134 
“ long as rum remained as valuable or more valuable than sugar, 
ihe existing estate appliances involved no loss of the juice actually 
“ obtained.” 
397. It would appear therefore that the oe S the 
sugar industry in Jamaica are of a special character. Hence they 
Colonies. The majority of the Jamaica estates are small (the 
average area in canes being only 178 acres) and they are also, for 
the most part, widely dispers rsed. The cost o management is 
therefore increased, but where rum is ao as the ‘chief crop 
the yield and quality of the sugar have not been considered of so 
much importance. In view, howeve r, of the recent depreciation 
in the value of rum it is possible that more attention will have to 
: ll t 
introduce better machinery and appliances, and, ere circum- 
stances permit, amalgamate several estates and apes central 
factories. In the district of Vere, where the soil is very fertile, 
but subject to periodical seasons of drought, it is proposed to 
construct irrigation works to supply the sugar estates with water. 
It is stated that such works would be of great utility in increasing 
e crops and maintaining them at a higher average than at 
present. 
98. The position of the sugar industry as compared with other 
industries in Jamaica may be illustrated by the following table, 
in which the collective export value of sugar, rum, and molasses 
in certain years, is eon! eal with the total exports from the 
Colony during those years 
——— 
Collective Value 
Yeats Total Value of of Exports of Percentage 
i Exports. Sugar, Rum, and of Total. 
Molasses. 
£ 4 
ae y A a E 910,027 | 721 
1882-83 we ase vee | 1,549,058 | 777,928 502 
1886-87 -| 1,280,118 | 556,122 44°22 
1887-88 see | 509,010 490,840 | 32°52 
1891-92 ,722,096 | 511,213 | 29°68 
1892-93 | 159,807 | 432,739 | 24°59 
IIE io 921,422 426,688 222 
1895- 96 fee — ric | 1,873,106 360,059 9:17 
399. These figures are taken from a return furnished by the 
Colonial Government. sine e ever, the values of the ge as 
to the total akpa of iane of the Cotas would be so ci 
higher than the table shows. For instance, the actual ee 
for 1895-96 would be 20-28 instead of 19- 
400, The net result is that the aA value of the sugar 
products in Jamaica have, during the last fifteen years, fallen 
m over 77 per cent. to about 20 per cent. of the total value of 
the island produce exported. 
