494 SOUTHERN FIELD CROPS 



season. W. C. Stubbs says that the best soil for sugar- 

 cane should be capable of holding 25 per cent of its weight 

 of moisture. 



In a hilly country alluvial bottoms make the best soil 

 for sugar-cane, provided they are well drained, and the soil 

 somewhat sandy, but fertile. Especially in the northern 

 part of the region where sugar-cane is grown, a stiff or 

 poorly drained soil is unsuitable for this plant. On such 

 soils, the yield of cane and the quality of the sirup are 

 unsatisfactory. 



Soils for sugar-cane should be fertile, and well supplied 

 with vegetable matter. 



Stubbs states that the soils of the sugar-belt of Louisiana con- 

 tain on an average 



Lime 0.5 per cent 



Potash 0.4 per cent 



Phosphoric acid 0.1 per cent 



He calculates that if the entire growth were removed from the 

 land, a soil of this composition contains enough of the above 

 fertilizer constituents for the following number of crops, each of 

 25 tons of cane, besides tops and leaves : 



Nitrogen for 70 crops 



Phosphoric acid for . . . . . . 150 crops 



Potash for . .... ...... 333 crops 



Lime for 1250 crops 



As a matter of fact, the yield would decline to an unprofitable 

 amount long before any one form of plant-food would be com- 

 pletely exhausted. 



476. Uplands for cane. Most of the uplands on which 

 sugar-cane is sometimes grown east of the Mississippi 

 River are much more sandy, and hence much more de- 



