At any rate, the plant is worthy of further attention in Europe. It is sell that the first seeds were brought from Shanghai to Paris in 1851, that all died but one, and that all the plants of the Sorghum now being grown for this experiment in Europe and America are the produce of this one seed.
Sugur-Trade.—It is not known how much sugar is made in the world. Sto116, in 1853, put down the quantities of cane-sugar exported from the several countries as follows 3— To which he added about an equal quantity coraained in those same countries. He also put down in his tabulation, 9,300,000 cwt. of beet ugar, 2,000,000 of palm-seg:ir, and 400,000 of maple-sugar. If these estimates are approximately correct, the total sugar product would be over 50,000,000 cwt.& 31r. 3l'Culloch has expressed an opinion that, in 1853. the produce of cane-sugar all over the world was 1,250,000 tons, equal to 25,000,000 cwts.—an estimate ao much lower than that of Stell6 for 1853, as to show that the authorities rely on very different data. 3Ir. IPCiia]odli credits Cuba with one-third of all the cane-sugar grown in the world.
In 1661 a duty amounting to Is. Gd. per cwt. was imposed on the importation of British plantation sugar in England ; and in 1639 the duty was doubled. This gradually rose to 30s. early in the present century, from which It fell to 24s. in 1833. From 1793 to 1303, the duty on India sugar was 97 and 33 per coot, ad valorem; and afterwards was 1 1 s. and 8s. the cwt. higher than the duty on West India ; but by an act passed in 1836, the duties were assimilated by tho reduction of East India sugar from 32s. to 21s. the cwt. The duty on foreign sugar varied from 60s. to 63s. until about 1814. • Fluctuations in price, and the domestic circumstances of the country, occasion great diversities in the consumption of different years. Thus, with the low price of 1831, the consumption was greater than in 1839, notwithstanding the population of Great Britain had increased nearly 2,000,000. The annual consumption averages above 20 lbs. per heed for England and Scotland, and would probably be 501ba. if a great reduction were to take placo in the price. In France the annual con sumption averages 5 lbs. per head; in the states of the German League, above 4 lbs.; and in the whole of Continental Europe, about 21 lbs.
The quantity of sugar produced iu the West Indies has fluctuated greatly since the emancipation of the slaves. The equalisation of the
duty on Fast India sugar in 1836 gave a stimulus to the cultivation of the sugarcane in the East Indies, and the import of 1840 exceeded all expectation, bciug 1,060,032 cwta, or above 53,000 tons. The scarcity of 1810 was so greet that 2316 cwts. of foreign sugar were entered for home consumption, payiug a duty of 63s., or 39s. the cwt. more than sugar from British possessions. The sugar of Brazil, Cuba, and other foreign countries is chiefly exported to the Continent, where the price is on an average from 10s. to 20s. the cwt. lower than in this country.
In 1844 a great change was effected in the sugar duties, whereby foreign sugar might, under certain circumstances, be imported at a duty of 34s. instead of 63s., and in some favoured instances (to encourage free instead of slave labour) as low as 23s. Gd. Sugar from foreign slave states was still to pay 63s. Sugar from British possessions was to pay 14s. to 21t, according to quality. By acts passed in 1846 and 1848, the duties on British and foreign sugar were gradually to approach equality, the equalisation to be completed in 1854, at which date all sugars would pay from 10s. to 18s. 4d. per cwt., according to quality. Between 1854 and 1853 the duties wore slightly raised, to meet a war expenditure ; during this interval, the lowest duty on the lowest kind was Ils.; and the highest duty on the highest kind,17s.0d. By the tariff of 1860, the duty was still again slightly raised, ranging from 12s. 8d., for common moist, to 18s. 4d., for best refined ; cane juice paid a duty of 10s. 4d. These duties are the same, whatever country the auger may be brought from.
Without taking note of the quantity re-exported, the following gives the quantity of sugar imported for home consumption, and the duty raised from it, in six different years, situated respectively five years apart :— The above quantities are given in round numbers ; but to illustrate the present state of the trade, the figures for 1860 will here be given in more detail :— . „ It will thus be seen that the home consumption of sugar very nearly equals the imports, leaving only a small quantity for re-exportation. The computed real value of the whole (minus the duty) was about 13,000,000/.