CULTURE OF THE SUGAB BEET. 9 



by means of alcohol, and in this "way a sugar candy was obtained dif- 

 fering in no particular from that given by cane sugar. 



The conclusions arrived at were to the effect that if with Achard's 

 process sugar may be extracted from the beet, the quantity was much 

 less than that given by the alcohol process indicated by ATargraff. 



They then modified the experiments by working on the juice of un- 

 cooked beets and obtained 25 per cent, more of muscovado ; and as a 

 final result of all their experiments they adopt as the cost of refined 

 sugar about 18 cents per pound, but think this figure may be reduced 

 by improved methods. 



The report concludes as follows : 



It results from what precedes : 



1. That it is certain that the beet which grows in France, and which mar be recog- 

 nized by its white flesh, traversed by red bands or rays, contains sugar as well as the 

 same species grown at Berlin that Achard worked upon. 



2. That the sugar may be extracted by various processes, and acquire by aid of 

 repeated purifications all the qualities of cane sugar. 



3. That the quantity of sugar which this root contains is so great that attention 

 should be given to its extraction. 



4. If, as we are assured by Achard, we may, as it were, render this root richer in 

 sugar at will by caring for its culture, it is desirable that experiments be made upon 

 this subject. 



5. That independently of these experiments it would be of value to determine if, 

 among the several varieties, some do not exist more rich in sugar than those pointed 

 out by Achard. 



6. That, admitting the results of these experiments, it remains to be demonstrated 

 that the beet may up to a certain point supplant the sugar-cane. 



7. That it is true to say that the cost of sugar cannot be determined with rigorous 

 exactness without knowing the results of operations made on a large scale. However, 

 at the present time it may be presumed that this price would not be higher than that 

 of cane sugar in ordinary times. 



8. Finally, if Margraff should justly be cited as being the author of the discovery 

 of sugar in the beet, it must also be admitted that Achard is the first to have made 

 fortunate application of this discovery, not only in announcing the favorable quantity 

 that may be extracted, but also in pointing out the processes to which we could resort 

 for success. 



Achard's appreciation of the action and conclusions of this commis- 

 sion may be gleaned from the following letter addressed to Citizen von 

 Mons, and dated Berlin, November 16, 1800 (Ann. de Chem. 39, 223): 



I thank you sincerely for sending me the interesting report of the Institute. I have 

 noted with infinite pleasure that the researches made by the celebrated French chem- 

 ists confirm my discovery. The differences found in the products as to the quantities and 

 qualities result either from the culture of the beet or the variety chosen for the tests. 

 Notwithstanding the objections of the commission, I am still of the opinion that the 

 best method consists in boiling the roots before expressing the juice, the clarification 

 then taking place within the cells themselves by the coagulation of the albumen, so 

 that we obtain the juice entirely clarified, or better clarified than it is possible to at- 

 tain from raw beets by the addition of blood or other coagulable substances. 



But the report of the French commission had the effect to dampen 

 any enthusiasm that may have been aroused in France by the publica- 

 tion of Achard's announcement, and for the few years that immediately 



