THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



133 



manship and capable of making white sugar direct from the beets, without any 

 refining, would be in the neighborhood of $170,000 on cars in Chicago. The machinery 

 for a factory having double this capacity would cost in the neighborhood of $260,000. 

 The cost of a first-class brick building, including boiler house for the smaller size 

 factory, would be from forty to fifty thousand dollars. This would also include foun- 

 dations, iime kilns, etc. Just what the cost of the sheds for holding the beets would 

 be, I cannot say, but I am of the opinion that four or five thousand dollars would be 

 sufficient to cover this item. All the castings, etc, for the lime* kiln are included in 



A BIG PILE OF BEETS AT ALVARADO, CALIFORNIA, 



Showing also the sluiceway of running water by which the beets are carried Into the factory. 



the price of machinery, and the brick work would be easily within the above cost of 

 buildings. A building for the larger plant would probably cost $75,000. There 

 is no doubt but what there is a great misconception as to the cost of a fac- 

 tory of this kind, and many people write us, thinking that with an old building and 

 second-hand boiler and engine that has been used for some other purpose, they have 

 a good nucleus for a beet-sugar factory, and for twenty or thirty thousand dollars it 

 can be all fitted up. Any attempt of this kind is simply throwing money away, and 

 it would be a great misfortune to the beet-sugar business to havo it gone into with- 

 out sufficient capital to erect a factory of proper size, as well as of the most modern 



