The Delta independent., 1901-07-05

Farmers who have raised sugar beets
often have wondered why the beet
heads and leaves which remain after
harvest have had an injurious effect
on the farm animals to which they
have been fed. 1t would seem as If
these parts of the beet, if cleansed
from dirt, would make good food for
stock, and though the farmer often is
impelled to leave the beet leaves and
head on the ground to serve as fertil-
izer, yet the desire usually is stronger
to feed the waste to the stock. for it is
evident that the tops and leaves OF
the beet contain nutritive elements.
But with heavy raiser of sugar beets
1t is impossible to use more than part
of the by-products as fodder while
they are still fresh. by far the greater
part being spoiled by weathering, and
often a third OF the mass Is lost by
fermentation in the silo. It has been
noticed, too. that stock fed regularly
on these leaves and heads soon show
signs of stomach troubles, and If the
food is persisted in. by some strange
provision OF nature the animal is like
ly to break its legs. These things are
due to the surprising fact that the tops
and leaves of sugar beets contain an
active poison, nothing less than the
deadly oxalic acid. When dried the
leaves contain from to 6 per cent Of
this poison, and even when fermented
the substance holds from 2 to per
cent. There is a curious chemical fact
involved in the action OF the bones OF
the oxalic acid taken in this way. Ok
alic acid is soluble in potassium and
sodium, and in combination with these
elements it exists in the beet leaves.
But oxalic acid has an affinity for lime,
and is insoluble in 1t, and when 1t is
combined with lime in the system of
the animal, it is slightly poisonous, il
at all, being insoluble; and therefore
leaving the body. Now, II sufficient
carbonate of lime is added to the food,
all is well with the animal. But II the
food contains an insufficient quantity
of lime, the deficiency is supplied from
the lime contained in the body OF the
animal. that is. from the phosphate OF
lime which gives strength to the bones.
The natural result OF this is to make
fragile. and easy to break. And thus
it comes that the feeding to an animal
of beet leaves unmixed with lime is
likely to result in the animal breaking
its legs on the least strain. But the
addition to the leaves, either dry or
fermented, of carbonate Of lime adds
to the earthly impurities Of the food,
and this drawback is so great as to ne
cessitate the finding OF some other way
OF eliminating this poison. This way
has been found by German farmer
named Wuestenhagen, who lives near
Stassfurt. By experimenting with
method Of treating the beet tops and
leaves SO that not only were they
available as healthful fodder but even
the small amount of sugar which they
contain may be saved. His process
consists OF these five steps: Cleansing
of the leaves from earth and dirt; al
most complete destruction OF the OK
alic acid contained in the leaves; con-
servation OF sugar contained in the
heads; slicing of the entire material:
and, finally the drying and storing OF
It The discoveryis patented. The tops
and leaves are left on the field
about ten days to wither during
which time they lose from so to SO
per cent of the water they contain.
At the same time the leaves shrink
SO that when they are loaded on the
wagon and well shaken by the work
men a great part of the earth falls OF.
The material Is then put into a re-
volving drum supplied with sieves.
into which hot air streams. This dries
the particles OF earth and sand. and
almost all fall through the sieve.
These proceedings are followed nat
urally by an almost complete decom-
position Of the oxalic acid. The dry
material resulting from this process
contains IA per cent. and more OF
sugar, while the percentage of oxalic
acid has been reduced to O.42 per cent.