PERU

Peru is situated on the west coast of South America and extends from 3 degrees 21 minutes to 18 degrees south latitude and from 70 degrees to 81 degrees 40 minutes west longitude. Its area, including certain disputed territory, is 676,638 square miles. Physically, it is divided into three distinct regions, the coast, the sierra and the montaña. In the first, or the dry side of the Andean slope, spurs run out from the main range of mountains toward the ocean, forming extensive valleys, some of which are well watered and very fertile. The spaces that lie beyond the life-giving influence of the rivers have the appearance of sandy deserts, but they only need water to make them productive. The Andes proper occupy the sierra region, which abounds in plateaus, deep ravines, rich sheltered valleys and snow-capped mountains of stupendous height. East of the Andes lies the montaña, or wet side. It is traversed by broad navigable rivers and embraces the sub-tropical forests in the ravines and on the eastern slopes of the Andes, as well as the dense tropical forests of the wide valley of the Amazon.

According to the 1915 edition of the Century atlas, the population is 4,609,999. About 57 per cent of the inhabitants are Indians, 13 per cent whites, 2 per cent Asiatics, 2 per cent negroes, the remainder being mixed races.

The sugar plantations are found on the west or dry side in the coast region.

The valleys of this coast country have been upraised from the ocean at a comparatively recent geological period, and the fertile soils of these valleys are the result of erosion and deposit through the agency of mountain torrents.

The most important cane-growing districts lie seven or eight degrees south of the equator, and yet the climate of that section cannot be called really tropical. It is influenced by the cold antarctic currents and the steady winds that sweep northward. Observations on the Cartavio plantation during the period 1904-1907 showed the highest maximum temperature to be 95.5 degrees and the lowest minimum to be 52 degrees Fahrenheit. In the coast territory the rainfall is limited and the cane crops depend upon irrigation.

The soils of the coast valleys range from silt to an extremely fine sandy loam, and vary in thickness. As a rule they are deep, retentive of moisture, well drained, rich in plant food, easy to cultivate and, with intelligent treatment, very productive.

Ricardo Palma, in his work, “Tradiciónes Peruanas,” sets forth that sugar cane was not known in Peru when Francisco Pizarro and his followers first landed there in 1527, but that it was brought in a short time afterward. The first plantation was established in 1570 and the first factory was erected on an estate in the valley of Huanuco. Meanwhile, the sugar used in Lima came from Mexico, and the owner of the Huanuco mill, realizing that his product could not compete with Mexican sugar, had recourse to a clever stratagem. He loaded a vessel with sugar and sent her to Mexico. The ruse was successful, for the Mexican manufacturers at once concluded that if sugar could be shipped from Peru to Mexico, the production must be large and the cost very low. Consequently, they discontinued their shipments from Acapulco to Peru, much to the advantage of the astute factor of the Huanuco valley. In the beginning, the estates were worked by slaves, and, as happened in other sugar countries, after the abolition of slavery the plantation owners were compelled to look abroad for their laborers. As many as 90,000 Chinese were imported from Macao[73]between1849 and 1874, but so many of them succumbed to the severe treatment they received that the Macao authorities put a stop to the labor traffic altogether. The Chinese living in Peru at the present time are tradespeople and the work on the sugar plantations and in the mills is done by the native Indians.

LEVELING A CANE FIELD, PERU

LEVELING GROUND BY STEAM, PERU

The year 1860 marked an important change in the industry, which up to that time had been carried on in a very primitive manner. A large amount of fresh capital was put into sugar enterprises, new mills were built, the most approved machinery was installed and the factories were equipped with the best appliances that money could buy. The apparatus for some of the plants was brought from the United States, while that for others was supplied by European countries, so that the methods and workmanship of various nationalities are found in the Peruvian factories. No expense was spared in any department and all went well so long as the price of sugar kept up; what was easily made was liberally administered, but when in 1875 the market dropped, severe competition drove many operators into difficulties and a number of them went under entirely. The war with Chile in 1878 and the subsequent revolutionary disturbances impeded the progress of the industry, but a restoration of tranquillity came in 1895, and since then the sugar business of Peru has prospered and increased in volume.

An experiment station was established near Lima in 1906 for the study of cane cultivation, irrigation problems and the improvement of yield and quality by the introduction of new varieties of cane. The manufacturing side of the question has also been gone into with great care, and much is being done to increase efficiency in that direction.

Today there are 47 modern factories in Peru and 125,000 acres planted in sugar cane. Outside of these modern plants, crushing is also done in a crude manner in wooden-roller mills on small plantations that are scattered throughout the interior.The juice obtained in this way is worked up tochancaca[74]orpanelaor made into an alcoholic beverage calledcañasoorchacta.

As the plantations do not depend upon any special season of rainy or dry weather, planting and harvesting may be done at any time. In Peru the land upon which sugar cane is grown is generally gently sloping. On the large haciendas, when preparing virgin soil for planting, the brush is first cleared away and the holes filled. The ground is then ploughed and cross-ploughed by steam-ploughs and broken fine by clod-crushers; roadways and drainage ditches are laid out, forming squares or rectangles, and furrows are made at intervals of three to four feet. This done, the ground is ready for planting. The cane tops used for seed are cut during harvesting, loaded on cars and sent to the field that is to be planted. The seed cane is placed horizontally in the furrow and covered with a few inches of earth, and as soon as the whole field is planted in this manner, water from the irrigation ditch is turned in and the cane left to grow. The first weeding is done when the cane shoots are a foot high, and it is continued at intervals until the cane leaves become large enough to shade the ground and prevent weed growth. The cane matures in from eighteen to twenty-four months, according to location, soil and weather conditions. Some weeks before harvesting, irrigation is discontinued in order to allow the cane to ripen.

In cultivating the first ratoons, when the cane gets to be a few feet high the crest of the furrow is thrown down into the furrow so that the irrigation water passes between the rows of cane instead of along the furrows, as in the case of plant cane.

Ratooning is kept up until it ceases to be profitable. At theHacienda Cartavio, four ratoon crops have been grown in some places, and as many as seven in others, with good results.

PLANTING CANE, PERU

PORTABLE BRANCH LINE OF FIELD RAILWAY AND CANE CUTTERS, PERU

The principal ingredient of the fertilizer used is guano, which is mixed with lime, nitrate of soda, potassium sulphate, or ashes from the bagasse furnaces, and it is applied in various ways. Some planters throw it in the furrows with the seed cane and allow it to remain there a time before turning on the water; others place it in the furrows a few months after the planting and cover it immediately, while still another method is to apply it and turn on the water at the same time. On certain plantations the fertilizer is ground and spread over the entire field just before replanting.

Water for irrigating is obtained from the mountain streams, which are dammed at certain points, and but little is pumped from wells. The quantity needed is far less than in Hawaii, owing to the nature of the soil and the presence of underground moisture close to the surface. A fixed amount is assigned to each estate by the government and this is never exceeded during the dry season. In flood time, however, the regulations are somewhat relaxed, as there is then enough for all and to spare.

The water is brought on the land by large ditches, and thence to the cane fields through smaller ones. From these field ditches it flows directly into the cane rows at the upper end of the field or section, and, owing to the slight slope of the land, it passes freely through the parallel rows from the upper to the lower end of the section. It is retained in the furrow by means of a dam at the lower end. Other ditches are made at the lower ends of the sections for drainage purposes. The amount of irrigating done varies according to the nature of the land; in some cases water is applied only once during the season, in others as many as twenty-four times. The average number of waterings is five.

When the cane is ripe it is cut by laborers with heavy knives, or machetes, and loaded by hand into cars that run through thefields on portable tracks. These cars, which hold from two to ten tons each, are made up into trains and drawn by a locomotive to the mill. The average yield per acre in 1912 was about 34 tons, but the planters are seeking for better results through improved field methods and new varieties of cane. Pests and disease do little damage in Peru, although the borer gives some trouble. Owing to the long period of growth in a dry climate, Peruvian cane is high in fiber and low in juice, but the juice is rich and very pure; this combination of high fiber content and high percentage of sugar in the juice, however, brings about an unusual loss of sugar in the bagasse.

Nearly all of the sugar manufactured is a coarse-grained centrifugal raw, polarizing about 96.5 degrees and known to the trade as “Peruvian crystals.” Part of it is marketed in the United States and the rest goes to Great Britain, while the second and third sugars are sent to Chile to be refined there. A certain amount of white sugar for home consumption is made by washing the brown centrifugal sugar.

HAULING CANE-LADEN CARS WITH OX-TEAM, PERU

TRAIN-LOAD OF CANE EN ROUTE TO THE FACTORY, PERU

At the beginning of the Chilean war the output was approximately 80,000 tons. In 1905 the production of sugar and molasses was 159,294 long tons, and 132,222 tons of this were exported.

The following table gives the outturn in long tons since 1905:

The possibilities for expansion in Peru’s sugar industry are large. Further impounding and conservation of the flood waters from the mountains would bring under cultivation many thousands of acres that are now unproductive. Good flowing wells have been sunk on some estates, and it is likely that many more will be found, thus adding substantially to the present water supply. As to cost, it would seem that Peru should be able to compete successfully with other cane-growing countries. The plantation lands are level or slightly sloping, so that cultivating machinery may be used to good advantage. Grinding can be carried on without interruption throughout the year, which means economical factory capacity and an even distribution of labor. The cost of labor, too, is reasonable, and great quantities of fertilizers lie close at hand. In short, Peru enjoys many advantages, and if her planters and refiners keep pace with scientific development, she will take a prominent place among the cane-sugar countries of the world.

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