336 SUGAR BEET 



erected at Mount Melick, in Ireland, in 1849-50, and in record- 

 ing the failure of this enterprise it says : ; ' The instances of 

 mismanagement, cupidity, and downright robbery that have 

 come to our knowledge were quite sufficient to sink any 

 concern." 



The issue for February, 1871, refers to a sugar factory at 

 Lavenham, erected by Mr. James Duncan, and the following 

 September issue quotes a balance sheet of his, showing that 

 10,000 tons of beets, at 20s. per ton, were dealt with at that 

 factory, and that a profit was made of 4845, or 19 J per cent, 

 on the capital invested in it. Mr. Duncan was satisfied with 

 the success of his undertaking ; but it is stated in the Journal 

 of 6th April, 1874, that " Mr. Duncan has been obliged to 

 inform growers in the neighbourhood of Lavenham that all 

 operations at his factory have been suspended. The works 

 are built on the banks of a little stream that is often no stream. 

 The waste water, inoffensive in itself, was hot, and, getting 

 mixed with the town sewage, became a nuisance to certain 

 gentlemen who amused themselves fishing for the few jack 

 to be found in the stream. Notice having been served on Mr. 

 Duncan to abate the nuisance, he is relinquishing the business.'* 



In 1884 Mr. Duncan and other capitalists resuscitated this 

 factory in order to demonstrate the commercial value of a 

 new process, known as the Le Play system. This venture 

 came to grief* " in consequence of the cheery optimism of 

 an inexperienced directorate, who settled contracts with 

 farmers to grow nearly 650 acres of beets which to the tune 

 of many thousands of tons, were duly sent by road and rail 

 to the factory some months before there was any machinery 

 ready to deal with them." 



The Journal for 24th July, 1871, contained the prospectus 

 of " Beet Root Sugar Company," with a capital of 200,000, 

 and expressed their ability to extract 7 per cent, of sugar 

 from the roots ; but there is no further reference to this 

 enterprise. 



About 1870-75 Mr. Campbell, of Buscot Park, in Berkshire, 

 developed beet growing for distilling alcohol. At one time he 

 * fitujar Beet Grouping in Britain, by W. T. Chachvm, 1911. 



