CHAPTER XVIII 

 SUGAR FACTORY FEEDS AND OIL MEALS 



I. SUGAR FACTORY FEEDS 



Sugar is manufactured on a large scale in this country from two 

 agricultural crops, sugar beets and sugar cane. The former crop 

 furnished the raw material for about 70 per cent of the sugar manu- 

 factured here during 1913-1914. The cane-sugar industry is lo- 

 cated in the South, practically all cane-sugar manufactured in the 

 United States being made in Louisiana. The beet-sugar factories, 

 on the other hand, are located in the northern and western States, 

 the States leading in this industry being Colorado, California, and 

 Michigan. The by-products of importance as stock feeds are cane 

 and beet molasses, and beet pulp, which is fed either wet or dried. 



Molasses is the non-crystallizable residue obtained in the treat- 

 ment and evaporation of the sweet juice of sugar beets or cane. 



Beet molasses is composed of about 20 per cent moisture, 9 per 

 cent protein (largely amides and nitrates), and 60 per cent nitrogen- 

 free extract, which id almost wholly sugar, and at least two-thirds 

 sucrose, the rest being composed of glucose, raffino.se, organic acids, 

 pentosans, etc. Beet molasses contains about 10 per cent of ash, 

 largely potash and soda. It forms a thick, salty, not particularly 

 sweet liquid, which is very laxative on account of its content of alkali 

 salts and organic acids, and must, therefore, be fed sparingly to 

 farm animals. It is mostly used in the manufacture of molasses 

 feeds with different absorbents, such as beet pulp, dried brewers' 

 grains, malt sprouts, alfalfa meal, ground grain screenings, pea 

 meal, ground cobs, wheat bran, and other materials. The value of 

 these feeds 1 differs greatly, according to the character of the ab- 

 sorbent used. If good, feed materials enter into their manufacture 

 and the price of the feeds is not too high in comparison with 

 other concentrates, they may be considered well worth a trial. Beet 

 molasses is used in some factories for the manufacture of molasses 

 beet pulp (see p. 195). It miay be fed in limited quantities to all 

 classes of farm animals, except, perhaps, to pigs; according to 

 reports by the Cornell 1 and Utah stations, 2 it is injurious as a swine 

 feed and likely to produce a poor quality of pork. 



bulletin 199. 2 Bulletin 101. 

 192 



