40 THE DIRECTOR, EXPERIMEXTAL FARMS 



output of sugar from Cuba is expected to be soon much larger than it has ever been. 

 The climate is in their favour and they have cheap labour, and it is generally con- 

 ceded by those best able to judge that cane sugar can, under such conditions, be made 

 more cheaply than beet sugar. 



By Mr. ^y,■liJ]lt : 



Q. 900,000 tons, did you say ? 



A. Yes. 900,000 tons is said to have been about the average production before the 

 war, and that was cut down to i!00,(.i00 tons before the end of the war. 



Q. The Cuban war ? 



A. Yes,- the Cuban war. Meanwhile Germany erected factories to supply the 

 greater part of this dehcicncy of about 700,000 tons, and thcbC factoiies are, I believe, 

 still in operation. The revival of cane sugar production in Cuba is, I am told, affecting 

 Germany, so that the beet supar makers are now restricting the area under beets so as 

 to lessen the quantity produced, as it is so difficult to dispose of the product at a profit. 



By Mr. Boss {Vicloria) : 



Q. A gentleman recently wrote in a leading American trade journal ' that if the 

 duty on Cuban sugar alone were reduced, the beet sugar factories would have to shut 

 up.' That substantiates what you tell us ? 



A. Another thing ; reliable statistics show that the investment of capital by United 

 States capitalists in the Sandwich Islands alone in the promotion of the cane sugar 

 industry is far greater than all the investments which have been made in that country 

 by the promoters of the beet sugar industry, and where you have such large interests 

 opposed to a much smaller one, unless it has great natural advantages it is very difficult 

 to carry on the weaker industry with success. I do not wish to be regarded as dis- 

 couraging the growth of sugar beets ; if our farmers can get $4 a ton for them, they 

 can afford to grow them, provided they have not to haul them any great distance, but 

 if I were a capitalist seeking investments I should not want to invest in beet sugar 

 factories myself as matters stand at present. 



By Mr. McGowan : 



Q. You will get t]iat data for us, particularly from Michigan ? 

 A. What lines would you like tliis information to cover ; 



Q. The weight of crops, and the prices in different factories, if possible, it would 

 be a good thing to have. 



A. I will do what I can to meet your wishes. 



By Mr. McEirrii : 



Q. And the cost of the labour of growing, what it costs per acre ? 



A., That information has already been given in connection with the trials which 

 have been made at the experimental farm in Ottawa, and may be found in the annua' 

 Reports of the E.xperimental Farms for 1900 and 1901. 



By Mr. Kidd : 



Q. The rate of wages will have a great deal to do with the cost of making sugar ? 



A. Yes, in the AVe&t Indies and Cuba I believe the rate of wages is very low, 



about 25 cents a day, the workers need very little clothing and not much to eat. They 



