Vol. XVI. No. 388. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



69 



THE HAWAIIAN SUGAR CROP OF 1916. 



The United States Department of Agriculture, 

 underrate of .January 4, has given some details of the 

 Hawaiian sugar crop for 191 (i, from which the Louis- 

 iava Planter secures the following data: — 



The crop year was considered to end on September 30. 

 While the plant cane in Hawaii requires about eighteen months 

 to mature, yet its planting and harvesting are so adjusted as 

 to come within the limits of the crop years ending Septem- 

 ber 30, as above noted, and the basis for the consideration 

 of the total crops produced are estimated by the calendar 

 years. There has been sume objection made to this at times 

 by some of the Hawaiian planters, they holding that their 

 su^ar crops were more expensive to produce owing to the 

 lunger time involved from the date of planting to the date of 

 harvesting. The interest on the investment in the land 

 would be about the only additional cost, and the annual 

 production is properly comparable with the annual production 

 ■ if any other sugar-producing country. 



As now reported, the crop for the year 1916 amounted 

 to 529,253 long tons, or about 1:7,53.'{ ions less than the 

 year before, or a falling off of about 9 per cent. The area 

 harvested was 115,419 acre< or 2,219 acres more than the 

 previous year. But with a lower yield of cane per acre and 

 a smaller average of sugar per ton, the short ige in the crop 

 resulted. The total area in cane in 191tj is reported at 

 246,332 acres, an increase of 6 532 acres over the report of the 

 previous year. Of the total cane area, 1.15.419 acres as here- 

 inbefore stated, were harvested or, say, 47 per cent., and 

 the remainder 130,913 acres was left over for grinding within 

 the following calendar year. 



Some addition il interesting data are also given. Of the 

 area harvested during the last five years there has been 

 rather an exceptional uniformity, the lowest report being 

 112 700 acres in 1914 as against 1 15,419 acres harvested in 

 191G, the rest of the five years being intermediate. The 

 average yield of snear-cane per acre vvas 42 short tons for 

 1916.^4(3 ton.s for 1915, 45 tons for 1014, 39 tons for 1913, 

 and 42 tons for 1912, The yield of .sugar per short ton of 

 cane, our common way of estimating it in Louisiana, was 

 down to 240 tt). per ton in 1914, and as high as 249 ft), 

 in 1912, the whole, as will be seen, varying within 

 the limits of from 12 to 121 per cent yield in sugar of the 

 weight of the cane. The lengths of the campaign varied 

 from 200 days in 1912 to 169 days in 1913, the other years 

 interveniu',' within these limits. The comment is made that 

 The figures for 1916 are subject to revision. 



The same Journal for .January 20, refers to the 

 high sugar e.xtraction in Hawaii where a 97 per cent, 

 recovery is obtained. Commenting on the fact, the 

 •Journal says: — 



We are confident in our belief that the day is not 

 far distant when the trial of high e.xti action, already blazed 

 in Hawiiii, will be followed to the end in Cuba and in the 

 other more progressive cane-growing countries in the world. 

 And we can .see no reason to doubt that shredders and 

 pre-crushers — possibly a combination of the two — with 

 a'generous use of water, will do just as good work in other 

 lountries as in these where they were first developed. 



LIME AND ARROWROOT CULTIVATION" 

 IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA. 



The prospect of eventually establishing a lime industry m 

 the Protectorate of British East Africa has been kept in view 

 for some years past, and data have been collected in that 

 country which prove thit the lime tree will flourish and 

 produce good crops over a wide range of British East Africa. 

 According to the Chief of the Economic Plants Division of 

 the Department of Agriculture, writing in the Annual Depart- 

 mental Report for 1914-1.5, it is desirable that the coffee 

 planters in the Uplands should have a reliable permanent; 

 second cultivition to fall back upon in ca^e the coffee leaf 

 disease should later assume serious proportions; and taking 

 into account the satisfactory manner in which citrus fruits 

 thrive in the coffee districts, the establishment of a lime 

 industry and the more extended cultivation of other citrus 

 plants are regarded worthy of careful consideration. 



In looking through the rainfall records for British East 

 Africa, we notice that the preupitation in many districts is 

 much below the requirements of lime cultivation, and unless 

 the plantations are tlioroughly well sheltered by windbreaks 

 to luaintain a humid atmosphere, it is difficult to understand 

 how the trees manage to flourish. Whereas citrus tree.s like 

 the orange and grape fruit are not very particular as regards 

 ecvironment, the lime tree in order to flourish requires very 

 special conditions. However, it is stated in the report that 

 the Dominica lime trees at Mazeras are growing and fruiting 

 splendidlj', and that batches of seedlings are being raised 

 there in case a demand should arise for them. We notice 

 that in the rainfall records, the total precipitation at this 

 place is only about 30 inches. The report also states that 

 fruiting Dominica lime trees are established and thriving at 

 the Kibos experimental farm. The rainfall at this station in 

 1914 was only 4114 inches. 



Turning to the cultivation of arrowroot, the report says 

 that certain selected parts of the Protectorate are considered 

 by the Department of .Agriculture to be suitable, and land 

 has been taken up experimentally on a small .scale by one or 

 two settlers in the Highlands. It appears that the depression 

 in the arrowroot market during 1914 caused planters to hold 

 back, and mention is made of the fact that there has been 

 a tendency for the same reason to plant other crops instead 

 of arrowroot in St. Vincent. 



Planting Cassava on Banked and Unbanked 



Land. - It is stated in the Report on the Agricultural 



Department, St. Vincent, 191516, that this experiment, 



started the previous year, was continued. The results are 

 shown below in tabular form: — 



Design^ition of plot. Size of plot. 'S'ield per acre in ft). 



A. B inked , .-.nn.o 



5 feet X 2 feet. - ^"« -0,94b 



B Unbatrked 



5 feet X 2 feet. ^ " ' 



From the above figures it will be seen that there is 

 a difference of 1 577 ft), per acre in favour of the unbanked 

 method of planting, or 7'5 per cent. Comparing the results 

 with those of 19 '.3- 14 and 1914-15, we see that in 1913-14 

 there was a difference in favour of the unbanked method of 

 25'1 per cent., and in 1914-15 of 5'1 percent. Thus, in 

 spite of the absence of an adequate number of control plots, 

 it is fairly certain that an advantage is likely to be gained by 

 planting cassava on the fiat rather than on banks. 



