608 THE farmers' handbook. 



middle portion of the cane — but then cane is worth £2 per ton, and perhaps 

 a bonus to boot ; and what thrifty grower would think of sacrificing half a 

 ton per acre of good cane for the doubtful advantage of a better crop two 

 years hence 1 Perish the thought ! Use the whole length ; it makes little 

 difference after all! And so the crop that might be -better than its pro- 

 genitor, and that might become the progenitor of better still, is sacrificed 

 once more, and the grower remains in the sphere to which his methods 

 condemn him. 



If anyone considers the situation is exaggerated, let him think about it 

 once more. Let him ask himself how much serious selection he practices in 

 relation to freedom from disease. Obviously debiliated and diseased plants 

 are no doubt avoided, but there is reason to fear that even this is not 

 consistently done. What is wanted is a knowledge of the earlier indications 

 of the presence of disease — in other words, what especially to avoid in this 

 connection. 



The soundness of this doctrine of selection for freedom from disease is 

 dealt with later on. 



The seed or "sets" vary somewhat in size, according to the ideas of the 

 grower, but two or three eyes per plant seem to be the best. Long sets of 

 several eyes are apt to be disturbed by cultivating implements, and this is 

 particularly injurious to the young plant, for it is very tender in the earlier 

 stages and intolerant of rough treatment. One farmer on the Clarence 

 lately affirmed his belief in sets of one eye each, holding that they come up 

 quickest, and that it takes less cane to plant a given area. A crop that he 

 planted on these lines will be watched with interest, but on the whole a 

 longer set seems to have the sanction of experience. Groenewege, discussing 

 the occurrence of gumming in Java, makes the remark that " cuttings with 

 one node only should never be used." 



Damage is often done when the canes are being cut, the ends being 

 shattered and split in such a way as to allow of the entrance of fungi when 

 the sets are placed in the soil. In the early days of the industry this was a 

 matter of small consequence no doubt, but land that has grown cane for 

 many years is now well stored with fungi of various kinds that take 

 advantage of every means of entry. Dr. Cobb found this a most important 

 point in the cane-sick lands of Hawaii, and it may yet acquire significance 

 here. 



Change of Seed. 



Change of seed seems to be desirable with sugar cane as with many other 

 crops, and no doubt this has been one reason for the numerous varieties 

 that have followed one another across the path of the grower. It is 

 universally accepted that sugar cane of one variety should not be followed on 

 the same land with another plant of the same variety, and doubtless 

 experience points definitely that way. Let it be interpolated, however, that 

 if any farmer imagines that change of variety complies with the principles of 

 rotation as good husbandry, he is quite in error. The practice absolutely 

 fails on that score, valuable as it may be for other reasons. 



It is perhaps not out of place to remark here that there is no reason why 

 every variety should " run out " in time and follow the course of those that 

 have " run out " before it. " Run out," it is to be feared, is largely the 

 consequence of farmers' own crude methods of selection and neglect of the 

 sound indication of virility and freedom from disease. In other words, it is 



