BEET SUGAR.

Southland Times, Issue 1725, 8 April 1873, Page 3

BEET SUGAR.

(to the editob op the tikes.) Sir, — Casting my eye the other day orer the ' list of Government bonuses offered for the intro- i duction of new native industries, I was somewhat ; struck by the item of £2000 of a bonus being applicable to the encouragement of the growth of beet root for the purpose of being manufactured into sugar ; and, as one having some experience ] in sugar-producing countries, I venture to suggest i that this is one of the mistakes our Government people are apt to make in their anxiety to make . the country too quickly. Possibly the Government haye not calculated the cost her* of the production of a ateady supply of beet root, in quantity sufficient to keep a sugar factory of very ordinary dimensions at work for 365 days and nights ; and they may not ha^e closely calculated the comparative cost at which they could sweeten their tea with a sugar equal in quality obtained from the neighboring colonies of * Queensland, Manilla, and Java, and India, and ' thus thinking, lam led to suggest that the object ' the Government have in view might possibly be f equally well met by dividing the bonus, and : offering £1000 as a bonus for the production of 500 tone of sugar beet for sheep and cattle feed. ( It is well known that beet is a great fattener and ' milk producer, when judiciously mixed with other cattle feed, and the sweetness of some of the , Continentally-produeed butter is produced in lome degree by the use of beet and beet-trash as feed for the dairy cows. By and bye we may be able to compete with Queensland, Manilla, Java, and India in beet sugar versus cane sugar, but the time does not seem to have come just ytt, and it is possible we might make it pay better meantime to fatten good beeves and make good butter from the beet we can grow s* well. — I am, ' Ac., 8.88. i Invweargill, 7th April, 1873. i