Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1869-04-14
The Rise in Sugar.
FROM THE PEOPLES JOURNAL


THE late rise in sugar ought to suggest |
a lesson to US as a people. 1t shows US
how wholly we are dependent upon 9TH
er countries for supply Of this great
staple.
we use in the United States upwards
of four hundred thousand tons of sugar
yearly; three hundred and fifty thOus-
and tons of which are imported. There
is at present no lessening the supply but
the bare possibility of the next seasons
supply Ofsugar from Cuba being cut OffOn
account Of the troubles in that Island, i
sufficient to send up the price 25 per cent
in single week. If the prospect Of con-
tinued war in Cuba should be realized,
the price Of sugars is likely to be still
more largely increased, and in case o.
the cessation of our foreign commerce.
should we become involved in war witt
any foreign power, nearly our whole sup
ply would be cut of, and prices must ad-
vance wholly beyond the reach Of all
but the wealthy classes. This would be
a National calamity greater than the
loss of any other single article Of impOr-
tatiOn. It would affect every citizen.
We know Of but one way to insure
ourselves against such q possibility, and
that is to raise our own sugars. This we
are abundantly able to do. We do not
refer now to our capacity for the prOduC-
ton of cane sugar, but to our far greater
capacity for the production Of sugar from
the Sugar Beet.
In a recent complete and valuable
work on Farm management, farm crops,
&c., entitled" How to make the Farm
Pay land published by ZeigIer, Nc
Curdy & Co., of Philadelphia and Chi
cagO,) is a most excellent chapter on
the cultivation and management of
Beets for sugar, from which we make
the following extract:
The production Of beet sugar, through
out the world, is now about six hundred
and fifty thousand tons, OF One-fOTTth of
the whole production Of sugar. We have
millions Of acres adapted to the cultiva-
ton of the sugar beet. We have the
best labor saving machinery of any cOun-
try on the globe, and there is no good
reason why we should not produce a
million tons Of sugar annually, within
ten years. In accordance with the prac-
teal aim of this work, we shall endeav-
or to show that it is to our pecuniary,
and especially to our agricultural inter
ests, to do so.
The cost of raising the beet cannot, un-
uGl JuulClOuS CulllNdllDlV GACGEu LllLGc
dollars per ton, and we think that they
can be raised for two dollars per ton
But taking the highest estimate, of three
dollars per ton, there is left a large mar
gin for profit, as one ton Of beets will
yield from one hundred and forty to one
hundred and eighty pounds Of refined
sugar; about fifty pounds Of mOlasses
suitable for distillatiOn; five hundred
pounds of leaves, an excellent green fOd-
der; and five hundred pounds Of pulp,
worth one third as much as good hay
But this is not all; the beet crop cleans
and prepares the soil; ; and, in a rotation,
is one Of the best preceders of any grain
crop. The yield Of beets, per acre, varies
from seventeen to fOrty-two tons. We
think that, with our improved methods,
an average yield Of thirty tons per acre
can readily be secured but taking the low
average yield Of twenty tons per acre,
at five dollars per ton, is one hundred
dollars deductng the highest estimate
of the cost of production, three dollars
per acre clear profit to the farmer. Con-
sidering the probability Of q yield Of
thirty tons per acre, costing two dollars
per ton, we have the possibility Of a
profit Of ninety dollars per acre.
There are, at present, but few manu-
| factories of beet sugar in this country,
I but they would spring up on every side,
/ if farmers once determined to raise the
crops, and make that determination
] known. Communities settling on the
/ rich soils Of the west and south, have
| this matter in their own hands, as have
/ also the farmers in the older states. Let
/ dozen farmers, in any section Of the
( country, agree with some capitalist to
/ supply him with beets, and a market
/ will no ot oT,co oroofaI II ia for 70 m, arr
| to agitate this matter, in their daily con-
! veTsatiOn, in their visits to the city mar
| kets, in farmers clubs, and through the
/ columns of their chosen agricultural
/ journals. The manufacture must be eX-
Ceedingly profitable. 1t is carried on
| from September to March, a period when
| labor is easily commanded. 1t will en-
! plOy the extra farm lsbOTeTs, at c season
when their services are not required on
/ the farm thus incidentally comforting
a permanent benefit upon every COM
munity, where such an industry is es-
! tablished. The author Of the work from
which we quote the above, estimates the
| the cost Of working one thousand tons
of beets as follows:
| 1000 tons of beets at $500 5000
| Labor 1000
| Other expenses 1900
Total $500
| Receipts.
/ $50, 900 lbs. sugar at 10 cts. SIG, 900
1900 gallons mOlasses at 25 cts. 1900
! 200 tons pulp at 81 800
Total $4,000
| leaving a profit of over one hundred per
cent on the manufacture, reckoning the
sugar to be worth only ten cent per
pound. But suppOsing such a quantity
could be raised as to bring the price Of
raw sugar down to eight cents per pound,
there would still be profit Of over fifty
! per cent. on the investment of the man