Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News SATURDAY, JULY 23, 1898. SUGAR BEET.

Te Aroha News, Volume XIV, Issue 2133, 23 July 1898, Page 2

Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News SATURDAY, JULY 23, 1898. SUGAR BEET.

From time to time we hove noted in these columns the progress of beet growing in agriculturally ppeakiug, perhaps,-the most progressive of -the fcoldriies. Some of our readers will remember that we have consistently advocated caution in the accoptauceofeome of the reports sub naitted to.a*n interested ; and ? crinse* quently hiaesed section of the public on the subject of sugar beet culture. Our reason is distrust s>f the spuroe from which in (piesfcion emanate. Qaliforniis ha| long proved i happy hunting ground frir sugiar beet v iyndi(a es. Provided farmers can be induced ,to guarantee a regular supply of the root as far as the syndicate is concerned the rest is easy. The demand for beet sugar, now the prejudice against it has been oVercome by the introduction ; of improved methods in refining, is practically illimitable The obstacle a regular supply for the factories is the high price of labour. Syndicates know this and generally will hav< nothing t«» do with the cultivation of the root themselves. 1 he policy to he pursued by the promo'ers. consequently is c ear; t amely, one of persuading, by colouring the inducements, the •Igricultural population, with its numberless res' u ces in the shape of cheap jo hour, to embrace the cultivation of beet exc’u-ively. It, is apparent to ihe meanest comprehension that if the agriculturist abandons all other forms of argjiculture <and devotes all the

forces under factors as child labour, to the prodmtion sugar b< ef, uo long time will elapse before he becomes Wholly dependent on the monopolistic beefactory. In the case of » factory, with its; almost autocratic powers, in 4he matter oi prices, belonging .to foreign;, capitalists, the outlook for the producer immediately become pregnant with gjaye . possibilities. fhore aregotheri'luestiohs surrounding this important subject ; but in the space of an article it is impossible 4» touch upop ? ftny other than that off cting those immediately Concerned ih : the production of the marketable article ;in : the Waikato and The; XeAr; ; - s'dysit|f pro# mbtera'-iu tfie> Wailtafp hav&lsAibfieif theihsel^Asm% of robisi cpuid be grosm containing a payable percentage of saccharine matter to warrant the extensive culrivation of the plant,’ (sugar beet), but WVare;inclined to most meum/pointed to sat^fac^tt^-l^feil^ but up often Atteiapt ‘ bas proved a failure so far, although the'' soil, & first class. The following brief review of the situation at Maffra, in Gippsland, will be real with interest.:—A. duty .of £6 per toirwAAfljecdVcd f|Mir sugar. iThe OhairimanTaj jfoeti&ber ;.of the Ministry} in? h# ifco Parliament estimated afij output of 3500 tons of sugar for the season,- but the first season’s outpufcwas only, 000 tqhk. itl|« concern has been? wbitkeTat ftJpvJMiid* thq bhareholders will be asked to subscribe more capital. The bad season is responsible for portion of the falling off but not for all. The great difficulty ahead is-that the farmers* find that growing beet does hot pay. It costs £8 an acre to produce the beet, the average per acre has been eight to nine tons, and the price they set for it according to its standard of saccharine contents has been from 7s to 19s a ton. Even at the highest price the owner only gets his qyrn money back —there isno profit f iGpheratly speaking tlp-re is?-, a handsome loss. Dairying and grazing pay ever so much better, and the grow wheat for th vlove I 'Toe revenue has lost £3600 :|n; duty on the 600 tons df sugar put on the market, Which is a; goodfftrticle ; so that reckoning the loss.topie. revenue, the loss to the company, piiif . the loss to the grower, the future j possibilities o f he beet sugar indiistsy jare not very I remising It is most unfortunate thst the first year’s operation# should have been attended by drought.