278 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



" Official returns show that the Arrondissement of Valenciennes pro- 

 duced, from eighteen hundred and sixty-four to eighteen hundred and 

 sixty-six, one hundred and fift}*-one million ninety-six thousand six hun- 

 dred and seventy kilograms of molasses, and from eighteen hundred and 

 fifty-three to eighteen hundred and sixty-six, nine hundred and fifty- 

 three thousand five hundred and twenty hectolitres of alcohol. During 

 the same period the sugar factories consumed nearly six milliards of 

 kilograms of beets, a large part of which was produced in the neigh- 

 boring districts and sent here to be manufactured. The immense plan- 

 tations of this arrondissement, which formerly sent the whole crop to 

 the sugar factories, now send a large part of it to the distilleries, and 

 the great factories and refineries are forced to call upon the neighboring 

 arrondissements for the supply necessary to keep their works in opera- 

 tion. This, however, does not seem to have affected the manufacture of 

 sugar, for the Arrondissement of Valenciennes has exported during the 

 last eight years nearl}' fifteen millions of raw sugar. 



" This district contains sixty-four factories, which furnish occupation 

 during the winter season, when no other employment can be obtained, 

 to seven thousand men, two thousand seven hundred and fifty women, 

 and two thousand six hundred and seventy children of both sexes. The 

 wages paid to these operatives for the one hundred and twenty days 

 work, which is the length of the sugar-making season, amounts to three 

 million two hundred and fifty thousand francs. It to this amount is 

 added the sum of eight hundred thousand francs paid for agricultural 

 labor, the sum of four million francs is reached, which is paid as wages 

 in this industry annually. The sugar factories produce annually six mill- 

 ion two hundred and sixtv-one thousand kilograms of sugar, one million 

 six hundred and twenty-one thousand seven hundred kilograms of molas- 

 ses, and twenty-four million nine hundred and ninety thousand kilograms 

 of pulp. They make use of numerous steam engines, whose aggregate* 

 power amounts to one thousand horses. Finally, this industry has, 

 during the last ten years, paid for local taxes the sum of eighty thousand 

 francs, while all the other industries of the arrondissement combined 

 have contributed less than ninety thousand francs." 



In those departments into which the cultivation of the beet and the 

 manufacture of sugar have been lately introduced, the newest processes 

 and best machinery are to be seen. The size and productive power of 

 the factories have generally been increased, and the average production, 

 which in eighteen hundred and thirty-six was ninety thousand kilograms 

 per each factory, at the present time has reached as high as five hun- 

 dred thousand kilograms, and in some cases, that of the largest estab- 

 lishments, one million five hundred thousand kilograms. The amount of 

 sugar usually extracted is from five and sixty one-hundredths to six per 

 cent. An establishment, therefore, producing one million five hundred 

 thousand kilograms of sugar, would work up from twenty-five thousand 

 to thirty thousand tons of beets, which, basing the production at forty 

 kilograms per hectare, would require from six hundred and fifty to seven 

 hundred and fifty hectares under cultivation. The average amount of 

 land under cultivation for each factory is from two hundred and fifty to 

 three hundred hectares, which is as much as can be economically worked, 

 owing to the difficulty of transporting the beets to the factory. 



The aggregate amount of steam power employed in this industry is 

 eighty-eight thousand horses, estimating a two-hundred horse power 

 engine to each factory. 



