The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1911-02-10
The Sugar Market

10 Is scarcely possible 10 compute cor
rectly the average rainfall Of the island.
There are two Meteorological stations
in Negros Occidental, and none in
Negros Oriental. At the former records
have been taken for sixteen years,
which give averages Of seventy.six and
sixty.three inches respectively for
Baeolod and La CaTlota. Both are in
the northern part Of tho island, but the
latter is situated some distance inland.
Statistics compiled by the Bureau OF
Internal Revenue for the year 1908
show that at that time there were in the
entire island asa sugar planters, who
controlled a total of 1874, 102 acres, Of
which 7,740 acres were under eultiva-
ton and 96,362 implanted. In addition,
42, 200 were certified to as being suit
able for cane growing, but not at that
time so used, making n total of 206,362
acres of available sugar land in Negros.
In that year 73,494 metric tons Of raw
sugar were produced, or an average Of
1.S tons per acre of land planted The
low average is caused largely by lack
of capital and by inefficient cultivation
on the part of many of the small grow
ers The average yield on well-cared-
for plantation should amount to about
3-5 metric tons per acre.
Very little damage has ever been re-
ported as having been caused by cane
diseases or insects.
The average composition of the soils
from all the districts examined is. ae-
cording to Mr.. II. s. Walker in "The
Sugar Industry in Negros':-
Surface soil: Fine earth, 97.99 per
cent; potash, 0.20 per cent; soda, OILS
per cent; lime, 1.66 per cent; magnesia,
09S per cent; phosphoric acid, 0.15 per
cent; nitrogen, Ola per cent; "volatile
matter, - 9.31 per cent. Subsoil: Fine
earth. 96.10 per cent; potash, OH per
cent; soda, OH per cent; lime, 1.79 per
cent; magnesia, 900 per cent; phos-
phoric acid, 012 per cent; nitrogen,
0.10 per cent; volatile matter, 9.l9 per
cent.
The Negros soil as a whole may be
considered as being decidedly high in
lime, but only moderately so in other
constituents of plant food. Compared
with sugar soils from other countries,
those from Negros, while not exception.
ally rich, are fully up to the average,
ana under proper cultivation should
produce as much sugar as those of al
most any other country having the same
climatic conditions.
| Very little attention is paid in Negros
to fertilization of any kind. In the case
, of commercial fertilisers this is, per-
haps, justified by their high price and
/ lack of instruction as to their proper
! application, but much improvement in
crop yields could he brought about at
comparatively little expense by a more
common utilisation of the materials
available on every estate, such as bag
asse ash sugar.house refuse, animal
manure, and green manuring by plant
ing occasional leguminous crops.
Tn comparison with canes from other
countries, that of Negroes is distinguish
ed by its extreme sweetness and purity,
and relatively small amount of fibre,
factors tending toward an easy and
thorough extraction by milling. The
| percentage of fibre in this cane is in
actual practice about two per cent. high
err because of trash ground with the
cane.
Cultural operations are much the same
in Negros as in other countries (con-
tinues Mr.. Walkerl. After burning a
field and ploughing it, the seed is laid
out in rows, about 10000 being planted
to the acre. Only the cane tops are
used for planting. Planting is carried
, on at the same time as cutting and
grinding, usually between the months
of November and May, and the cane re-
mains in the ground to ripen for from
ten to fourteen months. The domestic
ated buffalo, locally known as the cara
bao, is the only work animal used
Ratoon canes are extensively grown
in Binalbagan-1sabela, Hog Cabanclan.
San Carlos, and Bats; in the majority of
other parts of the island they are the
exception rather than the rule. APP
lproXimately one-half of each year IS
crop throughout the island may be said
to come from plant cane. Cane is cut
and loaded by hand, and carried to the
mill in bull carts, or by light portable
tramways.
The mills of Negros are described by
Mr.. Walker as being of the single three
roller type, nearly all run by steam.
Bagasse is used for fuel. From tests
made from a large number of mills in
different parts of Negros, it is caleulat.
ed that from twenty-five to thirty per
cent. of the total sueros of the cane is
lost in the bagasse, depending upon the
amount of fibre in the cane. The aver
age loss is twenty-five per cent, giving
, a Juice extraction of 64.5 per cent. or
the weight of the cane, figure some
what better than might be expected
due not to any superior efficiency OF
the mills, but rather to the small
! amount of fibre in the cane usually
ground.
The juice is boiled down in a train Of
open, hemispherical, iron kettles, sci
over direct FIRE. 1t is defeated will
, lime, and fairly good Qualification il
effected in the first four of these kettles
by Swimming impurities off from tn,
surface. The syrup, after Qualification
and concentration, is boiled down in tn
) final kettle to masseeuitep of from
a.. five to ten per cent. water content, thei
, poured out into shallow trays and stir
red with a spade until il erystalises. NJ
attempt is made to separate sugar an,
+ molasses, but the whole "eonerete"
4 sacked and sold as such.
The losses of sueros in open KEITH
boiling occur chiefly in the final boilinl
Of "masseeuite,p where a large amour
!. of sugar may be earamelised and eyei
d burned by local overheating and stick
I ing 10 the sides of the kettle. Whar
d filter ufasaaa ara not uaaa a oFaak aaa