Vol. VII. No. 169. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



.323 



report on the Agricultural E.xppriinent Stations of 

 Mauritius : — 



Some few year.s ago thi.- Chamber "f Agriculture of 

 ifauritius received samples of two seedling canes from 

 Barbados, viz., canes I). 130 and B. 306. Cuttings were 

 distriliuted, and these two varietie.s are iww cultivated over 

 a fairly large area in the island. The stalks of the canes are 

 white in colour when mature ; they possess a good percentage 

 of sucrose, and generally it would ajjpear that the new varie- 

 ties are an acquisition on the greater number of estates. How- 

 ever, during 1906-7, and also in 190.o-.t5, some complaints 

 have been received from planters as to the quality of these 

 seedling canes. The canes which are reported to be giving 

 bad results are in almost all cases described by the planters 

 as being of the D. 130 variety, but from the results obtained 

 at the E.xperiment Stations we feel sure t^at some I'oufusion 

 has arisen over the twf) kinds, and that the name D. 130 has 

 been more generally remembered, and is being applied 

 indiscriminately to tlie two imported varieties. This is the 

 more probable, because the two canes are very similar in 

 appearance, the chief ditterence being that while the leaves of 

 I). 130 are open and well spread out, those of B. 306 are 

 .shrivelled up, as if the plants are sutt'ering from drought. 



The cane !•. 130 indeed grows strongly and vigorously 

 in Mauritius, but from the second year after the plants were 

 introduced into the island, it has been noticed that B. 306 

 has made only very poor growth. Numbers of plants of the 

 latter variety died out in the plantings made at the E.xperi- 

 ment Station, and the distribution of cuttings of this cane 

 have lately been stopped : cuttings of 1). 130 only are now 

 sent out. The latter kind is nnich better known in Mauritius 

 than the former and far more widely cultivated. ( )n certain 

 estates in the north of the island, I). 130 has been propagated 

 on a large scale, and the managers are very satisfied with the 

 results obtained. 



It is evident, therefore, that those planters who complain 

 of cane I). 130 arc under a mistake as to the name of the 

 variety, and that it is B. 306 alone which is unsatisfac 

 tory. Planters in the island are urged to verify this 

 statement for themselves before removing the seedling canes 

 from their cultivations. 



Though B. 306 is liable U> attacks by fungoi<l diseases, 

 D. 130 has resisted them successfully in Mauritius up to the 

 present : and in the Oardens at Pamplemou.s.ses, while some 

 rows of B. 306 have entirely died out, adjoining lows of 

 1). 1 30 have constantly kept up a vigorous growth. 



A tabular stutement of the returns obtained in 

 trials made at the Experiment Station with the two 

 seedlings as plant canes and as ratoons, is given in the 

 report. From this it appears that in the first year 

 D. 130 yielded 1.514 tons of canes per acre, the juice of 

 which contained 2438 per cent, of sucrose. As 

 first ratoons this cane yielded lt)83. Jons of canes per 

 acre with a sucrose percentage of 22"25, and as second 

 ratoons, 19'2 tons of canes to the .-icre, with a percentage 

 of sutTose equal to 2323. In the fourth year the 

 amount of canes reaped per acre fell to 1313 tons, the 

 sucrose percentage being 22X4 of the juice. 



Cane B. 306 was grown as plant canes and as first 

 ratoons only. In the first case a crop of 11-66 tons of 

 canes per acre was reaped, the juice having a percentage 

 of sucrose equal to 22 32, while as first ratoons the 

 yield of canes was no more than 7-6(i tons per acre, and 

 the sucrose percentage 2144. 



Sugar Industry in Formosa. 



Sugar production has recently received great 

 attention in Fortnosa, and in view of the undoubted 

 suitabiJit}- of the southern portion of the island for 

 cane cultivation, and the extensive market that exists 

 for the produce in Japan alone, the industry is believed 

 by those best qualified to judge to have great prospects 

 of future development. 



A lengthy account of the conditions of the Formosan 

 sugar industry is given in the latest report of the British 

 Consul at Tainan. From this it appears that production is 

 increasing, and that in the course of a few years the output 

 may be expecte<l to reach from 200,000 to 240,000 tons per 

 annum, as compared with about 70,000 tons of sugar twelve 

 years ago. 



The soil and climatic conditions existing on the plains 

 in the south of Formosa are described as Iieing excellent for 

 cane cultivation. The rainfall is well distributed and regu- 

 lar, which is a great advantage. There is also an abundant 

 supply of waterways, so that a system of irrigation could be 

 adopted if necessary. 



Many modern factories, working on the central .sy.stem, 

 have lately been erected in Formosa, and nearly all the best 

 land has been allotted to these mills. Labour is abundant 

 and cheap, and a good deal of the land is let out by the mill 

 owners, to small cultivators, who grow canes for sale to the 

 factories. The price i>aid for these canes usually varies from 

 about Ss. 9'/. to U.S. \0(/. per ton, the average during the 

 past year, being 10.?. per ton. Now. that a good ntnnber of 

 modern factories exist in the i.sland, the further development 

 of the industry will best be brought about by the introduc- 

 tion of superior varieties of cane, better methods of cultiva- 

 tion — such as deep ploughing by means of steam ploughs, and 

 by judicious applications of artificial manures to the different 

 .soils. The great extent to which the sugar-cane lands are 

 divided up into small holdings would, however, probably be 

 a difficulty in the way of the general adoption of deep cultiva- 

 tion by steam ploughs in Formosa. 



It is stated that the modern mills, with up-to-date 

 machinery, secure an extraction of 70 to 7o per cent, of 

 juice, giving a sugar yield equal to from 9./ to 11 per cent, 

 of the weight of cane. 



The crop .sea.son in Formosa begins in N'lvember. Owing 

 to shortage of rain at the time of planting, the 1907-8 crop 

 has been smaller than that of the previous year. The total 

 amount of raw sugar exported from this crop was 1,055,406 

 cwt., valued at £734,581, while from the 1906-7 crop 

 1,283,793 cwt., having a value of £f48,71S were shipped 

 abroad. With the exception of a very small (juantity shipped 

 to (Ihina and Hong-Kong, the whole of the sugar exports 

 went to .Japan. Prices during 1907 8 were low : the market 

 at Tainan opened in November 1907 at 1.5.«. 5iL per picul 

 (133.1 lb.), ordinary medium grade brown sugar, manufactured 

 on the old .system. In March last, the Jirice was about 1 7s. :i/f. 

 per picul. The Consul states that white sugar produced by 

 the modern factories conunands a price of £1 7s. Id. per 

 picul in Formosa. 



Formosan sugars are imported into Japan free of duty, 

 while sugars from other countries have to pay import tax. 

 The annual consumption of sugar in Japan is about 225,000 

 tons, so that the Formosan industry may yet undergo 

 considerable expansion before it can furnish the whole of 

 the supply needed by Japan. 



