EXPERIMENTS WITH SUGAR BEETS. 
5 
First —By means of pressure to extract the juice after 
crushing, slicing or grating the beets. 
Second —By means of maceration in hot water until 
all the saccharine matter is extracted. 
Third —By the process of diffusion, which is a modi¬ 
fication of the second, and an excellent means of break¬ 
ing up the cell walls and extracting the sugar. 
This process is sure to revolutionize the method of 
sugar production from cane and sorghum, as well as with 
beets. Our sister State Kansas (see Report State Board 
of Agriculture, January, 1890) has published the 
results of beet sugar production at Medicine Lodge, in 
that State ; 4.7 acres were raised, which produced 60.23 
tons cleaned beets, from which were manufactured 
10,158 pounds of sugar and 380 gallons of syrup. The 
production was more than one ton of sugar per acre, and 
not under the most favorable circumstances. A skilled 
expert from Germany was engaged to look after the cul¬ 
ture and manufacture of the crop. The appliances not 
being the best, he claims that the best results were not 
obtained. 
Where sorghum can be raised, the same company 
can manufacture sorghum into sugar until the heavy 
frosts come, when the beet crop can be worked with the 
same diffusion plant, as most of the machinery can be 
used for both. 
The sugar sold readily at the factory for six cents 
per pound, and the demand exceeded the supply. 
What has been accomplished in Kansas can also be 
performed in Colorado and Nebraska; and near Grand 
Island, in the Platte Valley of the latter State, a large 
area of sugar beets will be raised this year (1890), and a 
large and costly plant will work the crop for sugar. 
