324 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



October 19. 1918. 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



CONTROL OF SUGAR PRICES BY THE 

 INTERNATIONAL SUGAR COMMITTEE. 



The following announcement to the trade was issued on 

 September 9, 1918, by the International .Sugar Committee 

 from their New York ()ffice: — 



lly direction of the United States Food Adininistrition, 

 the International Sugar Committee announce, effective at 

 once, a temporary basic price of 7 •28c. per R). delivered 

 duty paid, for 96° centrifugal sugar, refining points, for the 

 sole purpose of determining the refiners selling margin 

 under their voluntary agreement with the Food Adminis- 

 traiioD. This means that the refiner's selling price, eti'ective 

 at once, will be 9c. per B). less 2 per cent, usual terms. 



The above announcement in no way changes the basic 

 price of 6*05.5c. fixed June 21, 1918, which remains the 

 basis for the purpose of 96° centrifugal sugar by the Inter- 

 national Sugar Committee as heretofore, and until further 

 notice. 



THE FOOD VALUE OF THE SUGAR CANE. 



An article on sugar and its value as a food appeared 

 in xhe Agriai/titral News, August 24, 1918, and with refer- 

 ence to the same subject the following, by a correspondent of 

 the Barbados Agruidtiiral Rc/oitcr, under the nom de plume, 

 ' Pento.sans,' is reproduced from the issue of that paper for 

 September 19, 1918. as showing clearly what a valuable 

 source of food these islands pcs.sess in the sugar-cane in its 

 untreated condition. 



'Apart from its value in the production of sugar, the 

 •ogarcane is extremely valuable as a food. The following 

 lable will convey at a glance the true food valup of the 

 cane : — 



100 00 453-60 278 



'The average adult doing an average ilay'.s wurk renuires 

 3,400 calories. Therefore, 12-23 lb. of cane contains the 

 necessary calories to support a working adult for one day. In 

 eating (sucking) the cane there is a very great waste, as the 

 node is not eaten as a rule, and much of the inter-node is lest 

 with the rind. The average loi-.s in eating cane is about ."lO 

 per cent. ; therefore the actual amount of cane required to 

 give the necessary calories would be 24 ■46 lb. It will be 

 seen by the lable that the protein content of the 

 cane is very low, and in dealing with food values protein 

 plays a most important part, as it is the only enfrgy-pro- 

 dacJng item that replaces the waited tissue of the body, and 

 therefore an adequate supply is essential to keep the body in 

 good repair. The irreducible luinimum of protein required 

 for an average arlult is GO grammes per day, and to gel this 



amount of protein from the average cane by eating, an adult 

 would have to eat 441 2 ft. of cane. That the average adult 

 can live on this amount of cane for a certain period there is 

 not the slightest doubt in ray mind; but eventu<illy, serious 

 disorders would attack the digestive system, from lack of 

 solids to give the involuntary stomach muscles the necessary 

 exercise. 



'The following ration table contains the necessary 60 

 grammes of protein, and is the most economic way in which 

 the sugar-cane can be used as a food without ill effects: — 



IKKEUl LIBLE MIM.MU.M |).\II,Y RATION KOR ADULT. 



Weight in Protein Fat Carbohydrate Total 

 To Calories. Calories. Calorie.*. ''alories. 



Flour 75 208 32 1,053 1,293 



Sugarcane 17 06 128 — 2,234 2,3G-2 



336 32 3,287 3,655 



'The great loss of 50 per cent, of the food value of the cane 

 by eating can be greatly reduced by the use of a handmill of 

 simp'e construction, with two rollers. With such a mil), 

 70 per cent, of the food value of the cane could be recovered. 

 This would be a great saving, as it would reduce the daily 

 ration of 17-06 lb. of cane to 1213 ft>. A ton of average 

 cane treated by a hand mill is worth 206-47 lb. of best flour, 

 or?17-55. It is remarkable that the small growers of canes 

 have never attempted growing canes as a food. There is 

 no season for canes, they ripen in about fourteen months. If 

 a small grower were to plant in June, he would have his crop 

 ready for s.ile in August of the following year, when there 

 would be a great scarcity of cane, and he would get a fancy 

 price — probably about .?20-OU per ton — selling in small 

 quantity. There should not be any .«et planting .season for 

 the small growers of cane; a portion of their land ought to be 

 planted in canes every two months. This would give a con- 

 tinual supply »\ ripe, sound cane. If this were done, the 

 small grower would be much better off in pocket than he is 

 at the present time, and the masses would be better off by 

 hlways having a good and wholesome food supply.' 



FILTRATION OF CANE JUICES. 



The above subjr'ot is discussed by E. W. Demiog, in the 

 Louisiana J'/aii/er for 'August 3, 1918, with a view to show- 

 ing the losses that are incurred under the present .system of 

 filtration adoi)ted in sugar houses. The writer points out 

 that the use of multiple mills operated under high pressure, 

 and the heavy maceration at high temperature yields a juice 

 heavily laden with stispended impurities, such as gums, wax, 

 • tc. which when acted upon by lime and heat produces 

 compounds and colours which can only be removed by the use 

 fif animal charcoal as employed by the refiner. He contends 

 that the present system of removing these impurities is 

 radically wrong. The suspended impurities, he suggests, 

 'tliould be removed from the juices in the cold state, before 

 the application of heat and lime, by filtration through cloth, 

 after which the juices carry only the impurities in solution, a 

 very small pruporlion of the whole. Cold juices filtered 

 would rei]uire a minimum of lime; there would be no colour 

 formed by lime acting on cane fibre. The juice could pass 

 through a heater, and be discharged directly into the body of 

 tiie first evaporator, and no ctarifiers or settlers used. There 

 will be no surface scum.s, an, I no settled ones to foul the 

 evaporator walls or tubes, liy filtering this syrup, then 

 applying sul^.hur, there can be obtained a white sugar. One 

 or two boilings will exhau.it the sugar, and the molasses will 

 be of high grade, fit for human consumption. 



