24 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



Burning underbrush on new land preparatory to planting. 



allowed to dry out after being cut down and is then burnt. Patches that remain un- 

 burnt are piled in heaps and reburnt so as to clear the land as much as possible. The 

 land is now in condition for planting and the fields are laid out generally in squares 

 of about twenty acres each. 



Ground for replanting is prepared by plowing first in one direction and then 

 across; sometimes it is given a third plowing. Plowing is generally done with oxen 

 or bulls; usually two yoke of oxen are used, sometimes as many as three to each 

 plow. The United Fruit Company has in operation four large steam plows which 

 are used principally in plowing the older fields. The field is then harrowed, and a 

 light plow traces the furrows in which cane is to be planted. 



The cane to be used for planting is selected and cut into lengths of two inter- 

 nodes, allowing three nodes to each length so as to have three buds or eyes, and is 

 laid by hand in the bed of the furrow, lengthwise with it, sometimes end to end, and 

 at other times a space of about twelve inches being left between the sticks. Occasion- 

 ally two sticks of cane are laid in the furrow, parallel to each other and a few inches 

 apart. A light plow is run alongside the furrow and the earth turned over to cover 

 the cane. If the ground is damp and in good condition, the cane may be expected to 

 show itself above ground in about there weeks' time. Weeds also soon make their 

 appearance and the work of destroying them should not be delayed. This is done by 

 hoes and by running a cultivator and a light plow between the rows of cane. Both 

 oxen and mules are used in the cultivation. The operation of weeding must be re- 

 peated as often as necessary, never less than three times, until the cane leaves have 

 grown so that they completely shade the ground and prevent the sun from penetrating 

 to the soil. 



On account of the stumps remaining in new land, even after burning, planting 

 has to be done with hoes or else by means of a sharp pointed stick, in the hand of a 

 man who walks across the field guided by stakes previously set at proper distances, 

 the rows being lined out with a tape line, and who thrusts the stick in a slanting 

 direction into the ground, making a hole into which one or two pieces of cane are 

 inserted, and the earth is pressed tightly around it. 



