The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-04-17
rHE SUGAR nEEr INDUSTRY.

II Is said that the growth Of the beet
sugar industry IS giving the Sugar Trust
more concern than any other form Of
competition, for the reason that beets
could be grown. and the sugar refined
sufficiently TO go into immediate con-
sumption in the adjacent territory, with
out being subject to freight charges Incl
dent to shipment from the seaboard or
the South.
TO show how the industry has grown,
we may mention that in lSSs. only 1910
tons Of beet sugar were made in this
country. whereas in 1896 it is estimated
that the product was 10000 tons. with a
steady growth each intervening year.
There are several important questions TO
be considered in connection with the
further development of this industry, the
first being as TO the adaptability Of soil
in different localities to the production
Of beet, and the second. as to factories
for making the sugar after the beet has
been grown.
To the farmer the first question is, Of
course, the more important The value
Of the beet is determined by the quantity
Of sugar that it will produce for under
a certain percentage the best becomes
worthless as a sugar producer 1t has
been ascertamed that some soils will
produce beets Of fine appearance, and in
large quantities, hut that the product
does not contain enough Of sugar TO make
It marketable. The Secretary Of Agri-
culture has recently distributed beet seeds
throughout the country. and experiments
will be made in the various sections Of The
Union.
When IL has been ascertaincd, however.
that a given community will produce mar
letable beets, it then becomes a question
as 10 how they can be converted into
sugar. and here the element Of freight
is TO be considered. Those who have in
vestigated the subject seem to think
it entirely feasible to establish factories
for reducing the product TO sugar in the
raw state. whenever it has been ascertain
ed that q sufficient quantity of beets can
be obtained in a given community. A
small raw sugar plant it is said, can be
erected for about $l25,0oo. up to $500 900
for a large plant, including a refinery.
BIT for the present the idea seems to be
simply to have factory for producing
raw sugar. and TO leave the produce to be
refined by the great plants already in
existence.
/. is undoubtedly the tendency Of this
age 10 establish manufacturing plants in
the heart Of the community where the
raw material is found. Before the war.
and even for quite a period after the
war Southern cotton was shipped to the
North 10 be manufactured by the New
England factories. but it gradually dawn
cd upon the wlGe-awake men Of the age
that a great saving could be made 10y es-
tablishing factories in the cotton belt.
And so IT. has come 10 pass that the South
is alive with all such factories. II seems
TO be a reasonable conclusion, therefore.
that II any section Of the country can
produce sugar beets in sufficient quanti-
ties, and of such a character as 10 yield
the necessary percentage Of sugar, fac
tories will at once spring up 10 handle
the material. So that we come back TO
the original proposition that thu growth
OF the Industry depends. after all, uocn
the character OF the soil. IL. Cor EXAMPLE.
1t can be demonstrated that Chesterfield