The San Francisco call., 1897-01-02
FIELD FOR + ARMERS.
SUPPLYING THE HOME DEMAND FOR BEET sue

| SUPPLYING THE HOME DEMAND FOR BEET SUGAR.
-: Philadelphia Times.
The people of the United States consume
| upward OF sixty pounds of sugar annually per
capita, which at the rate of 5 cents per pound
| for the manufac ctured product costs the con-
sumers upward Of $200,000 900. Of this
amount we produce less than 100000 tons and
import in the neighborhood of 1000, 900 tons.
That is, we purchase from South America, the
West Indies and the beet-sugar countries six
| pounds or more o sugar for every pound we
| produce, What is more, the cane sugar pro-
duetion of the United States cannot be greatly
extended owing to the iact that about all the
cane sugar producing territory is now under
| cultivation. Even ii we possessed Cuba we
| = should still have to buy sugar from other
countries, as the largest crop yet produced in
| that island did not exceed 1000. 600 tons.
| We should need another Cuba at this rate to
| supply our wants unless we could make two
! canes grow where one grows now.
If we would turn our attention to the pro-
| duction of beet sugar, we have the soil and
| climate to supply all our own needs in this
| production Of beet sugar exceeds that of cane
| sugar by more than one million tons, but
| while the United States produced, in 1895,
10000 tons OF cane sugar, only 10000 tons
] of beet sugar were produced. The cane sugar
area of the country is fully occupied. but the
| beet sugar area has scarcely been entered upon
| at all. The 4, 236, 900 tons OF beet sugar pro-
! duced in 1895 were grown in Germany,
! Austria, France, Russia, Belgium, Holland and
| Sweden and few smaller European countries,
! and yet in none OF these are the conditions of
| soil and climate for sugar beetculture superior
to those to be found over large area of the
United States
Here is a field for the farmers who have been
! growing more wheat and corn than they could
| sell at remunerative price. They would not
need. to look abroad for market for beet
sugar. The home demand would absorb
| 1000, 600 tons annually, and until this
amount was exceeded the beet sugar farmers
| would have their market at their own doors.
At the low price OF cents per pound, OF $40
ton, this would keep $sO,0o0,0 600 at home
| that are now spent abroad for sugar. As a
matter of fact the country has been paying
more than $100,000,000 annually for raw
sugar for the last five years, and as we in
! crease in population this sum will increas in
| like ratio. Why not occupy this field and
| thus add q most valuable and extensive arti-
Gle of agricultural production to those we
now have2
/ The 80 900 tons of beet sugar grown in 1895
| while relatively small amount compared
! with the product OF Germany and the other
! sugar-growing countries, is sufficient to con-
sutute guaranty of successful sugar culture
| when the farmers OF the country once turn
/ their attention TO the cultivation of this
staple. There are now three beet-sugar fac
tories in California, one in Utah, two IN Ne
braska; one in New Mexico, a small one in
Virginia and one just established in Wiscon-
SIM Within this belt, extending from the At
lantic to the Pacific beet culture is possible,
and when the nine factories now in operation
have been increased in number to twice the
405 factories now i'll operation in Germany,
the greatest beet-sugar country in the world,
we shall only have reached the capacity of
supplying our own wants in sugar.
There should be as much enterprise, in
geIuity and science among the farmers of the
United States as among those of any country
in the world, and attention is called, to this
industry as one capable of indefinite expan-
sion. Give beet sugar an exh haustive trial. 1t
will help to, secure higher prices for corn and
wheat, besides making us independent OF
other countries Tor sugar Supply.