l^d tiMEHRl. 



be an enormous boon to the colony. It would reduce to 

 a great extent the number of labourers required on each 

 estate, and the tillage of fields could be attended to 

 immediately after cutting. At present fields are often 

 left for months after canes are reaped before labour is 

 available to till and open up the soil. There should be 

 no insuperable difficulty in tilling the land by means of 

 steam ploughs and cultivators, even if it meant the par- 

 tial filling up of open drains, and expense of clearing 

 them out again. The next item of labour expenditure 

 to be considered is that of sundries belonging to but 

 outside of tillage proper, and under this head is included 

 the cost of digging and cleaning drainage trenches, para- 

 petting, weeding and repairing dams, attending and 

 repairing kokers and locks, burning earth and repairing 

 roads and bridges, watchmen and rangers, forcing drain- 

 age channel and working draining engine, sea defences, 

 sundries, and two-thirds cost of messengers, staff atten- 

 dants, weeding and cleaning yards, hospital staff, repairing 

 dwellings, etc. A sum of $3 50 per ton sugar is sufficient 

 to cover the average outlay under this head, but vvhere 

 sea defences are troublesome a very much larger sum 

 may at times be found necessary. The Government have 

 arranged to pay $1 per rood per annum for the upkeep of 

 public roads passing through sugar estates, and this will 

 mean a slight saving under the above head. The arrange- 

 ment made is in every way a satisfa6lory one, as the 

 Government could not possibly have maintained the roads 

 and bridges at this figure, and it was fortunate that the 

 proprietors of sugar estates were willing to relieve them 

 of the responsibility. The next item 1 have to deal with 

 is the cost of cuttings loading and transporting canes^'wx- 



