Sugar-Cane 271 



by irrigation. The distribution of moisture is highly 

 important, most of it being required during the period of 

 rapid growth. A comparatively dry season during ripen- 

 ing and harvest is desirable ; and in the growing season, 

 periods of clear skies and hot sunshine should alternate 

 with the rainy periods. 



SOILS AND MANTTKING 



Because the cane plant is a vigorous feeder, it needs a 

 fertile soil for its best growth. When so heavy a crop 

 must be supported from the zone that is penetrated by 

 the shallow roots of the cane, considerable available plant- 

 food is required. If this is not present in the soil, it must 

 be added as fertilizer if the highest yield is realized. No 

 particular kind of soil is required ; any good agricultural 

 land that can be well aerated and that has sufficient 

 plant-food will raise sugar-cane. Limestone soils are to 

 be preferred for this as well as for many other crops. The 

 saline condition often found along the coast causes trouble 

 with cane, although high yields are sometimes obtained 

 in the presence of some salt. A soil high in vegetable 

 mold is likely to produce a vegetative growth at the 

 expense of sugar formation. 



In some cane-producing sections, fertilizer is added 

 twice for one crop, the first about planting time and the 

 second after growth is well under way. In Hawaii, about 

 $25 an acre are spent each year for fertilizers. 



Where irrigation is practiced, the land is laid out with 

 furrows about five feet apart and eighteen inches deep, 

 running on a contour with the land to prevent washing. 



