APPENDIX C. 



PRELIMINARY REPORT UPON THE CONDITION OF THE CULTURE OF THE 

 SUGAR BEET NEAR PORTLAND, ME. 



Washington, D. C, October 5, 1879. 

 Sir : In accordance with your instructions of August 26, I proceeded to Portland, 

 Me., and made examination of the condition of the culture of the sugar beet in that 

 vicinity, and have the honor herewith to submit a preliminary report upon that sub- 

 ject. On the return of circulars which have been distributed among the farmers grow- 

 ing beets for the Maine Beet Sugar Company a more detailed report will be made. 



Verv respectfullv, 



WM. McMURTRIE. 

 Hon. Wm. G. LeDuc, 



Commissioner of Agriculture. 







PRELIMINARY REPORT. 



The inauguration of the enterprise of growing beets for the production of sugar 

 in the vicinity of Portland, Me., occurred in the spring of 1878 under the influence of 

 the Maine Beet Sugar Company, which issued notice of organization on April 23, and 

 was granted a charter by the State legislature May 11. 



The plan of the company was to secure a limited crop in 1878, and work it with aa 

 inexpensive apparatus as could be procured aud made effective to be used in connec- 

 tion with the Forest City Sugar Refinery. The German idea which has governed, 

 former experiments of this kind in this country, that of purchasing for the company a 

 quantity of land sufficient to furnish the necessary supplies for a factory, was consid- 

 ered impracticable, and they determined to depend upon contracts to be made with 

 the farmers for their supplies, and though the enterprise is a new one to the farmers 

 large numbers appear to have been willing to cultivate small areas, but on account of 

 an unfortunate delay in securing the seed for distribution (it had been ordered in 

 Germany) and the consequent very late planting the crop was not a good one, and, 

 therefore, not very profitable to the growers, and only about 1,000 tons were obtained, 

 to be worked up in the factory last year. The company suffered another discouraging 

 experience in the way of the mode adopted for the preservation of the roots for work- 

 ing late in the season. The method proposed was to slice the roots and dry them, and 

 by this means it was expected that larger quantities could be obtained from the fact 

 that they could be transported greater distances, but the experiment resulted in dis- 

 astrous failure. The drying oven experimented with was estimated to cost §800, but 

 actually cost §5,000. It was stated to have a capacity of 25 tons per day and would 

 dry but 7 tons, and the cost of working was about 8*3.50 per ton. The experiment 

 was made in the Aroostook upon 500 tons of roots under the most favorable conditions, 

 proving conclusively that the method is too costly to be employed for the purpose. 

 Besides the cost involved in drying the roots, it was found more difficult to extract 

 the sugar from the dried slices in the factory than from the roots worked in the green 

 state. 



But after all these discouraging circumstances the results obtained in the factory 

 did much to counterbalance them. The roots produced and delivered, contained an 

 average of 12| per cent, of sugar and yielded nearly 10 per cent., in the extraction, of 

 sugar of good grade, convincing the company that good roots could be produced, 



171 



