PART X. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS. 



In the preceding pages we have shewn how important' an 

 industry the manufacture of date sugar is. The amount produced 

 in Bengal alone is probably about 100,000 tons worth well over 

 500,000 sterling. This industry is a source of profit to a large 

 number of people. 



The methods of sugar manufacture and refining carried out in 

 the district are very crude and in the author's opinion are capable 

 and worthy of great improvement. 



It has been shewn that even in the present state of the industry, 

 by the regular planting of 350 trees per acre, one can expect as an 

 average nearly 3 tons of gur per acre. This is a much higher yield 

 than could be obtained in the district from sugarcane. Further, 

 there is a good deal of risk in the growth of cane which may be dam- 

 aged by floods, pests, etc., and also much labour and expense is 

 involved in its growth. With date palm the yield of sugar is certain 

 from year to year and very little expense has to be incurred for actual 

 cultivation. 



In these recommendations we are mainly considering the im- 

 provements from the point of view of a native industry. 



At the same time there seems no reason, why with careful seed 

 selection the amount of sugar in the juice should not be raised con- 

 siderably and under these circumstances there might be openings 

 for large central factories, especially as there would be no need of 

 crushing apparatus, which is such an expensive part of a factory 

 dealing with cane. As a set off against this, however, we must re- 

 member that the megasse or cane from which the juice has been 

 extracted, serves as fuel in the cane sugar factory. In order to boil 



