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 the fields 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. [Illustration: HAULING CANE-LADEN CARS WITH OX-TEAM, PERU] [Illustration: 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: YEAR CONSUMPTION EXPORTS TOTAL 1905 27,077 132,136 159,213 1906 32,178 134,592 166,770 1907 30,110 108,886 138,986 1908 31,895 122,940 154,836 1909 29,173 123,393 152,567 1910 29,189 119,744 148,933 1911 31,988 121,758 153,745 1912 36,129 145,106 181,236 1913 34,976 140,669 175,645 1914 32,555 173,910 206,465 1915 40,000 208,487 248,487