, 1893-02-22
TWENTY YEARS IMPROVEMENTS
From the Demsrara Ayqosy.J

RI~H -
which he places in juxta-position the relative
capacities Of sugar factories in $50 and in
1892, and also the respective conditions Of the
factories in the French Islands and those in
the British. In 1870 when he visited estates
H. Barbados, he was told invariably by the
planters he met that they were getting 72
per cent. Juice out Of their canes and if any
of them said he got a couple Of degrees more
he WAS regarded as a man not to lie believed.
The average percentage Of sugar obtained
was said to be 8 per cent; but one planter
without hesitation told him that he got 70
per cent. MIR. Lubbock said this seemed
pretty high but the planter said he was sure
it was correct, for his neighbours we've all
getting S per cent. and be was sure he was
getting half as much again. The process Of
manufacture was much he same as it is to-day,
for only q few estates have adopted the va
cum pan but Mr.. Lubbock is convinced
that the centralisation Of estates ahd the adop-
ton ofno1ern appliances would give an lncreas-
G dproft and amply repay the necessary expen-
diture. 1t viii bea very long time, we should
say, before the small planters are anpihilated
in Barbados and we should be sorry to
think Of such q useful body If men being
wiped out of oxistence but il j. possible that
if capitalists were to erect central factories,
Tue surrounding pluILCl5 WOd4O lchp L'Nl
canes there to be ground, instead Of keeping
up their individual boiling HOUSES.
On reaching British Guiana, Mr.. Lubbock
found, inste d of, as III Barbados, estates max
ing from so to 500 hogsheads, estates whose
crops ran from 500 to $500, with vacuum
pans on many Of them; and here let us quote
his description of what he saw
But the advantage derived from these pans
was largely discounted by the irregularity Of
the day. Looking back to my W experience
| should say that it was quite an exceptions
thing for a mill to work for a whole hour
without stopping. Either canes ran short. or
steam had run down, or the c~lariiers were
full. or there was q breakdown Of slme kind
or another. Then there were tho wearisoIno
long hODs, which we're the rule, in ORDER 20
get through the regulation number ct clarlii-
ers,. working in the dark, men tired and dis
satisfied, with the knowledge that the more
liquor they wasted the sooner would their
days work be done. Such a condition of manu-
facture did not lend to itself to economy, al
though a desire for economy was Largely
ut the bottom Of it. Where machinery
was worn out and new urgently required.
it was refused on the score Of economy
Where four boilers were absolutely necessary
three only were provided, on the same ground.
/ do not believe that IN leu Inere WuB d
single estate in the colony which had an am
ple supply of steam, and the great majority
Of estates were lamentably short Of such d
supply. The loss to the colony and to pro
p~rietors, from this niggardly treatment OF
their estates, must have been enormOus Then,
again. no careful records Of manufacture Were
kept, and managers, as a rule, took very little
interest in this department of their work.
There were, however, some few, but very few,
remarkable exceptions, of whom Mr.. William
Russell was the most conspicuous.
Leaving Demerara lie went TO Trinidad,
where he found the ordinary muscovado pro
cess at work all over the island. II Demerala
managers seemed to care very little about the
economy Of their factories, Trinidad managers
seemed to care nothing at ali. One Of them,
when be was asked why there was no vacuum
pans on the island Said in serious earnest t},At
they were very well suited to the soil Of De
merara. but the soil Of Trinidad was very dill
ferent and the pans were quite unsuited TO- III
1t was not until he reached Martinique that
the writer found any workmanlike system III
the sugar factories, and he observes that
the contrast between the FIenoh usines and
the factories of British Guiana was very
striking" The canes were weighed "a pro-
cess q Demerara man of that time would have
scouted), crushed in single mills and the
mepass sent direct to the boilers as fuel,