the ciiston-i formerly to take up wild i^lants o:rowino: in the woods, set 

 them at the proper distance, roughl}' prune them with a machete, and 

 give them little or no cultivation. 



CANE. 



Since the American occupation cane growing has undergone an 

 entire revolution. American capital has come in and built large 

 sugar mills or centrals, resulting in the abandonment of the many 

 smaller mills which dotted the cane regions. The cane growers find 

 it more profitable to sell their canes to the large centrals than to grind 

 them in their small mills, often using oxen for power and boilmg the 

 juice in open kettles. 



Some of the larger centrals are carrying on experiments in growling 

 cane and they are very urgent that the station undertake experiments 

 in this line. Some experiments with cane have been taken up by the 

 station, but our limited funds prevent very extended work in this. line. 

 By cooperating with some of the larger plantations the station hopes 

 to obtain some valuable results along certain lines in cane production. 

 At the present time the greatest interest is in the methods of planting 

 and the proper fertilization of this crop. The fertilization of Porto 

 Rican soils is very important as it has not had nmch attention in the 

 past, and it is not known just what these soils most need. The results 

 of prelimmary tests indicate that cane responds very readily to com- 

 mercial fertilizers, and while no very definite conclusions can be drawn 

 at this time it seems that fertilizers containing the three elements — 

 nitrogen, potash, and ])hosphoric acid — are advisable. On the ground 

 of the station potash showed especially favorable results. 



In buying fertilizers in Porto Rico planters are urged to buy high- 

 grade goods. It is of course the nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric 

 acid that constitute the value of a fertilizer and, owing to the high 

 freight rates, there is no advantage in transporting an excess of filler 

 in the goods. The last legislature of Porto Rico passed an act, pre- 

 pared by the experiment station, providing for the inspection of fer- 

 tilizers sold in the island. This forms a guaranty enabling the planter 

 to protect himself in the purchase of fertilizers, and at the same time 

 the printed label enables him to follow more closely the composition 

 and the results of its use. 



The station is securing some of the more promising seedling canes 

 with the object of introducing these, after trial, upon the plantations. 

 As in the case of many of the other economic plants of Porto Rico 

 there is great need of breeding up the varieties of cane now grown. 

 The centrals have been purchasing canes upon gross weight and are now 

 discriminating in price only with varieties. With the economies that 

 are coming in sugar production in Porto Rico they will shortly esti- 

 mate the value by the sugar content, therefore improvement in cane 



