V SUGAR CANE 14I 



When farm yard manures are obtainable, they will supply 

 all the necessary constituents for the cane, but it is rarely 

 that sufficient are available, and it is necessary for the sugar 

 planter to make up for the drain on the land by the applica- Special 

 tion of special manures, such as guano, gypsum, &c. In all '"^""'■es. 

 cases of cane cultivation on a large scale, it is advisable that 

 the planter should have samples of his soil, both surface and 

 sub-soil, analysed in order that he may know what of the Analysis of 

 constituents of the ash of the cane are absent or deficient in ^'\^?°'' 



advisable. 



quantity and what proportion are in a condition to be avail- 

 able for plant food. He can then supply the deficiency by 

 using a manure, rich in the constituents wanting in his soil. Select the 

 But to apply manures haphazard, is to run the risk of throw- minures. 

 ing away money in purchasing what the soil does not require ; 

 and, therefore, what is utterly useless. 



Manufacture of Sugar. — Two principal kinds of sugar Two kinds 

 are now made in the West Indies, namely, raw or muscovado 

 and crystals. The muscovado sugar is shipped to Euiope 

 and North America, and there it is, for the most part, con- 

 verted into loaf sugar in the various refineries. The crystils "Crystals." 

 go to the consumer without any further preparation ; a.id 

 as they are made only on large estates by complicated 

 machinery, it would be out of place to give a sketch of the 

 process in this book. Muscovado, or raw sugar, is prepared Muscovado 

 on the smaller properties ; and, in those colonies where the 

 sugar industry has not attained to very large proportions, 

 it is the only kind made. The various stages in the manu- 

 facture are well known to most persons in the West Indies, 

 and it is only necessary to allude to it briefly here. 



The ripe canes are brought to the mill in such quantities 

 that the manufacture can keep pace with the cutting, for the 

 juice is exceedingly fermentable, and it must therefore have ^he cane 

 heat applied to it for the purpose of clarification as soon as juice fer- 

 it leaves the mill. Various kinds of mills are used, some easily, 

 with the rollers placed vertically and others with them Mills. 



