The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-05-13
THE SUGAR BEET WASTE.
An American Consul Presents infOr-
nation on the Subject.

'-' 'it- dliHZdtIOn OF SuSttF-betJ VAST
Concerning the utilization of beet heads
and leaves which remains after harvest.
Mr. BaehT says a recent report as to
their value when left on the ground in
the fields as a fertilizer. IS now only part
" true. according to Ernest AndUs. an ac-
kHowledged expert on sugar beets. Mr.
Baehr writes to the department on the
subject as follows
The chief reasons which prevent the "a
tional utilizing Of these agricultural by
products as stock food are the fact that
they become mixed with earth and dirt,
the impoSSibiIity Of using more than
part Of the by-products as fodder while
they are still fresh Cthe greater part be
ing spoiled by the influence Of the wealth
err, and, further, the tremendous loss of
matter-oftcn one-third Of the whole mass
which results from the fermentation in
siIos
The principal cause, however is that
the fresh leaves contain a poisonous mat
ter. This is oxaIi~ acid and its combina-
ton with pota ssium and sodium. The dry
matter contains from to per cent Of
this poisonous substance, and even the
feTmeuted leaves contain from to per
cent The first effect Of this poison upon
an animal which has been fed with fresh
leaves IS to produce severe purgEtiOn, and
a continued use of the fermeuted leaves
produces fractures of the bones. This
last symptom is caused by the sOIubility
of the oxaIic acid The easily soluble
combinations of oxaIiC acid with POTASH
UNI and sodium, as they are found in the
beet leaves. are poisonous, but, on the
contrary. the combination of oxalic acid
with calcium (oxalate of IimeJ is but
slightly. If at all. poisonous, because it
is insoluble and therefore leaves the body
Should the food contain an insufficient
quantity of lime. the deficiency must be
supplied from that contained in the body
OF the animal itself. from the phosphate
Of lime which gives strength to the bones.
This makes the bones Of the animal poor
er in lime and fragile. This has been
demonstrated by Prof. Dr.. ZUntz in the
animal physiological laboratory Of the
School of Agriculture at Berlin An at
tempt has been made to render the OK
alic salts harmless by adding carbonate
of lime to the food. or by scattering It
among the leaves when storing them IN
siIos. if possible IN the form of preciDi-
tates obtained from the beet-sUgar fac
tories
This. however, is to be recommended
only in cases of necessity, as it raises the
already high percentage of earthly impu-
rites in the fresh as we'll as in the fer
mented leaves. and satisfactory solution
Of this problem must therefore be sought
elsewhere.
After many unsuccessful attempts,
German farmer named WUestenhag gen
part owner Of the sugar factory Heckiin-
gen, near Stassfurt. in this district-has
succeeded IN making an easily digestibie
food from the heads Of the beet, together
with the stems and lea"es which are cut
off at the harvest by the following process
% Cleansing Of the leaves from earth and
dirt; ~ almost complete destruction of the
oxaIc acid contained in the leaves 80
conservation of sugar contained in the
heads: "a siicing Of the entire material:
and, finally %. drying and storing Of the
same. Each Of these five points is equally
important TEs discovery is patented
The tops and leaves are left on the field
about ten days 10 wither, during which
time they lose from 50 TO s. per cent Of the
water they contain At the same time, the
leaves shrink very much, 50 that when
they are loaded oE the wagon and well
shaken by the workmen, a great part OF
the earth falls off The material is then
put into a revolving drum supplied with
sieves. into which hot air streams. This
dries the particles Of earth and sand and
almost all fan through the sieve
These proceedings are followed by an
almost complete decomposition Of the OK
aIc acid. which interesting fact has been
discovered by Prof Dr.. Maercker, Of
Halle.
The temperature of the hot air must
not rise beyond a certain point. in order
that the heads of the beet may not lose
any Of their sugar contents The material
which has been in this way half dried is
then cut Up into slices. and the drying is
completed at 4 lower temperature.
This sequence in the order of proceed
ing is very important. The heads and the
Ieafy parts OF the beet have totally diff
ferent construction from the surface of
the leaves. IL one attempted to dry the
material without cutting it into slices.
the leaves would De burned while the in
sides of the stems and the heads were
still damp IF one We're to cut the ma
teriaI into slices without drying it. the
sticky mass which would result would be
most difficult 40 dry
The half-dried material must also be
so cut that there can be no loss Of the
material during the removal of the i'm
pUrities. which continues throughout the
drying process
Prof. Maerccer. who is known far out
side of Germany IS one of the best au-
thorities in agricultural questions. saws
IL a report that the dry material resulting
from this process is q food with an adrnf-
Tab bic appearance that il Is COMPOSED Of
good substances and can be preserved Z
long time: that il has d healthy smell
and CoTreSp OHdln2ly bright color which
shows that the temperature during the
process Of drying has not been high
enough TO cause the decomposition Of the
sugar It contains il per cent ana more
Of sugar, while the percentage of 0xaIil.
acid has been reduced 70 0.i2 per cent If
one assumes that an acre OF beets T,ro-
duces 1920 pounds Of by-products the
gain in dry food would be about 3s01
pounds per acre
The firm Of Buettuer & Never of
IeGinSeu- Rhine. has also patented
a system for drying the leaves. which is
said to be somewhat different from that
Of NueStenhageu-
1t is presumed that in both systems tn.
drying apparatus is used in CODUecrfon
with the sugar factory. Such an anna
ratus, with all the necessary arcass6rias
for driving the leaves and beet tons -,T-o-
duced on an area Of from 800 To / ff1 ,rrae
would hardly be ObtainabIe for less than
S5.GDI.
As the supply of leaves and heads comes
at TIE same time as the supply of The
beet. farms at some distance from the
sugar tSctory would gain little advantage
from such al arrangement. on account
of the high costs of transport 1t has
therefore been proposed to erect small an
Dardtus OF this kind at railway stations
or at some other place conveniently stu
ated for a certain number Of farms An
paratus which could easily be transDoTtsd
would be the best for this purpose
1t is of the first Importance to have n
knowledge of the high value as food of
the beet and It's by-prOduCtS. Whptber ON
the Held in the form Of leaves and heads
o. in the factory after the sugar has bearl
% Ers