1919.] SUGAR CANE EXPERIMENTS. 139 



The stools of these selected canes have been dug up, divided into"] 

 two or thi'ee according to their size, replanted and carefully labelled 

 on a plan showing the position of each stool. When these canes grow 

 up, cuttings will be planted out in plots about October-November and 

 grown in competition with standard varieties such as Bourbon, B. 156. 

 Badilla, B. 6450 or B.i. 6032. From the results obtained a further 

 selection will be made, only those varieties wliich give very good results 

 will be kept and planted in larger plots. 



Seedlings Raised in 1918. 



About 8,000 seedlings were raised in 1918; of these over 3,000 were 

 potted and 2,000 of the most vigorous planted out in the field at the 

 beginning of May, so that when tested next year they will bo fully 

 12 months old. 



This year about 50 seedlings were planted out weekly from the 

 beginning of April as an experiment and the results have been so 

 satisfactory that it is proposed in future to plant out the bulk of the 

 seedlings in April instead of waiting for the first rains in May. The 

 greatest danger is that the young plantlets are liable to be cut by mole 

 crickets but these have been successfully kept under control by the use 

 of a protective bamboo collar. The exti-a growth obtained from early 

 planting out more than compensates for the few plants destroj'ed, 

 moreover there is a better chance of the canes coming to maturity, as 

 they will have been thirteen months in the ground when cut for 

 testing. 



'o' 



RESULTS OF TESTS OF VARIETIES. 



With the exception of Field 7, which was under the control of 

 the St. Augustine Estate authorities, the canes under report were grown 

 at the Experiment Station, St. Augustine, and consist of plant canes, 

 first and second ratoons. Plant canes received an application of pen 

 manure at the rate of about 15 tons per acre. No manures were 

 applied to ratoons and all the canes received ordinary estate cultivation. 



.During the period under review the cultivation suffered ver3' little 

 from froghoppers, but the Bourbon in Field 10 Valsayn (first ratoons) 

 was severely hit by root disease. 



The results obtained from the plant canes are recorded in Tables III 

 to V, those from the first ratoons in Tables YI and VII ; Table VIII 

 gives the results for the second ratoons and Tables IX and Xthe average 

 results for plants and ratoons. 



Information with regard to the date of planting, and testing of the 

 juice is given at the head of the Tables. 



The plant canes in Field 9, Valsayn, Table III, were 22 months old 

 when reaped. They were planted on June 5, 1917 with the intention 

 of reading them twelve months later but as the Factory finished grinding 

 during the first week of May and the canes were still short it was 

 considered preferable to allow them to stand over. The average yield 

 for the whole field was 32"42 tons of canes per acre. 



