212 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



July 13. 1918. 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY AFTER THE WAR 



A summary of a paper with the above title, reid before 

 the Royal IMiilosophioal Society of Clasgow, by Mr. T. II. V. 

 Heriot, Lecturer on Sugar MamiUcture at the lioyal Tech- 

 nical College, Glasgow, is jriven in the Intcn'olionul Sii)(nr 

 Joiirmil, April 1 '••!>. 



The lecturer pointed out that foreign bi'el sugar hail 

 gained an ascendency in ISritish markets which la.sted until 

 the outbreak o) the present war. The bulk of the supplies 

 having been then cut o3', the Briti.'h market was (■omi)elled 

 to rely chiefly on neutrals, Cuba and .lava. Our colonial 

 industry has .slightly increased its production during the war, 

 but is seriously handicapped by shortage of labour, and ilie 

 difficulty of obtaining supplies and machinery. 



The future problem is to increase the production of 

 sugar within the Empire, until we become independent of 

 foreign supplies. -As regards the three contributing factors 

 — land, labour, and capital- -the enquiry set on font by the 

 West India ( 'ommittee leads to the conclusion that there is 

 no scarcity <>f suitable land in the Empire. As regards 

 labour, Indian indentured labour has long been employed in 

 the British Crown t'olonies, but the supply has been barely 

 sufficient to meet past reijuirements, and has recently been 

 entirely stoppeil. To attract this labour to our colonies we 

 must offer more favourable terms than in the past, and 

 reduce the period of indenture. Capital is required to sat 

 this labour to work, and to erect additional factories, and 

 the only way to attract capital is to make the industry 

 secure, and protitable to the investor. 



Before the war the price of sugar was abnormally low, 

 resulting in e.xtravagance and waste; today sugar stands at 

 least at 'i\d. per 8). to consumers. After the war a reduc- 

 tion in price following nn a larger supply is hope! for. Even 

 assuming that the present high duty of 1^,^/. per lb. is main 

 tained for eome time after peace is declared, the retail price 

 of British Empire suKar .should not e.xceed \(l- per Ih. If it 

 received a preferential duty to tlie extent of .")0 per cint. of 

 the duty on foreign sugar, such British sugar might bi 

 retailed at ."5^^/. per B). 



\ fourth factor of production is science, the fiimtion 

 of vfhich is to direct labour in its tasks. Sugar production is 

 ft highly complex business, reijuiring expert knowleilge of 

 various kinds. It is evident that it should be recruited from 

 young men who have received, first of all, a good general 

 scientific training, and subsequently a more special training 

 in sugar technology to prepare them for the special duties 

 they have in view. The old style of training was to plant 

 a youth down in a factory, and let hard experience and many 

 blunders be his instructors. 1 )oubtle88 he learnt his bu.siness, 

 but only .slowly and superficially. The true method is to 

 teach the student all essential principles by means of lectures 

 and laboratory experiments outside the factory, .so that when 

 he enters the factory he understands what he sees, and 

 hardly needs any other instructor than his own eyes and 

 intelligence. He has then only to study on a large scale 

 what he previously studied on a snail one; and the more will 

 he learn during his practical experien<'e in the sugar factory. 

 Technical training is. however, only the first help 

 towards rendering the sugai industry ellicifmt. The second 

 step is to provide more men and more funds for research, in 

 order to solve the numerous problems which practical experi- 

 ence brings to light. Research must follow two directions, 

 namely, the agricultural and the manufacturing branches of 

 sugar productior . 



Troblems relating to the cultivation of the sugar-cane 

 )nust be studied in the tropics where the plant is grown. The 

 special aims ol agricultural research would include the pro- 

 duction of improved varieties of sugarcane raised from seed: 

 the manurial requirements of the cane crop when cultivated 

 on ditfereni soils: and the study of plant diseases and insect 

 pests with a view to devising practical remedies. Indoor 

 invesligati)n would include the analyses of sugar-cane, soils, 

 and fertilizers, and also the microscopical investigation of 

 di-seased plants, thus rc'iuiring chemical and biolo^dcil 

 laboratories adjacent to the e.vperimental fields. It will be 

 evident that such agricultural research stations should also 

 afford every farilitv for training students in field operations 

 under the supervision ol expert,", tlierel>y combining practical 

 training with scientific research. 



The othi.'r branch of re.searrh relating to problems in the 

 factory, cannot so well be carried on in the factory itself, with- 

 out .seriously interfering with the routine work. Experimeots 

 must begin on a small scale in the laboratory, the final or 

 factory test being onlj pos.sible after every detail is studied. 

 It is proposed to utilize some of the technical laboratories in 

 Great Britain forsuih investigations, but funds will be require'! 

 to carry out this work. For this purpo.se a Sugar Research 

 Association is now being formed by a lomniittee of the British 

 I'-mpire I'roducers ( irganization, and when a fund has been 

 subscribed the ( Jovernnient will contribute an C'jual sum. 



Techinal training and research rerjuire the active support 

 of those interested in the industry. Hitherto in the 

 British Empire co-operation in this ilirection has been almost 

 unknown, and research has been mainly carried on by Govern- 

 ment chemists and botanists attached to the colonies, and 

 free of all expense to the sugarcane industry. But if we 

 turn to the Hawaiian Islands we find there a research depart- 

 ment initiated by and entirely maintained at the expense of 

 the sugar cane industry which it assists. The llawaiians also 

 carry co operation on these lines still farther. There are 

 .separate associations of cane planters, factory engineers, and 

 chemists, which meet periodically to discuss every phase of 

 sugar production. There is also a central olflce or Imreau 

 which receives the weekly reports from all the factories, 

 tabulates these records, and i.ssues copies to every factory, so 

 that the results from different lactorics may be compare! week 

 hv wi-ek. 



SUGAR AS A FOOD. 



The value of sugar as a foodstuH^ for human beings has 

 been frequently pointed out. An article in the Loitiii<ina 

 ria>iti>\ May 2.">, 19lN, remarks that it was demonstrated 

 twenty or more years ago that for athletic exerci.ses, the 

 quickest reliable stinmlation is produced by the use of sugar, 

 which stimtilition is produced in less than an hour from the 

 time the sugar is consumed. Sugar in fact seems to he in 

 this respect a' the head of the list of foodstuffs. 



I'ure cane sugar is the most easily digested of all foods, 

 except levulose and dextrose, which are known as invert 

 sugars. When taken into the system, cane sugar is promptly 

 inverted by the secretions of the stomach into levulose and 

 dextrose, and is thiui inimediately assimilateii. These invert 

 sugars arise Ifom the bi caking up of cane -ugar into dextrose 

 and levulose, the one polarizing to the right and the other to 

 the left. There is no other food which is capable of being 

 assimilat4'd without digestion va the stomach. The.se two 

 sugars, formed at once io the stomach, are diluted by the 

 stomachic juices, and are immediately absorbed in the 

 intestines It is stated that the great value placed on wines 



