The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1903-07-24
Irrigation and Sugar Beets.

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On our little editorial excursion
West, our first stop was at Rocky
Ford where we had an opportunity
to see the effects of irrigation on
Colorado sand. The little city Is
built on what was once barren,
shifting sand waste on which moth
ing of value grew. A system Of
irrigation was put in in such a man
ner that the sands could be satura-
ted whenever it seemed necessary
for crops and now those barren
sand heaps have become wonder
fully productive and are covered
with broad fields of alfalfa, wheat,
sugar beets, melons and other vege
tables, and such a ;thing as crop
failure is unknown.
A beautiful and wealthy little city
has sprung up and prosperity and
plenty abound. Here is located
the great plant of the American
Beet Sugar company. 1t was our
pleasure to go through thisyast con
Germ and trace the beet through the
various processes till it comes out
pure, white granulated sugar and is
blued to suit the public taste. And
right here let US say that we had
popular delusion dispelled.
We thought we could tell beet
sugar from cane sugar any time.
We were assured, however, that the
most expert chemist could not tell
the difference. The characteristics
of sugar seem to be the same, no
difference from what source obtain
ed. The seed to produce these
beets is obtained from the sugar
company and is planted in drills and
thinned by hand to the required
standard. We saw gangs of boys
and girls down on their knees in the
beet fields thinning and wedding,
beets.
They are kept thoroughly cultlva-
ted and walered by irrigation as
moisture is needed. When ripe the
beets are pulled and conveyed to
the factory by wagons or cars
They are dumped out into large
bins with sloping V shaped sides
The beets drop to the bottom into a
cement sluice way which floats them
to the washing watts where they are
thoroughly cleaned and then eleva-
ted to the upper story, where they
are sliced by series of knives and
then placed in large watts of hot
water and the sweet washed out.
They are washed in this hot water
ten or twelve times before the sweet
is supposed to be sufficiently ex
tracted. This water now thorough
" saturated with the sweet proper
ties of the beet is treated with lime,
acid and sulphur and evaporated
until the sugar is extracted and
eranulated. The wet sugar is placed
in rapidly revolving cylinders SINH
lar to the dryers in modern launl
dry and all the moistureis whirrel'
ed OFT. The hnisher regulates the
coarseness OF fineness and amount OF
blue as the trade seems to demand
This factory cost million dol
lars or more and uses thousand
tons of beets per day during the sea-
son, employing four or fiye nun
dred men during the operating sea-
son which is about half of the year.
The factory pays out about One-haii
million dollars annually for beets.
The farmers receive from 40 to las
dollars per acre for their crop ac-
cording to amount raised and quar-
;,v of the beet. This sugar indus
try is young aud growing enter,
prise in the West, but promises i'm
nense development in the future,
About two.thirds of the 5000, 900
tons of sugar made in the world Is
made from the beet
The United States is the greatest
consumer. II is estimated that 1t