STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 147 



this last year's crop was entirely destroyed; the cane was entirely 

 ruined, and the water has to be drained off and the cane replanted 

 before they are again productive. 



There is one great advantage that we possess in the ainber cane 

 industry; we have got millions of acres of land capable of pro- 

 ducing the very finest crops of amber cane. I have seen just as 

 many tons produced of amber cane per acre from one planting 

 as I find on the Louisiana plantations with their three varieties 

 of cane. I may describe the three varieties which they have 

 down there. One is called the Louisiana cane, which is a large, 

 heavy and short-jointed variety. Another is the '' Creole," long- 

 jointed and white. The other is the red cane. They cultivate 

 all three varieties on most of the plantations. The cane never 

 seeds in that climate, but keeps on growing until checked by the 

 frosts. The cane grows on an average to a height of about eight 

 feet. In cutting it they trim off the tops and reject the worth- 

 less part. 



Now, on a farm of 1,200 acres they will have only about 400 

 acres of cane to work up ; practically one-fourth of their land is 

 laying out, or one-fourth is old cane and the other is young. 

 They lay out of the use of their capital about three years. They 

 have got to cultivate three years before they get their crop. We 

 get our crop in from ninety days to four months from planting. 

 There the only valuable part of the cane is what they can use to 

 make sugar and syrup. They make no use whatever of the 

 blades. There is no seed, and their bagasse is a waste product 

 on most of the plantations. In Minnesota we can make the 

 blades worth enough to pay for harvesting the cane, and the 

 crop of seed will pay for the entire expense of cultivation, and 

 it leaves us our sugar and syrup as a clear profit. This is an ad- 

 vantage which I think will enable us at any time to compete 

 with the people of Louisiana in the production of sugar and 

 syrup. 



Capt. Blakeley. Or anybody else. 



Prof. Porter. Or anybody else. 



Gen. Le Due. Are they not introducing sorghum in that 

 country % 



Prof. Porter. They say that it costs them too much. If they 

 would go onto the back or high lands and introduce sorghum 

 they could do it, and I understand they are doing that to some 

 extent. The sorghum is coming into use to supply the home 

 demand. 



