322 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



OCTOBKE 8, 1904. 



ventures: now, however, the industry is well established 

 and appears to be of a decidedly remunerative character. 



The progress of the sisal industry in the Caicos 

 Islands, where excellent fibre is pro<luced, is particu- 

 larly interesting. The conimencenient of the industry 

 dates from about 1S.S9, when Captain Jackson, then 

 Commissioner of the islands, drew attention to the 

 existence of the plant. Through Captain Jackson's 

 efforts a government nursery was established fnjm 

 which a large number of plants were distributed. The 

 export of sisal hemj) began in 1894. with £419 worth : 

 from that time the exports have gradually increased 

 till, as already stated, they reached the value of £7,100 

 in 1902. 



The price of this fibre in the London market has 

 been subject to somewhat violent fluctuations. The 

 highest price reached during the past twenty-five years 

 was £.56 lOs. in March 1889 : from that date, owing to 

 the oi^erations of the Cordage Trust, the price fell 

 continually, until in 189.5, it reached the lowest price 

 it had ever reached, viz., £13 per ton, or a little less 

 than Ik?, per It). During the past nine years, however, 

 the prices have shown an upward tendency, reaching 

 £43 in 1902 : last year the average price w:is £30 per 

 ton, or about 4''. per lb. 



In the United States there have been similar 

 fluctuations: during the past ten years the price has 

 varied from 2|c. to 10c. per lb. 



Next, with regard to the yield of fibre. In Yucatan 

 the average yield from the fifth to the seventh year is 

 7.5 lb. of fibre to 1,000 leaves. It was estimated by 

 Sir Daniel (then Dr.) Morris in 189G, that in the 

 Bahamas the yield of fibre per acre would not be likely 

 to fall below half a ton. If the cost of production be 

 placed at Id. per lb., there would be a profit of ii/. per 

 lb., or over £2 per acre, even at the lowest price (lA'/. 

 per lb.) that sisal fibre has ever reached. It is obvious, 

 therefore, that, with the price as at jiresent, satisfac- 

 tory profits should be obtained. 



In sisal hemp, then, we have a crop which can 

 be grown in the poor and rocky lands unsuited to other 

 forms of cultivation, its cultivation is a simple matter, 

 and reliable machines can be obtained for preparing the 

 fibre. It will be necessary for planters to direct 

 attention to the uniform production of a first-class fibre 

 to meet the requirements of the best markets, and an 

 endeavour would have to be made to prevent the 

 export of short or immature fibre in order to make 

 a good name for West Indian sisal in the markets. 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Cane Farming in Trinidad. 



The letiirns of the Trinidad cane farmers' crop for 

 1904 are published in the Pniec'cdiiiifs af tlie Aj/ri- 

 ciiltur(d Society (Paper no. 222). The following table 

 is an abstract showing the returns for the last seven 

 years : — 



|»e5 



l<t04 



lOO:? 



I '.(02 

 190) 

 lilOO 

 1899 



1.S98 



50,744 



l,(l<iO 

 1,783 

 4,379 

 3,(>52 

 ],28<i 

 1,571 



o 





Ni^. of Fanners. 



385,01.0 171,947 8.3r.O,04( 



H 



:»7,o:52 



16(5,590 S34S, 44.1 



337,911 184,807 S327,18:i 

 434,003 1(59,918 s3(i9, 482 

 3C4,355jl05, 99(1 $227.8155 

 42(5,300 10(5,74l'$219,011 

 — ll05.753'S202,901 



4,040 4,085 

 4.4434,440 

 4,.")(Ki4,850 

 3,8J94,737 

 2,820 3, .59 1 

 2,8203,870 

 2,320 :i,824 



o 



9.331 



8,883 

 9,3.56 

 8,5.50 

 0,417 

 0.(590 

 (5,1.50 



The Cuban Sugar Industry. 



contains an 



of the sugar 



The Su-jjiw Planters Jnuraal 

 interesting review, by Dr. C. A. Kern, 

 industry in the West Indies, from which wo take the 

 following extracts relating to the possibilities of Cuba 

 as a sugar-producing country : — 



Tlie recent passage of the Cuban rcci|irocity treaty lias 

 called the attention of the American sugar woi-ld to tlie 

 resources and hi.story not only of the island of Cuba, but also 

 of the other West Indian Islan(is, especially Hayti and Santo 

 Domingo. 



The increase of the sugar product, and also the lessening 

 of the cost of its production, as reported by the United States 

 Consul-Geneial in Havana, are remarkable, ami show what 

 miglit lie accomplished in this line in the other islands. 



The cost of cultivation, planting, etc., is .'?1,201 jier 

 caljalleria (3.'5-l(5 acres) ; this produces, at a fair average, 614 

 tons of cane ; virgin .soil yields as high as 1,000 tons of cane, 

 but the aforp-mentioned quantity is the average taken from 

 statistical figures. The average yield in sugar is from 195 to 

 235 Iti. iier ton, according to the more or less improved 

 machinery employed. The percentage derived by the use of 

 modern machinery is from 10-5 to 11 per cent, of sugar, 

 while that derived by old machinerj' amounts to from 8-5 to 

 9 per cent. 



The possibilities of enlarging the output of sugar in 

 Cuba are enormous. Of all the available land for cultivation 

 of cane, only one-quarter is cultivated, viz., 12,784 caballerias 

 of the suitable 51,344 caballerias. With proper cultivation 

 and with improved modern machinerv Cuba alone is in the 

 position to produce annually about 5,000,000 to 6,000,000 

 tons of sugar, or about half of the piresent production of the 

 world. 



