PORTO RICO EXPERIMENT STATION. 403 



the poor equipment, has given rise to their abandonment. With bet- 

 ter machinery and adequate land drainage, all of these abandoned estates 

 will undoubtedly be again planted to sugar in the course of a few years. 

 The abandonment of these estates has undoubtedly caused an increased 

 activity in the production of live stock, and we find, therefore, that 

 the value of live-stock exports has increased from $142,000 in 1895 to 

 $852,000 for the year 1899. 



The great damage caused to the coffee lands by the cyclone of August, 

 1899, through the excessive washing and consequent depletion of the 

 soil fertility, was a great benefit to the sugar lands. A considerable 

 part of the sediment carried by the deluge of water which spread over 

 and inundated the most of the low lands was deposited there, often to 

 a foot in depth. This rich deposit has in a great measure restored the 

 sugar lands to their former fertility. 



Notwithstanding the prosperous condition of the sugar business and 

 the fact that its management is in a more advanced stage than that of 

 almost any other product of the island, there is still room for great 

 improvement in both its cultural and manufacturing aspect. (See PI. 

 XXXV, figs. 1 and 2.) The cane fields are usually well planted and 

 kept comparatively free of weeds, but the cost of growing an acre of 

 cane laid down at the mill, $40, is much greater than it should be. 

 This price is, of course, for the first year, and includes the cost of plow- 

 ing, planting, and cultivation as well as that of harvesting. It is a 

 common practice to grow several rattoon crops, and these cost much less 

 for production, because no plowing and planting are required. The 

 yield from the rattoon crop, however, is less than for the first crop, 

 and grows less and less each year. It is not uncommon to allow fields 

 to produce four or five consecutive rattoon crops, and instances are 

 recorded where as many as twenty have been grown. A reduction in 

 the cost of planting and harvesting the first crop will tend to reduce 

 the number of rattoon crops, and thereby increase the average yield. 

 The number of rattoon crops allowable depends entirely upon the rela- 

 tive profit to be derived from them. 



The drainage of the cane lands is often insufficient to give good 

 results, and when good drainage is provided it is in the form of open 

 ditches, which are expensive to keep in repair. A more rational, sat- 

 isfactory, efficient, and, in the long run, cheaper method would be to 

 underdrain the cane lands by the use of tile drains. Tile drainage 

 once well installed would last for practically all time to come. It 

 would do away with the annual cost for reconstruction and repairs of 

 ditches, and, besides being more efficient in restoring to cultivation 

 the areas formerly occupied by ditches, it would also facilitate the use 

 of more improved machinery for cultivation. The planting season for 

 cane extends over a considerable portion of the year. The large plant- 



