The record-union., 1897-10-19
SUGAR BEET CULTURE.
Valuable Information for Those Thinking
of Engaging Therein.
Extracts From Recent Bulletin Issued by the De-
partment of Agriculture.


ment Of Agriculture at Washington
The facts were compiled by H. w.
Wiley. formerly Director of the De-
partment Sugar-Beet Experimental
Station in Nebraska Some allowance
should probably be made in the sta
tisties because of the superior charac-
ter Of the soil in this part of California
over that of localities east Of the
Rocky Mountains:
Among the farmers of the country
there is in general an erroneous opln-
ion respecting the manufacture OF beet
sugar, especially concerning the cost
of a factory It Is well that our farm
ers should cherish no illusions In regard
TO this matter The manufacture OF
beet sugar is an industry entirely dls-
tinct from agriculture, and can only
be successfully accomplished by the IN
vestment of large capital under the dl-
rectaon of skilled artisans. From the
nature of the process, it Is quite I'M
probable that any simple method OF
home manufacture of beet sugar Will
ever prove commercially SUCCESSFUL
The Juices of the beet are extracted
with difficulty They contain large
Quantities Of mineral salts which rem
der the crude sugar and molasses made
therefrom bitter and unpalatable- SIM
pie processes for the extraction OF lne
Juice can at best remove only from oo
to 20 per cent. of the sugar wnich the
beet contains and thus percentage
loss is incurred which at the very out
set renders it impossible for nome
apparatus to compete with a large
factory.
Beet sugar, for the reasons given
above. cannot be used in the raw state.
as Is the case with the products derived
from the sugar cane, sorghum ana the
mamie tree. The refining Of the sugar
is a process which requires an eXpen-
siva outlay for machinery and hlgh
degree of supervisory skill. 1t cannot
therefore be accomplished upon the
farm. The various schemes which nave
been proposed whereby the farmer Is
assured of the possibility of preparing
a crude product to be subsequently
shipped to a central refinery are not
practicable on account of the radical
difficulties outlined.
The low prices at which sugar Is sold
render imperative in the process OF
manufacture the most economical
methods. which are only made possible
by the use Of improved machinery op-
Grated under the direction of technical
experts.
The farmers Of this country, as IS
the case with those Of Europe, IN re-
spect of the beet sugar industry, must
be satisfied with acquiring the requi-
site degree of agricultural skill to pro-
duce a. crop of beets with paying ton
mage and high content of sugar.
One of the remarkable facts shown
bv statistical tables is found in the
information they contain showing that
the sugar beet has been able on de-
rnand to supply the remarkable def
cheney in the worlds sugar crop pro-
ducad by the Cuban war. In three
years the supply of sugar furnished by
that island has fallen from 1,OOO,OOO
to about 100000 tons, and yet there has
been no appreciable deficit noticed in
the total sugar production of the
world.
The remarkable opportunities for the
extension of profitable agricultural in
dustries in this country, through the
medium of the sugar beet, should not
be suffered to pass unimproved, and the
farmers of our country should not rest
satisfied until they see our own fields
produce the sugar which we consume.
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS.
Experience shows that the sugar beet
reaches it's highest development in
north temperate ATTITUDES. So far as
the production of beets with high ton
nage is concerned, it is found that this
can be accomplished far to the south,
but beets grown in such localities are,
upon the whole, less rich in sugar and
less suitable for the manufacture of su-
gar than those grown farther north.
1t must be remembered, however, that
the expressions north and south do not
refer to any absolute parallels of lati-
tude, but rather to isothermal lines,
which in many cases run obliquely to
the parallels Of latitude and in some
cases cross them almost at right an
giles.
AS a result of many years of careful
experimentation, it may be said that
as far as temperature alone is con-
cerned the sugar beet attains its great
est perfection in a zone of varying
width through the center of which
passes the isothermal line Of 20 degrees
F. for the months of June, July and
August.
THE BEET SUGAR BELT
This isothermal line, for the United
States, begins near the city of New
York and passes up the Hudson River
to Albany; thence turning westward,
st runs near Syracuse and passes in a
southwesterly direction, touching the
shore of Lake Erie near Sandusl1y, o.;
turning then in a northwesterly direc-
tion, it enters Michigan and reaches its
highest point in that State near Ian
sing; then going in a southwesterly di-
rection, it enters the State of Indiana
near South Bend. passes through Mich
igan City, then in a northwesterly
course continues through the cities OF
Chicago and Madison, reaching its
highest point near St. Paul, NIinn.
Thence 1t extends in a southwesterly
direction until it enters the State OF
South Dakota, where it turns again
northwest and reaches its highest point
in Dakota just above the forty fifth
parallel of latitude, where it crosses the
Missouri River. The isothermal line
then turns almost due south, following
very closely the 101st degree of longi-
tude till it leaves the State of Nebraska
near the northeast corner of Colorado;
passing in a southwesterly direction
through Colorado. it reaches. at Pueblo
almost to the 105th degree Of west
longitude. whence it passes in q slight
ly southeasterly direction into New
n 4 y y