The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-10-04
Of SUGAR BEET
INDUSTRY IN UNITED STATES
W. N. ARMSTRONG.

The U. s. Department of Agricultural
has recently issued pamphlet of los t
pages, dated March 4th of this Year,
on THE Progress of the Sugar Beet in
dustry in the United States
The citizens of this Territory ought
TO be familiar with its contents. for in
it there is much valuable material
which bears on the future OF the Ha-l
waiian sugar industry. No information
which concerns the one chief industry
of these Islands should be ignored. AS
obtain copy of this report. for the
edition is limited through the failure of
Congress to appropriate money for al
large edition, summary of ii is here
given.
While it may be said that ther= is
nothing in this report which should dis
courage the Hawaiian sugar industry,
there is much in it which shows that
the days of the sugar Bonanza are
over, and that, hereafter, the industry
will stand with wheat, corn, and rice
as staple crops which will, on the aver
age, give the careful industrious, and
, intelligent planter and those interested
with him, fair and at times g gener-
Gus support.
| The report is an excellent illustration
: of the extraordinary and admirable APP
! plication of science to business. In
stead of leaving the new and somewhat
intricate sugar beet industry to be
slowly worked out by thousands of in
experienced, unframed farmers ignor-
ant of the chemistry of agriculture,
| without a comparative knowledge of
soils, unable to find the large literature
of Europe on the subject, the Agricui-
! tural Department quickly placed in the
field a force of competent men to
gather up all that was known on the
subject in Europe and furnish it TO
those who were willing to experiment
! in the new industry, as well as to use
| it in the State and National Expert
ment stations. The result is that manv
years of laundering, and a vast amount
of money invested in useless expert
ments, has been prevented, and though
the industry is only in its infancy in
this country, all the knowledge of the
world is before any person who asks for
it, The task which now remains is that
of acquiring practical knowledge of
the business which will modify more
or less any general information.
The progress of the industry is such
that at the end of ten years from the
date of the general interest taken in it,
the production of beet sugar in the
State of California exceeds the con-
sumption by 100000 pounds. The con-
sumption in any State is reached by
multiplying the average consumption
per head by the number of inhabitants.
| % In the group of three States,
| Washington, Oregon and California, the
production is lab, 947 900 lbs. while the
consumption is 101, 577, 800 lbs. CD
Grouping the States of Utah, Idaho,
| Nebraska, Nevada and Arizona, the
production is 30,71O,oOO lbs. while the
consumption is fl ,294,125 lbs. 80 Group
Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New
Mexico. the production is AZ, All, 500 lbs.
| while the consumption 73,2S8,S11 lbs. IN
Colorado, three years ago, every pound
of sugar was imported while in the
present year the production was A, AL
900 lbs, all that was produced in this
group of three States and one Terri
tory, while the consumption of Colorado
was only 36,912, 400 lbs. or 10, 496, 120 lbs.
less than was produced. 4) Grouping
Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Indian
Territory, Texas and Louisiana, the
production Gncluding cane sugar. is
637, 1888, 700 lbs. while the consumption is
$40, 314 Alb lbs.
The production in other eastern
States, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and
! New York is 1876 1854, 033 lbs. for the year
1901.
(5l The total production of beet sug-
ar in 1901 in all the country was $685.
11,733 lbs, while the consumption OF
both beet and cane sugar in California,
Washington Oregon, Montana, Idaho
Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Col
orado, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas
Nebraska, North and South Dakota
Arkansas, Louisiana and Iowa was
900,196, ESQ lbs. The beet sugar now
supplies 40 per cent of the consumption
in those States. 60 The total product
of beet and cane sugar is enough to
supply the four groups of States men
toned with "a surplus of Al OOt
pounds. % The product of beet sug-
ar in Michigan is three-fourths the
amount of the consumption, and the
additional factories now being erected
will make the product more than the
consumption. (S) The estimated prod
uct for the present year from the new
factories being now erected in Arizona
Colorado, Michigan and Wisconsin is
114,0O0,00O lbs. go 1t is, therefore, ap-
| parent that within a short time the
United States will produce beet sugar
equal to the consumption in the entire
area west of the Mississippi river. 90
Regarding the rapid increase of pro
duction in Michigan, and the construc-
ton of thirteen new factories during
the present year, it was not until re-
Gently discovered that a large area OF
waste timber land is well adapted tc
the growth of beets. The population
which was gradually being deprived OF
its living by the decline of the timber
industry, will now resort to this new
industry with great activity. I'D The
number Of factories finished and in
operation in the United States is forty