Wain Lib.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

Accession No.

, 189 ..

3 ^ • Class No.

flimrican
Beet Sugar

INSTRUCTIONS FOR

flELD WORK FROM SEED TO HARVEST

WITH FULL ILLUSTRATIONS Of A

MODEL BEET SUGAR f ACTORY

WITH EXPLANATORY NOTES

BY

WM. H. HOLABIRD

PRICE 5O CENTS

Compliments of
W. H.

305-310 Byrne Building
LOS ANGELES,

Among the Journals giving most enthusiastic support to the develop-
ment of the Beet Sugar Industry, and to whom the writer is indebted, are :

THE SUGAR BEET of Philadelphia, Pa.
THE CALIFORNIA SUGAR BEET, San Francisco.
THE LOUISIANA PLANTER, New Orleans.
THE PACIFIC RURAL PRESS, San Francisco.

THE ORANGE JUDD PUBLICATIONS, Herbert Myrick, Editor,
Springfield, Mass.

They are worthy of the most liberal patronage by the American people.

The Illustrations show the

LOS ALAMITOS SUGAR COMPANY'S
BUILDINGS AND MACHINERY

The photographs were taken while the works were extracting the sugar
from 400 tons of beets daily.

Copyrighted Feb. 1898, by Wm. H. Holabird.

E. H. DYER, ESQ.
The Pioneer Beet Sugar Manufacturer in America.

THOMAS R. CUTLER, ESQ.
Promoter and Manager Utah Sugar Co., lyehi. Mr. Cutler backed his judgment with his capital and won.

WILLIAM A. CLARK, ESQ.
PRESIDENT I,OS ALAMITOS BEET SUGAR CO.

j. ROSS CLARK, ESO.

VICE-PRESIDENT AND MANAGER LOS ALA^MITOS BEET SUGAR CO.

In the face of possible adverse legislation, with the unjust Hawaiian treaty in full force, Messrs. Clark invested
one million dollars in their beet sugar house and lands adjacent. The results have shown the wisdom of
their mature judgment.

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

AMERICAN
BEET SUGAR

INSTRUCTIONS FOR

FIELD WORK FROM SEED TO HARVEST * £ * WITH
FULL ILLUSTRATIONS OF A MODEL BEET SUGAR
FACTORY * * * WITH EXPLANATORY NOTES ^

BY

WM. H. HOLABIRD

Los Angeles, California

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AN IDEAL TYPE OF SUGAR BEET.
From " Pacific Rural Press ".

MILLIONS OF HEADS OF AMERICAN FAMILIES
ARE FARMERS^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Thirty millions of people and upwards constitute the agricultural

.
population. Their prosperity or their adversity affects the nation to a

Sreater degree tnan anv other class.

Seventy-four per cent of our total exports are agricultural products,
chiefly staples sold at so small a margin of profit as to make it a question
whether it would not be wiser to abandon their production in excess of local
needs. No new crop can be suggested that will so thoroughly change these un-
fortunate conditions as the Sugar Beet. Consequently in the development of the
Beet Sugar industry lies the hope of American agriculture.

No other nation in the world is increasing in wealth and intelligent population
in comparison to the United States of America.

In no other country is the burden of taxation lighter, or the guarantee of safety
to capital invested greater.

In no other country has inventive genius been given greater encouragement,
or reaped greater results.

Particularly in the manufacture of beet sugar machinery has this fact been
illustrated, as is shown in the very successful sugar factories at Alvarado, Califor-
nia ; Lehi, Utah ; and Los Alamitos, California, the first, the parent beet sugar
factory in the United States; the last, the best possible type of what American
genius and American-made machinery can accomplish.

The subject is of vast importance, dealing with an industry the development
of which interests millions of people and capital of colossal proportions.

EFFECT CN COMMUNITY LIFE. — The effect on community life of the establish-
ment of the beet sugar industry, with necessary capital, amidst favorable physical
conditions, is very striking.

The results are best shown at Watsonville, Cal., Chino, CaL, Los Alamitos,
Cal., and Lehi, Utah, particularly in the three last named places. Chino has grown
from a mere hamlet in the midst of a stock farm to a town of no small importance.
Over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars per annum are paid to the beet
growers, in addition to a sum nearly as large for labor and officers' salaries con-
nected with the factory. Lehi, Utah, was a very ordinary settlement ; its pictur-
esque surroundings and fertile soil did not make a market for the farmers' prod-
ucts, and up to the date of the establishment of the sugar factory there was little
more than a bare living for the farmer ; he had no bank account, his taxes were
not always paid promptly, he owned no comfortable carriage or pleasure vehicle,
his lines were hard and unpromising fas is too true in the case of all outlying
farming villages, no matter where they are situated). But the sugar factory
came. A cash market, at a fixed price, was given him for his beets. Seven years
have passed. A bank with 700 depositors exists, largely farmers, and when the
writer visited this most interesting community, the balance to the credit of the
depositors exceeded $70,000, although it was the end of the season and just before
marketing the beets, hence the time of all times when the cash on hand should be
the least amount. The banker said, " We have no delinquent taxes, the farmers

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AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 7

are not in debt as a class ; they all, or nearly all, own comfortable carriages ; their
homes, though simple, are comfortable; pianos and other luxuries are not uncom-
mon. Farm values are high now, whereas in the days before the factory came,
they were very low. The quality of other crops with which they alternate their
beets is much improved and the quantity is greater." An air of thrift pervaded
the entire community. New homes were being built and public improvements
made, and Lehi, Utah, stands to-day as a living illustration of the results of a good
market for a rich farm product, to first hands, with no middle man between.

That the capitalists who invested in Lehi are at least satisfied, that they made
no mistake in investing $350,000 to $500,000, is shown by the fact that they are
organizing other sugar factories in the State of Utah, as well as in adjoining ter-
ritory. Capital so invested reaps a handsome profit, which is proper and right.

Los Alamitos, California, is the youngest town or community dependent upon
a sugar factory.

Ground was broken in the fall of '96. The situation was a great unsettled
valley, the nearest railroad station seven miles away. The soil, virgin and of sur-
prising fertility, had been of little use save to produce a coarse grass for pasture.
One year has passed, and a transformation has taken place that is most interest-
ing to note. The Southern Pacific Company extended their line to the site now
christened ' * Los Alamitos. ' ' A town of 500 people came into existence as if by
magic. Water-works, hotels, stores, livery stables and comfortable homes were
built in less than six months. Thirty-five hundred acres of land were broken up
and put into beets, the area to be doubled in 1898.

Conspicuous in the foreground, the magnet that drew the people, the mint that
turned beets into dollars, stands the splendid Los Alamitos Beet Sugar Factory;
without which the valley would be still a pasture, unattractive and uninhabited
by human beings.

AN IMPORTANT QUESTION in the development of this magnificent industry
is, shall our factories be built by foreign workmen, or shall we encourage the
American engineer, and only rely upon American genius to create and install
these great hives of industry ?

To prove that Americans are fully competent to do this, we have only to cite
the primary and wonderful success of K. H. Dyer & Co. in the Alameda Sugar
House at Alvarado, California, — works that were originally of foreign make and
under foreign technical management, and as such incompetent.

It was then that E. H. Dyer, who still had confidence in the business, believ-
ing that with good management it could be made profitable and successful, having
purchased the land and buildings owned by the old company at Alvarado, under-
took the difficult task of interesting capital, but in the face of so many failures, and
at a time when mining and other enterprises offered such inducements, it was not
until February, 1879, that the Standard Sugar Company was organized, with a
capital stock of $200,000. This company made a success from the start. The
profit of the first four campaigns was $104,000, this being the first beet sugar
made in the United States at a profit.

About this time Claus Spreckels and the Sugar Trust were cutting prices, and
Mr; Dyer saw that in order to continue the successful manufacture of beet sugar
in this country it would be necessary to erect a larger and more economical plant.

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With this object in view, he, with his son, Edward F. Dyer, and nephew, Harold
P. Dyer, spent several months in France and Germany, visiting the largest sugar
factories and works for the manufacture of beet-sugar machinery there.

Upon their return to this country they designed and erected the factory at Al-
varado, in accordance with American ideas and with special reference to the economy
of labor and fuel, which enabled them to extract all the available sugar from the
beet at a much less cost than ever before . These years of experience convinced
Mr. Dyer that the business could be made a grand success in the United States.

This was in 1879, and the factory is still in operation ; the capacity was in-
creased to 300 tons per day in 1888, and has been increased for the 1897 cr°P to
800 tons per day. The success of the Alvarado factory led Mr. Spreckels to build
the Watson ville factory in 1888, and also the Oxnards, the Grand Island (Neb.)
factory in 1890. Since that time the Oxnards have built their Norfolk (Neb.)
and Chino (Cal.) factories.

In a recent book published in the interests of sugar, a gentleman well known
as an organizer and promoter of beet sugar industries is credited as being the
"founder of America's beet sugar industry." This is erroneous, and if credit is
to be given at all, let it be given where it belongs. To E. H. Dyer of Alvarado,
California, all the credit of founding the industry that promises to represent more
capital and occupy more people than any enterprise in the United States belongs.

The remarkable success at Alvarado led E. H. Dyer & Co. to arrange for the
construction of the machinery for other factories ; consequently an alliance was
made with the most elaborate machine shop in Cleveland, Ohio, where was built
in 1891 the first complete American beet sugar works, which was erected in the
beautiful Utah valley at Lehi. This plant was not only of American make but
was technically managed by the builders for two consecutive years ; this factory,
incorporated as the "Utah Sugar Company," made a dry granulated sugar of su-
perior quality, which found a ready market ; the company always making money
and the community constituting the village of Lehi prospering beyond the com-
prehension of anyone not conversant with the results of the establishment of such
an industry in an agricultural community.

In 1896 Mr. J. Ross Clark of Clark Brothers, bankers and smelters of Butte,
Montana, sought health in the genial climate of Los Angeles. Finding what he
sought for, he cast about for lucrative investment of idle capital. The beet sugar
industry was not at that time as prominent before the people as it is to-day, although
the dividends had been large and regular by the three plants in California and one
in Utah. Fortunately Mr. Clark met Mr. E. F. Dyer, and becoming interested in
the possibility and ultimate expansion of the beet sugar business, made most care-
ful inquiry, visited the Lehi and other beet sugar factories, confirming every as-
sertion made by Mr. Dyer, with the following results:—

In 1897 J- Ross Clark and his brother Wm. A. Clark (a multi-millionaire) or-
ganized "The Los Alamitos Sugar Company," located the plant twenty miles
from Los Angeles, Cal., gave E. H. Dyer & Co. a contract to erect a 35o-ton plant
and have it ready for the crop of the same year, — '97. The mill was completed
on time, perfect in every detail. The first campaign was a phenomenal success,
and resulted in an enlargement of the factory to double its original capacity for the
crop of 1898. The investment of the Clarks in the Los Alamitos plant was in-
creased by the purchase of 8000 adjoining acres the following season, with the in-

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tention of erecting in '99 a second sugar factory, making their total investment
$1,325,000.

When it is considered that Messrs. Clark are of the most conservative type,
successful in all their business ventures, possessors of unlimited capital, the at-
tractions which the beet sugar industry offered must have been more than ordinary.

The following letters confirm all that has been affirmed by the writer:—

[COPY.]

LEHI, UTAH, September 9, 1895.

DEAR SIR : In answer to your inquiry, we beg to say that we made an ex-
tensive tour in Europe last year, visiting quite a number of the largest beet sugar
factories in Germany, Belgium, and France. Of course we picked up quite a
number of ideas, but came to the conclusion that our factory was as compact as
any we saw. The arrangements of the machinery in many factories in Europe
being of the nature that there is no regard for economy of labor. We will say
that our factory is satisfactory to us ; the machinery being placed in such a form
as to very much economize the labor question.

Our factory was built by E. H. Dyer & Co., with guaranted capacity of 300
tons of beets for each twenty-four hours. We will say that we have demonstrated
already that they gave us everything that was contracted for.

Last season we ran as high as 411 tons through in one day, and the average
for the entire season was 335 tons per day. We are hoping and expecting that
we shall exceed that average this season.

We have also been quite fortunate, since we commenced five years ago, in hav-
ing no serious breakages that entailed any loss of time.

We are perfectly satisfied that with beets that will give us the average polariza-
tion of 16 per cent, that we can make granulated white sugar at less than three cents
per pound. We employ an average of ninety men inside the factory, that is, forty
five on a shift. Yours truly,

(Signed) THOMAS R. CUTLER, Manager.

[COPY.]

Los ALAMITOS, CAL., Sept. 26, 1897.
MR. CLARENCE M. FENTON, Secy.,
Erie Preserving Co.,

Buffalo, N. Y.

DEAR SIR : Your favor of the 2oth inst., asking for information regarding
our factory and its builders, E. H. Dyer & Co., received. In reply, will say that
the factory and its product has been perfectly satisfactory in every particular, the
factory having run over its estimated capacity, and the product is pronounced to
be by all, the finest sugar in the market. In regard to the factory and its builders,
E. H. Dyer & Co., we have this to say, that the quality, arrangement and
efficiency of the machinery seems to be most perfect, enabling us to do the greatest
amount of work with the minimum amount of labor and fuel. Situated, as we
are, in the beet-growing West, and being near the Chino factory, acknowledged to
be of the finest European machinery, we have had unusual opportunities for com-
parison, and do not hesitate to say that we have the model plant of America.

As to the Dyers, we take pleasure in saying that they have given ample proof
that they are thoroughly experienced, capable and honest, and that any contract

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AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 13

that they undertake will be carried out to their credit, and satisfaction of those
employing them.

In this instance, they constructed our plant in every detail from the foundation
up, and in addition to this, systemitized the office, laboratory and other clerical
work so far as it pertained to the factory ; furnished all the skilled and unskilled
employees, and in an exceedingly short period of time had all running as smoothly
as an old established business. What is fully as pleasing, it has been a commercial
and financial success from the start.

Not over a year ago we were confronted with the same problem as you probably,
are today ; whether to embark in the business, or not at all ; if we did, where to get
the machinery, and whom to operate it. Today, after having studied the field
over and had our experience, we feel that we have made no mistake, and are glad
to have an opportunity to testify to the merits of H. H. Dyer & Co.

Our factory is what the Dyers term their 350-700 ton plant ; that is, the build-
ings, and some of the machinery, are large enough for working 700 tons of beets
per day, but only sufficient machinery is erected at first to work 350 tons per day,
the balance to be put in whenever desired. This we think an ideal arrangement,
while to the uninitiated it would convey the idea of large buildings with much
waste room ; such, however, is not the case ; the arrangement of the machinery is
such that it requires but little more building than would be required for half that
capacity ; the advantage is, that the plant may be doubled at a minimum cost at
any time, an advantage that every factory that has been built will be glad to avail
themselves of.

We employ about 100 men, all told, 80 of whom work in the factory proper,
the balance are engaged in unloading and testing beets, breaking rock, building
stock-yards, and other outside employment. We pay laborers from $1.80 to $2.00
per day, factory hands $2.00.

If you embark in this business, we hope the Dyers will construct your plant ;
for it will insure the elements of success, experience and ability. The more suc-
cessful and widely separated factories, the greater our political strength.

There is another point in your letter that I, perhaps, have not touched strongly
enough upon, and that is, the comparison between American and foreign machin-
ery. While I do not pose as an expert in machinery, it is apparent to a layman
that there is about as much difference between foreign and domestic sugar ma-
chinery as there is between an American and a European locomotive, both good
in their respective countries, but a foreign locomotive would be of but little use in
this country under our conditions.

There are plants now operating in this country, fitted with foreign machinery.
They are a constant source of trouble and expense to the owners ; they require
nearly double the operatives, and 30 to 50 per cent more fuel than either the

i or this plant, to run them, which is not a matter of opinion, but facts.

Very truly yours,

Los ALAMITOS SUGAR Co.,

Signed by J. Ross CLARK,

V. P. and Gen. Mgr.

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[COPY.]
FRED J. KIESEL & Co., WHOLESALE DEALERS IN GROCERIES.

OGDEN, UTAH, Aug. 13, 1897.
Los ALAMITOS SUGAR Co.,

Los Alamitos, Cal.

DEAR SIR : Our first car of sugar came in today, and we desire to congratu-
late you upon the finest produce that has ever been turned out in California in the
"beet sugar industry.

We at once mailed out a lot of samples to our most valued customers in order
to bring your product before them, and hope it will result in much good, which
we trust you will approve of. Will wire our orders direct to you from now on.
Again congratulating you upon the success of this enterprise, we remain,

Yours truly,

•(Signed,) FRED J. KIESEL & Co.

[COPY.]

BOSTON, MASS., November 2, '97.
J. Ross CLARK, Manager,

Los Alamitos Sugar Co.

DEAR SIR : Your favor of 26 ult. received, also the sample of granulated
sugar.

We most heartily congratulate you upon the quality. Not only is it far better
than any sample we have seen of German, Austrian or French granulated, but //
is the best sample we have seen produced in this country from beets.

The Revere Sugar Refinery, of Boston, prides itself on making the best granu-
lated made in the United States. They never use raw beet sugar, but use only
the high grades of centrifugal sugar. Their granulated always commands i-i6c.
per pound more than other refiners.

We have just placed your sugar beside their fine granulated, and it would be
hard to say which is the better of the two. Higher praise we cannot give your
sugar. We may send for another sample when this is used up.

Yours truly,
(Signed,) GEORGE F. HALL & Co.

THE FARMER'S SHARE IN THE PROFITS. —The writer copies certain state-
ments, made in writing to him. They speak for themselves. (Localities and
names are omitted for obvious reasons.)

DEAR SIR : In answer to your inquiry as to what success I have had as a
raiser of sugar beets, I will give you an account of my experiences.

I came here with my family in March, 1891, just four years ago. I was in
debt at the time, and we had absolutely nothing to depend on for a living except
our own good will to work. I rented 22 acres of beet land, but was unable to do
all the work myself on account of want of a good team and implements ; I paid
.$2.25 an acre to have some of the plowing done. However, that year saw me
clear of all my debts, and I had made a good living and put some funds away for
a rainy day, and this after paying one-quarter of the crop for rent. In 1892 I
rented the same land, but broke up a few acres of new land, so that I actually
planted about 25 acres. My crop gave an average tonnage of 15 tons to the
acre with the sugar per cent running from 14 per cent to 18 per cent. I did

AMERICAN BHET SUGAR. 17

well again this year, so that I was enabled to purchase a good team and wagon,
and add to my stock of agricultural implements, and put money by. In 1893,
being fully equipped with teams and implements, my boys and myself did all the
work, and we put in 34 acres of beets, eight of which was new land which I got
rent free for the breaking. You can understand that I did well this year, when I
say I paid $754 rental for the 25 acres. The eight acres of new land gave me 104
tons, for which I received $4.00 per ton. I made this year over $2,200, and in
October of this year I thought I could commence to buy land, so I paid my first
payment down on 60 acres. I continued to have good success, and in 1894 was
enabled to make a second payment on the land. I think that this will show what
can be done in the beet business. I have now a good home, good teams and good
wagons, and all implements necessary to do good farming, and hope soon to own
my land. I look upon the beet business as the best payer of good, honest work,
and am well satisfied with the results obtained, I have had to work hard before,
but have never been paid so well for work done.

(Written in 1895.) Yours truly.

DEAR SIR : It affords me pleasure to give you my experience as a beet-grow-
ing farmer. I arrived here April i2th, 1891, but did not do much that year, it
being too late to go into the beet business. In 1892, however, I made my first
trial, putting in 13 acres from which I realized altogether $1000. This pleased me
so, that the next year, 1893, I Put in 25 acres. I was not very happy in the selec-
tion of my land, as ten acres of this was fruit land which gave but a poor return
in beets, though I made good wages ; but the other 15 acres paid me equally as
well as in 1892, and my total returns were over $1600. From 5^ acres I realized
$525. Last year was a dry year, and we were not supposed to do so well, yet
from forty acres my returns were $2900, which, after paying all expenses, left me
and my two boys $2300 for our labor. The average tonnage was 15^ tons to the
acre. I have never had less than 15 tons to the acre, and some have shown 27
tons per acre. My percentage of sugar has been from 14 to 18 per cent. This
country is the best place I have come across yet, either for beet farming or general
farming. This last year I had 8 acres of alfalfa ; from this I have fed four horses
and four cows, and sold $140 of alfalfa. The average tonnage was i% tons per
acre each cutting, and I took off five crops. I find plenty of outside work to do,
and this amply pays me all my expenses of raising my beet crop. Myself and
two boys do nearly all the work ; one boy is a little over 12 and the other a little
over 14 years of age. I am putting in 45 acres of beets for the coming season,
and I know of no crop that pays so well for the work put upon it.

Yours very truly.

IDEAL CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH SUGAR BEETS CAN BE GROWN Sue.
CESSFUI^Y.— In dealing with the most important foundation of the industry, we
have, as our standard of excellence, such conditions as will favor the production
of the ideal sugar beet. Such a beet will not exceed two pounds in weight. It
will be of the parsnip shape, from twenty-five to thirty inches in length from the
top of the outstretched leaf to the extreme of the root. It will be free from lat-
teral roots, and when ripe will have few hair-like rootlets, save in the character-
istic channel or groove that is always found half winding down the length of the
root. In sugar it will average 14 per cent; in coefficient purity, 80. It will be

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wholly grown beneath the ground. Such a beet root will be very profitable to
both the grower and the sugar factory.

LENGTH OF CAMPAIGN. — Experience in Europe and in America has proven
that 1 20 days is about the limit of "campaign" (as the factory run is termed) for
a season. It is possible, however, to protract this period in California where
the peculiar length of seasons permits the first seed to be sown early in February,
and the last sowing in June, thus enabling the campaign to begin July ist and
to continue to December ist ; but in latitudes where killing frosts and rain,
or both, are liable at any time after October, silos are needed, out ot which the
beets are taken to supply the factory ; hence the danger of attempting a cam-
paign of a longer period. Taking, however, 120 days as a unit for a 35O-ton
factory, there would be required 42,000 tons of beet root.

POSSIBLE RESULTS. — An ideal soil, with a farmer of peculiar painstaking,
should produce sixteen to twenty tons of beets per acre ; but from a large acreage,
say 3,000 acres, with 300 different farmers, good, bad and indifferent as they are
apt to be, twelve tons is a far safer average to rely upon. Consequently 3,500
acres must actually be planted to beets each year, plus 7,000 acres upon which to
rotate other crops in order to maintain tonnage, saccharine and purity ; so we have
10,500 acres as the necesssary area to depend upon for the raw product for a fac-
tory of 350 tons capacity.

QUANTITY OF WATER NEEDED FOR FACTORY. — If the presence of suitable
water (at least a flow of 1,500,000 gallons daily), proper drainage facilities easily
provided for, limestone of the desired quality reasonably near, and adequate
transportation facilities, can all be had, then locate the factory as near the center
of the 10,500 acres as is possible.

DELIVERY BY WAGON VERSUS RAILROAD. — The location of the very suc-
cessful sugar factory at L,ehi, Utah, and the larger plant at Chino, California,
and the smaller works at Eddy, New Mexico, all demonstrate the fact, that whilst
it is better for the farmer growing the beets to be sufficiently near the factory to
deliver the crop by wagon and thus save paying railway freight, it is possible to
secure farmers' contracts for factory delivery by rail to the maximum distance of
TOO miles. The Chino factory buy fully one-half their product an average dis-
tance of 70 miles away ; Eddy, New Mexico, from 50 to 70 miles; Lehi, 25 to 50
miles. The Nebraska factories, the great sugar works at Watsonville, Cal., also
buy great quantities that are delivered by rail. Hence, while it is greatly to be
desired that the beets be grown near the factory, for the farmers' sake, it is not at
all impractical to depend upon outlying lands on the railway.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LIME IN THE SOIL. — Prof. Hilgard, of Berkeley, Cal.,
who is considered the highest authority in America in agricultural chemistry,
confirms the experience of all close observers when he states that of all soil
ingredients favorable to best development of the sugar-making qualities, lime
stands foremost. Another authority, who has had much experience in soil
analysis in the West, being agricultural chemist for the Pecos Companies in
New Mexico, says :

i. "The beet requires for its development a certain amount of heat, which can

AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 21

be found by adding up the mean temperature of each day from the date of sowing
to that of maturity. Normal heat for the beet is about 3,000 degrees C., and this
is spread over about six months.

*2. For every 100 degrees heat the beet requires so much moisture :

For first period of two months 0.6 inches

For second period of two months 04 inches

For third period of two months 0.4 inches

And it is very important that these proportions of moisture to heat are in the
above order.

The above gives a total for normal heat of i2^-acre inches for the crop.

NOTE — Accordingly an extra amount of moisture in soil when air is dry
would be beneficial.

3. Beet seed to sprout requires about 120 C. units of heat, and soil must contain
from 7 to 17 per cent, moisture at depth of seed. It will sprout at a temperature
little above freezing to 35 degrees C. (94 degrees F.) Best temperature is 20 de-
grees C. (70 degrees F.)

4. As for soil composition :

a. Phosphoric acid is absolutely needed in sufficient quantity, and more in-
creases sugar.

b. Magnesia appears next important to phosphoric acid.

c. Lime next, and great quantities, and even up to 50 per cent is not
hurtful.

d. Potash is needed, but soda can replace most of the potash, and it is said
with great advantage as regards purity.

e. Nitrogen. Little is required, and much is decidedly hurtful to sugar pro-
duction."

* [Dealing solely with beets grown by irrigation. ED.]

CLAY SOIL NOT DESIRABLE. — Clay soils without an admixture of loams are
objectionable, being hard to pulverize into a perfect seed-bed, unless taken at
just the right moment, and more difficult to keep loose and in high tilth, and still
more annoying in harvesting, owing to the tendency of the beet root to break
off in the tenacious soil, and also the persistency with which the clay sticks to
the root in such large quantities as to cause excessive tare at the factory. Loose,
friable soils, such as are classed as No. i corn or wheat land, ordinarily can be
classed as beet land; but beware of what is commonly known as "hard pan"
unless at a depth of seven to ten feet from the surface. Level lands are far more
desirable than hills for obvious reasons. It is always safest to have proposed
factory sites examined carefully by an expert, both as to soil for beet growing and
other important conditions.

THE SEED. — This is one of the important topics. Given scientifically produced
seed, good land, a fair climate, a good farmer and favorable conditions, and the
results will be perfectly satisfactory; but given seed of unknown pedigree, produced
in the same unscientific way most of our agricultural seeds are produced, with all
the conditions named in the first instance perfect, and your factory will suffer as
well as the farmer. This has been illustrated in many instances, and proven abso-
lutely true; not to the extent of causing a factory to fail, but the rejection of beets
by the factory because of low sugar content and still lower purity, to the total loss

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AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 23

of the farmer; all because he tried to save a paltry two or three cents per pound
on his seed by buying from a general seedsman rather than paying the factory for
the scientifically produced seed. In fact, most factories stipulate that they will
only receive beets grown from seed furnished by them. The method of produc-
tion of sugar beet seed is of absorbing interest. It is a good illustration of the
survival of the fittest from a scientific test. The two varieties which have been
most widely grown in this country are the "Vilmorin Amelioree" and the "Klein
Wanzlebener." The certainty that the seed has been grown according to the most
scientific methods is of greater importance to the beet grower than the variety.
The beet has reached such a high state of perfection as to make the least degree
of laxity in its treatment exceedingly dangerous to its qualities.

The sugar beet of to-day is the most aristocratic vegetable on earth. From the
most humble origin, the " Beta Vulgaris," through the most careful and scientific
selection of the mother beets, has become the highest type of food plants known
to man. The extreme care exercised in the production of sugar beet seed in
Europe is briefly described as follows :

How BEET SEED is GROWN IN EUROPE. — Assuming for the start seed of
the highest attainable quality. This is planted in the spring in the usual manner
and the crop cared for in all respects as a good beet farmer would handle a crop
for the factory. In the fall, at the time of harvest, the beets are carefully exam-
ined as to their physical characteristics of form, color, size, shape, condition of
leaves, and method of growth. Those coming up to a standard previously fixed
upon are reserved for seed, whilst all others go to the factory. This selection
usually reserves from one- sixth to one-eighth of the crop as mother beets for the
next season. In the early spring of the second year, these mother beets are
taken from the silo and subjected to a chemical analysis, for the purpose of secur-
ing, for planting, only those of high sugar content and purity.

The analytical process, in brief, consists in taking a small sample from each
individual beet in such a manner as fairly to represent the whole beet, — this does
not in any way injure the root for planting. The juice is then expressed from
the sample and polarized. In this way, all of the beets reserved the previous fall
are divided into three classes, viz : first, those that fall below a certain minimum
per cent, of sugar, say 16 per cent, go to the feed stable ; second, those that in
sugar content run between 16 per cent, and 18 per cent, will be planted as seed-
producing or mother beets ; third, those that run above 18 per cent, in sugar will
be planted for seed to keep up the stock.

For convenience, we will call these classes I, II and III, and confine our at-
tention to class II. When this chemical selection has finally been made, the beets
in class II are planted. In the autumn the seed stalks are cut, the seed thrashed
out, cleaned, and put away for the winter. In the following spring — the third
from the start — this seed is planted, but in a manner a little different from the
ordinary, inasmuch as the rows are closer together and the beets are thinned to a
distance of from three to four inches, the object being to produce a very small and
rich beet. The usual summer care is given, and in the autumn these very small
beets are harvested ; another selection on the basis of their physical characteristics
made, and those retained are carefully stored for the winter. In the spring of the
fourth year these small and very rich beets are planted for seed production. Ac-

AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 25

cording to this method, seed to be offered for sale comes on the market in time to
be planted during the fifth year after the first steps in its production were taken.
This plan, or one similar, is adopted by all successful seed-growing specialists in
the old country. Of course, after the first lot is ready for market, each succeed-
ing season furnishes a crop. The only long delay comes in starting.

AVERAGE PER CENT. OF SUGAR IN THE BEET. — The writer has assumed that 14
per cent, with 80 purity is nearer the average than higher percentages or purity.
It must be admitted that for days the factory average at Los Alamitos, Alvarado,
and Pecos Valley has ranged from 17 to 18.50 per cent, with a purity from 80 to
84, but it would be unwise to hold out the inducement to the country at large that
such results could be depended upon. Poor land, poor stands, and poor farming
will always prevent high averages, hence the selection of 14 per cent, as the safe
unit of sugar in the beet to be calculated upon.

IRRIGATION. — Sugar beets, like most agricultural products of the temperate
zone, can be successfully grown by irrigation, as is well illustrated in Lehi, Utah,
and Pecos Valley, New Mexico. The chief danger lies in the too frequent use
of water and the consequent neglect in cultivation. Particularly when approach-
ing maturity should the water be kept away from the beets. An otherwise suc-
cessful farmer in the Pecos Valley who had been accustomed to growing potatoes
and cabbage by irrigation, and had been successful in Colorado, attempted to
apply the same rules to beet culture, and made an unsatisfactory showing. The
Mormons in Utah have made greater success, and there can be no risk whatever
in establishing a sugar factory solely dependent upon an irrigated product.
The larger area devoted to beet culture, however, will be where che submoisture
or natural rainfall during the period of growth is sufficient to make a crop without
irrigation. Beets will not thrive if neglected. Sugar and weeds, or sugar and
neglect in any way, are not found in the same beet patch.

DEEP PLOWING. — Deep plowing on old land is of highest importance ; fall
plowing is preferred, and if farmers could only see the great benefit resulting
from subsoiling, it would be more generally practised. Otherwise the surface plow
must go down 8 to 12 inches. When planting time comes, the land must be per-
fectly pulverized. This may be by one harrowing, or it may require six. Seed
will not germinate well in rough ground, the rows will not be straight and the
stand will be uneven, some seed being too deeply covered and others not covered
at all. Deep plowing and perfect pulverization precede the seeding.

QUANTITY OF SEED NEEDED. — The quantity of seed required per acre ranges
from 12^5 pounds to 20. In some soils the seed germinates more quickly than
in others ; the temperature may be too high or too low. Many things militate
against the germination of every seed, so it is best to plant enough to insure a
good stand, and also to exercise the force necessary to lift the crust and let the
tender germs out. The rows should be 18 inches apart, which permits room for
the horse to walk in cultivation and the leaves perfectly to shade the ground.
The proper depth for planting depends upon the locality. In moist land .with a
humid atmosphere, yz to i inch is fully deep enough, while i^ inches in very
arid regions is necessary, owing to rapid evaporation of surface moisture. Where
conditions are perfect, shallow planting is best.

tfr4

1:

AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 27

When the plants are about two inches in height it will be discovered that there
are too many in the row ; it is then time to thin the plants to a uniform distance.
This is done most economically by having hoes cut to 4 inches in width and made
sharp. One man with the hoe will strike out the spaces for two or three " thin-
ners." He leaves the little beets in bunches, 6 to 8 inches apart. The "thinner"
deftly pulls out all but one. More than one beet in a place means ruin to the
whole bunch. In the struggle for mastery they become twisted around each other
and none are worth harvesting. So never leave but one beet in a place. In poor
land thin to 10 inches apart ; in fairly rich soil 8 inches is best ; in very rich land,
4 to 6 inches is to be preferred. Large beets are not desired.

The thinning in small beet fields can generally be done by the family of the
farmer, but must be done quickly, and it is economy to hire labor rather than
put the work off until the beets have attained much size, as the pulling out of the
surrounding beets leaves the survivor in a weak condition, which is not noticeable
when the plant is just beginning to send its root down into the earth. In large
fields the thinning is done by contract, the price varying from $3 to $5 per acre,
depending entirely upon the stand, the condition of soil, weeds, etc.

After the thinning the plants will look weak, and it will be forty-eight hours
before they have gained strength to hold their heads up.

CULTIVATION. — Now begin the cultivating with the horse hoe ; the old fash-
ioned corn cultivator must not be used. The Moline beet cultivator is the best
yet made. You cannot cultivate too often. Keep the ground mellow, the weeds
down, and nature will do the rest. Do not hill the beets. The crown of the beet,
from whence the leaves branch out, should never be covered with dirt, nor should
the cultivation bring the dirt away from the beet. When the leaf surface is large
enough and the ground almost covered, the work with the horse and cultivator is
done; to lacerate the leaves by further use of the horse would injure the plant.
But later, weeds must be pulled, and one man can be kept busy all the time on
twent}T acres, until the harvest time has come, cutting or pulling weeds.

Maturity of the beet can only be determined by the chemist, but ordinarily,
when that period arrives, the dark green of the leaf disappears, the outer leaves
wither and die, and the central leaves turn a golden yellow, save very late in the
season, when these notable indications of maturity are absent; yet the analysis
shows high sugar with a corresponding co-efficient purity. When the chemist dis-
covers that the beet is from 14 to 20 per cent, sugar with co-efficient purity 80 to
85, the sooner that crop is harvested the better.

But it is not possible to harvest thousands of acres at once; the factory can only
consume its quota; the beet sheds and pits will only hold a few thousand tons;
then comes the necessity for wisdom on the part of the field superintendent. He
must distribute the order for beets among all the ripe fields, showing no partiality.
It is far better for the farmer to be ready, and rush his harvest when his order
comes, and best results are only attained when the factory and the farmer work
together. This means: the farmer plows and plants in proper season, is never be-
hind in his work, never undertakes more acreage than he can well handle with
profit. There can be no question but that small farm units are best for all concerned.

With the harvesting comes the need of a suitable wagon. The tires should
be at least 4 inches, with axle trees strong enough to support five tons of
beets. An extra bolster is put on , that the body frame may be set up high enough

AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 29

to extend the box out over the top of the wheels. The frame should be of 2x8
timber, of good tensile strength (Oregon pine is well suited). The 2x8 are set
on edge; firmly bolted upon these, at both ends and in the middle, are three 4x4
cross pieces reaching out even with the end of the hub ; upon these cross pieces
bolt 1x33, leaving a space between each of at least ^ of one inch to permit
the dirt to shake through. The ends are securely bolted to the standards — rigidly
bolted to the 2x8. The sides aie made of 2x4 with 1x3 bolted thereon, as the
bottom was made ; but the sides are attached to the body on the lower sides by
heavy forged hinges, three on each side, with eyes and bolts at each end to hold
the sides firmly in place while the load is on.

This constitutes the strongest and most convenient box yet known ; and the
sides hung upon hinges facilitates the quick unloading at the factory, which is ac-
complished by making the platform by the side of the beet pits, a series of tilting
sections, by which means the wagon is tilted by a system of weights and pulleys
at such an angle that the beets are in a second dumped into the pit, the side
boards acting as an apron, as is shown in the very apt illustration.

BEET PLOWS. — The other important harvesting tool is the plow, and it is
well to suggest, as unwise, to try to plow out the beet crop with an ordinary
plow. The loss in roots broken off in the ground and those missed entirely, will
more than pay for a suitable plow in harvesting any considerable acreage. The
ordinary sub-soiler, furnished by the trade, of which the beet plow is a type,
is not built strong enough to stand the test. In California and in Utah, the local
smith has made the most serviceable tool at a cost of about $12.00 each. There
is another great advantage in the use of the beet plow of the sub-soil type, it
breaks up the subsoil in a way to promote the better growth of the next crop.

TOPPING. — In topping, a well riveted, strong butcher knife, with a ic-inch
blade, is fully as competent to perform the work well as a costly knife made
expressly for that purpose. The plow lifts the beet root partially out of the
ground, so that it can be easily grasped by the left hand of the topper, while with
his right hand he deftly cuts the tops off at one blow, cutting just below the
lowest leaf growth. A little practice makes the worker very expert.

BEDS FOR THE TOPPED BEETS. — The plow is, perhaps, one hundred rows
ahead of the toppers. A man precedes them with a rake ; at frequent intervals
he removes the beets a little, making a bed about 6 feet across, with a smooth
surface, if the crop is good, these beds are about 30 feet apart and are in a per-
fectly straight row. The reason for this is obvious. The topper throws the
finished beet to the bed where it is ready in heaps for the loader, unmixed with
leaves or clods of dirt. The leaves are very objectionable to the factory super-
intendent— they clog the knives in the slicer, and in other ways hinder the opera-
tion. The clods of dirt plus the leaves, cause extra tare in determining the net
weight of the farmer's load. Be sure that the beets are in snug, clean heaps, and
you will facilitate all interests involved.

The detrimental solids, or salts, absorbed by the beet in its growth, centralize
in the top of the beet, particularly in that portion grown above the surface. If
the topping is properly done, all that portion grown above ground is cut off-
square across. Then the analysis of mature beets will ordinarily show a satisfactory
coefficient of purity, which should always be above 80. The beet tops are of

1

AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 31

great fertilizing value. It is dangerous to allow them to be used for stock feed ;
they must be plowed under as soon as possible after the beets are removed from
the field.

I give the following extract from a Traite de la Culture de la Better ave a sucre,
by G. Bureau, showing the estimation in which beet tops are held for fertilizing
purposes in older beet-raising countries :

"On a well conducted farm the beet tops and leaves should be well looked after.
We have shown that the leaves and tops of rich sugar beets equal 50 per cent, of
the weight of the roots. If we take, for example, a yield of 50,000 kilos, of beets
to the hectare (22 6-20 tons to the acre),- with, say, 25,000 kilos, (n 3-20 tons per
acre) of tops and leaves, the latter will contain 95 kg. of nitrates, 63.75 kg- of
phosphoric acid and 270 kg. of potash (or say, 85 Ibs. nitrates, 57 Ibs. of phos-
phoric acid and 241 Ibs. of potash to the acre).

''On account of their richness in nitrates, phosphoric acid, potash and other
more or less useful elements, the beet tops are an excellent fertilizer, and in every
instance should be restored to the field that produced them by plowing them
under while green. Different experiments have proved that it is better to plow
them under green than dry.

"If the beet tops are not restored, the value of the elements lost to the land may
be estimated as follows : Phosphoric acid at 0.50 fr., potash at o 25 fr., nitrate at
1.50 fr. per kilo., or say a loss of 241 fr. per hectare for a yield of 50,000 kilos, of
beets ($19.50 per acre for a yield of 22 6-20 tons)."

It is therefore, a serious mistake to underestimate the benefit of beet tops as a
fertilizer. They are of great value, and every farmer that restores them to the
soil realizes a double profit in the chemical and physical improvement of his land.

"We speak of the per cent, of sugar in the juice and the coefficient of purity.
Let us understand the meaning of these terms. A hundred pounds of sugar beets
contain about 95 pounds of juice. This juice not only contains sugar, but various
other substances, largely mineral matter, which are a great hindrance, causing
serious losses of sugar during the manufacture. A hundred pounds of average
beet juice will carry about 15 pounds of solid matter, of which 12 pounds may be
sugar and three pounds matter not sugar. If we divide the number of pounds of
sugar (12) by the total number of solid matter (15) we get 0.8, which sum is
called the coefficient of purity ; that is, beet juice with 15 parts of solid, 12 of
which are sugar, is said to have coefficient of purity of 80. If the sample of juice
contains 16 parts solid matter and 12 parts sugar, as before, then the coefficient of
purity is only 75. When reducing the beet juice to make sugar, each pound of for-
eign matter, not sugar, prevents at least 3 to 5 percent, of sugar from crystallizing."

THE FOLLOWING ACCURATE AND STRICTLY UP-TO D4TE EXPLANATION OF HOW
SUGAR IS MADE WILL DOUBTLESS INTEREST MANY :

A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS OF EXTRACTING BEET SUGAR is
as follows : The beets are delivered by wagon and weighed, the weighed beets
are unloaded in storage bins with sloping bottoms, through which runs a stream
of water confined in a flume with a movable covering ; the beets are allowed
to fall into this flume, the water floating them to the factory, where they
fall into an elevator, which drains the water and elevates the beets to a washer ;
here they are subjected by means of propeller arms to a thorough washing, after

AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 33

which they are automatically ejected into an elevator, which carries them to the
third floor, where they fall into a slicer.

THE SLICER. — In this machine the beets are cut into long v-shaped strips
about £/s of an inch wide by y& of an inch thick and of various lengths.

DIFFUSION BATTERY. — From the slicer the beets are transported by gravity
through a chute to the diffusion battery (which consists of 14 tanks connected by
piping and valves, each holding 2^ tons of sliced beets), where the sugar is ex-
tracted by a series of leachings with hot water. The sugar is held in solution in
the cells of the beets. These cells also contain most of the impurities. The object
of the diffusion process is to obtain the sugar with as few of the impurities as
possible. First, in the cutting, the machine and the knives are selected with a
view of cutting the beets in such a form as to rupture as few cells as possible, and
at the same time prepare a large surface for the action of the water or dilute juice
in the operation in the battery, without destroying the rapid circulation of the
liquid.

In the raw state the protoplasmic lining of the sugar cells will retain the sugar
even if it be immersed in water, but upon heating, a change will take place, and
the cell that previously prevented the process of diffusion will readily permit the
sugar to pass out into the water, until the water on the outside of the cell contains
the same percentage of sugar as that on the inside. If this water is then drawn off
and replaced with fresh water, this process will again take place and may be con-
tinued until no more sugar remains. If the operation was carried on in this way,
all of the sugar could be extracted, but there would be a large quantity of dilute
juice.

To secure the same results without so great a quantity of juice, fourteen diffu-
sion cells are employed in the factory herein illustrated, each holding 2^ tons,
being about 6 feet diameter by 8 feet long. They are arranged in a circle for con-
venience in filling with fresh sliced beets (cossettes), and discharging those ex-
hausted of sugar (pulp). Each cell has adjoining it what is termed a " heater".
This heater is about 18 inches diameter by 8 feet long, filled with brass tubes, ar-
ranged so the juice may be heated by the admission of steam without contact
with the j uice. The fourteen cells and heaters are so connected by piping that either
water or juice may be admitted to any individual cell, or caused to circulate
through them all ; the whole arrangement is termed the "diffusion battery."

THE STRUCTURE OF THE BEETS. — In the cell of the beet is not only sugar
(crystallizable body) but salts, albuminoids and other undesirable substances
(colloid bodies); as it is only the crystallizable bodies that have the property of
diffusing through the cell membrane, it is desirable to have them remain intact,
therefore great care is taken to rupture as few cells as possible in slicing the
beets ; also to avoid bursting the cells by overheating during the process of diffu-
sion. The temperature at which diffusion takes place is from 70 to 85 degrees C.
—158 to 185 Fah.— depending on the quality and character of the beets. If the
process is properly conducted, there will be a partial clarification of the juice and
the purity of the diffusion juice will be higher than the juice in the beet.

THE PROCESS OF DIFFUSION. — The operation is conducted as follows : First
from ten to twelve cells are filled with slices, water that has been previously heated
to the desired point (say 80 C.) is admitted till the cell is filled. Assuming that the
slices contain 14 per cent, sugar, there is an interchanging of the sugar in the cell

AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 35

to the water outside, till there remains 7 per cent, in the cell and 7 per cent, in the
water ; this water, which now is a dilute juice, is forced by gravity into the next
cell. Having been heated in transit to 80 C., there is again an interchanging of
sugar from the sugar cell to the juice ; this time the water admitted having already
7 per cent, sugar will extract but half of the difference between the sugar in it
and in the beet, and there will be 10.5 per cent, sugar in both water and slices ;
this is again forced over to the next cell of fresh slices, and again there is an in-
terchanging or evening up, and there will be 12.25 Per cent, sugar in the juice ;
and so on till this water has passed over eight to ten cells, when it becomes nearly
as concentrated as the beet juice.

To go back to the first cell, in this we had slices with 7 per cent, sugar and 7
per cent, sugar in the water ; this water was forced over to the next cell by means
of fresh water ; this water again eliminated half of the sugar, and there remained
but 3^ per cent, sugar ; when the third cell was filled it was done by forcing
water in cell No. i, which in turn being connected, forced the liquid contents of
No. 2 into No. 3, and so on. This fresh water that for the third time has been
admitted to cell No. i again extracts half of the sugar, leaving 1.75 per cent sugar
in both water and slices. This process is carried on till there remains from 0.5 to
0.25 per cent, sugar in the slices, when they are emptied by a door at the bottom
of the cell, when the cell is refilled with fresh slices to be again subjected to the
same process.

CARBONATION PROCESS. — The juice when sufficiently concentrated is drawn
off by measure, taking enough to extract the sugar without too great a dilution ;
this is accurately measured and a record kept of the time, number of cell, and
density. This juice flows by gravity into a heater (calorisator) where it is heated
to 190 Fah. This is important, as it is necessary to coagulate all albuminoids
before the presence of lime. From the "heater " the juice flows to the " carbon-
ator " (a large closed tank with suitable valves and appliances for admitting the
juice, lime, carbonic acid, etc.). To the heated juice there is admitted from 2 to 3
per cent of lime in the form of milk of lime (22B.); this lime combines with the
greater part of the impurities and forms an insoluble precipitate. The action of
the lime is complex, and it is not necessary to go into the minutiae in an article of
this kind.

THE USE OF CARBONIC ACID GAS. — The lime also combines with the sugar,
forming a sucrate of lime, which if not decomposed would be lost during filtra-
tion; this is done by injecting carbonic acid gas, which is made in burning the
lime used in clarification, forming an insoluble precipitate of carbonate of lime.
Just enough gas is admitted to break up this combination of lime and sugar ; care
is taken not to carry the operation too far, as after the sucrate of lime is de-
stroyed, the carbonic acid attacks other compounds of lime, and in time would
liberate all the impurities again. The process is closely watched, and samples
are taken every few seconds as the operation approaches completion. The
samples are taken in a test tube, the proper point at which to stop the flow of
carbonic acid gas is shown by the formation of a granular precipitate, showing
clear liquor between the particles; the gas is then instantly shut off, a test
sample is sent to a table near by, where a chemist assistant is stationed, and the
per cent, of lime in the juice determined by a standard acid.

AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 37

FILTER PRESSES. — The physical condition of the precipitate is important ; if
the operation has been carried on properly, the juice will filter rapidly through the
filter presses, leaving a hard lime cake that is easily washed and cleaned from the
presses, but if improperly done, there will be a flocculent, gelatinous precipitate.
The filter press consists of a series of frames and screens, alternating; the frame
is a hollow iron square; its purpose is to receive and hold the lime precipitate,
A corrugated plate is covered with a screen, which is covered in turn by the filter
press cloth ; the corrugation and screen is to prevent the collapse of the cloth and
admit of the juice percolating through it.

After clarification (or carbonation, as it is called in a beet-sugar house) the
whole contents of the carbonator, juice and precipitate, are drawn off and forced
through filter presses by means of a pump, at a pressure of 60 Ibs. per square
inch, the whole compressed by means of screws or hydraulic pressure; this is to
make tight joints between the frames, and does not in any way compress the con-
tents of the press when working. The juice is forced into the frames of the press
by the afore-mentioned pump, the clear juice passing through the cloth into the
screen, from which the filtered juice passes to a trough, through a cock in the screen ;
this is continued till the frames are completely filled with the lime precipitate,
when the flow of juice into the press is stopped, and hot water forcd through in-
stead, till the adhering juice is washed out of the lime cake and cloths ; the press
is then opened and the lime cake removed, when the press is again closed and is
ready for further use.

SECOND CARBONATION. — The juice, as well as the wash water from these
filter presses, is received in another set of carbonators, where about ^ of i per
cent, milk of lime is again added ; this time there is not so much danger of over
carbonating with carbonic acid gas, which is passed through the juice till there
remains but from 0.025 to 0.05 per cent, lime in the juice ; this is determined by
actual test each time ; the juice is then boiled to precipitate the double carbonate
that may be in solution, and again forced through another set of filter presses.

SULPHITORS. — The clear strained juice, which is now a light straw color, is
pumped to the sulphitors, which are somewhat of the same construction of the
-carbonators; here sulphurous acid gas is forced through the juice by means of an
air compressor, which decolorizes the juice and precipitates the remainder of the
lime ; this juice, which is now water white, is allowed to flow through mechani-
cal filters which eliminate whatever mechanical impurities remain in the
juice. At this stage the juice, while comparatively pure, is dilute, containing
from 3 to 10 per cent of sugar, dependent upon the quality of the beets being
worked; it is desirable to concentrate it, which is done in a multiple effect evapo-
rator.

THE EVAPORATOR. — The quadruple effect evaporator consists of four bodies,
each of which is arranged with a steam chamber and tubes, with room for the
vapors to disengage ; the upper part, or vapor chamber of each body is connected
with the steam chamber of the next body, so the vapors from the boiling liquor
may pass into the steam chamber of the next.

The operation of this apparatus is as follows : The liquor space of each body
is filled with juice, and the exhaust steam from the different pumps and engines
throughout the house are collected in a pipe which supplies the steam chamber of
the first effect with steam, which causes it to boil; the boiling juice and the vapor

i i

AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 39

rising from it have a temperature of about 100 C., which passes over to the steam
chamber of the next body and causes it to boil ; the steam arising from it has a
temperature of about 88 degrees, which passes over to the steam chamber of the
third body causing it to boil ; the temperature of the steam arising and passing
over to the fourth body has a temperature of 76 degrees, which causes it to boil.
The difference in temperatures at which the liquid boils in each body is caused by
the difference in pressure, which is maintained by means of a condenser and
vacuum pump; the vapor arising from the last effect or body passes to a condenser
producing a vacuum in the last body of about 26", the liquid in the last effect
thereby boiling at a temperature of 60 C. The fourth acting as a condenser and
producing a vacuum to the third, the third for the second, and the second for the
first.

The juice, flowing through the four effects, becomes more condensed as it
passes along, going in at a density of about 10, and coming out at 50,
which not only concentrates the sugar, but , the impurities ; this, which is techni-
cally called "thick liquor," is again submitted to the fumes of sulphurous acid,
which neutralizes it, destroys coloring matter, etc. The " thick liquor " is again
passed through mechanical filters that remove any solid foreign matters, after
which it is boiled in the vacuum strike pan where the sugar is crystallized.

VACUUM PAN. — The ''vacuum strike pan" is a closed cast-iron vessel, about
ii feet in diameter and 14 feet high, and holds 35 tons of "melada" (sugar
and molasses) when full.

In the lower portion are situated a number of copper coils through which the
steam passes without coming in contact with the boiling mass ; the vapor arising
passes to the condenser ; a pump draws off the non-condensable vapors. During the
operation a vacuum is maintained in the apparatus, the mass boiling at a low
temperature, which prevents burning. The operation is as follows :

Juice is admitted to the pan, and when about half full steam is turned on and
the contents evaporated till it is "just about to sugar" (as would be said in a
maple camp); at this moment fresh juice is admitted, and the whole mass thinned,
but not enough to dissolve the microscopic crystals ; it is again allowed to con-
centrate by evaporation, thickened, and the sugar in the freshly admitted juice
will join the microscopic crystals, which increasing in size will now be apparent to
the eye ; the mass is not allowed to concentrate enough to form more microscopic
crystals, but again thinned by adding fresh juice before that point arrives which
causes the crystals to grow in size without forming new ones ; this operation of
concentrating and diluting the mass goes on till the " strike pan " is full, the size
of the crystal and the hardness depending upon the way in which the operation
is conducted. It is at the will of the operator whether large, small, hard or soft
crystals are made ; by keeping the average of the boiling mass thin, the crystals
will be large ; thick, they will be fine ; hot, they will be hard ; cool, and they
will be soft.

When the operation is complete, the whole mass (" magma ") is concentrated
till it contains about 75 per cent, sugar and 25 per cent, molasses (the latter being
7 to 10 per cent, water) in its composition. The steam is then shut off, air ad-
mitted, and a large valve at the bottom opened, the entire mass, weighing 35 tons,
allowed to run out as soon as possible before it has time to solidify.

THE MIXER. — The "magma" falls into a large iron tank, with revolving pro-

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AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 41

peller arms constantly revolving, which is termed a "mixer." Attached to and
directly underneath the mixer, are 8 centrifugals, 40 inches diameter.

THE CENTRIFUGALS. — These machines consist of revolving "baskets" sur-
rounded by safety curbs ; the baskets are lined with a finely perforated brass
screen. About 500 pounds of the " magma " is taken into a centrifugal at a time ;
the machine is caused to revolve by means of suitable belts and pulleys till it
attains a velocity of 1000 revolutions a minute ; the centrifugal force, which is
about 40 pounds per square inch, throws the " magma " to the sides, the screen
holding the sugar back, the molasses is thrown off through the screen till it strikes
the sides of the safety curb, flows off in a pipe at the bottom, and is collected in
tanks for further manipulation.

After the "magma" has been in the revolving centrifugal a few minutes, it is
entirely freed from syrup, then a jet of water is sprayed on it to remove the last
trace of molasses, the machine is stopped, and the sugar falls through an opening
in the bottom into a conveyor which carries it to an elevator connected with the
dryer.

THE DRYER. — The "dryer " is a hollow iron cylinder 6 feet in diameter by
30 feet long, which revolves slowly; this motion causes the sugar to be continually
dropped on warmed pipes, which, with a current of hot air that is forced through
it, completely removes every vestige of moisture from the sugar ; the sugar passing
from the " dryer" goes over a screen which removes any lumps that may have
formed, and falls into a hopper from which it is sacked or barreled and is ready
for the market.

The molasses that came from the "magma" is again boiled in the vacuum
strike pan, and another crop of sugar obtained from it, and also another lot of
molasses ; this second lot of molasses is too poor in sugar to be again crystallized
in the vacuum pan ; it is, however, concentrated to what is called " string proof"
in the vacuum pan, and dropped when finished into crystallizers, where it is con-
tinually agitated, which, with careful attention to temperature, causes all sugar
that can be obtained to crystallize.

OLD METHODS. — The usual custom (instead of recovering the last sugar by
means of crystallizers) is to deposit it in tanks, where, if remaining six months,
it would gradually crystallize ; but by the use of ' ' crystallizers ' ' the last sugar
can be obtained in four or five days.

There is yet remaining a molasses too poor in sugar to be used except by sepa-
rate and expensive operations, the desirability of which depends on the price of
sugar recovered.

The cheapest and most popular being the " Osmose " process : the molasses,
in suitable machines, is made to pass over a specially prepared parchment ; on the
other side is a current of hot water ; the salts that dissolve more readily than sugar
diffuse through this membrane to the water with which it is carried off; the
molasses which had been too impure to crystallize, now having become rid of some
of its impurities, will again crystallize ; this operation is carried on till there is
no molasses remaining.

. The other is the " Substitution " process, and is based on the fact that finely
divided quick lime will, when in the presence of sugar, at a low temperature,
form an insoluble combination (sucrate of lime) ; this sucrate, when formed, is
recovered in filter-presses — same as before described — the impurities washed away

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AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 43

with water, and the sucrate used to clarify the juice instead of lime, the sugar
being freed by carbonic acid gas as described under carbonation.

This is, briefly, how beet sugar is extracted and made equal in quality to the
finest refinery product. Technically it is " Cane Sugar." (See U. S. Dispen-
satory.)

ITEMS OF INTEREST.

How THE TARE is ARRIVED AT. — At the laboratory the tare man assorts the
different samples, by contract number ; if there be more than one sample, they
are mixed and an average fifty-pound sample is taken, weighed, washed and re-
weighed; the difference in weight, multiplied by two, gives the tare per cent.
Each weight is multiplied by the polarization, and the sum of the products,
divided by the total weight of the beets, gives the average weight of sugar.

WHY BEETS WITH PURITY BELOW 80 ARE OBJECTIONABLE AND ARE OF
NECESSITY REJECTED. — In a previous paragraph, it has been explained as clearly
as possible what "purity" means, and how it affects the crystallization of sugar-
Farmers frequently complain that it is not neceseary to reject beets of 75 purity
when 80 purity is the standard. Perhaps the fact that the waste molasses from
which the factory derives no revenue whatever analyzes 46 to 48 pet cent, sugar,
with 57 to 60 purity, may illustrate the truth that beets with 1 2 per cent, sugar and
75 purity are not desirable ; the percentage of sugar crystallized is so small that it
is unprofitable, if not an absolute loss of money, to process them at all.

The extraction of sugar is one of the fine problems in chemistry, dealing with
almost infinitesimal fractions in quantities and results. The results of the cam-
paign, whether to the profit side of the ledger, or to the contrary, depend solely
upon the laboratory; that is, providing the general business management is what
it should be. It is not to be expected that the farmer, as a class, will fully com-
prehend the matter, but experience and close observation will finally make this and
other vital matters connected with this great business clear, and distrust will dis-
appear.

PROFITS. FARMER vs. CAPITAL. — A crop that yields, gross, from $40 to $100
per acre in comparison to other field crops, is of itself a convincing argument, and
in proportion to the risk is fully equal to the factory proportion of the profits.

If capital is to be invited into this new field of enterprise only upon the con-
dition that it will share equally with the grower all that can be made in the bus-
iness, one of two things will happen, — capital will not invest at all, or capital will
own both land and factory.

The price of beets will unquestionably remain about $4.00 per ton at the factory
unless a very low sugar market forces the price down, which is not likely, as the
price of refined sugar in the United States to the consumer is very low as compared
with foreign countries.

SUGAR PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION. — "It has been alleged that sugar pro-
duction is already overdone ; witness the present low price of its product. While
it must be doubted that sugar will again rise to the high prices that have ruled
in the past, it is also true that the low prices will continue to stimulate and
increase consumption. Within the easy recollection of the present generation
sugar was a luxury, too costly to be used otherwise than sparingly, and diligently
claimed to be particularly injurious to children in general, whose natural appetite
craved a more liberal allowance of what is now justly considered an alimentary

•91

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"§

AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 45

article, of which the use, like that of any other created thing, may be abused, but
whose supposed unhealhtfulness has largely vanished from sight since its purchase
does not tend unduly to deplete the purses of parents. The tables below, show-
ing the consumption of sugar per capita during different periods and in differ-
ent countries, may serve to allay the apprehension of those who fear that sugar
will shortly become a drug in the markets of the world.

Table showing consumption of sugar in the United States, per capita, from
1867 to 1896, inclusive :

Year. Sugar Consumption.

1867 28.9 pounds

1877 36.2 pounds

1887 52.6 pounds

1896 62.7 pounds

It thus appears that in thirty years covered by this table the consumption of
sugar in the United States has more than doubled. In England, in a portion of
the same period, the figures stand as follows : In 1876, 59 Ibs. ; in 1894, 86.1
Ibs. In the corresponding years the consumption in the United States was only
37.1 Ibs. and 62.6 Ibs. But while the population of England is thus ahead of the
United States in the consumption of sugar, the rate of increase in consumption
has been greater in the United States than any country in the world, as shown in
subjoined table

Countries.

Per Cent, in
23 Years.
142

Per Cent, a Year.
6.18
6.91
4.65
3.50
12.15

157

. 107

England

90

United States ...

...278

Consumption of sugar per head for various countries, 1894-95 :

Countries. Pounds.

United States 62.60

England 86.09

France 30.61

Germany 26.78

Austria 19.87

Russia 10.94

Two prominent facts are shown by the above tables. The first is that in the
United States and in England the consumption of sugar increases in a more rapid
ratio than the population ; and similar tables show the same to be true of all
European countries at least. There is probably a natural limit to the possibility
of sugar consumption even by the American boy and his elders ; but it is not
likely that that limit will be reached within the next quarter century.

Another point shown is that if sugar consumption is not, like that of soap, to
be considered the criterion of the most civilized nations, it seems certainly to follow
closely the ratio of their progressiveness and commercial relations with the world
at large. Thus England stands at the head and Russia at the foot of the scale.
But if this is true, it inevitably follows that as social progress and intercommuni-
cation of all nations advance (and that this will be the case no sane person will
question) an increase of sugar consumption will be sure to follow. The time
between the present and that when the sugar consumption of all nations shall
have reached its natural maximum, would seem to offer an ample margin of
safety against the glutting of the market for some generations to come."

ROTATION OF BEETS AND WHEAT. — The "Pajaronian" of Watsonville publish
es an interesting statement of the returns of wheat crops in Pajaro valley in 1897.

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AMERICAN BEET SUGAR.

47

following crops of sugar beets in previous years. The statement is credited to
P. W. Morse, an officer of the Watsonville sugar factory, who has supervised the
field work in the Pajaro and San Benito valleys:

NAME.

Number of acres

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D Is-
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$

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Average tons beets
1895, per acre

'j1 Crowley owner .

?0

25 55

20.31

11 60

Driscell Bros owner ...

60

27.18

20.95

6.91

j T Uaffen owner

30

23.33

12.89

O Reagen renter . .

30

26 40

17.64

11 30

JTT Rim? owner

16

27.75

18 49

11.21

G W Rowe owner

15

27-70

18-79

8 54

"p jj Sheeliy owner ...

10

27.69

18.13

9.42

Stowe Bros, owner

80

26.94

13.16

10.88

H C Struve renter

9Q

22 CO

13 63

10 59

p Thurwatcher, owner . ... ....

94

25.75

18.47

12.25

J K Trafton owner

70

28.00

22 63

13.09

TOTAI,.-..

404

26.47

1 17.85

10.55

Above list contains all Pajaro valley farmers who raised wheat on land farmed
to beets in 1896. All except J. J. Eagen, raised beets on the same land in 1895.
Average price of wheat at shipping point was $1.46^ per cental, and of beets $4
per ton. Returns per acre (not including value of beet tops or straw) were:

In 1895 from beets $42.20

In 1896 from beets 71.40

In 1897 from wheat 38.74

Average rental value of land was $11.35 per acre, or 43 cents per cental. Av-
erage cost of raising wheat, $8.33 per acre, or 31^ cents per cental. Total cost
74^2 cents per cental. Profit above rent and cost of raising was 72 cents per cental,
or $19.06 per acre, plus value of straw and stubble, which were worth on an aver-
age $1.50 per acre. Cattle were fed on the stubble and most of the straw was
baled and sold to the local paper mill.

Quality of wheat raised ranked as milling and No. i shipping.

Above returns are compiled from actual figures of farmers. In all cases they
have made liberal allowance for the value of their work and rental value of their
land. Figures, therefore, rather overrate cost of production.

INFLUENCE OF SUGAR BEET CULTURE IN INCREASING CROP OF ALL AGRI-
CULTURAL PRODUCTS. — The profit of sugar beet culture for the farmers is shown in
the following experiences in Germany and Austria-Hungary. The ten years average
crop from a German farm of 625 acres in cereals was 5,736 bushels of grain be-
fore the beet culture was introduced. When the beet culture was introduced and
they planted each year 125 acres with sugar beets, the average crop of grain from
the remaining 500 acres was 5,730 bushels yearly. Another German farm of 625
acres in Saxony showed the following figures: Before the beet culture, the ten
years average crop of grain was yearly 13,879 bushels. When each year there
were planted 135 acres of beets, the yearly crop was 14,365 bushels from the re-

AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 49

maining 490 acres, and when later there were planted 2 20 acres in beets, the aver-
age grain crop was 13,395 bushels yearly from the remaining 405 acres.

Thirty-five other German farms showed the following increase after they intro-
duced beet culture, in ten years' average per acre:
Before the beet culture —

Pounds.

Wheat 1,848

Rye , 1,456

Barley 1,672

Oats 1.355

Peas 985

Potatoes 11,716

After introducing beet culture —

Wheat 2,128

Rye 1,672

Barley 2,094

Oats 1,918

Peas 1,834

Potatoes '. 13,569

Tons.
Sugar beets 15.50

Austria-Hungary increased the crops after introducing sugar beets and deep
culture, as follows: In winter crops, 12 to 15 per cent; in corn, 10 to 30 per cent;
in tobacco, 20 to 24 per cent, and in beets 30 per cent.

There was an average increase in all crops of about 2 1 per cent in Germany
and Austria-Hungary, in consequence of sugar beet culture.

BY-PRODUCTS. — The by-products of the sugar factory consist of lime-cake,
waste molasses and pulp. The latter is in proportion, 46 per cent, of the raw
product. As a food for dairy cows, for beef cattle or for sheep, it has no superior.
It is the cheapest food obtainable at $i .00 per ton at the factory. When care-
fully housed in well constructed silos, it has no competitor as a food for the animals
named. It is not suitable for hogs. They will grow, but not fatten.

LETTER FROM A DAIRYMAN IN RIVERSIDE TO A DAIRYMAN IN L,os ANGE-
LES.— "DEAR SIR : Yours of the 20th at hand, and in reply will say that my
experience in feeding beet pulp is as follows :

First : I find it best not to feed it until it is at least ten days old, and the
older the better. I was feeding ninety cows, and when I commenced feeding, all
my cows with the exception of nine ate it the first day ; all of them ate it the
second day. For three or four days they dropped in their milk, after that they
went up in their milk to more than they gave on any other feed, and the quality
was increased. The week before I commenced feeding pulp I tested my milk,
and it took 5^ gallons of mjlk to make i gallon of cream, and 12 gallons of
cream to make 10 full rolls of butter. After feeding the pulp two weeks I again
tested the milk, and five gallons of milk made i gallon of cream, and 13 gallons
of cream made 12 full rolls of butter.

Second. I feed my 90 cows 45 pounds each of pulp at a feed with six pounds
of hay. I put the hay in the mangers and the pulp on top ; or to put it exact, I
feed four tons of pulp per day and one-half ton of hay.

Third, The pulp costs me laid down at my dairy, $2.25 per ton.

Fourth. It is cheaper at $2.50 per ton than hay at $10 per ton, and than bran
at $20.

AMERICAN BEET SUGAR.

I weigh all my feed and weigh all my milk, and can get more pounds of milk
feeding pulp than any other feed I have ever fed and for less money. I feed my
cows the year round ; they never are turned out to pasture. My aim is to feed
my cows all they will eat up clean, and I find it pays me to do it."

THE COST OF MAKING A CROP is an important one, but it seems manifestly
unfair to charge up every item of labor, unless it is done with other farm crops in
the way of comparison. The amount the farmer pays — seed and labor — should be
charged ; but his own labor is a legitimate part of the profits. In ten acres the
cost should be :

Seed $ 20 00

Help 50 00

Total $ 70 00

Results : 120 tons @ $4 per ton 480 00

Less expense 70 00

Profits , $410 00

FIRST INSTANCE. ILLUSTRATION, CHARGING EVERY ITEM OF LABOR.

EXPENSES.

TOT A i,
COST.

COST

PER

ACRE.

COST

PER

TON.

Rent of 238 acres at $7 per acre..

$ 1,666 00
1,236 65

113 80

283 00
1,100 00

90 00
285 00
1 335 30
2,225 50
2,225 50
20 00
300 00

$ 7 00
5 19

49

1 19
4 62

38
1 19
5 61
9 35
9 35
09
1 26

$ 37
28

03

06

25

02
06
30
50
50

07

First plowing $340 00)

Second plowing 396 65/-

Cultivating and harrowing 500 00)

Sowing — labor 85 00 \

Use of drill 28 80 J

Seed, 2830 pounds at 10 cents

Thinning, 1 100 days at $1... .... .. .

Cultivating and weed cutting, one man and two horses thirty
days at $3

Plowing out, one man and team, ninety -five days at f3...

Topping and loading into wagon 1335.3 days at $1

Hauling three miles to switch, at 50 cents per ton

Freight on railroad to factory

Cost of knives and hoes .

Interest

Total expense

$10,880 75

$45 72

$2 44

INCOME.
4,454^ tons of beets at $4

$17,817 22
200 00

$74 86
84

$4 00
04

Sale of beet tops

Total income..

$18,017 22

$75 70

$4 04

Net profit

$7,136 47

$29 98

$1 60

" r

AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 53

SECOND INSTANCE.

COST PER ACRE.

Hauling and laborers $ 1 50

Seed 1 62

Planting 1 50

Plowing 1 50

Hoeing 5 00

Cultivating 2 00

Harvesting 9 00

Hauling 10 25

Total. $32 37

YIELD.

Tons 11.25

Per ton $ 4 50

Total .; $50 62

Minus expenses '. 32 37

Profit $18 25

RECORD OF A CROP OFF 40 ACRES THAT PAID $30 PER ACRE NET PROFIT

IN NEBRASKA.
EXPENSES. PROCEEDS.

Seed $ 107 00 577% tons at $5 #2888 33

Hand work at $13 per acre 48000 46>^ tons at $2.50 11583

Topping beets at $3 per acre 12000 Siloed 77 34

Freight at 80c per ton 538 40

Extra hand labor 15400 Total $3081 50

Less expense 139940

Total $1399 40

Balance for team work, use of land and net profit $1682 10

The above are all actual experiences of beet farmers.

IN STORING BEETS WHEN FROST COMPELS HARVESTING AT A STATED PER-
IOD, there are various methods of constructing silos. The entire subject is an al-
most untried field, and we will not advise, except in cases where we know the
temperature to be expected, and this must be done by correspondence. Mr.
Cutler of the Lehi factory writes :

NEW METHOD OF STORING BEETS. — When this factory was first built, we
erected five frost-proof beet sheds, which were made of lumber, walls lined with
straw. They are five hundred feet long and twenty-six feet wide, constructed
with a sluice in the center, so that the beets can be shoveled into it and brought
to the factory by water, which is not only economy but it gives them a thorough
washing.

We have discovered since then, that frost is something we are not afraid of,
providing that our beets are brought here in a perfect state. We have erected
since then several platforms, one of which has sides to it, but the top is left en-
tirely open. It is five hundred feet long by thirty-four feet wide, and will hold
fully 3000 tons of beets. We also have other platforms with a sluice in the
center, but without any sides, and we use a movable railroad track — as fast as the
beets are unloaded, the track is moved farther out, until we have an enormous pile
resting on the plank or platform as above described.

3 §

££

OF THE

TTNIVERSITY

AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 55

This year we are trying some further storage, and have just finished two
sluices which have been constructed and inserted on the bare ground, and we ex-
pect to store 6000 or 7000 tons of beets in that manner. When the frost comes,
it freezes over the surface of the stored beets to a depth of two or three beets, but
there is enough vegetable heat generated in the large pile to keep the beets in
good condition, and we have never lost a beet yet through frost — we are more
afraid of the sun's rays than we are of frost.

WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH GREEN BEETS AND THOSE OF LOW PURITY, AND
CONSEQUENTLY UNFIT FOR FACTORY USE.

SUGAR BEETS AS CATTLE FOOD. — C. S. Plum, director of the Purdue, Indi-
ana, experiment station, has very commendatory words for the sugar beets in a
recent report. While the beets have not more than one-sixth the muscle-forming
food of clover hay, yet they have important use in abetting digestion. He says
that the practice speaks loudly in favor of beets in winter, combined with dry
feed, and that sugar beets take the lead. " They contain more nutriment than
mangels, carrots, rutabagas or common turnips." Their sugar, he says, adds to
their palatability. For sheep and milch cows they rank high. They regulate
the bowels and give an elegant gloss to the skin. At the late dairymen's associa-
tion at Compton, more of the feeders favored stock than sugar beets. Prof. Plum
rightly states that chemical analysis does not tell the full value of such food. He
says that they rank very high in Great Britain, and are valued at from $2 to $2.50
per ton in the United States. He says that the feeding experiments at the Purdue
station have been very favorable to sugar beets. While in Ohio a comparison
was made by feeding silage and field beets to dairy cattle. The beets caused the
best gains in weight of cows, size of milk flow and production of butter fats.
Sugar beets, unlike turnips, never give any taint or unwholesome flavor to milk
or any of its products.

Prof. Plum recommends slicing and feeding about fifty pounds per day, with a
sufficient amount of dry feed. The pulp from the sugar factories is very valuable
for dairy stock. Cows eat about 100 pounds each per day with about 15 pounds
of dry food. The California experiment station finds that the pulp contains
nearly as much of the proteids as does corn silage, and that the feeding value is
$2.02 per ton, while corn silage is worth $3.22 per ton. But pulp can be put into
the silo with entire success, and with the great number of factories being built,
beet pulp as silage must take a prominent place as food for the dairy.

NOTE. — The quantity of beet pulp consumed per head of cattle, is nearer 75 pounds
than 100.— BD.

RELIABLE BEET SEED. — Sugar beet seed from reliable sources can be ordered
from Meyer & Raapke, Omaha, Neb., agents for Klein Wanzleben original. An
excellent beet, adapted to the average soil and climate in the United States.

Vilmorin — Andrieux & Company, Paris, France. An exceedingly rich beet.

Deppe Brothers — Earnest Rolker & Son, agents, New York City, N. Y. This
well known variety has been very successful in the West.

There are other reliable seedsmen in Europe, whose seeds we have not yet
tested in large quantities for factory supply,

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AMERICAN BEET SUGAR. 57

ANALYSIS OF LIME CAKE FROM FILTER PRESS. — A BY-PRODUCT.

Carbonate of Lime 54.61

Oxide of Lime 13.32

Oxalate of Lime 3.10

Phosphate of Lime 1.72

Phosphate of Iron 3.42

Oxide of Magnesium 0 13

Lime, combined with organic acids 12.18

Sulphate of Zinc 0.82

Alkali 0.04

Nitrogen 0.31

Organic matter 10 35

100.00
AMERICA LEADS THE WORLD.

It is the writer's intense belief that America is for Americans ; whatever they
undertake, they do well ; the ultimate destiny of the United States is so far be-
yond the conception #>f the careless thinker, that pleasure has been taken in
proving that so far as making the most intricate, the most perfectly adjusted
machinery demanded by an industry more exacting than almost any other in the
world, we lead rather than follow the bright chemists and mechanical engineers
of Europe.

A visit to any of the German or French made plants in the sugar houses of
the United States, and then to the L,ehi -and L/os Alamitos factories will convince
any person of business experience that, not only in results, but in arrangement of
the various parts of the work, special study has been made with a view to econ-
omy of laj^or ; a matter of little importance to European corporations where labor
is so poorly paid ; but of great moment to us, where the commonest labor receives
$1.75 per 'day.

In fact, study American machinery as you choose, her vehicles, her mining
machines,; her agricultural implements, or her technical works in steel, copper or
sugar, and we lead the world.

American Beet Sugar factories

"The Location"

"The Machinery"

"The Technical Management"

ALL IMPORTANT MATTERS...

That demand the serious consideration of those who intend to build Beet Sugar
Factories.

The hard common sense that has so well served the successful American
business man • in other enterprises, is not alone sufficient to decide the questions
involved in the selection of a proper location, the equipment and construction of
a beet sugar plant.

The site being chosen, the building must be adapted to the demands made
by the machinery ; the machinery must be of the latest and most approved type.

The technical management must be up-to-date and capable of producing the
best possible results, at the least expense. The sugar factory being a vast labo-
ratory, only chemists perfectly acquainted with the specific branches of chemistry
involved in the operations of a sugar factory can be profitably engaged.

The machinery must be constructed so as to show highest efficiency with
economy of labor, efficiency first ; the object being to secure the highest extrac-
tion at reasonable expense.

In selection of site for sugar works important physical conditions are to be
considered, which are always apparent to the experienced, and have much to do
with net results.

All the foregoing features are noticeable in the successful plants erected by
the Pioneer American Beet Sugar Construction Company.

E H. DYER & CO.

-OF—

ALVARADO, CALIFORNIA, and CLEVELAND, OHIO,

Who have had 2Q years experience in the manufacture of beet sugar (always
successful) , and still largely interested in the most profitable beet sugar farms and
sugar factories in the United States, with

j| Facilities Unsurpassed by no firm or Country
^ In the Manufacture of Complete Machinery

for the most modern sugar houses, offer their services to the American people
as Builders, Technical Managers and Agricultural Experts in the development
of the great industry, and will contract to build beet sugar houses of latest type,
guarantee their successful operation, and iurnish skilled men to run them.

ADDRESS: E. H. DYER & COMPANY

Cleveland, Ohio
Or, Alvarado, California
Factories Built by E. H. Dyer & Co., to whom they refer:

Utah Sugar Company, Lehi, Utah.

Los Alamitos Sugar Company, I,os Alain i to*, California.

Now Building {0gdeD Su&ar Company, Ogden, Utah.

<• L.a Grande Sugar Company, T,a Grande, Oregon.

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Use petroleum and....

THE WILGUS
OIL BURNER

;

FOR

ECONOMY AND EFFICIENCY

The great success
that has attended the
use of Wilgus Oil Bur-
ner in the Beet Sugar
factories at

CHINO

LOS 4UMITOS
and CROCKETT
.... in

CALIFORNIA

And by ALL the STREET RAILWAYS, Electric Light and Power
Companies, Hotels and Breweries in Los Angeles, and by many
manufacturing plants and power companies in San Francisco
and elsewhere, prove conclusively that no fuel can compare with
Petroleum, at a reasonable price, if the Wilgus Burner be used.
The burner requires 3.07% of the water

evaporated in the boiler to vaporize the

oil and produce perfect combustion. The

heat is all retained in the fire box and is

not blown to the back end of the boiler

and up the smoke stack ; requires no

bridge wall, and operates with very

little oil pressure. The fire can be re-
duced to 90% below the maximum capac-
ity of the burners ; will burn oil of 1 2 to

14 degrees gravity, with an asphalt base,

or higher gravity with paraffine base,

equally as well. Has patent quick ad-
justing unions to remove burner from

beneath the boiler and replace without

allowing steam to run down, and in

water tube boilers the flame does not

come in contact with the boiler but directs

the entire energy of the flame to the

tubes with the consequent result of high

efficiency and greatest possible economy.

REFERENCES . . .

Los Alamitos Beet Sugar Co.

Los Angeles Railway Co.

Pasadena and Pacific Railway

Los Angeles Traction Co.

The Los Angeles Ice and Cold Storage Co.

Maier & Zobelein Brewery

Cudahy Packing Co.

and any user of my burner.

MANUFACTURED AND
SOLD BY . .

D. C. WILGUS

126 E. Third St., Los Angeles, Gal.

SOUTHERN PACIFIC SYSTEM

OF

RAILROADS

THE GREATEST IN THE WEST

REACHING ALL THE* -IMPORTANT CITIES

WEST OF - -Portland, Oregon

Ogden, Utah
New Orleans, Louisiana

The " SUnSet ROUte " from .... PORTLAND, OREGON

Through SAN FRANCISCO

LOS ANGELES

EL PASO and SAN ANTONIO, Texas
To NEW ORLEANS

Opens up the cream of the Pacific Coast. Its fertile valleys, the rich mineral

regions, the vast areas of magnificent forests are only reached

by the Southern Pacific Railway.

THE BEET SUGAR FACTORIES

At ...... CHINO LOS ALAMITOS

WATSONVILLE SALINAS VALLEY

HUENEME and ALVARADO

Six in all ^

ARE ONLY REACHED BY THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES

Sugar factories are never located on had lands, and it is significant that all of them
are situated upon the Southern Pacific Company's railways. Route your freight and
purchase your tickets via The Southern Pacific; Shasta, Ogdeii or Sunset
Route, and you will make no mistake.

J. C. STUBBS

Second Vice-Pres't, San Francisco

KINGSLEY-BARNES & NEUNER CO.

PRINTERS, ENGRAVERS AND BINDERS

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE
STAMPED BELOW

AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS

WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN
THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY
WILL INCREASE TO 5O CENTS ON THE FOURTH
DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY
OVERDUE.

SEP 13 1932

RCC'D LD

JUH9

REC'D LD

APR 22 1960

30May'60WW

L-LJ

JUN4 1960

LD 21-20»t-6,'32

YD I495J