SPAIN
Spain lies in the extreme southwest of Europe and it embraces about eleven-thirteenths of the Iberian peninsula. Its total area is 194,700 square miles, and in 1914 the population numbered 19,712,585.
It is said that Phoenician traders reached there as early as the eleventh century before the Christian era. In 238 B. C., or three years after the close of the first Punic war, Hamilcar Barca, the famous Carthaginian general, crossed from Africa into Spain, taking with him his son-in-law, Hasdrubal, and his son Hannibal, both of whom were destined to play great parts in the coming struggle between Carthage and Rome. From a few trading posts, Hamilcar extended the Carthaginian dominion in Spain to that of a great province, that not only proved a source of immense revenue, but that also furnished a never-failing supply of warlike troops for the armies of Carthage. The second Punic war ended the sway of the Carthaginians in Spain, and from 201 B. C. until 406 A. D. the country was under Roman rule. Then came the barbarian invasion and the Visigothic kings, whose power was shattered in turn when the Berber Tarik defeated King Roderic in 711. For centuries afterward the struggle of reconquest went on until Granada, the only remaining Mohammedan stronghold, surrendered to Ferdinand and Isabella on January 2, 1492. That same year, under the auspices of these sovereigns, Columbus set out on his first journey westward, and with his discovery of America came a revolution in the sugar industry of the world.
Spain is the only cane-sugar-producing country in Europe. Sugar cane was brought there by the Arabs when they conqueredGranada, and its cultivation had assumed important proportions in that kingdom at the time of the expulsion of the Moors. The introduction of the plant in America had a serious effect upon sugar production in Spain and other countries of the Old world, and over three hundred years later the Spanish growers of cane had to meet the competition of the beet sugar of central Europe. Finally the loss of her colonies in 1898 stimulated the industry in the mother country by relieving the Spanish planter from protected competition in his home market. In 1903 Spain had fifty beet-sugar factories, thirty-two cane-sugar mills, fifteen syrup mills, eleven refineries and two factories that turned out sorghum sugar and glucose. Shortly afterward, however, prices in Spain dropped below the cost of production, so that a period of profit was followed by a period of heavy loss. As a result of this state of affairs, the Sociedad General Azucarera de España was formed. This organization comprised forty-three beet factories, thirteen cane factories and thirteen other mills, and its object was to limit the number of mills in operation and to introduce greater efficiency into cultivation methods. The plan did not prove successful, and finally, after lengthy discussions between the Sociedad General, the independent producers and the government, it was decided to fix the excise tax on sugar at thirty-five pesetas per 220.4 pounds, and it was agreed that no new factory should be built within a fifty-mile radius of any factory in operation. The output of each mill was fixed every year between the owner and the government, and if this amount should be exceeded the surplus was debited to the factory for the following year.
Early in 1916 a royal decree authorized a reduction in the import duty on sugar from 60 to 25 pesetas per 100 kilograms. Since then there has been a heavy increase in imports, and the government is now being importuned to restore the tariff protection, lest the home industry be destroyed altogether.
The cultivation of sugar cane in Spain is decreasing year by year on account of competition from the beet. The area devoted to cane culture in 1913 was 9900 acres, while in 1915 it had dwindled to 4069 acres. The plantations are situated in the provinces that border on the Mediterranean coast between Gibraltar and Almeria, or, roughly speaking, between 36 and 38 degrees north latitude, a long way outside of the tropics, but where the climate is warm and free from frost nevertheless.
Three varieties of cane are grown: the white, the red and the striped, and the kind selected is determined by the nature of the soil. White cane requires a good soil with plenty of fertilization; red cane needs a deep soil carrying a large amount of moisture and also well manured. The striped cane calls for the same conditions as the red and gives about the same weight of cane per acre. The method of planting is similar with all three. A cane crop is raised every fourth year on land that has previously been planted in wheat, maize, barley or sweet potatoes. The fields are ploughed deeply in January and February and the ground is well fertilized. During March the furrows are made three and one-half feet apart, one foot deep and eight inches wide, and more manure is added when it is thought to be necessary. Sulphate of ammonia, nitrates, basic slag, fish guano and phosphates, as well as stable manure, are used for fertilizing.
Two rows of seed cane are placed in each furrow, so that the amount of seed required is large, being about 9800 pounds to the acre. The reason for this is that in the moderate climate of Malaga, Granada and Almeria the formation of secondary stalks is not certain, consequently there must be ample provision for a sufficient number of primary stalks. As soon as the seed is planted it is covered with a layer of earth and enough water to moisten the ground effectually is turned into the furrows. These waterings are continued as often as necessary while the crop isgrowing, and the cane is banked from time to time. Finally the land is leveled and the last banking done. The furrows now appear raised above the surface instead of being below it as at first. Water is turned on at the proper point and allowed to run over the entire field, and this operation is repeated every ten or fifteen days during the summer.
The crop is ready to be cut one year after planting, so that harvesting and grinding begin in March and are finished in May. As soon as the cane is cut it is stripped of its leaves and taken to the mill. Part of the leaves is utilized as straw for the cattle and the remainder is burnt. If it should be decided to follow this crop by one of ratoon cane, the spaces between the rows are then ploughed, fertilizer is added and the process of irrigation and banking is kept up until the ratoons reach maturity.
In 1910 there were thirty-four cane mills in Spain, divided into two classes: first, thetrapiche, a small affair where the juice obtained from the little cane that is ground is made into table syrup, and, second, thefabrica, where white and yellow sugars and molasses are manufactured. The average fabrica is well equipped and managed. The diffusion method of extracting the juice from the cane is employed to a large extent. At the beginning of the refining process the juice is treated with sulphur and lime, after which it is clarified in the usual way. The heavy impurities are removed by bag filters and the clear juice is decolorized by filtration through bone-char. The first liquor is boiled to a fine-grained massecuite, which is purged of its mother liquor in centrifugal machines and dried in large cones[92]of white sugar, which are broken up into small pieces and used in that form. A fine white granulated sugar is boiled from the second liquor, while from the third and fourth liquors soft yellow sugars are made. The final molasses is distilled into alcohol.
That the outlook for the cane-sugar industry is far from promising is evidenced by the fact that the output has fallen off from 34,548 tons in 1900 to 6,359 tons in 1915. The area available for cane culture is limited and too far from the tropics to give satisfactory crop results. Then again, a high surtax has had the effect of restricting the consumption, which at the present time is somewhere in the neighborhood of 150,000 tons per annum, all told.
As the foregoing figures show, nearly all the country’s requirements are served by beet sugar, concerning which a word or two may be timely at this point.
In 1899, the year following the conclusion of the Spanish-American war, which cost Spain her colonies, the duty upon foreign sugar brought into that country was increased from fifty pesetas to eighty-five pesetas per 220.4 pounds, and the excise tax was fixed at twenty-five pesetas. This legislation effectually barred out the foreign article and at the same time stimulated the home industry. Much capital that was withdrawn from the lost colonies was invested in the culture of sugar beets and the manufacture of beet sugar. The profits realized from these operations were very large at first, which naturally led to expansion and finally overproduction.
During the year ending July 1, 1913, the total amount of beet sugar turned out was 156,892 tons. In 1914 the production amounted to 140,394 tons, representing the output of thirty-three factories. The latest information obtainable gives the number of factories as thirty-eight, and two-thirds of these are said to be controlled by the so-called “Sugar Trust of Spain.”