Development of the Beet-Sugar Industry 13 



built. The processes of manufacturing were improved 

 so greatly that 5 per cent of sugar could be extracted 

 instead of 2 per cent, as formerly. 



Researches of Pelouze in 1821 led to better methods of 

 breeding, which made progress more rapid. By 1836 

 there were 436 factories in operation. This alarmed the 

 importers of cane-sugar and led to legislation which was 

 unfavorable to beet-sugar producers. This legislation 

 caused the abandonment in 1837 and 1838 of 166 factories. 

 In 1840 and 1843 attempts were made by the cane-sugar 

 interests to have the government buy the beet-sugar fac- 

 tories and close them, but this failed. In 1847 colonial 

 cane-sugar and beet-sugar were taxed equally, which made 

 it difficult for the beet-sugar to compete, because the cane- 

 sugar was nearly all produced by cheap slave labor. The 

 abolition of slavery in 1848, however, helped the beet- 

 sugar industry. From 1851 to 1873 the making of beet- 

 sugar in France was very spasmodic, since it depended 

 almost entirely on the attitude of legislation. 



In Germany, where legislation was more consistent, 

 the industry grew slowly but surely. Considerable atten- 

 tion was given by scientists to the improvement both of 

 the quality of beets and of the manufacturing processes. 

 In 1836 Germany had 122 factories which used 25,346 

 tons of beets and produced 1408 tons of sugar. The 

 average percentage of sugar extracted that year was 5.5, 

 while in 1886 it averaged 12.18 per cent. The per capita 

 consumption of sugar in Germany was 4.4 pounds in 1836, 

 but had risen to 7.14 pounds in 1856, and in 1906 it was 

 41.08 pounds. The factory price of sugar in Magdeburg 

 fell from 9.4 cents a pound in 1854 to 4.2 cents in 1886. 



