372 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 9, 1905. 



SUGAR-CANE EXPERIMENTS AT BARBADOS. 



An adjourned special meeting of the Barbados 

 Agricultural Society was held at 2.30 p.m. on Novem- 

 ber 17 last, at the Planters' Hall, for the purpose of 

 discussing the results of the Sugar-cane Experiments 

 carried on in Barbados for the season 1903-5, presented 

 by Mr. J. R. Boveli, Agricultm-al Superintendent, at 

 a meeting of the Society on November 8. After 

 some further interesting remarks by Mr. Boveli and 

 answers given to questions presented by the Hon. G. L. 

 Pile and others, Mr. Cameron stated that the figures 

 presented by him represented concrete facts based 

 on results tabulated from day to day. The tonnage of 

 sugar referred to was actually shipped, not estimated. 



The Hon. Sir Daniel ilorris, addressing the meet- 

 ing, said ; — 



Jlr. President and gentlemen, — Befcire we close this after- 

 noon I would like tri say a few words on tlie general situation as 

 regards the sugar industry. It is evident from the adudrable 

 sunnnaiy uf the results of tlie sugar-cane experiments presented 

 by Mr. Boveli and Mr. lladclyife Hall and the facts elicited in 

 the discussion that we are steadily advancing in the direction 

 of raising new canes richer in sugar content and uioiu capable 

 of resisting disease. It is evident, also, that the metliods that 

 are being adopted to meet the re(iuirements of the [ilanters are 

 well suited to attain the end.s in view. The canes raised are 

 not only ai)preciated here, they are also greatly valued in other 

 sugar-growing countries. This is especially true of cane B. 208, 

 which is being largely cultivated in British Guiana, Jamaica, 

 Cuba, Porto Rico, Natal, and Queensland, where it is regarded as 

 one of the richest canes under cultivation. As I mentioned at 

 the previous meeting, it is proposed to carry on the e.xperiments 

 on the present lines for three years longer. Whether they are to 

 be continued in full after that period will depend on the i)osition 

 then attained, and whether the mendiers of the planting 

 connnunity in this and other parts of the West Indies can 

 convince the Imperial Government that it is still necessary to 

 provide the means for carrying them (jn. It is riglit, however, 

 that I should bring before you to-day and ask your earnest 

 consideration in regard to other directi(jns in which the positit)n 

 of the sugar industry in this island may be improved. It is well 

 known that it costs from 12s. to 13s. to produce a ton of canes 

 in Barbados. Tliis is possibly higher than in any other cane- 

 growing country. It is probable that the circumstances at 

 Barbados justify this. In any case, I am not prepared at this 

 moment to go into details and jioint out how canes may be 

 grown at a lower cost. It is not unlikely that, because labour is 

 so cheap and abundant, agricultural operations are not so 

 chisely restricted as in localities where labour is dearer; also, 

 that jilanters have not felt the necessity for adopting labour- 

 saving implements and methods which are essential to the 

 success of the industry in other parts of the world. One 

 very prominent item at Barbados is the cost of artificial 

 manure. I notice that Mr. Boveli in a pajier read at the 

 Agricultural Conference of ISil'J places the average cost per 

 acre for artificial manure at $1G'24 (£'3 7s. 8i/.). Is it established 

 that the Barbados sf>il actually reipiires this expenditure in 

 addition to an average expenditure per acre (also stated by 

 Mr. Boveli) of 81 7 -42 (£3 12s. 7<?.) for farmyard manure r These 

 items deserve to be verj* carefully scrutinized in the light of the 

 results brought before you by the Imperial Dejiartinent of 

 Agriculture. It is possible that, with a larger use of tirst-class 

 farmyiird manure, the amount of artificial manure, fcri- jilant 

 canes at all events, might be reducedt 



During the last two or tlnee years we have heard 

 little or nothing of propo.'-als to establish a pioneer Central 

 Factory in Barbadiis. As you are aware, this matter was 

 very fully gone into some time ago. Your President in 



a pajier read at the Agricultural Conference of 1!)(I0, expressed 

 his ojiinion as follows : ' Not only nmst we have central factories 

 in order to ayoid tlie enormous hjss attending tlie present 

 system of manufacture l)y means of small and imperfect crushing 

 machinery and open tayches, but to bu alile to manufacture .any 

 class of sugar that may l)e in demand in the market.s of the 

 world.' Further, he stated: ' It is absolutely essential to our 

 exi.stence that central factories should be erected here.' 

 Professor Harrison, with his long exiierience of Barbados anil 

 his more recent acipiaintance with the working of central 

 factories in British (iuiana, at the same Conference stated: 

 ' There is not the .slightest doubt in my mind tliat, if this 

 cohjny of Barbados is to continue to exist as a sugar-producing 

 colony, it must adopt the principle of central fac'tories.' And 

 further : 'All I can say is, that I believe the erection of centriU 

 factories in Barbados would be a means of raising the colony 

 out of its present ditticidt position and in fact jirove its 

 salvation.' Notliing has happened since t(^ alter the situation, 

 and if we allow matters to drift on, as at present, there is little 

 hope of permanent improvement in the jnincipal industry on 

 which the safety and welfare of the comnunnty depend. In 

 this connexion, it may be of interest if some of the results of 

 the woiking of the new central factory erected at Antigua, for 

 the current year, were jdaeed on record. This factory, int-luding 

 5i miles of railway, hicomotives, etc., has cost £42,408 (see 

 Wc.sf Iiur„iii BiilMiii, Vol. YI, pp. 00-4). Particulars to 

 hand for 1005 .are as follows :— Tons of cane crushed, ]r>,8(J0 ; 

 gallons of diluted juice, 2.437,500 ; 1st. sugar, 90" crystals, 1,003* 

 tons: g.alloiis molasses, 7,700; tons of canes per ton of sugar, 

 9-73; price paid for cane.s, lis. Uhl. per ton ; cost of m.aking 

 a ton of first crysbds, 90", delivered on wliarf, £2 ISs. AhT. 

 According to these figures, it has re<iuired 973 tons "of 

 canes to yield 1 ton of 90° crystals. At Barbados we are tcjld 

 it requires 13i tons of cane.s to make 1 ton of nuiscovado sufor. 

 It follows that a loss of 3^ tons of canes is iiicin-red on every 

 ton of nuiscovado sugar produced in this island Tliis means 

 that, with an annual average cro]i uf 50,000 tons of sugar, the 

 value of 187,500 tons of canes is lost tln-ough defective crusliin". 

 Further, if we take a ton of canes in Barbados as wortli 12.^\ 

 the loss, expressed in money, would amount to £ll2,50o! 

 I admit this is an outside estimate as between the muscovado 

 sugar produced at Barbados and the 90° crystals produced at 

 a central factory. If, liowever. we estimate tliat only one-fourth 

 of the Barljadi is crop is dealt with by a central factory, there wi mhl 

 still be a possible saving in money value of nearly £30,000. 

 With the present low luices, this is an appreciable aiiKJunt to 

 add to the resources of th(»e dependent on the sugar industry. 

 It has been urged that the establishment of central factories iii 

 Barbados would lead to the displacement of a large amount of 

 labour and reduce the number of managers, overseers, and 

 others, I hold in my hand a statement whicli has been carefully 

 prejiared at Antigua, showing tlie number of persons displaced 

 owing to the establi.shment of the central factory in that island, 

 including children spreading fuel, etc. The result is that, while 

 152 labourers and children have been displaced on the estates, 

 1 13 have been employed at the facte uy, leaving thirty -nineactually 

 displaced. It is pointed out that at the factory tlie jieoplo 

 employed are more skilled and command liigher wages. Four 

 managers have been displaced, but against this wo liave U> count 

 the manager of the factory, overseers, and chemist. It would 

 appear, therefore, that the establishment of a pioneer factory, 

 ca)jable of turning out 3,000 to 5,000 tons of sugar, would not 

 displace an appreciable proportion of workers, wliile the factory 

 would add se\'eral thousand pounds increased value to tlie sugar 

 produced. We have also to bear in mind that if we continue°to 

 jn-oduce muscovado sugar we may, later on, lind great difficulty in 

 finding .a good market fiu' it. Neither the United States nor 

 Canada cares for raw sugar. They prefer, for refining purposes, 

 90 per cent, crystiils ; and in regard to the musco\ado shipped to 

 the I7nited Kingdom, we have to remember that wliat is refined 

 there is shipjied to Canada, where it olitains the full liencfit of the 

 preferential tarifi', which is denied to the nuiscovado sug.u- 



