780 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[May I, 1884. 



planter obtains the labour to cultivate the free laud from 

 tlio villages urouud. 



There seems to be little difference in the actual cost of 

 the cane produced under the two systems. On the free 

 land, where the planter has the direct control of the labour, 

 more and better cane is growu, althojgh he cost per acre 

 may be greater. On the free land tbe jilaut cane on one 

 estate cost at the r.ite of 300g. per bahu (£15 per acre), and 

 first ratoons 200g. per bahu (£10 per acre); whilst ou another 

 it cost somewhat less. They were average rates. 



Very much fear is entertained by the Dutch mill-owners 

 that the Javanese will prefer to grow paddy, which takes 

 less trouble and labour, and gives abundance, in which case 

 the mills will be brought to a standstill. The Javanese and 

 Malays arc very independent, care little for money, and love 

 i<lleness, but there seems, so far, to be little doubt that a 

 higher rent and better wages will overcome difficulties. 



One source of the expense of cane growing in Java is 

 that, on the Government contract land, the miU-o\vner is 

 not allowed to take olf a ratoon crop, but is obliged as 

 soon as the crop is off to hoe up and burn the cane roots, 

 and hand over the land to the natives for two years of 

 paddy crops. The Government further require that all the 

 crops sball be off the contract lands by the end of September, 

 after which the mill-owners are fined a guelder a bahu for 

 standing cane; and after 1st October the crop is taken 

 off at the mill-owner's expense and burned. This is to protect 

 the native, who would otherwise loss the season for plant- 

 ing his paddy crop. On the free land the planter is allowed 

 to take one ratoon crop, but no more. The expense attend- 

 ing this system of cultivation is, doubtless, very considerable, 

 but it is probably more than compensated by the returns, 

 as after every crop in the case of the contract lauds, and 

 every second at most on the free lands, the soili 3 thoroughly 

 worked with the rice crop, and restored bj the fine deposits 

 of silt from the moxmtains which result from the iiTigation. 

 The high cultivation which the entire country is subjected 

 to has almost eradicated weeds, and so completely provides 

 for a restoration to the soil of its lost constituents that the 

 lan-ls which have been cropped for many years bear as much 

 su^ar now as when they were first planted. 



There are various modes of cultivating the sugarcane 

 in Java. In some places the plants are soaked in water, 

 and made to sprout before planting out; in other places 

 tbe canes are planted in deep fm-rows about 3^ ft. to 4 ft. 

 f i-om centre to centre, and 1 ft. apart, and they are then 

 \.ell irrigated. As the plants grow the earth is thrown in 

 from the sides, and finally heaped up in rows, so that what 

 was the furrow becomes the mound. The varieties used 

 seemed for the most part to be dai'k, small, and hard, and 

 exceedingly healthy, notwithstanding the very dry weather. 

 The large (leshy canes, I heard, had not proved very suc- 

 cessful. 



I was somewhat surprised to find that as a ride the sugar- 

 canes were not trashed, and, in reply to my inquiries, I 

 was told that trashing had been given up, as it allowed 

 the suns rays to penetrate too freely and dned the moisture 

 out of the ground. The very light friable nature of the 

 soil unfits it to retain moisture. The volanic soil of Java, a 

 true volcanic ash, must not be confounded with the volcanic 

 soils of Queensland, which are the debrites of much older 

 volcanic rocks such as basalt, and are of a very different 

 nature and quality. 



The sugar mills I saw in the neighboiurhood of Bizouki were 

 those of *'De Mass," managed by "W. H. Stockevaus, and 

 *' Bondonan " owned by Mr. T. Ettey, and managed by Mr. 

 G. AVitzeuratto. Half way between Bizouki and Probaleugo, 

 I also saw the "Phaeton" estate, which bad the second 

 largest mill in Java, and was managed by AV. AndL-rson. On 

 t!ie whole the mills in Java, judging by the typical ones I had 

 the opportunity of seeing, are not so complete, nor do they 

 possess so many of the latest improvements or appliances, as 

 the average of the mills in Queensland ; still less are they able 

 to compare with the great works of the Colonial Sugar Com- 

 pany, which are now approaching comiiletiou at Homebush 

 and on the Herbert River. 



A large proportion of the sugar made in Java is sent to 

 England, for which market the mill-owners seem to find it 

 preferable to prepare the sugar by the clay process. About 

 four-fifths of the sugar made at the DeMaasmill is treated in 

 this manner, and at Bondonan and Phaeton a rather larger 

 proportion. Almost all the machinery is English, the names 



of Walker, Thompson, Marlowe being most frequently met 

 with. It is admitted by the Dutch that although the English 

 is rather more expensive it is stronger aud more relialjle than 

 the foreign. In no portion of Java is the cane crushed twice 

 over ; the planters seem to think that it does not pay, and 

 even, as at I'haeton, where they have two sets of rollers, the 

 second set is used only as a help or .stand-by. The ampas or 

 megasse is dried in the sun and used as fuel, as in l^Hicenslaud. 

 The triple-effet has only recently been introduced into 

 some of the larger mills, and, though steam aud compressed 

 air monte-jus are not imfrequently u.sed, the low buildings 

 do not enable the mill-owners to take full a<lvautage of the 

 system by allowing ^ra\itation to do the work of transport. 

 Filter-presses had been used at the Bondonan mill, but had 

 been giveu up owing to the difficulty, it was said, in getting 

 the natives to work them properly. 



A rule is made in Java to measure and weigh everything 

 through the various processes. I was consequently able to 

 obtain reliable statistics which may be useful to those who 

 may have au opportunity of comparing them mth their own. 



At the De Maas plantation, in the year 1S81, an average 

 ou the whole crop of 100 tons of sugarcane produced about 

 ten tons of sugar — i.e., 857 pickiils cane produced 34,000 litres 

 cane juice, equal 85*5 pickuls sugar and 635 pickuls of molass- 

 es sugar, called by the Dutch "stroop" (10 pickuls equal 

 short ton of 2,000 lb.). 1,000 kilos of cane yielded 276 kilos 

 of ampas or megasse, or 137 kilos when sim-dried ready for 

 burning. 



In 1881 the average yield of sugar was 3 tons 8 cwt. to 

 the acre. In 1882, average 3 tons 1 cwt. to the acre. 



The avrage quality of sugar was in 1881 No. 11 in Dutch 

 numbering,'; in 1882 it was No. 12. The total yield of sugar 

 was 1,985 tons. 



At the Phaeton Estateanaverageof 3 tonsScwt. of sugar 

 was produced to the acre, the same as at De Maas. The 

 total yield was 3,500 tons obtained from 627 bahus. 



The number of tanks required for the clay process is very 

 great, owing to the time that the sugar has to remain in each 

 tank. At Phaeton there were two large sheds devoted to 

 this process in wliich there were 300 tanks, half cylinders 

 in shape, 21 ft. bj- 3 ft. each. The laboiu-, it is needless to 

 say, is purely Eastern. The Javanese do all the work in the 

 fields, and carting and carrying. The Madurese are almost 

 exclusively used in the eastern parts of Java in the mills, 

 but the sugar-boiling is usually entrusted to Chinamen. 



Almost all the mills work night and day during the crush- 

 ing eeason, in shifts of eight hours each. The men in the 

 mills get 50 cents (lOd.), and women 30 cents. (6d.); but the 

 rate of wages for field labour is about 30 cents for men and 

 16 cents for women. 



To give an idea of the quality ot labour that finds employ- 

 ment on a large Dutch Mill, at Phaeton 600 men and 

 women are employed at the mill; 800 are employed in 

 cutting tbe cane and cultivating the field ; 528 carts employed 

 in carrjnng the cane to the mill with two bullocks and 

 a man to each cart. These 1,920 men, women, and children 

 are employed with 1,040 bullocks, apart from those engaged 

 in ploughing up the new land, who are hired on the free 

 land at the rate of two men and two buUocks to the bahu. 



Such a system of high cultivation is only possible m a 

 country where labour is plentiful and thoroughly reliable. 

 The native population of nineteen and a-half millions provide 

 an abundance of labour, but the facility with which they are 

 able to ol>tain a livelihood, aud the fact that they are all 

 small but prosperous land-owners, make the price of labour 

 rather higher than it is in Britisli India or Ceylon. 



The Dutch planters, from whom we at all times met 

 the utmost cordiality and willingnes to do everything in their 

 power to help and assist us, naturally expressed great intei est 

 in sugar-growing in Queensland. The prospect of a pro- 

 duction of 40,000 tons this year, and perhaps 6*».00O next 

 year, alarmed them considerably; but wlu^n the political 

 poeition was explained to them, and the resolution of Ihe 

 country to exclude Knstern labour all but a' few k.inakas, 

 and determination to attempt the in-oilnction of sugar with 

 European labour, they expressed themselves as much annised, 

 and their peace of mind was completely restored. I fear 

 indeed their smile was not unmixed with a considerable 

 amount of pity for the poor Britisber.s, who always think 

 they can do what no one else ever could, and that they know 

 better than anyone else what can be done. 



The total production of Java is very great; in iS^oitwas 



