234 FEEDING WITH SUGAR BEETS, SUGAR, ETC. 



had not the beet-sugar factories found it advantageous to use 

 this residuum for various purposes themselves. 



Possibilities of It is estimated that the yearly production of molasses in 



molasses feeding France is 320,000 tons; if one divides this by the number of 



in France. ^ ays j n t ^ e year ^is would give 876,712 kilos per diem. If we 



admit that each animal receives only one kilo, there would be 



sufficient to feed 876,712 heads; but this represents only a very 



small portion of the total number of animals of the country 



which without considering the swine is 9,466,000, showing that 



however large the molasses residuum from beet-sugar factories 



may be, it would have to be several times greater in order to 



meet the demand, if molasses feeding were generally adopted. 



Never before did molasses render a greater service to France 

 than during the recent dry spell. Farming produce that would 

 have been considered worthless for feeding purposes, has, by the 

 addition of molasses, been made most palatable. A great mis- 

 take has been made in taxing this residuum beyond a rational 

 limit. As a result the government has derived certain advan- 

 tages, that have been neutralized by the limited utilization of 

 the product among the large and small dairying centers. A 

 paradoxical fact relating to the fiscal molasses question is, that 

 the manufacturer has every advantage in selling his residuum 

 to distillers or for exporting purposes, rather than to the tillers 

 of the soil, who, from an agricultural standpoint, have the first 

 claim. This fact explains why there should be, at this late day, 

 an effort to look after farming interests from a molasses-utiliza- 

 tion standpoint. The recent proposed changes make the ques- 

 tion still more complicated. 



Molasses utiliza- A beet-sugar factory, to work on a profitable basis, must 



tion one of the utilize its residuums. Pulps, molasses and filter scums are pro- 

 essentials for ducts having a money value, and if not sold for their money 



profitable sugar e q U i va i en t should at least find some market or utilization and 



mat inn 



not be allowed to go to waste, which is the case with the beet 

 sugar factories in the United States. The total daily capacity 

 of existing beet- sugar factories in this country is about 33,000 

 tons, and the resulting residuum molasses is about 1,000 tons or 

 2,000,000 Ibs., sufficient to feed 250,000 head of cattle for the 

 entire working companies. 



