22 
Development  of  the  Sugar  Industry.  •{ 
solved  this  problem,  and  the  one  who  first  succeeds  will  be  enrolled 
among  the  great  benefactors  of  the  sugar-cane  industry  and,  inci- 
dentally, will  reap  a  considerable  fortune. 
.  The  cane  is  next  piled  by  hand  upon  carts  and  hauled  to.  the 
f  actory.  In  the  old  days  oxen  or  mules  were  the  sole  means  of  trans- 
portation between  field  and  mill,  and  the  area  upon  which  a  factory 
could  draw  for  its  supply  of  cane  was  limited  by  the  hauling  distance. 
Since  the  advent  of  the  steam  railroad,  cane  is  now  sometimes 
hauled  fifty  miles  or  more  to  the  factory.  The  ox-teams  deliver  the 
cane  to  cars  at  the  nearest  siding,  where  it  is  transferred  by  hoists,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  5.   When  enough  cars  are  filled,  a  train  is  made  up  and 
hauled  to  the  factory.  This  method  of  transporting  has  vastly 
increased  the  cane  areas  upon  which  a  factory  may  draw,  and  has 
rendered  possible  the  erection  of  those  large  central  establishments, 
some  of  which  manufacture  50,000  or  more  tons  of  sugar  in  a  season. 
One  estate  owns  over  100  miles  of  railroad,  and  has  some  1000  cars 
and  20  large  locomotives.  A  train  despatcher  and  force  of  signal- 
men are  needed  to  keep  trains  moving  with  regularity. 
The  grounds  before  one  of  these  factories  resembles  a  large 
freight  yard  with  its  numerous  tracks  and  switches  (Fig.  6).  As 
the  trains  of  cane  arrive,  the  cars  are  rapidly  switched  to  the  proper 
stations  and  are  emptied  by  mechanical  means  to  a  large  conveyor, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  7.   The  conveyor  carries  the  cane  up  a  long  incline 
FlG.  5. — Loading  cane  on  steam  trains. 
