Report on sugar beets, raised upon the farm of the Massachusetts agricultural college

REPORT

ON

SUGAR BEETS.

RAISED UPON THE FARM OF THE

Massachusetts Agricultural College.
ye

By CHARLES A. GOESSMANN, Pu. D.,

Professor of Chemistry.

REPRINTED FROM THE AMERICAN CHEMIST.

NEW YORK:
S. ANGELL, Printer, 410 FourtaH Ay.

1872.

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REPORT

ON

SUGAR BEETS,

RAISED UPON THE FARM OF THE
Massachusetts Agricultural College.

By CHARLES A’ GOESSMANN, Pu. D.,

Professor of Chemistry.

REPRINTED FROM THE AMERICAN CHEMIST.

NEW YORK:
S. ANGELL, PRINTER, 410 Fourtu Av.

1872.

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REPORT ON SUGAR-BEETS, RAISED UPON
' THE COLLEGE FARM.

BY CHARLES A. GOESSMANN, PH. D.
Professor of Chemistry in the Mass, Agricultural College

In a previous report,* I expressed the opinion, that
the profitable cultivation of the sugar-beet for the
manufacture of sugar, must depend, if not exclu-
sively, at least essentially, on the interest, which intel-
ligent agriculturists will take:

First, in a careful selection of superior seeds of the
best foreign varieties, and subsequently of the choic-
est seed-beets ; and,

Second, in the proper choice of lands, which are
not only well adapted to the cultivation of root crops
in general, but also in such a state of fertility, as to
enable the farmer to control the kind and the
amount of plant food required for the production of
a special crop, for special purposes, i. e. Sugar-beets
for the economical manufacture of sugar. Considering
these premises of first importance, I attempted a
short exposition of the ways and the means, by which
these requirements have been accomplished else-
where, showing how farmers and manufacturers, by a
mutual understanding, have contrived to promote
their mutual interest, and that their great success was
particularly due to the fact, that the former, in his
legitimate attempts to produce a large crop, never
failed to keep in mind, that the ultimate object was
to secure a sugar-beet, which would contain the de-
sired amount of sugar under advantageous conditions
for its separation. He knew that the manufacturers
would yalue every percentage of sugar about 2°4
cents, with more or less of the vegetable refuse of
roots, and leaves returned. The history of the
pioneers in the beet sugar industry in every country
—ours not excepted—furnishes striking illustrations
in that direction. German beet sugar manufacturers
do not hesitate to ascribe their great success, over

* See American Chemist, Vol. 1, pp. 381-399.

4

other competitors at the World’s Exhibition at Paris
in 1867, to their superior sugar-beets.*

To transfer a known process of manufacture from
one country to another, is a simple problem, and
offers in skilled hands but little risk, in cases where
the materials to be turned to account can be shown
to be either identical, or to stand at least in some
simple, fixed relation to those which have been pre-
viously used. Quite different, however, are the cir-
cumstances, when the introduction of an industry—
like beet sugar manufacture—is contemplated, for a
good sugar-beet is the result of the particular influ-
ence of peculiar modes of farming, of soil and of
climate, To suspect a possible serious change in the
composition of a sugar-producing plant like the
sugar-beet, in consequence of a transfer of its seed
from one country and soil to another, is but reasona-
ble in view of our past experience concerning sugar-
cane* (sorghumft), the cultivated grapes, and fruits
of every description. The sugar-planters of Louisiana
and of the West Indies, have to accommodate their
modes of operation for the manufacture of sugar, to
suit the peculiar condition of the same variety of
cane they are cultivating; even upon the island of
Cuba, planters cannot manage the details of their
operations alike and expect to be equally successful.
As the system of manuring, the kind of soil, and the
depth and character of the sub-soil, in particular,
besides certain conditions of the climate are known
to exert a powerful influence on the quality, and thus
on the fitness of the sugar beet for the manufacture
of sugar, and as all these controlling influences vary
more or less in different countries, it is quite plain
that a series of well-designed and carefully-conducted
experiments are desirable for the purpose of studyin
the behavior of a good imported sugar-beet see
upon our soil and under our climate; they are indis-

* In Germany the beet root is taxed—in France the beet sugar pro-
duced ; which is a sufficient reason to account for the superiority of
German machinery and skill.

t See Notes on the Manufacture of Sugar in the Island of Cuba, by
Charles A, Goessmann, Syracuse, N. Y., 1865.

¢ On Sorghum or Chinese Sugar Cane, by C. A. Goessmann, see
Transactions of the N Y. State Agricultural Society, 1860.

[5

ensable as a reliable basis for the introduction of the
eet sugar manufacture as a home industry.

Animated by these considerations and somewhat
encouraged by the results of the preceding year, my
examinations in the field and in the laboratory have
been continued and enlarged upon during the past
season. The results, which have been gratifying in
both directions, will be described within the following
pages. In view of the numerous questions which
presented themselves as worthy of particular atten-
tion, a selection had to be made; I confined myself
for obvious reasons to tbe following points:

First, to produce good sugar-beets in a sufficient
quantity and in accordance with the rules laid down
in my report for 1871 ;

Secondly, to study the chemical properties of the
sugar-beet raised upon the College Farm, with refer-
ence to their fitness for beet sugar manufacture ; _

Thirdly, to ascertain by actual tests the amount of
sugar available for commercial purposes.

I.—ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE SUGAR-BEET.

_ The field selected for the cultivation of the sugar-
beets consisted of four and seven-tenths (4°7) acres,
which sloped gently towards the west; the soil was
a warm sandy loam, with the exception of the south-
west corner, which, being wet, was subsequently
planted with various kinds of common Mangolds.
Grass had been raised upon the land for several
years, until the fall of 1869, when it was plowed and
a good coating of coarse yard manure put upon it.
In the spring of 1870 it was planted with corn, each
hill receiving a handful of a phosphate manure, and
yielded 70 (seventy) bushels of corn per acre that
year. It was thus, in consequence of a suitable selec-
tion of manure and a satisfactory preceding crop,
in a desirable condition for the production of sugar-
beets. During the spring of 1871, the land was
three times plowed, harrowed and rolled to make its
mechanical condition.as favorable as possible. The
field was subsequently divided into five equal parts,
running from east to west, conforming with its slope.
Each of these divisions received, a few days before

a

6

seeding, five hundred pounds of various commercial
phosphates, which were sown broad-cast. The vari-
ous kinds of seeds, which were imported during the
last two years, had been previously tested in regard
to their fitness for germination, and they all produced,
after soaking a little in water, healthy young plants,
within from seven to ten days. The following
varieties and respective quantities were planted by
means of Holbrook’s seed-drill, the most suitable im-
plement on hand :

1°§ pounds of Vilmorin....... 3 .taeede tof 1869
Perot it! Imperial....... jwieltin wk ot of 1869
wicgiy ct Imypottial nvivws ls swear ses si okte of 1870
no Ea eS Hlectoral...0. ‘ieaes's .....0f 1870
Bits Vienna Globe. ..:. os .0..0 of 1869
tt eee varieties of Mangolds.......of 1870

The rows were two and one-half (24) feet apart and
passed from north to south through each of the fer-
tilizers. The planting of the seed took place on the
11th and 12th of May, and on the 22d of May, the
rows were distinctly marked by the young crop.
The entire field looked well, with the exception of
first few rows on the east side, where some troubles
with the “ seed-drill ” had left empty spaces.

These spots were subsequently filled out with
young plants from other parts of the field at the
time when the surplus plants were taken out; after
thinning, the plants stood from six to eight inches
apart. During the time from the first of June until
the twenty-first of July, the young plants were hoed
three times, to keep the root-tops covered, and the
space between the rows cultivated as many times
with a horse-hoe to destroy the weeds. The whole
crop looked promising during the entire season, with
the exception of the transplanted beets, which re-
mained behind in spite of an additional manuring,
and confirmed the statement made in my previous re-
port, that the general experience of beet sugar culti-
vators teaches, that it does not pay in. most cases to
transplant ; for these plants remain usually so far be-
hind, that they are of no value for sugar manufacture.
Towards the end of September the outer leaves began

(i

to dry up, indicating under normal circumstances the
ripeness of the roots.

My examinations concerning the saccharine proper-
ties of the various kinds of beet-roots began at this
time. The harvesting of the entire root-crop took
place on the 19th and 2oth of October.

The danger of a serious frost rendered it advisable
to protect the roots against its damaging influence ;
for this reason part of them were buried without delay
after being carefully freed from the leaves, care being
taken not to injure them. The pits were six by three
feet wide and three feet deep, and were located upon
the elevated side of the beetfield. The leaves had
already somewhat suffered from the frost and were
mostly dried up. The larger portion of them were
on that account left upon the field to serve as man-
nre. A small quantity of leaves, still green, were,
however, collected and buried in a pit of twelve
feet long, three feet wide, and three deep, to
be kept until spring for experimental purposes. The
root crop averaged per acre twenty-two thousand
two hundred (22,200) pounds. This amount exceeds
the produce in Silesia, and ranks with the usual re-
sults in Saxony. The results obtained upon the ex-
perimental field of the College farm may be looked
upon as gratifying and encouraging, particularly,
when we remember the reduction caused in the crop
py the defective operation of the seed-drill and also
keep in mind, that the entire operation of planting,
etc., had to be managed with unsuitable implements.
The rows of beets instead of being twenty inches
apart with eight inches space between the plants,
which would have secured from 28,500 to 30,000
plants, had to be kept two and one-half feet apart
to allow the horse, and the cultivator on hand, to
pass between the rows, causings a great waste of
land. There are implements long used in the
sugar-beet cultivation which locate the rows from 18
to 20 inches apart, and which are used both in seed-
ing and in cultivating from four to eight rows at once,

In yiew of this first actual yield, I believe that
with suitable implements the annual produce of
gugar-beet roots per acre would rank with the highest

8

yield in Saxony, which is stated to be from thirty te
thirty-two thousand (32,000) pounds of roots per acre,
In my original plan for the fertilization of the beet
field, I designed to apply from 250 to 300 pounds of
Stassfurt potash fertilizers per acre. The scarcity of
these valuable potash compounds in our markéts,
when wanted, prevented their arrival at a sufficiently
early date. Although a small strip ten feet wide in
each of the five main divisions of the field received
finally some commercial Kainit at the rate previously
mentioned, no particular importance will be attached
to that fact. The sugar-beet is manifestly a potash
plant, and the application of potash fertilizers but
rational. Their good effect cannot be doubted,
wherever the soil has been shown to be really deficient
in available potash compounds and where time and
the peculiar physical condition of the various layers
of the soil have favored their penetration to the
strata upon which the plant under cultivation mainly
feeds. Oversight in regard to these important points
may be considered as the cause of existing contradic-
tory statements. To apply the Stassfurt fertilizers to
meadow grasses or even to potatoes as a surface
dressing or shortly before their planting may give
satisfaction in most cases; for these plants live, com-
paratively speaking, largely upon the surface soil and
their roots branch in every direction in search of
food. The sugar-beet, on the other hand, sends by
natural disposition, its main roots to the sub-soil ; the
quality of which is, therefore, of great importance.
The potash must descend to the sub-soil, as exact in-
vestigations of a more recent date demonstrate, before
its beneficial effect* will be noticéd on plants like the
sugar-beet. This circumstance explains, to some ex-
tent at least, the peculiar fact that potatoes and
sugar-beets, although préeminently potash plants, have
been raised upon the same land for years in succession
with very satisfactory results,t and without showing
#250 pounds each of Kainit and of Superphosphate per acre are
highly recommended.

+ Potatoes were raised on a large scale to serve as an admixture to

the:beet molasses for aleohol manufacture, in order to render the re-
. fuse from the still of more value for feeding purposes,

9

the usual sign of exhaustion which such a practice in
most instances would soon produce. In connection
with the investigation of the previous question, an
interesting fact has been noticed, which deserves at-
tention, particularly as it may lead to misconstruc-
tions.

It was demonstrated by careful experiment (Frank)
that a small percentage of the chloride of sodium
aids in the circulation of the potassa compounds in
the soil, acting in that respect similar to the nitrate of
soda, and apparently counteracting the ordinary re-
tentitiveness of the soil and favoring the passage of
the potassa to the sub-soil. The chloride of potas-
slum and the sulphate of potassa are alike readily
decomposed in a good soil. The potassa is always
very eagerly retained in the surface portion of a soil
of good physical condition, and passes only gradual-
ly to lower depths, provided the soil has not received
an unusually large supply, and is not too inferior in
retentive quality. It takes months usually before its
surplus will reach the lower strata, and the rate of
its downward motion depends entirely on the chemi-
cal and physical condition of the soil. Chlorine and
the mineral acids, with the exception of phos-
phoric acid, differ essentially i in that respect and pass
on more rapidly to the drainage waters.

The demand for chlorine is limited ; not more than
o08 per cent. of the amount introduced by the appli-
cation of chloride of potassium being absorbed by
sugar-beet roots. The absence and the presence of
chloride in the mineral fertilizers affects the root crop
but slightly, provided a sufficient amount of potash
is supplied, and the chloride of sodium not used in
excessive quantity. Wherever potash is wanting and
at the same time common salt is largely supplied as
a fertilizing agent, it is but natural that the sugar-
beet should manifest a tendency to return to its more
primitive form, the common fodder beet.. The recom-
mendation of the direct application of the Stassfurt
salines for fertilizing purposes in the case of the
sugar-beet will appear, to many readers of my report
“On Beet Sugar Cultivation” for 1871, of rather
doubtful merit, and apparently somewhat in contra-

10

diction with previous statements. They will remem
ber in all probability the objection raised against the
selection of lands, which, from natural causes, con-
tain a large accumulation of the various saline con-
stituents of plant resulting from the decay of succes-
sive generations of vegetation, as wood-lands and
prairie-lands but recently put under cultivation.
These lands are not fit in their original state, it is true,
for the cultivation of a good sugar-beet, because their
mineral elements find more than their equivalent of
suitable organic, and particularly of nitrogenous
plant food, which favors a luxuriant growth alto-
gether different from what the beet sugar manu-
facturer desires. Large quantities of nitrogenous and
non-nitrogenous compounds, peculiar to this species
of the plant, enter it and carry their corresponding
quantity of mineral constituents with them, which, of
course, will also be present in an extraordinary
amount. These very same lands, if of a more sandy
than clayey nature with a permeable, sub-soil may
prove in consequence of repeated cropping sooner or
later a most excellent soil for the cultivation of the
sugar-beet. It is after all a good physical condition
of the soil, which in the hands of an intelligent farmer
will most surely in the course of time turn the scale
of profit in his favor. Silesia, where the beet sugar
husbandry of Europe originated, falls in- spite of equal
skill and perseverance considerably behind other dis-
tricts in its average-yield of roots per acre in con-
sequence of a less favorable soil. Neither much ex-
hausted lands nor such as above described offer
encouraging prospects for a first trial of the beet
sugar industry. No sugar-beet can be raised without
potash or without phosphoric acid, and the same may
be said about some of the other constituents, though
we rarely call attention to this fact; because the
natural supply is usually sufficient. Soda in case of
a deficiency of potassa will serve to a limited extend,
as a substitute; sulphuric acid may replace in the
same way phosphoric acid and magnesia the lime;
but neither of the various constituents alone stand in
any fixed relation to the per cent. of sugar, except the
potash or rather the sum of alkalies. (Stohmann).

11
II, ON THE QUALITY OF THE SUGAR-BEETS RAISED,

A good sugar-beet has the following properties ; 1ts
leaves are numerous, of medium size, not upright, but
rather rounded and drooping and of uniform, light
green color; its root is of moderate size, not exceed-
ing two and one half pounds; the skin of the root is
smooth and white, and its meat, hard, white, and of
sweet taste. The form of the root is pear, or
wedge shaped, very gradually terminating in a long
thin tap root without any side branches; its specific
gravity is always less than that of its juice. The spe-
cific gravity of a good sugar-beet varies, in the ma-
jority of cases, between I‘o1o and I:‘o60; though
instances are on record where it was found to be as
high as 1°070. Roots between one and two pounds in
weight contain usually a juice of less density and also
frequently of less value, than those of one half a
pound or even less weight, and similar conditions
have been noticed in regard to their relative propor-
tions of sugar and their other remaining soluble con-
stituents. Roots of a higher specific gravity contain
usually less of these latter constituents in their juice,
and their quantity varies within quite narrow limits,
from 2.0 to 2.7 per cent.; whilst the juice of roots of
a lower specific gravity, usually contains not only more
impurities, but what is of particular importance, be-
cause of a more general occurrence, these foreign
soluble substances are present in much larger quant-
ities, namely, from 2°7 to 5:0 percent.and more. The
following two facts will be apparent from the previous
statements; namely, that no strictly reliable deduction
can be drawn from the specific gravity of the sugar-
beet root in regard to the value of its juice; nor from
the specific gravity of the juice to that of its per cent.
of sugar, beyond the general assumption that in most
cases the larger roots (from 2 to 3 lbs.) of the same
quality of sugar-beets are inferior to the smaller spe-
cimens. Individual roots of the same variety raised
upon thesame piece of land and under the same treat-
ment, even when of the same size are known to differ
in regard to their composition as far as their sac-
charine quality is concerned. (Stammer). The quality

12

of a sugar-beet crop, therefore, can only be safely de-
cided by testing a large number of roots of various
sizes from different portions of the field and accepting
the mean of a series of such examinations as the most
probable actual condition of the entire crop. All tests
have to be made without any unnecessary delay; for
beet roots, like other roots, lose moisture on exposure
to the air, and suffer thereby more or less serious
alteration, which, if not taken into consideration, must
result in mistakes. The increased density of the juice
will be followed by a correspondingly smaller yield.
The loss noticed during an ordinary state of the at-
mosphere, amounted, at a temperature of from 15°
to 18° C., to 2°6 per cent. within thirty hours, and to
13'I per. cent. within eight’ days; whilst at a temper-
ature of 30° to 40° C.,it reached 23 to 25 per cent. and
the internal changes as far as the crystallizable sugar
is concerned are in the latter case still more serious.
A sound, fresh, full grown sugar-beet root is free from
grape sugar and from ammonia, yet both compounds
will be noticed sooner or later in a beet root after its
removal from the soil, and subsequent exposure to a
temperature which favors fermentation. The practical
sugar-beet cultivator recognises this fact by placing
the roots, after their removal from the soil and their
separation from the leaves, without much delay in
pits. A lacerated beet decays rapidly. The beet
roots raised upon the College farm, on the whole,
showed the characteristics of good specimens, having
in the majority of cases a smooth white skin and a
white, hard, and sweet meat. They were remarkably
compact ; their form was good and branch roots of
not frequent occurrence. The main bulk of these did
not exceed one pound and a quarter (14) in
weight; specimens from two to three pounds in
weight were rather scarce. The outer leaves turned
yellow towards the middle of September, indicating
the ripeness of the roots. My laboratory tests for
determining their per centage of sugar began on the
1oth of September. —

1. Determination of the amount of water in the roots.

13°818 grammes of carefully cut thin slices of the
Imperial sugar-beet were loosely packed between 4

13

given weight of dried blotting paper and kept in an
air-bath at a temperature from 100° to 105° C. until a
constant weight was obtained; the loss amounted to
11°328 grammes or 81°98 per cent. of water; again
9'191 grammes of the same beet root were dried under
corresponding conditions; the loss amounted to 7°502
grammes or 81°74 per cent.

Imperial Sugar-beet root.

. Il.
Non volatile matter 18‘02 18°26
Water 81°98 81°74

A good sugar-beet contains usually from 81 to 82
per cent. of water, yet it may vary from 79 to 86°63
per cent. of water and from 13°37 to 21-0 per cent. of
dry substance.

2. Tests of the juice.

The juice of the roots, of the tops, and of the main
parts of the leaves differ widely ; an analytical state-
ment concerning these points* will be found quite
instructive here ;—

M. Mehay. Juice of Root. Of Leaf Stalk. Of Leaf.
Sugar, crystallizable 12°00 0°25 0°00
Sugar, non crystallizable 0°50 2°72 E723
Oxalic acid 0.22 0.43 1°86
Specific gravity 1-060 P0292. O25

The sugar was determined by means of fermentation
after Dubrunfaut’s method.

Juice of the sugar- Juice of
Heidepriem, 1869. beet root without tops. the tops.
Specific gravity 1.0648 1°0572
Sugar 13.6800 10°2100
Soluble substances without sugar 2°0200 373900
Organic substances without sugar 1°4600 24600
Ashes—less carbonic acid 0°5600 7°200
Protein substances 0°887 1°7500
i Sugar-Beet Juice
F. Stohmann, 1869. Minimum. Maximum.
Sugar ‘ 9°56 17°680
Soluble substances without sugar 0°38 3°510
Potassa 0°09 0'°255

* Mehay : Compt. rend. t. LXIX. p. 754. Ieidepriem: Zeitschrift
XIX. 8.75. Stohmann: Zeitschrift XIX. 8. 273; see K. Stammer’s
Jahresbericht, 1869.

2

14

The amount of other soluble substances for each 1co
parts of sugar in the beet juice varies from 8°00 to
18.50 parts.

The specific gravity of the beet juice is usually as-
certained by Brix’s saccharometer, an instrument
which refers to percentages of pure sugar in distilled
water. As the beet juice contains besides sugar a
variety of organic and inorganic compounds, its in-
dications are of interest only for comparative tests. The
exact amount of dry substance in the juice has to be
decided by a careful evaporation to dryness.

The percentage of sugar in the juice from the same

eets may differ somewhat in consequence of different
ways of obtaining it. The juice obtained by a centri-
fugal apparatus and that abstracted by hand were
noticed to differ about o'7 per cent., the latter being
the richer juice; whilst that obtained by a powerful
press may even exceed this by from o'! to 0°66 per cent.
These few general remarks may serve to place some of
my subsequent analytical statements in their proper
right.

3. Determination of the sugar in the juice.

Most of the sugar tests were made by means of an
excellent Dubosq-Soleil’s optical saccharometer. In
some instances the results thus obtained have been
verified after converting the entire amount of the cane
sugar present into grape-sugar; in other cases, parti-
cularly where the Dubosq’s apparatus gave high re-
sults, I verified the optical test by a chemical one by
the use of Fehling’s well-known solution. The juice
for my experiments was produced, where not other-
wise directly stated, in the following way: a number
of sugar-beet roots of various weights, which were
collected from the five divisions of the beet-field, were
freed from the tops as far as the leaf marks extended.
The roots were subsequently ground by hand upon a
common tin grater and the pulp resulting pressed by
hand in a strong cloth. In a few instances, when a
larger number of roots were to be pressed for juice,
they were cut by an ordinary root-cutter and pressed
in @ Common iron screw press. The juice after being
obtained in either of these ways was either allowed to

15

settle, or strained through a cloth and then tested in
regard to its specific gravity by means of a Brix’s sac-
charometer. The preparation of the juice for the test
with the polariscope was carried out in the following
way: 500 c.c. of the juice were filled into a graduated
glass-cylinder, and subsequently thoroughly mixed
with 50 ¢.c. of asolution of sub-acetate of lead of the
usual concentration.* As soon as a light colorless so-
lution began to separate from the bulky precipitate,
the whole mass was put upon two filters of coarse
paper and quickly filtered. The juice thereby ob-
tained was again without delay filtered through 150
¢.c. of medium sized coarse bone-black. The first
1co ¢.c. of the filtrate were set aside and the subse-
quent filtrate turned to account for the optical test in
the usual manner.

I removed too ¢. c. of the filtrate, its first portion,
for the purpose of rendering the solution for the tests
independent of the incidental influence of bone-black,
(its moisture, etc.) This mode of proceeding was
adopted to allow a direct comparison of my results
with numerous other investigations of a similar charac-
ter, and for similar ends. The polariscope wasin each
case adjusted with a carefully prepared standard
solutiont of pure sugar and also with water; the
number of degrees required to produce the optical
effect of presenting but one color, were increased by
one-tenth of their number to compensate for the dilu-
tion of the original genuine beet-juice by the lead
solution used for its defecation; each degree represen-
ted 0'1635 per cent. of sugar. The results of my tests
will be given in a chronological order; they refer
mainly to sugar-beets and other beet-roots raised
upon the College-farm; an appendix contains also a
few tests concerning sugar-beets, etc. raised elsewhere
in the state.

* Digest 1 part of acetate of lead, 1 part of oxide of lead, and 20 parts
of water at 30° te 4o° C., from 6 to 10 hours, and filter.

t 1000 ¢.c. water containing 163°50 grammes of pure sugar in solu-
tion, when filled into a tube of 200 m. m. length produces the
same rotation as a quartz plate of one m. m. in “thickness;
100 «.c. of water, containing 16°35 p.¢. of pure sugar in solution, ob-
served in a tube of 200 m.m. length indicates the pereentage by means
of degrees. :

16

Sugar-beets from the College-Farm.

Sept. 10,1871. Electoral sugar-beet (Magdeburg), seed imported 1870,

Weight of Roots with top. Weight of Leaves.
I pound I ounce I pound 7 ounces
I ce I “ce II ve
I oe I oc I 3 “cb
I 7s O°5 oe I 5 (74
re 6b 4 a) 14 oe
5 (a3 7.5 a“ 4 ce 12 ce

Juice; Brix 14° at 17° C. sugar 12°30 per cent.

Sept. 12. Imperial sugar-beets ; seed imported 1870.

Roots with top. Leaves.
I pound 14 ounces I pound
ek ates 13 ounces
I oe 10 ce I 3 oe
1 te I 3 ce II cb
x oc 12 tb 10°5 tc
8 79 “ce 8 a3 I 55 i

5
Juice; 15° Brix at 18° C. Per cent. of sugar 12°59.

Sept. 13. French Vilmorin beet; German seed imported 1870.

Roots with top. Leaves.
1 pound 9 ounces I pound 3 ounces
2 6c 4 74 I 7 I “
I 4 5 ve 12¢5 3
Bel Siw aed
I be II ce I te 8 oe
7 73 2 cc 5 ob 4°5 “b

Juice; 14°5° Brix at 18°5° C. per centage of sugar 12°95

Oct. 11th. Imperial beets; seed imported 1870;
250 lbs. of these roots, without tops, were cut by a
common root cutter and pressed with an iron screw
press; the roots were moist from washing before
cutting.

Juice; 15° Brix at 22°5° C. Sugar 12°05 per cent.
Oct. 16th. Hlectoral sugar-beets; seed imported

1871; 490 pounds of roots without tops cut by root
cutter and pressed by an iron screw press.

Juice; 15° Brix at 18° C. Sugar 12°22 per cent.

ry

Oct. 18th. Vilmorin sugar-beets; seed imported
1870; 600 pounds of roots without tops cut by root
cutter and pressed by an iron screw press.

Juice; 16° Brix at 16° ©. Sugar 13129 per cent.

Nov. 14. Jmperiat beets, taken from the pit.

toots with teps. . Leaves.
I pound 8 ounces. No leaves.
I 3 5 té
7 at 4° oe
I ie e
10°5 zs
I 3° is

5 44 14°5 “é
Juice (by hand press) 15° Brix at 18° C.; 1°064—1°065
spec. gravity; Sugar 11°60 per cent.

Nov. 21. Vilmorin bects; from the pit; one root
with top, one pound 12 ounces; juice, 15°5° Brix at
14°.C.; Sugar 1312 per cent.

Fodder-beets raised upon the College-Farm,

Sept. 19th. Vienna red-yellow and white globe-bect,

Roots with top. Leaves.
2 pounds 2 ounces. 12 ounces,
I (a3 8 ee 10 ee
3 4 I (?4 Io ce
Th RiGpie Stones fi 2 pounds.

Juice; Brix 11° at 18-5 ©; Sugar 8004 per a.

Sept. 19th. Ordinary Mangolds (red and yellow) ;
seeds sent from the National Agric. Department.

Roots with teps. Leaves.
1 pound +4 ounce, 5 ounces,
J 46 I $6 2 bb
I “6 12 ai 12 4b
Cie 1 a 7 Ipound3 ‘*

_ Juice; Brix 9° at 19 C.; Sugar 5:035 per cent.
Q*

aed

18

Sugar-beets sent from other parts of the State ; the sceds
were furnished by Pres. Clark from those used on the
College farm.

Noy. 7th. Hon. 8. Williston; East Hampton, Mass.
Roots with tops; somewhat withered when tested.
1 pound 6°5 ounces.

2 bc 11°25 sé
2 73 14° 6b
6 th 15°75 be

Juice; 12°39 per cent. sugar.

Noy. roth. Dr. N. Durfee, of Fall River, Mass.
Roots with tops.
2 pounds 4 ounce.

I 6c “cc
2 “ e “e
2 +6 Il “
8 ce 9°5 ae

Juice Brix 155° at 16° C.; Sugar 10°45 per cent.

Noy. 22d. Wm. Knowlton, Esq., of Upton, Mass.
Roots with tops (somewhat withered.)
I pound 10 ounces.

I 6c 4 66

1 “oy ts

1 “& 19 ts

I a ae ‘6
‘ tc

2

, 6 : 6s

11 pounds 6 ounces.
Juice; Brix 15° at 13° C.; 10°07 per cent. of sugar.

A large specimen of “ The American Improved 1m-
perial Sugar-Beet” of Hon. Henry Lane of Cornwall,
Vermont, recommended for stock feeding, and raised at
Williamstown, Mass., was tested at the request of
Hon. P. A Chadbourne; the beet root had been on ex-
hibition at the fair of the Hampshire Agricultural
Society at Amherst, Sept. 27th, 1871, and was conse-
quently in a somewhat dried up state; it was spongy,
partly hollow, and weighed between 7 and 8 pounds;
Juice, Brix 11°15° at 14° C.; sugar 6°67 per cent.

19

For the purpose of verifying the results of the
optical analysis, I selected one of the best beet roots,
the Vilmorin of Noy. 21st, and subjected its juice to a
chemical test. I took 100 ¢.0, of the juice prepared
with a solution of subacetate of lead (one-tenth vol.)
for the test with the polariscope, and precipitated the
excess of lead by means of diluted sulphuric acid. I
added then an excess of sulphuric acid and digested
the mixture for several hours at a temperature of from
60° to 80° C. to convert the cane sugar into grape
sugar, and neutralized subsequently with carbonate of
soda and diluted the whole to 500 c.c. In two succes-
sive tests I noticed, that four c.c. of that solution suf-
ficed to reduce twenty c.c. of Fehling’s solution. These
results prove, that 500 ¢.c. contain 12.5 grammes of
grape sugar, for ro. c.c. of Fehling’s solution are equal
to 0050 grammes of Stape sugar, or 00475 grammes
of cane sugar. Adding to 12°5 grammes one-tenth
more for the dilution by subacetate of lead solution,
we find that the original beet juice yielded 13.75

Sugar. Similar results were obtained with the polar-
iscope after the inversion of the cane sugar by means
of concentrated hydrochloric acid.

4. Determination of the solid residue of the juice,
I selected for this purpose a variety of sugar beet,

finally kept at from too
loss could be noticed. The solid residue varied from
15°06 to 15‘10 per cent. As the sugar found in that
juice amounted to 11°60 percent. we learned that its
entire amount of organic and inorganic nonvolatile
substances after the deduction of the sugar was equal
to 3'40 percent. The juice of that Imperial beet con-
sisted therefore of

Solid matter 15-1 per cent, Containing 11°60 p: ¢. of sugar.
Water 84°9 $e

199"

20

These results from Brix’s saccharometer and of
the sugar tests, together, are usually turned to account
to give some idea about the percentage of foreign
matters in a beet juice, for instance in the case of the
preceding examination we notice 15° Brix as the spe-
cific gravity, the actual evaporation proves that each
degree in that case corresponds quite closely with one
per cent. of matter in solution.*

This assumption is not strictly exact, yet it gives
for ordinary practice quite valuable indications. Sub-
jecting then all previous investigations of beet juice to
this mode of representing their value in a general

way, we obtain the following figures :—
Non sugar,

Brix’s Sugar (including all
Beet juice Saccharo- per substances in
of meter. cent. solution ex-
cept sugar.)
(1870) Sept. roth Electoral 14° 12°30 1°75
«é

12th Imperial 15 12°59 2°41
13th Vilmorin 14°5 12°95 1°55
cr rk 9 eae 18th Imperial 14° 10°79 3°21
Oct. x1th Imperial 15 12°05 2°95
“« 16th Electoral 15° 12.22 2°78
#¢-18th Vilmorin 16° 13°13 237
(1871) Nov. 14th Imperial 15 11°60 3°34
arst Vitor: a gs>4 fn g-3e 2°38
We notice, that the Imperial beets from seeds impor-
ted in 1871 differ considerably from the rest and are
quite inferior to them; whilst the latter average very
well, 12°63 of sugar to 2°38 non sugar or 100 parts of
sugar to 18°8 non sugar, the inferior imperial stands on
the average as 11°19 per cent. of sugar to 3:275 non
sugar, or 100 parts of sugar to 29°2 parts of the others
(non sugar).
The fodder beets differ still more as will be seen by
the following statement :—

cc

: Brix. Sugar. Non Sugar.
Sept. 19th Vienna Globe i 8-00 3°0
Common Mangold 9° 5°00 3°07
or
(Vienna) 100 parts of sugar to ee of other soluble substances.
an

(Mangold) 100 parts of sugar to 79'50 of other soluble substances.

* The Saccharometer used in my tests had for its smallest division
one-half degree instead of one-tenth as would be desirable.

5. Determination of the nitrogenous constituents of the
beet juice,

100 grammes of the juice of an imperial beet (Nov.
14th), containing the largest proportion of foreign ad-
mixture in its juice, were used for this test, its solid
dry residue amounted to 1510 grammes, The analysis
for the percentage of nitrogen was carried on in a
Bohemian glass tube, and in the well-known manner
with caustic soda and lime, taking particular care to
apply a decided excess of that mixture to secure a
thorough combustion of the highly carbonaceous mass.
The ammonia resulting was collected by means of a
moderately concentrated (1°12 spec. grav.) hydro-
chloric acid ina Will-Varrentrapp apparatus and its
amount determined in the form of platin-ammonium
chloride.

I. 20660 grammes of dry pulverized residue of
the beet juice produced 0-515 grammes of platin-am-
monium chloride, which is equal to 3°761 grammes of
the entire dry substance of the beet juice; again,

II. 1-912 grammes of the same residue produced
0°470 grammes of platin-ammonium chloride, which
is equal to 3°6880 grammes of the entire residue. As
223°2 parts of the platinum compound contain 17
parts of. ammonia or 14 parts of nitrogen, which is
equal to 6°2724 per cent. of the latter, our results cor-
respond to the following figures: 3°761 grammes of
platin-ammonium chloride are equal to 0°2359 per cent.
of nitrogen, and 3.6881 grammes to 0.2315 of nitrogen.
In case we assume that the whole amount of nitrogen
found is present in the form of nitrogenous or al-
buminous substances, we may by multiplying the per-
centage of nitrogen found, by 6°25, ascertain the
amount of those compounds. The average of nitrogen
found is 0'2337x6°25=1'460 of albuminous sub-
stances. This assumption is, however, not exactly
supported by facts, for the beet juice contains, besides
the albuminous substances, two other nitrogenous
compounds quite distinctly differing from the former,

29

namely, asparagin* and betain, organic bases for
which due allowance of nitrogen has to be made,
which -very naturally reduces more or less the amount
of albuminous substance previously calculated. The
albuminous substances generally vary in a good sugar-
beet juice from 1°3 to 1°4 and the amount in the juice
from beets raised upon the college farm cannot
exceed that. It was deemed important to ascertain
how much of these substances can be removed from
the beet juice by means ofan ordinary defecation or
clarification in the course of the beet-sugar manufac-
ture. In making these tests, it seemed necessary to
treat the juice from two different varieties of sugar
beets, yet raised upon the same field and under identi-
cal conditions.

Two hundred grammes of the juice from the Elec-
toral sugar beet (October 16th) were heated quickly
yet carefully in a glass flask to 80° C., when two
grammes of caustic magnesia (free from lime) were
added with thorough stirring after the removal of
the glass from the source of heat applied. The
mixture was then heated again, without unnecessary
delay, until the steam formed at the bottom began to
force its way through the solid curdy scum upon the
surface of the liquid. After having kept up the
temperature to from 95° to 98° C. for about ten to
fifteen minutes, the mixture was placed upon a
weighed filter, and the solid residue left upon the
filter after the filtration subsequently washed with
200 c. c. of distilled water at ordinary temperature
before drying. The residue, after desiccation in the
air-bath at 100° C., weighed 4°776 grammes, which is
equal to 2°388 per cent. An analysis of 2°388 grammes
with caustic soda and lime produced 0°6172 grammes
of platin-ammonium chloride, which being equal to
00387 per cent. of nitrogen, shows that but 0°2346

* Asparagin was discovered in beet juice as early as 1850 by
Dubrunfaut. Betain, anew organic base, was first noticed by Scheibler
in 1869. He found that the juice of beet roots, during the month of
July, contained one-fourth per cent., while, in the month of October,
but one-tenth per cent. was present. Scheibler has since proved the
identity of the oxyneurin of Siebreich and anhydrous betain, which
can therefore be made directly by treating trimethylamin with mono-
chloracetic acid. Betain has the formula C°H!!NO?.

23

per cent. of albuminous substances have been precipi-
tated by heat and caustic magnesia.*

Two hundred grammes from the juice of the
Vilmorin beet (October 18th) were treated with two
grammes of caustic lime in the same way as in the
preceding test with caustic magnesia. The caustic
lime being toa much larger degree soluble in a solu-
tion of sugar than the magnesia, only 3°849 grammes
of dry precipitate were obtained. 1°9250 grammes of
that residue produced o:5060 grammes of platin-
ammonium chloride, which is equal to 01923 per
cent. of albuminous substances. Comparing the
results of these tests, we notice that in the case of
caustic magnesia nearly one-fifth more of nitrogenous
substances was rendered insoluble than in the case of
caustic lime, while in both cases but a small fraction
(one-fifth to one-sixth) of these compounds is rendered
insoluble.

6. Determination of the Ash Constituents of the Beet
Juice.

The beet juice produced by the press contains
more saline compounds than the press-cakes left
behind, while the ashes of the latter contain more
carbonic acid than those of the former. In both
cases, the carbonic acid originated from the destruc-
tion of organic substances. “How much the mode of
abstracting the juice from the sugar beets affects the
quantity and quality of the saline constituents of the
beet juice, I have already sufficiently pointed out and
Ulustrated by analytical statements in my previous
report. The various kinds of fertilizers applied are
also known, as stated before, to affect the relative
proportion of the various saline constituents of the
press juice to some limited extent, and in a manner
previously explained, yet the total amount absorbed,
even in the case of the Stassfurt salines, varies but
little, provided the soil is not overcharged with
organic and particularly with nitrogenous organic
plant-food. A good sugar beet contains always at

* See Contribution on the Manufact re and Refining of Sugar, by C.
A. Goessmann, Syracuse, 1864; also, Chemical News, By We Crookes,
London, 1864.

24

least three times as much potash as soda, and often
even a larger proportion, but excessive applications
of common salt as a manure are known to increase
the relative amount of soda. The following inorganic
constituents are usually found in the juice of the
sugar beet, viz.: potassa, soda, lime, magnesia, iron,
phosphoric, sulphuric and silicic acids and chlorine.
Of these, the alkalies are of main importance so far
as the sugar question is concerned, for they exert a
specific influence on the results of our ordinary modes
of manufacture. Their great solubility, and their
peculiar indifference towards the absorbing property
of boneblack carry them largely as an obnoxious
feature through all the operations down to the mo-
lasses. Only the determination of the potassa and
soda is for this reason a quantitative one, whilst the
remaining saline compounds are stated collectively as
percentages of the ash constituents.

Five hundred grammes of Vilmorin (October 18th)
beet juice were carefully evaporated and gradually
charred, until no vapors arose, and the compact, hard,
carbonaceous mass was subsequently kept at a low
red heat until it formed a very friable mass. The
latter, after cooling, was finally ground, and for some
time digested at ordinary temperature with distilled
water to prevent as much as possible a mutual de-
composition of the ash constituents. After the mass
had been digested for some time, it was placed upon
a suitable filter, and subsequently washed with cold
water, making the entire amount of the solution
about 500c.c. This solution, after its evaporation
to dryness, and a re-solution, etc., left 0-928 grammes
of alkaline compounds or 0185 per cent. A direct
examination proved that it contained 0-0762 per cent.
of potassa and o'o12 per cent. of soda. Against this
mode of proceeding, 1 am aware it may be said that its
results are not strictly exact, as traces of alkalies will
pe left behind in the carbonaceous mass, but it ap-
peared to me that the risk of a trifling loss was less
serious than that caused by excessive heating to
destroy the carbon.

One huwdred grammes of Imperial beet juice
(November 20th) were carefully evaporated and

¢

20

charred. The carbonaceous mass was then mixed
with concentrated sulphuric acid and heated in a
platinum dish to oxidize the carbon. This operation
was repeated until no carbon could be noticed, and
the residue moistened again with sulphuric acid was
brought to a dull red heat, and subsequently weighed.
It amounted to 1:273 grammes or 1°237 per cent.
Making the customary allowances for sulphuric acid
(one-tenth of the weight of the saline residue) we
find the entire ash constituents of the juice equal to
1°145 per cent. The amount of salines in the beet
juice is, of course, much larger on account of the
presence of the organic acids than the ash percentage
represents.

I stated before that the amount, and particularly
the kind of saline constituents in the beet juice is of
great importance to. the beet-sugar manufacture, for
their amount even under favorable conditions is
considerable, and they interfere more or less directly
and indirectly with an advantageous separation of
the sugar in well-developed crystals, and not unfre-
quently increase the amount of molasses at the expense
of the sugar. The manufacturer feels thus obliged to
direct his attention very carefully during the entire
process of manufacture towards this point. He finds
it for his interest to begin operations with a sugar-
beet root having a small percentage of saline
compounds, and supplies himself with water which
contains but a small amount of mineral matter.* He
removes the alkalies by washing from the caustic
lime before using it for defecation, and strives also to
remove every cause which might bring about such
changes as will render the juice acid or induce the
formation of acids, for they favor the introduction of
otherwise insoluble compounds into the sugar solution,
such as sulphate, phosphate and carbonate of lime,
etc. Finally, he avoids the use of any organic or
inorganic substances for the clarification of the-sugar

* Stammer states that, in case of the press mode being used, every
ico pounds of beet-roots require 62 pounds of water; in case the
maceration and diffusion modes are to be applied, from 180 to 200
pounds of water are needed usually for every 100 pounds fof beets,
provided white sugar is to be made.

5)

26

solutions which, in consequence of their own compo-
sition, are liable to increase the amount of soluble
salines present. The means by which these compounds
may be removed are costly, and, in regard to the
alkalies in particular, very inefficient. Although the
frequently cited statement that 1 per cent. of ash
constituents will render from 4°5 to 5 per cent. of a
good sugar uncrystallizable is not true in its general
application, yet sufficient is known to justify the
assertion that their presence is highly objectionable.
Some salines, as caustic potassa and soda, carbonate
of potassa, acetate of potassa, and a few other combi-
nations of the latter base with organic acids, are
known to prevent directly more or less sugar from
crystallizing, whilst the others, collecting in the
molasses to a considerable proportion, increase its
bulk and thus indirectly cause the retention of more
or less sugar in a form of low value. Beet molasses
contains about 45 to 50 per cent. of sugar and from 9
to 10 per cent. of ash constituents, the latter repre-
senting in all probability more than twice their
weight of salines in the original solution, where the
bases are combined with several organic as well as
mineral acids.

III.—on THE SEPARATION OF THE SUGAR.

The juice of the sugar-beet for the manufacture of
sugar is secured in various ways. The roots, after
being freed from the leaves, are washed and their
tops cut off as far as the leaf marks extend ; they are
subsequently changed by means of suitable apparatus
either into pulp, and in that state subjected to the
action of a powerful press or centrifugal apparatus, or
both operations successively; or they are cut into
suitable slices and macerated or subjected to a pro-
cess of diffusion. Each mode of operation quite
naturally affects to some extent the quantity, the
kind, and the relative proportions of the constituents
which accompany the sugar in the resulting juice.
No one of these modes produces a solution directly
fit for the separation of the sugar by its mere evapo-
ration and subsequent crystallization. Any of these
juices in their original state soon turn slimy, and

27

their sugar will soon become uncrystallizable, and.
thus be entirely lost to the manufacturer. All have,
therefore, without delay to undergo a similar process
of purification before an advantageous separation of
the sugar can be expected. It may be of interest to
state here somewhat more in detail the main organic
and inorganic constituents of the beet-juice; they
are cane sugar, pectose, fat, gum, protein substances,
asparagin, betain, oxalic acid, citric acid, and ex-
tractive matter (a collective name for organic sub-
stances but little known), besides potassa, soda,
rubidium*, lime, magnesia, iron, manganese, phos-
phoric acid, sulphuric acid, chlorine and silicic acid.
As the various constituents of the beet-juice, obtained
by pursuing any of the previously mentioned modes
of separation, are either identical or at least of a
similar character, and as they mainly differ in regard .
to their relative quantities, the same general mode of
manufacture with but slight modifications is practised
for the final separation of the sugar. _

Instead of inserting here a chapter treating on this
point more in detail, I prefer to confine myself for the
present to the task before me, and to describe the
way by which I ascertained the amount of sugar, which
could be considered available for commercial pur-
poses. In the course adopted, I adhered as much as
possible to the modes and the means which intel-
ligent beet-sugar manufacturers apply, and modified
my plan merely to suit the peculiar circumstances
under which I was obliged to work.

I took fifty pounds of Electoral beet juice (October
18th), in.a suitable copper kettle and heated it quickly
but carefully to 80° C. to produce the coagulation of
the albuminous substances. I then removed the vessel
from the source of heat and stirred into the liquid
one-half of one per cent. of caustic. lime, which had
been changed into milk of lime. The heat was then

* Lefevere states that one hectare (2°5 acres), which produces on ths
average 40,000 kilogrammes (88,000 lbs.) of sugar beets and furnisheg
at the same time 128 kilogrammes (281°6 lbs.,) of crude potash, containg
for every kilogramme of the latter 1°75 grammes of Rubidium chlorid |
or 288 grammes per hectare or 91°5 grammes per acre (Compt. rendus
T. LIV, page 430. 1862.)

28

applied again and the liquid rapidly raised to its
boiling point, and as soon as the steam produced at
the bottom of the vessel began to force its way through
the compact mass of scum covering the surface, the
heat was discontinued and the clear liquid was
separated from the sctim, after ten to fifteen minutes
standing, by means of a siphon. The scum itself was
subsequently placed upon a filter consisting of cloth
and the filtrate passed through a thin layer of coarse
boneblack to render the juice clear. The previous
treatment of the juice of the sugar beet, which is
called the process of defecation, aims at the following
alteration of its constituents. The heating of the
juice at 80° C. causes the coagulation of the albumin-
ous substances which protects them somewhat against
the disintegrating reaction of the caustic lime, and
particularly of the caustic potassa and soda, which
result from the action of the caustic lime upon the
organic and inorganic compounds of these alkalies in
the beet juice. The excess of caustic lime renders, at
a higher temperature, the oxalic acid, the citric acid,
and the phosphoric acid largely insoluble, and causes
thus their partial removal in common with gum, fat,
pectose, and extractive substances in the form of a
precipitate. The asparagin is changed into aspara-
ginic acid and ammonia, which continually escapes,
with that amount of the latter which results from the
constant decomposition of a portion of nitrogenous
substance which remained in solution. The organic
base, betain, is liberated from its combination with
one of the organic acids, and, being very soluble,
accompanies the larger proportion of the compounds
of the asparaginic acid and the alkalies through the
various operations connected with the crystallization
.of the sugar into the molasses. The sugar forms a
definite soluble combination with lime, and by its
presence keeps also a large amount of otherwise
insoluble lime compounds in solution.* There are
various rules regarding the amount of caustic lime
required to accomplish the desired result of an

* A well defecated juice contains about twice as much caustic lime
in solution, as lime water does.

29

economical separation of thesugar from its accom-
panying substances, but they all aim at an excess of
caustic lime in the process of defecation. The excess
favors the formation of insoluble basic lime compounds,
the subsequent disintegration of soluble albuminous
substances, and particularly it shortens the entire
process of defecation, a result most desirable for the
production of a copious precipitation, which would
be more or less interfered with in case the liberated
alkalies were permitted to continue their disintegrat-
ing influence upon the scum for any length of time.
A successful defecation, considering everything else
equally favorable, aids in an unusual degree the entire
subsequent process. To remove the foreign substances
from the beet juice rather by precipitation than by
disintegration ought to be the aim of the beet-sugar
manufacturer, yet those who claim superior results
(Jelinske) it seems remove but fifty per cent. of
soluble non-saccharine constituents of the juice. No
other process connected with the beet-sugar manufac-
ture has been more frequently discussed than that of
defecating the juice, and there prevails a greater
diversity of opinion among manufacturers on that
point, with the exception probably of the most effli-
cient and at the same time the most economical
means of securing the juice from the roots, than on
any other point connected with the business.

The defecated juice, obtained as above described,
, was of a light yellow coler, transparent and of a
strong alkaline reaction. To secure the full effect of
the lime in solution, I concentrated the juice in an
open copper vessel by means of a steam bath to 30°
Brix, and treated it at 50° C. with carefully washed
carbonic acid gas until the precipitate of carbonate
of lime settled readily to the bottom.* The clear
solution was heated to 95° to 100° C. and subsequent-
ly passed through a boneblack filter, which was kept
by means of steam at 95° C. I used one pound of
boneblack for every pound of sugar in the juice. The
solution thus obtained was carefully evaporated to
wi ee YT peracetic kN aettele RE aes
* From o'o8 to o’og per. cent. of caustic lime is frequently left in

solution to be removed by bone-black afterwards. From fo to 20 Ibs.
ot bone-black are used for every 100 lbs. of beet roots.

3*

50

crystallization and the sugar collected at three differ-
ent times. It amounted to somewhat more than
eight per cent. with separation still going on slowly.
The operation was several times repeated with the
juice of the Electoral, and of the best Imperial beet,
and the sugar resulting was firm in grain and of
good color. Experiments on a smaller scale yielded
from a juice which contained 13°19 per cent. of sugar,
9°4 per cent. in a crystallized form, which has been
valued by experienced sugar refiners at from 8°5 to 9
cents per pound for refining purposes. Being obliged
to work without a vacuum pan, &c., and obtaining
as stated eight per cent. of a good sugar worth at
least eight cents per pound, I feel quite entitled to
say that the sugar beets raised upon the college farm,
particularly the Vilmorin and the Electoral, though
not of the highest order, are well qualified for the
economical manufacture of beet sugar. With proper
care in selecting good seeds and a fit soil, it is quite
apparent that the sugar beet promises with us as good
results as in Europe. Our long and moderately warm
fall season may even give us a decided advantage
over many localities in Europe, a question which
good native sugar beets are most likely soon to decide.

Our method of planting the sugar beet did not
promise more than 18,000 plants per acre, which
according to our actual test produced roots equal to
about one and one-fourth pounds each. In case the
implements on hand would have allowed to carry out
the proposed arrangement (the rows but twenty"
inches apart and the individual plants eight inches
from each other in the rows), from 28,000 to 28,500.
plants might have been raised, which at the same
average weight of the roots would amount to 32,000
or 34,000 pounds peracre. At this rate of production,
it is quite safe to say that from 1,900 to 2,000 pounds
of sugar would be its produce per acre. These
figures, which are as will be conceded well supported
by actual tests here and elsewhere, oblige me to alter
the valuation of the produce per acre from that of
my first report. For obvious reasons, I adopt here
again rather the lowest rates than the higher ones,
although the field on which the experiments were

ol

made, was by no means equal in fertility to the
alluvial soil of the Connecticut.
Sugar, 1,900 pounds at eight cents per ins $152°00

Molasses for feeding purposes, : é 3°66
Press-cakes, $17°40, crowns, $4°00, ‘ +) eee
Leaves, as manure or fodder, , . of BOO

. $189'06

To this amount showid be added the profit on
fodder converted into milk, beef and manure.

Making allowance for exceptionally good results,
which are in Germany, for instance, 2,270 pounds of
sugar per acre, $2960 would have to be added to
the above sum. Adding one cent to the value of
each pound of sugar, which considering our present
market prices seems to be warranted, would be
$15°20 more, making the entire yield $222°86 per
acre. There are, also, incidental profits arising in the
manufacture of sugar, which benefit particularly the
agricultural interest, which were not enumerated in
my former report. "Two sources of additional profit
deserve particular attention here. The process of
defecation requires the application to the juice of
from one to several per cent. of caustic lime. The
scum resulting from this operation contains a large
percentage of phosphoric acid, magnesia, nitrogenous
and non-nitrogenous organic constituents of the beet
juice, a considerable quantity of caustic and carbon-
ate of lime, and these are in such a state that they
may serve, after some composting, as an cflicient
fertilizer. In its original condition, it consists of
about 60 per cent. of water, 22 per cent. of organic
substances, and 18 per cent. of inorganic substances,
and has been counted in this state equal to its own
~ weight of stable manure. This mass is frequently
pressed to save sugar, and varies of course somewhat
in its composition. One acre of beet-roots causes the
production of about 750 pounds of pressed scum of
the following composition :

Caustic and carbonate of lime, . 254'80 pounds.
Potassa and soda, : : : 3°00
Magnesia, . 3 : , : 1420 os
Phosphoric acid, . . : : Feber ne
Sulphuric acid, . : : : 6 Bap Rg
Nitrogen, . : : : rirea 26%
Organic substances, : ° : 200°0o..' Vs
Water, . ‘ : . ° ° 15170. <=

750°00 pounds.

-The refuse matter (spodium), resulting from the
clarification and decolorization of the sugar solution,
is also worth mentioning in this connection, as an
important source of an excellent material for the
manufacture of super-phosphate. The peculiar bene-
fits which the agricultural interests of a country
derive, directly or indirectly, from the introduction
of the ‘beet-sugar industry, under judicious manage-
ment, have never been seriously questioned.. I express
but the prevailing opinion of European agriculturists,
when I again assert, that wherever the promotion of
rational principles in agricultural pursuits is a
desirable object, or where a declining productiveness
of the soil calls for efficient assistance, there it will be
found of inestimable service to study the ways. and
means by which the true relation of the various farm.
crops to the sugar beet have been ascertained, and
the beet-sugar manufacture rendered a lucrative
agricultural and industrial business.

“The great interest which of late has been manifested
throughout the entire country in regard to the
introduction of the beet-sugar manufacture, is a
sufficient proof that its importance begins to be
realized. The question has reached in the minds of
many already a state which leaves no further choice
for arguments than the laboratory, the field and the
factory. We have, in many respects, an easier task
and less discouraging prospects, when contemplating
the introduction of the beet-sugar manufacture, than
those who began this enterprise years ago in Europe.
They had first to find out how to raise a good sugar
beet, and how to separate in an economical way the
sugar, whilst we may, simply, for the present, follow

33

their teachings, ascertain the results upon our soil,
and modify their methods to suit our circumstances.
They were not less confronted by the same difficulties
in their time, which are held up to us as great obsta-
cles in the way of success, namely; an uncertain
degree of préction for a struggling home industry
‘and too expensive labor by hand to complete with
the colonial sugar produce of the West and East
Indies. Their times were indeed hard and their
chances* frequently doubtful; yet in looking closer
at their struggle, we cannot help noticing that the
very circumstances. which seemed at times to render
success impossible, have contributed largely to a final
good result. A firm belief in the advantages offered
by a rational mode of cultivation and by skilled
labor over mere empirical routine, carried them
successfully to the end. How well they succeeded
may be inferred from the following two facts: first,
most of the sugar refineries which in former years
were engaged in refining sugar from the sugar cane
of the tropics, are now refining home-made beet-sugar ;
secondly, the introduction of numerous mechanical
contrivances has reduced expensive hand labor in
the field and in the factory, to a condition which
compares very favorably with the relative amounts of
machine and hand labor employed in similar industrial
‘operations. Nothing remains for us to do but to
enter upon a close investigation of the merits of the
question. A study of our resources with reference to
the important changes which have taken place in
the management of the beet-sugar industry within
later years cannot but demonstrate that the prospects
are promising. The chief argument used against the
introduction of the beet-sugar manufacture as a home
industry, rests to-day solely on the expensive field-
work which is required to till and to manure the soil
properly to cultivate the beet root according to the

* From 1836 to 1846 about 2000 pounds of beet roots were required
to produce too lbs. of sugar (5 per cent.); from 1846 to 1856 about 1500
Ibs. of beet roots to produce too lbs. of sugar (6 per cent.) ; from 1856
to 1868 about 1250 lbs. of beet roots for 100 lbs. of sugar (8 per_eent.)
The government tax is thirty times higher in Germany and France
on the beet root than in 1840.

o4

best rules, and to deliver them at the mill. Although
duly recognizing the great weight of this point, for
with the farmer rests the success of the enterprise in
the end, I believe that its influence as an obstacle is
frequently overrated and based on som¢ ~hat obsolete
assumptions. The government tax of from $40 to $50 -
per acre of sugar beets, in Germany and France, as
well as our higher prices of sugar, will go far towards
covering our more expensive labor.* The interests
of the Louisiana sugar planters, and the sugar-beet
cultivators of more northern sections of the country
are the same, as far as a proper protection of their
industry is concerned ; and the public opinion, in
view of the requirements of the government, is appar-
ently prepared to accord to them, for some time, at
least, this advantage. Great improvements in agri-
cultural implements, and in modes of securing the
juice, have reduced labor by hand to a considerable
extent. A short enumeration of the most conspicuous
instances may place this statement in its proper light.
Various. seeding machines, improvements more or
less on Garrett’s famous seed-drill, are used in plant-
ing the seed in four or more rows at once, and at any
desired distances from twelve to twenty inches apart.
According to the size of the machine, one or two
men with one or two. horses or oxen, may seed from -
eight to sixteen acres per day; the same implement
can also be modified, by replacing the seed boxes
with suitable Knives to be used as cultivators, to
clean the space between the rows of plants and to
cover the roots. Ploughs with two knives are used
to break up the soil on both sides of the rows of
beets, to loosen the latter in such a manner, without
lacerating them, that children may do the harvesting
of the roots. In fact, the whole work in the field,
after the soil is once properly broken up, calls for no
extraordinary labor. A good deal of the work can
be done by boys. Machines do the washing, the
grinding or .cutting, and general handling of the

* The average price of the best quality of loaf sugar (crushed) from
sugar beets was in Germany during the years 1868-59, but $11 ‘per
100 pounds. >

30

roots to the centrifugal apparatus. The task of
handling the pulp of beet roots for the press requires,
comparatively speaking, a large supply of hands to
do the business connected with that process, but
Roberts’ diffusion method dispenses with a large
number of the hands formerly required in the press-
room—nearly one-half.

A report concerning the influence of Roberts’
method on the financial results of an establishment
which formerly used the press mode for obtaining
the beet juice may illustrate the previous statement,
and at the same time give some clearer idea about
the importance of the labor question, as far as its
relative bearing on the financial success of the entire
manufacturing operation is concerned. 200,000
pounds of beet roots needed per day (twenty-four
hours’ actual work) in the press-room, eighteen men,
fifty-two girls and twenty-eight boys to perform the
handling of the pulp and cakes, whilst after the intro-
duction of the diffusion mode of Roberts, but twenty-
six men and ten boys attended to the separation of
the juice. The saving of one-half the expenses in
that department during a campaign of one hundred
and fifty days amounted to much, yet in summing up
the entire gain due to a change of operation, it is of
some interest to notice that but one-sixth of the extra
earnings of the manufacturer was caused by saving in
the expenses of labor. I call attention to this instance
to show that an extra cost of hand labor does not
affect after all the chances of success to such a degree
as is frequently asserted. The margin for profits is
larger here than in many other branches of business.
The real success of the beet-sugar industry, in its
present high state of development, depends, in my
Opinion, with us far more on an intelligent and close
attention to the details of its various operations in the
field and in the factory than on any other requirement.*

* My particular thanks are due to Messrs. John E. King and John
B. Minor, students of the College, fur valuable assistance rendered
during my investigations.

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LIBRARY OF c

A

THE AMERICAN CHEMIST.

A Monthly Journal of Theoretical, Analytical, and
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F. CHANDLER, Ph. D., Professor of Analytieal and Applied Chem-
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