The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1901-06-05
Utilization Of Sugar Beef Water.

The chief reasons which prevent the
rational utilizing Of these agricultural
by-products [heads and leaves of sugar
beets1 as stock-food are the fact that
they become mixed with earth and
dirt, the lmpossibility of using more
than part Of the by-products as fod-
der while they are still fresh (the great
er part being spoiled by the influence
Of the weather) and, further, the tre-
mendous loss of matter-often one
third of the whole mass-which results
from the fermentation in silos.
The principal cause, however, is
that the fresh leaves contain q poi
sonous matter. This is oxalic acid,
and its combination with potassium and
sodium. The dry matter contains from
4 to per cent of this poisonous sub
stance, aud even the fermented leaves
contain from two to three per cent
The first effect Of this poison upon an
animal which has been fed with FRESH
leaves is to produce severe purgation,
and continued use of the fermented
leaves product fractures Of the bones.
After many successful attempts, Ger
man farmer named Wuestenhagen has
succeeded in making an easily digested
food from the heads of the beet, to-
gether with the stems and leaves which
are cut off at the harvest, by the fol-
lowing process: ~ Cleansing of the
leaves from earth and dirt; (2) almost
complete destruction of the oxalic acid
contained in the leaves; (3) conservs-
ton of sugar contained in the heads
(4) slicing of the entire material, and,
finally (5), drying and storing the same
Each OF these FIVE points is equally inn
portant. The discovery Ia patented.
The tops and leaves are left on the
field about ten days to wither, during
: which time they lose from 80 to 81
per cent of the water they contain. A
the same time, the leaves shrink to
gether very much, 80 that when they
| are loaded on the wagon and vel
, shaken by the workmen great part o
the earth falls off. The material il
< then put into q revolving drum sup
3 piled with stoves, into which hot al
e streams. This dries the particles 0
t earth and sand and almost all fal
Q through the sieve. These proceeding
q are following by an almost complete
Q decomposition of the oxalic acid, whicl
g interesting fact has been discovered b,
G Professor DR.. Maerc ker of Halle.
s The temperature of the hot air mus
not rise beyond certain point, in or
e der that the heads of the beet may no
: lose any of their sugar contents. TIL
!, material which has been in this wa
d half dried is then cut up into slices
d and the drying is completed at q lowe
a temperature. This sequence in the or
l. der Of proceeding is very important
@ The heads and the leafy parts @
l. the beet have totally different cor
y struction from the surface of the leaves
g If one attempted to dry the materie
Is without cutting it into slices the leave
a would be burned while the insides @
70 the stems and heads were still damp
il If one were to cut the material int
d slices without drying it, the sticky mas
which would result would be most diff
cult to dry.
The half-dried material must also b
80 cut that there can be no loss Of th
u material during the removal of the in
20 purities, which continues Throughout
the drying process.