The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1882-02-08
Aaraiialt Oazette,
EST NoDus IN MINUS.
WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY s. 1882.
How an Extensive Sugar Estate is Nam
aged in the State of Colima.
GuADALAJAnA, MEXICO, Dec, 1881.

lut NANAIhNa VI ldAA 4ANANNo 10 oAtudtIu III
the state OF Colina, at the foot of the volcano
of Colima, and is one of the largest sugar pro-
ducing establishments in the country. Senior
Don Miguel Gomez, the proprietor, has about
10 square leagues Of land, which is abund-
auny watered and planted with cane as far
as the eye can reach. The cane, which grows
very thick, is planted once in 10 years. After
10 months It is cut, the waste being left on the
field to be dried and burnt as a fertilizer. In
spring the burnt stumps send out shoots and
in the fall the cane is ready for the rollers
The sugar-house, stables and Offices are built
in the old Spanish style, in the shape of
square, with offices in front, stables at the
rear, sugar-house on the left and stcre-rooms
OF the right, the inside forming large we'll
paved corral for the pack animals. There are
no wagon roads in that part Of the country on
account Of the barrancas or canons. All
transportation is by pack mules or burros
(donkeys).
Senior Gomez runs his sugar-house by water
power, which is brought from the foot of the
volcano by an aqueduct Of solid stone at the
hacienda some sc feet high. He has power
enough to run three wheels of the same dimen-
sions as the one in use, which is an overshot
wheel 80 feet in diameter The wheel and
aqueduct were built from material on lie
ranch. The sugar-houses comprise some three
or four large brick buildiugs,-the mills, boil
ers, crystalizer, pottery-works and barrel fac
tory. The care is cut by the poems with long
machettes or swords, brought to the mill on
pack-animals and stacked under shed until
wanted for tile rollers. The heavy Iron roll
ers are run by cog wheels, and are only few
feet from the main wheel. The crushed cane
comes from the mill perfectly dry and is used
as fuel. 1t is far superior TO wood or coal.
From the mill stream of cane juice, enough
TO fill three-inch pipe, flows day and night
for SIX months. This stream runs under the
floor Of the mill into the boilers over a direct
fire-though now Senior Gomez is putting in all
modern machinery, including steam boilers
and refining works The juice is soon boiled,
passed from one pot to the other, being con-
stantly kept in motion and skinned by the
half-naked poems with long-handled spoons
From the boilers to the crystalizers is the next
process. These are underneath to catch the
drippings, each holding rs pounds. The SUI
gar soon hardens. The drippings below are
distilled and make fine quality of brandy or
aguar diente (strong water). Aguar diente is
. national drink and a strong one. The clay
jars made on the place by the Indians as
also are the barrels for the aguar diente The
iron for the hoops comes from all iron mine
now being worked with complete shops at
another hacienda, La Provideucia, viii h is
also owned by Senior Gomez This iron has
been pronounced as of very fiue quality, and
there is an abundance of it. The ore contains
60 per cent of pure iron. Coffee is also one %
the products, but only enough is raised for
home consumption, some 1000 pounds year
Along the iowlauds large fields of rice are
planted to restore cane fields which become
exhausted after 10 years In this way be
keeps his fields in rotation and has new field
Ul cane every year.
Behind the stables there is quite a high hill
OF rock, on the top Of which Senior Gomez has
his private residence, the entire establishment
having been built over 100 years ago A wind
ing stairway cut in the solid rock ascends
10 the villa, from the roof of which one of the
grandest views imaginable is presented. To
the rear, The great volcano of Colima towers
TO the height of 200 feet from its crater.
lofty barren cone, from time to time issue
dense volumes Of smoke, forming a column
beautifully oolored by the suns rays. To the
front You can see for miles light green hill-sides
covered with cane contrasted with the dark
green of the rice fields with blue mountains in
the distance Tor back ground, forming a
picture never to be forgotten Next the great
barranca of Beltran commands attention. 1t
is wonderful canon, perhaps originally
Cracking during some past eruption of the
volcano. The barranca is about 1000 feet
deep and 800 feet or more wide and extends
almost TO the Pacific ocean-in fact, n small
Yosemite. At the bottom of the barranca the
Tuxpan river flows along on It's way TO the
Paclhc, bringing down from the volcano above
immense powders which roll along the bot
tom, grinding against each other and taking
everything in their way, making fording very
dangerous and a bridge other than suspension
almost an impossibility. The garden of the
hacienda is beautiful place, in which grow
without care bananas, oranges, lemons,
mangoes, auguacates, maumas, lines and all
classes OF tropical fruits and flowers. At the
lower end Of the garden is the nursery for the
coffee. Old trees, from which the coffee
never picked, are allowed to grow rank anu
wild: as soon as the berry gets ripe it falls to
the ground and in short time sends out
shoots. These are carefully franSpanted to
the coffee fields and bear in two years. Senior
Gomez shows his taste in the arrangement of
the ponds, fountains and baths in the garden,
all OF which are worked in rock and in some
places handsomely carved. On our return
from the garden we were invited TO breakfast,
and found a large, well-hlled table served by
neat poems. Everything had an air Of com
fort seldom found on Mexican hacienda,
where the luxuries of an American home are
unknown.
Senior Gomez, the owner of this and several |
other large haciendas, is handsome man of
IS years. He has a wife and five children, (
who are now living in Zapoltan, the terminus /
OF the stage line from Guadalajara. San Mar
cos produces about $500, 900 pounds of sugar
year. The mills are only run six months in |
the year, but when they do start they run day |
and night. About 100000 pounds Of rice are |
also raised. This rice is primitively pounded |
out with wooden mallets and not huled with |
machinery. 1t requires s,OUO bushels of corn /
year to feed the natives and stock The |
corn fields are on the foot hills of the volcano |
There are 700 Indians employed daily at an
average Of 37]3 cents day. Skilled labor is |
worth so cents. The hacienda supports about |
5000 poems. OF stock Senior Gomez has 900 /
head OF beef cattle and several hundred head /
OF saddle stock aud pack animals. II costs /
him $4,000 week to run his ranch.
We are greatly indebted to Senior Gomez for /
his attention and kindness, and can truly say
he IS one Of the live business men of Mexico |
he takes an active interest in the railroads /
and general welfare of his country.
II. De Girardin.
NJ. de Girardin, like all men of action. was |