The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1902-10-17


it still continues to employ a large
number of hands. This part of plan
tation labor, with the care of the oxen
and other stock used for plowing and
field transportation, and carried over
from season to season, and the minor
labor in the vegetable gardens and
around the sugar-house, make it neces-
sary for the planter to retain on his
pay rolls the year around about half
the maximum force employed.
When cane is approaching maturity
it is exceedingly. combustible, and
special watchmcn are employed as fire
guards.
During the grinding season the vari-
ETY. of occupations upon large plan
tation rapidly increases. The produc
tion of sugar, even before it is refined,
is as much a manufacturing as an agri-
cultural industry. The number Of
field employees is enlarged by the ad-
dition of large force of cutters and
leaders. As in the hemp fields of Ken
lucky, the best men for the heavy labor
of the cane harvest are the negroes.
These men either work at fixed wage
or receive so much load for cane cut,
trimmed and ready for the rollers.
Then come the leaders, who heap the
pondcrous OK carts, and the carriers
who are often white men and receive a
somewhat higher wage than ordinary
field hands-whu cuntiucL he cant To-
the mill or the nearest railway siding.
With these men the labor of the field
ceases. There are switchmen, engi-
neers and trainmen on the larger plan
tationS-for some of the more impor-
tant mills are fed by so or GO miles of
private raiIroad-and mill hands, who
are really factory operatives. The
three main classes of the latter are the
feeders, the boilers Gncluding the men
who watch the claritiers) and the cen
trifugal tenders As a whole, or in
certain groups, they are sometimes
supplied by contractor. Frequently
they are paid hy the crop and not ac-
cnriing to the time they serve. AT
one plantation visited, the centrifugal
machines were tended by a party oil
Cinnamon. who had contracted to do
this work by the crop for many sue
cessive seasons. The mill labor, as a
rule, is not particularly difficult, and
does not require high technical train
ing. But there is always an expert in
charge of each factory, who receives q
generous salary, and whose work comes
within the category Of professional
service.
During the grinding season upon a
plantation employing 767 men. 42s
laborers were required to cut and haul
cane, 264 were employed in the mill,
81 were engaged in railway service,
and IA attended to the livestock.
The small cane planter who sells to
the mills conducts a strictly agricul-
tural business, though he often con
tracts to cut and deliver cane for the
central plantation. For his own cane
he usually receives a price based upon
a percentage Of the run in sugar. The
value naturally varies at different sea.
sons.
The cultivation Of tobacco is more
democratic occupation than sugar
planting. 1t can be conducted sue
cessfully by the small proprietor and
the tenant farmer Skill counts 70.
more and brute force for less in making
a crop. 1t is an employment that at
tracts large percentage Of white labor
and gives occupation to the workman
the year round.
While tobacco can he raised in every
province of Cuba, the industry is prin-
cipally centered in Pinar del Rio in
the v"eltu aLcjo, or down-country dis
trict, where the leaf is produced that
has made Havana famous Here the
ground To he planted is selected with
great care; and as that best suited to
a hiyh-gra'le crop does not lie in large
c,n,ln,I.nl~ areas, but j. divided nat
uraiiv into small. separate prrc,' :. the
character nt the country iarorS thr
creation # small farms Moreover
the care nf II t"ir,c,n crop 'im,hd> the
ol;ciLuI> attention OF an owner. nr OF
one who has Il direct interest in the
product In the rneH1 nrr;J,, up
country district. especially in the prov
ince of Santa Clara, whore lower
grades nf tobacco are grown and rea
sonably uniform product can he oh
tanned over Il large area, there are eX-
tensive reyns, or tobacco fats, where
planting is done on Il wholesale scale
and with hired labor. But this method