The Delta independent., 1908-03-20

by the Gamers is known as dry coarse,
granulated--a grade which is not COM
monty made by the beet sugar manu-
facturers, because there has not yet
been the demand sufficient to warrant
its production, but it could be made by
them as readily as the ordinary granu-
lation.
The several kinds of fruit were
placed in cases in the ordinary manner.
and stored in rather unfavorable To-
cation for a period of two years, cans
of each variety being opened from
time to time to observe the change, if
any. OF the 1000 cans which were
thus treated only 6 cans from the beet
sugar lot and from the cane-sugar lot
spoiled during the two years, and these
were evidently due to imperfect sealing
of the cans. thus showing the utter
lack of foundation for the idea that
fruits do not keep well when preserved
with beet sugar, and that such sugar
does not work well in the cannery.
In the household trials both apricots
and peoches were canned in 40 per
cent syrup. so cans in each lot, the
ordinary Mason jars boing used as con-
tainers in each case. From these not
single can spoiled dnring the two-year
period.
In the jelly trials apples and currants
were used as the basis, equal quantities
of juice and sugar being used, and the
mixture boiled until of the right con-
sistency to jell. The product in each
case was as clear as it is possible for
Jelly to be, and not the slightest diff
Guilty was experienced in the making of
it.
In connection with this work an at
tempt was made to trace numerous re-
ports to the effect that fruit had been
lost through the use of beet sugar, but
in not single case was it found that
the person so losing fruit positively
knew that the sugar from the beet had
been used.
In the early days of sugar refining
there may possibly have been some
foundation for an objection of this kind
but it certainly does not-exist to-day
with the most modern methods of man.
ufacture adopted by the beet-sugar
houses.
The utter folly of this idea that beet
sugar can not be used for canning pur-
poses Is further emphasized by the fact
that practically all the sugar used in
Germany and France for the purposes
of canning and preserving is from the
beet, and for many years American
| refined beet sugar was used without
complaint in this country, because the
mass of the people were not aware that
| it was derived from the beet. This
sugar was brought here as raw sugar
from Europe, refined at American re-
fineries, and consumers purchased it
under the false idea that it was cane
sugar.
But as the industry began to grow
rapidly in the United States attention
was directed to the source of sugar,
and there has arisen this popular error,
which may have been somewhat fos-
tered by interested parties.
| People have become so accustomed
to the term "cane sugar" that they do
not realize that within the last few
years the bulk of the worlds sugar
supply has shifted from cane to beet.
In 1858 the worlds sugar supply was
I,1s4, 900 long tons, of which 304, 900
tons were accredited to the sugar beet,
or about q per cent. In 10 8 practi-
cally two-thirds of the worlds sugar
was derived from the sugar beet.
The growth of the industry in the
United States has been second only to
its growth IN the sugar world. AS an
American industry it is less than forty
years old, for it was in 1869 that the
first plant to manufacture beet sugar
successfully in commercial way was
erected in California. For the first
twenty years the industry grew but
slowly, so that in 1890 there were out
three factories. Before the close of
1901, however, the number had in
creased to 80 increase of 900 per cent.
in ten years) while in 1905 the number
of factories in operation in the United
States was 81, an increase of over loo
per cent in the past six years, and
several new ones are scheduled for the
campaign of 1907, not to mention Others
operating in Canada,
We must admit, then, that the in
dustry is quite beyond the experimental
stage and has become reality in this
country, and factor worthy the at
tention of the people.