The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-26
A BEET SUGAR FACTORY
THE FIRST ATTEMPT AT MANUFAC-
TURF IN NEW YORK STATE.
Process Through which the Beets
and the Syrup Have to Pass-NOt
the Best Beet Region.
Correspondence New York Post.

Correspondence New York Post.
A mile and one-half from the railroad sta
ton at Rome the visitor suddenly sees star
ing him in the face a large sign. on which
is printed in bold white letters this legend:
1.-The First New York Beet Sugar Factory"
and upon inquiry inside he finds that it is
the only factory of its kind in the Empire
State. The factory has just been put into
opera ton, and 1t is the only one to-day in
the East engaged in grinding sugar beets
into the pulpy mass TO which they have to
be reduced before extracting the sugar.
There are similar factories in California and
Nebraska and even one in Canada; but,
owing to general lack of knowledge on the
subject in the East where the sugar beets
were not supposed to do well, no attempt
was made to organize company to erect
a factory until Mr.. Kanaley, the manager
of the one at Rome, agitated the question
and carried to a successful issue the pres
ent plant. Capitalists have in recent years
been convinced by the Agricultural Depart
ment that there was money to be made in
making sugar from beets in this country
but most of the Eastern capital went west
for investment.
Now, in the words of Mr. j. p. Hines
sugar beet inspector for the United States
Department of Agriculture, the sugar beet
industry in this State surpasses expecta-
tions l think New York the best place in
the United States for raising beets" Prof
H. w. Wiley, of the department, speaking
of the beets raised in this vicinity, wrote
to the manager I'VE have received a num-
Der of beets from the Penn Yam district
most of which are of full size and good
quality, and show up remarkably well.
do not think there is locality III the United
States where the prospects are better than
in New York"
These Communications of the new industry
come just as the factory is in full opera
ton in grinding the first crop OF poets
raised in the State. Carloads OF peets nave
been pouring into the factory Ior the last
month or two, and the huge machinery is
in full operation grinding ard crushing
them. ILL.,.
building 800 feet wide, located on q tract
of land eight acres in extent, with 1,tVJ leel
on the Erie canal and 1000 rect on tne
Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad. II IS
a three-story structure, the machinery lot
which originally cost 25S,O00. II was com com
pleted in September, and opened Tor puslo
ness on the LIST of october. 1t employs lVv
men, some of whom are working night ana
day, and the factory does not even snue
down on Sundays. The farmers who raise
the beets for the factory receive 10 per ton
for all the beets that come UP to the stand
ard test. The owners OF the factory ois-
tributed seed to $50 farmers between SYRIA
cuse and Little Falls, last season, VINO were
under contract to furnish all or thelr crops
to the factory, at the price agreed upon
About 100 tons were delivered TINS fall,
and this, when converted, Will yleld ABOUT
IL 900 barrels of granulated sugar The fac
tory has a capacity OF making wv parrels
of sugar day.
WHITE BETS BEST.
The white beets received this season
from the farmers contained from IA to 20
per cent of sugar, while the red beets pro-
duced only 8 to II per cent. The varieties
sown by the farmers were the French I'M
perial and Vilmorin and the German Klein
Wanzlebener. The beets come to the fac
tory by the railroads and canal boats, and
are weighed at once, to give due credit to
the farmers sending them. Then they are
carried outside of the factory and dumped
into a huge receiver. which conducts them
to the washers. When washed they are
carried by an elevator to the top or the
building and deposited on the beet sheer,
which cuts them into strings; ana lets
them drop into huge tanks Wnen THESE
twelve tanks are filled with the sllced
beets they are covered with boiling water
and capped down air-tight. me melted
mass is treated to three different hot-Water
baths in the tanks, under the pressure OF
forty pounds of steam, and then the syrup
is drawn off into tanks outside OF the pullu-
ing About three hundred tons OF syrup are
obtained from every 200 tons OF beets put
into the diffusion batteries.
In the tanks outside the Factory the syrup
comes in contact with carbonic acid gas and
the milk of lime. Further chemicals are
added at this stage of the operation, ac-
cording to the nature OF the syrup round IN
the tanks, under the necessary supervision
of an expert Next the syrup is pumped
through filter presses, which separate the
impurities from it, and then through long
pipes it goes to a tank at the top Of the
building This tank is filled with screens
and underneath it there are sulphur gas
furnaces burning continually. As the syrup
drips through the screens the sulphur gas
passes through 1t and beaches 1t.
The process of reducing the beets to
sugar is still only half completed and the
syrup thus purified goes into large vacuum
pans, and afterwards into sugar boilers,
then to the sugar mixer, and finally to the
great centrifugals, where the molasses is
separated from the sugar. Another opera
ton extracts all the moisture from the
sugar, and spouts it through screens to the
floor below, where it arrives pure granu-
lated sugar, ready for packing, weighing
and shipping.
USE FOR PULP.
The molasses is sent to the crystallza-
ton ROOM where ii is treated differently,
while the pulp of the beets, which was sep
arated from the sugar early in the process,
is sold to the farmers at 81 per ton for
feeding purposes. 1t is very nourishng and
fattening for cattle, and is probably the
cheapest food the farmers can buy in the
winter. 1t takes three tons of beets TO make
one ton of pulp, and all that has been ex-
tracted from the vegetables are 700 pounds
of sugar and 1900 pounds Of water. Many
of the farmers have contracted for large
quantities Of the beet pulp, and dairy farm
ing in the vicinity of the factory will re-
ceive new impetus from the industry.
The factory will probably run about nine
ty days, or until about the 1st of January.
The Western factories generally run seven
months or more each year beginning in
September, and not disseminating until the
following April. Next year, however, the
Rome factory will place more seed and
cure more contracts, the owners of the fac
tory having made arrangements for the
20 coo tons of beets will be harvested Dur
ing the past summer all the way from eight
to thirty tons of beets were raised on each
acre, but the average was fifteen tons. 1t
is claimed that the farmers make a fair
profit when they get 81 per ton for their
beets and at s. per ton, which the factory
pays. they make very good profit.
Last year the managers of the factory
distributed the seed among the farmers
free but this season they will sell ii at a
fair price. 1t takes about ten pounds of
seed to raise an acre of beets. The farmers
hereab bouts are very enthusiastic about the
new industry. ard many are anxious TO
raise beets for the new factory and besides
raising beets at fixed price per ton many
The capital stock of the concern aggregates
about 100000, and over $50 farmers have
taken some of the stock The farmers must
receive cash for their beets. according TO
recent decision of the attorney general, and
not accept stock in exchange for them. but