50 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



Februaisy 25, 1905. 



sustained damage by the hurricane, the borrower 

 granting to the Government a preferential cUiim upon 

 the crops, a claim upon the land, and a power to sell 

 the borrower's interest in the land if default should be 

 made in the final repayment of the loan with interest. 

 The borrower undertook: ((') to use the loan solel}' to 

 restore, preserve, and maintain the cultivation of the 

 land: (h) to repay the loan with (J per cent, interest 

 and all expenses incurred : and (r) to produce accounts 

 showing how the loan had been e.xpended. The 

 borrower also had to allow inspection of the land by the 

 Government agents, to uphold the cultivation of the 

 land and see that the security did not deteriorate in 

 value, and to furnish full information as to the sales of 

 produce and to give an order on the purchaser for 

 purchase money to be applied to repayment. 



The Colonial Secretary, the Auditor General, and 

 the Secretary of the Board of Supervision of Poor 

 Relief were appointed loan officers : they received 

 valuable assistance from local committees whose 

 personal knowledge of the applicants for loans enabled 

 the expenditure of the loans to be kept under 

 observation. 



Among the conditions under which loans were 

 granted were : (1) no loans were to be granted where 

 the area actually under cultivation was beloAV 3 acres 

 in extent unless the applicant was compelled to obtain 

 assistance in working his land ; (2) no more than £3 an 

 acre was to be lent in any case ; (3) the loans to be 

 advanced in seven monthly instalments ; (4) the rate 

 of interest to be 6 pter cent, per annum : (5) the loans 

 to be repaid in definite instalments by certain dates 

 during the year 1905. There were 2,083 applications 

 for loans, the total number granted being 1,477. 

 Practically the whole of the applications were for 

 money to reinstate banana cultivation. 



In expressing a strong opinion in favour of the 

 suggestion that a permanent scheme of a similar 

 character deserved the careful consideration of the 

 Government, Mr. Olivier states : ' A government officer, 

 personally well qualified to direct and supervise its 

 development, would not find it an impossible task to 

 build up an agricultuial banking organization on 

 a sound basis. The small holdings of the peasantry 

 are generally good security for loans, but great vigilance 

 and continual pressure would, no doubt, be required to 

 collect the income of the bank, and the success or 

 failure of such an enterprise wouhl depend largely upon 

 the acumen and energy of the manager.' He goes on 

 to refer to the Raiffeisen system of mutual credit 

 banks and to point out that the safeguard of invest- 



ment is the honesty and industr}- of the borrowers 

 and the vigilance and interest of their neighbours. To 

 establish a similar system in Jamaica would require 

 ' a large amount of persistent missionary effort.' 



We propose in the next issue of the Agrienltti ml 

 Xeirfi to give a brief account of the Raiffeisen system. 

 Mr. Fawcetts paper will be published in due course in 

 the proceedings of the Conference in the West Indian 

 BuUt'tin, but with the view to placing full information 

 on the subject of Agricultural Banks, generally, in the 

 hands of all classes of the communit}- at an early date, 

 it has been decided to publish it, together with other 

 available information, in one of the pamphlet scries 

 issued by the Imperial DeiJartment of Agriculture. 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Hawaii. 



An article in the latest issue of the ]\'c'<t Indidii 

 Btdlctin contains detailed information in relation to the 

 Sug.ar Industry' in Hawaii. In view of the somewhat 

 extravagant statements that are made as to the profits 

 of sugar-cane cultivation in the Hawaiian Islands, the 

 following brief summaiy is likel}- to be of interest: — • 



The cultivation of sugar-cane and the manufacture of 

 .•iugar are without doubt more carefully .'studied and carried 

 out in a more .systeuiatit manner in the Hawaiian Lslands 

 than in any other part of the world. The irrigated lowlands 

 produce the largest crops, for the sinijile rea.son that by the 

 regularity of the application of water the growth of the cane 

 is a sturdy one and never sutlers from dry spells. The mean 

 average yield of all plantations since 1895 has been 4'23 

 short tons per acre. It must be borne in mind that from 

 eighteen to twenty-four months elapse from the time the land 

 is broken until tbe harvesting is concluded. Moreover, the 

 fields cannot be continuously cropped, but must be allowed 

 to lie fallow from time to time, and about three times the 

 area is needed tu maintain continuous yields than is required 

 to produce an annual crop. The cost of labour is high. The 

 average cost of production of sugar on sixteen reiiresentative 

 plantations for the crop 1901-2 was found to be .'*49'00 per 

 ton of sugar at the mill ; marketing expenses were from 

 ■SlToO to-Slo'OO per ton, according to location. 



In the whole territory there were 65,687 acres of land 

 planted in sugar-cane in 1899, and from this land there were 

 produced 2,2.39,376 tons of sugar-cane, or a shade over 3-t 

 tons per acre. To produce this there were expended 60c. 

 per ton of cane produced for fertilizers. The cost of raising 

 sugar-cane and delivering it to the factory is placed at 

 ■'?4"30 per ton. 



The methods of tilling the soil are varied. On some 

 islands steam-ploughs are chiefly used. The capacity of 

 steam-jjloughs ranges from 10 to 15 acres per day, ploughing 

 a depth of 1 foot to 2 feet according to recpiirements. In 

 districts with light soils where animals are used for jdoughiug, 

 the old style of hand-ploughs is fast being replaced by the 

 latest designs of ' .Sulky ' or ' Disc ' ploughs. Several designs 

 of harrow are now in use for the tilth of the soils before 

 furrowing, but the 'Spike' or 'Drag' harrow is more 



