Los Angeles daily herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1884-1890, 1889-05-19
ITS Aston,sh,nr Possibilities.

The more one examines into the pos
sibilities of the sugar beet industry In
Los Angeles county, the more one is
lost in wonder at the stupendous results
that may be achieved. We know, from
actual experiment, and from the parity
of coils that yet remain to be tried, that
we have at least 100000 acres in this
county capable CT producing beets carry
ing the highest per centage OF sugar re-
allied from those grown anywhere. A
sample of beets, that had only six
weeks growth, gave IL per cent. OF
sugar by test, yesterday. AT full
growth, double this result may be counted
upon. 1t would be placing it low to say
that an average of fifteen per cent OF
sugar will be realized from beets grown
in those of our soils best adapted to them.
That would give us, at twenty tons OF
beets to the acre, yield of three tons OF
sugar, or COG, 900 tons Of sugar from the
zoe, 900 acres of land in this county
adapted to the growth of the beet. OF
the ten sugar refineries the Spreckels
Company intends to erect in this State,
at least five of them ought to be located
in this county.
A letter was received from John D.
Spreckels yesterday, in which that
gentleman says that his fathers promise
to send their chemist here to examine
our soils could not be fulfilled just now
because of the demands upon him in
other parts of the State; but he advises
us to send him up samples of soil from
various localities which we consider
favorable to the beet, and he will make
chemical analyses of them, and send us
he results, together with the views Of the
chemist upon the relative sugar value
of each sample. This business
will be attended to at once. An intelli'
gent and public-spirited citizen is now
securing samples Of soil from the lands be.
low the Cahuenga range, from the Laguna
ranch, from the neighborhood OF Flor.
ence, from San Fernando valley and the
Verdugo mesas, and from other points il
Los Angeles and San Jose valleys. These
will be forwarded at once. We are sat
istied from what we already know that
there is no part Of the State in which the
sugar beet industry can be made more
extensive or profitable than right here in
Los Angeles county.
1t would not astonish any one who has
given earnest and intelligent attention to
this subject if the thorough development
of this great industry should, in the
course of few years, produce an annua,
income to this county of 1000, 900. Il
is in it; all We have to do is to 60 earn
estly to work TO establish the industry
on a scsle commensurate with its
value and its adsptability to oul
soil. The labor necessarily employed
in the sugar beet industry is very great
In its cultivation and harvesting, aud il
the refneries for extracting the sugar
from it, the number of laborers required
would be very important factor in
swelling our industrial population. The
farm laborer would find good wage-worl
in beet planting, that would keep him
employed till the commencementof the
grain harvest; then would com,
the sugar beet harvest; afte
that the garnering of the grape
crop, followed by the orange picking
season. Here is all.the-year-round EN-
ployment in the field, vineyard and
or chsrd, which this industry would rem.
der possible. Our prosperity and wealth
are latent in the soil. We must put
forth the effort necessary to take them
out.