The Hawaiian gazette., 1905-05-19
SUGAR IN PHILIPPINES
Continued from Page ~

sides turning turbines for dynamos
and sugar mills.
AT the beginning of the insurrec-
ton. the buildings were burned by the
ladrones, leaving only two warehouses
and the sugar mill; and, when the
Civil Government took over the prop
erty there were but 5 carabaos left
with which to break UP the land that
had accumulated a four-years' growth
of weeds brush. pacul, wild bananas
and cogon grass.
AT present there are 20 carabaos, Z
mules and horses in use. One hun
bred and eighty-nine acres have been
put under cultivation, principally in
sugar cane.
THE whole coast plain west of La
Granja, except a narrow strip along
the sea. is the richest hacienda region
in the island, being planted almost ex-
clusively to sugar. 1t was the policy
of the Spanish Government, during the
last ten years that this station was
under their control, to make it an OBJ
ject Lesson for its neighbors In advanc-
ed methods of sugar production. .
THE sugar machinery installed here
was the best obtainable and expert
ments with different kinds of cane and
different methods of planting and fer
tilizing were constantly in progress.
The mill is still good, but entirely out
OF date and inadequate.
Five hundred of the $50 hectares of
this station might be planted in sugar
cane, to furnish revenue in whole or in
part for the maintenance of the agri-
cultural college about to be established
here.
"At. present about As per cent of the
! juice is wasted, and hundreds of la
| borers on a hacienda are frequently
employed to sun-dry the bagasse
| (waste) that should be ready to burn
on leaving the rollers and passing
over the furnace. Such things as va
CUM pans and centrifugals are un-
| known. 't
sugar and hemp are the two crops
which will do best in our soil and loca-
ton; we have planted 40 acres of SUI
gar and 40 acres of hemp, and would
recommend that these acreages be
largely increased in the future. The
hemp, excepting 20 acres not included
in the above, will not yield revenue
for two years; but next years sugar
crop should be 5000 pieuls.
THE methods of producing sugar
cane in this section are far In advance
of its system of milling and, except in
one ar-fertilizing-leave little
room for Improvement.
I when new tract of land is to be
planted, if the timber is already re
|
land will be found to be grown up to
cogon, wild bananas, and pampas grass
to the height of to 10 feet, respective
ly. AT a favorable opportunity this
can be burned off, and the new growth
that springs up in a week should be
pastured by cattle or carabaos. Re-
peated cutting of the stalks of wild
bananas and cropping by cattle must
result in their final eradication from
the land.
IF burned in April, and the fields
pastured until the following December
the cogon will be pretty thoroughly
killed, and its place taken by other
grasses of shorter length, which are
more readily eradicated by blowing. II
the cogon is not destroyed before plow-
ing, repeated blowing will be necessary
to eradicate the roots.
Moving the grass before blowing
has been found less effective thar
blowing and narrowing, since by the
latter method the harrow removed q
much greater quantity of roots. The
method employed is the following
Some time between January and
No, n,l..
is given one blowing with American
to 10-inch plows, followed by har.
rowing or two; then. after two weeks
of rest another blowing, at least
inches, is given with an American
pillow, to reach below the roots of tn,
cogon.
"A rest of from two to three weeks
is given after the first blowing. for III,
purpose of allowing the grass which
has been turned over by the pillow I,
, rot and die; after this. cross plowini
, and narrowing will put the land il
condition for planting. and planting
must follow Immediately.
MY experience with many OF GU
American plows is that they do no
5 scour in this SOIL and do not turn tn
soil under properly. This, however
may be because the proper model ,ha
not yet been selected by the importer,
o After the land is prepared. furrow
:. are marked OFF about Az feet apar
the work being done by American {
inch plows, by an experienced work
I man who does the work accurately b
}. the eye alone. Then double furrow
are run with plows and the tops ar
planted by hand
s Tops are first soaked in water fc
two or three days; then the leave
are removed to expose the buds, thu
causing the young sprouts to appea
n above the ground about one week aftt
planting. several weeks earlier tina
would be the case otherwise.