SUGAR CANE 



5617 



SUGGESTION 



nodes, the sections between being known as 

 internodes. Each node bears a small bud that 

 looks very much like the eye of a potato. The 

 color of the stem varies for different kinds of 

 cane, some being yellow, others reddish, and 

 still others green- and white-striped. Sugar cane 

 flowers only in tropical countries, but even 

 there some varieties never blossom. The chief 

 sugar-cane regions in the world are British In- 

 dia, the West and East Indies, the Hawaiian 

 Islands and Louisiana. 



Growth and Cultivation. The soils best 

 adapted to the growing of cane are those that 

 have a high degree of fertility and that are 

 also capable of retaining a large amount of 

 moisture. This plant requires an abundance of 

 water, and if the rainfall is not adequate, ex- 

 cellent results are obtained by irrigation. A 

 heavy subsoil of clay is of value in preventing 

 the washing away of soluble plant food, espe- 

 cially where a considerable amount of irrigating 

 is resorted to. The alluvial soil of Louisiana 

 (containing deposits of mud, sand and gravel) 

 yields splendid crops of cane, but there drain- 

 age is very important, in fact, almost essential. 

 The soils of the Hawaiian Islands, which yield 

 the heaviest crops of sugar cane in the world, 

 are rich in lime, potash, phosphoric acid and 

 nitrogen. 



Sugar cane is propagated for the most part 

 by stem cuttings; seed is used principally for 

 cross-fertilization and to produce new varieties, 

 but not all varieties of cane bear fertile seeds. 

 Planting may take place either in the spring 

 or fall, the latter when the spring and summer 

 seasons are so short that spring planting might 

 endanger maturing of the crop. If planted in 

 the fall the canes come up earlier, and earlier 

 grinding is possible. A field prepared for plant- 

 ing has great furrows, from five to seven feet 

 apart, running from one end of the field to the 

 other. In these the cuttings are laid horizon- 

 tally, sometimes singly and often two or three 

 abreast. Some planters use only the upper 

 portion of the cane for planting, some the en- 

 tire cane. Others recommend planting only the 

 matured portion. The upper portion is con- 

 sidered best for seed. 



After the cuttings have been planted, soil is 

 thrown over the furrows until the cane is cov- 

 ered. In a short time the buds borne on the 

 nodes swell and burst, and a young stalk of 

 cane emerges from the soil. Soon the leaves 

 begin to appear, and in a few weeks the nodes 

 and internodes may be seen. Cultivation 

 should begin as soon as the cane has a good 

 352 



start, for the field must be kept free from 

 weeds and grass. The upper part of the soil 

 should be tilled frequently, and two or three 

 hoeings are also beneficial. The cane grows 

 rapidly under favorable conditions. 



Harvesting. In the United States the har- 

 vesting period is from October to January (for 

 spring-planted cane) ; in tropical countries, 

 from January to the middle of summer. 

 Though cane-cutting machines are in use to 

 some extent, they give less satisfactory results 

 than hand cutting. On large plantations scores 

 of cutters are employed, each of whom is pro- 

 vided with a large steel knife carrying a blade 

 five inches wide and eighteen inches long, and 

 having on the back a small hook. As the cut- 

 ters work their way down the long rows, they 

 cut the cane close to the ground, stripping off 

 the leaves with the hook, and topping the 

 stalks at the last matured joint. The cut 

 stalks are thrown into heaps called windrows, 

 then gathered up into carts to be carried to the 

 sugar factory. The stubble left in the field will 

 produce a second or third crop in Louisiana, 

 and from five to ten crops in tropical countries. 

 Annual or biennial planting, however, gives 

 the most satisfactory results. G.B.D. 



For description of the process of extracting 

 sugar from the cane, see the article SUGAR, where 

 there is also an illustration of growing sugar 

 cane. Consult Jones and Scard's Manufacture of 

 Cane Sugar. 



SUGGESTION, sug jes ' chun, the influencing 

 of conduct by presenting a pattern for imita- 

 tion, or indirectly inviting a desired and natural 

 reaction. It commonly carries the implication 

 that the process is introduced unawares, with- 

 out arousing the consciousness of the "sug- 

 gested" person in the direction of the suggested 

 response. The mechanism by which yawning 

 is Contagious is rather obvious; the sight of 

 another yawning intensifies or releases slight 

 tendencies in the same direction; the sight of 

 others eating makes one hungry. When a lec- 

 turer, to illustrate the point, moves his hands 

 open and shut, like a pair of jaws, and induces 

 a yawn among the more responsive of his 

 audience, the mechanism is a little more indi- 

 rect. 



The mechanism of suggestion in the way of 

 inducing belief is equally important. This ap- 

 pears realistically in the psychology of con- 

 juring (which see). When all the movements 

 of throwing a ball into the air are performed 

 the spectator is convinced by the suggestion of 

 the appearance that he saw the ball in the air 



