CANE SUGAR. 



" Where rain is abundant the soil should be light and porous ; if rains are 

 scanty a too light soil will dry rapidly, and vegetation will be checked ; the cane 

 will not completely die, but in place of giving large stalks, rich in sugar, it will 

 produce small, dry, hard and woody stalks. With a relatively dry climate a heavy 

 soil will give good returns if the rains are evenly distributed. 



" With a rainfall of 5 to 6 metres (197 to 236 inches) a sandy soil, draining 

 easily, will give an abundant return with a high consumption of manure. A clay 

 soil, especially if it is situated on a plain, will be constantly saturated with stagnant 

 water, which will prevent the aeration of the soil ; canes will develop feebly, and 

 their roots will rot little by little, leading to the death of the stalk. 



" Some alluvial earths produce a luxuriant vegetation in wet years. The 

 canes are very fine, but very watery. 



" Other things being equal, a calcareous clay soil not excessively light will 

 give sweeter canes than a clay containing vegetable debris, but the yield will 

 generally be less abundant. If the rains are sufficient and conveniently divided, 

 returns both for the cultivator and for the manufacturer will be excellent. If the 

 season is wet the advantage will remain with the lighter soils, whilst if it is dry 

 the canes will suffer much and will afford stunted and woody stalks. 



" High and almost constant results will be obtained with irrigation and porous 

 soils ; for the growth can be regulated at will, and conducted in a fashion so as to 

 obtain the maximum cultural and industrial return, promoting the size of the cane 

 and its leaf development in the first stages of its growth and without intermission, 

 until the time arrives when it is necessary to develop the juices formed at an 

 early stage." 



Reynoso 3 says : 



<c Experience has shown that lime is a necessary element in the constitution of 

 soils most appropriate to the cane ; in calcareous soils not only are the most robust 

 canes grown, but these also afford juices richest in sugar from which is easily 

 extracted the desired product. These soils are both of 'great return and very 

 sacchariferous,' but it must not be forgotten that lime is but one element which, 

 associated with others, forms good soils." 



The nature of the soil has a profound and imperfectly understood effect 

 on the sugar cane, considered in its varietal aspect ; a variety which succeeds 

 on, say, a heavy clay may be a failure on a sandy soil. This point has been 

 very prominent in connection with the new seedling varieties, so much so that 

 the success of a seedling on one type of soil is no evidence that it will be 

 successful on another, even when climatic conditions are little changed ; the 

 seedling B. 208 is a case in point. 



Special Points in regard to Cane Soils. The cane has 

 been accused of being a haliophile plant, and in certain districts, such as 

 British Guiana, and the Straits Settlements, it is grown in soils containing a 

 notable proportion of salt ; this point is reflected in some analyses of the cane 

 ash collected in a subsequent Chapter, some of which show large percentages 

 of sodium chloride. This point has been very thoroughly discussed by 

 Geerligs, 4 whose results show that while the cane can grow normally on such 

 soils, it is in no way benefited, and cannot be considered as haliophilous. 



Du Beaufret 5 states that in French Guiana cane soils are renovated by 

 periodic floodings with sea water. 



46 



