172 



THE SUGAR IXDUSTKY. 



pugar from the tropics. The illustrations in this book give full particulars about both new 

 and old factories. The mill at Spreckels is the largest beet sugar factory in the -world, con- 

 siderably exceeding the largest institution of its kind in Europe. The great plant of the 

 Pacific Sugar Company at Oxnard, with its daily capacity of 2800 tons of beets, is two- 

 thirds as large as that at Spreckels (see Page VIII). The other mills have a capacity of 

 1000 tons of beets daily. 



California has the great advantage that in some sections planting can begin on the 

 upland and earlier and warmer soils in January and February and continue upon the 

 lower and colder soils until well into May. This enables the harvest to begin in August 

 and continue until January again. No protection, except sheds to keep off the rains, is 

 required for the beets after they are harvested. Director Hilgard adds: 



"The perfect ventilation so secured maintains the sugar content of the roots 

 unchanged for a much greater length of time, the temperature being sufficiently low to 

 prevent a tendency to sprout until about the middle of February, when, as a rule, the 

 beets are still in better average condition than where they have to be stored under- 

 ground. There is thus no difficulty whatever in lengthening the campaign in California 

 to full six months, and probably more, if early shipments from the southern part of the 

 great valley should be found feasible. 



"In respect to the growing and cultivation of the beet, also, California enjoys a not 

 inconsiderable advantage in the fact that the absence of summer rains in ordinary sea- 

 sons does away with a large proportion of the expensive manual labor in hoeing and 

 weeding, which forms a considerable item in the cost of production both in Europe and in 

 the east. With thorough preparation of the soil, a single weeding is sufficient, where 

 elsewhere three are necessary in order to carry a clean crop to maturity." 



Much stress is also attached to the higher sugar percentage and greater purity 

 secured by California beets, it is true that many crops have been delivered to California 

 factories that contained from 15 to 18 per cent, sugar in the beet with a purity coefficient 

 of 80 to 85. In Europe, the percentage ranges from 12 to 14, and at the best Silesian fac- 

 tory, at Stobnitz, runs as high as from 15 to 16 in good seasons. In view of the remark- 

 able richness of beets that are being grown in other parts of the United States, notably 

 in New York, Michigan and Oregon, it may be a question how far California possesses 

 any advantage in this respect. Time alone will tell. 



It is certain, however, that California possesses a large area of magnificent beet 

 land, "especially in the valleys of the coast region, from Mendocino to Los Angeles, and 

 the Sacramento and lower San Joaquin valleys." The success of the crop in southern 

 California on properly selected soils has also been most marked. Prof. Hilgard points out 

 that less than one-tenth of the entire valley area in the state would produce the present 

 estimated annual consumption of sugar in the United States. To test the availability of 

 alkali lands for beets, many experiments have been carried on at various sub-sta- 

 tions under Prof. Hilgard's direction, and he concludes: "It has been proven beyond 

 question that sugar beets of good, and even high grade, both as to sugar and purity, may 

 be grown on lands containing as much as 12,000 pounds of alkali salts per acre to the 

 depth of three feet; provided, that the percentage of common salt in the soil does not 

 exceed an average of .04 per cent., or 1500 pounds, per acre. Even this may not, of course, 

 represent the maximum compatible with good quality, but is the highest figure that has 

 yielded such, viz., good quality, in the course of our experiments thus far." 



The historic Alameda Sugar Company's mill at Alvarado continues so successful 

 that $200,000 were spent in doubling its capacity for the '97 campaign. A picture of the 

 mill, as enlarged, is given on Page 33. The campaign of '96 lasted 154 days Aug. 24 to 

 Jan. 24. The average purity in .1898 was 83, very good. The company is contracting for 

 30,000 acres of beets for '99, and with a six months' campaign, expect to work up 100,000 



