Ratoon crops are raised fifteen or more years in succession without replanting, and the period between frosts is too short to admit of the cane reaching maturity. Grinding is begun about June 1st and usually takes one hundred days, depending, naturally, upon the amount of cane to be crushed. [Illustration: INGENIO NUEVA BAVIERA, TUCUMÁN, ARGENTINA] [Illustration: INGENIO NUEVA BAVIERA, TUCUMÁN, ARGENTINA] The factories are modern and equipped with machinery and apparatus of the latest type, but notwithstanding this the recovery of sugar is poor, owing to the quality of the cane. In 1911 the average extraction obtained by the factories of Tucumán was 7.65 per cent. A few factories make white sugar for direct consumption, but the great part of the output consists of raw centrifugal sugar, which is subsequently refined. Most of Argentina’s refined sugar is produced by the Refineria Argentina of Rosario. Argentina’s sugar industry could not live without a protective tariff, on account of the high cost of production, which even in the best factories is about 4⅓ cents gold per pound. There is no chance to build up an export business now, so, unless conditions change, the production must adjust itself to take care of the consumption and no more. The statistics from 1906 to 1915 are in long tons: PRODUCTION IMPORTS RAW RAW REFINED 1906 114,426 646 1,260 1907 107,694 31,434 11,391 1908 157,845 10,648 24,271 1909 121,891 13,546 5,898 1910 146,472 33,542 22,342 1911 177,211 17,866 33,206 1912 147,731 18,728 10,866 1913 275,834 25,081 49,094 1914 330,460 154 6,250 1915 149,864 1 22 FORMOSA The Japanese island of Formosa (Taiwan) lies off the coast of China, about two hundred miles north of the Philippines, between 21 degrees 45 minutes and 25 degrees 38 minutes north latitude and 120 degrees 10 minutes and 122 degrees east longitude. It is about two hundred and twenty-five miles long and narrow in shape; its width is seventy-seven miles and its total area 13,504 square miles. A range of mountains runs from north to south, and the highest peak is 13,600 feet. The mountainous region is rugged and well wooded, but in the southwestern part there is a fertile plain which is very productive. Rice, tea and sugar are grown pretty much all along the western portion of the island. In the west, too, are found the best seaports and bays, also the most important towns. In 1905 Formosa had about 3,000,000 inhabitants, nearly all of whom were Chinese. The climate is tropical, and at sea-level the average temperature in July, which is the hottest month, is about 72 degrees Fahrenheit, while in February, the coldest month, the mean is 51.6 degrees.