The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-12-01


sugar, it cannot be laid down in New York
or San Francisco, duty paid, at less than
three and one-hslf cents per p jund. There
fore, to pay for the sugar product of the
average acre OF b cts produced near Wat
sonville, CAL, in 1896 will require 1924, or
165 bushels of wheat at seventy five cents
per bushel, or the product of eight and one
fourth acres of land at twenty bushels per
acre.
Good land well prepared should yield an
average of twelve and one-half tons of beets
per acre, or sugar product OF 5000 pounds.
This gives the farmer an average return Of
$50 per acre, and the refined sugar at three
and one-half cents per pound gives the re-
finer $105 per acre, or a margin Of sos per
acre for his services for converting the beets
into refined sugar. For the past seven
years the average yield Of wheat in this
country has not exceeded thirteen bushels
per acre, and the farmers have not received
more than sixty cents per bushe for it. AT
twenty bushels per acre and seventy-6ve
cents per bushel, the farmer only received
$40 per acre for his wheat crop. At $50 per
acre for beets, one acre of them yields as
large returns as three and half acres OF
first-class wheat.
We consume 100000 tons of sugar annu
ally. To produce it at 5000 pounds an acre
will require 1 1885, 1888 acres of land of good
quality well cultivated. To buy it in Europe
in the raw state and pay duty and freight
upon it to New York will cost $780, ,00C
or the product of nine and one-third million
acres of wheat at $l5 per acre. All con.
sumers must pay freight upon imported
sugar from tidewater, whereas il produced
in all parts of our country the cost of distri
button will be very much less.
Sugar is one of the most valuable and i'm.
portant foods consumed by highly. civilized
people. We should not be dependent upon
any other people for our supply. Our
fruit industry demands sugar for it's pro
motion; so does our condensed milk indus
try. We are producing nearly all of the
iron, steel, glass, white lead, pottery tiI
plate, rope, Irvine, and machinery we con
sumo, and shall at no distant day, produce
at least the sugar we are compelled to i'm
port for home consumption.
The beet sugar industry. like that of tir
plate, has come to stay. Next year the
largest beet sugar mandatory in the worlG
| will be consuming 5000 tons per day o.
| California beets. This means paying the
| farmer $4,000 per day for beets. If the
factory runs 100 days for the season of 1898
it means 81, 100000 disbursed to the farmers
in single locality for sugar beets. The
sugar beet industry has passed the expert
mental stage. When practical sugar pro
invests 81, 000, 900 in a beet sugar refiery it il
proof positive that the industry is one OF
great value to The farmer and refiner.
FRANCIS WAYLAND GLEN
New York, Nov. 16.
The considerations 80 succinctl,
presented by Mr.. Glen will prevail, il
the impartial American judgment, ovel
the objections made by Mr.. Atkins
American craftsmanship will prove
equal to the task of discovering new
sources of needed revenue if the re
ceipts of duty on sugar shall be dimin
ished or fail entirely by reason of do
mestic production. Land devoted t.
beet culture is not necessarily lant
withdrawn from the raising of cereals
Probably it would not be so with
drawn to any appreciable extent. II
California, at least, the development o
the industry has brought under cultiva
ton large areas which could never rails,
blu hel of wheat and which bad beer
useless for any other purpose. Rea
thrift and practical economy demand
that this nation do not buy abroad wha
it can successfully raise at home, ant
sugar is no exception in the long list o
other articles the home production O
which has surrendered to home enter
prise.