The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1903-08-14
SUGAR Beet Notes.


The American Sugar Refining Co. has
acquired a controlling interest in the
Valley Sugar Co., of Saginaw. This
gives the company control of the plants
at Bay City, Alma, Saginaw, Caro-,
Croswell and Carrollton.
J. A. Kyes, superintendent of the
Merchants Beet Co., has resigned, and
w. A. Wright was placed in charge of
the beet fields. A new force of men
will be put to work in the Martin field
to replace the Bay City people who left
for home Saturday.
Some of the people of the county who
are growing beets for the Owosso Sugar
Co. seem to fear that the magnificent
plant now being built will not be ready
to make sugar this fall and that they
will be compelled to ship their beets
to Lansing at heavy expense to
themselves. The fact that the work on
the plant is at least month ahead of
that on any other plant erected in the
state and the further fact that the con-
tractors are under heavy indemnity
bonds to have the factory in readiness to
make sugar promptly at the beginning
OF the campaign should quiet all such
fears. No one will be compelled to
ship any beets or to defer delivering the
same unless something entirely unfor-
seen occurs. Both the contractors and
the officers of the Sugar Co. are greatly
pleased with the progress already made
in the construction.
Conforming to its custom each wear,
the Beet Sugar Gazette sent its repre-
sentative to inspect the sugar beet fields
of Michigan last month. All sections of
the state were not visited as heretofore,
but sufficient range of territory was
viewed to enable this writer to report
that the condition Of the beet crop
throughout Michigan is uniformly excel
lent. There is most remarkable con-
trast in the appearance of the beets as
compared with last year at the same
time.
Last season the beet fields We're flooded
with water in many sections, weeds
flourished supreme, and the beets were
unusually small and ill-looking. This
year, however, the fields are unc ommon-
ly clean and the beets healthy and
showing fine stand. The weather
this year has been almost ideal and all
the conditions have been favorable to
the beet crop. AS result it may I've
estimated that the yield of beets will be
nearly 100 per cent larger than that of
last season, and if the present conditions
are maintained the factories in Michi-
gan will harvest an average of at least
eight to ten tons per acre for the next
campaign.
The Saginaw Courier of July Goth, in
commenting upon the utilization of
sugar beet pulp for various purposes,
says thataP. N. Stover, of Saginaw,
who is well-known engineer, has been
uOihS Oh o hCW iuCi anu
claims to have reached satisfactory
results in fuel for general purposes
from the combination of soft coal, sugar
beet pulp and saltpeter. In the case of
a sugar plant the claim is made that the
fuel bill can be reduced from one-third
to one-half and the pulp disposed of as
fast as made. 1t can be stored in the
usual way or put on the market. The
experimenting vas performed under the
protection of a caveat filed in the patent
office at Washington, ID. G.
Mrs. w. S. Sayiers. of Oxnard, Cal.
has been experimenting with a new
beet puller invented by him, which is
said to be doing very successful work
The puller is drawn by three horses,
and, it is claimed, does not leave as
many beets as the plows. Only the
very smallest roots are said to be missed.
The beets are also left in good shape for
topping, all being left in about the same,
relative positions. % w