192 



SUGAB. 



beet, if the cane planter is unable to bring any more efficient mode of 

 manufacture tban his old iron kettles in competition with the econo- 

 mical and scientific arrangements of the triple effet by Cail and others. 

 There is, however, the dawn of better things at hand, in the complete 

 separation of manufacture from agriculture, by the Colonial Company 

 Limited, at their great central Usine at St. Madelaine. This step 

 was alone required in the British West Indies to place a portion 

 at least of its crop abreast of the rival beet, and with corresponding 

 advance in agriculture, the sugar-cane may hold its own. The Usine 

 of St. Madelaine is a triumph of capital, skill, and energy, and will 

 be the pioneer of other establishments in pouring forth a crystallized 

 sugar for the million. 



" Of its success there can be no more question than of that of kindred 

 establishments in the French islands, which have wisely adopted the 

 suitable points of their national beet factories. These colonial Usines 

 are reported, on good authority, to have cleared, according to circum- 

 stances of position and management, from 25 to 45 per cent, on the 

 capital invested. 



This refers to the manufacture alone. As regards the cultivators 

 of the cane, all of whom were more or less deeply involved, they are 

 now, as regards at least one Usine Centrale, unembarrassed and mostly 

 in receipt of fair revenues. There is therefore every inducement to 

 lead the capitalists of this colony to embark at once in the double but 

 separate businesses of realising the profit of both agriculture and 

 manufacture. Should they, however, leave this desirable ground to 

 be occupied by capitalists unconnected with and apart altogether from 

 the acreage supplying the canes, the error will be irremediable." 



A Trinidad paper of September 26, 1876, thus speaks of the sugar 

 crop of the island : 



" The quantity of sugar produced in each county this year was as 



follows : 



Hhds. Estates. 



St. George, or noith- west county 13,560 24 



Caroui, or west centre, north 17,061 35 



Victoria, or west centre, south 23,910 44 



St. Patrick, or south-west county 4,544 11 



Total 59,075 114 



" No sugar appears to have been made in the four eastern counties ; 

 at least if a trifling quantity was granulated at Mayaro, as is some- 

 times done, it has not been ascertained. Probably the small quantity 

 of canes grown on that side was pressed only for syrup and molasses. 

 The list of active estates is under the actual number of plantations 

 having separate mills and management, the return in many instances 

 throwing the produce of two large adjoining estates, or three, into one 

 figure. The real number is therefore nearer 124 than 114. 



" Of the sugar of St. George, only 949 hhds. from five estates now 

 come from the plain and valleys north and west of the town. The 

 remainder all comes from the plain east of Port-of-Spain and north of 

 the Caroni river. The Caroni waterslope yielded 12,881 hhds. north 

 of the river and 3137 south of it, the latter a quantity and ratio that 



