The centrals usually raise about one-half of the cane they grind. The rest they buy from the _colono_, who grows cane either on his own land or upon ground rented to him by the central owner. As a rule the price paid to the _colono_ for his cane is 5 per cent of the weight of the cane in sugar, although this is subject to modification at times. As the central factories are of recent construction, they are equipped with the newest and best machinery and the most scientific methods govern their operation. In 1853 Porto Rico exported 112,000 tons of sugar; the following year the amount was 70,000 tons and during the next twenty years it remained nearly stationary. In 1871 the production reached 105,000 tons, dropping back to 89,000 tons in 1885 and 65,000 tons in 1886. The crop of 1900 was very small—35,000 tons—owing to the havoc wrought by an unusually severe hurricane, but from that time on it has increased year by year. As most of the diseases and pests that attack sugar cane are met with in Porto Rico, it is obvious that the work of the United States agricultural station at Mayaquez has been of inestimable benefit to the planters. Experimenting with different varieties of cane, importing seed cane from other countries, analysis of soils, scientific advice upon the use of fertilizers and instruction as to the best means to destroy or control harmful parasites, these are but a few of the many important services rendered by the station. The outlook for Porto Rico’s sugar industry seems hopeful. Labor is cheap and abundant, climatic and soil conditions are favorable and an irrigation project at present under way promises to convert lands now arid into productive cane fields. Since 1900 the production of sugar in Porto Rico in tons of 2240 pounds has been: 1900 35,000 1901 80,000 1902 85,000 1903 85,000 1904 130,000 1905 145,000 1906 213,000 1907 210,000 1908 200,000 1909 245,000 1910 308,000 1911 295,000 1912 320,000 1913 350,323 1914 325,000 1915 308,178 1916 378,509 THE PHILIPPINES This group of islands is situated about 500 miles off the southeast coast of Asia, between 4 degrees 10 minutes and 21 degrees 10 minutes north latitude and between 116 degrees 40 minutes and 126 degrees 34 minutes east longitude. It is bounded on the west and north by the China sea, on the east by the Pacific ocean and on the south by the Celebes sea. It comprises 3141 islands, of which 2775 contain less than one square mile each. According to the Philippine census of 1903 the total area is 115,026 square miles,[44] although some authorities estimate it to be as much as 127,800 square miles. Two-thirds of this is forest land and not more than 9½ per cent of the entire archipelago was classified under _Farms_ in 1903. The area devoted to sugar cane the year previous was 177,628 acres, about 5 per cent of the cultivated land.