TWELFTH ANNUAL REPORT ]^Q9 



improving the grade of native sugar. The cane is milled and 

 defecated in the usual manner, and the evaporation continued in 

 the open cauas until a striking point at a temperature of 111° C. 

 is reached, when it is ladled into graining tanks and allowed to 

 cool and crystallize. After crystallization, the massecuite is re- 

 moved to the centrifugal, where it is purged without washing and 

 yields a sugar having a sucrose content of from 93 to 95 per 

 cent. The sugar is soft, and the color is dark as no water 

 is used, but the slight improvement in color by washing would 

 not compensate for the sugar washed away in an attempted 

 improvement. 



Our records show that last year the purity of the cane attained 

 a maximum very early in the season, probably due to the lack of 

 rain which stopped the growth and induced ripening. Later in 

 the season the grade of the sugar was lower, which indicates that 

 the cane became overripe. This year, however, the purity in- 

 creased regularly until January before it began to decline, indi- 

 cating overripeness. It is noteworthy that the average purity 

 for this year is 2 per cent less than for last, which indicates 

 that a greater amount of green cane was cut with the consequent 

 loss to the planter. 



We have carried on some experimentation and research with 

 cane from La Granja station of the Bureau of Agriculture at La 

 Carlota. What we have been able to do is merely a beginning. 

 In my last report I indicated the desirability of obtaining a piece 

 of land in or near Iloilo where the cane can be more closely 

 watched and the work carried out to better advantage. Never 

 before has it been more desirable to have funds for the estab- 

 lishment, equipment, and maintenance of a suitable experimental 

 farm. Experimental work carried on in Iloilo should materially 

 assist the grower throughout the Archipelago and in the devel- 

 opment of the sugar-cane industry of the Philippine Islands. 



I have given this account in order to show that, in addition to 

 our laboratory work of polarizing sugars, there is a large amount 

 of instruction work with regard to the planting and harvesting 

 of cane, as well as to the perfect recovery of the sugar which 

 should be given to the planters. Thousands of pesos could be 

 saved annually to the sugar grower if he were familiar with the 

 precautions which he should take. Attention has already been 

 called to the desirability of creating a sugar division in this 

 Bureau consisting of at least three men. With such a corps of 

 workers, there would be time to do field work and give instruc- 

 tion which would forestall the extravagant practices now in 

 vogue among some of the sugar planters. This year a press 



