Vol. V. No. 105. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



131 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Mutual Control in Sugar Making. 



The Internaf ioiud Sugar Journal for April 1906 

 gives an account written by Mr. J. Leiy, of the Antigua 

 central sugar factory, of a system in operation in Java, 

 which is known as Mutual Control. The following is 

 taken from that article : — 



111 Java, there is a system for the exchange of inforraa- 

 tion concerning the working of the sugar factories there, 

 which is known by the name of ' Mutual Control.' According 

 to this system, each factory sends particulars to date as to 

 working, comparison of the juice, etc., every fortnight ; or, if 

 this is not possible, every month, to the experiment stations, 

 which superintend the .sy.stem and distribute the results. In 

 order that the different results may be comparable, particulars 

 are given in the first list of the .season as to the kind of 

 installation and the modes of clarifying employed. With 

 the same object, all the factories use the .same system of 

 chemical control, while their chemists employ, as far as 

 possible, the same methods of analysing the juices, megass, 

 etc., and give the weight of the cane and the measure of the 

 juice without any unjustified correction. In this way, each 

 factory can gain information as to what results are being 

 obtained at the others, and the superiority or inferiority of 

 any one factory is quickly shown. 



It would he quite possible to adopt a similar system for 

 the West Indie.«, from .Jamaica to Demerara, for such factories 

 as possess a complete system of control, that is, means of 

 weighing the cane, measuring the juice, etc., and a competent 

 chemist provided with a good laboratorj'. Barbados would 

 he the best centre for the collection and distribution of results, 

 the expenses of printing and posting of which could be 

 co^"ered by an annual fee of 8s. or 10.?. from each factor}-, 

 while no numbers of the report would be sold outside. 



It should not l)e difiicult to find some organization 

 willing to undertake the work of receiving and collating the 

 reports. This work might also be done in Demerara or in any 

 of the islands. 



The writer will be glad to receive any communication on 

 the subject from any one interested in the proposals. 



History of the Sugar Industry. 



The Su[io/r rhrntcra' Journal ior March 31 last, 

 contains under the above title a paper by Mr. W. H. 

 Harmon, Secretary of the Western Sugar Refinery 

 Company, read before the Canncrs' League of 

 California, held in San Francisco on January 14, 1906. 



The paper deals with the development of the cane 

 and beet sugar industries of the world, from the middle 

 ages to the present time. The following is e.xtracted 

 as likely to be of interest to the readers of the Agri- 

 cv.ltural Ke\r)<: — 



We find references to the sugar industry as early as the 

 year L'SG, when sugar was used in the kingdom of Funnen, 

 south of the river Ganges, as a revenue producer. It is very 

 likely that the sugar-cane originally came from India in the 

 neighbourhood of the river Gange.s, and later was carried by 

 traders into other tropical countries. 



In tlie year 998, a trust or monopoly was formed by the 

 ruler of Egypt, covering the entire sugar production and 

 consumption of that country. All factories were ordered to 

 be closed except the factory run by him, and no sugar 

 except that manufactured in his own factory was allowed to 

 be sold. He erected special places of sale, and had officers 

 appointed to watch the sales. All foreign sugar was 

 confiscated. The first sugar which was known to have been 

 sent to England was sent from Venice in 1319. 



There are records from the year 1318 to the effect that 

 taxes were paid to the King of Cyprus in the form of sugar. 

 Jfauy efforts were made in the following years to create 

 monopolies in the sugar business, but without success. In 

 the year 159G Sir Thomas Mil way made application for sugar 

 monopoly for England, but this was refused by Queen 

 Elizabeth. 



Bounties on the manufacture of sugar first came into 

 existence about the year 1700 when Holland, to protect the 

 industry, agreed to pay a bounty. France soon followed suit. 

 About the same time, 1700, the price of a pound of refined 

 sugar in London was 270s. 



I would like to call your attention to the fact 

 that when we refer to sugar statistics, we refer to the 

 countries whose production enters into international com- 

 merce, or passes through the world's custom house. As aa 

 instance, about 2,000,000 acres in India are constantly 

 producing sugar-cane, and this tremendous acreage probably 

 produces about 1 ton of sugar per acre, the result being that 

 the production in India has, for many years past, been about 

 2,000,000 tons, and yet this vast tonnage never enters into 

 the world's statistics, owing to the fact that it is consumed 

 entirely at home, and in a raw state. The methods of 

 growing and processing the cane are most crude, as 

 they are in a great many of the tropical countries. Since 

 the war with Spain the United States has become possessed 

 of a large sugar-producing area in Porto Rico, and also ia 

 the Philippine Islands. As an instance of the crude methods 

 in vogue, I might say that, at the present time, there is not, 

 as far as I know, one modern plant for the production of 

 sugar in the Philippine Islands : and the area in square miles 

 of the island of Luzon alone is about equal to the island of 

 Cuba. The production of sugar in Cuba this year will amount 

 to about 1,300,000 tons, while in the entire Philippine group 

 the production will be somewhere in the neighbourhood 

 of 200,000 tons. 



The Mexican Sugar Industry. 



The following extract has been taken from the 

 Louisiana Planter for March 31 last: — 



The Mexican sugar crop for the year 190-5-6 is estimated 

 by Willett and Grey at 105,000 tons, as against 115,000 

 tons the previous year. The Mexican Investor estimates the 

 crop at about 137,000 tons. It will be recalled that the 

 estimates of the sugar crop of Mexico for a number of years 

 past have, in a general way, placed the crop at 100,000 tons 

 of sugar coming from the newer sugar houses producing the 

 better grades of sugar, and about 100,000 tons of low grade, 

 or black sugars, sold and consumed in the localities where 

 produced, and never getting into commercial channels. 



The increased production of sugar in ilexico has 

 necessitated the exportation of a considerable quantity, and 

 the Mexican authorities report these exports for the year 

 1902-3 at 8,000 tons, for 1903-4 at 16,000 tons, and for 

 1904-5 at 38,000 tons. The crop now coming off in 

 Mexico is said to be a good one, and it is thought that the 

 exports will be as large a-s last year. 



