The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1873-11-18
agricultural department.
CONDUCTED By ALBERT CHAPMAN.
TIE sUGARIE.
Beet Sugar in California.

Profitable Years Business By The Sacramento
Snyaie-Bea Sugar Manufacfws on EstaJ.
hshed Succ,ss-Descrtpt,on Of the Process Of
Extracting the Suysr-lniricoie and admirable
Machinoy-An account of The Sacramento Beet
Sugar Compony's Establishment and Fnterp,isc.
Sugars are at the present time lower
III price than they have been in many
years The current quotation for white
refined is ii cents, against an average
quotation during past years OF 10 to II
cents. This price it is well understood
is below the cost of manufacture, and has
been established by peculiar complica.
tlon in the competition between San
Francisco refners. 1t is, in fact, below
the New York cost Of producing the
same article from the best and cheapest
care sugars Of the world-those of the
West Indies, 1t is also generally known
that the enterprise of certain prominent
citizens of Sacramento in inaugurating
several years ago the industry of sugar
beet culture and sugar production in CAL
iornia had not been remuuerative. 1t
has, however, become recently understood
that the operations of these gentlemen
during the past year, Notwithstanding
the abnormal depression in the value OF
their product, have been highly profita.
BILE aud the sum of $4,000 is named
as approximating the net profits of the
enterprise-equal to a dividend of 20 per
cent. on the capital (nearly s2000,000)
invested in it. With refined cane sugars
selling at the cost Of production, say IA
cents, the corollary follows that the pro-
tits of the new industry would be much
larger--a rate of return upon the capital
required that is calculated to promote its
development in the State and add per.
manently one more to the number of her
wealih-producing resources.
THE suGAR1E.
The refinery or "sugarie" OF the Sacra-
nento Valley Beet Sugar Company is
situated near Brighton, four miles east OF
Sacramento, The company cultivates
several 6elds to the sugar beet in the i'm.
mediate vicinity, though its largest farm
is at Davisville, Yolo county. The main
building is rectangular structure some
80 feet wide by $50 feet long with wings
and an end building connected by II
bridge. A branch railway runs directly
past the sugarie, bringing the beets from
the Davisville plantation and taking
away the products OF the establishment.
The beets are dumped under shed at
one ead of the building, and are trans.
ported by an endless belt to
THE WASHER
This is horizontal rolling cylinder by
which the beets are carried through a
stream Of water to remove the adhering
earth. The "washel" discharges them
into series of buckets attached to an
endless belt, which elevatea them into
hopper within the building, where they
fall upon revolving cutter. From the
cutter they pour down in stream Of
shavings, aud are received into harrows,
In which they are transported directly to
set of large cylinders called the battery.
This apparatus consists Of a series of ii
iron boiler-plate cylinders, closed at both
ends, each s feet in length by l.2 feet
in diameter. set vertically. In the upper
end is circular door through which the
cylinder is charged at the lower end is
another door through which the refuse Of
the bects, after the sugar has been ex-
tracted, is emptied. This refuse is car
ried to The outside Of the building by an
endless belt, where it is dumped and
then carried away by carts to convenient
points about the grounds and piled in.
long piles to be used during the winter
as cattle feed. The process Of extracting
the sugar from the beets begins, properly
speaking, in the cylinders Of "the bat.
terry. The process is absolutely continu.
GUS from weeks end to weeks end, by
day and night-the only interval being
between midnight Sunday, and the com.
mencement Of work on Monday morning.
In order to begin with the beginning it
is necessary therefore to take up the work
on Monday morning.
The cylinders are then enlarged" with
the shredded beets from the cutter each
cylinder containing from 1900 to $500
pounds-an average charge being 5000
pounds The amount used depends main.
ly on the temperature Of the weather, and
the percentage Of sugar contained in the
beets under treatment-the higher the
temperature the less the amount of
charge. The quantity put through the
batteries, however, is about equal for
equal times, for the lighter charger 70.
quire less time for their separate treat.
ment. After charging the cylinders the
next step of the process is to admit hot
water to cylinder No. l. Pure water is
used only once during the weeks work,
that is, at the beginning of operations on
Monday morning Having started the
operation with water. it is maintained
during its continuance with the diluted
beet juice. At the top of the building,
elevated "a feet above the battery, is
tank kept filed with cold water. CYL.
inder No, ] having been filled with hot
water, the cold water from the roof tank
is turned in and forces the hot water, to.
gether with the partly extracted juice.
out of cylinder No. l into No. 2, and
from No. 2 into No. 3. After having
passed through No. 3 it is sufficiently
charged with beet juice to be ready for
the next step in the process.
The juice and water which has passed
through only two cylinders is made to
pass into steam heater, where its TEN.
perature is raised, and whence it again
passes into third cylinder OF the bat
terry. Here it receives a further access
sion Of beet juice and is then ready for
further treatment. The operation here
indicated is maintained without intermis.
sion throughout the week Water which
has received an infusion of juice from a
single cylinder is forced next to the heat
ers, thence to second cylinder, through
that, extracting from its charge further