The Portland daily press., 1878-12-05
The New Indusiry-One Word More.

We chronicled week or two since the sue
cessful starting up of the works of the Maine
Beet Sugar Company at Portland. Beets
enough have been received by the Company
this season, to occupy the factory ten or fif-
teen days, working from seventy to one hun
bred tons day. Had sufficient beets been
grown to have kept the factory at work one
hundred days instead of fifteen-it would
have been positive success. 1t is success
even now up to this one point; the machine
ry necessary for making beet sugar has been
fitted up by the Company at a cost of some
$4,000; they have demonstrated that sugar
can be made from beets grown in Maine
Will the farmers of the state now aid the
enterprise by growing beets enough another
season to keep the factory in operation one
hundred days? If so, the success of the en-
prise is not problematical or doubtful, but is
assured.
The enterprise started last spring under
many disadvantages. Late planting of the
beets was one of the chiefest of these, and
late planting too, on land prepared in the
spring, or imperfectly prepared the fall pre-
vious. The soil on which sugar beets are
to be planted should be thoroughly prepared
in the fall, SO that the only thing to be done
to 1t in the spring is light surface cultiva-
ton. Then plant the seed very early--it
may be planted indeed before thorough Gull
"0tO VI oAo oOh Souiu NC pOoSiClo Ou dCCOuub
of frost. Where the seed is put in early the
the crop gets ahead of the weeds, and the
leaves So shade the ground that weeds do not
grow as they do on late planted fields. Early
planting also allows the vacant places in the
drills to be replanted, so that every foot of
ground may be occupied, thereby securing a
maximum yield-while if late planted, it
it would hardly pay to replace the vacant
ground by secoud planting, as they wonld
not reach a profitable size. In the early
stages of the beet sugar industry in Germany,
the sugar making season commenced about
the first OF October now, through early plant
ing it begins by the middle OF August. Surely
We ought to learn much from the practices
OF country 80 similar to our own in soil and
climate as that of the north German empire.
And speaking of Germsny, reminds us of
some receut fgnres which relate to the pro-
portions of this industry in that country de-
rived from the last issued report of the Gov
eminent Sugar Inspectors. These show that
in Europe in 1877, there were 1917 beet sugar
houses, making raw sugar, and 26 sugar,
refneries-of which France had IS of the
former and 40 of the latter; Austria 245 sugar
houses and five refDeries; Germany 339
houses and 6S refneries; Belgium ISL houses
and ~ refineries; Holland 80 houses and Is
reineries, and Prnssa 26 houses and 10 refin-
cries. In 1S40 when the beet sugar Industry
was inaugurated in Germany there was las
sugar houses in operation, which consumed
4S2,973, 400 lbs. of beets, or an average per
factory OF 3, 100000 lbs. the yield of sugar
was 2S,41O, 200 lbs. or an average per factory
of 1876, 900 lbs. and it required II lbs. of beets
to produce one of sugar. In 1867, there
were in the same territory, 1856 sugar houses,
consuming $685., 568, 800 lbs. of beeis, an ay.
erage per factory of 25,09S,0OO lbs. !; yieldieg
total of ZIG. O96, 800 lbs of sugar, or an aver
age of 2,156,9O0 lbs. each, and 1t required but
II II lbs. of beets to make one of sugar.
Maine Farmer.