Vol. XVIII. Xo 451 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWfe. 



243 



into the island, gave promise of rapid increase,' and that 

 'tlu sugar-cane had prospered exceedingly.' 



From the above and other information of a corrobora- 

 tive character, it would appear (1) that the sugarcane was 

 not indigenous to the West Indies; (2) that it was introduced 

 into the West Indies by Columbu.s on his second voyage. 

 It is probable therefore that the date 1493 should be 

 accepted as the date of its introduction — not 1520 as 

 previously mentioned. 



THE VIRTUES OP SUGAR. 



Richard Ligon, in his famous 'History of the Island 

 of Barbados', Published in London in 1657, and 

 dedicated to Dr. Brian Duppa, Lord Bishop of Salis- 

 burie has naturally much to say concerning sugar, 

 which was even then as to-day the g'eai topic of 

 interest and conversation in the island. Referring to 

 his lengthy account of the primitive methods then in 

 vogue. Ligon, addressing the Lord Bishop, says: 'So having 

 played you a short Preludium to this long and tedious 

 lesson of Sugar and Sugar-making, I do think fit to give 

 you a Saraband with my best Touches at last; which shall 

 be only this, that as this plant has a faculty to preserve 

 all fruits that grow in the world, from corruption and 

 putrefaction; to it has a virtue, being rightly applyed 

 to preserve us men in our healths and fortunes too. 

 Doctor Butler, one of the most learned and famous 

 Physicians that this Nation or the world ever bred 

 was wont to say that, 



'If Sugiir can preserve both Peaies and Plumbs, 

 Why can it not preserve as well our Lungs V 



'And that it might work the same eflect on himself, he always 

 dranke in his Ularet wine, great store of the best relin'd sugar, 

 and also prescribed it several ways to his Patients, for Colds, 

 Coughs, and Catarrs; which are diseases, that reign much in 

 cold Climates, especially in islands, where the Ayre is 

 moysler than in Continents ; and so much for our health. 



' Now for fortunes, they are not only preserved, but 

 made by the powerful operation cf this plant'. 



Ligon then goes on to quote the remarks of several 

 planters of that time, one of whom told Ligon that 'he would 

 not set his face for England, till he made his voyage and 

 employment there worth him a hundred thousand pounds 

 Sterling.' This seemed to be quite a moderate accumulation 

 for planters in those days, as it \?j for some of them now — 

 nearly 300 years after. 



THE DEMAND FOR VEGETABLE OILS. 



Few people even yet realize the immense impur- 

 tance of vegetable oils in the industries of northern 

 countries. On it the stability of the coconut and 

 similar industries rests. In a recently issued Bulle- 

 tin (No. 71)9, Bureau of Chemistry) United States 

 Department of Agriculture, the. subject is fully dealt 

 ■with. In the summary this Bulletin says: — 



Vegetable oils are being used i" ever-increasing amounts 

 to supplement ilie animal fats ai:d oi s. Some, like cotton- 

 seed oil, make a sitisfaclory substitute for part at least of 

 the animal fats in such proJacts as lard, while some of the 

 less Well known vegetable nil.s, like peanut and corn, are 



rapidly growing in public favour as substitutes for olive oil, 

 which has recently been very difficult to obtain. It has 

 also been found possible to conserve our supply cf linseed 

 oil by using tung and similar oils in making paint, varnishes, 

 and other technical products. It is believed that the manu- 

 facturer of vegetable oils may practise many more economies 

 than he now does, thus eliminating certain sources of waste. 



The recently devLsed hydrogenation process has made it 

 possible to secure a very satisfactory lard compound, in which 

 a vegetable oil replaces all of the often more expensive 

 animal fat. By means of this same process, various fish oils 

 now employed only for technical purposes may be rendered 

 edible. 



Concerning coco-nut oil, an important West 

 Indian product, tho Bulletin says: — 



For many years we, as a nation, have been using coco- 

 nut oil in the manufacture of the so-called marine soaps, 

 that is, those which form a lather in alkali and salt waters, to' 

 make pharmaceutical preparations, cosmetics, and, to a small- 

 er extent, confectionery and cakes. It is only within the 

 last five or six years that this oil has receive! the attentioq 

 which it deserves as a food product. 



The rapid increase in coco-nut oil importations from 

 46,720,000 a. for the year 1912, to 163,091,000 R. during 

 1917, is due partly to the fact that larger amounts of 

 this oil are now used in the soap industry than ever before. 

 Coconut oil yields a higher percentage of glycerine than any 

 of the other soap fats, and it can be substituted to some 

 extent for tallows, the price of which was abnormally high 

 during 1917. Reports from the soap trade indicate 

 a consumption of coconut oil during 1917 of 168,602,000 Sb. 

 which is 5,500,000 a. n.ore than the total imports for the 

 same period. To furnish the additional oil used by 

 the manufacturers of vegetable butter substitutes and 

 other industries, at least 10 copra-crushing mills are now 

 operating in the United States. The 1917 output of 

 the crushers was nearly 188,500,000 lb., which is about 

 2(),400,000 B). greater than the amount of coco^nut oil 

 imported. To supply these mills it was necessary to bring 

 in from the Orient and the West Indies, in 1917 

 366,700,000 tt). of dried coco nut meat, known commer- 

 cially as copra. During 1912 the importations of copra 

 were only 62,168,000 B)., about one-sixth of the amount 

 imported in 1917, in .spite of the difficulties experienced in 

 getting sufficient ships for our overseas trade. In the 

 fiscal year 1913, we brought in a liltle over l,0UO,O0O ft. 

 of coco-nut oil from the Philippines, and iii 1916 

 over 30,000,000 ft) , nearly half of our entire importation for 

 that period. 



The absence of German buyers from the foreign copra 

 markets caused an increase in t;he amount of coco-nut oil 

 proiucedin the United States, during the past five years 

 Although the difficulty in obtaining ships to bring the copra' 

 from the tropics has re.sulted in lowering the price of this 

 product in the countries where it is produced, the domestic 

 price for coco-nut oil has increased. At present a 

 comparatively sma'l amount of the worlds suppiy of copra 

 is going to Germany, Kngland, and Holland, very large 

 imponers before the war began, and much of it t.as been 

 diverted to Americ.iii manufacturers. Thi-, to s 'me 

 extent, has helped to keep the price of coconut oil from 

 reaching the high ligore it might otherwise have attained, 

 because of our greatly increased domestic consumption. 



