Vol. XI. No. 254. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



19 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



SUGAR FROM SHREDDED CANE. 



A note on thi-s appeared in the last issue of the 

 Agricultural Neivs. The following further informa- 

 tion is contained in the International Sugar Journal 

 for December 1911: — 



Considerable interest has been caused b}" the announce- 

 ment made not may months ago (see In'ernationdl Suf/ar 

 Journal, 1911, 160, 219) that a system had been devised for 

 shredding and drying sugarcane and then transporting the 

 dried shreds to a distant mill where the juice could be express- 

 ed. The particular experiment was carried out on cane grown 

 in Cuba, and then shipped to a beet sugar factory in Madison, 

 Wisconsin. We now learn that the trial has proved very 

 promising, the purity of the juice extracted having been only 

 slightly inferior to that of the original juice sampled at the 

 time the cane was shred. The sugar crystallized well, but 

 attempts to utilize the pulp for making paper were not very 

 successful. It may, however, be pointed out that the shred- 

 ders were too small to do much work, so that no concise data 

 could be drawn therefrom; but as it was resolved to repeat 

 the experiments this year with better and more powerful 

 machinery, more will be heard ere long of the process. It is 

 apparent that this new idea has not yet got beyond the 

 experimental stage, and that nothing definite as to the techni- 

 cal — not to mention the financial — aspects of the process is 

 available And it may be assumed that the cost of drying 

 rapidly the shredded cane will be a formidable item in the 

 total expense. It would, therefore, be as well for other 

 interested parties to wait a more detailed report ere seeking 

 to emViark on a similar experiment. 



SUGAR IN THE PHILIPPINES. 1910. 



The following particulars regarding the Philip- 

 pine sugar industry in 1910 are given in a report by 

 H. M. Acting Vice-Consul at Manila, issued as Diplo- 

 matic and Consular Reports, No. 4810 Annual Series: — 



Sugar to the amount of 119, -5 11 tons was exported, to 

 the value of £1,50.5,080. This shows an increase in value 

 but decrease in quality. The explanation of the satisfactory 

 state of this industry is found in the high prices prevailing 

 and the increased exportation to the free market of the 

 United States. The amount sent there fell short of 100,000 

 tons, or not quite a third of the free trade limit. In view of 

 the increased activity on sugar estates in 1911 and the large 

 profits to be obtained, further development of this industry 

 is assured. 



I am indebted to a resident IJriti.sh merchant for the 

 following: — 



The United States markets took the high grade sugars, 

 only such low sugars as were unsaleable in the United States 

 going to the China markets. 



The falling off in the production was undoubtedly due 

 in part to the steady decline of the industry on account of 

 previous low price.s, but more particularly to the cattle 

 disease, which practically wiped out the availabh' animals 

 fnr ploughing [lurposes, etc Planting to meet the better 



demand owing to sugars being admitted into the United 

 States free of import duty, and the successful means taken to 

 eliminate cattle disease, have not yet had their effect on 

 shipments. 



There is little doubt but that the removal of the duty 

 has now had the effect of staving off the steady decline of 

 the Philippine sugar industry. Low prices and antiquated 

 methods of planting and milling had made planting become 

 almost unremunerative. Now the industry has apparently 

 a bright future before it. American capital has entered the 

 field, and a large estate in Mindoro is being cultivated on 

 modern methods, and modern machinery installed. The 

 native planters are endeavouring to improve their methods 

 and output, and sugar centrals are being organized which 

 will greatly improve the quality and increase the quantity of 

 production. The restriction imposed by the United States 

 tariff to 300,000 tons allowed to be imported duty free 

 yearlj', however, looms largely before those interested in the 

 industrj', who live in hopes that this restriction may 

 ultimately be removed. 



The labour question, however, still remains a vital one, 

 and this may seriously affect the progress of the industry, 

 scarcity of reliable labour being felt all over the islands. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



Mr. P. T. Saunders, M.R.C.V.S., Veterinary Officer 

 on the Statf of the Imperial Department of Agriculture, 

 returned to Barbados from St. Lucia, by tiie S.S. 

 ' St. Thomas', on January 10, 1912. 



Agriculturists and Agricultural Investiga- 

 tion. — It is evident (and no slur upon iheni) that few agri- 

 culturists, as the term is generally applied, could undertake 

 work of investigation, and hence a marked difference is at 

 once seen between those who study and those who practise 

 agriculture. The practical farmer need not study many of 

 the subjects which are essential to the scientific expert. He 

 should, it is true, be able to appreciate them, but for a farmer 

 to analyse his own soils, and treat the diseases of his own 

 cattle, or to trouble his mind too much about b.icteria or 

 cryptogams, might easily distract his attention from practi- 

 cal details. Farming is not, and it is to be hoped it will 

 never be, one of the 'learned professions'. In order to be 

 successful, the farmer must thoroughly understand tillages, 

 and the ' management' of stock. He must know how to deal 

 with men, and be thoroughly acquainted with all the ins and 

 outs of marketing. He should be agood judee of stock, and 

 resourceful in surmounting weather difficulties. He requires 

 keen observing faculties, and is essentially an out-door man. 

 He should be, in fact, very much what he is as represented 

 by the best type of farmers, and it is a question whether some 

 of their qualities might not be sacrificed by attempting to 

 graft a scholar's nature upon them. It is also worthy of 

 remark that the qualities of a first-rate farmer are acquired 

 in early youth by contact with older men of the same tastes. 

 Intelligence ought to be fostered by good general education 

 and reading, but to spend too much time in the lalioratory 

 or the lecture room may implant tastes inimical to the best 

 conduct of practical business in the field and on the market. 

 (Extract from a letter in 77te Field for September 2, 1911, 

 p. 567.) 



