I THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. I
Promises Much For States Favored With Proper |§(
Climatic Conditions.
3R m
NEW CASH CROP FOR FARMERS.
At Binghamton, Broome County, N.
¥., is located a factory which manu
factures each day during the working
season from twelve to sixteen tons of
pure granulated sugar. The popular
uotion usually associates sugar with
sugar cane and with tropical climates.
But this popular notion must change,
for the sugar supply of the world will
soon be manufactured from the beet.
Two factories are now in operation in
New York State, one at Binghamton
and oiie at Rome. A large sugar fac
tory is also located at Bay City, Mich.
Other factories are being planned in
New York and Michigan, and it will
be but a short time before this indus
try of the manufacture of sugar from
beets will come into wide prominence.
So important is the industry likely to
become that a description of the Bing
hamton factory and the methods of
extracting the sugar from the beets
will prove of interest.
The factory is located some three
miles from the city of Binghamton on
the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western
Railroad. The main building is a
substantial brick structure, and the
storage room for the beets is partially
provided for by four mammoth sheds,
each 460 feet long, sixteen feet wide,
and twelve feet high. It was thought
that these sheds would furnish suf
ficient storage room for the beets, but,
from the photograph, it will be seen
that many carloads have been dumped
upon the ground; indeed, tliera are
apparently more upon the ground than
in the sheds, and they are being re
ceived from the farmers at the rate of
100 carloads each day. In the spring
of 1808 some 2000 acres of beets wero
contracted for; the farmers agreeing
to raise the beets aad the company
agreeing to pay $5 per ton for the
same.
Upon the arrival at the factory the
beets are unloa.ied from the cars into
PUTTING THE BEETS INTO SLUICE OF HOT [
WATER TO WASH.
the sheds or upon the ground in the ]
yard. Underneath each shed, and
running its entire length, is a sluice- j
way through which runs water which
has been heated to the boiling point j
in the factory. The beets are rolled
into this sluiceway and the current is
sufficient to carry them to the factory.
The warm water so soaks and loosens
the dirt that it is easily removed when
the beets get to the washing machine.
When the beets are unloaded into the
sheds the hand work upon them is
completed, and from that time they
are carried forward by water or by
machinery. As they near the end of
the sluiceway they are seized by a
screw elevator and raised to the fac
tory, where the first operation is the
washing. They are dumped into large
tanks where revolving arms attached
to a horizontal axis thoroughly churn
them around and constantly work
them forward toward the clean water.
They pass from the first washing tank
into a second one, and here the pro
cess is repeated and the beets are
thoroughly cleaned. From the wash
ing tanks they goto the bucket
elevators and are carried to the top of
the building. The next operation
(pulping the beets) is done by a sys
tem of knives or scoops fastened to a
horizontal wheel. The knives have
scalloped edges and are situated at
the bottom of a large hopper. As the
beets come down upon these rapidly
revolving knives they are literally cut
into shreds or pulp. This pulp is put
into what is called the "diffusion bat
THE MACHINE THAT COMPLETES THE WASHING OP THE BEETS.
tery." This battery is really a sys
tem of great tanks so connected that
the water can pass from one to the
other. The water is putin upon the
beet pulp and the sugar is soaked
out, the water being passed from one
tank to another until it has become
saturated, when it is drawn off. The
fresh water is always pat in upon the
pulp, which is most nearly ex-
hausted of its sugar content.
The waste pulp is carted out
of the building and is almost
entirely a waste product. It is relished
by stock, and no doubt will soon be
prized as stock food. The juice is
drawn from the battery and a meas
ured quantity is passed onto the lime
tanks. Here it comes in contact with
the milk of lime, which removes cer
tain impurities. Carbon dioxide,
which has been stored from the burn
ing limestone, is forced into the mix
ture of milk of lime and the juices
from the diffusion battery, and the
THE MACHINE FOIt SLICING THE BEETS.
lime is precipitated with tho impuri
ties which it has absorbed. After
passing through various mixing tanks,
the juice passes to the filter presses.
Here the juice is forced through cloth
and comes out almost as clear as wa
ter. After passing through two sets
of these filter presses, the juice goes
to the bleaching process. This is
done by means of fumes of sulphur.
The juice is made to drip slowly over
a board tilled with holes, and the sul
phur dioxide is brought into intimate
contact with every drop. All of these
processes are preliminary to the
"boiling down." After bleaching, the
juice goes to what is called the "triple
effect vacuum pans." These pans are
simply large upright boiters which
have had the air partially exhausted
by means of pumps. The liquid boils
violently in them at a temperature of
seventy degrees Fahrenheit, and the
"boiling down" is greatly hastened.
From the first boiling the juice 'goes
to the sulphuration tanks, where it is
again bleached. After passing again
through the filter presses, all traces of
sulphur and other impurities are re
moved. The "boiling down" is then
completed iu vacuum pans. The next
operation is performed by the centri
fugals. In these rapidly revolving
cylinders the molasses is thrown oil'
from the particles of sugar. The prin
ciple is the same as iu the common
milk separator, where the cream is
thrown out from the milk. The sugar
is very damp after being separated
from the molasses, and is dried by be
ing passed through a long, slowly re
volving cylinder. This cylinder is
raised at one end and the sugar is
slowly moved along, passing over
heated steam pipes until finally it
comes out of the other end of the
cylinder as crystalized sugar.
The most troublesome product to
handle is the molasses, which is sepa
rated from the sugar by the centri
fugals. It is stored in large tanks in a
room heated to a temperature of about
115 degrees Fahrenheit. After remain
ing there for three weeks, it becomes
partially crystallized and is then taken
out and run through the mill again,
and a portion of the sugar is extracted.
It is believed that American inventive
genius will devise machinery by which
this molasses can all be treated at
once without the necessity of storing,
and the sugar all removed. Indeed,
it is said that the factory at Bay City,
Mich., is so equipped that all the
sugar is extracted within twenty-four
hours.
Not all the sugar contained in the
beets can be extracted. From a ton
I of beets analyzing fifteen per cent.
sugar, about 250 pounds of sugar can
be secured. The importance of high
grade beets is very great, and the dif
ference between beets containing
twelve per cent, sugar and beets con
taining fifteen per cent, sugar may
mean the difference between profit and
loss. To illustrate this point, the
Binghamton factory has a eapacity of
300 tons of beets per day, and the
working seasou consists of about 100
days. If the 30,000 tons of beets used
contain fifteen per cent, sugar, the
output will be about 7,500,000 pounds
of sugar. If the beets contain only
twelve per cent, sugar, the product
will be only some 5,400,000 pounds.
This difference of 2,100,000 pounds of
sugar ie an important consideration and
accounts for the desire of factories to
secure high grade beets.
The new industry promises much
for those States which are favored
with proper climatic conditions. It
makes a new cash crop for the farmers,
who are able to net from $25 to SSO
per acre. It opens a new channel for
capital and the investment under
proper management is a safe one. The
important problem now is to secure
men trained in the business who are
capable of managing American labor.
It is found that foreigners, while they
may have been successful in their
home country, are not entirely adapted
to the conditions which prevail here.
To American youths who will pre
pare themselves for the work of mana
gers of factories there 13 promise of
lucrative employment. Several of our
large universities are considering the
organization of "sugar" courses.
There has been no industry intro
duced in recent years which has of
fered greater inducements for young
men, or for the American farmer, or
for the investment of capital, thau the
beet sugar industry.—Scientific Amer
ican.
Jefferson'* Alum Mater.
Iu Goochland County, Virginia,
about thirteen miles from the capital,
on Tuckahoe Creek, is the historic
home of the Randolphs. On the east,
directly opposite the door of the salon
hallway, and at the edge of the ex
pansive old flower garden, with its
boxed walks and queer-shaped beds,
THE SCHOOLHOOSE IN WHICH THOMAS
JEFFERSON STUDIED.
stands the small building where
Thomas Jefferson, third President of
the United States, and Thomas Mann
Randolph, as children together, re
ceived the rudiments of education and
discipline, which finally raised them
to the proud political and social eleva
tion of their later years.
An Aged Woman's Scrap Witli A POSAUIII.
Mrs. A. Doolittle, an aged Street
boro Township lady, who lives aloue,
heard a fearful uproar in her chicken
house a few nights ago. She arose,
grabbed a poker and started for the
scene. She was convinced that some
wild animal was among the chickens,
judging from the noise, but. was un
able to distinguish it in the dark.
She struck at the animal when it
sprang at her. A fierce battle en
sued, lasting fully a half hour, during
which the aged lady was terribly
lacerated about the face, hands and
body. She fonnd her way to her
house, where neighbors discovered her
the next morning. Near the chicken
house was found a huge opossum
lying dead iu the mud and snow.
Mrs. Doolittle is eighty years of age.
Cincinnati Enquirer.
WhMi He Hear* the New*.
In France, when a convict is sen
tenced to death by the guillotine the
day of his execution is not named in
his presence, and he knows not when
he is to be led forth until within fif
teen minutes of the fatal moment.
Puiion Flowen,
The passion flower, whioh grows in
the South American forests, can only
be enjoyed where it grows as it fades
almost as soon as it is picked.
FRENCH PRETENDERS.
Victor Napoleon or LouU of Orleans—
Which Will Win,a Throne?
Victor Napoleon or Louis of Or
leans? Which will be chosen to gov
ern France in case the Eepublic is
overthrown. The former represents
the imperial family as its heir to the
throne; the latter the royal family.
Prince Victor has recently declared
that the story relating how he had
"abdicated" in favor of his brother
Louis is by no means true. He is, he
says, the right/ul heir to the imperial
throne, and he has not given up, nor
will give up his right for anyone. He
is the son of the late Prince Victor
Louis Napoleon, better known as
Plon-Plon, and the Princess Clotilde
of Savoy. He has been living in
various places throughout Europe ex
cept in France, and his party is by no
means a weak organization. Prince
of Orleans is the eldest son of the late
Countof Paris and is thirty years old.
At twenty-one he entered Paris and
expressed his desire of doing mili
tary service, but he was conducted to
the Swiss frontier with the advice to
remain away from France in the fu
ture. This affair won for him the
title of the "premier consent." The
young prince makes his headquarters
in Brussels and has a very powerful
fallowing in his own country among
the old nobility of France. If the
Republic falls these two factious—
royalists and imperialists—will have
a pretty problem to settle the question
of government between themselves.
How the tide of public opinion will
go in case the revolution comes there
is no saying.
Lucky Dredging For a Diamond.
Dredging lias been successfully re
sorted to in recovering a valuable dia
mond ring that was lost in Petaluma
Creek. Recently the owner of the
ring was standing on a bridge just be
low Petaluma, across an arm of the
creek, when his diamond ring slipped
from his finger and fell through a
crack in the bridge and into about
eight feet of water. The stone in the
ring cost, without the mounting, SBOO.
The owner hated to give it up, yet he
did not know how togo to work to get
it out. In his perplexity he applied
to Captain John Hackett, a man of ex
perience in dredging, though on a
somewhat larger saale than hunting
for so small a thing as a ring. The
loser of the ring had been thoughtful
enough to mark the place in the bridge
where the ring fell through. Hackett
rigged a small clamshell bucket, to be
operated by haud. With a rope this
was dropped through the bridge at
the place marked, and a bucket of
mud was brought from the bottom of the
bayou. It was taken to the bank and
washed out. A second and then a
third WHS tried, and in the third was
F ound the ring.—Stockton (Cal.) In
-1 'pendent.
Street Golf.
Within the past few weeks a mania
for playing golf on the streets has
taken lull possession of the small
boys in every part of town. How the
so-called game originated can no more
be told than can the ancient begin
ning of the child's play of "London
Bridge is Falling Down." The only
resemblance of golf as played by the
gamins of the street and the "real
thing," as executed by the fashion
ables on the Rolf links, seems to bo
that in both games clubs and a ball
are used. Instead of putters, brasseys,
niblicks and lofters the street urchins
arm themselves with any old kind of
clubs and drive the ball furiously
back and forth between the two op
posing sides. In its general features
the street game resembles hockey,
but it has been dubbed "golf," and
by that name it will probably continue
to be known to every small boy in
town.—Philadelphia Record.
The Lust of the Miami*.
Gabriel Godfroy, the last lineal de
scendant of the Miainis, once the
proudest aud most powerful tribe of
Indians that roamed the forests of this
continent, is living the life of a pros
perous farmer near Peru, lud.
'Jm TJP
;'(i - 411
f/f
GABRIEL OODFROY.
Although more than threescore years
of age, he is still a fine specimen of
manhood. He is short aud stout, has
a piercing black eye, a quick step and
is well educated. A heavy growth of
snow white hair covers his head and
hangs to his shoulders
|FOR FARM AND GARDENI
Green Bone for Hen*.
The feed of sliced bone for hens is
much more than so much grit in the
gizzard to enable them to digest their
food. It is itself food of the very best
sort to make eggs, furnishing the gela
tine for the eggs and lime for the
shell. Dried,cooked or burned bones
are not nearly so good, as the gelatine
has been expelled from the bone, and
its lime is also in less soluble condi
tion than while it is in the green state.
But a lien's gizzard is equal to the
task of grinding up almost anything.
A diet of green bone and whole wheat
is probably the best of all for egg pro
duction.
Keep Horrtes* Manger# Clean.
Much dust and soiled food is apt to
accumulate in the horse's manger,
aud as he is all the time breathing
overit.the manger quickly becomes so
offensive that much food is wasted.
Much of this feed will, however, be
eaten by cattle, as they will eat freely
after horses. Even the horse excre
ment is not so offensive to them as to
prevent them from picking out bits of
hay mixed with it. But the horse has
a more delicate taste than any other
farm animal except a sheep. When
cows pick over the piles of horse man
ure fur the liay, they are probably in
need of salt, aud are attracted by the
saline taste of horse urine.
Trirßiiiß Ewe*.
As the time for lambing approaches
the coarse, dirty wool about the ewe's
buttocks and udder should be cut
away and saved. This should always
be done before any succulent feed is
given to the ewes to make them give
milk. Usually this tegging in the
olden time was done just before the
ewes were turned out to grass. But
it' the ewes have silage or roots it is
important that the tegging be done
early. In many ewes the wool grows
over the udder, so that the lamb finds
it almost impossible to reach the teat.
We have seen many a lamb get hold
of a piece of wool, often only a teg.
and suck away until completely dis
gusted because it dfd not find the nu
tritious milk it was looking for.
Hard and Soft tirifttles.
There are few bristles on the hogs
which all good American farmers
keep, though sometimes an old boar
will have some that will answer if none
better can be had. The wild hogs of
Russia aud Germany furnish most of
the bristles that the world uses. It is
doubt less the cold climate of Russia
that makes the bristles hard and stiff,
for the wild hogs of Spain,in southern
Europe, have bristles that are not
much better than those of American
hogs. We can well aft'ord to let Russia
keep the monopoly it has in growing
bristles, for the hog, which has stont,
hard bristles is very little good for
making pork economically. Some of
the southern wild hogs have quite
good bristles, aud when two or three
years old they will not weigh more
than a wellfed pig should do at seven
or nine months old.
Small Fruit# and Ornamental Shrubbery.
No town lot should be so small and
ao farm should be so large that there
is not room for some small fruit and
at least a shrub or two in the way of
ornamentation.
In the pioneer days of Illinois it
ivas a rare thing to see a new farm
aj:ened tip without a lilac bush and at
least half a dozen currant bushes
planted near the house. Now there
are hosts of home buildings in both
the oliler states and in newly settled
regions that think it too much bother
to fuss with berry plants or berry
bushes, and as for a bit of shrubbery
just for looks, that is out of the ques
tion. It should not be so. No mat
ter how small the homestead let there
be berries of some sort, and at least a
few currants. The farm of forty acres
or more should have at least a quarter
of an acre devoted to small fruit, in
cluding grapes, blackberries, rasp
berries, currants, gooseberries and
strawberries. These should all be
planted in rows running the long way
of the land devoted to the purpose, so
as to do the cultivating as much as
may be with horse and cultivator and
save the labor of hoeing.
A southern exposure with rows run
ning north and south is a good loca
tion. Let the grapes be on one side;
if the rows are longer than the space
y.ou wish to devote to them fill out the
row to blackberries. Continue the
rows one after another far enough
apart to allow of horse cultivation, as
suggested, till the sj ace on the side
opposite the grapes is only as large as
you wish to devote to strawberries,
then plant tlieni. If your rows are so
long that you have only one row of
strawberries, at least every third plant
must be a stuminate, or your crop will
be a failure.
If one feels he cannot put out a full
assortment of fruit this year, a begin
ning at least should be made, and wo
recommend the setting nut of currants,
gooseberries and strawberries, and it
will be well to select tho stock now,
using the catalogue of some reliable
nurseryman or dealer in small fruit
plants as a guide, a nearby denier hav
iug the preference, other things being
equal.
As to shrubbery—if you have no
preference as to what and how much
you want, consult your wife or daugh
ters, or if at the old home where
mother is, consult her wishes. If, in
addition to a bit of shrubbery, a plant
or two is desired,get it. The pleasure
and satisfaction given will more than
repay the money outlay, and the look
of added thrift aud comfort about the
place will enhance the money value of
the farm or towu home much more
than the expenditure.
These suggestions may come to th»
eye of the dweller upon a lot which
contains less than the quarter ncre
mentioned as small enough for the
farmer. In that case we suggest that
a grape viue or two be trained against
the lot fence; if uot these, a few black
berry bushes. Het one-half dozen
currant bushes, two or three goose
berry and u dozen raspberry bushes.
Vary this selection as snita your taste,
but put out some.—Farm Field am
Fireside.
A Cow H011)6.
I notice a disposition iu the da in
districts toward a change in ban
building jnd an avoidance of the huge
half basement structure, with its mas
sive underpinning and great hay
mows. It is proposed to build so as
to get sanitation as well as room. The
advent of the silo has made it possibli
to eliminate the oldtime meadow hay
hence great storage capacity in the
barns is not now imperative. Today
the few acres 111 corn, rapidly put iutc
the silo, is au economy recognized
everywhere, and is generully being
adopted. All that is needed now are
a hay barrack for the clover hay and a
silo. The cow stable can now take
the place of the bam—a structure for
cows alone. No overhi ad storage for
hay and straw; wide so as to have
two rows of cows with ample passage
ways, possibly thirty-five feet in
width, the double roof overhead being
the ceiling as well. There should be
cement floors; nocobbledup plank and
timber floors; plenty of windows on
the sides to admit sunlight, the stable
being built north and south, so as to
get the most sunshine possible. There
is no need for wide alleys iu which a
horse sled may be driven; for a single
overhead track, and a manure-box
suspended, so that when filled it can
be run out and overturned upon the
sled or manure vehicle to be taken at
once to the fields, nre far better than
highway through the stables.
These stables should he fully 100
more feet in the clear inside, so as to
give each cow 500 feet or more of ail
space. Ventilation is made ample by
running two ten-inch shafts of galvan
ized iron from within a foot of the
floor, up above the roof, and with a
simple little wind wheel on the top of
each, with pitcher pump valves in
them and connected with the wheel.
The floor air of the stable is then
pumped out, and the nice warm air in
the top of the stable left. The pump
ing will bring iu air from the outside
without the necessity of cutting cat
holes in the sides. At oue end of the
stable two large round silos can be
built, connecting with the feed alley,
and at the other end of the stable a
hay barrack can be put up, an old
barn utilized or the like,and the stable
will be complete at a total cost of a
few hundred dollars, while the great
barn—admitted to be most imposing—
costs its thousands. This long stable
can be built of 2x(3-inch stuff, and so
covered as to make dead air-spaced
walls and will be frost proof.
In the summer the glass wiudows
cau bo taken out and fine netting of
some sort substituted to make them
fly proof. The sanitation of such
barns can be made complete, because
they are light and airy, and the sun
light covers the entire interior. The
floors are always dry, with no chance
to have pools of tilth under them, and
so can be kept clean. There is no
chance for the odors, vitiated air, etc.,
togo up, and, boiug absorbed by the
hay and fodder, be in turn consumed
when this material is used as cow
feed. This is too practical an age tc
build barns just for show when less
money will give us a far better struc
ture and one more iu accordance with
the 181)0 wants of the cow and the
economical production of milk.—Nev
York Tribune.
Turkeys Tracked by
The wild turkey ill the Ozarks is
now hunted with a slow-tracking dog,
and whole flocks are often killed in
this way. Till the trained dog was
employed to follow up the wary bird
this game fowl could battle the most
skillful hunter. Now when a flock of
turkeys is found the sportsman ha
little difficulty. A good dog will fol
low a turkey track that is three or font
hours old, and set the birds when
overtaken, jnst an thejrointer does thi
quail. After the turkey has been
chased awhile it hides in a tree or
under a log, and stays there, until the
hunter guided by his dog, comes with
in his range.
It is astonishing what fine instinct
a good turkey dog will develop after a
few months of training in the woods.
He will follow a flock of turkeys foi
hours just ahead of the hunter,and in
dicate by uumistakahle signs when the
game is ne.ir. After a turkey has re
ceived a fatal shot it may fly half a
mile or more. A trained dog will gc
straght to a wounded or dead turkey
with tho same precision with which
he tracks the game.—Chicago Record
In tlin Tup Knot oT ->n Oak.
I remember a curious incident con
nected with the tap-root of au oak,
says Hider Haggard in Longman's
Magazine. This oak, a good tree ol
perhaps 200 years' growth, was being
felled at Bradeuham Wood, when '.he
woodman called attention to something
peculiar on the tap-root.. On clearing
this of soil we found that the
was a horse shoe of ancient make.
Obviously in the beginning an acorn
must have l'ulllen into tho hollow of
this cast shoe, and as it grew through
the slow generations, the root tilled
up the circle, carrying it down into
the earth in the process of its increase,
till at length we found wood aud iron
thus strangely wed led. That tap-root
is now or used to be a paper-weight iu
the vestibule at Bradeuham Hall.
When jon find a wau chuckling
because a neighbor lias been caught
in evil, watch bim, aud you'll catcb
him next