158 AGRICULTURE 



the water furrow of certain rows and covered with earth. 

 In the spring these are taken up and planted (Fig. 104). 

 Farther north cane for planting is kept over winter in 

 beds or heaps covered with earth. In these cooler re- 

 gions it is usual to dig, rather than to cut, cane intended 

 for planting. 



Preparation and cultivation. In Louisiana a field to be 

 planted in cane the next year is planted this year in corn, 

 and cowpeas are sown thickly among the corn. The en- 

 tire growth of cowpeas is turned under by the use of im- 

 mense plows. This enriches the land by furnishing vege- 

 table matter and nitrogen. Sugar cane is then grown on 

 that field two or three years. On the sandy soils of the 

 southern portion of Georgia and Alabama, a crop of velvet 

 bean vines is sometimes plowed under to enrich the soil 

 for the succeeding crop of sugar cane. 



On the stiff soils of the sugar cane plantations of Louisi- 

 ana the main need is drainage. The land there is plowed 

 into high ridges 5 to 6 feet wide, and rather deep parallel 

 ditches are dug a few rods apart. In other states sugar 

 cane is grown chiefly on sandy bottom land. North of 

 the sugar belt the cane is planted early in spring, using 

 either a single or a double line of canes in each row. 

 Cultivation must be shallow and frequent. 



Soils and fertilizers for sugar cane. Every green leaf 

 throws off into the air moisture brought up from the soil. 

 Hence to supply enough water for such a large leaf sur- 

 face as a cane field presents, the soil must be well sup- 

 plied with moisture. No common crop needs more water. 

 Bottom lands, therefore, are generally best for cane. 



