Manufacturing methods in Santo Domingo admit of much improvement. Single

crushing is the method employed for the most part, so that the loss in

extraction is considerable. The juices are treated and the suspended

impurities allowed to settle at the bottom of the tanks. Filter presses

are the exception rather than the rule, and for want of them the sugar

in the resultant mud is lost. The clear juices are then concentrated and

boiled to grain in vacuum pans. First sugars generally polarize between

95 degrees and 97 degrees, seconds about 86 degrees. The molasses is

either made into rum or permitted to run to waste. Notwithstanding the

crude character of the factories and machinery, the recovery of sugar is

generally good, the average being between 9 per cent and 11 per cent of

the weight of the cane, with single crushing.

Almost all of the factories are managed by Americans, but, as has been

said, the equipment they have to work with is by no means modern, and

under the extremely uncertain political conditions that prevail there is

scant encouragement for outside capital to come in and improve matters.

Just when a change for the better will come is impossible to say.

Messrs. Willett & Gray give the yearly figures since 1903 in long tons,

as follows:

1903-04 47,000

1904-05 47,000

1905-06 55,000

1906-07 60,000

1907-08 62,235

1908-09 69,483

1909-10 93,003

1910-11 89,979

1911-12 96,046

1912-13 84,661

1913-14 105,778

1914-15 108,267

1915-16 120,000

GUADELOUPE AND MARTINIQUE

GUADELOUPE

The French West Indian colony of Guadeloupe consists of two islands that

lie in the middle of the Leeward group between 15 degrees 57 minutes and

16 degrees 31 minutes north latitude and 61 degrees 10 minutes and 61

degrees 49 minutes west longitude. They are separated by a channel from

one hundred feet to four hundred feet wide, called Rivière Salée.

Basse-Terre, the western island, is twenty-eight miles long, from twelve

to fifteen miles wide and its area is 364 square miles. It presents

a rugged surface, broken by hills and highlands, and a backbone of

mountains runs through it from north to south. It is of volcanic origin,

having been thrown up by four volcanic centers, Grosse Montagne (2590

feet), Les Mamelles (2536 feet and 2368 feet), Morne sans Toucher (4855

feet), and La Soufrière (4868 feet). The last-named volcano was in

eruption in 1797, and in 1843 its disturbances wrecked several towns;

today, however, the only evidences of life are a few hot springs and the

emission of sulphurous vapors at certain points.

Basse-Terre is watered by a number of streams that become swollen and

turbulent during the rainy season.

Grande-Terre, the eastern island, is low and level, the greatest

elevation being only 450 feet. It consists of a plain of limestone

formation with a conglomerate of sand and broken shells. It is about

twenty-two miles long from north to south and its area is 255 square

miles. The population is 190,273, chiefly negroes and mulattoes. For

water supply it is dependent upon ponds and cisterns, as, owing to the

porosity of the soil, no rivers or streams exist.

The climate is warm and humid. The mean yearly temperature is 78 degrees

Fahrenheit, the minimum 61 degrees and the maximum 101 degrees. The wet

season is from July to November, and on the coast the annual rainfall is

about eighty-six inches, with a great deal more in the interior. Terrific

storms visit the island and hurricanes have wrought much destruction.

The soil is fertile and rich and the principal crop is sugar cane, which

is grown on over half the total cultivated area. The principal sugar

centers are Point-à-Pitre, St. Anne and Le Moule in Grande-Terre, all

of which have well-appointed usines. There is also a large usine in

Basse-Terre.

Guadeloupe was discovered by Columbus in 1493. One hundred and forty-two

years afterward l’Olive and Duplessis took possession in the name of

a French company called the Compagnie des Iles d’Amérique. The native

Caribs did not long survive the cruel treatment accorded them by l’Olive,

and efforts at colonization were the reverse of successful, in fact four

chartered companies were ruined in the attempt. In 1674 the islands

passed into the possession of the French crown and they were governed

from Martinique for a long time. In 1759 they were captured by the

British, in whose hands they remained for four years. The British again

occupied them in 1794, but were driven out the following summer by Victor

Hugues with the help of liberated slaves. The last British occupation

took place during the Hundred Days of 1815, and they finally withdrew in

1816. Slavery in Guadeloupe was abolished in 1848.

MARTINIQUE

The French colony of Martinique is the most northerly of the Windward

islands. It is situated between 14 degrees 55 minutes and 14 degrees

23 minutes north latitude and 60 degrees 48 minutes and 61 degrees 16

minutes west longitude. Its area is 381 square miles, its greatest length

from northwest to southeast 36 miles, and its extreme width 18 miles. The

population, negroes and half-castes for the most part, numbered 190,000

in 1913.

The surface is mountainous, the highest peak being Mt. Pelée, which rises

4428 feet above sea-level. The appalling eruption of this volcano in May,

1902, was one of the greatest disasters of modern times and cost the

lives of 40,000 people. About one-third of the island’s surface consists

of extensive plains, most of them occurring in the south. The soil of the

northern part is of volcanic formation, while in the south it is composed

of clay. There are a number of streams, some of them of considerable size.

Near the coast the average temperature for June is 83 degrees, and

for January 77 degrees, the mean for the year being about 80 degrees

Fahrenheit. The wet season extends from June to October and the total

yearly rainfall approximates 87 inches. August is the wettest month and

March the driest. In the low region of the sea coast the climate is not

healthful for Europeans during the hot period, but a more salubrious

atmosphere and a temperature 10 degrees lower is found in the wooded

uplands, 1500 feet above the sea. Fresh, dry northerly winds prevail

from November to February, easterly winds from March to June, and damp,

warm southerly winds from July to October. Earthquakes are frequent, but

hurricanes seldom visit the island.

Martinique was discovered by Columbus on June 15, 1492, and the French

Compagnie des Iles d’Amérique took possession of it in 1635. It was

settled in the same year by Pierre Belain, captain-general of the island

of St. Christopher, and in 1674 it became the property of the crown.

Sugar culture was begun in 1650, and a few years later the aboriginal

Caribs were exterminated, their place being filled by negro slaves, of

whom there were 60,000 in the island by 1736. Slavery was abolished in

1848.[71]

During the seventeenth century Martinique was attacked several times by

the British and the Dutch. It was captured in 1762 by the British under

Admiral Rodney, but restored to the French in the following year. It was

held by the British from 1793 to 1801 and also between 1809 and 1814.

The capital of the island is Fort de France, on the west coast. It is

situated upon a fine harbor and has 18,000 inhabitants. Besides the chief

product, sugar, the colony raises coffee, cocoa, tobacco and cotton.

GUADELOUPE AND MARTINIQUE

Sugar planting in these islands dates from 1635, the year in which they

were first occupied by the French, and the industry grew apace, so

that much sugar was exported to France during the latter half of the

seventeenth century. The import duties levied by France in 1664 shut out

foreign raw sugars from that country, while protecting raw sugars from

her colonies; but at the same time the tariff laws excluded white sugar

produced in the colonies. This was a death blow to the refineries of

Martinique. A decree entirely prohibiting the refining of sugar in the

colonies and the exportation of raw sugar to foreign countries was issued

in 1669, while an export duty was imposed upon the raw sugar shipped

to France. The tax upon raw sugar was removed in 1682, but the duty on

refined was increased. The colonial planters then turned their attention

to the manufacture of clayed sugars, which they sold in North America and

southern Europe.

In 1717 France established relations with her colonies that were almost

tantamount to free trade. No duties were assessed upon French goods

going into the colonies, and commodities produced in the colonies entered

the mother country without duty. As a result of this policy, the sugar

industry grew until the production of Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saint

Dominique was more than France could consume, and a law was passed

permitting the sale of the surplus in other countries.

During the closing years of the eighteenth century, the war between

England and France crippled the trade of the French West Indies, but when

peace was finally restored the sugar industry revived and continued to

flourish until the abolition of slavery in 1848.

When the slaves were freed, the planters cast about them to find

laborers, and India was one of the first sources of supply. Over ten

thousand Hindus were brought to Martinique between 1852 and 1862,

and with very few exceptions they remained in the island after their

five-year contract expired. During the twenty-two years that followed

1862, 25,500 laborers came to Martinique from Pondicherry, Yanaon,

Karikal and Calcutta with the permission of the Indian authorities, but

emigration from that country under government auspices was discontinued

in 1885. In addition to Hindus, free African negroes, Chinese and

Annamese were brought in.

The sugar plantations of Guadeloupe and Martinique are situated on the

low, alluvial lands around the coast, although some are found in the

interior. The hilly character of the latter, however, is not favorable to

cane culture, as the heavy rains wash the arable soil down the slopes,

thus interfering with the growth of the cane.

The ground to be planted in cane is first cleared and then ploughed.

Furrows about two feet deep and four and one-half feet apart are then

made and the seed cane is planted in holes five inches deep. Three weeks

afterward the cane is banked and fertilizer applied. The soil between the

canes is loosened from time to time and the crop is cut after a year’s

growth. As a rule, ratooning is limited to two years, one crop being

produced each year. The land is then allowed to rest for a time, after

which planting is begun anew.

Bourbon cane is the variety principally grown, although seedling canes

have been brought in from Barbados and British Guiana of late years. The

average yield per acre of plant cane is twenty-four tons; first ratoons

give sixteen tons and second ratoons about eight tons. After the cane is

cut it is loaded on large carts and taken to the factories. Some estates

are equipped with field railways, the cars being drawn by mules or

locomotives.

As mentioned in the chapter on Jamaica, the early sugar producers of

Saint Dominique, Guadeloupe and Martinique excelled the manufacturers of

the other West Indian islands in the preparation of the commodity. The

result was that their lead was gradually followed by the others, and a

brief description of the methods they employed will be of interest.

The cane juice was boiled in a series of five or six copper kettles

placed over a furnace fed by bagasse and wood. These kettles were of

different sizes, the largest being farthest from the fire and the size

of each decreased as the furnace door was approached, the smallest being

directly above the fire. The kettle next to the largest was set a little

higher than the largest one, the third higher than the second and so

on until the last and smallest, which was the highest of the series.

Clarification was done with lime and wood ashes, and sometimes a little

crude antimony. As soon as the raw juice reached the first and largest

kettle the clarifying material was thrown in and the boiling began.

The scum was removed as soon as it formed, and when the juice became

sufficiently clear it was quickly transferred to the second kettle; a

small amount of alkali was mixed with it and further boiling and skimming

was done. The liquor was then ladled into kettle number three, potash

lye and an extract of herbs were added, and after being boiled for a time

it was passed to kettle number four, and finally concentrated in the

last and smallest kettle immediately above the fire. When the required

consistency was reached, the massecuite was put into vessels to cool,

at the same time being kept in motion by stirring until the grains

began to form. It was then placed in moulds, and after having become

thoroughly cool it was dumped into hogsheads that had perforated bottoms.

These hogsheads stood on racks, beneath which there was a receptacle to

catch the molasses as it drained on through the holes in the bottom.

The draining was allowed to continue until about one-half the weight

of the contents of the hogshead was crystallized sugar. The holes were

then plugged up and the sugar was ready for shipment. The molasses was

manufactured into rum.

A superior grade, called _sucre terré_, or clayed sugar, was also made.

In its preparation, juice from the best and ripest cane was taken and

as little lime as possible was used in clarification. Antimony was

excluded entirely, on account of its tendency to darken the color of the

juice. As the juice was transferred from kettle to kettle during the

various boilings, it was strained through a cloth each time, instead

of being ladled direct from one kettle to the next. When the syrup was

concentrated it was put into earthenware sugar-loaf moulds that held

between thirty and thirty-five pounds of massecuite apiece. These moulds

had perforations in the bottom that were stopped up before the mass

was put in. In filling a mould, one quarter of its capacity was put in

at one time, making four operations. Fifteen minutes after the last

lot of massecuite was put in the mould, a layer of crystals formed on

the surface, and this was thoroughly stirred into the mass, which was

then left to cool. A couple of days later the plugs were removed so

that the molasses might drain from the mould. In case it did not run

off properly, the massecuite was remelted, but if the drainage was

satisfactory, the next step was the claying of the sugar. If the top of

the loaves was uneven or dark-colored, it was scraped smooth and covered

with a layer of crushed sugar. The surface was then hammered level and

even. A special kind of clay brought from Rouen was mixed with water and

the mould was filled to the top with this mixture. Windows and doors were

shut to prevent evaporation of the moisture, and the water draining from

the clay gradually passed down through the sugar crystals, washing the

syrup from them. After ten days had elapsed, the clay, then thoroughly

dried, was removed, the surface of the sugar-loaf was cleaned, another

layer of wet clay was applied and allowed to remain as long as the first.

When this second layer was taken off, the loaves were removed from the

moulds and allowed to dry in the air for a time. Further drying was

done in a drying room, heated for the purpose, and the sugar, when all

the moisture had been driven from it, was crushed by wooden pestles.

Refined sugar was packed for shipment in casks containing between 600 and

700 pounds. The first molasses was made into rum or boiled into second

sugar, and the syrup washed from the loaves was made into a sugar called

_cassonade_.

This primitive method of manufacture has been entirely supplanted by

newer processes and appliances. As a rule, today cane is crushed twice

and maceration is often employed. The juice is treated with sulphur while

still cold, and it is then pumped into defecation tanks, where powdered

lime is added; after this is done heat is applied. As soon as the scum

cracks, the steam is turned off and the clear juice is separated from

the sediment by a siphon and run to the evaporators, while the muddy

precipitate goes to the filter presses.

Concentration of the juice takes place in double, triple or quadruple

effects of rather an old type, which means lack of economy in steam and

consequent large fuel consumption. As the quantity of bagasse available

does not afford sufficient fuel to generate all the steam that is

required, a considerable amount of wood and coal is used in addition

for the purpose. The unwise and short-sighted policy of denuding the

hillsides of their timber has had the effect of lessening the rainfall, a

condition that has brought great injury to the planter.

The vacuum pans are small and of old style; the centrifugal machines,

too, are of obsolete design and slow to operate. After the liquor has

been boiled to grain in the pans and the sugar crystals have been

separated from the mother liquor in the centrifugals, the sugar is dried

and packed for the market in barrels or bags. The first molasses is

reboiled and the resulting massecuite sent through the centrifugals.

After this operation has been repeated three or four times, the final

molasses is made into rum.

Today there are eighteen factories in Guadeloupe and fifteen in

Martinique. The average extraction of sugar is 9.70 per cent of the

weight of the cane, the loss of sugar in the bagasse is 2.15 per cent,

the mechanical loss in manufacture is .90 per cent, and the percentage

of sugar not recovered from the molasses is 1.75. This gives an average

total of 14.50 per cent of sugar in the cane.

The manufacturers are dependent upon the small farmers for their raw

material, and the price paid for the cane is determined by a very complex

agreement, which nevertheless seems to be entirely satisfactory to both

buyer and seller.

The outlook for the sugar industry in Guadeloupe and Martinique is far

from bright. There is labor in abundance, but the natives are averse

to working steadily, and consequently are unreliable. There are great

possibilities for improvement, but little can be expected under the

circumstances that prevail at the present time.

Since 1894 the production of the two islands in long tons has been as

follows:

MARTINIQUE GUADELOUPE

1894 36,353 42,395

1895 28,777 29,394

1896 33,886 42,616

1897 34,185 39,493

1898 30,971 36,550

1899 31,165 39,259

1900 33,234 27,895

1901 39,121 38,086

1902 38,905 39,995

1903 28,578 37,891

1904 23,561 35,348

1905 29,986 26,905

1906 42,231 42,535

1907 36,764 38,345

1908 35,943 35,485

1909 37,757 24,812

1910 39,950 44,289

1911 35,438 38,384

1912 39,433 39,368

1913 40,000 32,000

1914 38,730 39,920

1915 40,000 40,000

1916 40,000 40,000

MEXICO

The United States of Mexico lie between 14 degrees 30 minutes and 32

degrees 42 minutes north latitude and 86 degrees 46 minutes and 117

degrees 7 minutes west longitude. On the north the boundary is the United

States of America; on the east the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean sea,

British Honduras and Guatemala; on the south British Honduras and the

Pacific ocean, and on the west the Pacific ocean. The superficial area of

the country is 765,537 square miles. Its greatest length is 1942 miles

and its greatest width is 762 miles. It has a coast line of 5486 miles,

of which 1603 miles are on the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean sea and

3883 miles on the Pacific ocean and the Gulf of California.

The surface of Mexico rises sharply from the seacoast levels by a series

of terraces to a central plateau, that varies in height from 4000 to 8000

feet and runs northwest and southeast. This tableland has been formed by

the material deposited during the gradual erosion of the mountains and

by matter thrown up by a great number of volcanoes. In this manner the

original valleys became completely filled up and those that now exist are

of later formation. To illustrate this filling process, buried mountains

whose peaks appear above the surrounding mass are found in the higher

parts of the plateau, while elsewhere they are met with as continuous

ridges. The eastern coast is low and sandy, except in a few places

where the mountains come down close to the shore. The Pacific coast

lands are also low, but occasionally broken by mountain spurs. Owing

to the terraced character of the country, very little river navigation

is possible, but on the other hand an enormous amount of power can be

developed from the numerous waterfalls. Two high mountain ranges, one

on each coast, run parallel to the sea the entire length of Mexico. The

eastern chain is about ten miles inland, while on the west there is

only a narrow shelf of land between the sea and the cordilleras. This

western range has several branches that run in different directions, the

most important being the Sierra Madre Occidental. In Mexico the highest

mountains are volcanoes. On the Pacific side and west of the plateau are

found the Volcán de Colima (12,750 ft.) and the Nevado de Colima (14,354

ft.). Southwest of the City of Mexico is the Nevado de Toluca (16,610

ft.) and to the south and east are the snow-crowned giants Popocatepetl

(17,540 ft.) and Ixtaccihuatl (15,705 ft.). Still farther east are

Orizaba (16,176 ft.) and Cofre de Perote (14,309 ft.). Popocatepetl and

Orizaba may be classified as dormant cones, for the reason that aqueous

and sulphurous vapors are constantly being emitted from their perfectly

formed craters. One of the highest lakes in the world is found in the

crater of the Nevado de Toluca. Colima has been in eruption continuously

for many years and is still active. The snow never leaves the summits

of Orizaba, Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl, and on the last the ice cap

attains a development sufficient to form true glaciers.

On the western coast the principal ports are Guaymas, Mazatlan,

Topolobampo, Acapulco, La Paz and Salina Cruz; on the eastern seaboard,

Tampico, Vera Cruz, Puerto Mexico, Campeche and Merida. Of the numerous

rivers, the most important is the Rio Grande, 1550 miles long, which

forms a natural boundary between Mexico and the United States from El

Paso to the Gulf. However, the conformation of the country does not admit

of river navigation to any extent.

According to the census of 1910, the population was 15,063,207, of which

20 per cent were whites, 43 per cent of mixed blood and the remainder of

Indian extraction.

In Mexico there are three distinct climates and a wide range of

temperature. The hot country, _tierra caliente_, extends from the

seacoast inland to an altitude of about 3000 feet. Here the mean annual

temperature is between 80 degrees and 88 degrees, and the highest between

100 degrees and 105 degrees Fahrenheit. In this region the winter climate

is delightful, except when severe gales sweep down from the north. In

summer the extreme heat is not so great as in New York, because of the

moderating effect of cool breezes.

The temperate region, _tierra templada_, extends from 3000 to 6500

feet above sea-level, and it is here that the ideal climate of Mexico

is found, the mean annual temperature being between 73 and 77 degrees

Fahrenheit, with a total variation of possibly not over 6 or 8 degrees

during a season. In this dry, clear atmosphere the hygienic disadvantages

of the seacoast, the sharp, cold winds of the upper altitudes, sudden

changes in temperature, heavy frosts, extreme humidity and harmful

insects are unknown, and in the dry season there is no malaria.

Tropical and semi-tropical growths flourish side by side, and there are

estates on which wheat and sugar cane are raised almost in touch of each

other.

The cold country, _tierra fria_, extends from the 6500-foot level to the

snow line, but here the term cold is used in a comparative sense, as

distinguished from the heat of the seacoast. The average temperature runs

between 59 degrees and 62 degrees Fahrenheit, with slight variations. At

times, however, a norther will drive the mercury down to 40 degrees or 35

degrees and sprinkle the streets of Mexico City with white.

As a rule, in Mexico the rainy season begins in May or June and ends

in October. The annual rainfall varies greatly according to locality,

ranging all the way from fifteen to fifty inches. Earthquakes are of

common occurrence, especially on the western coast.

Sugar cane was brought to Mexico by the Spanish conquistadors.

Prescott, in his “Conquest of Mexico,”[72] says that the sugar cane was

transplanted from the neighboring islands to the lower level of the

country, and that, together with indigo, cotton and cochineal, it formed

a more desirable staple for the colony than its precious metals. He also

states that it was Hernan Cortés himself who introduced the cane from

Cuba. This famous soldier established the Atlacomulco plantation, which

lies an easy hour’s ride distant from Cuernavaca in the state of Morelos,

and there, in 1520, a hundred years before the landing of the Pilgrim

Fathers at Plymouth, he erected the first sugar mill in Mexico. This mill

is owned by the descendants of Cortés and is still in operation.

Thirty years later sugar was shipped from Mexico to Peru and Spain, and

the production of the commodity was maintained steadily until 1791. In

that year all the cane-growing countries of western America received a

stimulus from the wholesale destruction of the plantations and mills of

Santo Domingo.

In Mexico natural conditions are very favorable to sugar culture, but

the growth of the industry has been retarded by the primitive methods

in vogue, the inadequacy of transportation facilities and political

disturbances. In the seaboard states the sugar plantations are found

chiefly in the rich lowlands bordering on the Pacific ocean and the Gulf

of Mexico. In the Gulf states the rainfall is ample to insure good crops.

The largest sugar producer, however, is the inland state of Morelos, and

there, as well as on the west coast, irrigation is necessary. The higher

levels do not give such good crops as the lowlands; on the latter the

yield is between forty and sixty tons to the acre, and on the former it

runs between twenty-five and forty-five tons to the acre. Sugar beets

have been grown on the plateau with marked success. In the low, tropical

regions seven or eight crops of ratoons can be raised, but on the higher

lands replanting must be done every two or three years. The best-known

plantations are situated on large estates that have been owned by the

same families for many generations. For instance, in Morelos, where about

sixty per cent of Mexico’s crop is produced, the estates are owned by

non-resident families and, as a rule, managed by Spaniards. Labor is

cheap and abundant, the cane is rich in juice and the sugar content is

high, but the extraction in the small, crude mills is poor, the recovery

of sugar, as a rule, not exceeding six per cent of the weight of the

cane. There are a few large factories in Mexico where the methods and

results should be more closely in accordance with modern practice.

The nineteenth century saw the industry maintained on a fairly even

basis, but about 1900 an improvement was noted, as the following table

will show:

1899-1900 75,000 tons

1900-1901 95,000 ”

1901-1902 103,000 ”

1902-1903 112,000 ”

1903-1904 107,000 ”

1904-1905 107,000 ”

1905-1906 107,500 ”

1906-1907 119,000 ”

1907-1908 123,000 ”

1908-1909 143,000 ”

1909-1910 148,000 ”

1910-1911 161,602 ”

1911-1912 151,735 ”

1912-1913 148,672 ”

1913-1914 130,000 ”

1914-1915 110,000 ”

1915-1916 75,000 ”

The effects of the internal disturbances in Mexico are plainly reflected

in the crop figures. In addition to the sugar tonnage shown, about

50,000 tons of _piloncillo_ or _panela_ (concrete sugar) are turned out

annually by the small mills and the production of molasses is large. A

considerable amount of the latter is used in the manufacture of rum and

alcohol.

As regards the future of sugar in Mexico, there is much to justify belief

in ultimate expansion and prosperity. Labor is cheap and plentiful, there

are vast tracts of rich virgin land awaiting cultivation, irrigation

possibilities are great, and when the present political disorders shall

have been quieted and stable conditions established, a movement forward

will surely follow.

PERU

Peru is situated on the west coast of South America and extends from 3

degrees 21 minutes to 18 degrees south latitude and from 70 degrees to 81

degrees 40 minutes west longitude. Its area, including certain disputed

territory, is 676,638 square miles. Physically, it is divided into three

distinct regions, the coast, the sierra and the montaña. In the first, or

the dry side of the Andean slope, spurs run out from the main range of

mountains toward the ocean, forming extensive valleys, some of which are

well watered and very fertile. The spaces that lie beyond the life-giving

influence of the rivers have the appearance of sandy deserts, but they

only need water to make them productive. The Andes proper occupy the

sierra region, which abounds in plateaus, deep ravines, rich sheltered

valleys and snow-capped mountains of stupendous height. East of the Andes

lies the montaña, or wet side. It is traversed by broad navigable rivers

and embraces the sub-tropical forests in the ravines and on the eastern

slopes of the Andes, as well as the dense tropical forests of the wide

valley of the Amazon.

According to the 1915 edition of the Century atlas, the population is

4,609,999. About 57 per cent of the inhabitants are Indians, 13 per cent

whites, 2 per cent Asiatics, 2 per cent negroes, the remainder being

mixed races.

The sugar plantations are found on the west or dry side in the coast

region.

The valleys of this coast country have been upraised from the ocean at a

comparatively recent geological period, and the fertile soils of these

valleys are the result of erosion and deposit through the agency of

mountain torrents.

The most important cane-growing districts lie seven or eight degrees

south of the equator, and yet the climate of that section cannot be

called really tropical. It is influenced by the cold antarctic currents

and the steady winds that sweep northward. Observations on the Cartavio

plantation during the period 1904-1907 showed the highest maximum

temperature to be 95.5 degrees and the lowest minimum to be 52 degrees

Fahrenheit. In the coast territory the rainfall is limited and the cane

crops depend upon irrigation.

The soils of the coast valleys range from silt to an extremely fine

sandy loam, and vary in thickness. As a rule they are deep, retentive of

moisture, well drained, rich in plant food, easy to cultivate and, with

intelligent treatment, very productive.

Ricardo Palma, in his work, “Tradiciónes Peruanas,” sets forth that sugar

cane was not known in Peru when Francisco Pizarro and his followers first

landed there in 1527, but that it was brought in a short time afterward.

The first plantation was established in 1570 and the first factory was

erected on an estate in the valley of Huanuco. Meanwhile, the sugar used

in Lima came from Mexico, and the owner of the Huanuco mill, realizing

that his product could not compete with Mexican sugar, had recourse to a

clever stratagem. He loaded a vessel with sugar and sent her to Mexico.

The ruse was successful, for the Mexican manufacturers at once concluded

that if sugar could be shipped from Peru to Mexico, the production must

be large and the cost very low. Consequently, they discontinued their

shipments from Acapulco to Peru, much to the advantage of the astute

factor of the Huanuco valley. In the beginning, the estates were worked

by slaves, and, as happened in other sugar countries, after the abolition

of slavery the plantation owners were compelled to look abroad for

their laborers. As many as 90,000 Chinese were imported from Macao[73]

between 1849 and 1874, but so many of them succumbed to the severe

treatment they received that the Macao authorities put a stop to the

labor traffic altogether. The Chinese living in Peru at the present time

are tradespeople and the work on the sugar plantations and in the mills

is done by the native Indians.

[Illustration: LEVELING A CANE FIELD, PERU]

[Illustration: LEVELING GROUND BY STEAM, PERU]

The year 1860 marked an important change in the industry, which up to

that time had been carried on in a very primitive manner. A large amount

of fresh capital was put into sugar enterprises, new mills were built,

the most approved machinery was installed and the factories were equipped

with the best appliances that money could buy. The apparatus for some

of the plants was brought from the United States, while that for others

was supplied by European countries, so that the methods and workmanship

of various nationalities are found in the Peruvian factories. No expense

was spared in any department and all went well so long as the price of

sugar kept up; what was easily made was liberally administered, but when

in 1875 the market dropped, severe competition drove many operators into

difficulties and a number of them went under entirely. The war with

Chile in 1878 and the subsequent revolutionary disturbances impeded the

progress of the industry, but a restoration of tranquillity came in 1895,

and since then the sugar business of Peru has prospered and increased in

volume.

An experiment station was established near Lima in 1906 for the study of

cane cultivation, irrigation problems and the improvement of yield and

quality by the introduction of new varieties of cane. The manufacturing

side of the question has also been gone into with great care, and much is

being done to increase efficiency in that direction.

Today there are 47 modern factories in Peru and 125,000 acres planted

in sugar cane. Outside of these modern plants, crushing is also done

in a crude manner in wooden-roller mills on small plantations that are

scattered throughout the interior. The juice obtained in this way

is worked up to _chancaca_[74] or _panela_ or made into an alcoholic

beverage called _cañaso_ or _chacta_.

As the plantations do not depend upon any special season of rainy or

dry weather, planting and harvesting may be done at any time. In Peru

the land upon which sugar cane is grown is generally gently sloping. On

the large haciendas, when preparing virgin soil for planting, the brush

is first cleared away and the holes filled. The ground is then ploughed

and cross-ploughed by steam-ploughs and broken fine by clod-crushers;

roadways and drainage ditches are laid out, forming squares or

rectangles, and furrows are made at intervals of three to four feet.

This done, the ground is ready for planting. The cane tops used for seed

are cut during harvesting, loaded on cars and sent to the field that is

to be planted. The seed cane is placed horizontally in the furrow and

covered with a few inches of earth, and as soon as the whole field is

planted in this manner, water from the irrigation ditch is turned in and

the cane left to grow. The first weeding is done when the cane shoots

are a foot high, and it is continued at intervals until the cane leaves

become large enough to shade the ground and prevent weed growth. The cane

matures in from eighteen to twenty-four months, according to location,

soil and weather conditions. Some weeks before harvesting, irrigation is

discontinued in order to allow the cane to ripen.

In cultivating the first ratoons, when the cane gets to be a few feet

high the crest of the furrow is thrown down into the furrow so that the

irrigation water passes between the rows of cane instead of along the

furrows, as in the case of plant cane.

Ratooning is kept up until it ceases to be profitable. At the Hacienda

Cartavio, four ratoon crops have been grown in some places, and as many

as seven in others, with good results.

[Illustration: PLANTING CANE, PERU]

[Illustration: PORTABLE BRANCH LINE OF FIELD RAILWAY AND CANE CUTTERS,

PERU]

The principal ingredient of the fertilizer used is guano, which is mixed

with lime, nitrate of soda, potassium sulphate, or ashes from the bagasse

furnaces, and it is applied in various ways. Some planters throw it in

the furrows with the seed cane and allow it to remain there a time before

turning on the water; others place it in the furrows a few months after

the planting and cover it immediately, while still another method is to

apply it and turn on the water at the same time. On certain plantations

the fertilizer is ground and spread over the entire field just before

replanting.

Water for irrigating is obtained from the mountain streams, which are

dammed at certain points, and but little is pumped from wells. The

quantity needed is far less than in Hawaii, owing to the nature of the

soil and the presence of underground moisture close to the surface.

A fixed amount is assigned to each estate by the government and this

is never exceeded during the dry season. In flood time, however, the

regulations are somewhat relaxed, as there is then enough for all and to

spare.

The water is brought on the land by large ditches, and thence to the cane

fields through smaller ones. From these field ditches it flows directly

into the cane rows at the upper end of the field or section, and, owing

to the slight slope of the land, it passes freely through the parallel

rows from the upper to the lower end of the section. It is retained in

the furrow by means of a dam at the lower end. Other ditches are made

at the lower ends of the sections for drainage purposes. The amount of

irrigating done varies according to the nature of the land; in some

cases water is applied only once during the season, in others as many as

twenty-four times. The average number of waterings is five.

When the cane is ripe it is cut by laborers with heavy knives, or

machetes, and loaded by hand into cars that run through the fields on

portable tracks. These cars, which hold from two to ten tons each, are

made up into trains and drawn by a locomotive to the mill. The average

yield per acre in 1912 was about 34 tons, but the planters are seeking

for better results through improved field methods and new varieties of

cane. Pests and disease do little damage in Peru, although the borer

gives some trouble. Owing to the long period of growth in a dry climate,

Peruvian cane is high in fiber and low in juice, but the juice is rich

and very pure; this combination of high fiber content and high percentage

of sugar in the juice, however, brings about an unusual loss of sugar in

the bagasse.

Nearly all of the sugar manufactured is a coarse-grained centrifugal

raw, polarizing about 96.5 degrees and known to the trade as “Peruvian

crystals.” Part of it is marketed in the United States and the rest goes

to Great Britain, while the second and third sugars are sent to Chile to

be refined there. A certain amount of white sugar for home consumption is

made by washing the brown centrifugal sugar.

[Illustration: HAULING CANE-LADEN CARS WITH OX-TEAM, PERU]

[Illustration: TRAIN-LOAD OF CANE EN ROUTE TO THE FACTORY, PERU]

At the beginning of the Chilean war the output was approximately 80,000

tons. In 1905 the production of sugar and molasses was 159,294 long tons,

and 132,222 tons of this were exported.

The following table gives the outturn in long tons since 1905:

YEAR CONSUMPTION EXPORTS TOTAL

1905 27,077 132,136 159,213

1906 32,178 134,592 166,770

1907 30,110 108,886 138,986

1908 31,895 122,940 154,836

1909 29,173 123,393 152,567

1910 29,189 119,744 148,933

1911 31,988 121,758 153,745

1912 36,129 145,106 181,236

1913 34,976 140,669 175,645

1914 32,555 173,910 206,465

1915 40,000 208,487 248,487

The possibilities for expansion in Peru’s sugar industry are large.

Further impounding and conservation of the flood waters from the

mountains would bring under cultivation many thousands of acres that are

now unproductive. Good flowing wells have been sunk on some estates, and

it is likely that many more will be found, thus adding substantially to

the present water supply. As to cost, it would seem that Peru should

be able to compete successfully with other cane-growing countries. The

plantation lands are level or slightly sloping, so that cultivating

machinery may be used to good advantage. Grinding can be carried on

without interruption throughout the year, which means economical factory

capacity and an even distribution of labor. The cost of labor, too, is

reasonable, and great quantities of fertilizers lie close at hand. In

short, Peru enjoys many advantages, and if her planters and refiners keep

pace with scientific development, she will take a prominent place among

the cane-sugar countries of the world.

BRAZIL

Brazil is the largest political division of South America. Its area is

3,270,000 square miles, or slightly greater than that of the United

States, excluding Alaska. From Cape Orange, in 4 degrees 21 minutes

north latitude, it extends 2629 miles southward to the river Chuy, in 33

degrees 45 minutes south latitude, and from Olinda 2691 miles west to the

Peruvian border, between 34 degrees 50 minutes and 73 degrees 50 minutes

west longitude. According to the latest census returns at hand, the

population numbers 20,515,000.

Speaking generally, Brazil is a tropical country with sub-tropical and

temperate regions in the south and in a large part of the high central

plateau. The sugar-producing states are Maranhão, Rio Grande do Norte,

Parahyba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, Minas Geraes, Rio de

Janeiro and São Paulo. The plantations themselves lie between 4 degrees

and 21 degrees south latitude, and being swept by the moisture-laden

eastern trade winds, they receive a fair amount of rain during the wet

season, that is, from January to May.

Traces of a vanished civilization had already given rise to the belief

that the history of Brazil, like that of Mexico and Peru, extended far

into remote ages, when, in 1845, the discovery in the interior of the

country of the ruins of a large and very ancient city, with magnificent

buildings bearing inscriptions in unknown characters, confirmed this

opinion.

Nevertheless, the known history of Brazil dates only from the end of the

fifteenth century. It was discovered in February, 1499, by Vicente Yañez

Pinzon, a companion of Columbus. The following year it was annexed to

Portugal by Pedro Alvares Cabral, but the new territory received little

attention from the Portuguese monarchs until 1531, when an attempt at

colonization was made. Shortly afterward a sugar mill was erected in

São Vicente Piratininga, now São Paulo, and as the soil and climate of

that part of the country were well adapted to cane culture, the industry

grew and other factories were built. In 1580 there were 120 mills, the

greater number being in Bahia and Pernambuco. That same year Philip II

of Spain usurped the crown of Portugal, and Brazil, with the rest of the

Portuguese possessions, came under Spanish rule. Under the new régime

she was exposed to attack by powerful foes. Dutch forces occupied Bahia

in 1624, only to be expelled by the Spaniards a year later; in 1629,

however, they obtained a foothold in Pernambuco. They took Olinda and

its port, but were unable to extend their influence beyond the borders

of the town until the arrival of the newly appointed governor, Count

John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen, in 1636. This able executive carried

the Dutch dominion along the coast from the mouth of the São Francisco

to Maranhão, and an expedition sent out by him captured Angola and

São Thomé on the west African coast, thus securing a supply of negro

slaves, while depriving the enemy of them. He did much to build up the

sugar industry, so severely crippled by the war, and when in 1644 he

resigned his post, the importance of Brazil as a sugar-producing country

had been re-established. The Portuguese threw off the yoke of Spain in

1640 and immediately set about to retake their former colony, Brazil.

After years of fighting, the Dutch were finally overcome and in 1655 a

government decree drove them from the country. This banishment deprived

Brazil of the Dutch sugar planters, with their slaves, their capital,

their practical knowledge and skill. From the time of their exodus the

Brazilian sugar industry began to decline. The greater number of these

refugees established themselves in the West Indies, where they again

engaged in sugar planting with marked success.

Brazil became an independent power in 1825 as an empire, with Dom Pedro

I, son of the Portuguese king, on the throne. This monarch abdicated

in 1831 in favor of the five-year-old heir apparent, who took the name

of Dom Pedro II and reigned until 1889, when the empire gave way to a

republic. The wars carried on by Brazil against her neighbors between

1851 and 1870 brought her provinces into touch with each other, as well

as with the outside world.

In 1826 she pledged herself to Great Britain that, beginning with 1830,

she would suppress the traffic in African negro slaves. This promise,

however, she failed to keep, so the British parliament passed an act

directing the seizure of all slave ships found in Brazilian waters. In

every instance the slaves were liberated and the slave dealers brought

before British tribunals. Complete suppression of the importation of

slaves was the result. In 1871 children born of slave parents were

declared free by law, and the movement in favor of emancipation continued

until 1888, when slavery was entirely abolished without any indemnity to

the slave owners.

The long reign of Dom Pedro II was marked by progress and prosperity.

The emperor had the best interests of his people always at heart and

concerned himself more with economic development than with political

activities. Broad and liberal in his views, he made no attempt to prevent

the spread of socialistic doctrines, which, about the year 1880, began

to seriously affect the thought of the educated classes. The feeling of

unrest and the desire for change engendered in this way culminated in the

military conspiracy of 1889, and, as was only natural, the former slave

owners, smarting under their losses, took sides against the emperor. The

monarchy fell and was replaced by a republican form of government, which,

despite several attempts to restore the empire, has endured to the

present day.

In the sugar-growing regions of the north and center methods of

cultivation do not show much improvement over the practice of early

times. Cane is planted in holes about nine inches deep and five feet

apart, no fertilizer being used. Some five weeks later the soil is turned

up and after fifteen months’ growth the cane matures. In São Paulo,

however, the planters work on more scientific lines, and ploughing,

furrowing, tilling, fertilizing and weeding are done in a thorough

manner. The crop depends upon rainfall entirely, and in a normal season

ripens in from fourteen to sixteen months. As soon as the cane is cut the

dry cane leaves are burned and ploughing begins. The plough passes close

enough to the cane roots to tear them more or less, thus helping the new

growth. Shortly after the new cane shoots appear, the ground is spaded up

or ploughed, just as in the case of plant cane. Ratoons ripen in twelve

or fourteen months, and as a rule four to six ratoon crops are grown

before replanting is done.

The yield of cane varies with the rainfall and the richness of the soil,

and ranges from 20 to 30 tons per acre for first ratoons, diminishing

with succeeding crops. The sugar content frequently reaches 18 per cent.

Cane is grown either by colonos or by indentured laborers. In the colono

system a tract of land from 9 to 36 acres in size and planted to cane is

assigned by the estate to a group of colonos according to their number.

The colonos care for the cane during its period of growth and harvest it

when ripe. For this they receive the equivalent of $12.50 American gold

per acre. Assuming that the yield per acre is 20 tons, the cost to the

owner of the estate of cultivating and harvesting a ton of cane is 62½

cents. The colono is given pasture land for his cattle, fuel and house

rent free.

The indentured laborers are allotted a certain amount of untilled

ground, which they prepare, plant and cultivate. Seed cane, houses and

pasturage are furnished gratis, and when the cane is ripe they harvest

it. The amount paid the indentured laborers for cane raised in this

way fluctuates according to the market value of sugar. For example, in

São Paulo when the price of sugar is $4.41 gold per hundredweight, the

laborer gets $2.23 per ton for his cane; when the price exceeds $4.41 and

is less than $5.90 per hundredweight, he receives $2.55 per ton; when

sugar sells between $5.90 and $8.60 per hundredweight, his share is $3.18

per ton; should the price go over $8.60, he gets $3.82 per ton.

The practice in Bahia is somewhat different. Taking as a basis a price of

$2.939 gold per hundredweight for sugar, the cane brings $1.646 per long

ton, and for every .147 cent (⅐ cent) per pound fluctuation in the price

of sugar, the value of cane changes 9.88 cents per ton up or down as the

case may be.[75]

In the small factories the methods of manufacture are very old-fashioned.

The cane is crushed between rolls of hard wood, and the juice, after

being strained to remove the suspended impurities, is boiled to grain in

copper kettles. The magma is then run into large wooden moulds having

cone-shaped, perforated bottoms. The holes in the bottom of these moulds

are closed when the hot massecuite is dumped in, but as soon as it cools

the plugs are taken out and the molasses allowed to drain off. A layer

of very wet clay is then spread over the top of the sugar, and as the

water slowly drains from the clay it passes through the sugar crystals,

carrying the mother liquor with it. After this washing process has gone

on for some time, the sugar is removed from the moulds, and the upper

portion is found to be white, or nearly so, while underneath the color

deepens into yellow and from that to brown as the bottom is reached. The

sugars are carefully separated according to their color, then dried and

packed in bags containing 60 kilograms or about 132 pounds each.

[Illustration: SUGAR PLANTATION BETWEEN RIO DE JANEIRO AND SÃO PAULO,

BRAZIL]

It will readily be seen that the loss in extraction by such means is

very great. In fact, from cane having a sugar content of 15 per cent,

sometimes not more than between 5 per cent and 6 per cent of sugar

is recovered. The best results are naturally obtained in the large

factories, or usines, but even there, owing to poor crushing, 9 per cent

of the weight of the cane in sugar is considered satisfactory.

In the usines the juices are treated with sulphur and neutralized with

lime. They are then allowed to settle, after which they are boiled to

grain and the crystals separated from the mother liquor in centrifugal

machines. The sugar is dried and the remaining liquor is returned to the

pans for reboiling.

The various grades produced are:

Cristaes blancos (white washed sugar)

Cristaes amarellos (first yellow, termed Demerara)

Mascavinhos (second yellow, fine grain)

Mascavos (dark brown sugar, final product)

The greater portion of the sugars made in Brazil is refined, but a

certain amount goes directly into consumption in its raw state. Refining

on a large scale according to European methods has been tried at various

times, but, owing to the high cost of labor, fuel and transportation, all

these attempts have proved unsuccessful. Then again, the demand for sugar

prepared in the European way is not great, the Brazilians preferring the

moist fine-grained sugar made in the small refineries. This sugar has a

molasses taste, polarizes about 91 degrees and carries about 2 per cent

of glucose. In manufacturing the white grade, a liquor of 31 degrees

Baumé[76] is first made from raw sugar. This is clarified with ox-blood

and filtered through bone-char, after which the clear liquor is boiled

at a temperature of 266 degrees Fahrenheit over an open fire until only

about 4 per cent of water remains. It is then removed from the fire, a

small quantity of dry granulated sugar is added and the mass is stirred

with a wooden paddle. Cool, dry, fine-grained sugar is the result. The

yellow grade, or _terzira_, as it is called, is made in exactly the same

manner, except that no clarifying or filtering is done. The rich molasses

odor and taste of this sugar please the popular palate to such an extent

that it commands a higher price than white granulated sugar refined

by the most modern processes. In fact nearly 75 per cent of the sugar

consumed in Rio de Janeiro is terzira. Its manufacture does not require

expensive equipment or any great amount of technical skill, hence it

appeals to the native merchants and confectioners.

Recently the government has put forth some effort to encourage and

improve the sugar industry, but so far without much success. A law

was passed in 1875 guaranteeing a return of 7 per cent upon the money

expended in constructing central factories, a given number being allowed

each state. This act was modified some years later and the rate of

interest reduced to 6 per cent, but as the refunding period was longer

it met with more favor than the first and a number of concessions were

granted. In 1889 the state of Pernambuco appropriated a sum equal

to $135,000.00 gold to be divided among forty factories, with the

understanding that repayment was to be begun after the harvesting of

the third crop and extended over a period of twenty years. All this

legislation had no definite result.

A few years ago, a combination of the producers was formed for the

purpose of maintaining a high price for domestic sugar by setting aside

a certain fixed amount for export. At first this was 20 per cent, but

it was afterward increased to 40 per cent. The plan, however, was

ineffectual. A heavy import duty (about 5.86 cents per pound) prohibits

the bringing in of foreign sugars, so that Brazil must provide for her

requirements within her own borders.

Accurate information concerning production, distribution and prices is

hard to obtain. Bad transportation facilities, diversity of customs

regulations between the states, and the vast number of small producers

who sell to the consumer direct, make the compilation of dependable data

almost an impossibility. The statistics that are submitted, therefore,

are approximative.

Brazil’s sugar exports grow less and less. The United States no longer

depends upon her for supplies, so that the outlook for the industry in

Brazil is not bright at the present time. Modern refining methods are

not regarded with favor by the people and any considerable extension in

production seems remote.

PRODUCTION IN BRAZIL

1891 185,000 tons

1892 200,000 ”

1893 275,000 ”

1894 275,000 ”

1895 225,000 ”

1896 210,000 ”

1897 205,000 ”

1898 151,500 ”

1899 175,000 ”

1900 256,460 ”

1901 312,957 ”

1902 254,693 ”

1903 187,500 ”

1904 197,000 ”

1905 195,000 ”

1906 275,000 ”

1907 215,000 ”

1908 180,000 ”

1909 248,000 ”

1910 253,000 ”

1911 287,000 ”

1912 235,000 ”

1913 204,000 ”

1914 203,394 ”

1915 240,000 ”

1916 194,000 ”

BRITISH GUIANA

Guiana, in its widest meaning, is the name given to that part of South

America that lies between 8 degrees 40 minutes north and 3 degrees 30

minutes south latitude and 50 degrees and 68 degrees 30 minutes west

longitude. This vast territory, about 690,000 square miles in area,

comprises Venezuelan Guiana, British Guiana, Dutch Guiana (Surinam),

French Guiana (Cayenne), and Brazilian Guiana. The first of these

divisions is now part of Venezuela and the last is included in Brazil.

The coast of British Guiana is fringed by low, alluvial flats, the result

of deposit by the rivers. Beginning at three feet below high-water mark,

these flats extend inland 25 or 30 miles, rising imperceptibly about 15

feet. Beyond is a broad, rolling region of sandy clay formation, 150 feet

above sea-level, which runs back to the forest-covered hills. Two ranges

of mountains traverse the country from west to east and a third chain

forms the southern boundary and the watershed between the Essequibo and

the Amazon. The highest mountain peak is Roraima on the western border,

8635 feet.

The rivers of British Guiana and their tributaries form a network of

waterways throughout the country and they are practically the only

transportation routes from the coast into the interior. The most

important are the Essequibo, the Demerara, the Berbice and the Corentyn.

The Essequibo has its source in the Acari mountains near the equator at

850 feet above the sea, and it flows north about 600 miles, reaching the

Atlantic by an estuary 15 miles wide, in which there are a number of

large and fertile islands. At one time sugar cane was grown on four of

these islands, but today only one, Wakenaam, has a sugar mill.

For the ten months beginning with October and ending in July, the

temperature on the coast is even, as the northeast trade winds keep it

down to 80 degrees Fahrenheit on an average, but the cessation of the

trades in August and September makes the heat oppressive. Hurricanes

are unknown and but little damage is caused in the coast regions by

earthquakes, owing to the character of the soil. In the interior the

year is divided into one wet and one dry season, but in the low-lying

coast country, where the sugar plantations are, there are two wet and two

dry periods. The long wet season begins about the middle of April and

lasts until August; the long dry period is from September to the end of

November. The rainfall varies greatly according to locality; on the coast

the yearly average is 80 inches. In 1914 the population was estimated to

be 304,089; of these 120,000 were negroes, 124,000 East Indians, 11,600

Portuguese, 4300 Europeans of other nationalities, 6500 aborigines and

over 30,000 of mixed race.

Guiana was sighted by Columbus in 1498 and by Alonzo de Ojeda and Amerigo

Vespucci in the year following. Vicente Yañez Pinzon is credited with

having sailed up some of the rivers in 1500 and Sir Walter Raleigh

ascended the Orinoco in 1595 in quest of the mythical city El Dorado.

Dutch traders reached Guiana in 1598 and by 1613 they had established

several settlements on the coast of Demerara and Essequibo. Meanwhile

English and French adventurers were endeavoring to obtain a foothold

in Surinam and Cayenne, which they succeeded in doing in 1652. The

colony of Essequibo was under the administration of the Dutch West India

company from 1621 until 1791, when the company was dissolved. A Dutch

settlement established on the Berbice river in 1624 was the beginning of

the colony of that name, which was taken under the protection of the

States-general of Holland in 1732. Demerara, formerly a dependency of

Essequibo, became a separate colony in 1773. In 1781 the three colonies,

Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice, were captured by British privateers.

The following year they were taken by France, and restored to Holland in

1783. The British took possession a second time in 1796, retaining them

for about six years, at the end of which period they passed back into the

hands of Holland once more. The British occupied them in 1803 and they

were formally ceded to Great Britain in 1815. The three colonies were

consolidated into one under the name of British Guiana in 1831.

Essequibo, Berbice and Demerara all produced a considerable amount of

sugar during the Dutch régime. The plantations were on coast and river

lands that had been diked and drained. Like all sugar-growing countries,

this colony was adversely affected by the abolition of slavery, but owing

to the success that attended the introduction of coolies from Hindustan,

the labor situation never became so acute as it did in many islands of

the West Indies. Traffic in African negro slaves was forbidden in 1808.

After 1834 the sugar planters sought free laborers in the neighboring

islands and in Madeira. Many people who had been deprived of their means

of livelihood by the destruction of the vineyards of Madeira by disease

settled in British Guiana. The importation of free negroes from British

African possessions was sanctioned by the home government in 1840, and

between that year and 1865 a large number of slaves taken by British war

ships from Cuban and Brazilian slavers were landed in British Guiana,

where they found employment as free laborers. This source of labor supply

was cut off by the abolition of slavery in Brazil and other countries. In

1867 the importation of free blacks from British Africa was prohibited

and the movement to supply laborers from China came to an end. The

Chinese experiment was repeated in 1874 and 1878, but never since. The

bringing in of British Indians, however, proved a success ever since the

time it was first done in 1838. These laborers are indentured for five

years, and five years after the expiration of their contract they have

the privilege of being taken back to their homes, without charge. During

the five years following their contract term they can obtain work as free

hands and they may acquire small parcels of land. In fact many of them

have become land owners and have settled permanently in the colony. There

are also a considerable number who, after having gone back to India,

return to British Guiana of their own volition and at their own expense

to work as free laborers.

Most of the sugar plantations are found on the seacoast on lands formerly

marshy that have been diked and drained either by sluices or by pumping.

The plantations along the river banks, too, are on reclaimed lands

that have been drained by sluices. In 1911 there were 160,000 acres of

reclaimed land in the colony, and 81,000 acres of it were devoted to

sugar cane. The plantations are oblong in shape, one end fronting on the

sea or the river, as the case may be. Originally they varied in size from

500 to 1000 acres, but in many instances consolidation has taken place.

The dike next to the sea is naturally the strongest and most carefully

built, while those at the sides and rear are less substantial. As a rule,

there is a broad road that runs through the middle of the plantation,

with a navigable canal on either side. These canals contain fresh water,

salt water and flood waters being kept out by a gate through which excess

fresh water may run off at low tide. Short feeder canals run at right

angles, and as they are not connected with the drainage canals they may

contain salt water if necessary. In crossing a transportation canal,

the waters of drainage canals pass underneath through a siphon. Between

these transportation canals are the cane fields, from ten to twenty acres

in size, and separated from one another by small drainage ditches. The

largest transportation canals are between sixteen and twenty feet wide at

the top, between twelve and sixteen feet wide at the bottom and four to

five feet deep. The smaller transportation canals are twelve feet wide

at the top, nine feet wide at the bottom and four to five feet deep. The

large drainage canals are fifteen feet wide and four feet deep, and the

irrigation ditches are from two to three feet wide and three feet deep.

Before planting cane in virgin soil the trees are cut down, the ground is

cleared of grass and weeds, canals are dug, furrows are made at intervals

of from six to seven feet, and then the planting is done. A month later

weeds are removed, the young shoots are banked and the ground between

the furrows is loosened. When five months old the cane is trashed[77]

and weeding is done if necessary. After an interval of three months this

operation is repeated, and when the cane is a year old the final trashing

is done, the harvesting following two weeks afterward.

When the cane has been cut, the ground is loosened once more, the dry

leaves are put in the spaces between the furrows and covered with earth,

the young cane shoots come up, and in another year the ratoons are

ready for harvesting. Two or three ratoon crops are grown on the same

land, but as soon as the yield gets too small the ground is left fallow

and planting is done elsewhere. Until recently Bourbon cane was the

only variety raised in British Guiana. Of late, however, many kinds of

seedling cane have been introduced, and today it is estimated that more

than one-half of the crop comes from seedling stock. Fertilizing is done

with phosphates, guano, potash, sulphate of ammonia and stable manure.

The cane is brought from the fields to the mills by canal in

flat-bottomed boats. The equipment in the factories is good, as a whole;

crushing is efficiently done and the juices are boiled to grain in vacuum

pans.

In addition to 96-degree centrifugals and second sugars, the celebrated

“Demerara crystals” are produced. In making the latter the juice is kept

acid throughout the process, from one to five per cent being lost through

inversion. Chloride of tin is added in the vacuum pan to heighten the

yellow color. The greater part of the molasses goes into the manufacture

of rum, and a certain quantity, mixed with ground bagasse, finds a market

in England as cattle food.

While on virgin soil the yield of cane runs as high as sixty to seventy

tons to the acre, the average is about twenty tons per acre, and the

extraction of sugar equals 8½ per cent of the weight of the cane. In late

years the number of sugar mills has grown less, owing to the merging of

many small plants into a few large ones. In 1908 the area planted in cane

was 73,471 acres, and there were forty-two plantations, six of them less

than 1000 acres, twenty-five over 1000 acres, six over 2000 acres, four

over 3000 acres, and one over 7000 acres in size.

Over half of the sugar exported goes to Canada, the remainder being taken

by Great Britain and the United States.

As to the future of British Guiana’s sugar industry, early in 1915 a

letter was sent by the government secretary of the colony to the West

India committee in London in which it is stated that the possible annual

crop on suitable sugar lands eastward of the Pomeroon river is not less

than 1,000,000 tons, while, if the large virgin alluvial areas to the

east of the Pomeroon river and between there and the Venezuelan boundary

were brought under cultivation, the maximum total output might reach

2,500,000 tons per annum. This letter was in reply to a communication

addressed by the West India committee to the governors of all of the

British sugar-growing possessions for the purpose of securing information

regarding the possibilities of development of the industry. Hitherto

the United Kingdom has been largely dependent upon foreign countries for

its sugar supply, and the movement thus set on foot by the West India

committee is to urge upon the home government the importance of drawing

the entire sugar requirements of the country from its colonies. This of

course would mean the establishment of a preferential tariff.

Exports from British Guiana since 1895, in tons of 2240 pounds:

1895-96 101,059

1896-97 107,073

1897-98 100,839

1898-99 96,648

1899-00 84,783

1900-01 94,745

1901-02 105,694

1902-03 120,127

1903-04 125,949

1904-05 101,278

1905-06 121,693

1906-07 120,334

1907-08 99,737

1908-09 117,176

1909-10 101,843

1910-11 108,297

1911-12 83,294

1912-13 83,922

1913-14 103,774

1914-15 113,632

1915-16 110,000[78]

[Illustration: TRAIN-LOAD OF CANE EN ROUTE TO THE INGENIO LA MENDIETA,

ARGENTINA]

[Illustration: UNLOADING A CAR OF CANE, TUCUMÁN, ARGENTINA]

ARGENTINA

The Argentine republic occupies the southeastern extremity of South

America, and extends from 21 degrees 55 minutes to 55 degrees 2 minutes

south latitude, and from 53 degrees 40 minutes to 73 degrees 17 minutes

west longitude. From north to south its length is 2285 miles, and its

greatest width is 930 miles. Its area is 1,135,840[79] square miles, and

the population, including the nomadic peoples, numbers about 8,000,000.

Physically, the surface of the country comprises three great divisions:

the Andes and the high plateaus to the west, the vast plains of the east

and the desolate, barren wastes of Patagonia. Only the northern part

lies within the latitudes where sugar cane can be grown, and owing to

the mountainous character of that region the area available for cane

culture is limited. The provinces of Tucumán, Jujuy, Salta, Santa Fé and

Corrientes, and the territories of Formosa, Chaco and Missiones produce

the entire sugar crop.

Argentina’s great length and the range of altitude within her borders,

from the lofty, snow-clad peaks of the Andes eastward to sea-level,

give a widely varied climate, upon which the prevailing winds and the

mountain barriers exert a further influence. In the extreme north there

is a stretch of country extending about ninety miles into the torrid zone

and running from the Pilcomayo river, five hundred miles west, to the

Chilean border. The eastern part of this region consists of a low, wooded

plain where the mean annual temperature is 73 degrees Fahrenheit and the

average annual rainfall is 63 inches. The western end is a dry plateau

where the temperature drops below 57 degrees Fahrenheit and the rainfall

is only about two inches during the year. In the cane-growing district

the rainy season is from October to March. At times during the winter the

frost is severe enough to partially wither the cane leaves, but it never

wholly kills the cane.

Sugar cane was brought to the La Plata region by the Jesuits, and it

appears in the records of the Santo Domingo monastery that sugar was

manufactured in Tucumán as early as 1670. After the banishment of the

Jesuits nearly one hundred years later, the industry quickly declined,

in fact as late as 1871 the total production of Argentina did not exceed

1000 tons. Development in Tucumán followed the completion of the railway,

which opened outside markets to the planters of the province in 1876.

Railway transportation facilities brought in modern factory equipment and

machinery. As a result numerous small primitive mills were eliminated and

their owners turned to sugar-cane growing.

Stimulated by a heavy protective tariff, the cane-producing area in

Tucumán increased from 12,000 to 104,000 acres between 1881 and 1896,

and in other provinces the industry made substantial progress. By 1894

the output exceeded the country’s requirements. This led the government

to concede an export bounty in 1896, and a syndicate called the Unión

Azucarera was formed by the producers, who agreed to deliver to it 60

per cent of their product. From 1896 to 1904 exports of sugar varied

from 15,000 to 50,000 tons per annum. Conditions changed, however. The

other South American countries would not buy Argentine sugar, the United

States had fixed a countervailing duty on all bounty-fed sugars, and

Great Britain was contemplating their exclusion entirely. To save the

situation, therefore, it was decided to curtail the output, and the

following plan was adopted:

[Illustration: BATTERY OF BOILERS, INGENIO LA TRINIDAD, TUCUMÁN,

ARGENTINA]

[Illustration: HOME OF SUPERINTENDENT OF A SUGAR PLANTATION, TUCUMÁN,

ARGENTINA]

An arbitrary amount was fixed as the total production of the factories in

operation, and this tonnage was prorated among them according to their

capacity. Upon every 100 kilograms (220.46 lbs.) produced in excess

of the allotment, a tax equivalent to 48¾ cents[80] was levied, and

factories where operations were not started until after the passage of

the law were taxed at this rate upon 25 per cent of their output. The

fund raised in this way furnished the compensation for the growers who

destroyed their cane crops or left them unharvested. A certain sum was

applied to the payment of export bounty[81] and the remainder went into

the national treasury.

The Brussels convention, by its provision for countervailing duties,

nullified the effect of the export bounty and in 1905 the export

privileges were withdrawn.

In 1912 the import duty was established at 3.85 cents gold per pound for

96-degree sugars and 2.977 cents per pound for sugars testing under 96

degrees. A yearly reduction of about one-tenth of a cent per pound was

provided for until the rate of 96-degree sugars shall reach 3.0645 cents

per pound, and that for those under 96 degrees 2.19 cents. Countervailing

duties were also imposed on foreign bounty-fed sugars.

Tucumán produces between 80 per cent and 85 per cent of Argentina’s total

crop, the remainder coming largely from Jujuy.

From the “Boletin Mensual de Estadistica Agricola,” Buenos Aires, August,

1913, the following figures are taken:

PROVINCES NO. OF FACTORIES RAW SUGAR YIELD

TONS PER CENT

Tucumán 28 121,551 6.8

Salta 1 1,290 8.9

Jujuy 3 20,052 7.9

Chaco 3 2,762 5.9

Formosa 1 231 6.0

Santa Fé 2 838 6.3

Corrientes 1 525 6.6

-- ------- ---

39 147,249 6.9

At the present time, Argentina has over 200,000 acres in sugar cane, and

this area can be considerably increased. The present production about

takes care of the country’s needs, although a round amount of American

refined sugar was imported in the latter part of 1916.

Field methods admit of great improvement. Little care is exercised in the

selection of seed cane and disinfection is never practiced. Planting is

done in September and October, when the rainy season sets in. Irrigation

from rivers and streams is the rule; fertilizers are seldom used, and

no preventive measures are adopted to combat diseases of the cane. The

yield of cane per acre in poor soil is from nine to fifteen tons, in

average soil from eleven to seventeen tons, while on the best lands it is

eighteen tons.

Ratoon crops are raised fifteen or more years in succession without

replanting, and the period between frosts is too short to admit of the

cane reaching maturity.

Grinding is begun about June 1st and usually takes one hundred days,

depending, naturally, upon the amount of cane to be crushed.

[Illustration: INGENIO NUEVA BAVIERA, TUCUMÁN, ARGENTINA]

[Illustration: INGENIO NUEVA BAVIERA, TUCUMÁN, ARGENTINA]

The factories are modern and equipped with machinery and apparatus of

the latest type, but notwithstanding this the recovery of sugar is poor,

owing to the quality of the cane. In 1911 the average extraction obtained

by the factories of Tucumán was 7.65 per cent. A few factories make

white sugar for direct consumption, but the great part of the output

consists of raw centrifugal sugar, which is subsequently refined. Most

of Argentina’s refined sugar is produced by the Refineria Argentina of

Rosario.

Argentina’s sugar industry could not live without a protective tariff, on

account of the high cost of production, which even in the best factories

is about 4⅓ cents gold per pound. There is no chance to build up an

export business now, so, unless conditions change, the production must

adjust itself to take care of the consumption and no more.

The statistics from 1906 to 1915 are in long tons:

PRODUCTION IMPORTS

RAW RAW REFINED

1906 114,426 646 1,260

1907 107,694 31,434 11,391

1908 157,845 10,648 24,271

1909 121,891 13,546 5,898

1910 146,472 33,542 22,342

1911 177,211 17,866 33,206

1912 147,731 18,728 10,866

1913 275,834 25,081 49,094

1914 330,460 154 6,250

1915 149,864 1 22

FORMOSA

The Japanese island of Formosa (Taiwan) lies off the coast of China,

about two hundred miles north of the Philippines, between 21 degrees

45 minutes and 25 degrees 38 minutes north latitude and 120 degrees 10

minutes and 122 degrees east longitude. It is about two hundred and

twenty-five miles long and narrow in shape; its width is seventy-seven

miles and its total area 13,504 square miles. A range of mountains runs

from north to south, and the highest peak is 13,600 feet. The mountainous

region is rugged and well wooded, but in the southwestern part there is

a fertile plain which is very productive. Rice, tea and sugar are grown

pretty much all along the western portion of the island.

In the west, too, are found the best seaports and bays, also the most

important towns. In 1905 Formosa had about 3,000,000 inhabitants, nearly

all of whom were Chinese.

The climate is tropical, and at sea-level the average temperature in

July, which is the hottest month, is about 72 degrees Fahrenheit, while

in February, the coldest month, the mean is 51.6 degrees.

Sugar has been known in the island for a great many years. There is a

record of a shipment having been made from there to the Netherlands as

far back as 1622, from which time the trade was carried on until the

competition of the West Indies closed the European markets to Formosan

sugars. Nevertheless, the industry prospered and the production grew

until during the last years of Chinese rule it amounted to something

between 60,000 and 80,000 tons annually. Nearly all of this was soft

brown sugar of fine grain, the remainder being a so-called white sugar,

made by purging the brown sugar crystals of their syrup.

The island was seized by Japan in 1895, but the Formosans made a stubborn

resistance to the invaders, and it was not until 1898 that they were

finally subdued and a stable government established by the Japanese. An

insurrection broke out in 1902, but was quickly put down, and since then

there has been no further trouble.

In 1895 Formosa had something near one thousand small mills, all driven

by buffaloes. The product was a brown clayed sugar, similar to that made

in the Philippines, and one-half of it was consumed locally, the other

half going to China and Japan.

After the subjugation of Formosa in 1898, the Japanese were not

immediately able to set about repairing the damage caused by the war. Two

years later, however, they took up the task with characteristic energy

and thoroughness, and the sugar industry soon felt the effects of the

movement. In 1902 measures were passed providing for the establishment

of a sugar station at Tainan and for the investigation of all questions

relating to the industry. Young Japanese students were sent to Java,

Hawaii and Europe to look into methods employed in the cultivation and

manufacture of sugar in those countries and to determine by careful

observation and study what would be best suited to Formosan conditions.

Seed cane was brought in from other countries and comparisons of results

obtained from the different plantings were made at an experiment

station built by the government at Daimokko. Striped Tanna and Lahaina

canes throve well, but they were rejected because they required an

extraordinary amount of irrigation and constant care. The Rose Bamboo, on

the other hand, was hardier and did not need so much water, consequently

the experts at the sugar station did everything they possibly could to

encourage its use.

At the same time the government offered companies starting sugar

refineries a bonus of six per cent per annum for five years on the

paid-up capital, or a single bonus of twenty per cent of the value of the

plant and equipment. Other enterprises were supplied with machinery by

the government for five years; in other words, the machinery was bought

with government money and the sugar company was given five years in

which to reimburse the government. Cane lands could be acquired on very

favorable terms, and any planter who was willing to bind himself to raise

a crop of cane for five consecutive years was supplied with fertilizer by

the government, free of cost. These privileges remained open until the

early part of 1911, when they were abrogated.

About the first enterprise to receive the benefit of this special

legislation was the Taiwan Sugar company, incorporated in 1900 with a

paid-in capital of 500,000 yen, which carried a bonus of 30,000 yen from

the government. The company’s intention was to buy the cane from the

growers and make it into sugar for the Japanese market. The factory was

ready for business by the fall of the following year, but as soon as

grinding was begun the Chinese farmers manifested a decided unwillingness

to furnish cane. As a consequence, the sugar company determined to grow

its own cane, and after increasing its capital to 1,000,000 yen proceeded

to carry out this plan. Arrangements were made to turn out 30 tons of

sugar per day during the grinding period of 150 days, but the first

year’s results were only 1200 tons.

Two factories near Tainan owned by Chinese were started about this time

at the instigation of the government, and also with its assistance.

Unfortunately, the operators did not understand how to use the modern

equipment furnished them by the authorities. Further trouble arose in

connection with the buying of the cane and there was constant friction

between the factories and the government experts at the sugar bureau.

So the venture proved far from profitable either to the factories or the

industry.

The Chinese growers continued to cling tenaciously to their crude method

of grinding cane in their buffalo-driven mills, instead of selling it to

the factories, and they obstinately refused to plant the new and more

productive variety of cane, Rose Bamboo, imported from the Hawaiian

islands by the government for seed purposes—this in spite of the fact

that cane tops for planting could be obtained gratis at the sugar

station, and that the substitution of the better cane entitled the farmer

to free fertilizer, irrigation privileges and a money bonus.

It was plain that the government would have to take more vigorous

action to save its sugar program for Formosa from complete failure, so

in 1905 new regulations were framed and made public. Under these rules

no one could embark in the business of manufacturing sugar without

first securing the official sanction of the director of the sugar

bureau. A fixed territory was assigned to the newcomer with the express

understanding that no other factory could be established there and that

all the cane growers in the territory were obligated to sell their cane

to the factory and forbidden to send it out of the district or put it to

any other use. The factory owner on his side bound himself to take all

the cane grown in his district, even if the supply should be greater than

his needs. In order to stimulate modern methods of manufacture, the sugar

bureau prohibited the grinding of cane by the growers in their buffalo

mills, except by special permission.

In certain sections of the island where there was no cane cultivation,

large tracts of land might be granted outright to persons engaging in

sugar raising and manufacture. In such cases the capacity of the factory

and the period of operation was agreed upon in advance, and as soon as

the land was planted to cane, the title to it passed to the factory.

If, however, the owners of the factory failed to act in good faith, the

undertaking was declared void and the factory dismantled.

By 1911 twenty-nine large factories were in operation and nine others

were being built. Every one of these establishments was new and equipped

with the latest and most improved machinery.

It was officially announced in November, 1910, that no further charters

authorizing the forming of new sugar companies or the extending of the

operations of those already in existence would be issued, the reason

given being the desire to limit the production to the requirements of

Japan until such a time as an outlet could be found in the markets of the

world. The measure was regarded as a temporary one.

The opposition of the native farmer to the new order of things was not

overcome at once. Cane plantings decreased at first, but when the natives

realized that cane paid them better than other crops, they gradually

resumed cultivating it on the same scale as formerly, and the government

bonus on Rose Bamboo cane helped matters still further.

As long as the manufacturers are far-seeing enough to pay the grower a

fair figure for his cane, the supply will be forthcoming. Conversely,

if too low a price is offered, the farmer will be driven to raise other

crops, and, as the factory cannot purchase cane outside of its own

district, lack of material will prevent it from running at full capacity,

which means a heavy loss. So there is an excellent reason for maintaining

the price of cane at a point which enables the grower to make a profit.

Another potent factor, too, is that the price must receive the approval

of the government. It is significant that the factories built between

1907 and 1911 have all been put up without government aid.

[Illustration: KOHEKIRIN MILL, FORMOSA]

Irrigation in Formosa has not been developed to any extent and the

crop depends upon the rainfall. In the southern part of the island the

monsoons are fairly regular and plentiful rains can be counted upon

between June and September, with a dry period from November to April.

In the north climatic conditions are not so good, and consequently all

of the large sugar enterprises are to be found in the south. Ploughing

by the natives is poorly done with wooden ploughs, but the modern

plantations use steam ploughs with excellent results. Cane is planted

every year and there are no ratoon crops. Grinding usually takes 150

days, beginning in November and ending in May.

The old-fashioned mills turn out a soft brown or yellowish white,

open-pan sugar. The modern plants make centrifugal sugar only,

practically all of which goes to Japan, although shipments have been made

to China, Korea, Hong Kong and even Canada. The molasses is consumed at

home.

Just how much of the open-pan brown sugar is used in Formosa itself it is

impossible to determine, but Willett & Gray’s figures for the crops, by

years, since 1901 clearly show what strides the industry has made:

1901-02 48,381 long tons

1902-03 34,769 ”

1903-04 60,650 ”

1904-05 50,276 ”

1905-06 64,190 ”

1906-07 81,448 ”

1907-08 68,450 ”

1908-09 122,000 ”

1909-10 205,000 ”

1910-11 267,000 ”

1911-12 173,224 ”

1912-13 113,100 ”

1913-14 190,000 ”

1914-15 186,000 ”

1915-16 290,953 ”

1916-17 338,997 ”[82]

The crop of 1911-12 suffered severely from prolonged drought at planting

time, and the typhoons of August, 1911, devastated the cane fields. The

effect of this disaster was to deter the natives from planting cane the

following year, and in consequence the production for that season was

cut down more than fifty per cent.

It is obvious that the rapid development in Formosa has been brought

about by the paternal policy of the government, without whose powerful

aid the industry would in all probability have made but slow progress.

The total of Japan’s sugar consumption is about 300,000 tons per annum,

and it is perhaps safe to hazard the guess that her statesmen will

do everything they can in reason to encourage production in her own

territory until this quantity shall have been reached.[83]

JAVA

Java, the seat of the colonial government of the Dutch East Indies, lies

in the Indian ocean south of Sumatra and Borneo, between 105 degrees 12

minutes and 114 degrees 35 minutes east longitude, and between 5 degrees

52 minutes and 8 degrees 46 minutes south latitude. It is 622 miles long

and 121 miles wide at its greatest breadth, and this narrows to about 55

miles toward the middle of the island. The area of Java proper is 48,504

square miles, Madura comprises 1732 square miles and the smaller islands

under Javan jurisdiction cover 1416 square miles.

Of the three general divisions of Java, the east, the middle and the

west, each has certain structural features of its own. In west Java the

highlands lie to the south and the lowlands to the north. Middle Java

takes in the isthmus and part of the wide eastern portion. In the isthmus

the mountain barrier on the south is less regular and the northern plains

are broken to a certain extent. The eastern division is made up of an

intricate confusion of hills and valleys, except on the south coast,

where the mountain range forms a continuous barrier. The shore line of

the north coast is low everywhere, with morasses, sand dunes and shifting

river mouths, but it is of much greater importance than the south coast,

which is steep, at intervals rocky and constantly battered by a violent

surf.

Java is one of the most distinctly volcanic regions of the world—it has

fourteen active volcanoes and one hundred and twenty-five recognized

volcanic centers.

Both the north and south coast lines are broken by rivers, the principal

ones being on the north. In the dry season they contain little water,

but during the rainy monsoon[84] they frequently become rushing torrents

that burst their banks and overflow the surrounding country. Such

inundations carry with them a considerable amount of disintegrated

volcanic rock, part of which is deposited on the plains and swept

seaward. In this manner the alluvial plains near the river courses are

formed and the shoals in the harbors and at the river mouths as well.

Java enjoys a comparatively even temperature the year round. Ninety-six

degrees Fahrenheit was recorded in Batavia in 1877 and that is the

highest mark known. The lowest was 66 degrees Fahrenheit, which was

experienced in the same place in the same year. The mean annual

temperature is 79 degrees Fahrenheit, and the difference between the

warmest and the coldest months is 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit. The year is

divided into two seasons by the prevailing winds—the rainy period, that

of the wet monsoon, from November to March, and the dry period the

remainder of the year, when the dry monsoon blows. There is no long

unbroken rainfall and no long spell of drought. The average rainfall

is much greater on the south coast than on the north: in Batavia it is

72.28 inches yearly, while Majalenka has an annual fall of 175 inches.

Wind-storms are rare and hardly ever cyclonic, but thunderstorms are of

frequent occurrence. Under an almost vertical sun, the day is of nearly

uniform length throughout the year.

The plains vary in fertility according to their geological formation,

but with the exception of the regions abounding in marshes, stretches of

disintegrated coral, and lakes, they are tillable and productive.

Sugar cane was brought to Java by the Chinese or Hindus in very remote

times. The Chinese pilgrim Fa Hien mentions having found sugar there when

he visited the island in 424,[85] and as trading was constantly carried

on between Arabia, India, China and Java, there is but little doubt that

when the secret of boiling the sugar juice to a grain was discovered it

became known to all of them at once.

About 1520 the Portuguese established trade relations with the natives

and early in the seventeenth century the Dutch influence began to make

itself felt. The Dutch East India company built forts and set up trading

stations in the coast towns; at first it acquired only small pieces of

land in Jakatra (Batavia) and it was some time before its holdings were

increased. Finally Jakatra was conquered and the Dutch power in Java

firmly established. But little was done at the outset to help the sugar

industry, as the policy of the Dutch East India company was to foster

trade in the products of the East rather than undertake to raise any of

the commodities itself. The sugars that were sent by it to the mother

country at the beginning of its operations, therefore, came from China,

Formosa, Siam and Bengal, and no Javan sugars reached Holland until after

1637, in which year the company decided to establish sugar mills on its

own land near Batavia.

It also parceled out land to Chinese sugar growers and granted them

special concessions in consideration of the entire product of the land

being sold to the company at an agreed figure. Prices and terms changed

from year to year, however, and much confusion and dissatisfaction

resulted. War, cane pests, cattle diseases and labor troubles still

further complicated the situation. In 1648 the company’s plantations

produced 124 tons and in 1652 the outturn was 723 tons. The increase in

West Indian production hurt the Javan factories and the war in Bantam

in 1660 stopped development. In 1652, twenty mills were running, but

in 1660 half of the number had closed. Peace with Bantam was concluded

in 1684 and matters then began to improve. By 1710, one hundred and

thirty mills were in operation and the industry was extended to Bantam,

Cheribon and Japara. The policy of the company, however, was to restrict

production so as to keep up prices, and to this end it prohibited the

erection of any new mills and limited the output of those that were

running to eighteen tons per annum each, thus fixing a maximum total

of 2340 tons. This amount was not realized, however, as the number of

factories decreased until in 1745 only sixty-five were in operation in

the territory near Batavia. The company then decided to raise the number

to seventy, and five years later it added ten more. As years went on the

number of factories diminished, but their capacity increased, and in 1779

fifty-five mills furnished 6176 tons of sugar to the company.

The Dutch East India company was dissolved in 1795 and the Dutch

interests in Java passed under the control of the Batavian republic,[86]

afterward the kingdom of Holland, which was brought under French rule

when Holland fell into the hands of Napoleon. In 1811 it was seized by

England and was finally restored to Holland in 1816.

All this time the regulations governing the sugar industry were being

constantly changed. The producers had always been at loggerheads with

the company, for while they were bound to deliver their entire output

to the company, it did not consider itself obligated to take delivery

of any definite amount. This left the planters in a very unsatisfactory

position, as they could never look ahead with any degree of certainty. At

length a law was passed in 1797 calling upon the factories near Batavia

to produce 2810 short tons yearly for the government, with the privilege

to them to dispose of any sugars made in excess of this amount for their

own account. A similar law affecting the factories on the north and east

coasts was proposed. In this territory there were thirty-one factories

in 1794 with a capacity of 1000 tons, which quantity it was proposed to

increase to 2000 tons for delivery to the government and 500 tons for

sales for account of the producers. In furtherance of this plan, the mill

owners were to be granted tracts of new cane land and the government was

to make cash advances up to 50 per cent of the estimated value of the

growing crop. These propositions were never carried into effect, and a

production of 1000 tons per annum remained the maximum for that section

of the country.

In the vicinity of Batavia, however, the measure was a success,

especially as the government encouraged the manufacturers by increased

advances and by supporting prices. The result was that during the early

years of the nineteenth century the production grew, but a sharp decline

came in 1811-13, and in the latter year the total production of Java fell

to about 600 tons.

The causes were not hard to find. Holland was dominated by France and sea

traffic was blocked by the British, so that Java had to keep her sugar in

storage at home. Nevertheless, the government continued to encourage the

production in the hope of an early peace and so that the industry might

not die out. Each year, therefore, added to the government’s stocks of

sugar until the amount became burdensome for financial reasons, and the

traditional policy of the government was abandoned. Manufacturers were

allowed to dispose of their sugars freely and without restriction, but

unfortunately the privilege was granted at a time when it was impossible

to sell and the British occupation of Java did not mend matters.

When Java was restored to Holland in 1816, the new government continued

the freedom of the industry, but it had received so severe a check that

to revive it was a difficult matter. In 1826 the output was 1220 tons,

and in this year the authorities renewed the system of making advances

and stimulated growth and manufacture, so that in 1830 the production had

increased to 6700 tons.

That same year a new governor-general, van den Bosch, was appointed.

He was entrusted with the task of making the island a producer of the

commodities required by the mother country and was given a free hand as

to the means to be employed in accomplishing his purpose. The plan he put

into effect was known as the “Cultural System” and its principal features

were as follows:

In the districts adapted to sugar cultivation, the natives were to

contribute one-third of their arable land to be planted in cane as

required. The natives were to till the fields, supply fuel and cattle

for ploughing and transportation, and in consideration of this they were

exempted from the free service due from them by law to the state. Payment

for labor was to be made out of the proceeds of the crops after deducting

the land tax.

The crushing of the cane and its manufacture into sugar was done under

contract by private individuals who were assisted by government money in

the building of factories. The contractors turned over the sugar to the

government at a fixed rate, at the same time repaying the money advanced

to them.

At the outset there was next to no profit for either the government or

the producers, in fact the first few years showed an actual loss, so that

it became a hard matter to induce anyone to undertake the manufacture of

sugar on a contract basis. This led to a modification of the regulations

and the manufacturers were permitted to sell a part of their output

on their own account. In this way their interest was stimulated and

there was a change for the better, attended by a profit both for the

producer and the state. By 1870 the government, recognizing that the

sugar industry was established on a sound footing, decided to withdraw

from any participation in the manufacture and a new set of rules was

formulated, under which the government’s direct connection with the

industry was confined to the growing of the cane. The government then

had to dispose of a portion of the land and the native labor at a just

figure, and when once the cane crop was turned over to the contractor he

had to take care of any further field work, together with the harvesting

and transportation of the cane, out of his own funds without government

help. Commencing with the year 1879, the government was to reduce its

interest in the original contract plantations one-thirteenth annually,

so that government participation in both cultivation and manufacture of

sugar should terminate by 1891. It was stipulated that the manufacturers

could make whatever disposition of their output they wished, and in lieu

of rent for the land they planted to cane, they were to pay a fixed

price for the cane, and in addition a premium based on the yield of the

years 1864-69. On privately owned plantations the government exacted a

tax of $10.00 for every 1.74 acres. This tax on privately grown cane was

abolished in 1886 in order to stimulate the then languishing industry,

and the premium on state plantations was cut down one-half between 1887

and 1891, with the proviso that the payment of the other half should be

deferred until 1892-96.

Unfortunately for the producers in Java, there was a disastrous slump in

sugar prices just about the time these new measures were formulated. The

tremendous output of beet sugar sent the price below cost in 1882-84,

and besides this a strange disease, called _sereh_, worked havoc with

the cane in the fields and caused serious loss. This disease made its

appearance in western Java in 1884 and spread rapidly, affecting the

production everywhere. After carrying on a hard but losing fight for some

years, the sugar men summoned science to their aid in this difficulty.

H. C. Prinsen Geerligs was called to Java in 1891 and three experimental

stations were established to fight the sereh. Through the efforts of the

officials in charge of the experiment stations, specimens of cane were

brought from all parts of the cane-producing world, the object being to

find a cane that would be as rich in sugar as the Black Cheribon (the

most popular variety then grown in Java) and yet able to withstand the

sereh. Fresh healthy cane was planted for seed purposes in the mountains,

far from the disease-infected region, and much care was taken in the

way of disinfection and quarantine precaution to prevent the sereh from

spreading into the sections that were free from it. These measures were

accompanied by exhaustive scientific experiment work to find out the

cause and the nature of the disease and how it could be overcome.

These stations not only accomplished the purpose for which they were

built, but they were of great benefit to the industry in all of its

branches. As a result, planting, growing and manufacturing methods have

been vastly improved, chemical control of factories has been introduced

and economic scientific methods govern every department of the work.

By these means, supported by the addition of fresh capital, the sugar

industry of Java was not only saved from extinction, but was lifted into

a very prominent world’s place, and for years past Java has furnished an

example of remarkable efficiency and low cost of production.

Java’s sugar plantations are situated in the eastern and central part

of the island. The surface of much of the western end is broken and

mountainous, lacking uninterrupted stretches of level land suitable

for agriculture, and presenting obstacles to transportation. The great

drawback, however, even in the vast plain of Krawang, is climatic. As has

been said, the ideal climate for sugar cane is one that combines abundant

rain during the period of growth with an uninterrupted dry season to

ripen the cane and admit of its being readily harvested and transported

to the mill. In west Java these conditions do not obtain, as the wet and

dry seasons are not sharply defined.

The plains along the north central coast, east of the river Tjimanoek,

between the sea and the foothills are, with the exception of a few open

stretches, devoted to cane growing. There is also a considerable area in

cane south of the central chain of mountains.

In east Java the sugar estates are found in the wide valley of the river

Brantas, on the plateaus of the provinces of Madioen and Kediri, in the

fertile plains along the north coast and in the lowlands bordering upon

the Bali strait.

In 1912 Java had 184 sugar factories in operation, divided among the

various residencies as follows:

ACREAGE SUGAR PRODUCED

RESIDENCY FACTORIES IN CANE TONS OF 2240 LBS.