SUGAR BEET CULTURE.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 254, 11 April 1888, Page 7

SUGAR BEET CULTURE.

The Southern Standard pokes fun at the Count d'Abbans smd his been, sugar proposals. In an article on the subject our contemporary, after dealing with the piomised profits to the farmers as a result of growing beet, says :—: — '' In order that beetroot, sugar may be manufactured a. sugar mill must be got ; and the Count is equal to the task, lie has the specifications by him of a mill built by the principal maker of machinery in France, and (lie mill can belauded upon the 'shores' of the MaHura for the sum lof c£)»0,000. It would only acquire an j additional £10,000 (o erect it and j provide working capital ; and the Count is of opinion that Mr Valentino ' would have no difficulty m raising that capital' in this district. But something more than the beets and the mill is required. There must be a sugarmaker. And the Count is prepared to provide him. lie says it would be very easy to induce four or five families of sugar millers to come to the colony as nominated emigrant 5 , and some sugar beet growers likewise. When the beets the mill, and the millers are obtained all will work like a charm, and biing astonishing profits to the shareholders— no less than £1j0,500 for the first year on the outlay of £40,000 capital ; or nearly 17s on every pound invested. This is the outcome of it all : First, a clear profit of £12 35s per acre to the farmer ; and secondly, an annual dividend of 17s in the pound to the capitalist ! Why do not the farmers rush at i this brilliant and profitable offer? Simply, we presume, because they do < not believe in it — and, tell the truth, neither do we. In looking up authorities on the subject, we find that, the Count has almost doubled the yield per acie of beets in Fuiop-", and trebled the pioportion of saccharine matter in the roots. There is leckoiied that an acre of beets vsill barely produce one ton of sutrar ; the Count puU it at nearly two tons heiP. The difiVience, at one foil :>woop, makes much of the giowci's profit, and of the capitalist* dividend to fly. Next we find that the Migar. if m.vie, would it t bilr.LT in 1 .ills (lie pi Ice I {]]>■> Count estimate-. Thu take- ,i Mttlo moie from the bn!luviu\\ o' th' 1 colouis iv which he paint-, l\\< p ctuie. We aienot exju'it* m su^aimaLuu;, hut j we stion<j;]y ct tliat it would cos! much limit! <o make tin* siio-.ir then til- 1 Court calculates. Indeed, we fear that the whole tiling i^ a fancy jMctuif, drawn by a volatile Fienchman, and we h&\e cjood ifiouiids foi out l<\ir>. For the past foit\ \<>:us attempts have lv> 'U nude ' to make the b(ot-ioo| miinuiaetuu 1 profitable in 1 1 el md, but in vain. Fiml.md lias faied no letter. F\en in Belgium and Germany they have to make spirits from their beets when the proportion of saccharine matter is at all low, for they cannot then make sucjar profitably. No such profits as the Count estimates are made in the Old World, where labour and machinery are cheap, and where the price of sugar is as hijjh as in this colony- Why should there be such a marvellous difference here ? There is no reason. The view the Count presents to the public, through Mr. Valentine, is an extremley inviting one; but we fear that aa the farmers near it, they will find it a mirage. If the Count •were a Yankee instead of a French nobleman, and a commission agent instead of a consul, we should strongly suspect him of an overweening desire to push trade in his wares. As ifc is, we bid him a courteous farewell."