PART FOUR. 



RECENT PROGRESS IN BEET SUGAR. 



CHAPTER I. 



EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



In New England, the beet sugar industry has not obtained any footing of recent 

 years. Some of the first experiments in the '70's were the factories at Franklin, Mass., 

 and Portland, Me., which failed for the want of a sufficient supply of rich beets. It is 

 true, however, that a large part of western and southern New England can grow beets 

 to perfection, but at an expenditure for fertilizers and labor that renders it problematical 

 whether a sugar factory in southern New England could successfully compete with those 

 in western New York or further west. There are no large consecutive tracts of land that 

 would be devoted to beets in southern New England, but the supply for the factory would 

 have to come from a great number of comparatively small fields within a wide radius, 

 which would be another disadvantage. For this and other reasons we have not urged 

 the erection of sugar factories in that section. 



IN THE EMPIRE STATE. 



New York bids fair to become a center of the new industry. Her soils, especially in 

 the central and western parts of the state, are proving wonderfully adapted to producing 

 a heavy tonnage per acre of rich beets. Wayne county in 1898 yielded 16 to 22 tons per 

 acre, and the average for all kinds of soil was over 18 tons per acre of dressed beets actu- 

 ally shipped to the factory at Rome. These were not little plats or experimental patches, 

 but were lots of one to 13 acres, grown by the ordinary farmer. On upland clay loam 

 there the yield averaged 17 tons per acre, on gravelly loam upland 16 tons, sandy loam 

 upland 21 tons, flat Hnds 15 tons, and one lot on muck lands made 22 tons per acre. 

 The season was not specially favorable. These beets averaged over 15 per cent, sugar 

 and above 80 purity, and the farmer on these lands who gets less than 15 tons per acre 

 is disappointed. 



This is as good or better than general average results even in the most favored 

 sugar beet sections of California. How conservative is the above may be inferred from 

 the following statement by J. L. Stone, assistant in charge of the sugar beet work at the 

 Cornell station: 



1898 1897 



Number of farmers in the state who grew beets 400 300 



Number of samples received at the station to date 451 495 



Number of analyses embraced in following figures. .. .451 495 



Highest sugar in beet, per cent 19.9 20.4 



Lowest sugar in beet, per cent 8.2 11.2 



Average sugar in beet, per cent 14.7 16.1 



Purity, highest, per cent 92.8 96.1 



Purity, lowest, per cent 70.2 71.5 



Purity, average, per cent ? 83.5 



O.48* 



