beet. The reason is that the coloring matter would 

 be extremely difficult to extract. The same argu- 

 ment applies to many other plants, and we are con- 

 vinced that the watermelon is one of them. The cost 

 of the melon sugar is said to be less than from any 

 other source ; we are willing to believe this, but we 

 have never seen any practical data as to the results 

 obtained.* Factories may, as contended, exist in the 

 countries already named, but the sugar and revenue 

 from the same have not, to our knowledge, ever been 

 published. It is true that the washing of the beets is 

 an operation to which the melons need not be sub- 

 mitted, but it is continuous, and done at a compara- 

 tively small cost, a single machine performing work 

 for 200 tons or more a day, and using only the waste 

 steam of the factory. The slicing and rasping is 

 extremely rapid, and requires but little care. The 

 pressing of the juice being done by hydraulic presses 

 is evidently not continuous, but the diffusion, etc., is. 

 The cost of a melon factory is sadly exaggerated by 

 those interested, who contend that with $10,000 as a 

 first investment we are to obtain six per cent, for 

 our money, and a larger dividend. When it is admit- 

 ted that a still smaller factory may be started on a 

 capital of $1,000, it is simply acknowledging a com- 

 plete ignorance of the subject under discussion. 



* In the Agricultural Report of 1844, page 139, mention is made of an excellent 

 syrup manufactured in South Carolina. But how about the sugar ? We have no 

 hopes of this source as a Northern home supply. 



