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Show . BEET SUGAR. " Tho interest of our peoplo is called call-ed to a(uuw enterprise which has or is about to bo begun in our Territory, Terri-tory, wo refer to tho munufaut'ur of bugur from beets. The subjrei was briefly referred to by ApotUU Taylor at our lust quarterly cou-ferunuound cou-ferunuound thu advantage of mioli an enterprise lucidly portrayed by tho reading of certain circulars bent out by the First Presidency. A brief hiatoy of I cut sugar cul-taro cul-taro is laid before the people by Unitod States Consul Merritt, who writes from Chemnitz, Germany, to tho government here regarding this matter in Europe. He suyH; It appears that in early tunes this sweet substuueo was bold only by druggists as u luxurious ''salt.' It continued to bo controlled by n monopoly until lute in tho Seventeenth Seven-teenth century which kept sugarat exorbitant price. "Druguists in those days'' Buys tho historian with a touch of sarcasm "woro not noted for low prices to any greater extent than they are at tho prevent time; and it is doubtful if Sca uon, the comedy writer, did not do his thrifty sister injustice when ho accused ac-cused hor of stinginess becauso she mado use of a sug.ir-bowl with unusually un-usually 8innll silting holes in tho top. With peoplo who woro not in independent circumstances, sugar waB at that time much moro of a luxury than is champagne or truf-iles truf-iles ut tho present timo. Besides tlie high prices chnrgod for sugar ut that age, it uppeurt. that doctors thought the use of it very dangerous to health. One physician in 1017, had the audacity to write "It is poison: and no bettor deed can bo done than send it back to India, from whence it cauio because only by that action can consumption, which its immoderate immod-erate use has developed, be checked,1 check-ed,1 It was also maintained that sugar overheated the blood und ties troyed tho systutu in vurious w.iya b For moro than eight years, writo the historiun, tho droll remark held good that tho use of sugar injured a man only as fur as lolated to his pooket-'book. Sinco thou, howevOr, the uso of bUgar has increased day by day until it has become so com mon. that all well-to-do peoplo spend annually more money for sugar than for bread. Beet sugar was discovered in 17-10 by Gorman professor of chemistry, Dr Marggrar. Tho piof-essor piof-essor demonstrated tho mutter theoretically, the-oretically, and ouo of his pupils, FiiAW UAitt, Achauo, become" interested inter-ested in tho biibjict ol making beet sugar. Ho demonstrated that it could be dono with profit, and in 1799 AciiXito addressed a petition to Fbideiuo William III, king of Prussia, Prus-sia, nnd besought the patronage and protection of that monarch in tho piosmilion (flut net culture cul-ture and tho manufacture of beet susjar. Being finally po.s-uadcd of the merits of the discovery iho King subsidized tho industry with 835, 000. This fund was expended in tho purchase of land in Lower Silesia, Siles-ia, whore, in 1801, a factory was built, and in thu following year tho process of making beet sugar begun. Within u year nix other factories were started-one in Russia, twoin France, and three in Prussia. Then came tho Napoleonic wars, and the development of the beet sugar industry was for many ears at a standstill. Achauo was also a victim of a disustnus couflagation in 1809 which entirely destroyed hie factory and machinery. Although heavily involved in dobt, Aoiiabi) hud both faith and courage and sot himself to work in the direction dir-ection of rehabitntion. The Kinjj released him from tho payment ol his former loan and advanced ad-vanced him further financial aid with which Acuaao founded a school for praulinul instruction in the in duutry of beet sugar. Fortune did not smile on bim, however, and at the tituwof his death, in 1812, Acbard had not an opportunity to sou tho itidustry to which he had consecrated the best years of his life a flourishing and prosperous condition. MWriW Mil r l-mmw |
