Vol. V. No. 99. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



35 



nacliinery, but new principles have recently been applied, 

 notably that of diffusion, under what is known as the Naudet 

 system, and it is believed that this has met with some 

 success. With improved cultivation and the emplojment 

 of more perfect processes of extraction, there seems no reason 

 to doubt that sugar will continue to hold its own in future. 



1903. This included a bonus of apparently £2 10s. 8d. and 

 £1 l-t.?. 3d., the price actually paid by the refiners being 

 £10 Os. 3d. and £9 9s., respectively. 



Queensland. 



The following is extracted from the West India 

 Committee Circular for December 22, 1905 : — 



The Melbourne correspondent of the Financier gives 

 some interesting particulars regarding the sugar industry of 

 the Australian Commonwealth. The Federal Government 

 propose to raise the excise duty on Australian grown sugar 

 produced by black labour from £3 to £4 per ton, while 

 increasing the bounty on sugar grown by white labour from 

 £2 to £3 per ton. According to the estimates of production 

 and importation given in Sir John Forrest's late budget, the 

 revenue under the projiosed change will work out thus for 

 the financial year 190.5-6 : — 



Tons. Duty. 



Imported sugar 17,500 £ 93,000 



Australian sugar 171, .500 686,000 



Gross revenue 

 Deduct £3 per ton bounty 



£779,000 

 218,-51.5 



Net revenue £560,485 



On the old scale of excise and bounty, the result on an 

 equal estimate of tonnage would be : — 



Duty. 



Imported .sugar £93,000 



Australian sugar ... ... ... 514,500 



Deduct £2 per ton bounty 

 Net revenue 



£607,. 500 

 146,000 



£461,-500 



According to the above figures, the revenue will be 

 increased by nearly £100,000. Should the reduction of pro- 

 tective duty from £3 to £2 — the difference between the 

 excise and import duty — cause increased importation, the 

 amount of benefit to revenue will be proportionately greater. 

 Growers who employ black labour will, however, pay £1 jier 

 ton more excise, while growers using white labour pay £1 

 per ton more in excise, and receive £1 per ton more in 

 bounty. Yet black labour produces more than ever without 

 bounties. Up to the present it is not black-grown, but 

 imported sugar which has been beaten out of the market, at 

 a very large cost to revenue. 



The Mac/cay Mercury also gives the following agri- 

 cultural details in connexion with the above industry. The 

 area under sugar amounted to 120,317 acres, or an increase 

 of 10 per cent, on the previous year, the total area harvested 

 being 82,741 acres, or an increase of 30 per cent. The latter 

 yielded 147,688 tons of raw sugar as against 91,828 tons 

 in 1903, being the highest but one on record. The less 

 proportion harvested in 1903 was small on account of the 

 drought conditions, a large amount of cane having been sold 

 as feed for stock during that year. Last year 16-04 tons of 

 cane per acre were yielded, as against 13-65 in the previous 

 year, and an average of 14-38 tons. The sugar per acre was 

 1-78 tons as compared with 1-52 tons in 1903, and an 

 average of 1-57 tons. The price paid for raw sugars last 

 ^•ear was £12 10s. lid per ton, as against £11 3^. 3d. in 



British Guiana. 



The Demerara Arcjo^y of December 30, 190.5, in 

 reviewing the agricultural operations of the colony 

 during 1904, has the following on the sugar industry: — 

 The land under cane cultivation during 190-5, exclusive 

 of land cultivated by cane farmers, extended to 74,121 acres, 

 as against 73,782 acres in 1904. 



There are nearly 2,000 acres under canes cultivated by 

 farmers. 



As the year closes there are forty-four estates on which 



sugar is manufactured, and they may be grouped as under: — 



Over 6,000 acres 1 



3,000 „ 4 



2,000 „ 5 



1,000 „ 26 



Under 1,000 „ 8 



44 

 During the year, plantation Peter's Hall was purchased 

 by the Demerara Co., Ltd., and amalgamated with plantation 

 Diamond. Plantation Success, Leguan, was cropped and 

 abandoned. The jjroduce from canes grown on plantation 

 Bath, Berbice, will, in future, be manufactured on plantation 

 Blairmont, so that during 1906, only forty-two factories will 

 be at work. 



SEEDLING CANES. 



The area under cultivation in varieties of canes other 

 than Bourbon, now extends to about 18,000 acies, and, a& 

 opportunity offers, further extension is being undertaken. 

 During recent years no new seedling of special promise has 

 been grown. The area under cultivation of the following 

 seedlings has been considerably extended, viz , D. 625, 

 D. 109, and D. 145. The D. 625 does not mill well and the 

 megass obtained from it is of poor quality for fuel purposes, 

 but the yield of canes per acre is heavy, and the juice is of fair 

 quality. This cane is the most promising of all the seedlings. 

 D. 109 mills well, and the megass is of fair value as fuel, 

 although not equal to that obtained from the Bourbon cane. 

 The quality of cane juice is fair, but the canes are inclined to 

 be dry. It ratoons well, but cannot be grown to advantage 

 longer than second ratoons, and does not thrive in heavy 

 soils. Owing to the dryness of the cane, the yield obtained 

 from ratoons is often disappointing. D. 145 possesses some 

 good qualities but it does not mill well or supply megass of 

 high fuel value. It does not ratoon as regularly as D. 625 

 and D. 109. Other seedlings whicii are being extended, and 

 which do well if planted in suitable soils, are B. ^08, B. 147, 

 and B. 109. The B. 208 has, generally speaking, not 

 succeeded -nell, and it evidently requires special soil and 

 climatic conditions. B. 147 is not as good a cane as the 

 Bourbon and its value lies in its disease-resisting qualities. 

 B. 109 is a promising cane, but like the majority of the seed- 

 lings it does best in selected soils. Other seedlings which 

 are being cautiously extended may be named as follows : 

 Sealy Seedling, D. 116, D. 3,956, D. 1,087, and D. 2,468. 

 The cultivation of the White Transparent variety has been 

 more or less abandoned. On a large number of estates the 

 cultivation of the Bourbon cane must be given up owing to 

 the ravages of various diseases of a fungoid character, and 

 only by the substitution of suitable disease-resisting varieties 

 of seedlings, can the abandonment of cane cultivation oa 

 these estates be prevented. 



