June i, 1892.I THE TROPICAL 
AQWtJtJl-TUniST. 
939 
factories in suitable districts, whether by Govern' 
nient or by private individuals, encouraged or 
subsidised by Government, would yield beneficial 
results. Messrs. Mylne and Thomson, in their letter 
dated 28th February 1880, to the address of the 
Collector of Shahabad, reported that they had for 
years been trying whether cane could be profitably 
purchased and worked off at a central factory, and 
the conclusion to which they came was, that the 
price demanded for cane by the growers, which 
price the gi-owers realised by making it into fjoor, 
was so high, that the experiment was not deemed to 
be profitable and was discontinued. Messrs. Mylne 
and Thomson added that the Rosa Sugar Works at 
Shahjehanpore had not found it advisable to make 
arrangements for crushing cane and making refined 
sugar from the juice direct, and the inference would 
seem to be that central factories, such as are sug- 
gested by Blessrs. Travers and Sons, will not pay. 
The reason given for this is, that the factory could 
not work at a profit, if it paid as high prices for 
the cane as the cultivators realise by making it 
into (joor. But this is only stating the fact in another 
shape, and is no explanation of the problem — vvhy 
is it that with cheap labour, cheap raw material, 
refined sugar cannot be manufactured in India at 
a lower price than that for which it can be import- 
ed from the Mauritius or England? A similar 
question may be asked as regards other products, 
for example iron — why is it that with cheap labor 
and cheap iron ore at Eanigunge, it is found 
profitable to import manufactured iron articles from 
England ? I am not at present in a position to 
furnish an answer." 
The letter from the Government of India to the 
Secretary of State, covering the correspondence is 
dated "Calcutta, 24th December, 1889," and is as 
follows : — 
" The improvement of sugar production and manu- 
facture in this country has been the subject of 
attention both of the authorities and of capitalists 
since the beginning of the century, and various 
attempts have been made to est iblish factories, none 
of which appear to have been attended with any 
permanent success unless supplemented by the sale 
of rum and liquors. Suger refining alone has not 
? roved sufficiently profitable to maintain a factory, 
f this had been the case, there appears to be no 
reason why the industry should not have been 
largely taken up by private capitalists. 
" Some of the main difficulties against which the 
industry has to contend are believed to be these : — 
" («) The cultivation of sugarcane is limited by the 
supply not only of water for irrigation, but also of 
manure. 
" (/)) As cultivation in India is confined to small 
farms or holdings, each cultivator who is able to grow 
the crop at all can only find manure enough for 
a small area, generally less than half an acre, of 
sugarcane. The plots of sugarcane are therefore 
greatly scattered, even in a canal-irrigated tract. 
"(c) A central factory has accordingly to bring in 
its supplies of cane in small quantities over varying 
distances, in many cases the distance being great. 
■■((?) The carriage of canes over a long distance, 
even in a climate like that of the '^'auritius, is de- 
trimental to the juice for purposes of sugar making. 
It is nnich more so in India, where the canes ripen 
at the season when the atmosphere is driest and 
suffer, therefore, the maximum of injury. 
" (d) The Mauritius system of growing large canes 
at intervals is not adopted to the greater part of 
India where, in order to prevent the ingress of dry 
air into tho fields, small canes have to be grown in 
close contact. 
"(/) The amount of cano which can be grown, 
limited as it is by the supply or water and manure, 
liaroly sullices for tlie wants of tlio Indian popula- 
tion. It seems to bo at present as profitable to pro- 
duce coarse sugar for their use, as highly refined 
su^ar for export. There is, tlicroforo, no sufficient 
induooniont to capital to ombarlc on the more diffi- 
cult and exponsivo system. 
" A fiu'llu'r ohHtaclc to sugar reliuini,' in India 
exists in the high differential rate which the conditions 
of our excise system require to be placed upon spirits 
made on the European method, as compared with 
that levied on spirits manufactured by the indigenous 
process. The sugar refiner in India is thus placed at 
a disadvantage in respect to the utilisation of his 
molasses in the form of spirits. 
"In view of the circumstances above noted, we are 
unable to advocate any attempt being made at the 
cost of the State to establish model factories. We 
a,re inclined to ajttach much confidence to the views 
and conclusions formed by Messrs. Thomson and 
Mylne, who have paid, for many years, practical 
attention to the subject of sugar cultivation and 
manufacture by ryots, and were the first to introduce 
the portable sugar-mills which have now spread over 
India. They advocate the gradual improvement of 
the ryots' method of manufacture rather tha . the 
introduction of more expensive and centralising sys- 
tems. Tho Provincial Departments of Agriculture 
have of recent years, directed attention to this question, 
and may usefully be desired to continue to do so. 
"We are also willing to advocate the establishment 
of agricultural experiments in those comparatively 
limited tracts of the country (such as Eastern Bengal, 
where there is a moist climate and a more or less 
abundant supply of manure) in which the Mauritius 
methods of cultivation have prima facie pros- 
pects of success, and we are prepared to advise our 
Local Governments and Administrations to give every 
reasonable support to sugar factories and refineries 
which may be established by private enterprise." 
Messrs. Travers's reply to the correspondence is 
dated 2l3t February, 1890:— 
"We observe that while all the officials who have 
reported fully confirm our information as to the great, 
and indeed excessive, waste in Indian sugar manu- 
facture, yet that they are able in some degree to explain 
the causes of the existing state of things, while the 
opinion is general that it would not be wise for the 
Government to establish experimental central sugar 
factories. 
" It would be presumptuous on our part to offer any 
comments on a question so fully taken up by the local 
authorities on the initiative of the Secretary of State. 
"It only remains for us, in concluding the corre- 
spondence, to acknowledge the very great courtesy 
with which our necessarily imperfectly informed re- 
marks have been received, and the promptitude with 
which action has been taken owii g to the recognition 
by the India-office and the local authorities of the 
great importance of sugar manufacture to India, 
aiid the possibility of a great development in it. — 
We are, &c., 
" Pro. J. Travers and Son, Limited. 
"(Signed) J. W. Rogers. 
"P.S. — We may mention that ' German granulated,' 
a small white dry crystal sugar made direct from the 
beetroot, is now being shipped from Hamburg to 
India; so that the royts will not have Mauritius 
only to compete with at home. We belive this 
sugar costs about 16s. per cwt. laid down in 
Bombay, and that the bounty on its export does 
not exceed 6d. to 9d. per cwt." — Journal of the 
iSocieti/ of Art a. 
LIME AS A PKEVENTIVE OF MILDEW 
AMONGST CUCUMBERS AND MELONS 
AND FOR POTATO DISEASE. 
In cases of mildew among cucmnbers and nielona 
and disease among potatoes, lime is an invaluable 
article. If applied wherever the disease has mani- 
fested itself, it will prove an effectual remedy, but 
if any part of the plants afi'ected is not touched with 
tho lime, the disease w-ill not be effectually stopi^ed. 
The best way to apply it to cucumber vines affected 
by mildew is to sprinkle the powdered lime under 
as well as over the leaves by means of a small 
sieve. This should be done early in the morning 
when the leaves are damp from tho night's dew. 
Plants that have been nearly dried up by tho dis- 
