SUGAR PRODUCTION IN U. S. AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 21 



more than double the amount of sugar. The 171 factories in 1912-13 

 used 25,137,684 tons of cane and produced 2,737,264 tons of sugar. 

 The average quantity of cane used per factory was 147,000 tons and 

 an average production of 16,000 tons of sugar. During the 10 years 

 ending with 1912-13 there was an average of 175 factories in opera- 

 tion, which ground an average of 15,925,000 tons of cane annually 

 and produced 1,687,000 tons of sugar annually. The average annual 

 quantity of cane used per factory for that period was 91,278 tons, 

 and the average annual production of sugar per factory was 9,680 

 tons. The extraction of sugar per weight of cane increased from 9.88 

 per cent in 1903-4 to 11.27 in 1913-14. The lowest percentage of 

 extraction for the period was 9.81 per cent in 1905-6, and the highest 

 was 11.90 per cent in 1908-9. The production of sugar per ton of 

 cane increased from 199 pounds in 1903-4 to 225 pounds in 1913-14, 

 or an average production of 212 pounds for the decade 1903-4 to 

 1912-13. 



In 1912-13 the cane yielded 19.51 tons per acre, and the cane used 

 for sugar amounted to 25,137,684 tons, which was harvested from 

 1,288,451 acres, compared with 1,340,139 acres planted. The pro- 

 duction of sugar per acre was 4,320 pounds. The sugar plantations 

 .are equipped with private railway lines to transport cane to the fac- 

 tories from the fields. In 1912-13 the total length of these railways 

 was 2,802 miles, of which 865 miles were standard gauge and 1,937 

 narrow gauge. There were 15,161 cars and 486 locomotives in use 

 on these railways. The total grinding capacity of the factories in 

 operation, as reported in 1912-13, was 239,195 tons of cane per day of 

 24 hours. The total quantity of cane ground per day was 205,749 

 tons, or 84.5 per cent of their nominal capacity. The sugar content 

 of the cane harvested in 1912-13 was 14.17 per cent of the weight 

 of the cane, of which 10.98 per cent was extracted. The " first sugar " 

 produced was 10.57 per cent of the weight of the cane, and the 

 " second sugar " amounted to only 0.41 per cent. The " first sugar " 

 had a polariscopic test of 95,95° in 1912-13 and 96.05° in 1913-14. 

 The " second sugar " tested 89.22° in 1912-13 and 88.70° in 1913-14. 

 Practically all of the sugar produced in 1912-13 was the grade known 

 as " first sugar," which amounted to 10.57 per cent of the weight of 

 the cane, or 2,603,985 tons of sugar. The " second sugar " was only 

 0.41 per cent of the weight of the cane, or 101,006 tons of sugar. A 

 discrepancy exists in the above figures. The cane used for sugar 

 was stated as 24,635,620 tons, from which the sugar extraction was 

 10.98 per cent, or 2,704,991 tons. The sugar produced was given as 

 2,781,046, an increase over the computed figure of 76,055 tons. The 

 molasses produced was 85,581,966 gallons in 1912-13 and 98,607,799 

 gallons in 1913-14. The fuel used in 1912-13 consisted of 75,629 tons 

 of coal and 400,844 tons of wood. 



