Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-03-29
ON SUGAR MAKING.
Hon. John Morrison, of Hedrick
Gives Hisviews.
MADE A VISIT TO THE PEKlN PLANT
MIR. Morrison Thinks Ottun.wa is the
Proper Place to Locate Factory and
Farmers In the Vicinity of He'd
rick Will Grow the Bects.

Hon. John Morrison, of Hedrick, is
of the opinion that Wapello and sur
rounding counties can raise the beets
necessary to insure the erection of a
sugar beet factory in Ottumwa. AT
one time he thought that Hedrick was
the proper place to locate this mann
moth institution, but after carefully
viewing the situation from all points
he has come to the conclusion that-Ot-
tumwa with her natural advantages is
the proper point and that the terri
tory contiguous to Hedricll can help
| in the production of the beets. Mr..
Morrison paid visit to the Pellin, Ill,
factory and herewith gives the result
of his observations: ~
The Letter.
Editor Courier: / notice, with spe-
cial interest, that you are urging your
people TO organize and raise samples
of sugar beets, to be shipped to Pekin,
for the purpose of determining the ca
pacity of Iowa soil and Iowa climate,
for sugar production. I have taken a
very warm interest in this subject
since it was first agitated. Having
spent the best years of my life farm
ing. and having at numerous times
raised experimental beets. Last Novem-
Der, in company with Mr.. Brooks, our
banker, and also a farmer, made a
pilgrimage to Pekin, ILL.,, to see the
machinery in operation. Mr.. Emery,
of Des Moines, who has taken great
interest in the subject, had arranged
to take a party to Pekin. l noticed
this in the Register, and knowing spe-
cial facilities would be given to exam
inc the factory in all its detail, Brooks
and / took the Iowa Central for Peo-
ria, and arrived atPekin the night be-
fore the Des Moines party. 1t is this
! visit of which | propose to give your
readers an account. >s
I had long been of the opinion that
| our location here in Hedrick would
| be favorable for such a factory, but Il
am now satisfied it is not. Ottumwa
1 is, in my opinion, in possession ofsfhe
requisite facilities for such "a factory,
and these will be mentioned ass the
narrative proceeds. After breakfast,
| in Pekin, we, that is Brooks and l
walked down along the river on the
railroad track, say half1a mile, when
1
three or four story brick building, on
| the site of an old distillery. We went
| to the office about a. nj. and told
| the clerk we were from Iowa. He in
| formed us that the Dess Moines party
i requested us to make ourselves COM
Portable until that time. Well, we
soon became restless and. were given
i kSp,,,, IF - l,,,t ~
had no one to explain anything to u.s.,
The Factory.
The main building was large shed,
about 800 feet long and 100 feet wide,
with the railway track on two sides.
f5About fifty feet from the MAIN build
/ ing, in the center of an elevated shed,
the farmers We're unloading the beets
from wagons. There was room here
for about fifty wagons at one time. A
long sink, about fifteen feet wide, and
tapering down to a trough at the bot
tom, received the lbeets. This was COW
4 cred by 4 plank two inches thick and
when beets were wanted, a stream of
water was letin and the beets forced
to the main building. AS they entered
the building the cold dirty water was
screened out and hot water let in;
they We're stirred with long stick
until all the dust was removed. When
this was done the water was let out
and the beets elevated to the top of
the factory.
Good beet Land.
l During the examination of the beet
shed | conversed with farmers, UNI
loading beets, about the soil suitable
4 for their culture. From what they
said assumed that the factory had
been located on the Illinois bottom
because there was more sand than on
the upland prairie, but was informed
4 that this did not matter and that it
could be laid down as general rule,
that good, rich corn soil, with not too
much manure on it, was the best soil
for beets; that the black upland soil
was just as good as any. The condi-
tons they laid down We're either tiled
or good surface drainage; deep SUBJ
soil blowing, if possible, the fall be-
fore, stirring. narrowing and pulveriz-
ing in the spring until it is like an
onion bed; drilled in eighteen inches
or two feet apart, very thickly seeded
thru the cultivator. The hand work
lis bunching, that is, cutting out with
a hoe, then thinning to one plant and
two hoeings. The cultivation must be
thoro, and affords work for boys and
girls at good wages, generally. The
yield varies owing to soil and cultiva-
ton. l was informed that the lowest
was fourteen tons per acre, the high
est twenty-five tons.
Making Sugar.
When we reached this point the Des
Moines party arrived in carriages. In
it was Will Jordan, formerly OF OF
tumwa, and some fifteen or twenty
other men, mostly capitalists. They
were accompanied by the general man
agen, aud an educated and Intelligent
German, trained to the business. He
took us first to the upper story, where
the clean beets We're dumped by the
elevator into large automatic weighing.
machines, which recorded their weight
They were then dropped into shred
der, which tore them into strips. These
| fell into hopper, the bottom of which
opened on an endless belt foot wide.
In the second story, running lenrth-