The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1898-09-08

In tile southern sss.Sos. I quote you
what that departments says on the sub
ject:
Experience has shown that the sugar
beet reaches it's highest development in
north temperate ATTITUDES. So far as
the production of beets with high ton.
mage 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
sugar than those grown farther north.
Il must be remem bered, 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 across them almost at right angles.
AS result OF many years of careful ex.
Fermentation, it may be said that as
far as temperature alone is concerned
the sugar beet attains its greatest per-
lection in q zone of varying width,
through the center of which passes the
isothermal line of 10 degrees Fahrein.
heit for the months Of June, July and
August"
If the agricultural department at
Washington is correct in the above
statement, and they doubtless are, the
cotton states are declared from growing
the sugar beet profitably, as the south
ern boundary Of the belt spoken of as
suitable to their cultivation, passes
through the central part east and west
Of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Iowa and Nebraska, and thence dips al
most due south 10 the boundary of Mex
leo. The same authority, however, says:
''There are doubtless many localities
lying outside of this belt, both
north and south, IN which the sugar
beet will be found to thrive;
but this will be due to some
exceptional qualities Of the climate
or soil, and not to any favorable infiu-
ence Of higher or lower temperature. "
My opinion 10 that the sugar beet
would find suitable soil, temperature
and moisture in the valleys of our north.
ern counties and on the plateaus Of our
mountain ranges, but not elsewhere in
the state. The cost of growing sugar
beets is variously estimated at from
$50. 90 to 10000 per acre, and the value OF
the crop at from $4,000 to $1,000 pei
acre, according TO yield and percentage
of saccharine matter in the beets.
The latter part of your question il
fully answered by the Washington de
| partment as follows:
ION account Of the elaborateness o.
the process and the costly nature of tn,
machinery which is necessary to pro
duce beet sugar, even in a small way
it is not believed that it could be profit
ably made in the way indicated. Tn,
| department has no knowledge of any
successful beet sugar factory Of thi
kind. There is no country producins
any notable quantity of beet sugar il
which home apparatus costing only
few thousand dollars has any appre
ciable influence on the output Of sugar
Russia has been cited IS an exception t,
this rule, but the average annual outpu
Of each factory there is in round number
b,000, 900 pounds, representing an aver
age consumption OF 81, 900 tons Of beets
Il would not be right TO encourage the
attempt 20 manufacture beet sugar II
any such way; nor should the expecta
ton be excited among our farmers tina
thew will be able to make crude arti