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We have but 

 viz. 

 Saccharum {Offii 



4 * 



•narum) floribus paniculatis. Hort. 

 Clitt. 26. i>ugar Cane with flowers growing in panicles. 

 ■ Arundo faccharifera. C. B. P. 18. The Sugar Cane. 

 This plant grows naturally in both Indies, and is 

 there cultivated alfo for its juice, which, when boiled, 

 afFords that fweet fait which is called Sugar. - 

 The Canes were formerly cultivated in the fouth of 

 France for the fame purpofe, but it was in fmall quan- 

 tities only, for in Iharp winters they were killed, un- 

 lefs they were covered, fo that they had only the 

 fummer for their growth, which was too fhort time 

 for their getting fufficient ftrength to produce Sucrar 

 enough to anfwer the expence, fo the' pIanting*^of 

 thefe Canes there has been long difcontinued; they 



- were alfo planted in feveral parts of Spain before 

 they were introduced to France, and are at prefent 



.-cultivated in plenty in Andalufia," from* whence 



-great quantities of Sugar are annually fent to Madrid, 



, but there are few now planted in the other parts of 



■ The root of this plant is jointed like thofe of the 



■ other forts of Cane or Reeds, from which arife four, 

 -. five, or more fhoots in number, proportionable to the 

 .' age orilrength of the root. - Thefe rife eight or ten 



feet high, according to the goodnefs of the ground in 



•■ which they grow ; for in fome moift rich ioils there 



,' - have been Canes meafured, which were near twenty 



r. feet long; but thefe were not near fo good as thofe 



- of middling growth, as they abounded with juice, 

 . which had but a fmall quantity of the eflential fait in 

 V , it, fo that the expence of fuel and trouble of boiling, 



was more than the Sugar would defray.*^ The Canes 



are jointed, and thefe joints are more or lefs diftant 



^■^ from each other, in proportion to the foil. The leaves 



' •' arc placed at each joint, and tHe bafe or lower part 



■\^ of the leaf embraces the ftalk or Cane to the next 



:.: joint above its infertion, before it expands ; thefe 



■V are three or four feet long from the joint where 



: they unfold to their point, according to the vigour of 



. the plant ; they have a deep whitifh furrow, or hol- 



^'■- lowed midrib, which is bfoad, and prominent on the 



, under fide ; the edges of the leaves are thin, and arm- 



.. cd with fmall fharp teeth, which are fcarce to be 



difcerned by the naked eye, but will cut the fkin of 



t- a tender hand if it be drawn along it. *The flowers 



. are produced in panicles at the top of the ftalks ; tBefe 



are from two to three feet long, and are conipofed of 



. . many fpikes, which are nine or ten inches long, and 



are again fubdivided into fmaller fpikes ; thefe have 



long down which inclofe the flowers, fo^as to hide them 



^ from fight; afterward the germen becomes an ob- 



•; long-pointed feed, which ripens in t]ie valves of the 



flower. . . .- . ' .:->:;; 'J 5t;^.- 



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will require to have water frequently in wafm ^fr6atfler■, 

 but It muft not be given them in too great plenty, ef- 

 pecially in cold weather. As the leaves of the plants 

 decay they Ihould be cleared from about the ftalks ; 

 tor It thefe are left to dry upon them, it will greatly 

 retard their growth. The ftove in which this plant 

 IS placed, Ihould be kept in winter to the fame tem- 

 perature of heat as for the Pine-apple, and in hot 

 •' weather there fhpuld be plenty of free air admitted to 

 the plants, bthefwife they will not thrive. 



- r ihall here fubjoin' fome account of the method of 

 " , propagating and cultivating the Sugar Cane in Ame- 

 rica, with fome obfervations and experiments which 

 have been rriade by a few curious' perfons in the Bri- 

 ',>1}^^. I^^ands, and fhall propofe fome farther trials to be 

 '^- there made, in the culture and management of this 

 ;•' tlfeful plant, which are'fdunded upon the experience 

 . ' I have had in tfje' culture of fome plants which arcfi- 

 ^ milar in their growth with the Sugar Cane. ' ' ■ 

 The land which is moft proper for the growth of Su- 

 gar Canes, is fuch as hath a fufficient depth of foil, 

 •and IS not too moift and ftrong, bilt rather lightand 

 Safy to work ; for although ftrong moift grou'nd will 

 produce much taller and bigger Canes than the other, 

 yet the quantity of Sugar will be mucTi lefs, not hear 

 •fo good, and will require a greater quantity of fuel, 

 'and a Ipnger^ time to boil, before the Sugar can 

 "be made ; which is alfo the cafe with all frefh land, 

 ^ where there has not been any Canes growing before ; 

 therefore many of the moft expert planters burn their 

 ■ land when it is firft cleared for planting of Canes, to 

 abate its fertility ;'but if when land is firft cleared of 

 the wood, and the roots of bad wcedsl it is fdwn 



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This plant is preferved by way of quriofity in feveral 

 gardens in England, but being "too tender to thrive 

 here, unlefs it is preferved in a warm ftoVe, fo it can- 

 not be brought to any great perfeftion. I haVe fcen 

 fome of the plants growing which were feven or 

 eight feet high, and at the bottom as large as a com- 

 mon walking Cane, but they have not produced 

 their panicles of flowers here. 



' It is here propagated by flips taken from the fides of 

 the older plants ; thofe which grow near the root and 

 have fibres to them, will mofl: certainly grow ; fo that 

 when the flioots are produced at fome difl:ance from 

 the ground, the earth fliould be raifed about them, 

 that they may put out fibres before they are feparated 

 from the mother plant. Thefe flips ftiould be planted 

 in pots filled with rich kitchen-garden earth, and 

 plunged into a moderate hot-bed of tanners bark, be- 

 ing careful to ftiade them from the fun until they have 

 taken new root, after which they mufl: be treated in the 

 fame way as other tender plants from the fame coun- 

 tries. They muft be confl:antly kept plunged in the 

 tan-bed in the fl:ove ; and as their roots increafe in 

 fize, fo the plants fliould from time to time be fliifted 

 into larger pots ; but this mufl: be done with caution, 

 for if they are over-potted they will not thrive : they 



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with Indigo, which fuch frefli^gVound will produce 

 much better than the old, or fuch as has' been ling 

 cultivated, there may be two or three crdps of this 



-taken, which will prepare the land for the Sugar 

 Canes, without being at the trouble' of burning it ; 

 but the growing of Indigo has been fo little pradifed 

 in the Britifh Iflands of America for many years paft, 

 as to be efl:eemed unworthy the notice of a Sugar 

 planter; whereas if they would fdmetimes chan<^e 

 their crops to other fpecies, they would foon find an 

 advantage in the"* growth, not only of their Canes, 

 but alfo of their other, crops: however, the ufual 

 pfaftice is to continue the Canes always upon the 



- fame land as long is it will produce them, without 



'^hm^PS % fpecies, or ^allowlngthegrouha a fal- 



*^ low to reft: and recover itfelf By this method tKere 



: are fbme' plantations fo much exhaufted, as that the 



;^ crop of Sugar ^yi^ fcarce defray the expence oFculture. 



"' Another thing ftiould always be obferved in the plant- 



"ingbf frefli land with Canes, which is to allow them 



• more room than is generally done ; for'as the ground 

 ^ IS ftrong, fo there will a greafer number of ftioots 

 ^ c6me out from each plant, and not having room to 



fpread at bottom, they will draw "each other up to a 

 ■ great height, and be full of watery juice, the fun and 



• external air being excluded from the Canes by the 

 multiplicity of leaves, which are both abfolutely ne- 

 cefl^ary to ripen and prepare the falts during the growth 

 of the Canes. 



If the ground is proper for the Sugar Canes, and 

 they are planted at a good diftancc from each other, 

 and the land is carefully managed, the fame planta- 

 tion may be continued above twenty years without re- 

 planting, and produce good crops the whole time ; 

 whereas in the common method, they are generally 

 replanted in fix or feven years, and in fome of the 

 poor land they are continued but two or three. 

 The Canes are in thofe warm countries propacratcd 

 by cuttings or joints, of proper lengths ; thefe are 

 from fifteen to twenty inches long, in proportion to 

 the nearnefs of their joints or eyes. Thefe cuttine;s 

 are generally taken from the tops of the Canes, jufl: 

 below the leaves ; but if they were chofen from the 

 lower part of the Canes, where they are lefs fuccul^nt 

 and better ripened, they would not produce fo luxu- 

 riant ftwots, arid their juice would be lefs crude, and 

 contain a greater quantity of falts, which will be ob- 



II S tained 



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