Sugar is scarce for two reasons--much less beet-sugar is actually
being grown, and some of the cane-sugar is too far away to be
available. The sugar-beet, grown in temperate climates, and the
sugar-cane, native in tropical and semitropical regions, are the only
two sources of sugar large enough to be of more than local importance.

Before the war, 93 per cent of the entire world crop of beet-sugar
was grown in Europe. The industry was started by Napoleon in the early
nineteenth century when he was at war with most of Europe, and France
was shut off from her supply of cane-sugar from the West Indies. The
industry spread over the great plain of Central Europe, from the north
of France over Belgium, Germany, Austria-Hungary to Central Russia. In
1914 all of these countries were producing enough sugar for their own
needs. England produced none at all, but the continent, especially
Germany and Austria, supplied her with about 54 per cent of what she
needed.

[Illustration: MAP SHOWING LOCATION OF EUROPEAN BEET SUGAR
FACTORIES--ALSO BATTLE LINES AT CLOSE OF 1916

ESTIMATED THAT ONE-THIRD OF WORLD'S PROOUCTION BEFORE THE WAR WAS
PRODUCED WITHIN BATTLE LINES]

The beet-sugar industry in the United States started in 1863 and
has grown rapidly since 1897. In 1917 it supplied 22 per cent of the
consumption.

Sugar-cane is grown in tropical and semitropical countries all over
the globe. Cuba leads in the amount produced, and consumes only
a small fraction of her production herself. Java, too, is a large