CANE SUGAR. 



soils the cane is often planted on the top of the furrow ; a section of the field 

 in the two cases will then appear as in Fig. 1^1. Where irrigation is used the 

 furrow is made to follow the contour of the field. 



In some places, notably Barbados, Reunion, and Mauritius, the cane is 

 planted in holes ; these holes are from fifteen to eighteen inches long and eight 

 to twelve inches deep and wide ; the cane top or often two tops are placed in 

 this hole and covered with a layer of soil ; not infrequently the hole is filled 

 with stable manure upon which the top is planted ; in Mauritius it is customary 

 to count 3000 of such holes to the acre. This method of planting is one that 

 entails considerable manual labour, but in Mauritius it is not unjustly claimed 

 that canes planted in this way have a secure hold on the soil and are less liable 

 to be damaged in a strong wind than are the canes planted in furrows. 



In Cuba and Barbados a system is common in which the canes are planted 

 in holes made in the soil by driving in a crowbar. 



FIG. 41. 



Amount of Seed Cane required per Acre. This is, of 



course, dependent on the number of rows per acre, and whether the seed cane 

 is planted in single or in double lines in the row. In an acre with rows five, 

 six or seven feet from centre to centre the length of the rows is approximately 

 8740, 7280, and 6270 feet ; taking the cane as weighing eight ounces to the 

 running foot, there will be required 4370, 3640, and 31351bs. of cane respectively 

 if the latter is laid in single rows. 



Reynoso System. The Reynoso system of planting cane frequently 

 referred to in the literature of the cane consists, so far as the writer under- 

 stands it, in planting the cane in parallel furrows spaced equal distances apart. 

 In his classical treatise Reynoso lays stress on the necessity of a proper aeration 

 and tillage of the soil, but his system, properly so called, consists of furrow 

 planting as opposed to planting in squares, as was and still to a certain extent 

 remains the custom in Cuba. 



Zayas System. This system, lately devised by Dr. Zayas in Cuba, 

 consists in planting in rows up to twelve feet apart, and in the continuous 

 cultivation of the soil. Dr. Zayas does not advise the use of artificial manures 

 but of pen manure only ; he also proposes a selective reaping of the crop, the 

 immature stalks being held over. By the use of this system a much longer 

 period of profitable ratoonage is said to be assured to the cane. 



116 



