Beet sugar

“ They are not infrequently infested by a small insect, the sugar-mite, many thousands of which have been detected in a single pound of brown sugar." Cane-sugar and grape-sugar, otherwise known as sucrose and glucose, are obtained from various sources. Most of the cane-sugar consumed in England is actually produced from the sugar-cane, but of beet-root sugar there is much in the market, and in America sugar is produced from the maple, from maize, and from the "sugar grass." ”

“ Recent data from northeast Germany give the work during campaign 1890-91 of 54 associated beet sugar factories. They used 2,130,000 tons beets, obtained from 142,602 acres of land, average yield 12 tons. The total sugar amounted to 251,000 tons, of which 241,000 were from beets and 10,000 tons from molasses worked by special processes. The polarization of beet juices averaged 13.09; masse cuite, 14.31; extraction of sugar of all grades, 11.79. It required 848 lb. beets to produce 100 lb. sugar.
In every center where beet sugar is made there exists some local society ”

“ Most plants contain sugar in their roots. But in some large quantities are deposited, as in the sugar beet, which is employed most extensively in France and on the continent of Europe for the supply of sugar for dietetical purposes. A series of specimens illustrating products from beet-root, including sugar, from Messieurs Serret, Hamoir, and Co., of Valenciennes, are exhibited in the Collection. ”

“ At the present time the beet-sugar industry has become so important that more than eight million tons, or about one-half of all the sugar produced, comes from this source.
There is a greater consumption of sugar each year which necessitates greater production either through larger areas, heavier yields, or its manufacture from other sacchariferous plants. ”

“ Whenever the history of the beet-sugar industry shall have been written, it will prove interesting and instructive to the student, as an achievement of science, and will present a problem to the political economist of grave import in its reflection on the future business possibilities. It is a matter of historical record that for many years, in the early part of the present century, continental Europe worked almost hopelessly to produce a sugar-yielding plant which would thrive in its northern climate and supply the sugar it consumed. ”

“ At present, three eighths of the sugar used by civilized nations is produced by the sugar-beet. In like manner, the production of sugar from sorghum may not attain great proportions until some years have passed, but the plant is richer in sugar and is much more easily cultivated and handled than is the sugar-beet. The production of sorghum-sugar at a profit is less problematical than was the successful manufacture of beet-sugar when Napoleon issued the decree which laid the foundations of the beet-sugar industry in France. ”

“ It is hard for us to realise that, until comparatively recently, honey was the only sweet in general use. Cane-sugar was not commonly eaten in Europe until the seventeenth century, and previous to that time honey held sway as the sweetening medium of all foods. The amount of honey produced in the United States now is estimated to be more than 125,000,000 pounds per year, which shows that it has retained its value as a food, though it must compete with cheaper cane- and beet-sugars. ”

“ The White Sugar is a Mangold, free from much of the red coloring matter of the red sorts. These larger varieties of beets are very extensively grown in Europe for the manufacture of sugar, and it would add to our agricultural wealth if they were more frequently a part of a well planned system of rotation of crops in America. It may not pay for us to make beet sugar, but the use of the roots as a wholesome winter food for stock is profitable.
Onions.—The onion (Allium cepa [6] ) has been cultivated from early times, and its native country is unknown. ”

“ The geographical poles of the sugar trade are now Great Britain and the United States, and the two great areas of production are the beet-sugar countries of the continent of Europe and the cane-growing countries of the American and the Asiatic tropics. These two areas of production have been in active rivalry for the past thirty years, and out of this rivalry have come some striking results. The first is, that beet sugar controls the world's sugar market ”

“ Beetroot contains twenty parts sugar. Everybody knows that the beet has competed with the sugar-cane, and a great part of the French sugar is manufactured from beet. Beetroot has a refreshing, composing, and slightly purgative quality. The young leaves, when cooked, are a substitute for spinach; they are also useful for mixing with sorrel, to lessen its acidity. The large ribs of the leaves are serviceable in various culinary preparations; the root also may be prepared in several ways, but its most general use is in salad. ”

“ K. Sullivan, Chemist to the Museum of Irish Industry, states that the Beet Sugar manufactured in France has increased from 51,000 tuns in 1840 to more than 100,000 tuns in 1850, in defiance of a large increase in the excise levied thereon—that the average production of Sugar Beet is in Ireland 15 tuns per acre, against less than 11 tuns in France and Germany—that each acre of Beets will yield 41⁄2 tuns (green) of tops or leaves, worth 7s. 6d. per tun for feeding cattle, making the clear profit on the cultivation of the Beet, at 15s. ”

“ It would therefore appear, that even beet root sugar can compete in other than the producing country with the sugar of the tropics—a most significant hint that, unless the cane can be made to yield more and better sugar than is now generally got from it, there is some risk of its being ultimately beaten by the beet root, the cultivation of which is now carried on with so much profit that new works are springing up every year, in almost every country of the continent. ”

“ The information given by the Secretary of the progress and prospects of the beet-sugar industry is full of interest. It has already passed the experimental stage and is a commercial success. The area over which the sugar beet can be successfully cultivated is very large, and another field crop of great value is offered to the choice of the farmer. ”

“ In this respect the Louisiana sugar cane has a marked advantage, the average crop being over twenty tons, while thirty and even forty tons are often obtained. As soon as our farmers learn the principles of culture it is certain that the average yield in the United States will be as great as that in Europe. A typical field of beets ready for the harvest is shown in Fig. 70.
Manufacture. —The manufacture of beet sugar is both a simple and a complicated operation. ”

“ In the United States there is a belt of beet-sugar land two hundred miles wide that runs irregularly across the country from southern New England to the Pacific coast. Sugar-beets can, of course, be grown elsewhere, but it is in this particular region that they thrive best. If even a small proportion of this area were to be planted with beets we could get enough sugar from them to enable us to ship it to foreign markets instead of yearly importing a large amount of it. The trouble is that we Americans are so rich in land that we waste it and fail to get from it a tenth part of what we might. ”

“ The purity of the juice has an important bearing on the subsequent manufacture of the sugar. It is difficult and costly to extract sugar from low-purity juices, and the loss of sugar in the process is very high. The reverse is naturally true if the juices have a high purity. The purity of the juice in the beet is materially affected during the growing period by climatic conditions, rainfall, irrigation, fertilization, state of soil and cultivation. Great care and attention must be given the beet to insure high purity and heavy content of sugar. ”

“ As the washing period, in such cases, is longer than with normal beets, the sugar in beet cells has time to pass through the outer walls by osmosis. The sugar loss is said to be 0.66 per cent. (?) of the weight of beets washed.
Well conducted experiments show that in small but well ventilated silos, beets lose considerable weight, but very little sugar. On the other hand, in large silos with poor ventilation, the sugar loss frequently represents four to six per cent. When fermentation commences, the mass of roots is almost ruined. ”

“ Sunshine of long duration but not of great intensity is the most important factor in the successful cultivation of sugar beets. The nearer the equator is approached, the poorer [104] the beets become in sucrose because of the shorter days and the greater heat of the sun. Beets have never been raised with success in the hot interior valleys, as the hot days followed by warm, dry nights sap the vitality of the plant. In the elevated Rocky mountain region of Colorado and Utah, where the temperature is high during the daytime but where the nights are cool, the quality of the beet is excellent. ”

“ The sugar beet, like sugar cane, needs a peculiar soil and climate for its successful cultivation. The most important requirement is that the soil shall contain a large supply of plant food, be rich in humus and have the property of retaining a great deal of moisture. A certain amount of alkali is not necessarily detrimental, as sugar beets are not especially susceptible to injury from this salt. The ground should be fairly level and well drained, especially where irrigation is practiced. ”

“ In the second place the young seedling is affected during the development of its crown of leaves, and of its roots, by numerous factors, which cannot change this average, but may induce deviations from it, increasing or decreasing the amount of sugar, which will eventually be laid down in the root. The best young beet may be injured in many ways during periods of its lifetime, and produce less sugar than could reasonably be expected from it. It may be surpassed by beets of inferior constitution, but growing under more favorable circumstances. ”

“ Obviously, if it is desirable to produce our own sugar, the tropical sugar-cane can not be regarded as the chief source of supply, and we must place our dependence upon some plant better adapted to our varied soils and limited rainfall.
The sugar-beet has much to commend it; it is successfully raised in France, Germany, and Austria, and furnishes, at the present time, thirty per cent of the sugar consumed by civilized nations. ”

“ Because it is not only the seasoning of most eatable fruits, but abounds in various roots, as the carrot, beet, parsnip, and in many plants of the grass, or cane kind, besides the famous sugar cane.
Sir James Smith observes that "there [pg 27] is great reason to suppose sugar not so properly an original secretion, as the result of a chemical change in secretions already formed, either of an acid or mucilaginous nature, or possibly a mixture of both. In ripening fruits, this change is most striking, and takes place very speedily, seeming to be greatly promoted by heat and light. ”

“ The subject of domestic cultivation of sugar bearing plants is, therefore, one of great importance to this nation, and it has accordingly engaged the attention of the U.S. Commissioner of Agriculture, and many experiments have been made in different parts of the country in the propagation of the various canes, roots, etc., from which sugar can be made. Among sugar-bearing plants, beside the regular sugar cane, are, sorghum, sugar beet, maple, watermelon, sweet and white potato, and corn stalk. ”

“ The scientists have shown us how to cultivate the beet for sugar making; that soils charged with mineral salts are injurious to its development for that purpose; that, in fact, the beet easily absorbs saline matters, while the alkaline salts constitute one of the greatest obstacles to sugar extraction. ”

“ How the sugar beet has gained enormously in sugar content under chemical control
Pure white sugar is the first and greatest contribution of chemistry to the world's dietary. It is unique in being a single definite chemical compound, sucrose, C12H22O11. All natural nutriments are more or less complex mixtures. Many of them, like wheat or milk or fruit, contain in various proportions all of the three factors of foods, the fats, the proteids and the carbohydrates, as well as water and the minerals and other ingredients necessary to life. ”

“ The sugar is not the only valuable part of the beet. When the juice is extracted there is a pulpy residue from which the liquid is pressed out. This pulp is very valuable as food for stock. Some factories have dairies in connection with them. The experiments already made have been very satisfactory. The pulp is probably the cheapest food that can be used considering the amount of nutrition. The leaves are also valuable as food, but probably still more valuable as a fertilizer. Sugar takes nothing from the ground. ”

“ Sugar from Beets. Not all the sugar that comes to our tables is made from the cane; in fact only a small proportion is cane-sugar. Most of it is produced from the beet which is grown in large quantities in the West. ”

“ Granulated sugar, whether cane or beet, is the purest food article in commerce.
Clarified cane sugar is not quite as pure as granulated, but when used in catsup will make equally as good a product as granulated will; however, as the percentage of sucrose is not so high, a little more of it has to be used. A considerable saving can often be made by buying clarified instead of granulated sugar, but the purchase should be made on polariscope test, so the buyer knows exactly what he is getting. ”