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twenty inches apart and in rows four feet apart. But, after all, tbe 

 planter nuist be convinced that a rotation of crop is absolutely indispens- 

 able to any operation for a series of years. If the plantation contains 

 200 acres let 50 of them be in cotton, 50 in corn, 50 in peas or beans, 

 and 50 in grass; and let the crops alternate; and it cannot be doubted 

 that if this process be pursued for a series of years, the 50 acres will 

 liave grown more cotton than 100 under other circumstances. The use 

 of lime, if it can be procured at any reasonable expense, will always in- 

 sure the growth of grass. 



With respect to the cultivation of the sugar-cane, the same principles 

 which it has been endeavored to enforce with regard to cotton-plan ting- 

 are equally applicable. AVhile several correspondents press the idea of 

 the necessity for a new importation of cane, the great weight of opinion 

 is that the diminution in the quantity of production is occasioned by 

 careless selection and planting of the cane, and subsequent careless cul- 

 ture. It is manifest that little or no regard is paid to the quality of the 

 cane planted ; that dry, hard, woody canes, often perforated with borers, 

 are used, instead of tliose with healthy, succulent tops ; and this under 

 a thoughtless or careless impression that, if the sprout appears at all, it 

 may produce a vigorous and healthy i^laut, whereas it will certainly main- 

 tain its sickly existence out to the end, with a result in production like 

 to its origin. Beside careful selection, however, subsequent culture, in 

 order to imi^rove the character of cane, is all important. What but cul- 

 tivation has brought to their present condition and excellence almost all 

 the roots and seeds with which we habitually deal ? What was the corn, 

 the wheat, the potato, the apple, peach, pear, and plum before they passed 

 through the manipulations of careful culture ? Does not all nature teach 

 that her productions were committed to the care of man that they might 

 be cultivated and improved ? And is it not equally manifest that there 

 is no such principle as nsitural degeneracy which belongs to God's iirov- 

 idence "? for, if it we^-e otherwise, the world could not have lasted four 

 thousand years ; it would have long since degenerated into a fruitless 

 waste. It may be relied upon as a self-evident truth that careful culture 

 will improve the character of any vegetable as certainly as the neglect 

 of the selection of seed and its careful cultivation will degenerate it. 



In the proper cultivation of sugar-cane, those same agricultural prin- 

 ciples which experience has taught to be so conducive and so essential 

 to the successful growth of fruits and jilants must be observed. You 

 must return to the soil what you take from it ; and this must be done 

 through the medium of a direct application of manures and a rotation of 

 crops ; and without either of these the experiment will prove a failure 

 in the course of time. Manure alone will not do ; rather depend upon 

 rotation alone. A division of the farm into parts, such as is recommended 

 for the cotton-plantation, is equally applicable to sugar, and the result 

 of such a practice would double the crop upon every acre. The bagasse 

 of a sugar-plantation is largely wasted, for the want of the application 

 of a little expense which would add four-fold to its value. It is some- 

 times thrown in a pile to burn to death by its own internal heat, or 

 actually burned as fuel in the operation of sugar-making, which is a most 

 wasteful use, for the ashes are by no means equal to the thing itself. If, 

 when this bagasse is taken from the mill, it were mixed with earth and 

 lime, it would furnish an amount of manure equal to covering a space as 

 large as that from which it was taken. As "to cotton, plaster of Paris 

 was recommended for this purpose, because it preserves the ammonia; 

 whereas, in the cultivation of sugar, nitrogen, which is the basis of 

 ammonia, is probably inimical to the formation of sugar. 



