Hennessey?"
"That's what we're here for," answered Mr. Hennessey, obviously
enjoying his amazement. "All raw sugar comes to us this way. You
see, it is about the color of maple or brown sugar, but it is not
nearly so pure, for it has a great deal of dirt mixed with it when
we first get it."
"Where does it come from?" inquired Bob.
"Largely from the plantations of Cuba and Porto Rico. Toward the end
of the year we also get raw sugar from Java, and by the time this is
refined and ready for the market the new crop from the West Indies
comes along. In addition to this we get consignments from the
Philippine Islands, the Hawaiian Islands, South America, Formosa,
and Egypt. I suppose it is quite unnecessary to tell you young men
anything of how the cane is grown; of course you know all that."
"I don't believe we do, except in a general way," Bob admitted
honestly. "I am ashamed to be so green about a thing at which Dad
has been working for years. I don't know why I never asked about it
before. I guess I never was interested. I simply took it for
granted."
"That's the way with most of us," was the superintendent's kindly
answer. "We accept many things in the world without actually knowing
much about them, and it is not until something brings our ignorance
before us that we take the pains to focus our attention and learn
about them. So do not be ashamed that you do not know about sugar
raising; I didn't when I was your age. Suppose, then, I give you a
little idea of what happens before this raw sugar can come to us.
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