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.” PRODUCTION OF CANE SUGAR[93] CONSUMPTION 1904 22,175 tons 98,043 tons 1905 28,819 ” 107,191 ” 1906 15,722 ” 117,749 ” 1907 16,092 ” 113,968 ” 1908 14,057 ” 117,190 ” 1909 21,669 ” 104,740 ” 1910 20,301 ” 133,608 ” 1911 20,295 ” 130,769 ” 1912 16,176 ” 143,664 ” 1913 13,231 ” 143,826 ” 1914 7,376 ” 126,425 ” 1915 6,359 ” 156,618 ” INDIA To all intents and purposes, India is a continent rather than a country. It is triangular in shape, with its base resting upon the Himalayas and its apex running far out into the ocean. To the east is the bay of Bengal and to the west the Arabian sea. Its length from north to south and its greatest width from east to west are both about 1900 miles. The Indian empire, including Burma, comprises 1,766,000 square miles, with 294,000,000 inhabitants. It extends from 8 degrees to 37 degrees north latitude, which means from the hottest tropical regions to a point well within the temperate zone, so that it would be idle to attempt to describe here the variety of formation and climate. In this, the birthplace of sugar cane, accurate information regarding the state of the industry is extremely hard to obtain, for various reasons, among which may be mentioned— First: In certain portions of the empire very indifferent attention is paid to the compilation of reliable statistics concerning production. Second: The raising of sugar cane is not carried on by large interests, but is divided among a vast number of small farmers, so that it is doubly difficult to secure dependable data concerning the yield and manufacture. Third: By no means all of the cane that is grown goes to the sugar mills to be ground. Much of it is chewed or eaten in the stalk, and the manufacturing process itself is, in most instances, very primitive. So it is clear that even where the acreage planted to cane is accurately known, it would be a difficult matter to determine the result in sugar. [Illustration: SUGAR MILL, NAHAN FACTORY, INDIA] [Illustration: CENTRIFUGAL WORKED BY HAND, INDIA]