14 CULTURE OF THE SUGAR BEET. 



the vineyards, especially in the south. Parmentier was, among the sci- 

 entists and members of the Institute, the leader of this movement and 

 the promoter of this apparent germ of a new industry and internal 

 source of national wealth, and he published a work entitled, Traite sur 

 Vart de frabriquer les strops et conserves de raisin." The methods 

 he indicated in this work were mainly followed in the experiments of 

 1808 and 1809, but were considerably improved upon by Proust and 

 Fouques. They served, however, in the various southern departments 

 of the empire, for the production of considerable quantities of sirup 

 from the vintages of 1808 and 1809, samples of which were presented 

 to the minister of the interior, who at once called the attention of 

 the Emperor to the results represented in the samples in the fol- 

 lowing report, which will serve to show not only the condition of 

 the enterprise at the close of 1809 and the beginning of 1810, but also 

 what had been done previous to that time and the appreciation with 

 which he regarded it ; and the decree of Napoleon issued in consequence 

 of this report will show the interest he had in this possible source of a 

 substitute for the colonial staple. The report appeared in the Moniteur 

 of June 23, 1810. The minister, Montalivet, says : 



Sire : I have reported to your Majesty the successes ohtained by M. Parmentier, who 

 has given very useful attention to perfecting grape sirup and making it suitable to 

 replace cane sugar in many medical and domestic preparations. Your Majesty, who 

 ordered it to be used in the palace, seemed satisfied with it. I desire to-day to fix 

 your attention upon more important results. M. Proust, an able chemist, has extracted 

 from grape sirup a concrete sugar.- M. Fouques has found a means of bleaching it and 

 giving it not only the brilliancy but also the consistency and color of cane sugar. I 

 have called together a commission, composed of Messrs. Berthollet and Chaptal, Sena- 

 tors, and members of the Institute, Parmentier, Vauquelin, and Proust. The sugar of 

 M. Fouques was submitted to them for examination. The commission decided that this 

 substance was worthy of the highest degree of attention, and after having made some 

 tests upon the substance itself, without any preparation, thought it especially essen- 

 tial to determine what would be its effects in different mixtures and different propor- 

 tions. The commission then adjourned, and came together again at the ministry on 

 the 12th of this month. 



The commission found that conserves containing the triple and quadruple of grape 

 sugar were too sweet. Those containing the double were less sweet than those con- 

 taining a single proportion of cane sugar. That the grape sugar equivalent of cane 

 was a little over 2£ to 1. 



MONTALIVET. 



In consequence of this report of the minister of the interior, his Ma- 

 jesty issued, under date of June 18, 1810, the following decree: 



Article 1. There is accorded the sum of 100,000 francs <$20, 000) to M. Proust,* and 

 one of 40,000 francs ($8,000) to Sieur Fouques, in the form of gratuity and by way of 

 encouragement for the discovery they have made of grape sugar. 



Art. 2. They shall be obliged to use these two sums to establish grape-sugar fac- 

 tories in that portion of our southern departments designated by our minister of the 

 interior. 



* By decree of June 21, 1810, Napoleon appointed M. Proust, chemist, member of the 

 Legion of Honor. 



