Vol. XVI. No, 408. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



395 



is a wonderful thing that a sugar plantation intends to erect 

 a paper-making plant, not to utilize waste products, but to 

 economize in its labour bill, and to increase the product of its 

 ■canes. 



With such a mental attitude among planters there is no 

 wonder that the sugar industry in Hawaii is an e.xample of 

 efficiency to the sugar-cane world. The article referred to 

 states under the heading above that:— 



Within the past year a novel process of destroying 

 weeds in c,\ne fields has been devised and developed by 

 Charles Eckart, Manager of the Olaa Sugar Company in the 

 Hawaiian Islands, with the result that less than one-half 

 •of the labour formerly required is utilized on the treated 

 areas in bringing the cane to maturity. In addition to this 

 large saving in manual labour, the mcreased yield of cane 

 is estimated at not less than 10 tons per acre on an average. 



The process is bassed on the priqciple that small unex- 

 panded cane shoots ate able to penetrate a suitable paper 

 covering placed on the rows of stubble immediately after 

 harvesting, whereas weeds are unable to penetrate the 

 covering. 



The first step in this process is to free the rows of the 

 trash, as soon after harvesting as possible. Any shoots 

 which are in evidence in the cane row are cut off with the 

 hoe. The ratoon rows are then fertilized, the fertilizer being 

 distributed along the middle of the rows. Strips of tarred 

 or asphalted felt paper (weighing not more than 9 lb. per 

 100 square feet) are ne.\t placed longitudinally on the rows 

 of the ratoons so that they lie directly over them. If a fair 

 number of stones are conveniently at hand, these are placed 

 along the edges of the paper strips to hold them down, and 

 in addition the edges of the strips are covered with some of 

 the cane trash lying between the cane rows. It has been 

 found that the trash is generally sufficient in itself to hold the 

 paper in place against the tendency of the wind to lift them. 



A mechanical device is employed for the laying of the 

 papers, which performs the operation very rapidly and at 

 small expense. 



(Jwing to the spear-like and comparatively rigid nature 

 of the young cane shoots, and the mech^inical pressure they 

 are able to exert when they come into contact with the paper 

 covering, the latter is punctured, and the shoots emerge. 

 The weeds, with their relatively soft terminal points, which 

 spring up under the covering, are, on the other hand, unable 

 to puncture the paper, and are soon smothered nut, or in 

 a. blanched condition arc dried up by the heat of the sun 

 radiating from the underside of the covering material. 



If the cane rows were smooth and regular, so thai the 

 paper could lie in perfect surface contact with them, a ••om- 

 plete stand of cane would emerge through the covering strips. 

 Small irregularities, however, due to stones, elevation of the 

 old stools, or to uoevenness of the land, dllow many of the 

 young shoots to expand or unfurl before they come into 

 contact with the paper. Since the.se expanded shoo's are 

 neither spear-like nor rigid, most of them are unable to 

 puncture the paper and come through but unlike the weeds 

 they manifest surprising vitality, and by continued growth 

 cause tent-like elevation of the paper covering. 



After five 'ir six weeks from the application of the 

 paper coverings to the cane rows, labourers pass along the 

 rows, and with a knifi' cut longitudinal slits in the paper at 

 such places as aie under pressure from expanded shoots, 

 these places being distinctly shown by the tent-like elevations 

 already referred to. This slitting is inexpensive, and only 

 costs about -i-^c An acre in practice. During the interval 

 between the laying of the paper and the slitting operation 

 the soil under the paper becomes bare of weeds: and such 



weed seeds as would germinate under normal conditions 

 sprout, and the resulting young weed plants die. On this 

 account no weeds emerge through the slips, and those cane 

 shoots, which have been imprisoned as it were, gradually 

 come through, and complete the stand in the row. At first 

 these shoots are naturally very pale, but they quickly turn 

 green and take on a vigorous growth. 



The large gain in the growth of the cane in this 

 process is due to the automatic eradication of weeds in the 

 cane rows, and to the inulching action of the paper covers. 

 Such weeds as develop in the spaces between the cane rows 

 can be easily controlled by light hoeing. 



This process is now being conducted by the Olaa Sugar 

 Company on a fairly large scale, and the Directors of the 

 plantation are contemplating the erection of an auxiliary 

 paper mill of sufficient size to meet the demand of the field 

 for paper mulches. The raw material for the manufacture 

 of the paper will in such event be a part of the megass from 

 the crushed cane, so that the piper mulches will be turned 

 out at a comparatively small cost. 



It may be that this system can only efficiently be carried 

 out where irrigation can be employed. But after careful 

 reading, it would seem that even where the water supply is 

 dependent on the rainfall, the system mi^ht be a success, be- 

 cause of the uncovered lines between the rows of ratoons, 

 which have to be weeded, and into which the rain would 

 adequately penetrate, and als > because of the evident tough- 

 ness of the felt paper employed, which would require probably 

 more than the five or sis weeks of its use to render it too 

 much sodden and tattered to serve its purpose. In any case 

 the development of this method may well be watched for 

 with interest. 



DEPARTMENT NEWS. 



From letters recently received at this (])ffice we 

 learn that Mr. W. R. Pnnlop, .Scientific Assistant on the 

 Staff' of the Imperial Department of Agriculture, has 

 received his commission as Lietifcenant in the R.N.V R. 



Mr. P. Taylor, Clerical Assistant, also on the 

 Staff of the Department, is serving in the East Africa 

 Kxpeditionary Force in the Ariaiy (Ordinance Corps. 



Mr. W. Xoweli, D.I.C., Mycologist, and Dr. J. C. 

 Hutson, B.A., Ph.D., Entomologist, on the .Staff of the 

 Imperial Department of Agriculture, returned to 

 Barbados from ,St. Vincent, on December 10, 1917. 



The United .States Department of Agriculture has 

 issued in device and He;ndatory Announcement, No. 21, the 

 draft of a bill for the establishment, under State Laws, of 

 Divisions of Marketing, which, with slight alterations to 

 suit local conditions, might be utilized anywhere. The task 

 was undertaken in response to repeated requests from various 

 quarters, but the L)eparlment makes it very clear that it is 

 not urging the mea,sure upon any State. This proposed 

 bill has as its object the subjecting to State regulation and 

 control, as affecting public interests, the marketing of all 

 farm products, which are defined as any product designed 

 for food purposes. 



