This article is from the The Sugar beet, Volume 24, Issue 7, one of the three principal trade publications covering the Sugar Industry throughout the world. The Beet’s correspondent, Rialto, resided in San Francisco and primarily culled his information from the Southern California newspapers, the Anaheim Gazette, Sana Ana Blade, the Chino Champion, and sometimes the Los Alamitos Bee (while it was publishing).
FROM CALIFORNIA.
To Editor Of Sugar Beet:
I am informed that some important changes have been made in the financial arrangements of the Union Sugar Company. The new bonds are to yield an interest of 5% per annum. A deed of trust was given as security. The factory at Santa Maria will begin work on the new crop of beets about July 15th. The crop is excellent, both as to quality and quantity. The sugar campaign promises to last over three months. Last year’s syrup proved to be in an excellent state of crystallization. The Los Alamitos sugar factory will begin the season’s campaign about July 10th. Owing to the late rains and the prevailing cool, foggy weather, the beet root crop has been slow in maturing, though all the while making good tonnage. There is assurance of a large crop and the longest sugar-making run in the history of the factory. In and about the sugar house a force of men has been at work for months putting the machinery in order and installing in different parts of the plant labor-saving electrical motors and other devices. The Pioneer Truck and Cattle Company have just shipped in from the Arizona range a first installment of 1200 head of cattle, which later on will be fitted for market on refuse products of sugar making, pulp and molasses at the factory yards. A secondary by-product available is an exceptional quality of manure from these yards, made richer on account of the refuse molasses fed, which carries considerable potash. I notice that the Louisiana Planter publishes a letter from its correspondent at Los Alamitos. It is pointed out that there are 7000 acres in beets under contract for the factory. “Much interest is being taken by the farmers in the question of feeding molasses to their horses. One man is feeding it to 16 head of horses and mules. At the factory yard the molasses fed is combined with pulp and cut straw. At the Los Cerritos dairy molasses is fed to hogs and calves, using skimmed milk as a medium. Not only has it proved to be nutritious, but it is also healthful. By beginning with small quantities and gradually increasing it does not sour, and soon a large feed of it may be given.” The Japanese and Mexican beet contractors of Los Alamitos have formed a union in order to regulate the future price of beet thinning, hoeing and topping. Their demands being exorbitant and unreasonable many of the farmers have declined to employ all contractors and men connected with the union movement. It is likely that the union methods will result in failure, as the most of the work can be handled by competent white labor. The Oxnard factory made the best start in its history, reaching full capacity in four days. Under skillful management the big mill has made a splendid showing on the early planted beets and on their successful handling depended, to a large extent, the length of future sugar campaigns. The Courier says while being fairly rich in sugar the early beets proved to be very fibrous and the long strings, winding about the knives, interfered some with slicing. Several other unknown factors in the milling of early beets have been solved. The problems have been very trying, but their solution has been interesting and wholly successfuL There are upwards of 19,000 acres of beets tributary to the Oxnard factory, 2000 more than last year. It is estimated that there will be abouti 214,000 tons of beets raised, and that sugar making will last till December. Work was commenced on two additional bins, a driveway and an elevated railway beet dump to facilitate handling the large tonnage of beets to be sliced this campaign. The Champion says the time set for commencing sugar making at the factory is August 1st, although the company is considering the possibility of commencing earlier, working on Ventura county beets. The crop for the Chino factory is in excellent condition and the yield promises to be heavy. I have had several discussions respecting the future possibilities of a new beet harvester. I have not seen the implement, but am told that it runs on four wheels over the row of beets. The Free Press of Ventura gives the following description: “Between the wheels are two endless chains (something like large bicycle chains), running on sprockets. Extending from front to rear, they travel together at the middle, while separated at both ends. At the front end they are low down, coming just above the body of the beet, so as to clasp the top between them. The chains are kept close together, most of their length, by side sprockets, so that, as they move backward and upward, they carry the beet securely clutched between them. On the rear axle of the machine, beneath the path of the chain, is a box. As the beet is being carried over this, it encounters a knife so suspended as to sever it from the top, when it falls into the box and the top continues onward until it is dropped behind the machine,” It would be very difficult from this account to form any exact idea of its working. Several so-called American harvesters coming under my notice are simply poor imitations of several foreign machines. Better import for the present the genuine article unless by practical trial it is shown to be inferior to the home make. Some weeks since I learned that the California representative at the St. Louis World’s Fair will have an exhibit representing the beet-sugar industry ; it will give all the phases of planting on the field and sugar extraction in the factory. According to the Los Angeles Herald, some very interesting experiments are being conducted by the American Beet-Sugar Company assisted by an agent of the United States Department of Agriculture on the Patterson ranch. The ranch extends for four and one-half miles along the beach between Hueneme and Ventura, one mile west of Oxnard. The tract contains 5000 acres, 2280 of which are cultivated to beets. An effort is being made to reclaim the sand hills along the ocean’s edge. The company has just finished planting 20,000 trees of its own and 9000 furnished by the department. Each treelet is protected by a length of tile until it gets a chance to make a good start at growth. Besides the trees a prodigious number of sand-binding grass roots and seeds have been planted.
RlALTO.
San Francisco, July, 1903.