40 BULLETIN 473, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



AUSTRIA. 



BEET SUGAR. 



The principal sugar-producing area of Austria-Hungary for a num- 

 ber of years has been located in Austria. This Empire contained two- 

 thirds of the area of the Dual Monarchy devoted to sugar beets 

 during the last 10 years, and produced more than three-fourths of 

 the beets and sugar. The principal beet-producing area is in the 

 western part, in the Provinces of Bohemia, Moravia, and Lower 

 Austria. During the 10 years 1903-1912 Bohemia contained 58.4 per 

 cent of the area of Austria under beets and produced 61.3 per cent 

 of the beets; Moravia contained 31.8 per cent of the area, but pro- 

 duced only 14.4 per cent of the beets; Lower Austria contained 5.3 

 per cent of the area and produced 3.9 per cent of the beets. The total 

 area of Austria under cultivation during the decade 1903-1912 was 

 27,000,000 acres, of which 584,787 acres, or 2.2 per cent, was devoted 

 to sugar beets. The area under beets has not increased materially 

 during the last 20 years. The annual average during the decade 

 1893-1902 was 583,496 acres, as against 584,787 for the decade 

 1903-1912, an increase of only 0.2 per cent. The production of beets 

 for the same period increased 10.1 per cent and the output of sugar 

 increased 15.3 per cent. These percentages are in wide contrast to the 

 same data for Hungary, where the increases for the same periods were 

 40.9 per cent for area, 61.1 per cent for beets produced, and 100.5 per 

 cent for the output of sugar. The yield of beets per acre in Austria 

 increased from 11.49 tons in 1903 to 13.36 in 1912, or an average of 

 11.25 for the decade. 



The number of factories in Austria decreased from 209 in 1903-4 

 to 186 in 1912-13. The beets used for sugar increased from 6,473.668 

 tons in 1903-4 to 9,370,873 in 1912-13, or an average of 7,157,539 for the 

 decade, which was 8.4 per cent more than was produced. During the 

 10 years 1903-1912 Austria-Hungary imported annually. 64,902 tons 

 of beets, valued at $285,283. These beets were mostly worked up in 

 Austrian factories and came chiefly from Germany. The sugar out- 

 put of the Austrian factories increased from 896,055 tons in 1903-4 

 to 1,441,152 in 1912-13, or an average of 1,030,476 for the decade. 

 The sugar extraction of beets grown in Bohemia was higher than for 

 any other Province in the whole Empire. The average sugar extrac- 

 tion for Bohemia for the decade 1903-4 to 1912-13 was 15.9 per cent 

 of the weight of the beets. The lowest extraction for the decade was 

 14.7 per cent in 1911-12, and the highest was 17.9 per cent in 1908-9. 

 The average extraction for the balance of Austria for the decade was 

 15.4 per cent and varied from 13 to 16.5 per cent. The sugar 

 produced per acre in Bohemia increased from 3,983 pounds in 1903-4 

 to 4,693 in 1912-13, or an average for the decade of 3,990, as com- 



