36 



THE CUBA RE V I E W 



The Sugar Industry 



European Sugar Industry 



The latest provisional estimate by F. O. 

 Licht, the German sugar statistician, puts 

 the European beet sugar crop of 1922-23 

 at 4,596,000 tons, a reduction of over 

 100.000 tons from his previous estimate. 



Per capita consumption has increased in 

 all the western European countries with 

 the exception of Great Britain, where the 

 use of sugar is curtailed through the high 

 import duty imposed as a revenue measure 

 during the war; but British consumption 

 in 1922 exceeded that of the previous year 

 by nearly 200,000 tons. The hoped-for re- 

 duction in the import duty would greatly 

 stimulate British consumption. A protec- 

 tive tariff with correspondingly high price 

 levels checks French consumption also. 

 Consumption is steadily rising in Poland 

 and Czechoslovakia. The 4,000,000 in- 

 crease in Italy's population in the last de- 

 cade, together with the augmented per 

 capita consumption, has greatly expanded 

 the country's sugar needs. 



The beet farmers of France and Belgium, 

 profiting through protection, have done 

 well, and a substantial increase in acreage 

 is indicated for the coming spring in both 

 countries, though a farm-labor shortage 

 must be reckoned with in the case of 

 France. Prospects are not bright for in- 

 creased sowings in Czechoslovakia, owing 

 to unsettled labor conditions and the un- 

 satisfactory prices of the last beet crop. 

 Under the present system of control the 

 German beet growers are discouraged be- 

 cause they must wait upwards of a year 

 for final beet payments, and the prices 

 fixed for sugar uniformly range below the 

 world's market level. 



I 



India Crop 



The final estimate for the 1922-23 su- 

 gar crop in India places the production 

 at 2,988,000 tons, it is stated in a cable 

 report to the Department of Commerce. 

 The figure represents an increase of 607,- 

 000 tons, or 25 per cent over the 1921-22 

 outturn. The increase is due to the ef- 

 fects of generally favorable weather, rain- 

 fall having continued into February this 

 year. 



Portable Belt Conveyor 



Link-Belt Company 



A most interesting announcement is the 

 statement recently issued by the Link- 

 Belt Company of Philadelphia, Chicago 

 and Indianapolis, that the price of their 

 Portable Belt Conveyor, the "Cub," has 

 been slashed over 16 per cent. This ma- 

 chine formerly sold for $700. The new 

 price is $585 complete with 2 H. P. elec- 

 tric motor, and bears the Link-Belt guar- 

 antee. 



Prices generally are on the up-grade, 

 and it is somewhat unusual to learn of 

 price reductions at this time. The Link- 

 Belt Company claims that due to the large 

 volume of orders on hand, surpassing any- 

 thing experienced in several years, the 

 "Cub" loader was put on a quantity pro- 

 duction basis, resulting in a large saving 

 in manufacture, which is reflected in the 

 new low price. 



The "Cub," we are informed, is even 

 a more sturdy loader than the machine 

 which sold at the higher figure. It weighs 

 almost twice as much as similar machines 

 of its size and class. The 18-inch con- 

 veyor belt is guaranteed against cutting 

 ■or fraying. The speed at which the con- 

 veyor belt should run is 250 feet per 

 minute, and with uniform feeding, has a 

 capacity of 45 cubic feet per minute. 



Portable belt conveyors are used for 

 unloading and loading cars, trucks and 

 wagons, of any loose material such as 

 coal, sand, stone, gravel, fertilizer, foundry 

 refuse and similar materials, replacing 

 hand-shovelers, and aiding the labor thati 

 does this class of work, to do the workj 

 more quickly, easily and economically. 



