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THE CUBA REVIEW 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY 



BAGASSE VERSUS COAL 



A request has been received from a Penn- 

 sylvania company for information as to the 

 rnarketable supply and value in Cuba of 

 crushed cane fibre, commonly known as 

 bagasse. 



In reply the following letter is presented 

 from Dr. J. T. Crawley, director of the Cen- 

 tral Experiment Station of Cuba, on this sub- 

 ject: 



There is practically no marketable supply 

 of bagasse in Cuba in the sense that there 

 is a supply over and above what is needed in 

 the factory for steam production. On the 

 other hand, I am of the opinion that practi- 

 cally the whole supply of about 2,000,000 

 tons of bagasse (calculated as dry material) 

 could be secured at a price which would pay 

 the manufacturers to use coal instead of this 

 material. 



The value of bagasse as a fuel would prob- 

 ably be less than at present if it were finely 

 pulverized, owing to the fact that bm-ners 

 are constructed to use it in its present shape, 

 and would need to be changed if the physical 

 condition of the fuel were changed. 



Bagasse has very little value as a fertihzer 

 and is very rarely apphed as such. 



From several tests made by Prof. E. W. 

 Kerr, of the Louisiana State University, 

 Louisiana dry bagasse gave an average of 

 8,368 British thermal units and that from 

 Cuba 8,433 British thei'mal units. He made 

 calorimeter tests of bagasse from 16 different 



mills and reaches the conclusion that wet 

 bagasse, as it comes from the mill, has a 

 value of 47,111 British thermal units. 



By comparing this with anthracite coal, 

 which has, say, 13,000 British thermal units, 

 the relative values of coal and bagasse are 

 seen. 



Bagasse has not been exported from Cuba 

 in any quantity, nor has it been sold locally 

 by the mills, but it has been consumed by the 

 mills as fuel. It therefore has no commercial 

 value. — Vice-Consul General Joseph A. 

 Springer, Havana. 



MORE NEW CENTRALS 



Havana newspaper reports are to the effect 

 that two new sugar centrals are expected to 

 open up in the Cienfuegos district in the near 

 future, one which is being financed by some 

 Cienfuegos capitalists, and the second at 

 Santa Margarita, in which General Menocal 

 is said to have a controlling interest. 



Work is continuing regularly on the new 

 sugar factory at Guayos, in Santa Clara Pro- 

 vince. The only interruption has come from 

 persistent rains. 



The American sugar expert, Mr. Noel Deer, 

 has resigned his position with the government 

 agricultural exijeriment station. No reason 

 for his resignation is given. 



Union Sugar Factory at San Luis, Oriente Province. 



