132 



Central factory system. 



Received from the sale of — 



8,077 piculs ) (9.914 pesos per picul ) . ^^^ 



194.6 metric tons/ ° ^ ' (156.75 pesos per metric ton) 



Cost of growing the cane, as before 17,940 



Profit 12,565 



Increased profit due to factory system 13,465 



From this it is evident that from every ton of inferior cane which 

 is now made into "current" sugar at a loss of 22 centavos a metric 

 ton of cane, 2.37 pesos a ton of sugar, or 15 centavos a picul of sugar, 

 there could, by the central factory system, be realized a profit to the 

 planter of 3.04 pesos per ton of cane, 33.10 pesos per ton of sugar 

 (figured on the yield now secured), or 2.09 pesos per picul of sugar. 



ADVANTAGES OF A CHANGE TO MODERN METHODS OF MANHFACTTJEE. 



It has been shown by the preceding figures that the average planter 

 of Negros should be able to secure considerably more profit from his 

 cane if he could sell it on the plantation for half its value in 96° sugar 

 instead of grinding it himself as at present, the difference in profit 

 being much more marked in the case of a poor quality of cane than 

 with a richer one. In all these calculations, the cost of producing 

 cane has been taken as the total cost of production of sugar by the 

 present method minus the present cost of manufacture and sale of 

 the raw sugar, thus including interest and depreciation on the manufac- 

 turing plant now in use. This extra charge against growing the cane, 

 while proper at the present time, since the small mills are already in 

 existence and represent capital invested, would under the central factory 

 system become less each year, since there would be no necessity for the 

 upkeep of individual milling plants, and would be eventually written 

 off, so that the difference in gain, as in the case of a new plantation 

 equipped solely for producing cane, would then be much greater. How- 

 ever, the farmer should not at the start expect too large an actual 

 money profit from a change to the central factory system, for the 

 reason previously stated that, although an increased yield, both in 

 quantity and quality of sugar, would result therefrom, yet the same 

 amount of cane would be forced to pay dividends on much more capital 

 than is now invested. By far the greatest benefit to the farmer which 

 would result from this system would be its freeing him from the cares 

 and troubles of manufacturing his own sugar, thus allowing him to 

 devote all his energy toward the proper cultivation of his fields. This 

 factor is so important that it alone would warrant a change to modern 

 methods; and, even if the profit from a given weight of cane were 

 somewhat less, the greater amount of land which could be put under 

 intelligent cultivation would more than pay for the change. Contrary 

 to the ideas of some, the labor question would be rather improved than 



