December i, 1S82.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



473 



attiicks the tree when about three or four years old, and 

 quickly destroys it, rendering the bark useless. 



rarliament by its action in the vine disease has shown 

 that it regards tlie stamping out of the disease as of 

 national importance, and is not the destruction ot wattle- 

 trees a national calamity ? If it be true what Mr. Miranis 

 says, that in three years three-fourths of the tanners of 

 Victoria must close their establishments, will not that 

 result be more disastrous to Victoria than the vine dis- 

 ease; and if Parliament votes money to up-root young, 

 healthy vines because a few vines are diseased in order 

 to prevent it spreading, ought they not to take similar 

 action in respect to wattle trees, in order to keep the 

 tanning establishments at full work. If these industries 

 are closed hundreds of men and boys will be out of work, 

 and they, with others indirectly affected, will be pushing 

 Government to find relief works. I have not seen the 

 report of the Wattle-bark Commission, therefore I do not 

 know what it contains. But this I know. Sir, very few 

 people care anything about wattle-trees, they are regarded 

 as a nuisance in destroying grass, and as an indication 

 of poor land, hence I know many persons with hundreds 

 of acres of land cutting them down as soon as they ap- 

 pear. Trusting that some one of practical experience will 

 give some encouraging statements to this, and that ex- 

 tracts from the commission's report will appear, — I remain, 

 &c., William Hiu. 



Fairview, Waurn Ponds, March 13. 



SUGAR OULTUEE IN INDIA. 



TO THE EDITOR " FRIEND OF INDIA.'' 



Sib, — I was much interested in an article of yom-s in 

 your issue of the 6th February, which has only just reached 

 this out-of-the-way place. In it you urge that sugar-planting 

 should become a remunerative cultivation in India. As I 

 am in Mauritius, a veritable little island of sugar, I fancy 

 that some remarks from this part of the world may prove 

 interesting, and thus these lines. 



Let me Urst say that I have had ample opportunity 

 of seeing the ordinary Indian sugar crop, and being some 

 years resident in this island, seeing the working of estates, 

 &c., &c., such information as I can give is based upon 

 experience. 



I fully agree with you that the cultivation of sugar- 

 cane in Incha would be very remunerative, and would prove 

 a safeguard for many in case of a failure in the dhdn 

 crop, but there are necessarily some considerations. I 

 should say, in the first place, that capitalists should take it 

 up, such as have the means for erecting mills for the 

 manufactiure of sugar. India should not remain content 

 with the manufacture of molasses or "goor," which can 

 never pay, but estates should be formed either with 

 tenant-ryots or directly belonging to the estates, so as to 

 ensure a labor market, so much needed in times of 

 depression of the ordinary agricultural trade. In speaking 

 of a labor market, I am aware that indigo supplies a 

 pseudomarket, but with its systems of compulsory crop 

 and " adha bhaut," it is hardly worthy of the name. It 

 is a necessary evW perhaps, still an evil, anil as such, 

 can hardly be looked on in the light of a support in case 

 of depression in agriculture. 



Manure is reijuired in sugar cultivation here — guano, 

 night-soil, and engrais of different kinds are used plenti- 

 fully ; and in India, where the soil without a doubt is 

 weak and over-worked, mauure is equally required. With 

 reference to this, 1 see some remarks of yours in your 

 issue of the 27th February on an article in I'ttniti/ F((ii; 

 by a modest " Nou-agricnlturi.st," in which he wonders at 

 the large quantities of produce conveyed to cities without 

 any return being made to the soil which produced them, 

 and comes to the conclusion that it must mean destruction 

 of the soil, only gi%-iug it time for its final accomplishment. 

 Every one must gi'ant this as a truism, — it is distinctly 

 burning the candle at both ends. But why is not the 

 night-soil made use of in all the large cities in India '? 

 It would be getting rid of an impurity in nature's own 

 way, and without doubt the closer the imitation the more 

 effectual the result. Our small brains in attempting to 

 follow a law can never do better than copjdng the Law- 

 giver. Let us call it natural, to bo better understood. It 

 always stikes me that the system of drainage by flushing, 



as adopted in tropical chmates, is open to much objection. 

 Comparing it with a status of no sanitary arrangements, 

 it is an improvement, but it is far from perfect, especially 

 as a mode of conveyance for animal excretions. It must 

 give rise to malarial emanations from an impregnated soil 

 somewhere, be it far from, or approximate to, the centre 

 of population, depends upon the ability ot the engineer ; 

 but to make it innocuous would tax the brains of the 

 engineers and health officers combined, if a system of 

 flushing is adopted. And why? Because all malarial 

 emanations of a really dangerous natiu-e are combination 

 ot hydrogen, and hydrogen is supplied at lilntuni when 

 the animal matter is undergoing putresence ; in other 

 words, chemical action has commenced, and chemical 

 affinity increased, and thus liberated oxygen remains 

 virtually the sole agent on the field to battle against the 

 odious compound formed ; and this especially refers to 

 tropical climates, where, under solar action, the process 

 is more rapi<l. '\Vhere there is fluid matter in nightsoil, 

 the difficulty to disinfect is increased tenfold. Flushing 

 means merely a motive power for its removal, and its 

 absolute removal, and that alone, is the sole conditions in 

 which the drainage system for animal excreta can be 

 deemed innocuous. Dry systems are much preferable. 

 When I was in Bengal I was not aware of a single company 

 started for the removal of night soil as an " engrais " or 

 manure company. 



There are many such companies here, and so remunerative 

 aje they, that they supply all apparatus for each house 

 and undertake porterage, &c. , gratis, if within a certain 

 radius from the town. These companies are under strict 

 municipal laws, night-soil being removed by a certain 

 hour in the morning, and with all difficulties in legal 

 matters, disputes, &c. , they pay their shareholders admir- 

 ably. Such manure is supplied to the sugar estates. 

 Another manm-e is suppUed from cane-refuse on the 

 estate, the " bagas " fcane-leaf) and more woody portions 

 of the cane supplying fuel for the mills. Why should 

 not such a system be adopted in India ? 



Now with regard to labor, India has much the advantage. 

 From K4 to K6 would amply satisfy the Indian 

 laborer upon his native soil. Here from E6 to KIO, 

 with ratious (equal to VA), housing and medical care, 

 is not sufficient to keep laborers from day work ; in fact 

 every year they are leaving estates in larger numbers, 

 and still sugar pays, and pays well here. Again, with regard to 

 the labor which has to be bestowed on the soil, you have 

 the advantage far and away. To describe sugar-cane 

 fields in Mauritius of the ordinary kind, I should say — take 

 one of you fields and pile all the stones you can find 

 (from the size of a brick to a considerable boulder) on 

 the soil and under it, an 1 you can form .some conception 

 of a really productive field in Mauritius. Still the labor 

 in remoWug the stones, and plautiug the cane in such 

 soil pays and pays, well, and why should it not pay in 

 India 'i Stones, I grant to a certain degree, retain the 

 humidity of the soil, still a fair .system of irrigation would 

 attain the object better, and they are only awaking to 

 the knowledge of that fact here now. 



The soil here can only be marked by dint of crowbar, 

 " pioche " (foirrah), and sm-ely such labor far exceeds 

 that which would be bestowed upon six times the area ot 

 Indian soil. Now for the price of land. There is hardly 

 need of comparison. Cane laud here fetches from EICO 

 to ItuOO an arpeut, its value depending upon its prox- 

 imity to a stream or irrigating canal ; but actually cane 

 can grow with a small amount of water, when compared 

 to your main staple dhan, and I have seen it yield an 

 admirable crop in a dry year ; in fa>t, too much moisture 

 decreases the quality of saccharine matter. Hurricaues 

 are far more destructive to a cane crop than drought, 

 which is a great consiileration for India ; still I am afraid 

 the monsoons would do a deal of damage in India if the 

 crop ripens, as I fancy it does, in the colil weather, as 

 the plants would have attained a break.able height. Here 

 the crop ripeus in July, when everything is comparatively 

 quiet ; aud February and iiarch are the months to be 

 dreaded, as the canes are fairly high, and the months 

 are in the hurricane season. So far, I think, India has 

 every advantage over Mauritius, the liability to gales being 

 put on a par. Now comes the main question before we 

 can esstue cane cultivation to be remunerative in India. 



