He was always known as a man of domestic tastes, preferring his own home to the attractions of society. He is, however, well known in the social world, both east and west. His favorite amusement is the friendly game of (203) 304 THE SUGAK INDUSTRY. cards. He has five children, lour sons and one daughter, all of whom are well educated and Lave traveled much. Tne son, John D. Spreckels, has long been his father's right-hand man in hi-s large business enterprises, aided by another son, A. B. Spreckels. Claus Spreckels is of medium hight, strongly built, and despite his many years is tremendously active and capable of much work. About the only indication of age is the increasing whiteness of his liair. After all the years that he has lived in America, he still speaks with a decided German accent. His success in accumulating a fortune has certainly beor phenomenal. He began at the lowest round of the ladder, and by patience, industry, sobriety, devotion to business and good judgment, has become one of the wealthiest men in the United States. He is one of the keenest of men. A few years ago, the financial world was agog over the ''electric" method in sugar refining. Its promoters got a vast sum out of the eastern refiners and then went to 'Frisco to "take in" Mr. Spreckels. He listened patiently to the description of their marvelous process, and when they had finished only asked, "What becomes of the dirt!" The promoters had failed to think of that point, and were utterly disconcerted. The thing was a fake. THE BEET SUGAR PIONEER. For 30 j^ears E. H. Dyer has been almost continuously engaged in the manufacture of beet sugar in the United States, and now, at the ripe age of 78, in robust health and sturdy mental vigor, is about to see the realization of his most cherished hopes in the development of the industry to such an extent as to supply the American market with American sugar. He was the pioneer in the commercial beet sugar industry, and upon the results of his work the industry has been placed on a sound industrial basis, and only requires the proposed favorable national policy for its gigantic development. One has only to read a brief sketch of his life to realize the service E. H. Dyer and his boys have done to our beloved country. Mr Dyer erected the first beet sugar factory on the Pacific coast at Alvarado, Cali- fornia, in 1870. After running four years, it proved a failure, through the incompetency of the technical management — two Germans who had operated in a small and unsuccess- ful way at Fond du Lac, Wis. They claimed that the location was not suitable, organized a new company and moved the outfit to Soquel. Santa Cruz county, where, after a few j'ears of heavy losses, it was abandoned. Mr. Dyer, who had purchased the land and buildings of the old plant at Alvarado, still had confidence in the business under good management. But it was difficult, in the face of so many failures, to induce capitalists to invest with him, and it was not until 1879 that the machinery was returned to Alva- rado and the factory started by the Standard Sugrr Refining Company, 0. F. Griffin president and E. H. Dyer superintendent. This was a success from the start and paid satisfactory dividends for eight years, when a boiler e.xplosion completely wrecked the factory. The profits of the first four campaigns were $104,081, being the first sugar made in the United States from beets at a profit. Mr Dyer became convinced that the complete success of the industry in this coun- try could not be obtained as long as we depended upon foreign countries for machinery, so he and his son, Edward F., and H. P. Dyer, a mechanical engineer and draftsman, spent many months in German sugarhouses and machine shops. In 1888 they entirely rebuilt the plant at Alvarado, which has run successfully ever since and has recently been increased to a capacity of 800 tons per day. The Dyers then built the model beet sugar- house at Dehi, Utah, and have since constructed other successful factories. The young men referred to planned all their machinery and had it made in this country, with such success as to greatly economize both labor and fuel, enabling them to extract all the available sugar from the beet at a much less cost than ever before. APPENDIX. 305 (b) Factory Contracts with Beet Growers. The various forms of agreement used in the United States are covered by the fol- lowing selections: UTAH SUGAR COMPANY'S CONTRACT. This agreement made and entered into this day of 1898, between the Utah Sugar Company (a corporation) the first party, and of Lehi, second party, Wit- nesseth: That the first party agrees to purchase from second parly any and all beets he may produce (from seed furnished by the first party at the rate of 15c per lb.) on the acres of land hereby agreed upon, that do not weigh over 3i/^ lbs. each and contain nor, less than 12 per cent, sugar in the beet and that have a purity co-ethcient of not less than 80 per cent., paying him therefor at the rate of $4.25 per ton, delivered and piled in a proper manner under first party's direction and unloaded at the Utah Sugar Company's factory at Lehi at cost of second party in first-class condition, with the tops closely and squarely cut off at the base of the last or bottom leaf. The beets so delivered shall reach all the requirements of this agreement, and not contain any diseased, frozen, damaged, or improperly topped beets, nor any beet that weighs over 3i/^ lbs., otherwise the entire load so being delivered may be rejected. The dirt weighed with the beets shall be tared and deducted from the gross weight by the first party in its customary manner, and shall be conclusive. Payment shall be made on or about the 15th day of each month for beets delivered the previous month. Said beets to be delivered only when ordered by the first party up to Oct. 15, 1898, after which time and until Nov. 30, 1898, second party may deliver beets as fast as he may desire, if the said beets reach the required standard. To ascertain the quality of the beets, the first party shall at various times before and includ- ing Nov. 30, 1898, and also at times of delivery, sample and polarize in the usual manner, the results cf which shall be conclusive. If said beets have not reached the required standard by Nov. 1st, 1898, tested in the usual and customary manner, and if after that time and up to time of the delivery attain it, then the first party may deduct 50c per ton from the contract price. After the 80th of November, 1898, it shall be optional with the first party whether or not it accepts any beets that have not been delivered. The second party hereby agrees to plant, cultivate and harvest, in a husbandmanlike manner acres of sugar beets on the land agreed hereon and protect them from the frost and sun while being harvested and deli^/ered, and deliver them at the times, places, and in the manner set forth in this contract for the sum of four dollars and twenty-five cents per ton, to be paid as above set forth. This contract is not transferable. CONTRACTS UNDER STATE BOUNTY LAWS, NEW YORK. This Agreement made and entered into by and between of in the county of , state of New York, party of the first part, and FIRST NEW YORK BEET SUGAR COMPANY, of Rome, N. Y., party of the second part: Witnesseth, That the party of the first part, for a valuable consideration to him in hand paid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, agrees to and with the party of the second part, that he will properly sow acres of the part of his farm that will produce the best sugar beets, with seed to be furnished free by party of the second part, and to properly care for and cultivate the crop raised thereon for and during the season of 1S9S. and to deliver the same properly topped when so ordered on board boat or car for factory at Rome, N Y. The party of the second part, in consideration of the premises, hereby covenants and agrees to and with the said party of the first part. First, to furnish the seed free suf- ficient to row acres and to deliver the same at : Second, to pay to him for said beets to be delivered as aforesaid, the sum of Five Dollars, cash, per ton of 2000 lbs., on or before February. 1899, at the office of said Company at Rome, N. Y., according to the weight of same as ascertained at the factory of the said party of the second part at Rome, N. Y., by the official weigher designated by the State Commissioner of Agriculture. Beets to be loaded at . This contract is not assignable or transferable. MICHIGAN SUGAR COMPANY'S CONTRACT WITH FARMER. Contract made this day of by and between ■ party of the first part, and the Michigan Sugar Company, party of the second part, Witnesseth, as follows: The party of the first part, for and in consideration of One Dollar ($1) in hand paid by the 206 THE SUGAK INDUSTRY. party of the second part, does hereby agree with the said Michigan Sugar Company, to plant, cultivate and harvest, to the best of his ability, in a husbandlike manner, acres of sugar beets, on the following described land, by said first party; in section , township , range , in the county of , Michigan. That he will plant, cultivate and harvest the said beets from seed furnished by the Michigan Sugar Company, and when more than one kind is furnished, will keep the different kinds separate, in the sowing >\nd harvesting. He will plow the soil deep and work it well before seeding, and so far as the Sugar Company or its agent shall give directions, he will, to the best of his ability, follow them in said seeding and harvesting. That he will sow about IS lbs. of seed to the acre. He will harvest and deliver to the factory of said Sugar Company the beets so raised by him at, and as directed by said Company or its agent, as to time, quantity and manner of delivering. And when directed by said Sugar Company to deliver the beets by or before a certain time, he will put forth every reasonable effort to do so. In har- vesting said beets, he will cut off the tops clean and square at the base thereof, so that no part of the stem shall be left thereon. He will purchase all seed from which such beets are to be raised from the said Michigan Sugar Company, and v>-ill not accept any seed from other parties from which beets are to be raised for said company. That all seeds for the planting of beets under this contract shall be paid for at the rate of 15c per lb. at Bay City, and amount due for same shall be deducted from the fir^t payment for beets delivered. That he will not dis- pose of any of the seed to other persons. That in case beets do not come up uniformly Irom the first time planting, he will as early as practicable re-plant the same. That he will thin out, weed out and cultivate the beets as early in the season as they are ready 10 be cultivated and thinned, giving prompt attention, and bestowing all necessary labor 1 hereon in due time and season, to the end that the best possible results may be obtained. That he will sell or deliver no beets to any other person, firm, corporation or factory, but that all beets raised of a suitable quality shall be delivered to the Michigan Sugar Company as directed by it. The Michigan Sugar Company, party of the second part, agrees with said party of the first part, that it will furnish beet seed to said party of the first part, of a quality of the best that can be obtained by it for producing beets, so that if the said plants are well cultivated as herein specified, they will produce beets of a quality suitable for making sugar. That it will charge said party of the first part no more than 15c per lb. for seed. That it will for its own interest have an agent from time to time visit the field or fields of said first party as, to it, shall seem best, to the end that such work shall be done in a proper manner, with the purpose in view that the best quality of beets shall be produced by said first party. It is hereby further agreed by and between the parties that said Michigan Sugar Company reserves the right to give notice to the party of the first part to deliver said beets when and as it requires them, and that said first party hereby agrees that all beets not delivered by him to said company, prior to Nov. 1st of the year in which this contract is m.ade, shall be placed in silo, until they are wanted by the company. It is further agreed between the parties hereto that beets testing 12 per cent, to sugar and of a co-efficient purity of 80 per cent, shall be accepted by said company uut later than January 15th next, ana paid for at $4 per ton, delivered in the company's stor- age sheds at its factory; and a sum proportionate to that amount shall be paid for beets containing a greater or less amount of sugar and co-efficient purity; provided that when the beets are delivered in carload lots and it is necessary that they be put into the stor- age sheds, the company shall unload them and charge therefor only the actual cost thereof. That in case the party of the first part shall fail to fulfill the requirements of this contract in growing, cultiv^ating and delivering of said beets, said party of the second part may put on a force of men and teams as the case may require, and carry out this contract as herein agreed; but this latter clause shall in no way absolve said first party from his obligations to said --ompany. It is further agreed that when and as the beets are delivered to the storing sheds of said party of the second part, th^y shall be examined, tested and weighed by the state weighman and inspector and in accordance with the state law now in force in this state, known as an "Act to provide for the encouragement of the manufacture of beet sugar and other purposes." approved March 26th, 1897. And when so tested and weighed and the amount of each wagon or carload, as the case may be, has been determined as to per cent, of sugar, co-efficient purity, and quantity of such beets, and certificate furnished APPENDIX. 207 thereof by said weighman and inspector, showing the quantity and quality thereof, set- tlement thereon shall be had and payment made on the 15th of the month following, for deliveries of beets during the previous month. Said party of the first part agrees that so far as he is able to do, after receiving instructions from the agent of said company and of the state inspector, that he will as?ort out all beets that are not of a quality herein specified, and retain them for his own use on the farm. The said company shall not be required to take any beets that have been frozen or rotted or are otherwise defective so as to render them unfit for making sugar. Said party of the first part further agrees to notify said company as early as Aug. 15th. in the year in which he is raising beets, how many acres of beets he will have to harvest the coming fall. When this contract has been signed and a copy thereof delivered to each party, no agent of said company has any authority to change or alter the terms or conditions thereof. WHERE THERE IS NO STATE BOUNTY. T.OS ALAMITOS CONTRACT. This Agreement, made this day of 1S9 , between the Los Alamitos Sugar Company of the county of Orange, California, party of the first part, and party of the second part, Witnesseth: That for and in consideration of the covenants hereinafter contained, it is hereby mutually agreed Ijetween the parties hereto as fol- lows, to-wit: [(/] That the party of the first part shall furnish, for the purposes hereinafter stated, that certain tract of land situated in the county of Orange, state of California, and described as follows: [.''] That for the current cropping season, beginning January 1st, 1898, and ending January l&t, 1899, the party of the second part shall, in the manner hereinafter specified, plant or cause to be planted. Ihe above described land to sugar beets, the seed to be fur- nished by the party of the first part at 12c per lb., which amount said party of the second part agrees to pay therefor. [(■] That the time and method of preparing the ground, planting the seed, cultivat- ing, weeding, thinning, gathering and delivering said beets shall be in accordance with the instructions to be received from time to time by the party of the second part, from the party of the first part. The seed shall be sown in quantities to be designated by the party of the first part, say between 12 and 18 lbs. to the acre. And the land shall, when- ever it is deemed necessary by the party of the first part, be subsoiled to a depth of not less than 12 inches. The beets shall be preserved from sun and rain, and shall be deliv- ered as hereinafter specified, as free from dirt as circumstances will admit, clean and in good condition, with tops closely and squarely cut off at the base of the last or bottom leaves, according to instructions, especially as to times and methods, received from time to time from the party of the first part. All manure which may accumulate on the prem- ises, including the leaves cut from beets as gathered, shall be distributed and plowed under by the party of the second part as a fertilizer. When directed by the party of the first part, the party of the second part is to commence and proceed with the harvesting and gathering of the crop, and continue delivery thereof at the Los Alamitos Sugar Fac- tory; the date of delivery and amount to be delivered each day shall be determined by the party of the first part. [(]] That the party of the second part shall not permit weeds to grow among the beets, and shall keep weeds cut down to the center of the road or avenues on or adjacent to the said land. i('^ That whenever the party of the second part shall fail or neglect to promptly and properly com.ply with the requirements of this contract, or with the verbal or writ- ten instructions of the party of the first part, or its agent, in respect to the plowing of said land, or the planting, thinning, weeding, cultivating, harvesting or delivering of the beets grown thereon, or the keeping of said roads and avenues clear of weeds as afore- said, it is agreed that the party of the first part shall have the right, if it so elects, to enter upon said lands without notice, and to do and perform any of the said acts or things so neglected by the party of the second part, and the cost and expense thereof shall be a charge against the said second party's share of the said crop. The party of the first part shall be the sole judge as to the fact of such neglect by the party of the second part. Beets not properly cut and trimmed, or with dirt clinging to them, will be cleaned and cut and the tare deducted from the weight of beets, and it is mutuallv agreed that the party of the second part shall pay to the party of the first part cents per ton of 208 THE SUGAJl INDUSTUY. beets to cover laboratory, tare taking, weigliing and other expenses for the purpose of protecting the interests of the parties hereto, and said amount shall be deducted from the amounts due said second party for beets delivered. [/] That in case the Los Alamitos Sugar Factory is damaged by fire, or otherwise in such a vi'ay that it will be impossible to repair same in time to work the crop of beets, then this contract shall, at the option of the first party, become null and void; and in the event of its exercising such option, the party of the first part agrees either to pay to the party of the second part, $11.25 per acre for every acre contracted for and actually planted with such beet seed at the time of the disaster, or in the event of such disaster, and also at the request of the party of the first part the party of the second part shall deliver said boets at the railroad depot at said factory site in such quantity as the party of the first part shall require, but not to exceed tons per day, at the same prices and on the same terms as hereinafter specified. The party of the first part may exercise either alternative as above specified, and the fulfilment of the same shall be binding upon the part of the second party upon notice by the party of the first part. For all beets delivered at the factory according to the conditions named above, the party of the first part agrees to pay as follows — $.S..^)0 per ton for beets containing 12 per cent, of sugar to the weight of the beet, with a purity co-efficient of 80; and an additional 25c per ton for each and every per cent, of sugar contained above 12 per cent., as deter- mined by test made in the laboratory of the party of the first part. In determining the percentage of sugar, any fraction of 1 per cent, under one-half of ] per cent, shall not be counted, but any fraction of 1 iier cent, not less than one-half of 1 per cent, shall not be counted as 1 per cent. The party of the first part reserves the right to reject very largo beets, diseased beets, or those parts of beets grown above the ground not fit to be man- ufactured into sugar, or beets below 12 per cent., or whose co-efRcient purity Is less than 80. The party of the first part shall be entitled to the one-fourth part of the crop raised on the land above described, as rental thereof, the same to be delivered at the factory. Five per cent, of the amount coming to the party of the second part for his share of the said crop, shall be retained by the p:ri-ty of the first part, until the said land has been thoroughly cleaned of all weeds and beets after harvest. It is further expressly agreed, that possession of the entire crop to be raised on said lands, shall remain in the party of the first part, until the said rent has been paid, and until all amounts which may be or may become due from the party of the second part to the party of the first part under the terms of this lease, whether it be for seed, or laboratory expenses, or the expenses mentioned in clause "c" of this contract, or on account of any other covenant herein contained, have been fully paid; and that any attempt by the party of the second part to sell, transfer, convey or mortgage said crop or his interest therein prior to the delivery thereof as herein agreed, shall entitle the party of the first, part to at once take the same into his own hands and proceed to deal therewith in all respects, the same as if the property had been entirely sown and planted by the party of the first part and this contract had never been made. The party of the first part will advance to the party of the second part from time to time, during the beet thinning season, such sums as may be recommended by the field superintendent of the party of the first part, for the pur;)ose of thinning or weeding the said crop, and not to exceed per acre, for which the party of the second part shall give a note or notes, payable out of the first deliveries of beeis made by him to the fac- tory, and bearing interest at the rate of per cent, per annum, said notes to be secured by a chattel mortgage on the interest of said second party in said crop, the same to be executed and delivered at the time of making such advances. The party of the second part agrees to plant all the seed furnished by the party of the first part, on the acreage contracted for, as described above, and dispose of it in no other way. Payments will be made on the t5th of every month for beets delivered during the previous month, and all moneys due by the party of the second part to the party of the first part shall be deducted from the first payments. Notice should be given to the party of the first part at once if anything detrimental occurs to the crop after the seeds are in the ground. THE SPRECKELS CONTRACTS with farmers who supply beets to the factories at Watsonville or Salinas, Cal. A — For. FAiniKRS WHO RAISE THK (HOr ON TIIKIU OWX l-VNI). This Agreement, made and entered into between the Spreckels Sugar Company, a corporation duly incorporated under the laws of the state of California, party of the APPEXDIX. ^09 first part, and of county, California, party of the .second part, Witnesseth: That for and in consideration of the covenants hereinafter contained on the part of the party of the first part, that the party of the second part shall and will plant, cultivate, harvest and deliver to said party of the first part, at its sugar works, at Watsonville, Santa Cruz county, Califurnia, or at Spreckels, Monterey county, California, at option of party of the first part during the current planting and harvesting season of A. D. 1898, sugar beets of the seed to be furnished for that purpose by the said party of the first part, to the extent of acres of land in county, the particular tract to be cultivated being now selected and agreed upon between the parties thereto. The party of the first part hereby agr-ses to furnish the necessary beet seed at 10c per lb., which alone shall be employed in raising said crop; the cost of said seed and any advances made by the party of the first part on account of beets raised under this con- tract to be deducted from the price of the beets first delivered under this contract, until the party of the first part shall be reimbursed. It is also agreed that the party of the second part shall cultivate up and re-sow to beets any of aforesaid land upon which the beets do not come up to the satisfaction ot the party of the first part. When directed by the party of the first part, the said party of the second part shall commence and proceed with the harvesting qnd gathering of the crop and to continue the delivery thereof in the beet bins at the Watsonville or at the Spreckels sugar works, whichever may be designated by the party of the first part, clean and in good condition, and with the tops closely and squarely cut off at the base or bottom of the green or sun- burned part, until the said crop shall be exhausted. The dale of delivery and the amount to be delivered each day shall be determined by the party of the first part, and shall be increased or diminished to meet the requirements of its factories as it may direct. Beets weighing above o lbs., or grown mostly above ground, or defective and unfit to be manufactured into sugar, will not be received. From all beets delivered the party of the first part shall have the right to deduct .5 per cent, for earth and sunburned tops; but if a trial v.'ashing shall show more than .5 per cent, of earth and sunburned tops, all amount in excess of 5 per cent, shall also be deducted. The party of the second part further agrees that he will keep beets protected from sun and frost after removal of said beets from the ground. Should the party of the second part neglect or refuse to comply with the above conditions, the party of the first part has the right, at its option, to cancel this contract. It is further agreed that the party of the first part or its agents shall at all times have access to the tract of land cultivated under this contract by the party of the second part. In Consideration Whereof, the party of the first part agrees to pay four dollars ($4) in lawful money of the United States, per ton, for all beets cultivated and delivered in accordance with the terms of this agreement. Beets shall be paid for at the office of the Spreckels Sugar Company, at Watsonville, on the fifteenth day of the next following month after the beets are delivered. B — FOR OKOWINCt RF.ET.S UXDER COXTUACT. This Agreement, made and entered into between hereinafter called first party, and hereinafter called second party, Witnesseth: Thai for and in consideration of the covenants hereinafter contained, on the part of first party, to thin out, hoe, clean, at the different times and in the manner prescribed by first party, to thin out, hoe. clean, cultivate, pull, top and load into wagons provided by first party, sugar beets upon acres, more or less, to be planted by first party the present season, in valley county, California the particular tract now being selected and agreed upon between both parties. Second party further agrees; (1) To commence to thin and hoe beets as soon as they shall develop two leaves and provide sufficient men to complete thinning and hoeing before beets shall be four inches high. (2) To thin out beets inches apart in the rows, and to leave not more than (me beet to each inches of row, to hoe with hand or horse hoes the entire soil between the rows directly after beets are thinned, and to carefully pull or hoe out all weeds growing thereafter until beets are harvested. (3) When directed by first party to pull, shake free from the adhering earth, top and load beets into wagons; beets to be lopped cleanly and squarely with one blow of the knife at base of bottom or last leaves, and any portion of the beet grown above ground to be also cut off. All beets above r, lbs. in weight to be thrown out. Beets will be carefully plowed out by first party, but any beets not loosened by the plow shall be dug out by fcecond party. (4) When beets are harvested, second party shall top and load into wagons 210 THE SUGAR LNDUSTilY. as many tons of beets each day, as first party shall be required to deliver by the Spreckels Sugar Company. (5) To protect plowed out beets from sun and frost while in the field. Second party further agrees to personally superintend the work of cultivation and har- vesting of beets, and to have it done in a proper and farm-like manner, and to the satis- faction of first party. It is further agreed, that if second party or any men of second party shall neglect or refuse to comply with above conditions, or neglect or refuse to perform any of above operations at time set or in manner prescribed by first party, that first party shall have the right and option to cancel this contract; and any money that may have become due to second party on account of work perforined shall be forfeited to first party; or it shall be optional with first party to put in men to complete any work vmfinished or neg- lected by second party or any men of second party, and charge the cost of such labor to second party. In Consideration Whereof, first party agrees: (1) To provide transportation to and from tht land aforesaid for men and baggage of second party. (2) To furnish second party with hoes, files and knives to be used in the cultivation and harvesting of beets. Said hoes, files and knives to be returned in good order as soon as work on beets is finished. (3) To provide houses or tents, wood for cooking purposes and water to men of second party while they shall be engaged in cultivation and harvesting of beets. (4) That after beets shall be all thinned and hoed to the satisfaction of first party to advance unto second narty the sum of per acre, for each acre of beets so thinned and hoed: the amount of said advances to be deducted from first moneys that shall become due under this contract until first party is reimbursed. (F>) To pay unto second party in gold coin or its equivalent, per ton for all beets culrivated in accordance with the terms of this agreement and delivered from land aforesaid, on the fifteenth day of the next month after the beets are delivered. Payment for beets shall be based upon actual weight of washed beets received by factory in Watsonville or Spreckels. List of Illustrations Allen, President R. M 43 Batteries, etc., at OK'le" 163 Battery of diffusion cells 157 Beet and cane areas 72 Beet forms 3'2, 75, 76, 77. 101 Beet planter 87 Beer seeder 85 Beet sugar, how made 30 Beet washer 155 Boiler room 55 Cane ftultivator '27 Cane stubble digger 27 Caro (Mich.) proposed factory 153 Centrifugals at Minnesota works 161 Centrifugals, Oregon 177 Chart of sugar factories 142 Chino factory 45 Cross-section of beet 137 Cross-section Wisconsin silo 117 Cultivators for beets 89, 94, 97, 99, 185, 199 Cutting sugar 25 Delivering beets at Norfolk 39 Del ver tor subsoil 125 Dyer, Edward F . . 202 Dyer,E.H 202 Effect of deep plowing .■ 189 Engine room 63,147 Evaporators at Chino <>5 Evaporators, Oxnard 186 Farwell, Charles A 19 Father of America's beet factories 33 Field of sugar beets 69, 81, 150, 158, 197 Field of sugar cane 182 Filter presses at Leiu 67 Florida cane sugar plantation 23 Founder of America's industry 31 ' Liberty Madison Evansville Delphi Newcastle Lowell Columbus Seymour Vincennes Montgomery Jefferson Vanderburg Carroll Henry LaKe Bartholomew Jackson Knox NorthJudso II Starke A. W. Cross A. N. Starkes E. A. Smith Robert Chappel William Dyke 111. Sugar Refin- ing Co \. Alexander John- son L. A. Williams S. Haas J. M. Harrison W. Dickerson J. Small N. R. Spaulding W. K. Shoemaker J. H. Barnhait W. E. Broyles Lewis Deems W. B. Hood J. W. Lane Levi Skelton W. Benson F. Mumford J. M. Rogers H. C. Rockhill Ben Snyder C. E. Cosby C. Cordes V. L. Ricketts A. D. Ogborn J. Dinwiddle W. T. Stott J. H. Hodapp Edward Watson Jacob Keller IOWA. Gr'd Junct'CGreene Wapello Louisa Diagonal Fontanelle Schaller Ringgold Adair Sac Newell Buena Vista Spencer Clay Greene Butler Ames Story Dubuque Dubuque Davenport Scott , Clinton Clinton I Charles City 1- loyd I Fort Dodge Webster I Muscatine Muscatine Waterloo Blackhawk Mason City Cerro Gordo Britt Hancock Keokuk Lee Casey Guthrie Waukon Allamakee Primghar O'Brien Le Mars Plymouth Des Moines Polk Sidney Fremont (213) Mrs C. D. Park W. S. Kremer O. B. Overholser F. M. Daugherty E. \V. Bennett J. Jenson J. C. Winset E. H. Beal James Wilson M. H. Moure Buss Mens Ass'n S. M. Highlands J. W. Brown J. B. Butler W. G. Block C. P. Bratnober G. C. Winter Dr A. J. Cole Arthur H. Moody G. W. Osgood H. E. Teeple J. H. Wolf G. E. Richardson A. H. Meyer J. R. McKee ^14 THE SUGAR IXUUSTRY. Postoffi.ce Humboldt X. Wichita Indep'nd'nce Topeka Irving' Ellinwood Oketo N. Topeka Topeka Paola Tola Rosedale Leoti Salina County KANSAS. Allen Sedgwick Montgomery Shawnee Marshall Barton Marshall Shawnee Shawnee Miami Allen Wyandotte "Wichita Saline Xaiiie J. J. Amos S. F. Toler Mrs A. B. Clark Investment Trust Co Grant Ewlng C. Kattenholm C. M. Knight W. E. Clark F. D. Coburn E. T. Ahrens C. F. Scott Henrv Senecal J. G. Donnell L. A. Will KENTUCKY. Lexington Fayette Hopkinsville Christian Valley St'n Jefferson Morganfield Union CarroUton Carroll Warsaw Gallatin Hartford Ohio X'loverport Breckinridge Jackson Breathitt B. M. Cole T. E. Elgin W. W. Moremen C. F. Hart O. M. Wood D. B. Wallace S. A. Anderson John D. Baggage T. M. Morrow LOUISIANA. New Iberia Iberia J. T. White Schriever Terrebonne J. T. Moore, Jr Acadia John P. Hoyt Crowley Springfield MASSACHUSETTS. Hampden Nathan D. Bill MICHIGAN. •Niles Berrien Oak Wayne New Era Oceana Femon Genesee White Cloud Newaygo Petoskey Ernmet Port Huron St Clair Capac St Clair Mt Pleasant Isabella Charlotte Eaton Cranston Oceana Port Huron St Clair Millington Tuscola Yale St Clair Chevingstou Sanilac Dearborn W ayne Roseburg Sanilac Kalamazoo Kalamazoo White CloudNewaygo Benton Berrien Harbor Port Huron St Clair St ignace Mackinac Alpena Alpena Mt Pleasant Isabella Hart Oceana Lapeer Lapeer Clare Clare Detroit Wayne Kalkaska Kalkaska Grayling Crawford Traverse Grand Citv Traverse Marshall Calhoun Ovid Clinton Ashton Oceola Pierson Montcalm Northville Wayne Mancelona Antrim Durand Shiawassee Shabbona Sanilac Galesburg Kalamazoo Clinton I^enawee Nadeau Menominee Pout office County Xame MICHIGAN (CONTINUED!. Washtenaw Huron Newaygo Otsego Chippewa Cheboygan Saginaw Willis Pigeon Newaygo Gaylord Sault de Sainte Marie Cheboygan Saginaw Grand Haven Ottawa East Tawas Iosco W. Bay City Bay C. E. Lord A. Kleinschmidt Will Courtright Charles Wyllys William Chandler 1^. O. Penney R. F. Johnson Keorman & Zaag- man The Mavor S. O. Fisher MINNESOTA. Chisago J. S. McDonald Rice O. F. Brand Winona Max A. Goltz Lac Qui Parle P. K. Haslernd Winona Benj. Sherry Lac Qui Parle J. H. Guenther Lac Qui ParleA. J. Peterson Pine J. J. Folsom Carver F. E. Du Toit Watonwan F. B. Lynch J. Slingerman John Lawson Fred Vilbert W. E. ^^'alke^ Peter Becker B. M. Hungerford Lac Qui Parle E. P. Johnson Nobles C. M. Crandall Blue Earth Chas. A. Chapman Winona Rice Carlton Winona Scott Aitken J. T. Barker J. C. Jackson J. E. Farnham F. A. Bosworth W. E. Fulkerson A. O. Jenne Cvrus Hovey S. C. Draper T. P. Collin G. M. Fenn E. Morrissey L. B. Rice AV. J. Haines J. H. Merrill S. A. Hillman W. H. Manwell J. Aver J. E. Welborn M. D. Haywood i. . K. Gllson L. A. Sherman C. G. Cavanagh W. T. Sleator W. E. Preston J. D. S. Hanson S. D. Brown L. E. Davy Milton Carmichael A. E. Palmer R. Hanson Thomas T. Bates W. J. Gregg W. H. Faxon Wilson Showalter M. H. nolcomb Morris I^ancaster Geo. Irwin H. D. Soule David I^eslie James H. Wolf A. T. Ki.shpaugh G. T. Werline Rush City Faribault Winona Madison Stockton Madison Dawson Hinckley Chaska St James Winona Northfield Cloquet Winona Belle Plaine Aitken Boyd Worthington Mankato MISSISSIPPI. Natchez Adams C. B. Brownell MISSOURI. Marceline Linn .Maltabend Saline Bucklin Linn West Alton St Charles Ballwin St Louis Kirksville Aciair Canton Lewis Clinton Henry Montgomery Montgomery City Boonville Cooper S. H. Linton H. F. Knapp R. K. Kinney P. A. Edalin E. L. Kern W. T. Baird C. W. Barrett Commercial Club Dr C. B. Faulconer John M. Humber MONTANA. Great Falls Cascade G. A. Gray Missoula Missoula Verdie Spurgin Chinook Choteau W. M. Wooldridge NEBRASKA. Indianola Lincoln York Wakefield Ord Wayne Dorchester Callaway Sunfiower Ainsworth Omaha Auburn Wayne Weeping Water Gibbon Redcloud Schuyler Brokenbow Neligh Dorp Wolfboro Bed willow Lancaster York Dixon Vauey Wayne Saline c uster Scotts Bluff Brown Douglas Nemaha Wayne Cass J. S. Phelps M. R. Moret L. M. Street S. P. Johnson T. S. Harris F. M. Northrop Frank Roop J. Reinhard C. H. Simmons C. W. Potter W. N. Nason W. H. Stowell F. A. Dearborn A. L. Timblin Buffalo Webster Colfax Custer Antelope Logan NEW HAMPSHIRE. Carroll S. Brummitt C. H. Winchester W. Ij. McMillan J. P. McCullough E. B. Purcell E. T. & C. J. Best Charles W. Parker APPENDIX. J15 Postoffice County NEW JERSEY. Annandale Hunterdon Hainesburg Warren Stanton Hunterdon Passaic Passaic Glen Gardner Hunterdon High Bridge Hunterdon Blackwood Camden M. F. Gand E. O. Ward Frank Bird O. Hepburn S. F. Bell J. H. Exton Charles F. Currie NEW MEXICO Sante Fe Santa Fe S. M. Folsom Las Cruces Donna Ana Maxwell CityColfax Raton Colfax F. C. Barker E. S. Warren Maxwell I^and Grant Co McLean Lansingville Tompkins Schodack „ , Landing Rensselaer Brainard Rensselaer BennettsTill Chenango NEW YORK. Tompkins B. L. Robertson Postoffice County Xame W. J. Emmons J. W. Knicker- bocker J. D. Tompkins E. C. Ward Potsdam EarlviUe Bondville Akin Union Falconer Westbury Alabama Newark W Henrietta Monroe Middlebury Schoharie Stockton Chautauqua Gloversfleld Fulton Port Byron Cavuga New York New York Fonda Montgomery Cobleskill Schoharie E Schuyler Herkimer Nichols Tioga Burnt Hills Saratoga Evans Mills Jefferson Lyons Falls Lewis Fairport Monroe Sterling Cayuga North Chili Monroe Oswego Oswego Red nook Phelps Ridgeland Ithaca Batavia Morrisville Watertown Jefferson Potsdam Binghamton Broome Falconer Chautauqua Truniansburg Tompkins Texas Valley Cortland Clinton Oneida Collins Erie Erin Chemung Amityville Suffolk AVells Bridge Otsego Poolville Madison Yates Orleans Binghamton Broome Afton Cnenango Lewis Essex Brookfield Madison East Elma Erie Unionsville Orange Johnston NORTH DAKOTA (CONTINUED)i Larimore Grand Forks T. C. Bruj'ere Devi.s Lake Ramsey Mandan Morton Lisbon Ransom Wm. H. Brown R. M. Tuttle R. T. Adams OHIO. Canton Stark Caledonia Marion Prospect Marion Bloom iiigbury Fayette Covington Miami Napoleon Jienry Gr'd Rapids Wood Defiance Defiance Dunkirk Hardin Chillicothe Ross Clark St Lawrence Harry H. Fay Madison G. H. Clark Montgomery L. W. Griswold Montgomery J. K. Mosher Broome E. K. Mersereau Lhautauqua M. A. Sealy Cayuga J. M. Shotwell Genesee H. J. Williams Wayne P. W. Stuart & Co W. S. Dunn W. E. Bassler P. M. Elmer W. H. Warren S. D. Gutchess M. Griffith & Co J. H. Beareroft A. B. Borst Jno. Collins, Jr G. A. Ingersoll S. Russell Jones Jerome Hibbard C. C. Merriam J. McMillan J. E. McFadden G. A. Osmun Byron W^orden Dutchess J. A. Fraleigh Ontario W. H. Hicks Monroe Lewis Curtis Tompkins I. P. Roberts Genesee David B. Lent Madison John Reidy j^d The Times St Lawrence E. J. Eastman E. F. Jones A. D. Warren E. A. Hawks Elihu Sweet J. H. Dodge F. J. Quigley Leon E. Goodrich T. W. C. Du Puy A. D. Bunch G. M. Bronson E. H. Parsons I. E. Rogers Geo. B. Burghdorf R. T. Moran M. L. Fisk Mrs Jas. Hopoer Clevel'd Cider Co Isaiah Yarmey Mad River New Phila- delphia Cleveland Hillsboro Quincy Smithville Delta Wauseon Herring Urbana Coshocton Danbury N Bavaria Antwerp Clyde Leipsic Pleasant Hill Miami Brunswick Medina Utica Licking Granville Liciving AKron Summit Canal DoverTuscarawas Creston Wayne Ravenna Portage Sandusky Erie Crayon Champaign Tuscarawas Cuyahoga Highland I^ogan Wayne Fulton Fullon Allen Champaign Coshocton Ottawa Henry Paulding Sandusky Putnam Fulton Wyandot Paulding Medina Crawford Henry Belmont Union StarK Orange NORTH CAROLINA. Sidney Beaufort W. N. Archbell NORTH DAKOTA. Burleigh J. A. Field Delta Upper San- dusky* Paulding Medina Bucyrus Deshler Flushing Jerome Middle Branch Madisonburg Wayne Columbiana Columbiana Hector Putnam H. A. Cavnah L. J. Russell E. G. Stockman L. Eggleston Z. F. Albaugh J. C. Davis Azor Thurston J. O. Wissler D. F. Fryer James A. Wood C. B. Grain ( S. F. Sweitzer ( Dr. H. Troendly J. F. Kilby W. G. Richards J. M. Sullivan J. W. Buchanan M. S. Sargent F. H. Kelsey E. i^. Lurbin J. Harlzter W. Burns H. Bredbeck J. A. L. Derr W. F. Fleck H. G. Gibbons J. A. Hummon Nathan Hill Anton Leister W. W. Revnolds W. H. Williams F. A. Wilcox J. A. .v^agner J. South J. H. Evans J. Jarecki, Jr B. F. Long M. S. Sargent S. A. Cunea J. R. Ross F. H. Leach Ev'n'g Telegraph J. C. H. Elder James Parks H. Riebel F. E. Immel B. A. Hoffman Albert Sample W. L. Millspaugh OKLAHOMA. Pawnee Pawnee Forest Grove Corvallis Newberg Portland Lebanon Myrtle Creek Monitor Oakland Knappa ;Myr11e Creek Tigardville Washington Benton iamhill Multnomah Linn Douglas Marion Douglas Clatsop Douglas Washington H. E. Hollings- worth A. Buxton L. Walker F. A. Morris CJ. A. Cooper J. S. Hughes P. T. McGee J. R. White O. (i. Estes C. Borglund Henry Trower E. G. Godman PENNSYLV.\NIA. New Castle Lawrence Kirk & Smith Bismarck Hawkinson Kichland R. A. Tyson Lancaster Roland Lancaster Center J. Bosler. Jr H. R. Curtin 216 THE SUGAR INDUSTKY. Postoffi.ee County Name Postoffice County Name PENNSYLVANIA (CONTINUKD). Falls Creek Salem Wetona Prichard Gregory Penns Manor Meadville Coplay Llttletown Butler New Brijiliton Lanesboro Carlisle Schuylkill Haven Clearfield Snyder Bradford Luzerne Luzerne Bucks Crawford Lehigh Adams Butler Beaver Susquehanna Cumberland Schuylkill Amos Goss C. Miller D. Tracy W. W. Prichard R. A. Van Horn A. R. Ellis A. W. Williams E. H. Tate D. B. Alleman I. McJunkin R. McLaughlin J. A. Taylor Prank Bosler E. L. Thomas Mitchell Yankton SOUTH DAKOTA. Davison O, L. Branson Yankton J. W. Hanson TENNESSEE. Chattanooga Hamilton Greenfield Weakley Nashville Davidson Gainesville Cooke Sugar Land Fort Bend Crockett Houston Howe Grayson Logan Foster S'li Luke City Salt Lake Riverton Salt Lake Leamington Millard Hooper Weber Spanish Fork Utah Springville LUah S. W. Divme T. C. Phillips Col J. B. Kille- brew F. A. Galigher Col Cunningham W. C. Lipscomb Mrs H. Pomeroy Luther Foster E. G. Rognon T. P. Page B. P. Textorius R. C. Christensen R. P. Snell J. M. Westwood VIRGINIA. Riverton Warren R. McCoy Buena Vista Rockbridge A. T. Barclay City Point Prince George R. Bppes Staunton Augusta O. K. Lapham Emporia Greenville H. W. Weiss Richmond Henrico R. a.. Dunlop Irvington Lancaster W. McDonald Lee Spokane Whitman WASHirTGTON. Spokane F. E. Whitman F. A. Elmendorf English WASHINGTON (CONTINUED). Pasco Franklin A. A. Batcheller Touchet Wallawalla A. Farnsworth Waupaca Waupaca G. W. Ogden Juno Chehalis J. D. Schaefer WEST VIRGINIA. Alderson Monroe H. T. Houston \\'o\t Creek Monroe G. T. Leatherman Old Fields Hardy A. L. Miller Clarksburg Harrison T. Patton Berryville Kenosha W. Braid Huntington Cabell A. J. Beardsley Waupaca Scandinavia Waupaca Cedar burg Ozaukee Evansville Rock Augusta Eau Claire Brillion Calumet New Holstein Calumet Black Wolf Winnebago Markesau Green Lake Salem Kenosha Barnum Crawford Schofield Marathon Burnett S't'nDodge Trevor Kenosha Stoughton Dane Bear Creek Outagamie Winchester Winnebago Merrillan Jackson Madison Neilsville Arkansaw Durand Beaverdam Dodge iVierrillan Jackson Marinette Barron Kewaunee Sumner Manawa Port ^^'ash- ington Hillsboro Wausau Cheyenne WISCONSIN. }Vaupaca Frank Gruner C. H. Anderson T. tlaipin H. L. Austin E. J. Frear E. G. Fuller A. A. Paulsen C. F. Hart W. T. Robinson E. N. Ripley J. M. Brownlee T. T\-. Clark H. Lawrence J. M. Orbis O. J. Olson J. J. Weid O. H. Hanson W. A. Marr \V'. A. Henry L. B. Ring Fred Pittman Ingram & Good- rich H. R. Hawley R. rf. Gile W. C. Campbell C. C. Coe A. C. Voshart Walter Marsden Jas. t'lanagan Geo. H. Crowns Dane Clark Pepin Pepin Marinette Barron Kewaunee Jefferson Waupaca Ozaukee Vernon Marathon G. A. Cressy T. W. Clark WYOMING. Laramie Elwood Meacr Appendix Tables^ Table A. — operations of the dingley tariff. Imports of sugar into the United States for fiscal years ended June 30. Raw loeet sugar, dutiable, Raw cane sugar, free. Raw cane sugar, dutiable, Total, Refined, Aggregate, Free of duty. Dutiable, -In millions of pounds. 1898 141 o49!i 1,948 2,588 101 2,689 499 •2,190 1897 1895 1,8C.G «431 2,423 347 /a, 004 2,104 4,720 3,515 199 58 4,919 3.573 431 1,127 4,488 2,447 lion lbs of H awaiian. -Values in mils 1898 189' 3 34 17 13 38 47 58 94 2 5 61 99 16 13 44 86 of dols. 76 30 47 WHERE THIS IMPORTED RAW SUGAR CAME FROM. In millions of pounds. IMPORTS FROM EUROPE. I'nited Kingdom, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Germany, Netberlimds, Other Europe, British North America, 1898 1897 1895 16 74 29 1 93 5 — 130 24 138 1,511 302 2 25 8 — 65 1 1 30 Total, 158 1,899 398 IMPORTS FROM COUNTRIES TO THE SOUTH OF US. Central American States, 5 _ 1 Mexico, 3 1 3 British West Indies, 233 322 171 Brazil, 148 141 180 Other South America, 192 243 120 Cuba, 440 576 986 Otiier West Indies, 203 235 308 FROM THE YELLOW ■ RACES, 1898 1897 1895 China, 3 East Indies, 610 645 289 Hawaii, 500 431 274 Philippines, 29 72 69 Other Asi;i and Oceanica, — — 27 Africa. 64 1.50 3 Total, 1,203 1,298 665 SUMMARY. Europe, 158 1,899 398 Countries to the south of us. 1.224 1,518 1,769 Oriental and Africa, 1,203 1,298 665 Total, 1,224 1,518 1,769 Table B. — dingley tariff rates compared. UNITED STATES 1861, 5 cents per pound, 1862, 4 cents per pound, 1864. 5 cents per pound, 1870, 4 cents per pound, 1874. 5 cents yier v>ound, 1883, 21-3 to 3V3 cents per pound, *PKESENT DUTIES IMPOSED BY OTHER COUNTRIES. Germany, 3.9 to 4.75 cents per pound, Austria-Hungary, 2.7 lo3.7"cents per pound, Belgium, 3.9 to 4.4 cents per jtouncl, Holland, 4.93 cents per pound, Russia, 4.30 to 5.72 cents per v>ound, Italy, 7.7 to 8.7 cents per pound. 1890, i'2C duty, bounty on domestic sugar, 2c per U>, Spain, 6.22 cents on foreign. 1894, 40 per cent ad valorem, equal to % to leper lb, Spain, 2.94 (lents on colonial, 1897, 1*2 to 1.95 cents per pound, France, 5.3 to 6.3 cents per pound, Bulgaria, 4 cents per pound. The highest figures for the United States are for refined sugar, but raws constitute the bulk of im- ports. In the figures for foreign countries the snsaller amount is for raw and tlie larger amount for refined sugar. Most of the European countries pay an export bounty equ.al to from 27 to (H cents j)er 100 pounds, hut these are offset for the United States byextia countervailing duties precisely similar in amount, according to the Dingley act of ,Tuly 27, '97. Bulgaria offers a bounty of 4 cents on every i)ound of sugar produced therein for ten years in addit ion to a duty of 4 cents v>er pound. * As compiled lor this book from the latest tariffs on file at Department of State, Washington, Dec. 27, 1898, by Michael Scanlan, acting chief of bureau of foreign commerce. (217) ■ns THE SUGAR INDUSTKY. Table C— the sugar trade of the united states. The figures for rloniestic production are from Willett & Gray's Sugar Statislic^al, the acknowledged autliority, and were especially coinpiled by tluMii for tliis work". Tlie domestic crop each year is manu- factured into sugar between August, ami February of the succeeding year. Hence, tlie figures are for the crop grown in tlie first year named in the first column, wliile the' imports are for the fiscal year ended the June 30 following. Adding the domestic production and imports gives the total supply of sugar, from which the consumption per capita is estimated. The wholesale value of imported sugar is given as reported by the United States treasury department, whose official figures of quantities of imports are also used. The average value per i>ound of "fair refining" sugar each year is given in the last column. This, multiplied by the ponutls of domestic sugar pri)duced, gives the estimated wiiole- sale value of the American product, though the figures are probably too high. This, added to the value of imported sugar, gives the total wlioiesale valueof thesugarconsumedin the United States each vear. [In long tons of 2,240 pounds, as used in the sugar trade.] Fiscal U. S. Con- Years. Uoiuestic Production. Imports. Total. suiuptiou, Wholesale Value. V alue. July 1 to Cane. Beet. Total. Foreign sag ar. Supply. Per capita . Imp. Dom . Total. Average. June 30. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Pounds. Million 1 dollars. Dollars. Per lb. 1880-81 92,802 500 93.302 869,082 962,384 44 83.4 15.8 .f99,2O0,O0O 7.58 1881-82 127,367 500 127,867 888,416 1,016,283 48 84.4 21.8 106,200,000 7.62 1882-83 76,373 500 76,873 954,316 1,031,189 51 84.3 12.5 96,800,000 7.25 1883-84 142,297 .535 142.832 1,230,543 1,373,375 51 98.3 21.5 119,800,000 6.76 188-1-85 135,243 953 136,196 1,213,341 1,349,537 52 72.6 16.1 88,700,000 5.27 1885-86 100,876 600 101,476 1,200,840 1,302,316 53 80.8 11.4 92,200.000 5.02 1880-87 1.35.158 800 135,958 1,400,108 1,536,066 53 78.5 14.9 93,400,000 4.88 1887-88 85,394 255 85,649 1,205,484 1,291,133 57 74.3 9.0 83,.300,000 4.70 1888-89 167.814 1,910 169,724 1,233,122 1,402,846 53 88.6 19.2 107,800,000 5.05 188!)-ev ton 1897 1897 1897 1898 1898 1898 1898 1898 1898 .•$700,000 800 80,000 .S320,O00 1 ,000,000 1,000 II 100,000 )l 400,000 .350,000 350 .35,000 140,000 500,000 500 50,000 2(10.000 400.0(10 400 40,0110 160,000 1,000,000 1,000 100,000 ^ 400,000 3,9.50,000 4,0.50 In operation In 1897, the above and Fir-si New York B. S. Co., Rome, N. Y., .300,000 Los Alamitos Sugar Co., Los Alamitos, Cal., 7.50,000 Pecos Valley B. S. Co., Eddy, N. M., 300,000 1,3.50,000 In operation in 1898 (under Dingley tariff of July 27 405,000 Binghamton B. S. Co., Binghamton, N. Y., Oregon B. S. Co., La (Jraiide, Oregon, >Iichigan Sugar Co., Bay City, Mich., Minnesota Sugar Co., .St. Louis Park; Minn., Ogden .Sttgar Co., Ogden, Utah, California B. S. Co., Crockett, Cal., 300.000 400,000 .•!.50,000 .•!50,0(I0 400,000 1,000,000 2.800,000 i,(;2o,ooo 350 35,000 c 140,000; 800 80,000 t'.>20.000 350 35,000 150,000 (/ 1411,000 1,500 600,000 1897) th le al)()ve and 3.50 35,000 140,000 400 40,000 160.000 .3,50 35,000 c 140,000 350 35,000 140.000 350 35,000 140,000 '/ 1 ,000 100,000 400.000 1,140,000 APPENDIX. 219 To be in operation in 1809, tlie foregoirtg and certainly 1897 Spreclcels Sugar Co., Spreclcels, Cal., 1898 Pacific Sugar Co., O.xnanl, Cal ., 1899 Nortli western H. S. Co.. Merrillan, Wis., 1899 Caro B. S. Co., Caro, Midi., 1899 New factory near Bay City, iVIntli., 1899 Union Sugar Co., Betterravia, Cal, 111111 3,000 f/ 2,000 350 350 700 1,000 7,400 /300,000 200,000 35,000 35,000 70,000 100,000 740,000 1,200,000 800,000 c 140,000 r 140,000 (•24I»,I"I0 -»IM»,IIOO 0,800,000 2,0211.000 SUMMARY, Opei'ating prior to 1894, New factories in 1897, New factories in 1898, Building same for 1899, Total to operate in 1899, New factories for 1900, (! factories 3 factories 6 factories (i factories 21 factories 29 factories 4,000,000 1.30(l,000 2,500,000 (>.30ll,0lt0 14,10I»,0(I0 10,!HI(I,(MHI 400,000 1.50,000 250,000 750,000 1.. '1,50, 0(111 2,2(;0,(I(M) J,(;(io,()oo (100,000 !,((()( 1. 000 ;i. 0,10,(1(10 ('>.200.0(i0 :i. (100, 000 Probable operations of 1900 50 factories .j4,000,ooo 38,ooo 3,800,000 15.20o,oi)0 a This mill ran 170 davs in the campaign of 90, working up 1,55,000 tons of beets. It paid $700,000 for beets in '94, and .■$013,000 in 96. h Ci ino paid .■j!420,0(i(» for '07 beets. r A state bounty equal to $1 per ton of beets enables these mills to pay .■J5 a Ion, Mius increasing this sum 25%. (/ Tliis total lias not yet been reached. eTIiis mill was loiilt lor .3,50 tons d.iily l)iit with room enouiili to put in the ma- chinery necessary to incre;ise to 700 or 800 tons, which will probably be done in time for the '899 crop. /The Spreckels niill will be able to work up over 400,00(t tons of beets in a successful cami>aigii. (/ It.s equipment lor '99 will handle 1000 tons per diem, luit a duplicate set of machinery, now going in, will double Its capacity. h This is the probable capacit y for 1898. Table E.— customs revenue for sugar and tobacco, with total imports of all kinds. Conipileci from monthly summary tinance and commerce of the United States for October, 1897. The sugar includes both free and dutiable. Tobacco is mostly cigar leaf, wrappers and fillers, imports of manufactured (cigars) running from 2 to 4 millions of dolh-vrs' wortli per year. , Sugar. , Tobacci L). . Aggregate f< ir all imports In millions of dollars. Total Duties Total Duties T( it;il imports. Duties value of collected value of collecteil free and collected imports. on same. imports. on same. iliitiable. on same. 1898 .fl;61, 043.852 .'$29,478,938 .f8,225,483 .■§9,916,183 587 145 1897 111,401,987 41,328,265 18,782,759 20,971,883 789 172 1896 84,347,222 29,888,312 13,625,268 14,8.59,117 760 1.50 1895 69,028.952 15,589,341 13,672,464 14,916,30() 731 148 1894 128,613,840 250,763 11,289,511 13.668.907 037 129 1893 118,222,027 163,95fi 12,.589.004 14,831 ,990 844 198 1892 107 ,.563,089 76,705 10,1.50,034 10,205.00S 814 173 1891 n.5,913,081 .32.408.218 21,005,863 10.172,277 8.55 216 1890 99.131,501 .5,5,1.")().819 lt>,t;20,045 13.317,308 774 225 1889 95,244,932 .55,750,209 13,733,913 11,914.487 741 219 1888 79.207,024 51,9.ss,003 12,314,429 9,734,987 712 214 1887 83.489,077 ,58,004,3.59 10,0.55,125 9,127,7.58 083 212 1880 85,897,878 51,766.02;! 10.31.5..311 8,311,114 025 188 1885 81,705,128 .52.175.140 9,121.860 7..356.3(i9 580 177 1884 101,504,220 48,0i:!,032 8,007.7.51 6.945.652 068 100 Table F.— the BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY IN GERMANY. The following table from The Sugar Beet gives in condensed form informal ion concerning the bee'' industry of (ierniany. It shows a production about equal to total annual inqiorts ol sugar into th^ United Stales. As Saylor suggests, therefore, t lii.s table is of special importance as showing abou'' what would be the condition of the industry in the United States were it established to the extent of producing all the sugar required for home (•onsumption. CONDENSED DATA CONCERNING THE BEET-SUUAK INDUSTRY OF GEHMANY, 189-2-1895. Factories working. Number ot steam engines. Total horse ))owcr. Total beets worked (tons). Total area devoted to beets (acres). Average yield of beets per acre (tons). 1894-95 l.'^!)3-i)4 l,'^92-93 405 405 401 5,324 5,2.56 5,122 94,952 87.4-24 81,596 14,.526,0.30 10,044.3.52 9.811.940 1,098,405 987.7'2:5 880,000 12.8 10.9 11.7 2-ZO THE Sl'GAR INDUSTRY. Raw sugar extracted. From beets in factories, From molasses (special factories), From molasses in refineries. Total raw sugar. Per cent exiraclion from beets worked. Ftrcen) extraction, including the work of molasses. Yield of sugar per acre (pounds), "Weis'lit of beets required to produce 100 lbs raw sugar (pounds). Molasses per 100 jioiintls beets worked (poiuids), Total molasses extr;icted (tons), Consumption of sug:ir per capita (pounds), Tons. Tons. Tons. i,7(.;>,;j3i 1,319,006 1,175,137 (>1.447 .'")5,l(j5 48,925 4.:j',Mi 1,427 500 1,83.'-).174 1,375,.59S 1,224,562 12.17 12.3G 11.98 12.(i4 12.92 12.48 3..514 3,149 3,276 822 809 835 2.4 2.63 2.54 347.125 279,757 246,272 23.5 20.2 26.78 Tlic i-liief results of tlie campaign of 1897-98 in Germany as <-ompared with from I lie offteial statistics, follow (2,224 lbs per ton): 1897-98 1896-97 Factories in operation, 402 399 Refineries in operation, 50 51 Cultivated area, acres, 1,080,2.56 1,049,4.56 Beets worked, tons, 13,697,891 13,721,(501 Tonnage ]>er acre, 12.22 12.83 Sugar production, based on raw sugar, tons, 1,844,399 1,821,223 Sugar in heets, per cent, 12.79 12.66 Sugar per acre, lbs, 3,763 3,851 Imports, tons. Exports, tons, Uomestic co'isiiniption, tons, Oonsiiniption per capita, lbs, Consumption tax. Import duty, Export bounty, Net profit, that of 1896-97, taken 1897-98 1896-97 1,298 1,532 1,087,049 1,310,713 708,237 561,889 25.9 20.2 $32,626,230 $29,643,148 .*jil05.910 $142,800 $8,724,842 $5,083,756 $24,007,208 $21,702,192 Table Q.— world sugar statisticts. AKE.AS INDEU SUGAK BEET [In thonsand.s Ger- Aus- Rus- many.Hung. sia. ? IN fOUNTKIES NAMED of acres.] Cam- paign 1884-85 1885-8(> 1886-87 1887-88 1888-89 1889-90 1890-91 1891-92 1892-93 1893-94 1894-95 1895-96 781 578 684 ().")2 692 739 813 830 870 954 1,090 917 Av 12 yrs, 801 645 .341 507 415 534 675 739 810 818 865 929 714 667 808 731 62.3 662 638 726 736 689 741 8.30 855 736 Fran'e. 368 79 385 398 425 .509 549 551 ,5.39 544 .583 492 469 Bel- gium 79 49 86 86 99 124 128 133 121 141 175 141 114 Hol- land. 52 40 44 47 49 62 72 52 59 67 84 82 59 Tot. 2,713 2,095 2,439 2 224 2!464 2,745 3,027 3,113 3,094 3,311 3.694 3,202 2,847 WORLD'S Season. 1887-88 1888-89 1889-90 1890-91 1891-92 1892-93 1893-94 1894-95 1895-96 1896-97 SUCAK PRODUCTION IK Beet. 2,407,000 2,708,000 3,.5()3,00(t 3,(U0,000 3,445,000 3.344,000 3,78(i,000 4,691,000 4,2.32.000 4,773,000 Cane. 2,541,000 2,359,000 2,138,000 2,.597,000 2,785,000 2.769,000 3,260,000 3,137,000 2,5.56,000 2,432,000 TONS. Total. 4,948,000 5.067,000 5,701,000 6,237,000 6,230.000 6,113,000 7,046,000 7,828,000 6,788,000 7,204,000 From the French technical journal, Le Jour- nal des Fabricantes de .Sucre. It will be seen the world's production has increased from less than 5,000.000 Ions 10 years ago, to nearly 8,000,000 tons in tlie season of 1894-95. The falling oft since the date last named is due in part to the crop disturb- ance in Cuba. ANNOUNCEMENT. The Oxnard Construction Company devotes itself to developing the sugar growing and manufacturing industry in this country. The oliicers of the Company are : HENRY T. OXNARD, President. JAMES G. HAMILTON, Vice President. W. BAYARD CUTTING, Treasurer. S. D. SCHENCK, Secretary. WILHELM BAUR, Chief Executive Officer and Consulting Engineer. This Company has its main olfice in New York City, at 32 Nassau street. The aim of the Company is to assist in every way the development of the sugar industry in this country. Its agricultural department will thoroughly investigate questions of climate and soil and will give directions in growing beets, cane, etc., also testing beets, water, soil, and all supplies necessary for the process of sugar making. All investigations are made by expert agriculturists, familiar with the raising of sugar plants in this country. The construction department undertakes the entire building of factories complete in every respect, and will be prepared to guarantee their capacity. The Company is able to undertake the full equipment of a newly built factory with the necessary officers and men, and will run the factory, if desired, for the first year. It is, in fact, a headquarters of general information, and invites consultation on all questions concerning the industry. Its work is done only by men of high experi- ence and responsibility. The industry of sugar producing is comparatively a new one in this country, and only a few people are familiar with it. Therefore it is one of the best features of this Company, that it will not only furnish the necessary machinery, seed, etc., but also the experienced men who will assist in planting and raising the crop and in manufacturing the sugar. The names of the officers are a sufficient guarantee of the ability of the Company to do its work. Mr. Oxnard and hi^ brothers have been successfully connected during their lives with the production and manufacture of sugar in this country. Mr. Hamilton has been secretary of various sugar factories since they have been in exist- ence. Mr, Baur has been 20 years in the sugar business in this country, and is also very familiar with the business abroad. (221) INDEX. As?ricultural experiment stations, list of 128 Alameda susar comiiaiiy ;)2, 43, 109,172 Alkali land for beets ". . 172 Allen, presideni, R. M 43, 120 Alvarado (Cal.) factory 32, 43, lofi, 172 American beei snsar nianiifacturers' ass'n 34 American snsar refiiiins "'ompany 1 American tool and machine company 161 Armsby, director " iSH Author's preface V Batteries for buildinff 157, 163, is« Bauer, chief engineer 178 Bay City (Mich.) factory 15, 198 Beet foims illustrated: badly trimmed Ifll cross section 76, 137 mat tire beet 103 poorly shaped 75 pronerly trimmed 101 typical 32, 75, 77. 183 Beet growers, cuntracts with 205-210 Beet growers, actual experiences of 122-125 Beet growing : alkali lands for 172 a profitable crop 10, 120 climatic conditions 73 contracts with growers 205-210 cost of growing 119-125, 183-188 cross-section of beet 76, 137 culture, mistaken ideas in 171, 191 drying l)eets 107 fainif rs' experiences in raising 122-125 first efforts 31 harvesting 100-103, 151 , 180 hauling to factory 102 irrigation 96-100, 191 moisture, how lost from beets 103 payment to labor 125 payment to farmers for beets . 44.48,200 pests of the beet 112-114 plant close together 90 price of beets 126 pulp of beets for stock feed 108, 192, 194 root shape, on what dependent 94 roots, how injured 100 rotation 78, 178 samples, how to take. ... 196 seeding 88, 14!i sowing 180 storing 104-108, 113, 117, 151 thinning and hoeing 92,95,96, 150, 151, 180, 183 topping 100, 180 trimining 151 typical beets 32,75.77, 101, 183 varieties 74 Beet leaves, best use for 80 Beet-plant food: lime; magnesia; nitrogen; potash and phosphoric acid; stable manure 80 Beet jmlp, animal food in 108 Beet pulp for stock feed 108, 192, 194 ]5eet imlp, storing 109, 194 Beet sample , how to take 1V6 Beets, cost of growing 119-125, 183-188 Beet seed growers, professional 116 Beet seed process of Dippe Bros 116 Beet seed production 114-118, 196 Beet suffar : advantages of the industry 136 biilliant opening for capital 136 cautions to beginners 137-140 how made 4o expenses and proceeds 120, 121 liroiluetion (byyears" 38 (|uality 40 world's production 6 Beet sugar industry, advantages of 1, 136 Beet sugar, lainu- in proiluciiig 125 Beet sugar factiiiy.lKiw lo build 132 Beet stigar jjroduction. economics of: Congress recognized possibilities 2 Dingley tariff 3 Domestic stigar vs. expansion 7-10 Hawaiian imposition 13 Keasnns for first failures 4 Situation at opening of 1899 I Vitality of this industry 4 IVhat the industry means to the U. S 1 (22'. Beet sugar statistics: Chino 48 General 1, 120, 121 Nebraska 54 New York 62 United States 2,7, 15 Utah '. 58 Watsonville 44 Binghamton (N. Y.) factory 144 Bounty: Federal 199, 200 Foreign 198 .State .52. 198 Bruner, Entomologist Lawrence 113 Buildings, beet sugar, illustrated: A 1 varado 33, 173 Bav City 15 ( aro 153 Chino 45 Grand Island 53 La Grande 57 Lehi 3.5,111.115 Los Alaniitos 37, 173 Menomonee Falls 61 Mammoth 181 New York's first 145 Norfolk 49 Ogden sugar mill's shed 165 Pacific Ill Pecos valley 59 St. Louis jiark 160 Union 175 Watsonville 170,179 Buildings appropriate for factory 132-134, 138 California sugar indt'Stry: Alameda sugar company 32, 43, 109, 172 Chino factory 44-50, .55, 175 Cost of growing beets 119-125, 183-188 Crockett refining company 176 Los Alamitos company .50, 176 New Union sngar company 174, 175 Oxnard industry 152,176,186 Watsonville factory 43, 170, 174, 175, 178 Canadian beet sugar attempts 32 Cane sugar industry 17-28 Capital, brilliant opening for 136 Carbonation tanks 30, 159 Cautions to beet sugar beginners 137-140 Centrifugals 161, 177 Charts : Beet and cane areas 72 Localities that want factories 42 Sugar factories in the U. S 142 Chino beet growers' luiion 48 Chino (Cal.) factory 44-50,-55, 124, 175 Congress, action of awaited 50 ('(i-ojierative sngar factories 135 Cost and profits of beet culture 119-125, 183-188 Crockett refining company 176 Crvstallizers 37, 163 Cultivation 90-92, 149-151, 178-179 Cultivators 89, 94, 97, 99, 149, 185, 199 Davenport, Prof 156 Det hiefsen Bros 184 Digging and topping machines 102 Dinglev tarift 2, 3 D\ er, Edward K 202 D\ er, E. H 202, 204 Dver, E. H. A Co 37. 50 Eddy ( N. M. ) factory 58, 60. 69 Emery, Director 166 Expansion vs. domestic sugar 7-10 Experiment before starting 127, 139 Experiment stations, lister 128 Factory : Capacity of 137 Close to beets 130 Co.oiKiativo 135 Cost of bniUling 132-134 E(inipinent in detail 37 Factory contracts with growers 205-210 How to build 132 How to get 127 Management 134 Where and how to start 130 Factories: Alvarado (Cal.) 32,43, 109, 172 Bav City (Mich) 1.5, 198 ) ADVEKTISEMENTS. 223 THE KILBY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, FOUNDERS AND MACHINISTS, CLEVKLAND, OHIO, NEW YORK OFFICE, 144 Times Building... BUILDERS OF Complete Machinery for Beet^ Cane and Glucose Sugarhouses and Refineries* THE SUGAR INDLSTRY. BiiiKliaiiitoa (X. Y.) 1-14 Cllilio (Cal. ) 44-50, 55. 124, 175 Eddy (Peulpdump 169 rotary lime-reb\irning kilns 152 unloading--sota's industry 159 Mola.sses from beets, use of 110, 1 12 Moi-se. P. W 178, 194 Nebraska's enterprise 50,52, ,53,66, 120, 122 Nebr ska, map of eastern 56 New Union sugar company... 174, 175 New Mexico's works 32, .58, 60,69 Norfolk (Neb.) factory .52,56, 119 New York State ...144,146,146,150,151,153,198 Ogden sugar comiianv 168 Oil for fuel 48, ,55 Oregon sugar company 16H, 171, 177, 201 Oxnard (Cal.) farto.-y 152, 176, 186 Oxnard, .Tames G "4 Oxnard, Henrv T 31, 34 Oxnard indu.strv 1.52, 176, 186 Pacific factory at f)xnard. Cal Ill, 152, 176, ls6 Pecos Valley beet sugar building 59 Pecos Vallev beet snuar <()inpany ^0 Pe.sts of tbc beet and their remedies 112, 113, 1.56 Philippine coin|ietltioii 169 Plant food removed 15 I'lowing: before harvesting 100 effect of deep 1H9 steam vs. team 189-190 usually practiced 82, 146, H8, 174, 179. 188 Plows 79,83, loo, 148, 188 Portraits: President R. M. Allen 43 Edward F.Dyer 202 K. H. Dyer 2(r> Charles A. Farwell 19 Dr. C. A. Goessinann 34 Henrv T. Oxnard 31 Clans 8|)r ckels 2('2 Lewis S. Ware 34 Dr. H. W. Wiley 34 Plumb. Prof. C. S 156 J'reface V Puller for beets 105 Pulp as stock feed 108, 194 Pulp dump 169 Rome (N. Y.) factory 144,145,151 Root shape, on what dependent 94 Roots, how injured 100 Rotation for beets 78, 178 Rotary liine-rebiirning kilns l^^'2 Salinas City (Cal.) factory 50 Saylor, Charles F 187, 191 Seed 87,114-118.148,196,197 Seed growing 118 Seeding 88, 149 Seeding machine 85, 89, 149 Shaw, Prof. G. W 77 Sib", best conditions of lOi Siloing beets and beet tops 104.105, 110, 113, 117,151 196 covering beets on day of harvesting i05 loss of sugar by 106 process of 105 pulp for stock 108.194 Siorlng beets, various methods 104-108, 113, 117, 151 .Snyder, Chemist Henry 6b, 159 Sorghum craze 6 Soil, best for sugar beets 78, 138, 146, 148, 172, 176 preiiaration of 146, 151, 172, 179 treatment difl'ers in east and west 138 ventilatidn of 172 Sowing beets 180 Spreckel.s : Clans 36,202,2113,204 S. factory at Watsonville 43, 170, 174, 175, 178 S. Sugar Co 179, 181 State agricultural experiment stations 12s Stublis, Prof. W. C 17 Siibsoiling 84-87, 146 Sugar beet (see beet growing). Sugar chemists, reliability of 127 Sugar beet reports from various states 64-71 Sugar beet states, principal: California 43-50, .55, 121, 124, 1.52, 170-181 Michigan 1.''3, 154 Minnesota 159, 160, 161,169 Nebraska 50-.54, 66, 120-122, 127, 162 New Mexico 166 New Y'ork 143-15 i Oregon 57. 171, 177 Other 60-70, 1,54, 1.56, 162-166, 201 Utah 3.5,54,63, 121, 127, 163, lb.5-16s Sugar content necessary 138 Sugar factorj', how get 127 Sugar im portal ion 1,2 Sugar schools advised 139 Sunar trust, how to compete with 131 Siikey, Prof. P. G 200 S watcher, Herman 188 Technical terms explained ;i8 Thinning and hoeing 92,9.5,96,1.50, 151, 181', 183 Topping 100, 102, 180 Tvpical beet forms 32,7.5,77, 101, 183 Union mill, Cal 174, 175 Unloading duiiil 193 Utah's industry 64-60, 63, 67, 96, 111, 115 Varieties of bee Is 74 Voorhees, (1 ire ADVERTISEMENTS. 2"-i5 American Tool and Machine Co. 109 BEACH ST. BOSTON, MASS. U. S. A. FACTORY AT HYDE PARK, MASS. THE MANUFACTURERS OF macbines with mixers SCROLL OR BELT CONVEYORS, ELEVATORS, ETC. ««««««««« 77JE BUILD these machines in four sizes, viz.: 30 inches ^^ diameter, 36 inches diameter, 40 inches diameter and 54 inches diameter. We also build a 10-inch diameter Machine for Experirhental and Laboratory purposes. Have furnished these Machines forall of the successful Cane and Beet Sugar Factories and Refineries, and can refer to any or all of them. We furnish Cast Iron Framing for these Machines for Plantation or any place where Framing or Supports are necessary. Always ready and willing to furnish plans, specifications and prices on Machines for all kinds of work. Write us for further information. 226 A D VEKTISEM KNTS. E H. DYER & CO. BUILDERS OF Beet Sugar machinery factories ana Kefineries 77|ILL contract to furnish the machinery or build works complete ^V in every detail, on modern principles, with improved machinery of the latest design, guarantee their successful operation and furnish skilled men to run them. The builders of the Lehi, Utah ; Los Alamitos Sugar Co., Los Alamitos, Cal. ; Ogden Sugar Co., Ogden, Utah ; Oregon Sugar Co., La Grande, Oregon, and other factories, all of which are now in suc- cessful operation and to whom we refer. GENERAL OFFICE: 704 and 705 New England Building, Cleveland, Ohio. "t?^^: i^^sst "We take pleasure in accepting the factory constructed by you, and are fully satisfied that the work has been accomplished in a , strong, substantial and workmanlike manner ;ft all the parts being well arranged for Avorkingh systematically, and that you have not only^ complied with the specifications in detail but j you have made several additions and improve- ments for the benefit of the factory that were uncalled for in the contract." — Utah Sugar Co., Elias Morris, President; James elennings, Secretarv. "Our factory was built by E. II. Dyer & Co., with guaranteed capacity of 3()() tons per day. We have demonstrated that they gave us everything that was contracted for, we have run over 400 tons a day. We have had no serious breakages since we com- menced five years ago, tliat entailed any loss of time." — Thomas R. Cutlek, ]Manager Lehi Factory. •• In regard to the factory and its builders, E. H. Dyer cSc Co.. we have this to say, that the quality, arrangement an MANUrACTUREDjBV" /§HE JARECKI CHEftKiAL rianufacturers FISH riANURES Illustrated Pamphlet on Application. BEET FERTILIZER. 77|E ARE the only manufacturers in the Country who have given any attention and study to the matter of fertilizers adapted to the Sugar Beet. During the season of '97 we grew numerous experimental plots with various chemicals in every possible combination, also furnished trial lots to some of the largest beet growers in the Country, and later ana- lyzed 130 samples of beets grown with these fertilizers from data so collected. We have found that a fertilizer containing 10 to 12 per cent. Available Phosphoric Acid, 2 to 3 per cent. Ammonia, and 1 to 2 per cent. Potash gave the best result considering the yield, per cent, of sugar and purity. Our experiments also show that Potash in large quantities should be avoided, as it invariably produced beets low in sugar and purity, although the tonnage was largely increased. Full information and prices upon application. THE JARECKI CHEMICAL CO. SANDUSKY, OHIO. ADVERTISEMENTS. 229 The Hepworth TS the only Self- Balancing Cen- trifugal that never wobbles or needs a "boot-jack," and, of all 40-inch machines, the genu- ine and latest improved Hepworth is the only one from which one man, with no other tools or tackle ihan a Monkey wrench, can remove brake or bearings without so much as throwing otT the belt. S. S, HEPWORTH CO. 15 Cortlandt St., New York. CENTRIFUGAL MACHINES and OTHER SUGAR MACHINERY. SUGAR BEET AND FRUIT LANDS IN THE Great Arkansas Valley of Colorado, At the front door of the prosperous and growing manufacturing THE SUBURBAN Land and Investment Co. Still has for sale 7,000 acres of such lands, most- ly in cultivation and with Perpetual Water Right in the Bessemer Irrigating Ditch, in tracts of from five acres upward and on easy terms of payment. Additional thousands of acres of beet lands available for a sugar factory. Tests of 12 samples of sugar beets grown upon these lands in 1S9? show average of 17.31% sugar in the beet and 83.03% co-efficient of purity. For full jjarticnlars address The Suburban Land and Investment Co. PUEBLO, COLORADO Ougar beets will pay— Tf- Thatis,IFlliey arecultiv.-ited by modern nieMiods, rapidly and cheaply. If you "are goiuft to plant and lice lliem in liie old-fasliioned Avays, yoii niiglii as well try to make money wliittlin'g shoe- pegs. The "Planet Jr.' Tools FOR SUGAR BEETS Will often make I lie tliflference between loss and lU'oflt, between failure and success. The Hill and Drill Seeders sow beet seed swiftly and perfectly. Tlie Wheel Hoes cultivate them at any stage of growth, very rapidly, very close, and without injury to the plants. The Nv^. 8 Horse Hoe and Cultivator and the special Beet Cultivator are admirable for beet culture on a moderate scale, and in connection with other crops. But large growers must liave the "Planet Jr." Four-row Beet Hoe. It is a marvel of speed and excellence. Four rows at once; pivoted wheels, adjustable for width, that steer by foot wlien riding, by li;ind when walking. Depth and close- ness regulated instantly ; special shape hoes, with rounding cut and plaiit shield. No other tool approaches it. Get tlie "Planet Jr." catalogue and study up on the Sugar Beet tools. Mai lei) free. S. L. ALLEN & CO. 1107 Market St., Phitadelphia. 2iJ0 ADVERTISEMENTS. J840. HIGHEST AWARD J876-I897. American Machinery ^ ^ American Plants* AMERICAN BEET SUGAR MACHINERY. Every Mechanical Part of a Plant For Making Sugar From Beet Roots. Made here in the United States and g'uaranteed as good as any that can be made or used for the business. 50 YEARS OF PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE IN DEVELOPMENT OF SUGAR MACHINERY. Have furnished all machinery for all early Beet Plants at Portland, Farnham and Wilmington, and for Experiment at Washington, D. C, for Department of Agriculture, and at GoTernment Station at Magnolia, Louisiana. INSTALLED ON ALL OF THE BEST PLANTATIONS IN LOUISIANA. IN CUBA. IN CUBA. Oxnard Sprague, Hormiguero, Occitania, Caffeny Central, Ptirio. Andrieta, A. C. Minor, Constancia, Armenia, Hon. T. S. Wilkinson, Regfular, Caracas, Hon. H. C. "Warmouth, Porlugf alette. Senado, McCall Bros., Teresa, Flora de Cuba Also Brazil, Peru, Sandwich Islands, and every Sugar-Producing Country in the world, and all refineries in the United States, and Many Plants and Different Apparatus Which are Placed Through Resident Agents or Commission Houses. A. W. COLWELL, 39 Cortlandt Street, New York City. ADVERTISEMENTS. 23J Beet Machinery of Any Description FROM FOUNDATION BOLTS TO CHIMNEY CAPS. R.* R. Buildings, Elevators, Washers, Cutters, Diffusion Batteries, Carbonation Tanks and Systems, Filter Presses, Triple Effect, Vacuum Pans, Pumps, Cen- trifugals, Piping and Boilers. All Parts of a Plant in all Details. Plant Complete, or in Parts, Desi§:ned. Erected and Operatecl at Lowest Prices, Consistent with Good Workmanship, and Guaranteed in all Particulars. SUGARHOUSE ON CONSTANCIA PLANTATION AT EUCRUSHADA, CUBA. In this plant, Mr. Colwell took out some French machinery and replaced it with his own, and remodeled the vacuum pan and triple effect so that the pan would l)oil in '.'5 i)er cent of tlie time that it did before the change. Mr. Colwell also built on the same plantation the largest puuiiiinff engine on the island. The above Is a picture of only one of the many plantations for which Mr. Colwell has fui iiished vast amounts of machinery. A. W. COLWELL, Consulting and Contracting Engineer For All Matters Pertaining: to Beet Machinery. DRAWINGS AND ESTIMATE FURNISHED. CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED. ADDRES5: 39 Cortlaiidt St., New York City. 232 ADVEKTISEMENTS. A Beet Sagsr pactorg Wanted at Ottawa, 111. 84 miles west of Chicago on C. B. & Q. and C. II. I. & P. R. R. and Illi- nois & Michigan canal. On the Illinois and Fox rivers. Very rich farming country in sugar beet belt. Crops never fail. Experi- mental patches of sugar beets show very best results. Sugar Beets Grow9 J-lere Took pirst PremiuiT! at lllipols State pair. Fuel cheap. Lime rock suitable for refining purposes on a factory site. Abundance of flowing artesian water. Population of county would consume product of large factory. A factory site of 25 to 30 acres would be donated free under proper conditions. Address Ottau/a Development Asso'n. wr^vivTE^r> ! $25,000, to complete initial de- velopment of water supply system for good town and 30,000 acres selected valley land surrounding. Located on main line trans-conti- nental railroad in Southwest. Alti- tude, soil and climate ideally fitted for sugar beets, and all jiroducts, as proven. Over $20,000 invested. Xo bonds issued. Safety and large profits assured. Address Box 524, Greenlield, Mass. COAA -ACRES of the ricliest sugar lands in ^V/"" South Florida, easily drained, iiiclud ing drainage rights, etc. $1.50 per acre. From an investment in the Polk County Pine- apple Company you can look for 50% dividends. Sure, safe and regular. C. IRVING PAGE, Auburndale, Florida. The only book on the subject. Sugar Beet Seed A work for FARMERS, SEEDSMEN and CHEMISTS, contain- ing Historical, Botanical and Theoretical Data, combined with Practical Directions for the Production of Superior Sugar Beet Seed. By LEWIS S. WARE, M. E. Editor of "The Sugar Beet," Author of "The Sugar Beet," "Vari- ous Sources of Sugar," " Production, requirements and Selection of Sugar Beet Seed;" Member of the American Philosophical Society, Fellow of L'Ecole Centrale des Arts, Agriculture et Manufactures, Association des Chimistes, Paris, etc. PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED. Price, $2.00 net, postpaid to any part of the world* Address the exclusive publishers. ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, 52 LAFAYETTE PLACE, NEW YORK. Orange Judd Company is headquarters for all literature on the sugar industry. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 0DD2t.flS7S21 ^'