The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-29
SUGAR REFINERY FACTS.
GOOD ARGUMENTS FOR a REFI-
merry IN SAVANNAH.

for Profitable Investme N t-sOme
Facts Worth Careful COnsidera-
ton.
Quitman, Ca. June 2s.-Editor Morning
News: In your editorial in yesterdays
News relative to the establishing OF a SUI
gar refinery in Savannah, you say my
articles are not as satisfactory as those
who are interested In the subject would
like TO have them. This, to my mind. is
but reasonable, wise and just, for it is
fact that no sensible man would be apt to
invest his money in a scheme upon the
mere ipse dixit of another.
AS to the cost of a refinery plant. that
depends wholly upon the amount Of syrup
to be refined. and varies, say from $4,000
TO 100000, as the requirements may be
for manufacturing the quantity of syrup
into refined or graduated sugar that may
be conferred upon the point FOR refining.
My estimates on syrup delivered at the
points of shipment has been based on 20
cents per gallon for a fully standard
syrup. This price may be varied accord
ing to the demand and competition, If
there should be any, which is not at all
alive for she could provide other plants
as they may be needed. which will be the
case from the first years trial on and on.
/ fully agree with Mayor Myers that 1t
will not be wise to begin with less than
a $500 600 plant although ] figured on
$3.50. 600 plant which will give an output of
$1,000 pounds of refined sugar
per day, whereas 100000, plant
will give considerably more than
100000 pounds-the estimate being 10000
pounds of fully standard or graduated
sugar per day of twenty-four hours, at
no greater cost for expert labor, super
intendent and office expenses than a 3d.
O00-pound house. Such a house should
refine Georgia and Florida syrup at cost
not to exceed 80 cents per 100 pounds of
sugar-the estimate being 50 cents per 100
pounds.
You say the farmers would like to
know something about the actual cost of
growing an acre of cane and turning 1t
into syrup; also the average yield of syrup
per acre, under the most improved meth
DDS" From actual field operating it is
known that cane culture does not exceed
an average annual cost of $3.50 per acre.
If they buy seed cane the first year will
cost, say, SIG per acre. If they will cover
the stubble with The cane fodder and then
run good sized turning pillow furrow on
each side of the row so as to protect the
roots from which the cane had been taken
to be converted into syrup it will return
or sprout out again, and II fertlized will
make a fairly good crop, or may be kept
for seed another year and if thus con-
tinued the farmers may in a very short
while have all the seed cane they may
want. If the most improved methods are
used the cost for grinding or MASKING the
juice from the stalks and converting 1t
into syrup is a mere fraction of a cent
per gallon. At any rate the farmers will
enter into contracts TO deliver at the near
est point of shipment stan
| dard grade of syrup for 20
| cents per gallon After consultation with
| quite number of farmers 1 have
yet TO find one who thought 800 gallons
| of good syrup too much on a general
| average per acre, while a great many
| said to me that they had made as much
| as $50 gallons per acre, and this under dis
| coura ging circumstances-there being no
| market for It, Create a market for the
| syrup in Savannah, and you will find that
| 900 barrels will find it's way to that
| point during the next cane season, which
number will be largely increased year aft
| er year. What if l should tell you that
| Brooks, Thomas and Decatur counties
| produced the past season more than 100000
barrels of syrup? And what If I should
| add that even under the old and crude
methods, the farmers are making a very
much better grade of syrup than they
/ made five years ago. Yes, it is true, the
| average farmer can count on getting $12O
from one acre gross for syrup, or, if he
| has ten acres, 81 200, or if he has twenty
| acres, 81, 400. And this at a general aver
| age product of 600 gallons of syrup per
| acre. And while the common estimate in
| pounds of pure sugar by actual and Oft
| repeated test has averaged seven pounds,
l win reduce it for the sake of being
| rather under than over, to six pounds of
sugar per gallon, and put the price at 5
| cents per pound, which equals 30 cents
per gallon, a profit of 10 cents on the
| gallon, to say nothing of the resdium
| which is useful as a feed for hogs and
| especially milch cows. and other stock.
| A one-horse farmer can easily cultivate
twenty acres in cane and as many In
| other crops, and, indeed, a cane crop does
not require as much labor as the same
| number of acres in corn would, and can
be done entirely by horse power and a
good size sweep, no hard work being re-
quired. And what is better, no one has
ever known of failure of the cane crop,
the plant is peculiarly hardy and will
stand almost any amount of abuse, neg
lect, drought or excess of rainfall, or wind
storms. which would prove fatal to any
other field crop; while, at the same time,
it responds generously to careful culture
and repays many fold for intelligent Gull
ture and fertilization.
l fully agree with Mayor Myers that
there are thousands of acres of most ex-
cellent sugar cane lands in Chatham. Bry-
an, Liberty. and Effingham counties on
which enough cane can be grown TO sup
ply a 100000 factory at Savannah with all
the syrup such a plant can handle. Hence
If Savannah gets the start on sugar refin-
ing there is no telling to what proportions
the industry will grow in a few years
time and the country and city will feel
the impulse and grow in like proportion.
; / .4.ra
that will have 10 be established to meet
the growing demand from the entire cane
growing country of Southern Georgia and
all of Florida for time TO come will make
Savannah the queen city of the South
This is no overdrawn picture of what is
really in store for lovely Savannah Now.
reader did you ever know of a sugar-cane
4 growing country that was not luxuriantly
e wealthy? Joseph Tillman