22 BULLETIN 473, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 
As a producer of cane sugar Cuba has held second place among the 
cane-sugar-producing countries of the globe, being exceeded only by 
British India. For some recent years Cuba has risen to first place. 
These two countries together produce approximately one-half of 
the world's supply of cane sugar, each producing from two to three 
million tons. The Cuban output of sugar was estimated at 224,000 
tons in 1839-40, which increased to 500,000 tons in 1859-60, and again 
increased to 839,000 tons in 1867-68, but on account of the 10 years' 
war from 1869 to 1878 the production decreased to 582,000 tons in 
1876-77 and continued at approximately that figure until 1884-85, 
when the production amounted to 707,000 tons, and it gradually in- 
creased to more than 1,000,000 tons in 1891-92. During the follow- 
ing year the production fell slightly under the million mark, but 
again exceeded that figure for the two years 1893-94 and 1894-95. 
On account of the War of Independence and the Spanish-American 
War, the production decreased to 300,000 tons or less during the 
period 1896 to 1900. At the close of this last war the business of 
the island was established on a firmer basis: the production of sugar 
gradually increased, exceeding 1,000,000 tons in 1902-3, 2,000.000 
m 1909-10, and reaching to 2,891,000 tons in 1913-14. The effect of 
that war is shown in the following figures: During the five-year 
period of war the production decreased to an annual average of 
slightly less than 300,000 tons, while during the five-year periods 
immediately preceding and following the war the average produc- 
tion exceeded 1,000,000 tons, which increased to double that quantity, 
or more than 2,000,000 tons, for the five-year period ending with 
1912-13. 
The greater portion of the sugar produced in Cuba is exported, 
amounting to about 95 per cent during the last 20 years, of which 
about 90 per cent was sent to the United States. The United King- 
dom was the best European customer. These two countries received 
99.5 per cent of the sugar exported during the decade ending with 
June 30, 1913 : the percentages were 96.8 per cent to the United States 
and 2.7 per cent to the United Kingdom. The Cuban consumption of 
sugar during the decade ending with 1912 was approximately 62,000 
tons, or about 60 pounds per capita. 
BRITISH WEST INDIES. 
The British West Indies hold third place as a sugar-producing 
possession of the British Empire, being exceeded by Mauritius and 
British India. Prior to 1900-1901 the British West Indies exceeded 
Mauritius in the production of sugar, but since that time the produc- 
tion for Mauritius has been much larger, and for some years nearly 
double that of the British West Indies. The area used for sugar in 
