22 THE SUGAK INDUSTRY. 



and tear. Hence the depreciation account of a sugarhouse is a very large item. It 

 will be seen from this how different this industry is from running a refinery on raw 

 sugar the year through, and how different it is from other kinds of manufacturing. 



THE SOIL, BEST ADAPTED TO SUGAR CANE 



is a sandy loam, rich in vegetable matter. The cane does not seed, and since we 

 grow it exclusively for sugar, the draft upon the soil is not heavy, provided the fod- 

 der and tops, the bagasse from the mill, and the ashes from the sugarhouse, are all 

 carefully returned to the soil. But to make a crop profitable, a large amount of ton- 

 nage must be secured. It is nothing unusual to secure a crop of 40 to 45 tons of 

 stripped cane per acre (though 20 tons is a fair average over a large area). Forty 

 tons means fully 70 tons of green matter growing upon one acre of land; and while 

 the per cent of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash is comparatively small, the 

 aggregate of these three ingredients removed from the soil by such a crop is large. 



The cane seems to be specially adapted to soils of an alluvial character on account 

 of the tendency of these soils to make weed. The "raging fertility" of such soils 

 has to be dampened by the growth of just such crops as sugar cane, which is a 

 gigantic grass, before it can be adapted to the growth of cereals or other crops raised 

 exclusively for the seed. Hence, the alluvial lands of Louisiana are peculiarly and 

 singularly adapted to the cultivation of cane. 



THE SOIL IS USUALLY PREPARED 



in the following manner: Thoroughly broken with two to four horse plows, thrown 

 up in beds six to seven feet in width, the middles deeply plowed and opened, and at 

 intervals of short distances, what are termed quarter drains, running at right angles 

 to the rows, are cut, leading into the ditches so that excessive rainfalls may be car- 

 ried off without injury to the soil. This plowing is usually done in the fall; though 

 sometimes, from necessity, it is forced into the spring. 



PLANTING. 



After the soil is well prepared, the rows are opened with a double mold board 

 plow, and the canes are deposited in this furrow two to three continuous canes along 

 the whole length of the row. These canes are then cut with a cane knife to adjust 

 them to the ow, and covered either with a plow, a cultivator, or with a hoe. The 

 planting is done any time between September and April. It is usually done by hand, 

 though we have one or two cane-planting machines that have been experimenting in 

 this line. After the cane has been planted, from each joint where is an "eye," 

 springs a sprout. To assist this sprout in reaching the surface early in the spring, 

 it is customary to scrape off the excess of dirt which was placed on the cane in the 

 fall or early spring in order to protect it against the cold. 



CULTURE. 



After the cane has obtained a "stand, " it is then cultivated, largely after the 

 order of corn, care being taken to preserve always the cane upon a ridge so that the 

 excessive rainfalls of summer may be easily disposed of. It is usually laid by in June 



