Till-: I'KOGKKSS (II- lllh: NATAL Sl'GAK 1 N 1)L'STK^ . 5^9 



crushini^ 1)\- a pair of mills, and noarl)- all had vacuum pans for 

 juice and svrup boiling; but a few still had open batteries and 

 Wetzeels. Much of the machinery employed was admittedl} 

 out of date. ])ut during the past 24 years vast improvements have 

 been introduced, and thouiJ;h the numl)er of factories has much 

 iliminished durinij^ this period, cidtivatiou has consideraljly in- 

 creased. The crushiu!^ season usually runs from June or Jul\- to 

 lanuarv, and the ])lanting from September to December. 



The capital employed in the industry was estimated in i.SSX 

 at £830,000 (to-day it is over three millions), and the succeessful 

 flotation in Fingland. in 1892, of Reynolds Bros., Ltd., with a 

 capital of i 100,000. is an instance of the (outside confidence in 

 the ability of the industry. 



Successful sugar-growing anywhere depends much on clim- 

 ate and rainfall. The Coast climate of Natal, with an average 

 rainfall oi 39 inches, and an axerage temi)erature of y/" , being 

 warmed by the Mozambique ctn-rent, making it sub-tropical, has, 

 upon the whole, proved favourable io the production of sugar. 

 As is well known, it is only a coast belt, ranging from about six 

 to twelve miles inland, that contains the cdiaditions suitable for 

 cane growing ; besides what is now cultivated, there are still 

 large tracts of land to be found and made available to grow all 

 the sugar South Africa requires, and if the industry continues 

 to expand as it has done in the past ten years, there seems no 

 reason to doubt that the industry will reach the exporting stage 

 in the near future. 



The ])rospects of the sugar industry may be considered satis- 

 factory and hopeful. All those now engaged in the enterprise 

 have had many years' experience of its ups and downs. They 

 know what to expect in the way of seasons, and better than 

 most of their predecessors, the absolute necessity of more care- 

 ful culture of the raw material. ])roper scientific selection of 

 land and plants, scientific manuring, labour-saving appliances, 

 mechanical transport and ])lowing. etc. Factory work is now 

 much better understood than formerly, there bein^i' much less 

 guesswork all round and more practical study of the elements 

 of success. The fall in prices which at one time threatened ruin 

 to the industry has, in Natal, as elsewhere, given an impetus to 

 improved methods. It is only by the adoption of the latest 

 modern methods to production of cane, thereby ensuring maxi- 

 mum tonnage and sucrose content, sound engineering practice 

 in the construction of sugar manufacturing jilant, and the best 

 methods of manufacturing under chemical control, that the 

 cane-grower will be able in the future to sticceed and compete 

 against the required standard of develojinient existing in 

 countries competing in the open markets of the world. 



The production c^f sugar in Natal during the first 40 \ears 

 of its cultivation reached a total sterling value of £5.000.000, 

 which contributed largely to the prosperity and general spending 

 power of the Colony. In 1898, 29,000 acres were in sugar: in 

 that and the ])revious year the industry sustained a serious set- 



