OMAHA ILLUSTRATED HEK
Mnrch 18, 1000.
The Beet Sugar
Industry in Nebraska
1
Great Industries as a
rule do nut spring up
In a day or a year,
but aro the product
WsrJ vXtVfcygfe of gradual evolution
ESiSffltC mid iirowth. Such haH
been tho hlBtory of
tho beet sugar IndiiBtry In
Nebraska, wlilch, though
It Is now on a Hound foot
in l.'. Ih Htlll In ItH In
fancy. Tho first BUgar factory
was erected liy Henry T.
Oxnard nt Grand Island In
1800 and wan tho result of
several years of agitation
and experiment by men In
that community who had
come from tho beet Biignr
producing BectloiiH of Europe. Tho follow
ing year n factory was built nt Norfolk and
hero tho growth stopped until last season
tho ono nt Aiiich wan erected.
Hovornl causes havo prevented a moro
rnpld Incrcaso In tho number of factories.
It haa been sottlod beyond a doubt that tho
noil of most, If not all portions of Nobraska,
la especially adapted to tho culture of tho
sugar bect. Tho cultivation of sugar boots,
however, waB a matter which worked a revo
lution In tho ontlro system of farming from
tho oxtenslvo operations, all carried on by
machinery, to tho moro Intcnso methods
and a largo amount of hand work. Without
a knowledge- of tho proper methodB of cul
tivating tho beets tho product wan unsatis
factory. Tho ylold was often disappointing
and Its water supply Is obtained from ar
tesian wells varying in depth from 230 to
1,200 feet. Tho How from Borne of thesu
wolls rises to a height of fourteen feet above
tho BUrface, In tho Btnndplpe, and the quan
tity Ih ample for nil purposed. The quality
Is pure and, It may bo noted In passing, this
company 1b tho llrst to securo a satisfactory
How of artesian water In tho 1'lntte valley.
Only n llttlo moro than ono-hnlf tho en.
paclty of tho plant la being utilized at this
time, as tho machinery could not bo started
until January 8, nnd only about 15,000 tons
of beets were- available, a largo part of last
year's crop having been shipped to Norfolk.
Next fall tho managers expect to hnndlo
C0.000 totiB of beets nnd tho "campaign," ns
tho working season at tho factory Ih called,
will last nbout 100 days. This will mean
nbout COO tons of boots per day of twenty
four hours (beet sugnr factories run day
and night during lhp "campaign"), 300
wagon loads or nbout forty carloads. It
will mean tho employment of from 225 to
250 men, tho consumption of 100 tons of
coal por day, sixty tons of llmo nnd ten tons
of coko. Tho not results should bo 120,000
pounds of granulated sugar por day and 300
tons of pulp, nil of tho latter being used In
tho feeding of cattlo and sheep.
Vitluc or flic ImliiNlr;-.
Tho valuo oi such a crop to the fanners
will bo at IcaBt $250,000 nnd nbout an equal
amount will bo pnld out In wages nnd bup
pllcs for tho fnctory, making n total dis
bursement for onu season of more than
$500,000. Tho valuo of tho sugar should bo
nunrly $000,000, and It Is well to remember
HOYS AND GIRLS AT WORK IN HKET FIELDS.
THR M UN 11EHIND TICK HOES
Hr-BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBEBBPBJPuBBBBBJpBBBBBBBBBJ 4 'I KKKKKKKKl
i
1
TltAIN LOAD SHIPMENTS OP I1EETS TO NORFOLK FACTORY. Photo by I. M. Mncy
and sometimes when this wns satisfactory that this nmount has been going out of
the beets wore deficient In sugar. Nebraska and Into tho pockets of foreign
Thcso failures had 11 tondoncv to dls- irniinr,.ra nn,i nnt..r, mii,.D t, i n
courngo tho farmers and for a fow years It ndontly expected that theeo figures, largo 70 ce.nts l" ?1 'noro fr cncl) ndimlnal ton
ncres of beets were grown on tho land of
this company, and this year arrangements
nro being made to handle 3,000 acrce. Farm
ers In tho surrounding country will prob
ably plant nearly ns much moro, so that
tho totnl acreago tributary to tho factory
should bo about G.000, ond tho valuo of tho
crop from $250,000 to $350,000. Tho yield
of beets per aero from all plantings nt
Ames, from 1893 to 1893, hna been from
ten to twenty tons, making nn averago of
fifteen tons, nnd tho cost has been roughly
estimated nt $25 p6. aero for n yield of
twelve nnd ono-half tons of beets and from
UB wiiii uiiiiuimy mm mo lactones coum a they now appear, will bo doubled In
securo enough beets to keop thorn running. i001. ns tho factory will havo sufllclent cn-
rho proprietors of tho factories sot about ,mc,ty nml tho 0Illy ,uestlon is whether the
to oducato tho farmers In tho proper method neccHBttry quantity of beets can bo secured,
of cultivating tho beets In order to securo a T, ,r ... . . . , .. ... ,
good yield nnd produce boots of tho re- K; A1Ion' Pjcmcnl of the Nebraska
quired richness In sugnr. This accom- nJot s"Knr n8BOcl"tl0"' 18 tuo orlglnnl pro-
pllshod tho farmers found tho rnlslng of Jcct"r, of V10 ,nclory ftt Amca nni1 bKa"
bootB profltablo nnd tho wny la now open to oxi'urltncnting with sugar boots In 1893, at
tho moro rapid growth of tho Industry. wh,ch tlmo 500 ncrea wero Panted. I" tho
Tho legislature of tho stato In 1891 passed following year tho acreage wnt Increased
a law granting a bounty to -boot raisers, but t() 070 nml tho yield waB so satisfactory that
It was later repealed and tho Industry Is I)lftnB wcro begun for tho building of n
now dopendent solely upon Its own merits factory which should havo n capacity
for Its success, and tho fact that capital was greater than thoso nt Norfolk nnd Grand
willing to Invest tho Inrgo nmount noccssary Island combined. A company wns organized
to erect n third factory In NobrnBkn during with II. O. Lcavltt, president; It. M. Allen,
tho Inst yenr Is tho 'best ovldcnco of Its vlco presldont, nnd J. G. Stearns, secretary,
pormanency. While tho production of sugar Eastern capital wa Interested nnd on
from beets Is only n small part of tho re- April 7, 1899, ground was broken for the
sources of tho Btnto thcro Is plenty of room building. Prom 1891 to 1898 tho Staudard
for expansion nnd tho best of ronsons for Cattlo company did not plant a largo acre-
bellovlrig that within n fow years tho num- ngo of beets, from 100 to 200 ncres only
bcr of factories will bo largely Increased being cultivated for tho purposo of study
nnd Nobraska bocomo ono of tho greatost and experiment. Last yenr, however, 1,978
sugar producing sections of tho world.
Di'Mcrlpt lou of Factory.
Tho lntcst factory to bo erected, tho ono
nt Antes, Is equipped with tho most modern
machlnory nnd nppllances known for con
verting tho Juices of tho beet Into sugar.
It is nlBo tho 'nrgest of tho three, It will
cost, when completed, nearly or quite $750,
000, and Is ono of tho largest ond host
equipped In tho world. Tho mnln building Is
83x203 feot nnd 103 feet from tho ground
floor to tho gablo, n groat structuro of brick
and steel. It has n capacity of 500 tons of
boots por day of twenty-four hours. It Is
bo constructed that this cnpnclty may bo
easily Increased to 1,000 tons and It Ih worthy
of noto thnt 90 per cent of this machinery
Is of American manufacture, tho remaining
10 por cent not bolng obtainable In this
country at tho present time. Tho main
structuro, however, Is only a part of tho
factory, thcro bolng a largo boiler house
containing eight 250-horno power boilers nnd
four engines, with n combined forco of 1,000
horso power; n commodious warehouse a
llmo Iioubo 40x100 feet, where all tho llaio
used In tho fnctory la burned, n fully
equipped machine, and blacksmith shop, bo
Bides oxtcnBlvo sheds nnd sovcral rows of
cottages for tho uso of laborers during tho
senson,
Tho factory was erected by tho Oxnard
Construction company, which Is entirely
dlrforont from tho Oxnard sugar companlos,
and haa no further Interest In tho company
nt Ames.
Tho factory has Its own electric light plant
As tho prlco for test beets la $1 per ton, It
THE CULTIVATOR HHIGAOE.
Is apparent that sugar beets can bo made a
profltablo crop. It Is nsscrtcd by those who
ought to know that nn experienced mnn can
handle ten acres of beets without extra help,
except at tlmo of thinning and first hoeing,
with very llttlo special machinery nnd with
out interfering with other crops. At nn
averago yield of twolvo and ono-half tons
per ncro this small crop should bring In
$500 cash. Not n bad addition to tho nvcrago
farmer's incomo and derived from the surest
crop ho can plant In Nebraska, as it will
stand moro drouth than nny other, with tho
possible exception of nlfalfn.
Each year Nebraskn factories offer addi
tional Inducements for tho raising of sugar
BEET SUGAU FACTORY
I
ft II .dtfwlHl
UEET SUQAR FACTORY AT AMES.
AT NORFOLK Photo by I. M. Macy.
beets. Tho prlco for 1900 has been fixed at
$1 per ton for averago test beets and tho
factories will pay tho freight on all ship
ments within a distance of 150 miles.
OnciiN Another I'lolil.
There Is yet another Industry open to tho
farmers and seed men of Nobraska. All of
tho sugar beet soed planted In tbo United
States, several hundrod tons annually, Is
Imported from Franco nnd Germany, nnd
sold hero nt 15 cents a pound. It can bo
grown hero; n fow experiments nnd a llttlo
oxperienco will open n wldo field. In Europo
tho sugnr beet has .been bred up to Its pres
ent high stnndnrd by n cnroful selection
based on sugar content nnd coefficient purity,
size, density, shape and color, n survival of
tho fittest as It wero, and each year a hlghor
test has been obtained. In this country
California beets havo shown tho highest
tests so far, but thero Is no gooil reason
why grent Improvement cannot bo made In
Nebraska. Tho next step should bo Into tho
now Industry, tho supplying of American
grown beet seed to tho American grower of
sugnr beets.
Thoso who nro familiar only with tho
slmplo process of extracting sugar In Its
crudo state from tho sap of tho maple tree
or tho Julco of tho sugar cano are but Illy
prepared to understand tho costly machinery
and tho intricate processes by which .sugar
Is extracted from tho beet. Many old set
tlers of Nobraska havo tapped tho sugar
maplo "down east" and on frosty mornings
of early spring havo collected the sap In tho
sugar camps, built great fires under hugo
kettles and watched tho boiling down to
sugar through the day or tho long hours of
night. What stories wero told and what
pranks wero played while tho firelight
danced among tho trees and ghostly shadows
dodged hero nnd thero about tho lonely
camp! Tho sap simmering slowly down to
golden syrup und tho sugar which later
granulated In rich brown cakes nover lost
Its flavor of tho forest, nnd Its dainty aroma
of tho wlldwood, onco known never forgot
ten, will still bring back to many a western
pioneer fond memories of boyhood days. IJut
tho Nobraska boy who watches tho making
of Nobraska sugar will miss tho romnnco and
tho fun which wero and aro still a part of
every old-tlmo sugnr camp. Ho will not see
tho tlrellght dancing on tho trees, but if ho
visits tho factory at night ho will see a
glaro of olectric light on rushing wheels
and racing bolts, a great building filled with
costly, and to him, complicated machinery,
and a forco of busy men; ho will seo an
endless stream of beets coming In at ono
end of tho building and at the opposite end
n man sacking snow-whlto granulated sugar,
ready for tho market or your morning coffee.
Tho process Is clear nnd slmplo enough to
tho Initiated; to tho uninitiated perhaps a
brief description, without too many technical
details, may bo Interesting.
I'rnceMM of Milking SiiKiir.
Outsldo tho factory aro rows of bins filled
with beets, from which a constant supply Is
drawn Into tho building by means of minia
ture canals of running water. As each
wagon or carload Is delivered to tho bins a
few samples nro soloctod nnd tested to as
certain tho per cent of sugar content and tho
purity, or proportion of sugar to other salts.
This test determines tho prlco per ton which
shall bo paid for tho beets. Entering tho
building tho casual visitor is struck by a
peculiar odor arising from tho fumes of
boiling beet Juice, commingled with tho dust
of llmo, of which largo quantities aro used.
It Is not wholly a pleasant odor and carries
no suggestion of new-mown hay or crushed
violets, but Is soon forgotten In matters of
greater Interest.
Tho beets aro first washed by machinery
running In (lowing wnter, weighed automat
ically and dumped Into tho cutting machlno,
whore they nro sliced Into a pecullnr shape
by rapidly revolving knives having fluted
edges. Theso ribands, called cosottcs, aro
fed Into the diffusion battery, where tho
process begins. This bnttery consists of
twolvo colls, resembling upright steam boil
ers, each charged from tho top and having a
capacity of three and one-half tons. After
being charged, water Is admitted first Into
ono, then through nn Intervening heater into
another, nniV so on until this wnter has com
pleted tho circuit, when It will havo becomo
so saturated with Julco as to bo nlmost pqii'l
In donBlty to tho expressed Juice Itself. This
first water Is followed by other supplies until
all tho sugar has been washed out that Is
commercially obtalnnblo; then tho exhausted
ribands aro discharged through tho bottom,
compressed and stored for cattlo food. This
residue, or pulp, from high grndo beets, con
tains only nbout two-tenths of 1 per cent
of tho sugar orlglnnlly In tho test. It Is
proper to stato at this point that n greater