CANE UNLOADER, MULGRAVE CENTRAL SUGAR MILL, CAIRNS DISTRICT, NORTH QUEENSLAND
Nevertheless, there was grave danger that the benefit accomplished by this new law would be more than offset by the “white labor” agitation. As is well known, the labor party is very strong in Australia, and probably no other branch of agriculture in that country has been so beset with labor troubles as the sugar industry. For nearly thirty years the supply of laborers for the cane fields was drawn from the South Sea islands and India, principally the former. The white laborers were loud and insistent in their protests against the employment of Kanakas, as the islanders were called, and finally, after the formation of the commonwealth in 1900, an act excluding colored labor entirely and providing for the deportation of the Kanakas to their homes was passed by the federal government. To afford the planter relief for the hardship worked upon him by this measure by reason of the high wages they had to pay in order to secure white laborers, a duty was placed upon foreign sugar. A bounty upon sugar produced by white labor was also provided for, but this, together with the excise tax on sugar, was abolished in 1913. Today the industry is protected by a customs tariff of one and three-tenth cents per pound.
When cane is to be planted in new ground, the scrub, stumps and logs are first cleared away and the field is then ready for the seed. Holes are made with a mattock at regular intervals, the seed cane is placed therein, covered with earth and left to grow. The ground is hoed from time to time to keep the weeds under control, but the young cane does not require much attention after the first five or six months. On cleared land, ploughing is done two, three or four times, after which the surface is harrowed, rolled and planted. Three or four weedings are necessary during the growth of the crop.
From Mackay northward planting is done between February and October, but in certain low-lying districts in the north May, June and July are not considered good months for planting on account of the possibility of frosts. The cane ripens in from twelve to eighteen months. In the region south of the tropic line, planting is done early, although much cane is set out in August and September. The cane when cut is transported to the mills by narrow-gauge railroads, some of these lines being portable. In the north crushing begins in June and ends in December, while in the south the greater part of it is done from August to December. From two to four crops of ratoons are raised, but usually not more than three, the land lying fallow for one season. Fertilizing is not generally practiced, although some growers make use of legumes or dry manures as enrichers. The former consist of the Mauritius bean, the cow-pea and vetches, which are ploughed into the land after they have attained a certain growth.
Under ordinary conditions the rainfall is so evenly distributed in the sugar-growing districts that irrigation is not needed. Still, there are places where it has been found necessary to irrigate freely, owing to the amount of rain being insufficient for the crop needs. In such cases, wherever practicable, water is obtained by damming rivers and streams and is distributed over the cane fields through ditches by gravity. Where, however, the topography of the country does not admit of this being done, pumping is resorted to and large stations have been established for this purpose. The yield of sugar per acre since 1894 has been 1.688 tons and the amount of sugar extracted since 1904 averaged 10.95 per cent of the weight of the cane.
The federal government maintains an experiment station at Mackay and experiment farms have been laid out in the important sugar centers. The value of the work done at this station cannot be too highly estimated. The scientists in charge are constantly on the lookout for new varieties of cane and are on the alert to fight diseases and pests. The chief enemies of the cane in Queensland are cane grub, fungus pest, frosts and floods.
Today Queensland has forty-eight sugar mills and two refineries. Thirteen of the mills are centrals and four of these are under state control. Additional factories are under construction.
Most of these plants are equipped with three sets of rollers and modern machinery, the capacity ranging from 70 to 960 tons of cane per day.