Vol. IX. No. 20<;. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



83 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY OP MAURITIUS. 



The following extracts are taken from an inter- 

 esting article on the sugar industry of Mauritius, which 

 has appeared recently in the Ivti'rnationnl SiHja/r 

 Journal : — 



HISTORY. Of recent times the sugar imhistry of .Mauri- 

 tius has undergone many ups and downs of fortune; it Las 

 passed through years of great stress, the causes of whieli iiav-e 

 been various, viz : keen competition of bounty fed beet sugar 

 in the Indian markets, with tlie attendant low prices, catt It- 

 plagues, droughts and cyclont-s, which brought the industry 

 at times to the verge of rnin. 



These hard times mentioned above have led to many 

 estates, or rather factories, being closed. The small factories 

 as a rule were costly to work: the yield of sugar per ton of 

 cane was low, owing to poor milling power and antiquated 

 methods of manufacture. The cane from the.se estates, when 

 the mills had been closed, was sent to other factories to be 

 milled at either a fixed jirice per ton of cane delivered on the 

 balances, or in exchange for so many pounds of sugar agreed 

 u[)on between the parties. The system of payment, depend- 

 ent on the quality of the cane, is in force in a few instances 

 where the quantity of cane delivered is large. All the 

 balances for canes are checked by (iovernment officials at 

 fi-ecjuent intervals. 



In many ways, the closing of small and inefficient factor- 

 ies benefited the industry in general; the larger and better 

 situated factories were able to increase their t<)nnage of cane 

 milled, work longer hour.s, improve their machinery, with an 

 assured supply of cane, and at the same time reduce their 

 operating expenses per ton of sugar made: thus their efficiency 

 was improved all round. 



In the face of the adverse ciicunistances mentioned at 

 the beginning of this article, all the remaining factoiies were 

 forced to improve their machinery and reduce their woikins 

 expenses, if they wished to continue to live in the struggle for 

 existence that was going ou. 



F.iCTiiRiEs. The larger factories are in charge of their 

 own chemists, and others, of a chemist who pays two or three 

 visits a week, but it is desirable that every usine should have 

 its own resident chemist, as continuous supervision is very 

 necessary. It may be here mentioned that all steam boilers 

 in or about a factory, as well as those of locomotive.'^ and 

 traction engines, have to be periodically examined by !ns[)ect- 

 ors appointed by the Colonial Government. 



The whole of the bagasse from the mills is burnt in the 

 green state, in step grate furnaces under various types of 

 cylindrical and water tube boilers. The majority of factories 

 burn considerable quantities of tilao -Kood {Casual ina ((pd- 

 x<<tifijlia). and blue gum {Eiird/i/jitus (ilohulns), all grown in 

 the country. 



(ARRHciK OK CANE. Up to the present, no mechanical 

 unloading devices have been installed at the cane carriers, all 

 canes being unloaded from the wagons by hand. There would 

 be considerable difficulties to be overcome if they were intro- 

 duced, owing to the present diversity of the means of supply. 

 cane being delivered by Government railway, traction engines, 

 and tramway wagons and carts. 



In the year 1902, in addition to a poor crop, canted by 

 the damage done by two severe cyclones in the month of 

 February (resulting in a reduction of over .SO per cent, of 

 cane available), trypanosomiasis, a formidable cattle disease 



locally called ' surra', broke out about the middle of the year, 

 just at the beginning of crop time, and threatened to swamp 

 the whole industry. It was only with great difficulty and 

 much exertion that the crop was carried, men being employed 

 to haul the carts, while the cane in a few inaccessible fields 

 on some estates was left standing The whole stock of draft 

 animals became infected and died off very rapidly, and by the 

 end of th3 year 1902, the island was practically denuded of 

 all animal transport, very little mechanical transport being 

 then in operation in the island, and the disease carrying off 

 mules, horses and o.xen indiscriminately. Application was 

 again made to the Colonial Government for a.ssistance, 

 and after some delay, a loan called the 'Mechanical Transport 

 f.dan' was granted. On the completion of the necessary 

 preliminaries, such as rate of interest, terms of repayment 

 and security ottered, etc., orders were immediately placed in 

 Europe for the supply of tramways, locomotives, traction 

 engines, etc , and the work of preparation by the estates for 

 the new means of transport was energetically pushed forward, 

 pending the receipt of the material ordered. Before every- 

 thing had arrived and been put in working order, the crop 

 had begun, but soon everything was working well and the 

 cane successfully harvested. 



cLi.MATK. The climate is an excellent one for cane-grow- 

 ing. The island is situated in Lit. 19' 5S South, Long. .57" 

 East. There are no great variations in temperature through- 

 out the year, the average is 75T. The rainfall is good, 

 the average for the last twenty-five years for the whole i.sland 

 works out at 75 inches, but estates on the w^indward side of the 

 i.■^land, south-east and east, receive considerably above that 

 figure, especially those some distance from the seaboard. The 

 greater part of the total falls from December to April, Rather 

 more than two-thirds of the total quantity falls in those 

 months. Unfortunately, the island is lialile to be visited by 

 severe cyclones during the season December to Alarch, inclusive, 

 which sometimes do enormous damage in breaking down the 

 cane and wrecking buildings. There is an admirable .system 

 of warnings issued by the observatory, and posted up at the 

 railway stations, when a cyclone is ai>proaching, so that the 

 inhabitants have time to make their preparations. 



SOIL. The .soil varies considerably in ditterent districts of 

 the island. In some it is free, open, and of good depth, 

 without rocks or large boulders, and suitable for the plough. 

 Ploughs were once used, but have been discarded, the now 

 universal hoe having taken their place. In other districts 

 the land is full of rocks and stones, and of shallow depth, 

 necessitating a good deal of crowbar work when preparing 

 it for planting. 



The extinction of all the draft animals has had a very 

 serious effect in the increased quantity and cost of artificial 

 fertilizers that have to be used. All the sewage and refuse 

 from the villages is sent to the manure works of the estates, 

 and u.sed in the fields, as well as a considerable quantity of 

 molasses. 



CULTIVATION. The usual practice is to cut the cane 

 three times — plant*, first and .second ratoons. The planting is 

 almost entirely tops — few cuttings are put in. The tops are 

 selected with great care from the most vigorous varieties, the 

 Big Tanna, black, white, and striped, being the principal kind, 

 and giving the best results, but various other sorts are u.sed. 

 The tops are carefully examined for signs of disease, washed 

 in lime water, and then planted in holes about 1 .5 inches x 

 8 inches x 6 inches to 9 inches deep, about a foot apart in 

 rows, .3 feet to 4 feet centres, the practice varying slightly on 

 different estates. 



Irrigation is in use in few cases, but not on a very 

 extensive .scale. 



