260 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



In addition to developing improved and more economical methods 

 for manufacturing better quality molasses, the problem of utilizing 

 blackstrap molasses most efficiently has been considered. At the 

 present time blackstrap is virtually a waste product, and an in- 

 creased return for this material would give the cane planter a corre- 

 sponding profit on his cane delivered at the mill. 



BEET-SUGAR INVESTIGATIONS. 



The proportion of sugar which can be extracted from sugar beets^ 

 as well as the actual sugar content, determines the value of beets to 

 the grower and to the sugar factory. The proportion of sugar orig- 

 inally in the beet which is lost in manufacture results in an enormous 

 loss annually to the beet-sugar industry. A constructive investiga- 

 tion of the factors which determine the proportion of recoverable 

 sugar is just as important to the grower of beets as investigations de- 

 signed to increase beet production. 



Some of these factors which are distinctly chemical in character 

 exert their influence before harvesting while others have an effect 

 after harvesting. One of the most important is that involved in the 

 storage of beets. Outside of California it is necessary, because of the 

 early advent of freezing weather, to store beets in piles for a certain 

 period before working them through tlie factory. This period aver- 

 ages about 25 days. During storage an average of 0.4 per cent of the 

 sugar in the beets is destroyed daily, or a total of about 10 per cent 

 of all the sugar contained in the beets at the time of harvesting. 



In addition, among other factors the deteriorative changes which 

 beets undergo during storage cause the introduction into the juice of 

 substances which interfere with crystallization of sugar and reduce 

 the proportion of the remaining sugar finally extracted in the f actor}-. 

 This effect is particularly apparent in the operation of the Steffen 

 process, which is used in this country to desugarize molasses. If this 

 process were as effective elsewhere as it frequently is in California, 

 apj)roximately 95 per cent of the sugar in beet molasses would be 

 recovered, thus greatly increasing the total yield of sugar from beets. 

 Owing to the accumulation of substances which interfere with crys- 

 tallization of sugar, only about 60 per cent of the sugar in beet 

 molasses produced outside of California is finally extracted. This 

 immense wastage of sugar involves a financial loss to the beet-sugar 

 industry of many millions of dollars per annum. 



The cause of this difficulty has been ascertained, as the result of 

 investigations in the bureau, and two methods are being proposed 

 for a practical solution, one depending on corrective measures in the 

 factory and the other on prevention before the beets enter the fac- 

 tory. The entire problem is one of applied agricultural chemistry. 

 In view of the fact that this loss of sugar occurs after the expense 

 for raising and harvesting the crop has been incurred, a reduction 

 in this loss would increase the value of the beets to grower and 

 sugar factory alike and would be of more value to the industry than 

 a corresponding increase in beet production. 



The beet-sugar industry occupies an important place in the agri- 

 cultural scheme of a large area of the United States, and reduction 

 of the sugar losses under discussion is of immense importance to it. 



