Vol. XI. No. 263. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



163 



SUGAR INDUSTRY, 



THE ANTIGUA SUGAR FACTORY. 



The t'oUowing extracts are taken from the seventh 

 annual report of the Directors of the Antigua Sugar 

 Factory, Limited: — 



The island suffered greatly during both the growing and 

 the crop seasons from the lack of rain, the record being the 

 lowest for the past twenty years with the exception of 

 1905-6. The result was a very short crop and the canes, 

 not properly grown and matured, were the worst which the 

 factory has ever had to deal with; and further, the supply 

 of water for manufacturing was so low that during a con- 

 siderable part of the crop, there was not sufficient for the 

 proper maceration of the canes, and at one time the Factory 

 had even to stop working altogether. 



In accordance with the intimation in the last Report, 

 the Board has carried out large extensions of the factory and 

 the railway, the cost of which is shown in the accounts, with 

 a view to better crushing and a larger production, and has 

 taken in a considerable additional acreage of canes, but owing 

 to the exceptional circumstances of the year, the expected 

 results were not achieved. With the enlarged plant and the 

 extended acreage, there should have been, under normal con- 

 ditions, a higher yield from the canes and an increase in the 

 sugar output of 30 per cent, on that of the previous year; 

 instead of this the yield has been much worse, and the out- 

 put shows hardly any increase at all. 



An issue has been made (with the assent of the holders 

 of the A and B Debentures) of £20,000 C Debentures repay- 

 able within nine years out of a special Sinking Fund of 

 £•2,2-50 per annum to be set aside for that purpose, before 

 the Surplus on Working Account is divided. This money 

 has been applied towards carrying out the new extensions. 



The canes supplied have been as follows: — 



1907, 1908, 1909, 1910. 1911, 



tons. tons. tons. tons. tons. 



Contracting planters 28,046 26,912 20,-576 24,065 22,506 



Outside e.states 8,689 12,905 14,646 20,712 29,398 



Peasants 4,047 3,243 2,062 3,542 3,212 



Total 40,782 43,060 37,284 48,319 55,116 



The sugar made and the yield per cent, of canes during 

 the past four years have been as follows: — 



per ton, making their total 10s. 10'34tl per ton; and to 

 A Shareholders £106 7s. 8d., making a total at their 

 credit (including interest on the undistributed Italance) of 

 £12,038 5s. lid ,out of which it is proposed to distribute 5s. 

 per share, or £3,125, carrying forward the balance of 

 £8,913 .5s. lid. 



The following details concerning the working of 

 the factory are given here, in addition, on account of 

 their interest: — 



1907. 



Sugar made (tons) 4,230 

 Yield, per cent, of canes 10"07 



1908. 1909. 

 4,695 3,995 

 10-90 1072 



1910. 1911, 

 5,390 5.472 

 11-16 9-93 



Prices of sugar per ton: 1907, £9 16s. Od.; 1908, 

 £11 15s. M.; 1909, £10 7.s. od.; 1910, £12 IGs. Sd.; 1911, 

 £10 Us. M. 



Owing to the adverse circumstances mentioned above, 

 after making the necessary charges for the various Sinking 

 Funds, there remains only a surplus of £212 15s. 5d. for the 

 year, which has been credited, in accordance with agreements, 

 as follows: To outside estates £84 10.«. 5d., equal to 0-69cZ. 

 per ton on their canes, making their total price 12s. 2-03d. 

 per ton; to contracting planters £106 7.f. 9c7., equal to 1-I3d. 



Cane crushed, tons 



Sugar made, ,, 



Tons of cane per ton of sugar 



' Indicated' sucrose in juice, tons 



Recovery on ' indicated' sugar, per cent. 



Water in megass, per cent 



55,117 



5,477 

 1006 



6.661 

 82-2 

 47-15 

 70-03 



Normal juice lost in megass per 100 of fibre 



Average composition of first mill juice: — 



Total solids, per cent. 2092 



Sucrose ,, „ 1849* 



Purity „ „ 88 39 



Total juice, including maceration water: — 



Total solids, per cent. 18- 85 



Sucrose ,, ,, 15-87 



Purity „ „ 8416 



JIaceration, per cent, on first mill juice 11 



The last figure, namely 11 per cent, for maceration 

 water on first mill juice, serves as an unmistakable 

 indication of the serious difficulty in obtaining water 

 thnt has existed, and accounts generally for the infeiiur 

 work of the season. 



Sugar-Beet in England. —The Annual Report of the 

 British Sugar-Beet Council, just published, reviews the work 

 of the Council up to the end of last year, with special refer- 

 ence to the proceedings in 1911 and 1910. It shows confi- 

 dence ill the remunerative character of the sugar-beet 

 industry and ability to develop it successfully in this country. 

 That good crops of sugar-beet can be grown here has already 

 been proved. The results obtained last year at Wye and 

 other college farms confirm the evidence obtained in previous 

 years. It is the financial soundness of the business that 

 exercises the minds of farmers and capitalists. The report 

 explains the efforts made to procure a grant from the Develop- 

 ment Fund, which were unsuccessful because the conditions 

 of the International Sugar Convention prohibit Government 

 subsidies or advances of any kind to an undertaking that 

 would produce sugar for commercial purposes. Mr. G. L. 

 Couithope, who succeeded Lord Denbigh as Chairman of the 

 Council, was, however, not discouraged by the failure of the 

 negotiations with the Development Commissioners, and 

 deserves praise for the other arrangements he has made to 

 subject the project to a financial test. The establishment of 

 a factory in Norfolk, which is largely due to his initiative, is 

 a step of great importance. It was felt in the country thai 

 what was wanted was a practical demonstration. This, 

 Mr. Courthope, in conjunction with English and Dutch 

 colleagues, has arranged to provide. They can rest assured 

 that, if their calculations are fulfilled, they will have the 

 enthusiastic support of farmers whose land and climate are 

 suitaljle for the production of the raw material. (The Jour- 

 nal of the Royal Society of Arts, March 29, 1912.) 



*Or 1-897 B). per gallon. 



