, 1885-05-27

POI, it may be asked, WOulu not Cne DeeC
growers sow larger areasY Fol- an answer
to this question we may refer to the able
articles from the pen OF Councillor
Stakemann published in this paper at
the beginning of the year, in which the
obstacles in the way OF such an extension
are plainly pointed out. BY way OF max
ing the matter clear let US for a moment
try to place ourselves in the position of
the Directors of a beet root factory when
a considerable rise had taken place. We
have to make contracts with the farmers
TO supply our factory with beetS now it
we contract for the reduced area we shall
be pretty sure of not mourning a loss, but
if we contract for the larger area as
formerly then we shall bring back again
the glutted state ofthe market, bring Town
prices again, and end the campaign, as
before, with a loss. Is not this the proba-
BILE course of the reasoning which would
guide our decision Ofcourse, an increase
in regard to one or two factories would not
food the market, and if Theses could make
such an increase while the rest remained
quiet, they would profit by the extension
but that is impossible, therefore we may
assume that all would reaSOn as We have
supposed, and consequently that any
extension of the contract areas, II made
at all, would be made with the greatest
caution and to a very small extent. AT
the same time it would be very unWlSe OF
West Indian planters to relax In airy way
their efforts after improvement. 1t is
vey atious to reflect on the enormous loss
that goes on year after year from one
circumstance alone, namely the detective
character of our ordinary mills. IN our
last Wednesdays Issue we gave a report
from Demerara Of the work OF a hve-rOlIef
mill, which gave for 10 aCeeks run an
average extraction Of 67.4 per cent. 1t may
be doubted whether we nave a single mill
here, leaving out the factory mills, that
would do anything approaching this. II
we put the average extraction here at %
per cent, we probably state it quite high
enough. This, at any rate, was the ave
rage result of Mr.. Wulff's experiments
made with six different mills here IN
1874. Let us see what that means c0mpAr
ed with the figure just quoted. 1t means
that All estate producing 30 hogSheadS with
acOmmOn mill would produce 81 hogShrddS
with the improved mill in question,
an increase of II hOgSheadS on 81. 1t is
easy to multiply the two figures bY any
number we please, so as to make the com
pariSOn on any other scalt-for instance
an estate making 1853 hogsheadS of sugar
with the common mill makes POI ~hOgsheadS
with the improved mill. Suppose hat the
island crop this year., exclusively OF what
is made at the factory, should prove to De
about 5000 hhds., then with the improved
mill it would have been over 900 hhis
all increase of 100 hhdS, or about $4,000,
even at recent very low rates, added to the
gross income of the island for the year.
This $4,000, under the actually existing
state of things, has been thrust into the
copper holes. 1t cannot be answered that
the difference is due to the difference In the
canes, for we believe that our own Central
Factory, using powerful rollers Is only
and Stewards hydrauli" attachment, gets
nearly as good results as are recorded in
the table from Demerara. We published
in the same paper a report from Barbados
of the work of a mill having rollers 30
inches in diameter and driven by wind,
which is said to have given y per cent.
The trial however, seems to have been a
special one, and cann0 be relied on ike a
trial at actual work extending over the
whole season. In the same column is
found a statement of a trial between a
common process estate and a vacuum pan
estate, which however is rendered value
less by an evident blunder of some kind in
the figures. 1t is stated that the difference
In value of products from % acres on each
estate even at the current rates and GttO1C-
ing for extra expenses Of the vGcuWm pan pro
cess was about G40. On checking the cal