716 



SUGAR. 



Sorirliiim. Sorghum, or Chinese sugar cane, 

 (Sorghum vulgare,) has been in cultivation in 

 China from very early times. It was introduced 

 into this country by the Patent Office, in 1853-4, 

 the seed having been obtained from France. 

 Large sums have been appropriated by Congress 

 for the development of the sorghum industry 

 in this country, in experimenting to determine 

 the territory best adapted for sorghum culture, 

 the varieties best suited to that territory, and 

 to develop by selection of seed the chosen varieties. 



Peculiar difficulties have been encountered in 

 making sugar from sorghum, owing to the pres- 

 ence of gummy substances in the juice, which 

 hinder crystallization. But recent experiments 

 have shown that these substances can be separated 

 from the juice by the use of alcohol, and the yield 

 of sugar largely increased. The Act of Congress 

 of March 3, 1891, authorized distilled spirits to 

 be withdrawn from distillery warehouses, free of 

 tax, to be used in the manufacture of sugar from 

 sorghum. With sorghum cane, averaging 13 or 

 14 per cent, of sugar in the juice, it is possible by 

 using alcohol to obtain 150 pounds of first sugar 

 per ton, and from 20 to 30 pounds of seconds. 

 The yield of sorghum per acre is about 8 or 9 

 tons, as received at the factory, with the tops of 

 the stalks cut off for seed. 



The cultivation of sorghum is much easier and 

 less expensive than the cultivation of sugar cane 

 or of sugar beets, the cost of sorghum cane being 

 $2 to $2.50 a ton, while the cost of sugar cane, 

 and of sugar beets, reaches $4 to $5 a ton for the 

 same percentage of sugar. There were only three 

 factories that claimed bounty on sugar from 

 sorghum during the year 1891 all in Kansas. 

 They were in operation an average of forty-four 

 days and produced 1,113,036 pounds of sugar. 

 The only licensed sorghum-sugar factories for the 

 year 1892 were the Medicine Lodge Sugar Com- 

 pany (Limited), Medicine Lodge, and the Park- 

 inson Sugar Company. Fort Scott, Kansas. 



Beet Sugar. The beet from which sugar is 

 obtained is a variety of the common garden beet 

 (Seta vulgnris). By scientific experiments carried 

 on for a long time, selecting for seed those beets 

 having a high percentage of sucrose, a variety of 

 sugar beet has been obtained which contains suf- 

 ficient saccharine matter to make its use in the 

 manufacture of sugar a profitable industry. 



The beet-sugar industry in the continental 

 countries of Europe has grown within recent 

 years to great dimensions, the result of improved 

 methods of manufacture and the system of boun- 

 ties paid on sugar exported. These countries 

 manufacture enough sugar to supply their own 

 people, and have a large supply for export. 



The production of beet sugar in Europe during 

 the year 1891-2, with an estimate of the crop 

 for 1892-3, in metric tons of 2,204.6 pounds, is 

 given by Mr. Licht, statistician, as follows : 



1892-3. 1891-2. 



Germany 1,200,000 



Austria 750,000 



France 625,000 



Russia 480,000 



Belgium 200,000 



Holland 75,000 



Other Countries 80,000 



1,198,156 



786,556 



650,377 



560,000 



180,377 



46,815 



78,000 



Together 3,410,000 3,500,291 



Our soil and climate are as well adapted to the 

 growth of sugar beets as European countries. 

 The Pacific Coast, the plateaus of Utah and Col- 

 orado, parts of Nebraska and the Dakotas, South- 

 ern Iowa, Minnesota, Winconsin, Northern Indi- 

 ana, Ohio, and New York are probably the local- 

 ities best adapted for the purpose. An acre of 

 land will yield from twelve to fifteen tons of 

 beets. The yield of sugar from a ton of beets 

 containing 12 per cent, of sucrose is about 200 

 pounds. When the percentage of sugar in beets 

 is below 12, they cannot be profitably used in the 

 manufacture of sugar. 



For the season of 1890-1, the yield in Austria- 

 Hungary was 9.8 tons an acre ; in France, 11.8 

 tons an acre; and in Germany, 13.8 tons an acre. 

 The per cent, of sugar in beets in Austria- 

 Hungary during the season of 1890-1 was 12.9 ; 

 in France, 13.6 ; in Germany, 14.5, on the assump- 

 tion that 85 per cent, of the total weight of sugar 

 in the beet was obtained. At the Agricultural 

 Experiment Station at Schuyler, Nebraska, dur- 

 ing the past year, the yield was 21 tons of beets 

 an acre, with a content of sugar of about 13 per 

 cent. 



The process of manufacture of sugar from 

 beets is similar to that employed in the manufac- 

 ture of sugar from sugar cane, but a more com- 

 plicated apparatus for purification of the juice 

 is necessary, as beet juice contains more non- 

 saccharine substances, consisting of gums, acid 

 bodies, nitrogenous matter, and various salts. 

 Beet molasses has an extremely disagreeable taste, 

 and can only be utilized for the manufacture of 

 vinegar or converted into alcohol by fermentation 

 and distillation. The pulp after the sugar has 

 been removed makes an excellent food for fat- 

 tening cattle. The total cost of a complete ap- 

 paratus for manufacturing sugar from beets varies 

 from $75,000 to $500,000. In 1892 there were 

 manufactured, according to the returns made to 

 the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 27,000,000 

 pounds of beet sugar, of which about 21,800,000 

 pounds were produced in California, 3,800,000 

 pounds in Nebraska, and 1,400,000 pounds in 

 Utah, against a total product of 12,004,838 

 pounds in 1891. 



The following is a list of beet-sugar factories 

 in this country : Utah Sugar Co., Lehi, Utah ; 

 Alameda Sugar Co., Alvarado, Cal. ; Western 

 Beet Sugar Co., Watson ville, Cal. ; Chino Val- 

 ley Beet Sugar Co., Chino, Cal. ; Oxnard Beet 

 Sugar Co. , Grand Island, Neb. ; Norfolk Beet 

 Sugar Co., Norfolk, Neb. 



The following is a summary of operations for 

 the year 1891-2 : Average number of days in 

 operation, 58| ; number of employes, 847 ; acres 

 of beets used, 7,155; tons of beets used, 72,- 

 529.9 ; sugar made per ton of beets, 165.5 

 pounds ; sugar made per acre of beets, 1,677 

 pounds. 



Maple Susrar. The annual production of 

 maple sugar in the United States is estimated at 

 32,000,000 pounds. The following table shows 

 the number of producers of 500 pounds, or up- 

 ward, of maple sugar according to the Eleventh 

 Census : Connecticut, 5 ; Illinois, 8 ; Indiana, 

 24 ; Iowa, 23 ; Kentucky, 1 ; Maine, 39 ; Mary- 

 land, 78 ; Massachusetts, 415; Michigan, 1,135 ; 

 Minnesota, 23 ; Missouri, 5 ; New Hampshire, 

 1,725 ; New York, 7,884 ; North Carolina, 2 ; 



