COOK AND COLLINS—ECONOMIC PLANTS OF PORTO RICO. 288 
Saccharum officinarum. SUGAR CANE. CANA DE AZUCAR, 
Notwithstanding the abundance of printed information, it seems to be still the 
general opinion that Porto Rico is primarily a sugar island, like so many of the 
West Indies. The sugar export is greatest in bulk, it is true, being about three 
times that of coffee, but the total value of the latter is about three times that of 
the sugar, these two products furnishing about 85 per cent of all the exports of 
the island. 
Sugar lands of limited extent.—Almost all the sugar is grown upon the narrow 
shelf of level land or coast plain which lies between the sea and the hilly or 
mountainous interior. The width of this alluvial belt is variable, being in some 
places entirely absent and in others running back between ranges of hills to the 
distance of 8 or 10 miles to join the valleys of some of the numerous rivers. Very 
little cane is raised in the interior valleys of the island, perhaps the most notable 
exception being that of Caguas, where there are a few fact ries, and where cane 
is sometimes planted on hilly, unirrigated land, but seems not to thrive, and 
“arrows,” or flowers, while still very short. In some districts of the north side 
of the island the level sugar land is interspersed with the characteristic small, 
conical, limestone-capped, and verdure-covered hills, which give the cane fields 
the pleasing effect of a succession of valleys, as in the region between Carolina 
and the coast. 
The difficulties of transportation forbid much development for the present in 
remote and detached areas, even when the natural conditions are favorable. 
Modern methods of sugar production require that the business, to be profitable, 
should be conducted on a large scale, the manufacturing side being so important 
a part of the industry. For the best results plantations of 2,000 to 5,000 acres or 
more are required, conveniently located for access to the factory. 
More factories than cane.—In Porto Rico the use of fertilizers or of a system of 
rotation with pasturage is necessary, and in the latter case the plantation must 
be twice the area from which sugar is to be harvested, besides necessitating 
a resort to the annoying complexities of mixed farming, with which the ordinary 
sugar capitalist has little patience. The anxiety to secure returns with unreason- 
able rapidity is already responsible for many failures in the sugar business in 
Porto Rico. Much of the sugar land has been under cultivation for more than a 
century, and it is only on that which, for some exceptional reason, has never been 
used, or has been fallow or in pasturage for many years, that an average much 
over a ton can be obtained for even a brief series of years. The fertility of some 
estates is, however, maintained by material deposited by high water from neigh- 
boring streams. 
The tendency to larger factories.—Some large estates, representing investments 
of several hundred thousand dollars, have been operated at a loss or have realized 
merely low rates of annual interest. Most of these have, however, failed to secure 
the maximum profits from lack of sufficient cane to keep their factories running 
throughout the harvest season. In larger concerns and better organizations lie 
the future possibilities of the sugar industry of Porto Rico. At p< ints where the 
coast plain is wide, large tracts of conveniently located cane lands might be ren- 
dered tributary to a single factory by purchase, by lease, or by contract with the 
several owners. Such combinations are already uncer way. This will mean local 
expansion of the sugar industry, but the gain will be doubtless partially offset by 
the abandonment of many estates not located so as to be brought within the lines 
of the reorganization. The small, poorly equipped factories are at a disadvantage 
on all sides. Supplies, equipments, and management cost more in proportion to 
the results. They are unable to use the bagasse for fuel, or are under the neces- 
sity of putting it out to dry in the sun before burning. They lose a considerable 
