SUGAR PRODUCTION IN U. S. AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 7 



1910, and 543,000 during 1911-1915. The yield of beets per acre in- 

 creased from 7.2 tons in 1899 to 10.7 tons in 1915. The average yield 

 for the decade ending with 1912 was 9.95 tons, which varied from 8.56 

 tons in 1903 to 11.26 tons in 1906. 



The beets used for sugar increased from 794,658 tons in 1899-1900 

 to 6,462,000 in 1915-16. The beets used for sugar were 2,076,494 

 tons in 1903-4 and 5,224,377 in 1912-13, or an average of 3,657,277 

 for the decade. 



The price paid per ton for beets increased from $4.19 in 1899-1900 

 to $5.67 in 1915-16, or an average slightly in excess of $5 per ton for 

 the period. The total value of beets used for sugar increased from 

 $10,320,000 in 1903^ to $36,919,000 in 1915-16. The value of beets 

 produced, as reported by the census, increased from $3,323,240 

 in 1899 to $19,880,724 in 1909, an increase of nearly 500 per cent. The 

 value of the beet crop compared with the value of all crops increased 

 from one-tenth of 1 per cent in 1899 to four-tenths of 1 per cent in 

 1909. The value of beets used for sugar increased from $42.54 per 

 acre in 1903-4 to $59.62 in 1914-15, or an annual average of $52.55 

 for the decade ending with 1912-13. As shown by the census, 

 the value of beets produced per acre increased from $30.16 in 1899 to 

 $54.60 in 1909. In 1909 the value of beets per acre was exceeded by 

 four other crops — hops, tobacco, sugar cane, and sweet potatoes. The 

 acre value of beets was nearly four times the value of corn or wheat, 

 and more than four times the average acre value of all cereals. 



The season for harvesting beets and making sugar begins in Cali- 

 fornia late in July or early in August and in Utah, Colorado, and 

 States farther east late in September or early in October. The sugar 

 campaign is usually over by January, but may continue even until 

 March. The beets are sometimes kept until time for slicing by siloing 

 them, that is, put in piles with sufficient earth thrown over them to 

 protect them from frost. The average length of the sugar campaign 

 is about 90 days, and varied from an annual average for all factories 

 during the period 1901 to 1915 from 74 to 105 days. 



The year 1888 marks the beginning of successful production of beet 

 sugar in the United States. In that year a beet-sugar factory was con- 

 structed at Watsonville, Cal. This factory had a daily working capac- 

 ity of 300 tons of beets per day of 24 hours. In 1890 another factory, 

 with a daily capacity of 300 tons of beets, was erected in Nebraska, and 

 in 1891 three more factories, each with a daily capacity of 350 tons of 

 beets, were constructed — one in Nebraska, one in California, and one 

 in Utah. The number of factories continued to increase to 30 in 

 1899, 52 in 1905, 73 in 1912, but decreased to 60 in 1914, and in 

 1915 67 factories were in operation. The majority of the factories 

 have a daily slicing capacity of from 350 to 750 tons of beets. Sev- 

 eral factories have a daily capacity of 1,000 tons of beets, one of 



