Sugar From Bulbs.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 30 August 1910, Page 3

Sugar From Bulbs.

Tn view of tho proposal to establish the sugar beet industry in this district, tho following article, taken from tho English journal know as ''Tho World's Work," will be read in this country with more than ord.nary interest. It has to bo remembered that tho articlo was written for English readers and with a special eye to local conditions, but too main lessons deduced and the facts elaborated arc as capable oi l'/eal application as they aro to England. The author of the article Writes tinder tho pen namo of "Homo Counties," and he says:— "As I ihave never seen anywhere ii* the English Press an account of the process of making sugar ftut oi beet, it seems well worth while, with all this talk about growing thousands of acres of beet for the sugni factories which it is proposed to erpct in this country, t-o write down an account "of what I saw in going ever one of the largest factories* on tuo Continent. I have had the opportunity of making the inspection sii.ee my last month's article, "The Sweet Tooth," was written.

T. HOW BEET IS GROWN. AND HOW IT IS HARVESTED. First, as to the beets. They are not of ooiirso, tho garde:i beet. They are not, in fact, a red I ""et at nil. but a white beet, looking r-nn like a parsnip than a boot. There are several varieties, and tho kind. l grown in Holland, in which the clin.atic and cultural conditions most closely resemble those existing in England, aro those now being experimented with in this country. 1 may note that in Holland no teup'- than 100,094 acres out of 2 113,713 acres of arable lan<l a/re devoted to beet. It is not only because the conditions of cultivation in Holland resemble our own that we are particularly interested in the circumstances of tho sugar industrv over there. It is tho most convenient place to go for information, and if. is from Holland that various proposals have come for tho purchase of Er.glish-grown beet, and for tho establishment of sugar factories in this country. There are in Holland as many as thirty sugar factories, two of which are 00-operativo. The two co-operative undertakings alone bundle fio,ooo tons of beet per anlicm. Most of tho sugar produced in Holland comes over to this country.

AN ACCOMMODATING SYSTEM. The relations of the fanner and the factory in the "matter of beotgrowing can bo plaocd on a Tory simple footing. T found, that one factory supplied _ tho farmers with their seed, furnished tho seedino machines, and sowed it, and all the farmer had to do was to hoo tho crop and deliver it at the factorvl There are four arrangements \vhic.h *}' a made by factories with farmers. Iho factories bu.v tho beet by tho weight, or they buv it by weight and by percentage of sugar, or they have a sharing arrangement, or, iii the case o[ the co-operative factories, there may ho a. division of profitF The aim of the grower, if ho sells by weight, Is to get big beets. Tho a;m of tho manufacturer is to get snail .beets rich in sugar, a result which is obtaine dbv tlie use of particular seed and by early harvesting There have been rare fights in Holland between the farmers and tho manufacturers, and the faults bavo not been wholly on one sielo. Tilings aire on a hotter basis now, however. One of the reasons why the Dutch factories are interested in tho production of beets over here, is that all the available) beet-growing area in Holland has been mapped-tout into spheres of influence between tho different factories. It. HOW IT SWIMS INTO THE, FACTORY. AN EXTRAORDINARY RACE AGAINST FROST. Tho advantage of beet-growing to the farmer, if he has an equitable arrangement with the. factory, is that ho gets cash for his crop. The cop is ripe in England, our experiments' iliave shown, about tho mieldlc o f Septomber, and is grown, of course, very much like mangels. On tho Continent the roots are lilted with a long narrow spade, very much like what tlie labourer calls a ditching tool. According to an article in an English work of reference bv a man whose name is identified* with the sugar industry, tb* - beets should be as carefully treated during lifting as if tlioy were garden beets. The gardener, as is well known, is careful to avoid injuring the roots so as to cause; bleeding. 'When tho roots are injured Ir careless handling or trimming,' says our authority, "fermentation and chemical ohanges are set up, resulting in loss of sugar." In Ho-1 land, however, I was assured that tho practice followed there of slicing the top of the beet in harvesting it- does not injure it, and that it is only the part below tho ground vi.ich contains the sugar.

In Holland the beets are almost invaiiably delivered to the factories by barge, our neighbours having a'lch an excellent water syste >i Indeed, I found the great Holl mrna irarufactory at Gorinchem r ght aw ay from the railway rdto'cethe" lb tleponds on the water lor the ati'tol of its raw materials imkl lor tho despatch of its finished prod-net. No time must be lost in rapidly g £ ttin.r tlie beets to the fae.oiv. \ ■Uino 1 ' of fnist would be I'ati'., On .re<vJ.ing the wharf the i-.-i•; g. m-i are hinrried. ashore. 'n i-c'di iion to cranes, with receptacles vhiefli lift half a ton of beets eae-i' at a time, men are working by hv.ei wherever they can find room to rea I. the barges. The photographs show how the btets nro pile dup outside tho faet >1 v

top of the wheel they are released, and travel along a chute, where the cleansing is continued. Next, without their journey being interrupted for a moment from the f/mo tliey fall into the gutters on tna wharves, they are lifted right u'l on to tho top of the building. '1.10 first treatment they receive is neighing, half a ton at a time. Then they find themselves in tho slicing machine, from which they oi.erge in little strips about an eighth of a,n inch wide and four or fiv.» inches long. Then into a transporter again, whence they reach tho diifusers. THE GIANT TEAPOTS.

The diffusers are nothing but a great row of giant teapots holding three tons apiece. These teapots aic hermetically closed, And they diaw the .juice out of the slices, as tie strips of beet are called, in tho most effective fashion, for they aro all connected, with one another by pipes and fresh water supplies are added and in the result the beet is "drawn" thirteen times over. As ir..- guide said, the process of infusion is exactly the same as that pursued by the economical woman who p"t hoi* tea-leaves to be redrawn for the kitchen. The refuse from the teapots is ciille! beet-pulp, and, like the origm id Icet. is still white, but on ex- •: su;i to the atmosphere loses its OSS. Tlids of the beet teapots are nei at the top but at the bottom sr. ' by means of these the pulp is taken' out. Away it goes on a transporter and has its water presse 1 out. A certain proportion of it is returned to tho farmer in a wet .state fe • use as stock food. The most oJ it goes, still by automatic machinery, into a kind of baker's oven oi sei'ies of bakers' ovens, where it is let oeked about by a number of fans in the same way that hay is dried when tossed. In the result, after treatment which is quite elaborate, the 85 per cent of water ilia.s been reduced to o per cent, and the product, is in texture like dried seaweed. Engines of 300 h-p. are putting through the drying process.

L.The beets rest on concrct slopes, and at tho bottom of the slopes there arc great getters by which the bulbs (i'or tho l)oet is a bulb, not a root) iloat themselves away to the factory. Tms swimming arrangement is not only an economical means of transpcrting tlietn into the building, but •it serves to get rid of sonic of the d:rt attached to tho bulbs. A thousand tons of bulbs will be swum into tlie factory in a day of twentyfour hours. Til. THE SUGAR "CAMPAIGN." THE BREWING OF THE BEET. Inside the factory an even busioi state of things exists than is sect, outside . During what is called the sugar (campaign, -which lasts mnti. tnj last beet is turned into sugar, tlic whole place works a twenty-foui h curs' day. There is no practical mrtbod by which tho beets can be stored in safety from frost, for tlie conditions which would protect thorn from frost would! affect their ohoiniad composition. Again, the process of sugar manufacture is one v which cannot, be interrupted olico it ba» started. There is no human Structure which more closely resembles a beehive than a sugar factory at the height of the campaign. The first tiling that one finds hap- ' poning to the beets when they swim in through their water-elm to is that they are caught up by a kindi of water-wheel, and given a thorough dousing therein. As the bulbs rest- ' ' ing one adh "clapper" come to the

IV THE TREATMENT OF Till'. JUICE. AND SOMETHING ABOUT THE SITE Ol- 1 A l< ACTOR V. Now for tho raw juicfi. It travels from the teapots into measuring tanks, when it sees the light oi day for the first, time. Then it goes up to the next floor in be purified. Tlie first process consists in mixing with lime. The result is lime salts in combination with saccha'ine. The next treatment is by carbonic acid, which, passing through the liquid, releases th.T saccharine. All enormous quantity of liinetone is reeled in a year, probably -lOOltens. It has, of course, to be burnt oi the premises. Otherwise it would be impossible to command flic quantity, and in the burning the carbonic acid is given off which also is needed. 'I HE ENORMOUS DEMAND FOR WATER. It will be seen that the site of a href-sugar factory must he very ca;efully chosen. It must not only be able to command tho best available system of "an-iage, bur a large srpply of limestone and. immense, quantities of water. The factory h;i<- also to be so situated as to bo able to run out its eflluent without causing a nuisance. Tho pioticd in it causes it to smell. At Gorin ciiem the effluent is allowed to flow over land, which is being greatly raised in value in couscquence, and Hi!! in due course lie planted with fri.it trees. The raw juice, which was quite clear before its chemical treatment, is now muddy, and the precipitation of organic, impurities has to be fil tcred out. This is done by a most intricate system, by which the, liquid passes through some fifty cav-ii-io®_ divided by cloths, which are continually renewed. The rcsuli is, however, that the juice is cleaned and is ready for boiling. V. SUGAR ROLLING. AND WHERE THE SKILL OE THE WORK.MAN COUNTS. Of the boiling process iu a succes sion of imposing-looking vacuum pans it is enough to say that b,\ moans of juggling with boilingP'. : nts and gradually bringing to a lower heat, the liquid slowly bocomes a thiekish liquor and thou massecuite, which consists of sugar crystals in a syrup of sugar. Xow the skill of the sugar-boilet is displayed. He keeps taking sample?, of the syrup on a piece of glass, which he holds over a strong olee tia- light, and on the stage at which he arrests the boiling process depot.ds the grain of the sugar.

In the cooling-down process the crystals grow. Alter- cooling ehiwn ior five or six hours, the product re;.dies another floor, arnf drops nitu hot centrifugal nans, from which, with tho assistance of water, the syiup is finally separated from tin sugar The sugar is released from tin. pans it is cooled, and then falls into great caverns where there are. mountains of sugar which it seems impossible that cups of tea, coffee and cocoa, and tho needs of cooks, sroulrl ever wear down, did one not know that in our own country the consumption of sugar is such as annually to average out at 801b poi hear! lor every man, woman and child per year! Yl. SUGARS. AND SOME MISTAKEN IMJ'RFS SIONS OK 'HIE HOUSEWIFE. '

It seems wnrth while 'correcting niiiiiiiou iiiiniiiKo (jii the part o. housewives. They make great of lerts at every jam-preservm" - t< pre vide themselves with what "then ci .1 the best lump .sugar. Luiu") ■ii'.gar is, of course, exactly the same irticle as the granulated .sugai V they declare will injure tlieii (•'l'll \ lump sugar is used in jam nr tones, and that product is', oi •.-si! i so, merely granulated sugai i "i> into moulds in the form of the en es ono sees displayed iu grocers' w:i dews. Icing sugar is the saint Kliu of sugar as granulated ground UUCi' It is curious the faddiness of tlie blierent peoples of the world in regi.'d to common articles of food. \\ hie we like little cubes of jor ouir tea, in Holland and France lump sugar is preferred, not in litLh ri.bes, but in little flat oblongs. My the way, there is no difference whatever in tlie taste of beet ami cane sugar. Sugar is sugaa 'iv 1 atever it' is made of, and°of I course there are a great many sugars. What really affects the flavour oi sugar is what is attached t<. tuo sugar. Whon we kept Franc from having West Indian sugar, tin needs of Napoleon's subjects were supplied not only from beet, but fi-om mangels, kohl rabi, and salsify. It is a_ curious fact that the indaisti y which we forccd into oxistence 0 i the Continent should only now 1 be reaching our shores.

As to other articles of food, Gouda cleese is reddened, and peas are greened, not always 'harmlessly, for tno English market.

How Sugar is Made from Beet Root.

Of Special Interest to Horowhenua.

VI FT. THE CUSTOMS. now sugar manufacturers All to WATCHED 15 V THE AUTHORITIES. lint it is not only tho elevices ol chemical and engineering experts, and the enterprise of capitalists, vhioh impress the English visitor at tiie sugar factory I had opportunity of visiting. (l iy the way, the opportunities T had were quite except.mal; the Hollandia factory is not shown to the public.) After viowi:.g the whole process, one came to tho place where the sugar was corning down on a chutc to be bagged up. There was seated at a desk a man who was obviously not an employee of the company. He was tii'i' representative of the Customs, noting down carefully every bag o. sugar produced by the establishment

In regard to eggs, while wc give inrft monoy for largo brown ones, tin Dutell' themselves profor little white ones. Although few people ci'i be convinced on the point, there is absolutely no difference in nutritive value' between a brown egg ana a white one. VII TIIM LABOUR PROBLEM. AM) ANOTHER PROBLEM Wllll'll SHOULD NOT BE OVERLOOK lOD. The molasses which is obtained in beet-sugar making is sold to iarm- <■; - . Jiiul distilleries. Needless to say,- the large. stafl which it is necessary to einpoly during the sugar campaign means specinf arraiigeiuents for their accommodation. At the Hollattdia factory there were 100 beds provided foi the workmen. These winter hands being almost entirely employed in hni'dling the beets, and in other unskilled work, arc chiefly bricklayers pj.intors, carpenters, brickyard ana li-1(1 labourers out of employment during the severe weather. During 1.1.e .'■•pring and summer .a sugar fac-» Lory stands idle, unless there aro re pairs going forward, and the large machine shop at Gorinchcm was evidence not only that a great many repairs have to be done, but_ that t'cy arc managed on tho premises. The most interesting thing about tne Hollandia factory, apart from the arrangement for swimming tlie beets was the complicated character of the sugar-making process, and t'.e impressive air of technical efficiency. The machinery is of a most elaborate character, covering an in mense amount of space, and it obv cii.sly requires the most experienced attention. Sugar-making, as ; result of all the scientific investigation and engineering skill and ingenuit.v which have been devoted to it on tho Continent, has become an exceedingly technical business, an those wilio are thinking of setting up factories here had better make very sure of their foreign advisers. Paiher low sums have boon mentioned as sufficient to start a faetcrv, but I have never heard am estimate mentioned by the exports 1 iinve had the opportunity of speaking with wliioh was lower than £100.ojo nnd the Sleaford factory, it will I'? rememberer!, tried to raiso a capital of CI 30,000.

A\id in another place, on the other side of the i great store piled high with bags of sugar, there was sitting a second official in a position I'iom wliic.ii lie could command ;< view ol' (he number of the bags of s-.gar which were sent out of the factory. Da.v and night there are representatives of the Government uc their posts. it would be the same in this country when a sugar factory gets starfce' for it seems to lie the ease that th'j Government is hound under tik Sogar Convention to impose on home-produced. sugar the same impost that it charges in duty at it;, port on foreign sugar. The amount is 2s ftd a cwt. In Holland sugar costs 'IJd a lb, and 2 A id of the l]d goes to the Excise. For every lb of jam bought the housewife pays lid. One of the imperative rules following upon the Government's sup omvion of the manufacture of sugai is "Miat the product is only allowet. to g f out at one special door, clearly maiked, a.s I saw, "Uitgang vooi Suil er." Tlie Excise hill is paiu to the Received of Duties weekly. IX. WHAT TWO FACTORIES 7)0 rx A SEA SOX. A XT.) HOW SCT F/XTTFTC TIORTICU LTUR E IS HELI'IXG THEM. 1 imagine that about 70,000 tons ol beet went into the Hollandia factory last autumn, and that there came out about 08,000 bags of suga) weighing about 2 cwt. each. Then there were 1700 tons of molasses anu •'jooo tons (if dried pulp. This conversion of bulbs in to sugar ready foi the household and into food for cattle took place within a period oi about eleven weeks. The thirty Dutch factories produced about 200,000 tons of sugai last year. The production of the whole Continent is 0,000,000 tons. There must be more than five millio;i acres growing beet on the Continent. Tn Holland the average yield of bulbs per acre is fifteen tons. ft is not only in the improvement of machinery and processes that tin siig.ii-beet industry has made proL're.vs The sugar-beet itself ha, impro\ed. Time was when the sugar manufacturers used to grow their own beet. They buy it now from nurserymen who make a speciality o<, the trade. When the manufacturers user! to grow their own beet, it mean I tliat they had to bore holes in selected beets, which they had storerl over the winter, and then analyse the contents of the pieces token out. The beet which yielded the biggest quantity of sugar was put aside for planting in the spring, and the seed it yielded was sown. The improvement' which has taken place in the sugar 'contents of the beet as a result of careful selection and breeding is one of the triumphs of agricultural science. Half a century ago it is doubtful if it contj.ineci more than 7 per cent, of sugar Now 17 per cent, lias been obtained by analysis.