148 



sucli plantations the winter temperature usually varies from 

 6^ to 15^ C- (42° to 59^ Fahr.), altliougli some cultivators report 

 the average temperature as being about 17*^ C- for the winter 

 and 35*^ for the summer. The minimum altitude above sea level 

 is given as 15 feet. The plantations extend from Estepona to 

 Adra* 



Varieties. — The kinds mentioned as most profitably grown are 

 the White '^Blanca,'^ Violet '^Morada/' and Black ^'Negra/^ 

 The ^'Blanca^' is said to be that originally grown by the Arabs^ 

 and the '^Negra " to have been imported subsequently from 

 Cuba. Others, again, call the *'Blanca'' ''American." The 

 ''Negra'' and *' Morada '^ appear to be much the same cane, 

 merely called differently locally, to distinguish the dark from the 

 white. 



Other varieties mentioned in the reports I have received are 

 '' CrystalKne cane,'^ heavier than the foregoing but very poor 

 in saccharine; a ''striped cane," "of poor quality in every 

 respect"; and the " Algarrobena," which was previously culti- 

 vated, but has been almost entirely set aside. 



In some districts where sugar used to be grown, it is not so 

 any longer. This may be partially accounted for by reluctance 

 to persevere with the most suitable kinds when the kind pre- 

 viously grown no longer proved remunerative. In the province 

 of Almeria, for instance, "outside the limited district of Adra 

 no sugar cane is grown in the province. For a few years 

 cultivation of the cane was tried here, but as the result proved 

 in every way unsatisfactory it was given up, now over 20 years 

 ago," writes the Vice-Consul. 



Reasons for preferring certain varieties. — Opinions seem to 

 differ as to the frost-resisting powers of the various kinds. I am 

 told, for instance, as regards the districts of Marbella and 

 Estepona, " the Violet cane is preferred for its strength against 

 frosty weather, the plantation of the wdiite being, therefore, very 

 insignificant." "Whereas the report on the plantations at Adra 

 is, "American white is preferred because .... it best 

 resists low temperature." 



But there are other questions to consider in planting cane 

 besides the danger of frost, and the concensus of opinion appears 

 to be that the .".T^egra is preferred on good soil because it is 

 more luxuriant, one crop being gathered each year''; but 

 ''Blanca is preferred on poor soil because the crop takes 



(( 



place only once in two years, the growing properties during the 



second year bein^ extraordinary." The said. poor soil being 

 usually calcareo-silicious. The Yice-Consul at Almeria reports, 

 however, of the Adra plantation, " The American white is pre- 

 ferred because it gives more weight, is richer in saccharine, 

 and (as already quoted) because it best resists low temperature." 

 Nature of soil — The soil of the sugar plantations is described 

 as " soft, silicious, with permeable subsoil, naturally rich in 

 nitrogen, on account of being, as a rule, the sedimentations 

 of oM rivers." The Adra plantation, already mentioned, 

 is described as " sediment left when the river overflows its banks 

 during heavy rains; in a few fields is limy, and in one small 

 part is of a sandy nature." 



