Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1882-02-02


Oar Beet Sugar Faiiurc.
A paper prepared by Lewis Ware
and Robert Grimshaw, editors Of " The
Sugar Beet" and read before the
Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, re-
Gently is u succinct and minute history
of the sugar beet culture, and shows
the causes which led to the failure of
the culture of the crop in Delaware, and
the subsequent abandonment of the
Riverside beet sugar manufacturing en-
terprise. The article shows that the
raising of sugar beets in Europe is a
leading industry and the growers OF
beets make them preferred crop at s.
= ton, while in Delaware, with a super
ior soil and superior advantages, the
farmers are represented to have
deliberately broken their contracts TO
deliver beets at the factory at S. per ton
prefsrring rather to feed them to their
cattle and fertilizing their grounds in
connection with cattle feeding. We do
not know to what extent this accuse
ton is true so far as Delaware is con
cerDed, but we do know that some far.
mers, principal among them Mr.. Il. G.
Fennimore, near Odessa, have been en-
inently successful in the culture Of
beets, and made more per acre tlom
the ground in cultivation with the crop
than could be made by any other crop,
either grain or root crops.
The deficiency seems to be that the
culture of beets requires intelligent and
scientific farming, and that is what a
majority of the farmers of Delaware
we're unable to bring to its aid.
AS a general thing the ground has
been prepared for beets the same as
for anv other crop, the seed thrown in
and the plants carelessly cultivated
like potatoes or crops that grow with
out much culture when once planted,
and there is where the great mistake
has been. Some farmers supposed they
had succeeded when they raised mon
ster beets weighing seven or eight
pounds, but that is just where they
missed it.
They had nothing but great bunch
of tough fibrous matter with but "A very
small per centage Of the sac charine mat
ter required in the manufacture of SUI
gar. The reverse is what was wanted.
Instead Of huge monster. shaped beets
grown partly out of ground, small beets
weighing about pound grown entire
ly beneath the soil were wanted, and
were the kind that paid the grower
best. In describing the kind of beets
needed, Mess Ware and Grimshaw
say: 1.-THE best sugar bets for sugar
raising are those which are long and
slender and do not weigh over two
pounds each. " Forked beets contain
less sugar han straight ones slender
ones more than fat ones; those that
grow all under ground more than those
that project above the ground conCave
sides more than those which bulge; and
those with small leaves more than
those with large leaves. 1t is useless
however for us to dwell at the present
time upon all the causes which led to
the abandonment Of the Delaware beet
industry. 1t has failed, and Delaware
has lost an opportunity for leading in
sugar manufacturing, as she now leads
in peach growing
The farmers Of Delaware were not
prepared to give the enterprise that sup
port needed. Forty years ago they
were as poorly prepared to embark in
fruit culture and chung with won
derful tenacity to the two leading Ger
cal crops--Corn and wheat. But in |
twenty years after that they got over
that old habit and their farms were con
Verted into peach orchards.
We believe the time will come also
and may not be more than two decades
off, when Delaware will yet lead in the
manufacture Of sugar, but sume other
section must evi IDENTIFY lead in the Tn
terprise. We regret this, az Delawar, |
with her great advantages of soil, eli
mate ard location, should lead the way.
The Importance Of the industry TO us is
shown in the following extract from he
paper already referred to "The in.
dustry'is important to US because it is
. chemical one, and demands brains,
and, as the Americans have good brains,
land, coal and transportation, will suit
us. We ought to encourage chemi cal
manufactures. They utilize waste pro-
ducts, encourage investigation, compel
nature to give up her secrets, force from
her effective and cheap remedial agents,
and amply reward for the intellgence
and capital hey employ. The sum of
over SllS,O00, 900 paid in 1880 for foreign
sugars III excess Of our imports would !
build 1000 facrorie', making 1900, 600
GOO pounds of sugar, employing SSJ, 600
acres Of land, otherwise unneeded; con-
suming 100000 millions of pounds Of
beets, and 100, 900 tons of coal. There
would be 5,940 millions of pounds ,fI
pulp, equal to 80 millions of pounds
OF meat,) LOO million pounds of mo. |
lasses, which would make 80 600 Ooo
gallons of alcohol, and give rs the corn
to sell now consumed for that purpose
These industries would employ 300 GOO
people. There would be 1880 million
pounds of minure resulting from the
Gait e feeding
The FIRST month OF 1882, gives the