AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES 197 



of the protective tariff against imported sugar and 

 although the anticipated results of that action were 

 arrested by the outbreak of the World War, the diver- 

 sion of beet-growers' activities to the production of 

 beans and other war-winning crops reduced the beet 

 acreage. Besides, the uncertainties in the sugar 

 market in 1918 and 1919 were urged by the managers 

 of the factories as a disability on their part fully to 

 meet the demand of the growers for increased valua- 

 tion of beets. It is probable that the production of 

 1921 will indicate that all doubts have been dispelled, 

 at least temporarily, and that the beet-sugar output 

 will be the greatest in American history. 



It is interesting that in earlier years whenever 

 more wine or raisins were made than could be sold 

 profitably, there was always discussion of the possi- 

 bility of using grapes for sirup. Although all fea- 

 tures of its old environment have changed, the ques- 

 tion still persists and in 1920 more casual discussion, 

 careful research and investment of capital were given 

 to the effort to produce profitable sirup from the 

 grape than ever before. In spite of insufficiency of 

 fresh grapes of all kinds to meet the demand, in 

 spite of the prohibition amendment which has appar- 

 ently doubled the value of California vineyards 

 instead of reducing or destroying it, the production 

 of grape sirup was one of the most active lines of 

 promotion and investment of the year 1920. This 

 activity apparently rests on the two assumptions that 

 higher value for all forms of sweetening will endure 

 for some time ; that the high values of grapes, grape- 



