BEETROOT SUGAR IN FRANCE. 205 



colonies. Some idea of the present prosperity of French beet- 

 root-sugar manufacture may be acquired from consideration 

 of the fact that between 1855 and 1867 the production in 

 that country had more than doubled. 



In 1856 France numbered 265 factories, the aggregate 

 produce of which was 92,000,000 kilogrammes. In 1866-7 

 there were 440 factories, turning out 216,854,677 kilogrammes. 

 Neither must the circumstance be forgotten that the quantity 

 last stated was considerably below the aggregate yield of the 

 season preceding a season celebrated not only for the abund- 

 ant growth of the beet, but, what is quite another matter, for 

 its saccharine richness. Viewing the ratio of past increase 

 by the light of present circumstances, it is the opinion of many 

 French commercial statisticians that by the year 1877 the 

 production of beetroot sugar in France will have doubled the 

 amount recorded for 1867. 



Prominence has already been given to the fact that, in 

 the early days of this manufacture, beetroot was grown in 

 many parts of France where the soil and climate were un- 

 adapted to its cultivation. The error having been discovered 

 by experience, a tendency to centralisation was soon mani- 

 fested ; so that, whilst the aggregate yield of sugar increased, 

 the number of sugar-yielding French departments diminished. 

 In the year 1836 the manufacture was prosecuted in 37 de- 

 partments. The aggregate number of factories was then 436, 

 but the aggregate sugar -yield did not exceed 40,000,000 

 kilogrammes. In 1865-6, there being only an increase of 

 five factories, the sugar-yield had risen to 274,000,000. 



In tracing the progressive development of a manufacture 

 so chemically interesting as that of beetroot sugar, a chemist 

 naturally restricts himself as much as possible to chemical 

 points of view. He regards with impatience, almost amount- 

 ing to disgust, every form of artificial restriction, whether 

 excise, customs, differential duties, or otherwise, which Chan- 

 cellors of the Exchequer or their foreign equivalents have 



