310 



NEW ENGLAND FAR:\rER. 



July 



BEET SUGAR. 

 HE subject of manufacturing 

 sugar from beets has been 

 much discussed of late, espe- 

 cially in the West ; and some are 

 prophesying that we shall manu- 

 facture this indispensable article 

 from the beet, within a few years, 

 as they do in France, where it has 

 become a crop of national importance. From 

 France, the making of sugar has extended 

 into Germany. In both countries sugar is now 

 made which is thought by many superior to 

 cane sugar. 



The sugar producing sections in Europe are 

 •said to be increasing in fertility and wfealth. 

 The tops and the pumice, after the extraction 

 ■of the juice, are used for the feeding of cat- 

 tle, which thrive on them, and the manure thus 

 f)roduced aids greatly in the cultivation. 



There seems no good reason why we in New 

 England cannot engage in sugar making from 

 beets, as well as our brethren in the West. 

 To be sure we cannot expect to see fields of 

 fifty or one hundred acres of beets, as on the 

 prairies of Illinois or Kansas. We can raise 

 them only on small patches of one or a few 

 acres ; but a great many such small patches are 

 equal to a large field. We do not keep im- 

 mense herds of cattle, but we keep a great 

 many small ones ; and we have learneci thai 

 one cheese factory answers for a neighl>orhood 

 keeping from ^00 to 1000 cows. Sugar mak- 

 ing requires machinery and capital, and may 

 be carried on much more economically .on a 

 large scale than on a small one. It would not 

 pay for the cultivator of a few acres to set up 

 the necessary mills, presses and refining appa- 

 ratus. A farm as extensive as a Mexican 

 ranche, or a Southern plantation would be 

 •needed for this. But a mill and the necessarj- 

 apparatus might Ije used for a town, or for sev- 

 eral towns, at which the beets nn'ght be sold at 

 a fixed price per ton, to be paid either in 

 money or sugar. 



The white beet is generally cultivated for 

 sugar making in Europe, and with good soil 

 aiid cultivation about twenty tons per ai-re are 

 obtained. They are ^•own in drills, and care- 

 fully cultivated through the season. The l)eet 

 consists of fibres, enclosing colls which con- 

 tain the juice. In order to completely press 

 out this juice, these- cells roust he broken or 



torn open. Various methods have been tried 

 to effect this object. The method now in com- 

 mon use is to subject the washed and cleaned 

 beets to the action of cylinders, surrounded by 

 rows of saw teeth, which reduce them to a fine 

 pulp. This pulp is subjected to hydraulic 

 presses. In this way 75 or 80 per cent, of the 

 juice is obtained, which then undergoes the 

 process of evaporation and refining. Lime is 

 added, as in the evaporation of cane juice, to 

 neutralize the acid, which would prevent gran- 

 ulation. 



If one hundred farmers in any section of 

 country should engage to furnish 20 tons each 

 to a mill, this would amount to 2000 tons, and 

 would seem to be a sufficient basis to begin 

 upon. The mill might be the joint property 

 of the beet raisers, or it might belong to one 

 or several proprietors, like the cheese facto- 

 ries. 



Beets are said to yield from five to eight 

 per cent, of refined sugar. A good loamy soil, 

 free from stones, and capable of deep culture is 

 required for the successful culture of the beet. 

 Probably it would be best to make it a part of 

 a suitable rotation of crops. 



But, sugar-making out of the question, beets 

 ought to be more cultivated for stock than they 

 are among us. No other root, except the flat 

 turnip, is so easily cultivated or so little ex- 

 hausting to the soil, and no other root is so 

 little injured by keeping. They are good un- 

 til the grass comes, and cattle, sheep, hogs 

 and horses all eat them with a relish. 



CHITTENDEN CO.,.VT,, SHEARING. 



QJie first annual show and shearing of the 

 Chittenden county Sheep Breeders and AVool 

 Grower's Association, took place at Shelburn, 

 May 7 and 8. We learn from the Burlington, 

 Vt., X)aihj Times that notwithstanding the first 

 day was somewhat rainy and unpleasant, the dis- 

 play of Spanish merino ewes and lambs was very 

 fine. L. S. Drew exhibited a dozen splendid 

 lambs from the famous rams "Green Mountain" 

 and ' 'Kersager." The breed is celebrated and 

 must prove a profitable investment to Mr. 

 Drew. Anu)ng other exhibitors were Henry 

 Thorp of Charlotte, II. N. Newell, Lee Tracy, 

 E. S. RowJey.and B. F. Van Vliet of Shel- 

 l)urn and S. II. Weston of Colcbe.^ter. Mr. 

 Tracy siowed some v€ry elegant lambs, not 

 over six weeks old, .wjuch were bred from 



