THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



Marc'ii 2], 1908. 



caiic. This is eqaal to 1 ton of sugar from 97 tons of 

 cane, and 14s. Ic7. per ton of cane was paid to the 



estates' proprietors. 



The iintpiit ill 19f)(i was "2,048 tons i-f siif^ar from 

 24,676 tons of cane, 7s. od. per ton of cane being paid 

 to the estates' proprietors. It toot: 105 tons of cane 

 to prodnee a ton of sii(:;ar. The best lesiilts were 

 obtained in 1907, when 4,230 tons of sugar were made 

 from 40,782 Ions of cane, or 1 ton of sugar from 

 S'64 tons of cane. On division of profits at the ei.d of 

 the 1907 season, after jjaying IDs. per ton for ti.e canes, 

 a further sum of 2s. 'id. per ton of cane sujiplied 

 (making 12s. :>(/,) was allotted to the contracting 

 proprietors. 



Although the factory %\'as only planned to turn out 

 3,000 tons of sugar, yet the 1907 output was 4,230 ton.'=, 

 :ind there is now an assured cane supply, calculated to 

 yield about 5,000 tons of sugar in a moderately good 

 season. Estate owners other than tlie original contract- 

 ing proprietors in many cases were glad to sell canes 

 to the fictory instead of making muscovado sugar. 



The factory started with two three-roller mills, 

 and during the 1907 crop season a Krajewski crusher 

 was added to the plant. This of course entailed extra 

 outlay of capital, and further expenditure was incurred 

 by extension of the railway, the total length of whii-h 

 is now 9 miles, and by minor additions to the plant_ 

 These additions and extensions brought the total capi- 

 tal expenditure up to £52,159. Oi' the extra outlay 

 about .£3,500 has already been paid by being charged 

 in tlio amnuU expenses of working ; £3,300 are this year 

 added to capital account from the profits, and the 

 remainder will appear as a charge in future accounts. 



During the three seasons 1905-7, the original 

 contracting proprietors delivek'ed 62,274 tons of cane to 

 the factory, for which the sum of £28,501 Is. 5'/., or 

 practically 9s. per ton, was paid on the 4i Ih. of sugar 

 per 100 11). of cane basis. In addition to this, however, 

 as the result of the distribution of profits during the 

 three seasons, these proprietors have received the sum 

 of £7,367 4.S-. as cash boniisos, over and above the 

 orio'inal prices jiaid for the canes. This brought the 

 average pi-ice ])i'r ton during three years up to 1 I.'--. 4il. 



From the review of the accounts of the factory 

 presented by Di-. Watts, C.M.G., in a paper at the 

 recent Agricidtural Conference, it appears that the total 

 gross profits earned during the three years of working 

 aniount to £26,665, exclusive of interest on share capi- 

 tal. Of this sum, £12,482 have been paid out as cash 

 bonuses — £7,367 to the estates' proprietors, .-is men- 

 tioned above, and £5,115 to the shareholders. This 



leaves a sum of £14.183 still to be accounted for. 



Depreciation charges (5 per cent, on £50,000 for 

 three years) amount to £7,500. leaving a remainder of 

 £0,683 invested in the factor}'. Under the terms of the 

 agreement, the 'A' (or original) shareholders and the 

 original contracting estates' proprietors share equally in 

 that portion of the^ profits which have not been paid 

 out as cash bonuses. Hence one-half of the above sum, 

 £3,341, belongs to each contracting party, which, in 

 the case of the estates' ))eoprietors, is equal to an addi- 

 tiomd l.v. Oil'/, per ton of cane supplied. 



The position of the original contracting estates' 

 proprietors may be summed up in saying that thev have 

 sold 62,274 tons of canes, and have received £28,501, 

 or 9s. per ton., b}- way of first payment ; a further 

 £7,367, or 2s. 4(Z. per ton, by way of cash bonus, and 

 have invested £3,341, or Is. 0|f/. per ton of cane 

 supplied, in the factory itself 



The 'A' shareholders have received 5 per cent. 

 interest on their money, and in addition cash bonuses 

 of £5,115, equal to an adciitional (ivS percent, per annum, 

 or together, 11-8 per cent. In addition, there is the 

 investment in the factory of £3,341 out of the pi-ofit.*, 

 making a further 44 per cent, per annum, or l(i per 

 cent, in all. 



It may be added that the factory has made, durino- 

 the three years, 8,214 tons of sugar, which realized 

 £81,682, or on the average, £9 ISs. lOJ.r/. per ton. 

 Taking this price of sugar as a basis, and assuming 

 that 100 th. of canes are e(|ual in value to 4.1 11). of 96 

 sugar, it is interesting to note that the y.iluQ of a ton 

 of canes works Out at 8s 11J,(?,, a figure practically 

 identical with the average first payment made. 



A sum of £2, 000 iias, each year since 1905, been 

 written off towards a sinking fund. The capital charcres 

 of the factory have in this way been reduced by £6,000. 

 In 1907, too, £2,000 was carried to the reserve fund. 



Canes arc also ])urchascd by the factory from 

 outside estates and fnim peasant jirdjirietor.s. While 

 the original estates' proprietors receive payment on the 

 basis of 4^ lb. of sugar per 100 lb. of canes, with 

 a share in the profits, the payment for canes fiom 

 outside estates is a matter for bargaining. They are 

 however, usually bought on the basis of oh lb. of sugar 

 per 100 11>. of cane, which works out at about ILs. 4^^ 

 per ton of canes. It wasstateii that the owners of the out- 

 side estates were perfectly satisfied to sell their canes at 

 this rate. The factory, too, is under an obligation to 

 the Government to purchase a certain anmunt of 

 peasant-grown cane each year, for which a price of not 

 less tliau 7-\ 6</. per ton, must be paid. 



