Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1882-11-30
STA. MAINE, THURSDAY MORNING. NOVEMBER 80 1892
Dailp krnnebrl 5ournal.
Beet Sugar in California.

Much has been heard first and las
about beet sugar manufacturing; but thu
only section of the United States wher,
it seems to flourish at present. is in Cali
tornia. Even there. in most instances, tn,
business seems to have been experimen
tai up to this time. Maine farmers or
looking back can remember the ingloriou,
failure of the industry in this State. ant
only hope that their brethren in the Paciti,
State will be more successful in beet rails
ing and sugar manufacturing than they
The San Francisco Chronicle has the fol,
lowing information concerning the manu-.
facture of beet sugar in California.
The manufacture of beet sugar is no,
exactly new on this coast, but it has not, till
quite recently, been proved profitable.
There have been sugar manufactures erected
in the neghborhood of Sacramento, but
their work, till very recent date, has been
rather tentative than remuneratiye. There
is every reason to suppose that now the
making of beet sugar has passed the bounds
of experiment, and will hereafter be source
of revenue to the manufacturers and to the
State. Our soils are adapted to the culture,
and our climate subtly distills into the root
far Llore of the saccharine element than the
cold and forbidding climate of France and
Belgium.
The white Silesian is the specie preferred,
as having a large proportion of saccharine
matter and being free from the salts which
sometimes vitiate it. Sandy soils are con
sidered more suitable for the culture, such
as are found on the eastern shore of San
Francisco bay near Sacramento, and in the
tule lands of the Sacramento river. In the
last mentioned localities il Is thought that the
beet will snpplant grain, as crops are not
contingent on overflow, but can be raised al.
ter the water has retired. and be out of the
way before the autumn rains. In France
and Belgium only II to Is tons can be raised
to the acre, which yield from ) to II per
cent of sugar. In California from II to 20
tons can be raised to the acre, which will
yield from to 10 per cent. of sugar. In
France tons of clean roots will produce
450 lbs. of brown or 100 lbs. of double re
fined sugar the rest being molasscs, which is
distilled into spirits. At a beet-sugar manu-
factory in Alameda county, in 1881 | 500, 200
pounds of sugar were made from II, ,1S6 tons
of beets. which was an average of over l2i
lbs. to the ton. This average, it is thought,
can be increased to 100 pounds per ton The
capital put into this mandatory was $500
600. On this a dividend of 1000 was
declared last year, and $4,000 worth OF
new machinery put in, besides which a
portion of the profits went to reinforce the
investment. The concern has experienced
one failure from not knowing how to elimi-
nate the alkaline quality from the beet. That
difficulty has been overcome by the aid of an
experienced German chemist. Last year so
tons of beets per diem were used. This year
the daily consumption of the works will be
increased to 100 tons. Since as sandy soil is
the best for the beet, and it has been shown
that alkali can be eliminated, we see no
reason why a large portion of the San
Joaquin valley might not proftahly be given
up - its culture. 1t is certainly worth the
trial.