ii;2 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



May -20, 1916. 



and this inevitably led to the consideration of the 

 possibility of grouping estates so as to share the 

 burden of the cost of the required machiner}-. So arose 

 the long debated central factory problem. 



How long this problem had been debated may be 

 judged in .some measure from the fact that in 1871 the 

 Government of Antigua organized a visit of planters 

 to the neighbouring island of Gaudeloupe in order to 

 investigate the possibilities of the central factory 

 system as exemplified by the Usine D'Arbusier then 

 in full operation there. Experience of central factory 

 ■debates leads one to draw the inference that a long 

 period of discussion must have preceded definite action 

 of this kind. 



In the thirty years between 1871 and 1901, central 

 factory discussions were a leading feature of the 

 economic and political debates of many of the islands, 

 particularly of Barbados and Antigua. 



At the time of the visit of the Royal Commission 

 above mentioned, there were eight factories in Barbados 

 producing vacuum-pan sugar, one in Antigua, and one 

 in St. Kitts. In Trinidad and St. Lucia the introduc- 

 tion of vacuum pans had gone relatively further. These 

 factories may be regarded as the pioneers of the central 

 factory movement, though they fulfilled few of the 

 functions of a central factory as understood to-day. At 

 that time the colonies recognized the pressing need of 

 improved machinery involving the creation of central 

 factories, but felt that the credit of the industry pre- 

 chuied their raising the necessary capital to effect the 

 improvements they knew to be desirable. 



Matters remained pretty much in this condition 

 until it was found possible to stimulate the interest of 

 capitalists by the offer of the Imperial Government, 

 through the Government of Antigua, of financial 

 assistance to encourage the erection of a pioneer 

 factory in that Colony. This led to the creation of 

 The Antigua Sugar Factory Company, and the erection 

 of < Junthorpes factory, concerning which full particulars 

 are available in these pages, and in the West Indian 

 Bulletin* 



It was the intention of the Government that 

 through the working of this factory information 

 should be made available of such a character as 

 would serve to guide the promoters of other 

 similar efforts. This has been effected in a useful 

 degree, the value of the information thus rendered 

 available being enhanced by the fact that in the work- 



*Agir.ultuinl Niws, V, 4i): X, :^: XT, 103: XTV, 388. 

 Wtst Indian B>''Mm, VI, 60: IX, 79; XIV, 47. 



ing of this facrory due regard has been had to the 

 scientific study of the various stages of sugar manu- 

 facture, unusual car4 being taken to make the work 

 of the chemical laboratory, which is an integral part 

 of the factory, full and accurate: the true functions 

 of the chemist have been maintained as auditor in 

 respect to the sugar passing through the factory, and 

 as adviser of the management in respect to methods of 

 working. 



The working of this factory >indoubtedly gave 

 a great stimulus to the central factory movement; 

 a factory capable of making some 9,000 tons of sugar 

 was erected in St. Kitts in 1912, and a considerable 

 number of small factories were erected in Barbados. 



In Antigua and St. Kitts, the solution of the 

 central factory problem has been along the line of 

 large factories, not in themselves connected with any 

 area growing canes, but obtaining their cane supply 

 under contracts ma;de with cane growers, that is to 

 say, with estates, whereby the estates undertake to 

 cultivate stated areas in sugar-canes and to send these 

 canes to the factory, payment being made on a profit- 

 sharing plan. 



In Barbados, on the other hand, there has been 

 some disinclination on the part of land owners to 

 enter into agreements binding upon them for a number 

 of years to furnish canes for factories and, as a conse- 

 quence, the factory problem has been solved there 

 along the lines of comparatively small factories on 

 estates which themselves produce the supply of cane 

 essential to the factory's working: as a natural outcome 

 of this position there has grown up an extensive 

 system of buying canes from surrounding cultivators 

 under very short term agreements, wheie the inde- 

 pendence of each party is preserved. The cultivator 

 sells his canes to the factory or himself makes them 

 into sugar, or syrup, as he thinks will prove most 

 remunerative at the moment. The factory, on the 

 other hand, accepts or declines canes from week to 

 week as the owner thinks fit, or as he can arrange with 

 the grower. 



At present there are some nineteen factories in Bar- 

 bados making vacuum-pan sugar, some of them capable 

 of making up to 4,000 tons in a season, others making 

 under 1,000 tons. 



It would seem that the point now to be settled 

 is the best size to be adopted for factories in the 

 several islands, and to learn whether small factories 

 can be worked so well and economically as to compete 

 in cost of production with large ones. 



