, 1876-09-16
SUGAR DE NOvO QV.)
From the Trinidad ChronicLe.)
Continued foss Avis No. 74.(

invention Of the way a. making Iorrss OF
sugar, and hence the term ''p0ias de Ven5se,"
Yet the Arabians, several centuries previ-
ously, had used c%onical pots for making
cones Of crystallized sugar and the Chi
nese and japanese made sugar candy, or
sugar cakes, from the Juice OF a sugaI-grass,
certainly more than two thousand years agos
The first Improvements effected by the
drst makers of cane-sugar, however, appear
to have consisted, as we have seen, IN the
substitution Of o machine for hand-labour
in the crushing of The canes; and all subse
quent improvements, with remarkably few
eAcaptions, have been Of a mechanical ma
tu,e, It is to engineers that the tropical
sugar-pl8nter 10 indebted for the Introduce
ti0n of most Of the modern improvements
in the manufacture Of sugar. o. COM
mencing 70 employ steam rs a motive pow
er, the planter found the services Of Az en-
gineer, or intelligent mechanic, absolutely
necessary and for the last thirty years,
mechanical engineers, many OF whom were
end are able men, have devoted their ener-
gies to the invention and perfeeting Of Ia
bor.saying machinery applicable to tie va
rious detqils Of tropical sugar.mQuu!uc;uIe,
with signal fucCtss.
The competition Of British and French
manufacturing m0chiuists hes culmpated ia
the production Of lie modem Usiue, which
in perfection Of mach4Dlcal arrangement
leaves little 10 b. uesifel. To trace Tie
progressive development OF the improve
ments Elected ia the machinery Of tle boil
ing house, with anything like apIrecjn.iye
fitness, would, ia fact, occupy a volume.
1t is Sufficient to record the simple truth,
that but for machinery, 0ud the assistance
the planter has receive! from his engineer,
(wh0 In many cases obtains but poor re-
Enumeration for his s|crviCes) The caue.sugar
industry would never have tidtd over the
troubles Of emancipation, and would long
have been u thing Of the past.
IL will probably be remarked that no.
thing has been written Of the history OF the
VI tir0tion Of the sugar-cane and, indeed,
The less said lboul this branch OF the sub.
iect the better. II is true that material ia
not wanting ; the literature on this head is,
in fac, voluminous but Of any material
progress recorded-of any Improvements
effected, it 10 absolutely barren, The his
tory Of the planting Of the sugar-caoe can
be summed up in three words-it has
spread. II seems like sarcasm to write
about the culture Of the cane at all. 1t
would almost appear Us if the name by
which growers OF the sugar-cane are, by
common consent, generally known-that
Of 'sugar planters" had been specially Sc
lected with the view of directing attention
to the manner in which their agricultural
operations are, in the great majority OF
instances, conducted. They plant sugar;
many even aspire to excellence il the cultl-
walton of the cane but how many, 1t
should be asked, can say that they have
succeeded in the culture 0fsugar? NopIan-
ter, as far as the writer can learn, has inn
proved the culture of sugar in the cane, or
invented anything or any method of culti-
walton deserving of even passing notice,
which has served to render the yield OF
sugar greater, the harvesting easier, or the
quality superior. These may be ugly accu-
s~ations, but the writer believes it would
be difficult to rebut them. And it is IN
no unfriendly spirit that these words
are written; if they are deemed to
be more forcible than pleasant, it is hoped
that, they will have their intended effect. Is
and arouse each reader who is interested IN