TEANSACTIONS OF SECTIOX F. 841 



ditties ; it 13 therefore necessary to ascertain the possible profit of the crop at the 

 price of sugar which prevails in the open British market. It is also desirable to find 

 the value of the crop for consumption on the farm, pending the general establish- 

 ment of factories to deal with the roots grown in each district. 



In 1898 a series of trials was carried out on farms in various parts of the 

 country ; the average yield per acre was loi tons of unwashed roots. This figure 

 is probably too high, if roots with a high sugar content are grown ; in the same 

 year the average yield of six German estates, where an intensive system of cultiva- 

 tion is practised, was only 10'7 tons of washed roots per acre. 



In 1898 six diflerent kinds of sugar beet were grown upon the farm of the 

 South-Eastern Agricultural College at Wye, Kent, the crop being managed in the 

 same manner as the adjacent mangold break ; the average yield per acre was 

 14 tons of unwashed roots, as against 29 tons of mangolds. The sugar content 

 was highly satisfactory, the season heing one of prolonged warmth : it is calcu- 

 lated that about 1^ ton of sugar per acre could have been extracted, representing 

 a gross return of 18/. 10s. 



In several respects the crop is more expensive to grow than mangolds ; manure 

 and cultivation were found to cost 10/. 8s. per acre, to which rent, supervision, and 

 all incidental charges must be added. 



The roots grown were stored with the mangolds until spring, and given, 

 together with cake and corn, to two selected lots of sheep, with the general result 

 that each sheep consumed C.3 lb. of sugar beet per week, against 140 lb. of 

 mangolds, and that the increase in live weight was 30-0 per cent, with beet and 

 37-2 per cent, with mangolds. Recalculating on a basis of acreage required: ten- 

 elevenths of an acre of sugar beet will provide the same amount of succulent food for 

 sheep as an acre of mangolds, and will supply 38 sheep for 12 weeks ; the sheep on 

 mangolds will, however, make 293 lb. greater increase in live weight. The 

 experiment showed that the beet forms an indifferent fodder for sheep. 



Turning to the general question of the return to the farmer, the average price 

 paid in 1898 in the six selected German cases mentioned above was 19s. 6d. per 

 ton for roots delivered at the factory. 



Assuming from the 1898 experiments an average English production of 14 tons 

 of dressed roots per acre, the gross return to the farmer at the above price would 

 be 13/. 13i!. The cost of cartage from the factory to the farm must be taken into 

 account: it is estimated that the 3,000 acres of suo:ar beet which Lawes and 

 Gilbert specify as required to maintain a factory would mean an average distance 

 from farm to factory of four miles, the cartage over which distance would cost 

 about 30s. per acre for the 14-ton crop. When this is added to the cost of 

 cultivation and an allowance made for rent, &c., there is no margin left for the 

 farmer from the gross return of 131. 13s. per acre set out above. 



The 19s. 6d. per ton for roots is a price that is not possible in this country, the 

 price payable for the raw material being dependent on the price of sugar. Taking 

 similar grades of sugar, the return received by the German manufacturer was in 

 January 1900 13s. per cwt., while the price in England was lis. 3d. per cwt. ; 

 a difference of 35s. per ton of sugar. As 7i tons of beet are required to produce 

 a ton of sugar, this difference in the price of the finished product is equivalent to a 

 reduction of 4s. 8d. per ton in the price payable for roots. 



The English figures, then, become : Average yield per acre, 14 tons ; price 

 at the factory, 14s. lOd. per ton ; gross return to the farmer, 10/. 8s. per acre ; 

 against an expenditure which has been set at 11/. 18s. per acre, without including 

 rent. 



The success of the sugar beet industry depends upon several factors : — 



(1) Cheap technical skill in the factories. 



(2) A farming community working for smaller returns than prevail in Britain. 



(3) A system of bounties and countervailing duties. 



For further details see the Journal of the South-Eastern Agricultural College. 



