The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1902-11-07
SKKYCH OF THE GROWTH OF TIKI INDUSTRY FROM
EARLIEST BEGINNING
Over a Hundred More Factories the Size of
the New Owosso Factory Would be
Required to Manufacture the
Sugar We Still import.
AN ARTICLE WRITTEN BY j. c. MAC PHERSON AND RE-
PRINTED FROM THE NATIONAL
GRANGE SOUVENIR

sugar Is one Ol tut Cuitl duu Ndludpic
food staples of the civilized world, and
in measure its production and increas-
ed use marks the progress of nations.
1t comes from two principal sources,
namely, the sugar care which thrives
best in the tropics under natures en-
dowment, and the beet root which
reaches its highest tdevelopmentin in north
ern climates through intelligent labor
and skillful methods of husbandry.
The history and growth of the cane
sugar industry we need not touch upon,
as the interests of our American farm
ers are interviewer with the sugar beet
and with the permanent success of this
new star that has lately arisen on the
horizon of American agriculture.
The birth, growth and development
of the sugar beet in Europe, where it
first originated, is an interesting chap
ter of prC gress, evolving, as it has, from
low conditions, stage by stage, until it
now has attained a high state of plant
life through the science and skill Of
man.
In Europe much has been accomplish
ed to improve beets, both in quality
and yield. The former has been done
through breeding up" from the seed of
the mother beet" In 1878 beets
worked in Germany contained 9.24 per
1884 per cent, and in 1901 as CLEANED
from European reports, the average was
up to IA per cent sugar in the beet.
The mechanical and chemical develop
ment of the beet sugar industry in Ger
many has doubled the weight of sugar
produced from a given quality of beets
in the last fifty years.
Dr. Wiley, of the Department of Agri-
culture, noted expert, wisely says OF
the sugar beet'that, lit is a plant Of the
highest culture, representing the highest
skill, and highest agriculture; illustrat-
ing more than any other plant what
science applied to agriculture can do for
the human family"
The beet sugar industry originated in
Germany through the experiments and
research of the distinguished German
chemist, Margraff, and his pupil, Franz
Karl Achard. Margraff, in 1747 made
known the result of his Investigations
by declaring that sugar could be ex-
tracted from certain varieties of beets.
He found that red beets contained 4.6
per cent and white beets 6.2 per cent,
sugar. Later, his pupil, Achard, de-
voted his time especially to the extrac-
tion of sugar from beets, with the result
of producing sugar on a comparatively
large scale in 1899. The efforts of
Achard remained fruitless until 1905,
when Baron de Koppy took up his ideas
and methods of operation and put them
into effect by erecting on his estate,
near Strehlen, Germany, the first beet
sugar factory on record Soon after, the
second factory was erected by Achard
ou his estate, and later on, schools for
instruction in the method of cultivating
beets and the manufacture of sugar
were founded bys the government. The
great Napoleon at this time commenced
to inquire into these German expert
ments, resulting under his patronage, in
the erection in 1911 of the first beet
sugar factory in France. Thus we see
that Germany and France were the
pioneers in this new field of agriculture,
that has since grown in Europe to gi-
gantic proportions, and today is ac-
knowledged to be their leading agricul-
tural industry.
The entire beet sugar crop of Europe
for the fiscal year or campaign of 1853 4,
was 304, 900 metric tons, NEARLY 2,205
pounds per ton,) whereas for the cam
paign of 1901-2 the production was
6, 7lO, 600, 600 metric tons, or an increase
Of nearly 90 fold, or 1890 per cent in 4s
years.
The worlds crop during the same
period for both beet and cane sugar,
has risen from 1,4s1, 900 to 1910, 900
long tons or an increase of 637 per cent
in the worlds production.