FARM CROPS. 155 



with plows of the disk or moldboard type. Rows 

 from five to seven feet wide are laid off and thrown 

 up into high ridges. These ridges are opened by a 

 double moldboard plow, and into this opened furrow 

 the cane stalks are placed in continuous lines and cov- 

 ered three to four inches by means of the plow. (The 

 entire stalk is used for planting instead of the green 

 top as is the general practice elsewhere.) The cane 

 is thus protected from frosts, and in early spring the 

 earth is thrown from each side of the cane by plows, 

 a process termed " off-barring," and hoes are em- 

 ployed to remove all but a slight covering of earth 

 from the stalks. Being thus left on a narrow, well- 

 drained ridge, the eyes germinate earlier than they 

 otherwise would. After the cane has come up well, 

 the fertilizer is applied and the earth returned to the 

 cane. The cultivation from that time on is carried out 

 by means of the disk cultivator, and an implement to 

 loosen the earth in the middles between the rows. 

 This treatment is carried on until the cane has reached 

 a sufficient growth to render the continuance of the 

 work with these implements no longer advisable. 

 Hand hoeing is resorted to in removing weeds and 

 grass from between the stools of cane. 



Harvesting and Planting. There are as yet no 

 harvesting implements in commercial use, though sev- 

 eral have been patented, and work is under way to 

 bring them to the degree of perfection which is neces- 

 sary for their adoption. At present the cane is cut 

 by hand knives and it is a laborious process. It con- 

 sists of cutting off the green portion at the top, strip- 

 ping the leaves from the stalk, and severing it at the 

 base. 



Many of the plantations are now using mechanical 

 loaders to place the cane in the wagons for transpor- 

 tation to the factory. Hoists, derricks, and devices 

 of various types are employed to transfer the cane 

 from the wagons to railroad cars, and also for loading 

 it upon the carrier at the factory, and hand labor is 



