374 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



successful and profitable. The almost total extinction of the manufac- 

 ture of cane sugar in the southern portion of our country has given a 

 new and increased interest in the production of this necessary of life. 

 "Wliile the sorghum has been successfully introduced within a few years 

 throughout the west, the beet as a sugar producing plant has not till 

 recently been considered economical. The present exorbitant price of 

 sugar has, however, induced some enterprising cultivators in Illinois to 

 attempt the culture of the sugar beet, with great promise of success. 

 Perhaps there is no soil or climate raoi'e suitable for this than that of the 

 rich and fertile State of Illinois, whose deep alluvial soil is particularly 

 well adapted to these roots, and there is now no reason why great quan- 

 tities of the very best sugar should not be made there. 



" The manufacture of beet sugar, first introduced into France by the 

 Emperor Napoleon I, not sixty years ago, has become an immense busi- 

 ness there and on other parts of the continent. The yield of beet sugar 

 in eighteen hundred and sixty-one was four hundred and eight}^ thou- 

 sand tons, being one sixth of all produced in the world, and one fourth 

 as much as the cane sugar. The sugar product of the world that 3'ear 

 was as follows : 



Class. 



Tons. 



Cane sugar ^, 



Beet sugar 



Palm sugar 



Maple sugar 



Total 



1,950,000 



480,000 



100,000 



20,000 



2,550,000 



"Considering that we pay nearly one hundred million dollars annually 

 for foreign sugar, and that this may be made from the beet at less than 

 half the present price of sugar i'rom the cane, it Avould seem to be the 

 part of wisdom in the Government to encourage it in some direct form." 



EXTRACTION OF SUGAR FROM THE BEET. 



We find the following description of the process of making sugar from 

 the beet, as practised in France, in the introduction to the volume of the 

 eighth census devoted to agriculture, and we deem it of sufiicient iilipoi'- 

 tance to warrant its transfer to these pages : 



" The beets are taken out of the ground when they have acrpiired 

 their full growth, and the sound ones are carefully separated from those 

 which have been injured by the operation. The beets are made into 

 heaps in the field, and covered Avith leaves until there is danger of frost, 

 when they must be housed or buried in pits. The upper part of the 

 root, at tiie starting point of the stalk, is cut ofi^, because this portion is 

 harder and contains but little sugar. The beets, after being cleansed 

 and washed, are thrown into a machine, which reduces them to a fine 

 pulp and breaks up the cells. The pulp is placed in woollen bags laid 

 on each other, and between which metallic plates are introduced ; after 

 which the mass is compressed by a screw j)ress, and the juice which 



