The Hawaiian gazette., 1896-12-04
OPPORTUNITIES FOR FARMERS
Views of a Well Known
Authority.
Necessary Points to be Considered.
United States Can Grow All
Her Own Sugar.
IRradstreet's.l

[Bradstreet's.l
Quite a boom in the American beet
sugar industry is on at the present
time. 1t is caused by the results of
six years experience of the beet sugar
factories established under the McKin-
ley law, though one of these plants Eat
jacksonville, CALI was begun several
years before, and has since been great
ly enlarged, while the Alvarado, Cal,
factory struggled along for a dozen
years or more before 1890. Claus
Spreckels will pay out about $3.50, 900
for the 10000 tons of beets he will
convert into sugar at the jacksonville
factory this year, and for the labor this
involves. 1t is understood that the
jacksonville plant paid no net profit I'M
til its fourth year, but it is handsome
dividend payer now. The Alvarado
mill, the only one of several beet sugar
factories started Is or 20 years ago
that is still in operation, will work up
about $4,000 tons of beets this season.
The Chino Valley Beet Sugar Com
pany, at Chino, San Bernardino Coun-
". will slice about 10000 tons of beets
during the present campaign; it is a
superb plant, and made over 10000
tons of refined sugar last year from 49,
600 tons of beets, consuming $4,000 bar
rels of oil under its 2,4O0 horsepower
boilers. Both the latter factories are
now earning good dividends.
In Utah, the large factory at Lehi
City, with its appurtenances and 1000
acres of land, built in 1S90-9I, is equip
ped throughout with American ma
chinery. 1t represents an investment
OF $4,000 all local capital, and will
this season convert $4,000 tons of beets
into 100000 pounds of granulated
sugar. It made money last year, and
will show profit this season. Next
East is the new factory at Eddy, in
the Pecos Valley of New Mexico, which
is about to begin making sugar from
crops grown under favorable condi-
tons. 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, 900 tons of
beets will 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 invest
ment this season. A small factory
was operated for several years at
Staunton, Va, until it burned Is
months since; enough was done to
warrant the opinion that the middle
South possesses advantages for the
beet sugar industry surpassed only by
Southern California" but with near
ness to market to offset that favored
region. The Wisconsin Beet Sugar
Company, after vexatious delays, is
hurrying forward its factory at Me-
nomonee Falls, and hopes to turn
out sugar by December. Meanwhile
the farmers are ensiloing their beets,
having made contracts to grow $500
acres of beets annually for 10 years.
The factory is being equipped through
out with American built machinery.
During the past 10 years sugar beets
have been grown repeatedly in a great
many places in about all the States
and Territories West of New England
and North of the 35th parallel, in all
sorts of soil and climate. Thousands
of analyses of beets have been made
by the United States Department of
Agriculture and by the various ex-
pertinent stations. In some States the
experiment stations have done a re-
markably comprehensive work along
these lines, notably in New York. In
diana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota.
the Dakotas, Nebraska, Wyoming,
Washington, Colorado. Utah and Call
ifornia. Over much of this vast area.
including also Kentucky, Tennessee,
the Nirginias, and probably North Car
olina, it has been conclusively shown
that beets of proper quality can be
grown in profitable quantities sufficient
to fully supply any number of we'll To-
Gated sugar facorties-that is to say.
10 TO 20 tons per acre of beets con-
tanning y TO is per cent or more of
sugar, with an average coeficient of
purity of so per cent or above that.
Arrangements are under way for a
large expansion of the beet sugar in
dustry. Mr.. Claus Spreckels has or
dered the outfit for a mammoth mill
in the Salinas Valley, Monterey Coun-
ty, California, for which he required
guarantee that at least 22,5O0 acres of
beets would be grown annually for five
years, indicating plant with a capaci-
ty of upward of 100000 tons of beets.
Mr.. Spreckels declares, as a result of
his experience with beets in the Col
den State and with his monopoly of
the cane sugar industry of Hawaii: ST
may not live to see the day, but young
er men will see that in 10 years the
beet sugar industry will be the great
est industry in California, and Cali
fornia will be the greatest sugar pro-
ducing State in the Union. 1t is the
only profitable thing left for the farm
er. He can't get into it too soon.''
At least three other beet sugar fac
tories for California are so far pro-
jected as TO appear almost assured;
one of these, to be not far from Los
Angeles, is to be built by a Montana
mining king" who evidently agrees
with American Agriculturist's conten-
ton that protected sugar is a better
proposition than free silver" The
Pecos Valley people assert their will