Vol. IV. No. 83. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



179 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Hawaii. 



The following note on the sugar industry in 

 Hawaii is extracted from the Consular Beport on the 

 territory for the year 1903-4 : — 



The sugai'-producing i.slands of the group are, in the 

 order of tlioir output, Hawaii, Oahu (ou which Honolulu is 

 situated), Maui, and Kauai, with an acreage of 94,000 acres 

 planted with cane for the crop of 1904, and an acreage 

 under cultivation of some 220,000 acres altogether. 



For the year ended December 31, 1904, the total crop 

 for the whole group reached 367,475 short ton.s (328,102 

 tons avoir.) compared with 437,991 short tons (391,063 tons 

 avoir.) in the previous year, a fall of nearly 63,000 tons, but 

 a larger total than that of 1902 ; and, with the exception of 

 the crop of 1903, the highest that has yet been recorded. 



Much damage has again been experienced from the 

 ravages of the 'leaf-hopper' {Perl:insidta mccliaricirla) and 

 other pests, whilst in some parts fungus diseases have also 

 been prevalent. It is, in fact, only by the employment of 

 the greatest skill and care, combined with the most progres- 

 sive methods of irrigation, fertilization and the like, that 

 plantations have been able successfully to fight against these 

 drawbacks and the handicap of dear labour and cheap sugar 

 prices. 



The Manufacture of Rum in Martinique. 



M. M. Colletas contributes to the Journal 

 d' Agriculture Tropicah at\ interesting article on the 

 manufacture of rum in the French West Indies. 

 Much of the information, it is stated, is taken from 

 a book by M. F. A. Pairault, entitled Le Rlium et sa 

 Fahi'ication. The following extracts are likely to be 

 of interest : — 



In the West Indies the name ' country ' rum (rhum 

 d'habitant) is given to the product distilled from the fermenta- 

 tion of sugar-cane juice whether raw or boiled. This 

 liquor is little known outside the countries in which it is 

 produced. ' Tafia' or manufactured rum is obtained by the 

 fermentation of the residual molasses and scraps of sugar- 

 cane. This product, more or less adulterated, is known 

 exclusively in Europe under the name of rum. 



The town of St. Pierre (Martinique) was the centre of 

 the most imijortant rum industry of the world. The 

 countries, which, at the present time, produce the largest 

 quantities of manufactured rum at 55° are : Demerara, 

 3,500,000 gallons ; .lamaica, 2,310,000 gallons; Guadeloupe, 

 638,000 galhms ; ilauritiu.s, 704,000 gallons. Before the 

 eruption of ilount Pele, Martinique produced 4,620,475 

 gallons of rum at 55\ Then came Reunion with 352,000 

 gallon.s, and Trinidad with 119,000 gallons. 



Rum is distinguished from other alcoholic liquors by 

 a si^ecial odour formed liy a blending of ethers, ordinary 

 alcohol, higher alcohols, aldehyde, acetal, and other undeter- 

 mined compounds. This aroma depends on the raw material, 

 the yeast, on the ' vinasse ' added to the unfermented sugar, 

 on the grade of rum, and lastly on the distiller's ap])aratus. 

 il. Pairault has proved that the micro-organisms — bacteria 

 and moulds — which swarm in the fermenting vats, do not 

 contribute to the aroma of the rum. 



EXPORTS OF TOBAGO. 



The following is a table illustrating the value of 

 the productions of Tobago exported to Trinidad during 

 the years 1896 and 1904-5 :— 



Bermuda Onions. The Bermuda-grown onions, 

 which the Dempster Steam Shipping Company has recently 

 been distributing among the restaurant keepers of London, 

 represent a small, serviceable, solid type of the brown 

 Spanish onion, which does not show the slightest tendency to 

 start into growth. The firmness and solidity of the flesh is 

 one of the principal features of the onion, but in reference to 

 its apparently good keeping qualities, it is requisite to know 

 when and under what conditions the onions were grown, 

 and what steps were taken to preserve them. The object 

 sought by the company is to create a demand for the onions, 

 which, so for as it is understood, will be grown in Bermuda, 

 but their distribution will be a monopoly of the company. 

 The onion is said to cook well and be both succulent and 

 tender to the palate. (R. D. in the Gardeners' Chronicle.') 



