ISO 



THE FARMERS' CABINET. 



VOL. I. 



and sugar made at profit. One hundred lbs. 

 of beets will yield from 6 to 8 lbs. of sugar, 

 from 1 to 2 lbs. of rnolassc?, and from 20 to 

 25 lbs. of pomace. The pomace is excellent 

 for fattening cattle, better even than the beet 

 itself. The beet is too watery. It contains 

 75 or 80 per cent, of liquid, and 20 or 25 per 

 cent, of solid, which latter remains as pomace. 

 The pomace will keep two or three years, by 

 being put in cellars, or in holes in the earth, 

 and well covered up. In France they ge- 

 nerally consume in one season what was made 

 the season previous. The farmer carries his 

 beets to the manufactory, and loads back with 

 pomace. 



Mr. Isnard stated that a steam engine of 

 ten horse power, would rasp 3000 lbs. of beet 

 per hour. The liquid is expressed by a hy- 

 draulic press, and evaporated by boilers di- 

 rectly over the lire, or heated by the waste 

 steam from the engine employed in raising. 

 The latter method of evaporating is the best. 

 Mr. Isnard prefers steam to water power, as 

 the waste steam can be used in evaporating, 

 and the manufactory may be located at any 

 convenient place, and not confined to a water 

 privilege. 



Facts were exhibited at the meeting, from 

 a French pamphlet, stating that the cultiva- 

 tion of the beet improves the soil, and renders 

 it more fruitful in the production of other 

 crops. Rotation in crops is, therefore, recom- 

 mended. In compairing the relative value 

 of a crop of beets and a crop of wheat, it was 

 stated that an acre will produce a sufficient 

 quantity of beets, to manufacture tiuo pounds 

 of sugar, tor every pound of wheat that can 

 be grown upon the same ground! 



Some calculations may be made, based 

 upon the above statements, which will show 

 the farmer at once, whether the sugar beet 

 will be a profitable crop for him to raise. 

 Upon this depends the success of the enter- 

 prise of manufacturing sugar. If broom corn, 

 or any other crop will aflbrd a greater income 

 than the beet, then the farmer, of course will 

 not cultivate the latter. But let us make a 

 few calculations. Take the estimate of the 

 average product per acre, in France, viz.: 15 

 to 18 tons. Tliis, at $.3 50 per ton, — which 

 is undoubtedly alow estimate for this country 

 —would give $.52 50 or $63 GO as the in- 

 come of an acre. But suppose the beets to 

 be worth $5 00 per ton, it would be $75 00 

 or $90 00. If the crop be larger than stated 

 in the estimate, of course the income would 

 be proportionately increased. We think the 

 crop would generally be larger than the 

 average in France. Mr. Apthorn of this town 

 raised a few sugar beets in his garden, and 

 they yielded at the rate of forty tons to the 

 acre ! 



Take another view of the case. The po- 



Ib. mace is worth about 50 per cent, more the 

 than the beets. A fattening ox will consume 

 GO lbs. of pomace per day. iSo says Mr. Is- 

 nard. Allowing 60 lbs. of pomace to be equal 

 to one peck of corn, of course 240 would be 

 worth as much as a busiiel. Now sup- 

 pose the farmer carries twenty tons of beets, 

 the product of an a cure, to the manu- 

 factory; receives in return, 4 tons of pomace, 

 'the quantity remaining of 20 tons of beets, 

 whicii is equal to 33 1-3 bushels of corn, for 

 which he allows $24 00— being 50 per cent, 

 imore than he receives for the beets at $4 00 

 per ton — and the balance, $56 00 in cash. 

 [This gives 56 dollars in ready cash, and 

 an equivalent 33 1-3 bushels of corn, as the 

 income of an acre. The relative expense of 

 cultivating the several crops is not here con- 

 jsidered. Enough may be seen, however, to 

 show that the cultivation of the beet will be 

 I a profitable crop. The expense of cultivation 

 'is not yet certainly known; but some ere of 

 .opinion that it can be cultivated at as cheap a 

 rate as the broom corn. Mr. Apthorp of this 

 town, has contracted to cultivate it at the 

 ! rate of $38 00 per acre. If this be a fair 

 compensation, it will be seen that it leaves 

 I an enormous rent for the land. 

 I Before the meeting adjourned, a committee 

 was appointed to report what measures should 

 be taken toward the formation of a Beet Su- 

 gar Company. They recom.mended, as a pre- 

 liminary step, that the services of Mr. Isnard 

 be secured to superintend the operations of 

 the contemplated company, whicli according- 

 ly was done. Mr. Isnard is to proceed imme- 

 diately to France, to acquaint himself with 

 late improvements made in the chrystaliza- 

 tion of sugar. He is now perfectly familiar 

 with the general details of manufacturing 

 sugar, but there have been some improve- 

 ments made in chrystalization, since he lefl 

 the business. He, however, was intending 

 to go to France to visit his friends, but will 

 be in the employ of the committee during the 

 winter. The committee above are to take 

 the necessary steps towards forming a com- 

 pany, procuring an act of incorporation, &c. 

 The operations of the company will probably 

 be located in the centre of Northampton. 



Every thing thus far has gone on most 

 auspiciously ; and we have every reason to be- 

 lieve that the project will go forward without 

 delay. The securing of Mr. Isnard is one 

 of the most favorable circumstances tliat could 

 be imagined. In the first place, he is per- 

 fectly acquainted with the whole business per- 

 taining to the manufacture of sugar, having 

 been many years engaged in it. lie was the 

 first, as before stated, who extracted sugar 

 ifrom tiio beet root in France; and some of 

 the first chrystalized he presented Napoleon. 

 In the next place, he is a man of science, 



