The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-08-18
SUGAR INDUSTRY.
The WatsOnville Beet Sugar Factory
Resumes Operations.
Large Number of Employees Engaged
in the MilI-Refuse Utilized as
Fodder for Cattle.

WATSONVILLE (CaI), Aug. 6.-The
arrival of a load of beets for the West
| ern Beet Sugar Factory this morning
opened the campaign for the season.
In few days it is expected that there
will be enough beets on hand to start
| the factory and keep it running, as the
farmers in the Salinas, Hollister and
San Juan valleys have commenced to
harvest their beets and to ship them
to this place.
Most of the beets shipped here come
over the Pajara Railroad, a private en-
terprise of Claus Spreckels, which runs
| from Salinas to this place, carrying
beets and onions. On the return trips
the crude sugar is taken to Moss Land
ing, where it is shipped by steamer to
the refinery in San Francisco.
This is the first year that beets have
come from San Juan, and the farmers
have great expectations in regard to
the outcome of their undertaking. If
the soil is adapted to the culture of
beets, almost all of the farmers in that
vicinity will plant beets next year, as
more can be made by planting beets
than by raising cereals.
The beet industry is one of the chief
occupations of the Pajaro valley. After
and commences to grow, it must be
thinned out till each plant is one foot
apart This work the farmers let out
to contractors, who pay 81 a day to
their employees. The contractor gets
80 cents a ton for thinning the beets,
cutting off the tops after the beets have
matured and have been plowed, and
putting them in piles for the wagons
to convey them to the factory. Last
year the price was $1.25, but on account
of competition the price dropped to 80
cents this year. A great many Japan
ese work in the fields, and are well ad-
apted for the labor. Most of the cut
ting of the tops is done by Chinese, as
they are experts in using the large
knives for that purpose.
The run this year will exceed former
runs as a greater amount of acreage
has been planted. At least 110, 900 tons
of beets will be crushed this year, COM
pared with 200 tons last year. The
factory runs night and day during it's
crushing period and employs about
800 men, divided into two shifts. The
shifts alternate working-two weeks
at night and two weeks at day. When
the factory closes about 100 men are
employed putting in new machinery
and preparing for the next seasons
run.
The improved machinery put into the
mill in the last two years greatly fac1l1-
tates the work of the run and does
away with great deal of manual labor.
Claus Spreckels has in course of erec>
ton, and very near completion, fine
warehouse near the factory. 1t will be
used principally to store sugar. and will
have cost when completed $500.
A new industry has also been started
here and has proved quite profitable
to the originators-that of fattening
cattle for the market on beet pulp.
The beets are run through machinery
which cuts them into thin strips. Then
the sugar is extracted by boiling. The
refuse is carried by buckets run on a
trolley system to a pit, where it is
dumped in immense piles. This pulp
is then mixed with bran and chopped
grain and is fed to hundreds of cattle
at the feed yards, situated near the
factory. This and an abundance of
water is all the feed they get, and it is
claimed it is the cheapest and quickest
fattening process known. Cattle are
brought from as far as Arizona to be
fed upon this pulp. When the mill
first started this pulp was considered
of no use, and was taken by rail and
dumped at Moss Landing, but since
then every bit has been saved. A great
many farmers in this vicinity buy it
and feed it to their cattle.