854 



fUM TROPldAL AQklCULTVUiBTf, 



[JOfJE 1, i886. 



On the contrary the Oolouists have to contend 

 against: — 



1st. — A sparse population who, in the absence of a 

 wintPr anrl all inducement to lay by simi'ithing for oH 

 age, cannot be depended upon for any continuous 

 labour; hence necessity of importing strangers at a 

 great cost to prosecute the sugar industry. 



2nil. — The sugar cane takes from 12 to 16 months to 

 come to maturity, and is accompanied by a luxuriant 

 growth of weeds. In a tropical climate much labour is 

 required to keep these down, and also to promote the 

 circulatlrn of air and allow the sun to penetrate among 

 the ripening canes. 



3rd. — Absence of any crops other than plantains to 

 rotate with canes, and as the former are perishable, 

 and the home wants limited, they could only be grown 

 at a loss. 



4th. — The flinty texture of the sugar cane stalk and 

 its being as yet only of value as fuel, militate against 

 any process of manufacture that would destroy its 

 value as such. 



6th.— The nearest market in which they can purchase 

 coals is Great Britain, and freight and charges, raise 

 their cost to 36s. and 37s. per ton before they can be 

 dehvered at furnaces. Freight home is also high. 



6th. — The necessity of manufacturing the cane into 

 sugar immediately after being cut, as immediate 

 deterioration sets in— all saccharine running into acidity 

 and fermentation. 



Advantages op Cake Sugar ovee Beet Scgak. 



1st. — A large weight of cane can be grown on a given 

 area of laud, and at a cheaper rate than beet roots. 18 

 tons of sugar cane per morgeu are grown with good 

 tillage at 12s. 6d. per ton— beet costs 13s. IJd. per ton, 

 and produces 10 tous per morgen. 



2nd.— The sugar contained in the sugar cane is of 

 greater purity than is found in the beet, hence less loss 

 in purification, and the finished cane sugar is on an 

 average C° higher in analysis, and brings in to the 

 manufacturer at least 2.'. 6d. per cwt. more, even after 

 allowing for the extra cost of freight fiora Demerara, 

 as compared with that from North Germany to this 

 Country. 



3rd. — Beet sugar must be sold as made, and is otteu 

 forced on the market at unfavourable times, because it 

 suffers heavily from increase of glucose if stored, and a 

 heavy penalty is enacted for deUvery of any but fresh- 

 manufactured beet-crystals. In Paris, at present, beet 

 crystals of old crop are almost unsaleable. 



Weighing all these pros, and cons., it is evident that 

 the two industries are very evenly balanced, and that 

 those of the sugar cane planters who are in a positiou 

 to avail themselves of the very best appliances m 

 manufacture might, under improved conditons ol 

 labour, look forward to times when they would hold 

 their own against their formidable rival. One thing is 

 evident, and that is, that strict economy must be 

 prac ised in oiu- colonies. The days when sugar at £25 

 to £30 could stand the cuormons public expenditure 

 which characterised some of our leadmg "West Indian 

 Colonies are past, and both governors and governed 

 must b« prepared to reduce taxes aud expense to the 

 extent required for producing sugar at one-third less 

 coitthan hitherto.— Sugar Cane. 



THE ADVANTAGES OF TOBACCO. 



Dr. Tarcira states in his Materia Medica that be 

 ia " unacquainted with any well determined ill-effects 

 from the practice of smoking," and Chri,stisou speaks of 

 Ik as a luxury use.l all ihe world over without any 

 had effects having been clearly traced to it." In a 

 letfr of Dr. Parke's auther of "Parke's Manual of 

 I'rac ical Hygiene,' in the lawft, pnge oSl, ISfO, he 

 ci.nte.s.-es that he has searched in vain for any .satis- 

 fa.- oiy evideuce of the harmful eifects of tcbacco, 

 and thiit it was for this reason that its consideration 

 was not given place in the work mentioned. 



The fact hius been pointed out that men are on 

 the whole as healthy as women, while nine out of 

 ten of the male population of the world use tobacco 

 OBd womeu as a rul« abstain- In the learned pro 



^J 



lessiors, about one-half of the ministers ore addicted 

 to it in some form, likely, three-fourths of all phy- 

 sicians, and nine-tenths of members of the legal fra- 

 ternity. 



In looking calmly at the tobacco question, there 

 is one feature calculated to excite alarm, and that 

 is the habit of chewing and smoking so widely pract- 

 ised among boys. This, to young growing boys, is 

 unqualifiedly hurtful. They voluntarily endure the 

 first di.sagreeable effects of the tobacco to acquire 

 what they consider an accomplishmeut, the habit is 

 finally confirmed, and with an entire ignorance of its 

 powers, added to a tendency to immoderation, the 

 growth and development is often seriously interfered 

 with, and the worst results follow. They smoke and 

 chew generally the worst tobacco, and to a degree 

 which would positively be harmful with the majority 

 of adults. This matter should be corrected by proper 

 action of our legislators, with whom the responsiblity 

 rests. Smoking, when done at proper times, facilitates 

 disgestion. The sense of relief obtained by a cigar, 

 after a heavy meal, is well known to smokers. 

 Dyspepsia sometimes follows the discontinuance of 

 tobacco, and is removed when the habit is resumed. 

 While the abuse of tobacco weakens the system and 

 leads to emaciation, used intelligently it exerts favor- 

 able influence upon nutrition. 



Hammond, by observation upon himself, found a 

 gain in weight with the use of tobacco. Fiske at- 

 tributed an increase of tweutv jiounds in three months 

 to tobacco. " Tobacco, when the food is sufficient to 

 preserve the weight, increase it; when insufficient, 

 and the body is losing, tobacco restrains the loss" 

 (Hammond), Boerhaave, of Holland, over two hundred 

 years ago, referred to tobacco as being antidotal to 

 hunger. It seems that the power to undergo severe 

 exertion and fatigue, either mental or physical, is 

 aided by tobacco. " Soldiers of all nations use it. 

 It was a standing uijuuction of Napoleon that his 

 troops should have tobacco, and it was of great ad- 

 vantage in the retreat from Moscow.'' (Fiske.) During 

 our late war the soldier would be patient imder 

 very severe privations, if he but had a good supply 

 of tobacco to smoke or chew, and when on picket 

 duty would risk his life to strike a match for his 

 pipe. 



Situations for loneliness are always rendered more 

 tolerable by tobacco, and it is the constant companion 

 of those who lead lives of solitude, such as that of 

 the herdsmen or ranchmen. A feeling of unrest or 

 discontent made up of ill-defined longings, of imagin- 

 ary disappointments, and unpleasant anticipations, 

 commonly known as ennui, is respon.«.ihle for much 

 unhappiness. Tliis unfortunate condition of mind is 

 removed by the shooting infiuence of a cigar, and 

 the uioroseness and gloom ale quickly dispelled. As 

 much of every day is tilled up with care, our degree 

 of comfort in this life will depend largely upon om' 

 ability to bear it uncomplainingly. That tobacco 

 assists us to do this ; that it enables us to look upon 

 life more complacently, must be the conclusion of 

 every one who has experienced its influence. That it 

 enables us to toil with less fatigue, is equally true. 

 The readiest writers generally use tobacco, and can- 

 not accomplish the same amount of work in the same 

 time without it, aud those connected with newspaper 

 and other literary work, who have often to write 

 against time, find it of inestimable value. 



Tobacco formerly enjoyed a deserved re))utation as 

 a medicinal agent, and was extensively used in scabies 

 and other cutaneous disorders. It has been largely 

 supplanted, however, in tnodeni practice, by other 

 remedies. The use of tobacco during a mercurial 

 course decreases the risk of salivation, and cases of 

 ptyalism have ber n reported cured by its employment. 

 Before the discovery of oliloroform, tobacco served ,'\ 

 useful purpose in the linnds of the surgeon in cases 

 of strangulated hirnia for obtaining complete relax- 

 ation. Tobacco constitutes a most valuable addition 

 to the ordinary poultice in local painful atfectious. 

 In two cases of carcinoma of the breast, by incor« 

 porating it in a local apphcif''". a marked advantage 

 was r^'iced by the writer iu ilie relief of pain. As 



