Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1898-01-14
SUGAR BEET RAISING.
THE INDUSTRY PROPOSED FOR THE
GREEN MOUNTAIN STATE.

State-Facts and Figures by an EN-
pert Statistician Quoted.
In casting about to find some industry
to locate in Brandon the board of trade
will of course endeavor to select some
thing that shall benefit the greatest num-
ber of our people. Any industry that
should employ labor would of course
benefit this whole community as it would
cause free circulation of money, but as
to bow much of the profits of any con-
Germ would revert to our own people
would depend largely upon what kind of
an industry we should select. Should
we choose an industry for which the raw
material to keep it in operation had to be
purchased outside our immediate vicinity,
Obliging us to pay to some other commu-
nifty part of our profits for the raw ma
terial, and to the railroads another part
for transportation charges, it is obvious
that the share of the profits which would
stick to our own pockets would be re-
duced accordingly. But should Brandon
people select an industry the raw mate
rial for which to keep it in operation
should be produced by the people ada
cent to Brandon, there would be saving
to our people of that share of the profits
which would otherwise go into these two
items, the purchase of the raw material
and the transportation charges.
These items are of great importance
and worthy of careful consideration.
There is at least one industry, the beet
sugar industry, that seems to cover all
these points. The product of such an in
dustry will alwaI find a ready market
the entire profits of which would remain
at home. The industry is comparatively
new and Brandon would not embark in a
business which is already overdone. We
have an unOccupied mill which is suita-
bic. Read what other communities are
doing along this line.
In a recent letter to the New \ ork
sun Francis Wayland Glen presents some
interesting facts in regard to the beet
sugar industry of America. For the
year 1896 the record for the beet sugar
mandatory at Walsonville, Cal, showed
that the average yield of beets was l4.0G
gross tons per acre, producing an aver
age of 3, DO pounds of sugar. The farmer
received 81 per ton for the beets, or S5G
per acre.
Here comes in a valuable comparison
of the results to the farmer in the culti-
vation of sugar beets and of wheat. Mr..
Glen finds that with the present duty
upon imported raw sugar, 1t cannot be
laid down in New \ Ork or San Francisco,
duty paid, at less than 3@ cents per
pound. Therefore, to pay for the sugar
product of the average acre of beets will
require Sl24, or l65 bushels of wheat at
70 cents per bushel, or the product of 81
acres of land at 20 bushels per acre.
Allowing that the average per acre of
good land is 12I tons of beets, yielding
5000 pounds of sugar, this gives the
farmer $50 per acre, while the refined
sugar at 30 cents per pound gives the re-
finer $lO5 per acre, or a margin of 500
for his services in converting an acre of
beets into refined sugar. With an aver
age of l3 bushels of wheat to the acre in
the United States for the past seven
years, and an average price of 60 cents
per bushel, the farmer has realized but
$50 per acre as the gross result of
wheat growing. He must use more than
six acres of his land to produce the
amount that he can realize for one acre
of beets.
As regards the financial results of the
beet sugar industry to the entire country,
the demonstration which Mr.. Glen OBJ
tains from his facts and figures is an i'm.
portant one. He says:
"We consume 100000 tons of sugar
annually. TO produce it at 5000 pounds
an acre will require 1913 1873 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 $4,000 O00 or the the product
of nine and one-third million acres of
wheat at $l5 per acre. All consumers
must pay freight upon Imported sugar
from tidewater, whereas if produced In
all parts of our country the cost of dstri-
button will be very much less.
''Sugar is one of the most valuable and
important foods consumed by highly
civilized people. We should not be de-
pendent upon any other people for our
supply. Our fruit industry demands
sugar for its promotion; so does our con-
densed milk industry. We are producing
nearly all of the iron, steel, glass, white
lead, pottery, tin plate, rope, twine and
machinery we consume, and shall at nc
distant day produce at least the sugar we
are compelled to import for home con
sumption.
"The beet sugar industry, like that OF
tin plate, has come to stay. Next year
the largest beet sugar mandatory in
the world will be consuming 5000 tons
per day of California beets. This meanS
paying the farmer $4,000 per day fol
beets. If the factory runs 120 days fol
the season of 1898, 1t means 81 ,440,00(
disbursed to the farmers in a singl,
locality for sugar beets. The sugar bee
industry has passed the experimental
stage. When practical sugar producer
and refiner like Claus Spreckels invests
S2,OOO,OOO in beet sugar refinery, it il
10 L.