WEST I.NDIAX CANE. 



Watts " states tbe composition of the cane ground at the central factory at 

 Antigua, British West Indies, during the year 1907 to be as folloM'S: 



Cane: Per cent. 



Sucrose 14.39 



Fiber : 15.07 



First mill juice: 



Brix 20.58 



Sucrose 18.51 



Purity 89.09 



Glucose 0.93 



"Whole" juice : 



Brix 20.58 



Sucrose 17.06 



Purity 87.03 



Glucose 0.88 



This cane, although comparable with that of Negros in point of richness and 

 purity of juice, would hardly be appreciated here because of the large amount of 

 fiber which it carries. 



NEGROS AS COMPAKED WITH OTHER COUNTRIES IN RESPECT TO THE QUALITY OF CANE. 



The foregoing comparative analyses establish rather conclusively the 

 fact that, contrary to "what is perhaps the general impression, based 

 on the idea that "^ '^nothing good can come from the Philippines,*' the 

 native cane ordinarily grown in ISTegi'os is, in respect to the richness 

 and purity of its juice, equal to that of almost any other sugar-produc- 

 ing country in the w^orld, and, having in addition a comparatively low 

 fiber content, could hardly be improved upon in its adaptability to a 

 thorough and economical extraction by milling. It would almost seem 

 that there had been evolved here by an unconscious process of selection 

 the type of cane most nearly suited to a country where mills are, as 

 a rule, weak and inefficient, and where the quality of sugar produced 

 depends almost entirely upon the original purity and concentration of 

 the c^ne juice. 



DESIRABILITY OF INTRODUCING OTHER VARIETIES OF CANE. 



However, the fact that vre are already the fortunate possessors of 

 such a good quality of cane should not deter us from attempting to 

 improve upon it. The" sugar content of a cane is. as often as not, a 

 function of soil and of climatic conditions rather than an inlierent 

 quality peculiar to a certain variety, and it is quite possible that other 

 kinds of cane might be introduced here which would combine the good 



" West Indian Bull. (1908), 9, 91. 

 95424 6 



