Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1826-05-20
SUGAR FROM BETS.

The attention of the public has Of late
been often called to this vegetable, par
,icuIarIy as one capable of yielding su-
gar, an article of very necessary and ex-
tensive consumption among all classes
of society. That this may BIO obtained
from Bee,s, is fact long since establish
ed by actual experiment. More than
half century ago, NJ. Margraaf dis
covered the saccharine properties of the
| White Beet, and invented process Of
preparing sugar from it. The process
was improved by Archard, OF Berlin. 1t
was substantially as follows:
The roots were taken fresh from the
ground, washed, and then ground in
mill. The juice was pressed out, and
boiled over moderate fire, to the con-
sistence OF thin syrup. TWAS then care
fully separated from the mucilage adj
herring to the sides and bottom Of the
vessel in which it was boiled. After
this, the syrup was strained and boiled a
second time, until sufficiently concen-
trsted for chry sallization. He then
poured the syrup into shallow tin ves-
sells, two or three inches deep, placed
them in warm room where they were
suffered to remain two or three weeks,
during which time the sugar was separat-
ed in the form Of small chrystalline grains.
The whole was then poured into linen
bags, and the liquid pressed out. This
process was several times repeated. un-
Ill no more sugar was deposited in these
, vessels.
As the constituent parts of all sugar
are very nearly the same, from whatev-
err material it is obtained, being accord
ing to some chemists, an essential salt
contained in greater or less quantities in
all vegetables of a sweet taste, and as
the saccharine juices of different vege-
tables must very nearly resemble each
other, it is reasonable to suppose that
a process similar to the one used for OBJ
tanning sugar from cane or the maple,
might be successfully followed in con-
verting the juice of Beets into it.
Mr.. BARLEY, an English agricultural.
ist, says that the White Beet, or Msngel
Wurtzel, is easily cultivated in deep
mellow soil, and then an acre of ground,
under favorable circumstances, would
produce forty tons OF beet root, when
| planted in drills three feet apart, end the
plants about eighteen inches distant in
rows. This he says will yield at least
two tons OF sugar. From experir, enss,
be found even more favorable results,
viz that sixteen pounds OF the root gave
him one pound OF the sugar. If these
data be true, an acre at least must yield
the enormous product of at least three
thousand dollars per annum; from
which il we deduct two-thirds for the
charges Of the crop, which would be far
too much, it would leave the grower a
nett profit vastly greater than any New
| Eng land former now realizes.
Scherer, German Professor, found
from experiment that beet roots, when
deprived of the greater part Of their juice
by pressure, afforded an excellent sub
stitute for malt when dried and treated
in the same manner as grain intended
for that purpose. After the juice is ex-
tracted, the residue may be advanta-
geousy used as food for various domes.
tic animals. 1t would not be advisable
for practical farmers to incur any great
expense, or risk in the cultivation of this
plant; yet it appears TO be a subject de-
serving the attention OF experimental
agriculturaiists, and those who are desi-
rous Of increasing the internal resources
Of our country. Should it prove, upon
trial, that we can raise our own sugar in
this manner, even on less advantageous
calculations, il would be an annual saving
to tho northern states OF an immense
sum. Mace. Yeoman.