AND HORTICULTURAL RECxISTER. 



PUBLISHED BY JOSEPH BRECK & CO., NO. 52 NORTH MARKET STREET, (Agriculturai. Wauehoube.) 



VOL.. XVIT.] 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, .TANUARY 30, 1839. 



[NO. 



AGRICULTURAL. 



We consider the subjoined document of so ir.uch 

 mportance tliiU we think we cannot do a better ser- 

 ,-ice to the community than (agreeably to our promise) 

 ,0 lay it at large before them. The main points 

 were rriven under our editorial head in the last nuni- 

 oer, but they will be found worthy of a second and 

 1 third perusal. The introduction of the beetcul- 

 jvation and beet sugar manufacture in this country 

 will constitute a much mure important era in its 

 igriculture than the introduction of the turnip hus- 

 bandry into England. 



To the honorable the Senate and House of Represen- 

 tatives of the United States of America in Con- 

 gress asseinliled : 



The memorial of Charles Lewis Pleischmann, 

 a naturalized citizen of tb«- United States, 

 RESPECTrniLT 'kepresen'ts : 



The existence of crystallizable sugar in the beet 

 root was discovered by the German chemist Mar- 

 trraf, in the year 1747. He communicated fhe re- 

 sults of his e.xperiments to the Royal Academy of 

 Sciences at Berlin ; pointed out the importance 

 which his discovery would have on agriculture and 

 industry, and endeavored to bring if into practice; 

 but at that time, the price of sugar being moderate, 

 chemistry not enough advanced to modify the com- 

 plicated operations, and the spirit of enterprise not 

 sufficiently awakened to make it an object of spec- 

 ulation, the discovery remained without being put 

 into practical use until tlie year 170(3, (fortynineJ 

 years afterwards,) when Achard, another Prussian 

 chemist, repeated the experiments of Margraf, 

 modified them, and erected the first manufiictory at 

 Kunnern, in Germany. 



The results of Achard's manipulation created 

 great sensation all over Europe, particularly in 

 France, where the chemists re-examined the pro- 

 cess of Achard,' simplified it, and made it more 

 practicable and profitable in its results. 



These simplified manipulations were adopted by 

 enthusiastic speculators, full of sanguine expecta- 

 tions, peculiar to the French character; but the 

 results were not satislactory, as the immensely 

 large and costly manufactories were partly estab- 

 lished in places where the soil was not sufficiently 

 productive, where fuel was scarce and high, the 

 market distant, and the operations directed by men 

 who had not the least idea of agriculture, — a sci- 

 ence necessarily connected with the manufacture 

 of the beet sugar — no practical knowledge of an 

 entirely new process, and a most imperfect appara- 

 tus. The consequence of these obstacles was a 

 complete failure, which induced the opinion over 

 the whole world, that the extraction of sugar from 

 the beet, though correct in tlieory, was impractica- 

 ble on a large scale. 



This, however, was notthe opinion of enlightened 

 men ; they saw the causes of failure in their true 

 light, and endeavored to overcome and to correct j 

 them. The political events of 1812 accelerated 



the development of this new branch of industry ; 

 the French Government, in want of a substitute 

 for the colonial sugar, encouraged the manufacture 

 of the beet sugar, by establishing four hrge man- 



But in the year 183C, France imported only 

 7.5,120 tons of colonial sugar — a diminution of 

 15,630 tons in one year ; a quantum too large not 

 to alarm the proprietors of the sugar plantations in 



ufactories and'five chemical schools, entirely for i the Fi-ench colonies, and particularly in Martinique, 

 the purpose of experiments, and teaching the best 

 metljod of extractiou. ^ 



In 1814, these manufactories were in full opera- 

 tion and nourishing, when the peace of Europe al- 

 lowed tjie importation of the colonial sugar into 

 France, causing a destructive shock to the manu- 

 facturers of indigenous sugar, which none but im- 

 mense fortunes could endure, and created, again, 

 the belief that the manufacture of the beet sugar 

 could never come i» competition with the colonial. 



This might have been the final catastrophe of the 

 manufacture of the beet sugar, had it not been fir 

 the efforts made to revive it again by some wealthy 

 and enlightened manufacturers. 



These efforts, however, did not arise entirely 

 from the patriotic desire to promote the welf-ire ot 

 France, (as now pretended,) but partly to prevent 

 the loss of immense capitals invested in buildings, 

 apparatus, farms, &c. Moreover, the manufactu- 

 rers knew there was yet five or six per cent, more 

 to gain by an improved operation. 



This it was that gave a new start to this favorite 

 branch of industry ; and chemistry, particularly 

 adapted to improve the art and manufacture, assist- 

 ed in simplifying the process, and discovered the 

 mode of reviving animall charcoal so as to admit 

 of its being repeatedly used, while the improved 

 apparatus helped to economize labor and fuel ; and 

 all this, combined with a wonderful perseverance, 

 reduced the expenses of the fabrication, and ena- 



bled the old establi.-^hments to continue in operation, 

 even when the price of colonial sugnr was very 

 low. This created confidence and a rapid' increase 

 of establishments. 



The cultivation of the beet has had the most 

 beneficial influence on agriculture ; as, in the last 

 year, more than eighty thousand acres of land were 

 planted in beet, producing about one million of tons 

 of this root; and, as generally rotations of four 

 crops are adopted, it brought at least three million 

 two hundred thousand acres of land under the 

 highest cultivation. 



The following table shows the rapid increase of 

 the manufactories, and the quantity produced, in 



France. 



cwt. 

 In 182S 103 manufaclories, 10(i,000 beet sugar produced 



1831,200 " 2-.>0,000 



1836,543 " ■ 950,000 



1837,600 " 1,000,000 " " • 



Or 50,000 tons of beet sugar. 



The manufacture of indigenous sugar did not 

 affect the demand for colonial sugar, as the con- 

 sumption continually increased until the year 1835, 

 as appears by a table from the Journal of Com- 

 merce of 1836, viz : 



Consumplion of colonial sugar 

 In 1825, 61,255,232. franca. 



1831, 6T,.i42,792 



1832, 62,669,(538 

 183.-), 69,000,000 



Consumption of beet siigr 

 4,000,000 francs. 

 10,000,000 

 15,000,000 

 30,000,1)00 



who looked, some years ago, with an ironical smile 

 at the beet sugar manufiicturer. They, who have 

 ridiculed and caricatured every improvement in this 

 branch of industry, felt themselves forced to send, 

 in 183.5, Baron de Cools, with the following propo- 

 sition to the French Government, viz: demand- 

 ing— 



1. Diminution of the duties apon French colo- 

 nial sugar of 50 per cent., and a proportional re- 

 duction of duties upon the foreign colonial sugar. 



2. The permission to export the colonial sugar 

 direct to a foreign market. 



3. A careful examination and investigation how 

 the French colonial and beet sugar manufactories 

 can be equally taxed. 



The latest news from France states that the 

 Government came, finally, to the conclusion of an 

 equal taxation upon the indigenous and colonial 

 sugar, as may be seen from the following extract 

 from a New York paper (Morning Courier and New 

 York Enq^uirer of December 18, 1838,) dated 

 (By the Ville de Lyons.) 



" Paris, Oct. 30, 1838. 

 " A branch of industry, (the offspring of necessity 

 under the empire,) the production of sugar from 

 beet-root, has engaged much attention in France, 

 and has been carried on with success, and to a vast 

 extent. The natural consequence has been, that 

 sugar, the produce of the French colonies, which 

 is burthened with a very large duty on importation 

 into Prance, ivas beaten out of the market. Appeals 

 were m#de by the suffering colonists to the Gov- 

 ernmeffl, repeatedly, representing the distress into 

 which they had fallen from this circumstance ; the 

 irredeemable ruin that would necessarily fall upon 

 them if the present tariff were maintained, and 

 soliciting relief.. After a variety of expedients to 

 evade a decision on the point, the Government has 

 just come to the resolution of proposing to the 

 Chambers, (which are to meet on the 24th Decem- 

 ber,) to reduce the import duty on colonial sugar 

 by 8 1-4 francs per cwt^ which, with a precisely 

 similar excise duty levied on the beet-root, orhome- 

 o-rown sugar, will, they say, suffice to reopen the 

 market to the colonies." 



Such is the state and result of the indigenous 

 sugar manufacture in France. 



"vVhat is the progress of this branch of industry 

 in the other parts of Europe ? 



England, (the mother of colonies,) which was 

 very much prejudiced against the manufacture of 

 indigenous sugar, seems to see, in the adoption of 

 it, the only means of improving the physical and 

 moral condition of man in her colonics ; and she 

 has already overcome some of her prejudices, and 

 has begun to establish manufactories. The fol- 

 lowing^article, taken from the London Mechanics' 

 Magazine of 1836, (No. 169,) will show its pro- 

 gress : 



