Vol. VII. No. 157. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



131 



Cuban Sugar Crop. 



During tlie past few months various estiniates 

 have been made as to the extent of the present season's 

 su^ar crop in Cnba, but all have more or less agreed 

 that there would be a shoi'tage as compared with last 

 year. According to most recent reports, those best 

 qiialitied to judge would now definitely' place the crop 

 below 1,000,000 tons. 



The United States Consul-General at Havana, 

 writing under date of March lo, states: — 



The great majority of lilanter.s and others interested 

 as.sert that 950,000 tons will represent the maximum, and 

 850,000 tons the minimum croii. There is good reason for 

 believing that 900,000 tons is not too low an estimate, for it 

 is known that cane-cutting has practically ceased in many 

 districts, and that some of the mills will stop working on 

 April 1, or thereabouts. 



Under the most favourable conditions the grinding 

 .season will he finished by the end of April. The latest 

 returns available dealing with the shi|iments and stock on 

 hand for 190S up to ^larch I, show a falling-off of nearly 40 

 per cent., as compared with the figures for the same period of 

 1907. If this .shortage is maintained to the end of the 

 .season the volume of the crop will be below 900,000 tons. 



Discussing the same suliject ..the New York 

 Journal of Commerce says : — 



The United States ordinarily depend upon Cuba for 

 about half their consumption, but this year, the crop, on 

 account of drought and other causes, will, as far as can be 

 estimated, be from 400,000, to 500,000 tons .short. The out- 

 put last year was 1,427,000 tons, and conservative estimates 

 for 1908 h;ive been lowered to from 900,000 to 1,000,000 

 tons. To make matters worse, Porto Itico, San Domingo, and 

 the British West Indies all show reduced yields, so that 

 there is a total shortage of 500,000 to liOU,000 tons. 

 A significant indication of the situation is the fact, that, 

 owing to unfav(an-able conditions, thirty-three central factories 

 Lave ceased grindintr in Cuba. 



Stripping Sugar-canes. 



A note was given in the Aijricul/ural News, 

 ^ ol. VI, p. 98, on experiments conducted in Hawaii 

 with the view of ascertaining the effect on the crop 

 reiiirn of stripping trash fnun the sugar-cane. Further 

 tests on the same lines have been conducted since 

 190G, and the results published in BuUefin iVo. :.'■'> of 

 the Division of Agriculture and Cheniistry, Hawaii. 



Strijiping was carried out both with plant canes and the 

 following ratoiin crop. The young canes were planted in 

 June 1904, and the crop gathered in February 1906. The 

 ratoons were cut back in July 1906, and harvested in 

 January 1908. Each crop was stripped on three different 

 occasions. Briefly stated, the following are the principal 

 results : — 



(1) In the case of the plant cane crop, the weight of 

 unstri]iped canes obtained per acre was 24-31 tons greater 

 than the weight of stripped canes, while in -the case of the 

 ratoon crop, the unstripped area gave a return exceeding by 

 13'68 tons per acre the yield given by the stripped area. 



(2) With the plant cane crop, the jiercentage of sucrose 

 in the juice was 17" in the unstripped cajie.«, as compared 

 with 16 '8 in the stripjied canes. With the .ratoon crop, the 

 difference in favour of the unstripped canes was 1-0 per cent. 



(3) There was a slightly higher standard of purity in 

 the case of the juice of the unstripped canes, compared with 

 that from the stripped portion of the crojis. The average of 

 the two crops in the case of the unstripped canes was 89 1, 

 wliile the juice of the strip[ied canes showed a purity of 

 88'1 per cent. 



(4) The unstripped canes gave a retiUMi of 410 tons 

 of sugar per acre more than the stripped canes in the iilant 

 crop, while in the case of the ratoon crop the unstripped 

 canes gave 2'36 tons of sugar per acre more than those stripped. 



(5) The number of dead canes on the stripped area was 

 greater by 2,539 per acre than on the unstripped area with 

 the plaut cane crop, and by 1,457 per acre with the ratoon 

 crop. 



lb is probable that the reduced yield of sugar per 

 acre is chieti}' due to the much greater number of dead 

 canes on the stripped area. As far as can be gathered, 

 it would appear that 323,800 tons of sugar were 

 obtained from stripped cane in Hawaiian plantations 

 in 1907. It is remarked in the Bullrtin that if the 

 avei-age percentage of loss from stri)jping was no more 

 than one-third of that which resulted in the experi- 

 ments in Muestion, then the practice cost those planta- 

 tions, for one year only, nearly $3,000,000. 



SUGAR AND COTTON IN ST. KITT'S- 



NEVJS AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS. 



A recent issue of the Weeldi/ Rej)orfs of the 

 Canadian Department of Trade and Commerce contains 

 the following repoi't from the Commercial Agent of the 

 Dominion at St. Kitt's, on the sugar, molasses, and 

 cotton output in St. Kitt's-Nevisand the Virgin Islands 

 during the past year: — 



The sugar crop for the season just closed was a fairly 

 good one, and the bulk found its way to Canadian markets. 

 Owing to favourable conditions in the United Kingdom, about 

 2,797 tons were .shipped to Greenock and London, while for 

 the first time in the shipments to Canada, a new departure 

 was made by 433 tons being forwarded to Monti-eal, instead of 

 all being ccmsigned, as heretofore, to Halifax. 



The total sugar exported for the year amounted to 

 14,177 tons, of which Canada received 11,188, the United 

 Kingdom 2,797, and other places 192 tons. 



The molasses crop was again disappointing, the output 

 being smaller in pro]:)ortir>n to the quantity of sugar made than 

 is the case in other islands. Of the 2,157 puncheons shipped, 

 1,263 were forwarded to Canada, and 894 elsewhere. In 

 regard to this article also, there has been a change in the 

 method of disposal, as while in former years the greater 

 portion of the crop was sold locally at fi.xed prices on definite 

 oidcrs from ( 'anadian buyers, this .season, owing to the 

 absence of such orders, the bulk was shipped on consignment. 



The output of cotton from this island, Nevis and 

 Anguilla, during the last season, showed a gratifying increase 

 on the previous year's production, and this without any 

 appreciable diminution in the acreage under cane cultivation, 

 at least in St. Kitt's ; and as prices were fairly gi>od, the 

 residts have proved of substantial benefit to the planters. The 

 crop obtained in St. Kitt's was 269,109 lb.; in Nevi.s, 

 136,670 lb.; and in Anguilla, 59,666 tb. The Whole was 

 exported to the United Kingdom. 



