SUGAE INDUSTKY IN FOKMOSA 33 



earnest both from the physical and from the economic 

 point of view, so as to ensure the creation of a profit- 

 able sugar industry. The production of sugar in 

 Formosa then amounted to 50,000 tons a year. It 

 was estimated-that the island could produce five times 

 this amount, and a definite programme was drawn up 

 calculated to bring about this result. The physical 

 problem was comparatively simple, since the climate, 

 soil and water facilities were favourable to cane pro- 

 duction, labour was fairly abundant, and by the 

 introduction of better canes from Hawaii, combined 

 with scientific manuring and better cultivation, it was 

 shown that the outturn per acre could be greatly 

 increased. The real difficulty lay in the fact that the 

 land belonged to the Chinese farmers who were 

 unwilling to sell their land or to grow cane for the 

 factories. To meet this difficulty the Government 

 issued regulations in 1905 under which a definite tract 

 of country can be assigned to a sugar mill. All 

 farmers in this tract are bound to sell their cane to 

 the mill and can be punished for making sugar them- 

 selves by the old, primitive methods, or for selling 

 their cane to anyone else. In addition to this, large 

 subsidies were granted to the industry in various 

 forms. These varied from time to time, but in 1911 

 subsidies could be obtained for clearing new land, 

 purchasing fertilisers, creating irrigation and drainage 

 works, procuring good seed, erecting repairing shops 

 and organising chemical control. The sums so paid 



amounted, at one time, to Es.50 lakhs a year. Last, 



3 



