90 



OATS AND OTHER CEREAL CROPS 



by cuttings containing eyes or buds. Two or more continuous 

 lines of these are deposited in an open furrow and these are care- 

 fully covered with a cultivator. In a short time the cane sprouts 

 and grows so vigorously that it soon fills the entire row. The kind 

 of cultivation necessary is the same as that of ordinary maize or 

 Indian corn. The rows should be from five to six feet apart. 



Sugar cane plantation, Louisiana. 



The one planting of cane generally gives two crops. The first is 

 called plant cane and the second rattoon or first-year stubble. 

 Cane will come up every year from the stubble of the preceding 

 crop for fifteen to twenty years, but each succeeding crop grows 

 smaller and smaller, so that it is not good policy to follow such a 

 plan. 



Sirup and Sirup Making. For making sirup the only appara- 

 tus needed is a crushing mill and an evaporating pan or kettle. 

 All that is necessary is careful boiling, constant skimming, and 

 careful straining. In the large sugar mills vacuum pans, clarifiers, 

 centrifugal or whirling machines, pumps, filter presses, and much 

 expensive machinery will be found. When sugar is to be made, 

 the sirup is drawn into a vacuum pan where, after being cooked 

 for some time at a high vacuum, a mixture of sugar and molasses 

 results. This is transferred to a centrifugal machine with sides 



