SUGAR CANE. 



moist earth. From a fortnight to three 

 \veei<s are required for the shoots to 

 show themselves above ground. The 

 space to be left between each clump 

 of plants depends mucli on the fertil- 

 ity of the soil ; in the most fertile 

 soils the distance may be about a 

 yard, or a little more ; and along the 

 rows the spaces may be about eigh- 

 teen inches. Where land is of no 

 great value it is found more advanta- 

 geous to give greater space, and so 

 to favour the access of the air and 

 the lisjht. It is not uncommon to see 

 plantations where the canes are spa- 

 ced at distances of between four and 

 five feet. The time at which the set- 

 ting of the slips takes place cannot be 

 definitively indicated ; it depends en- 

 tirely upon the epoch at which the 

 periodical rains are anticipated. But 

 in places where irrigation is possible, 

 the setting goes on through all the 

 months of the year The holes for 

 the reception of the slips are usually 

 dug with a hoe, and a negro will make 

 from sixty to eigtity holes in the 

 course of a day. When the ground 

 has been previously ploughed, as it is 

 in some of the ^^"est India islands, he 

 will make twice as many. Loose, 

 rich soils, when they have a certain 

 moisture, are the best adapted to the 

 sugar cane : it does not thrive in an 

 argillaceous soil, which drains with 

 difficulty. In these moist soils the 

 slips are not laid horizontally and cov- 

 ered, but with one end projecting a 

 little way out of the ground. When 

 the young shoots are covered with 

 narrow and opposed leaves, watering 

 is particularly advantageous, and the 

 plants are repeatedly hoed until they 

 have acquired sufficient vigour to 

 choke noxious weeds. About the 

 ninth month after the plantation of 

 the slips, the shaft of the sugar cane 

 begins to lose its leaves, the most in- 

 ferior falling first, the others in suc- 

 cession, so that when arrived at ma- 

 turity it only presents a tuft of ter- 

 minal leaves. The flowering gener- 

 ally takes place with the conclusion 

 of the year ; and the cane is held suf- 

 ficiently ripe in from two to three 

 months after this epoch, when the 



stem has acquired a yellow or straw 

 colour. The planters, however, are 

 by no means agreed as to the proper 

 period of the sugar cane harvest ; 

 some even insist upon cutting before 

 the flowering, believing that the (juan- 

 tity of sugardiniiuishes on the api)ear- 

 ance of the flower. It is unijucstion- 

 able, however, that the period that 

 elapses between the planting and the 

 harvest must vary with the nature of 

 the soil, and especially with that of 

 the climate ; while in some places the 

 cane may be cut when it is a year 

 old, doubtless there are others where 

 it requires to stand from fifteen to 

 sixteen months. In Venezuela, where 

 the Otaheite cane is grown at the lev- 

 el of the sea, and where the mean 

 temperature of the year is between 

 81° and 82° Fahrenheit, the cane ri- 

 pens, according to Colonel Codazzi, 

 in eleven months. In districts at 

 greater elevations under the same 

 parallels of latitude, where the cli- 

 mate is of course not so hot, the cane 

 requires a longer time to come to 

 maturity ; where the inean tempera- 

 ture is about 78° Fahrenheit, twelve 

 months are required ; where it is 

 about 74° Fahr., fourteen months be- 

 come necessary ; and where it is no 

 more than about 67° Fahrenheit, six- 

 teen months are requisite. The Ota- 

 heite cane grows to very different 

 heights : in very favourable circum- 

 stances it will reach a height of 16 

 feet and upward, but its general 

 height may be stated at from 9^ to 

 lot feet. Great cane plantations are 

 divided into squares of from 100 to 

 120 yards on the side, each of which 

 coming to maturity in succession, the 

 labour is easily performed, both in re- 

 gard to field-work and the manufac- 

 ture of the sugar. 



" The cane is cut close to the root, 

 and before being carried to the mill 

 the terminal tuft of leaves is struck 

 off. These heads in the green state 

 afford excellent food for horses and 

 cattle : when dry they are used for 

 thatching houses. After the first cut- 

 ting, fresh sprouts arise, which re- 

 quire no other attention than hoeing. 

 In good soils one planting will yield 



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