CHAPTER VIII 



cane. This work was translated into Dutch and attracted much attention in 

 Java. Reynoso advocated deep cultivation, thorough tillage, and planting in 

 furrows, as opposed to pushing the cane top in a slanting direction into a 

 level field. The system of deep trenches described above is directly due to 

 Reynoso's influence, and is known in Java as the " Reynoso system/' as 

 opposed to the " plough system/' in which the land is ploughed to a depth 

 of about six inches with the native plough. 



Reynoso, however, nowhere writes of planting in deep trenches, and' 

 what is now indicated in Java as the " Reynoso system " goes much further 

 than anything advocated by the learned Cuban agriculturist. 



Planting. The seed cane is usually planted in furrows, made either 

 with the double mould-board plough or with the hoe. These are spaced 

 from four to six feet from centre to centre, and are about two feet deep 

 from top of ridge to bottom of furrow. In Java, as explained above, a deep 

 trench generally takes the place of the furrow, and in Cuba in forest-cleared 

 land no furrow or seed bed is attempted. Usually the cane top is planted 

 at the bottom of the furrow, but in clayey or badly drained soil it may be 

 placed on the top of the ridge, the furrow then acting as a drain. In Demerara 

 no furrow is formed, but the cane is planted in a seed bed formed with the 

 shovel in the centre of the row. In many districts the old method of planting 

 in holes still obtains and is mainly followed in Barbados, Mauritius, and 

 Reunion. Hole planting is also sometimes used in connection with the 

 deep trenches used in Java. The holes are from 15 to 18 inches long and 

 from 8 to 12 inches deep. It is customary to count 3,000 of such holes to an 

 acre. 



Amount of Seed Cane required per Acre. This is, of course, dependent 

 on the number of rows per acre, and whether the seed cane is planted in single 

 or in double lines in the row. In an acre with rows five, six or seven feet 

 from centre to centre, the length of the rows is approximately 8,740, 7,280 

 and 6,270 feet ; taking the cane as weighing eight ounces to the running 

 foot, there will be required 4,370, 3,640 and 3,135 Ibs. of cane respectively 

 if the latter is laid in single rows. 



Width of Row. In general it is the fertility of the soil that determines 

 the most economical width of row ; in very fertile soil, the rows are placed 

 comparatively far apart to allow freedom of growth to the luxuriant crop, 

 and, conversely, as the soil becomes less productive a narrow row gives more 

 economical results. In practice the cane rows are from 3 to 7 feet wide ; 

 in Cuba, according to Reynoso, the standard width is 1-70 metre (5 ft. 6 in.), 

 the rows being the same distance apart. Boname gives the average width 

 of the cane row in Guadeloupe as 1-30 to 1*50 metre (4 ft. 2 in. to 4ft. Qin.). 

 The most economical width of row was the subject of enquiry at Audubon 

 Park Experiment Station, where it was found that the narrower the row the 

 greater was the purity of the juice and the yield of cane, but that in very 

 narrow rows the increased yield of cane was barely sufficient to pay for the 

 extra amount of cane required to plant up a field with narrow rows. Stubbs 2 

 suggests that that width of row which best admits of proper cultivation 

 should be selected, and, following on this argument, five-foot rows have been 

 adopted at Audubon Park. 



