years the introduction of the Otaheitan
cane has greatly improved the Peruvian plantations in quality, and has
more especially increased the quantity of their produce; for the
Otaheitan canes are found to yield proportionally one third more than
the West India canes, which were previously cultivated.

The preparation of the sugar is, as yet, conducted in a very rude and
laborious manner. In most of the plantations the cane is passed through
wooden presses with brass rollers. These machines are called _trapiches_
or _ingenios_. They are kept in motion by oxen or mules. In some large
estates water power is employed, and in San Pedro de Lurin a
steam-engine has been put up, which certainly does the work quickly; but
it often has to stand for a long time idle. A part of the sugar cane
juice is used for making the liquor called guarapo, or distilled for
making rum; for since the independence, the law which strictly
prohibited the distillation of spirituous liquors in plantations has
been repealed. The remainder is boiled down into a syrup, or further
simmered until it thickens into cakes, called chancacas, or brown sugar.
After a careful purification it is made into the white cakes called
alfajores, or prepared as white sugar. In fineness of grain and purity
of color it is inferior to the Havannah sugar, which, however, it
exceeds in sweetness. The regular weight of the sugarloaf is two arobas;
only for convenience of transport into the mountainous districts their
weight is sometimes diminished. The consumption of sugar in the country
is great and its export is considerable, but it goes only to Chile.

Of the different kinds of grain, maize is most generally and most
successfully cultivated in Peru. It grows on the sandy shore, in the
fertile mountain valleys, and on the margin of the forest, where the
warmth is great. There are several varieties of maize, which are
distinguished one from another by the size of the head and by the form
and appearance of the grain. The most common kinds on the coast
are--1st, the _Mais Morocho_, which has small bright yellow or reddish
brown grains; 2d, the _Mais Amarillo_, of which the grain is large,
heart-shaped, solid and opaque; 3d, _Mais Amarillo de Chancay_, similar
to the _Mais Amarillo_, but with a semi-transparent square-shaped grain,
and an elongated head. The Morocho and Amarillo maize are chiefly
planted in the eastern declivity of the Andes. They run up in stalks
eight or nine