The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-11-09

quite boom in the American beet
sugar industry is on at the present
time"
This is the Introductory sentence of
an interesting communication ad-
dressed to Bradstreets Journal by
Herbert Wynick of Springville, Mass,
who then proceeds to dwell at length
on the Importance of this growing in
dustry, which, in time, promises to
enrich the farmer to much greater
extent than the raising of any other
crop on his farm.
The boom is caused, the writer goes
on to state, as the result of six years
experience of the beet sugar factories,
which has proven beyond a doubt that
sugar beets can be successfully and
profitably raised in certain portions of
the United States, and that the manu-
facture of sugar from the same is now
a well-established and growing indus
try in these localities.
The writer cites several instances
where the raising of beets and the
manufacture of sugar has passed the
experimental stage, and alludes to
Utah as follows:
In Utah the large factory at Lehi
City, with its appurtenances and 1000
acres of land, built in 189O-9l, is
equipped throughout with American
ment of 500, 000 all local capital and
will this season convert $4,000 tons of
beets into 100000 pounds of granu-
lated sugar. It made money last year,
and will show a profit this season.
Next east, he says. is the new fac
tory at Eddy, in the Pecos valley of
New Mexico, which is about to begin
making sugar from crops grown under
favorable conditions. Its plant is from
the failed enterprise at Berthierville,
Quebec.
Nebraska has two beet-sugar plants,
one at Grand Island, the other at Nor
folk, at which about $4,000 tons of
beets viii yield some 100000 pounds
of refined sugar this season. Last
year these two concerns milled $4,000
tons and got S,500,000 pounds of sugar,
and showed a profit for the first time,
and Will pay a fair return on the in
VeStment this season A small factory
was operated for several years at
Staunton. Va, until it burned eighteen
months since; enough was done to war
rant the opinion that 1.-The middle south
pOSSGSScS advantages lOI the DG6C-
sugar industry surpassed only by
southern California" but with nearness
to market to Offset that favored region.
The Wisconsin Beet Sugar company,
after VeXatious delays, is hurrying for
ward its factory at Menomonee Falls
and hopes TO turn out sugar by De-
cember. Meanwhile the farmers are
ensoiling their beets, having made
contracts to grow $500 acres of beets
Annually for The fa n ic
being equipped throughout with Amer
built machinery.
Continuing the subject, Mr.. Myrick
says that it usually takes two to four
years for a beet-Sugar factory to get
well established, because of small sup
plies of beets until farmers have
learned how to grow them. This has
been the experience of all our now sue
cessful factories. But when the art
is once acquired, farmers find beets at
81 10 Sc per ton one of. the most profit
able. crops, paying SO to S25 per acre
net profit above all expenses of pro-
ductiOn. Corn and wheat hardly pay
cost of production, let alone profit. An
acre Of corn, 40 bushels at 30c.. will bu..
zoo pounds Of sugar; it will produce
1000 to 5000 pounds of sugar in
beets.)
Beets are comparatively sure crop
and yield more sugar per acre than
does cane IN Louisiana. The books of
one OF the best equipped Louisiana
plant atoms and sugar factories, COM
pared with the records of the Chino
beet-sugar enterprise for five wears
past, prove the latter to be the hest
proposition. But there is plenty of
room for both sugar cane (within its
limited environment and the sugar
beet (on its broader field until the
United States produces all the sugar il
consumes. To DO this will require at
least $50 more factories, several million
acres Of land Ccrop rotation is neces-
sary), vast amount OF labor an i'm
mense investment Of capital. 1t will
mean large business for our machine
shops, enormous tonnage for railroads.
wealth and prosperity for farmers, put
ting into the pockets of American farm
ers, laborers and capitalists the $780,
100000 now paid out each year for inn
ported sugar.
The fact that the sugar beet industry
is causing so much interest throueho11t !
the country should stimulate the farm |
ers OF Utah and cause them to investi- |
gate the subject most thoroughly. The
success of the Lehi factory is an evil
dence of what can be done in this line. |
end in view of the fact that it would
require three or four plants Of the
capacity of the Lehi works to SUNNY |
the home demand, it is evident that |
within a reasonable time several new
enterprises of this character will be
esta blished in this state and, as pre-
viously announced in these columns. /
there is every reason to believe that
within another year a sugar factory
viii be running in full blast near Mt. |
Nebo, where the soil is admirably I
for the growing of the sugar |
beet