July 2, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



IS 



kind poured in from England and Scotland, and every 

 one on these islands having capital was smitten with sugar 

 fever. During the past six years the rate at which tliis 

 industry has been extending is altogether unprecedented 

 in sugar-cane cultivation anywhere. All the principal 

 plantations have their fields irrigated by water led from 

 streams distant in some cases as much as twenty miles. 

 Very little rain falls on the leeward sides of the islands 

 owing to the high mountains of their centres which 

 tb-ain the clouds as they pass. On these leeward slopes, 

 however, wherever irrigation has been established, are 

 the best sugar lands. The style of cultivation does not 

 ditfer from that in New South Wales or Fiji except in 

 the matter of irrigation, which forms a large item of ex- 

 penditure. The caue fields on the islands are generally 

 situated on the mountain slopes more or less elevated, 

 say from 3,000 feet down to about 200 feet above sea 

 level, the great object being to have a fall from a mount- 

 ain stream, and a gentle slope for irrigation purposes. 

 The soil of the field originally was a fine snuff-Uke dust 

 upon which grew little else than cactus and a few weed- 

 Uke bushes. The labour of clearing was consequently 

 very small, and the fields are mostly unfenced, as no 

 cattle or other animals are allowed to be in the vicinity 

 of the crops. The great item of expense was the con- 

 struction of irrigating ditches, and that in many cases 

 has been very great. Most of the timber has to be 

 brought from America, which is 2,iX)0 miles distant. 



The e.xperience of the Sandwich Islands in sugar plant- 

 ing under such disadvantageous circumstances, and the 

 success of the cultivation of sugar in Fiji, to which we 

 have recently alluded, suggest an extension of the industry 

 in other Pacific islands. The Island of Targatabu, for 

 instance, one of the Friendly Group, measuring fifty-two 

 miles by fifteen, is a natural home of sugar-cane, with a 

 splendid soil and plenty of raiu. If this fine island were 

 armexed to the British Empire, plantations would soon 

 cover it and prove very profitable. The other groups 

 of islands, and New Caledonia, will also in time assuredly 

 become great sugar lands, and will, in common with Fiji, 

 find markets for their produce, not only in the States, 

 but also in the ever-growing centres of population in the 

 Australasian Colonies. At the same time, Australia itself, 

 more particularly the Colonies of Queensland and New 

 South Wales, and the Northern Territory of South Aus- 

 tralia, are rapidly becoming producers, as well as con- 

 sumars, of this important product. — Colonies aiid India. 



BARK AND BARK-STRIPPING. 



Data for ascertaining the weight of marketable bark from 

 given quantities of timber of various sizes may be approxi- 

 mately obtained from the following figures, which are the 

 result of calculations and observations extending over many 

 years: — (1) AVhen stripped out pretty closely, a well-grown 

 and flourishing tree of large size may be calculated to yield 

 6 cwt. of bark for every ton of measurable timber. (2) 

 Smaller trees averaging 10 ft. each will yield a ton of bark to 

 150 ft. of timber, (3) Hedgerow trees, well grown and in 

 fairly open situations, sometimes give a ton of bark to three 

 tons of timber. (4) In plantations, the proportions of the 

 weight of bark to timber will vary greatly. Thickly growing 

 trees may yield only I ton of bark to 4h tons of timber. 

 With ample space the same yield may be obtained from 4 

 tous of timber. Small blackrinds are generally foimd to 

 jneld 1 ton of bark to 5 tons of the wood. The age of the 

 tree and the situation greatly influence the yield of bark. 

 Short stems and spreading heads give the largest yield ; and 

 long stems vrith slender heads the smallest. 



The proper time to fell and strip a tree in order to obtain 

 the largest weight of the most valuable bark is just as the 

 buds are bursting into leaf. Afterwards there is both loss 

 of weight and deterioration of quality. AVhen the leaf 

 comes fully out the loss is very great — often amounting to 

 fully 10 per cent. 



The less the inner side of the bark is exposed to the sun 

 and to the elements the better. With proper curing 

 under good protection or in a favourable season the bark 

 will come to stack of a bright creamy colour inside. In- 

 juries from hammering during the stripping or from un<lue 

 exposwre will give the inner layers a brownish hue. 

 Wherever young persons or careless workmen are employed 



it will bo necessarry to exercise a close supervision, or the 

 smaller branches will not be thoroughly stripped. And it 

 is well known that these yield bark containing the largest 

 percentage of tannin matter. 



A practised eye wiU generally tell at a glance when the 

 bark of a tree will run freely. And it is of the greatest 

 importrnce to ascertain this before felliug. In a variable 

 spring, with tolerably warm days and cold or even frosty 

 nights stripping will be very uneven. Sometimes the upper 

 branches yield freely while the body bark remains firm. In 

 a mild or wet spring the work when once commenced 

 generally proceeds uninterruptedly. 



Open and airy spots should be selected for stacking and 

 drying the bark, and these should be so situated that they 

 may afterwards be approached without injury to the springs. 

 A raised stage of peeled branches set up on forked sticks 

 is preferable to placing the bark upon the felled trunks. 

 \\'ith a proper but not too close a covering of the body 

 bark a thorough harvesting may be expected in less than a 

 fortnight in a dry season. The fitness of the bark for de- 

 livery can generally be a.scertauied by its brit'leness, and 

 by its snapping rather than bending under pressure. In 

 this stage it has commonly lost about one-third of its 

 green weight. 



In districts where the baxk is likely to suffer from ex- 

 cessive humidity it is well to be prepared with some kind of 

 inexpensive covering which may be run up quickly wlieu 

 requi ed. A light wooden framework covered mth sheets 

 of iron, either plain or corrugated, can easily be removed 

 from place to place as required ; and in wet seasons the 

 outlay upon thi.s will soon be repaid with interest. 



The felling, flawing, cutting up oak-tops, dehvering the 

 bark, and clearing the falls cause a good deal of stir through- 

 out the months of May and June in districts where Oak 

 abounds and where thinnings are executed periodically. 

 But the low price of bark, which seldom exceeds £4 5s. or 

 £4 10s. per ton delivered, has left but a small maigin of 

 profit to the owners of woodlands. 



The reproductive powers of the stools will depend very 

 much upon the method of felling the timber and trimming 

 ofi" these. Whenever the bark is torn away down to the 

 surface of the ground, or even below it, as is sometimes the 

 case, the continuity o* the dormant buds is destroyed, and 

 no new shoots will spring up. But with comparatively 

 5'oung trees, whenever such are carefully felled and the 

 edges of the stools are neatly trimmed off, a plentiful crop 

 may be looked for. 



Tlie prices wo have been paying for Pome years past are 

 32s. per ton of bark for felling, stripping, and stacking ; 

 2s, per ton for tying up or binding m withes ; ami for load- 

 ing and delivery on rail 3s. per ton and upwards, according 

 to the distance from a station. The practice of chopping 

 up the bark, which was once a common one throughout 

 the district, and was paid for at the rate of 6s. or 7s. per 

 ton, is now very generally discontinued. — A. J. Bueeows. — 

 Foresliy. 



THE SUGAR-C.VNE IN AUSTRALIA. 



Mr. Angus Mackay, the author of a book bearing this 

 title, has enjoyed such special opportunities of studying 

 the growth of the cane and the manufacture of sugar that 

 he is entitled to speak on this subject as an authority. As 

 a Special Commissioner of Queensland, Mr. Mackay has 

 visited the sugar plantations of tlie West Indies and 

 America, and there added largely to the knowledge and 

 exijerience which he had; already gained in the Australian 

 plantations and factories. His book is divided into tliree 

 parts, the first of which deals with the kinds of soil suited 

 to the cane, and the best methods of cultivating it; the 

 second part is devoted to the methods and experience of 

 the most experienced and successful sugar-growers in Queens- 

 land as described by themselves; while the third division 

 of the work treats of the various appliances and processes 

 emplovfd in manufacturing the sugar from cane juice. 

 Mr. Mackay's style is lucid and straightforward, and his 

 meaning is always easy to arrive at. The u.se of technic- 

 alities is avoided as far as possible, and numerous illus- 

 trations are employed to show the construction and use of 

 the various mechanical appliances used in manufactixring 

 sugar. The all-important question of the remunerativeness 

 of sugar-producing in Australia is satisfactorily answered 



