Edible Products. 



130 



[August, 1009. 



of lemons for this reason often wearing 

 gloves. The citrus-growers of California 

 got the better of the "Box Trust "by 

 threatening to manufacture their own 

 boxes, and forced a big reduction in 

 price from the packing-case makers, 

 amounting to an aggregate of £160,000. a 

 very nice sum to hold in reserve in case 

 of a falling market. Nagpur orange- 

 growers might do worse than look up 

 the system pursued by Califoruian 

 owners of paying orange groves. 



FURTHER NOTES ON CANE FARM- 

 ING AT TRINIDAD. 



By Professor P. Carmodt, f.i.c., f.c.s., 



Government Analyst and Professor of 

 Chemistry, Trinidad. 



(From the West Indian Bulletin, 

 Vol. IX., No. 2, 1908.) 



During the last discussion which took 

 place on this subject at the Agricultural 

 Conference held in Trinidad in 1905 

 ( West Indian Bxdletin, Vol. VI., pp. 3-32), 

 I promised to obtain some reliable 

 figures as to the yield of canes per acre 

 obtained by cane farmers in Trinidad. 

 I am greatly indebted to Mr. J. Mclnroy, 

 Manager of the Government estate (St, 

 Augustine), for collecting the detailed 

 yield obtained by 328 farmers on that 

 estate, and thus enabling me to submit 

 the following summary to this Con- 

 ference : — 



Cane Farmers' Crops (St. Augustine). 



Tons. Cwt. 



Lowest yield per acre reaped ... — 14 



Highest ,, „ „ ... 29 12 



Average ,, ,, ,, ... 11 14 



,, ,, rented ... 9 7 



Number of cane farm rs with 



yield under 5 tons per acre 49 



5-10 , 116 



10-15 „ „ „ 99 

 15-20 „ „ „ 47 

 „ over 20 „ „ „ 17 



Total ... 328 



The average yield of the seventeen 

 farmers producing over 20 tons was 24| 

 tons per acre. 



It was stated at the Conference of 1905 

 that the average yield obtained by 399 

 farmers holding 1,753 acres was 5 tons 

 per acre, the above figures show that 

 328 farmers produced, on land of no 



better quality, an average of 9 tons 7 

 cwt. on the acreage held, and 11 tons 

 14 cwt. on the acreage cultivated. In 

 1905, I estimated the average yield to be 

 10 tons per acre, which is shown by 

 the above return to be very nearly 

 correct. 



The figures are of great value to us in 

 Trinidad, because we can now con- 

 fidently represent to our cane farmers 

 that an average yield of only llf tons 

 per acre cultivated is far below what 

 might reasonably be expected of them, 

 and to our estate owners the manifest 

 advantages of the share system of cane 

 cultivation practised in Fiji, Hawaii, and 

 Mauritius, and described by Sir Henry 

 M. Jackson, K.C.M.G., in We*t Indian 

 Bxdletin. Vol. VI., pp. 18-21 and Vol. VII., 

 pp. 311-0. 



I am satisfied that it is on a co-oper- 

 ative system of production, such as this, 

 that we must rely for the future stabi- 

 lity of the sugar industry in Trinidad. 

 Our central factories are well equipped 

 for manufacture, and our principal weak 

 point has been for many years in the 

 cultivation. It is only quite recently 

 that we have re-introduced mechanical 

 implements for tillage, and these are 

 almost confined to steam ploughs at 

 present. The success of mechanical 

 tillage in other countries, and the ex- 

 perience in this direction recently gained 

 in the neighbouring colony of Antigua, 

 should encourage us to adopt mechanical 

 tillage to a much greater extent than 

 has previously been attempted. And 

 this can be done well under the share 

 system of cultivation with its suitably 

 balanced division of labour. 



The heavy work of preparatory tillage 

 should be done by mechanical imple- 

 ments for which the cane farmer has 

 not the capital to provide, in order, 

 among other advantages, to ensure a 

 sufficient feeding area for the roots. 

 This is not available under the present 

 method of hand tillage, and the result 

 has been shown in the very small yield 

 of 11 tons per acre. The lighter work of 

 subsequent cultivation would be easily 

 accomplished by hand labour provided 

 by the farmers. 



The estate owners would be better 

 able to treat the cane tops before plant- 

 ing by immersion in Bordeaux mixture, 

 or other similar preparation, which is 

 now known to be necessary for the 

 prevention of fungoid diseases. The 

 cane farmers cannot, or will not do this, 

 and their plots will become centres of 

 infection from which these diseases will 

 spread. 



