524 MINOR PRODUCTS OF CEYLON 



soil with the exception of an inch or two at the top. The 

 distances between the lines or trenches, and between the plants in 

 the latter, vary according to variety of cane and conditions of soil, 

 but under average conditions they may be said to be 5 ft. by 4 ft. 

 The cuttings (called "plants") sprout in 10 to 14 days; the first or 

 44 mother" sprout is cut off so as to induce the plant to tiller. 

 Subsequently weeding and forking up of the soil occasionally must 

 be attended to. All dead leaves (called "trash") should be left on 

 the canes in dry weather, but in wet weather or in rich soil they 

 should be removed and left on the ground to rot and form a 

 mulch. 



Harvesting commences in 12 to 14 months from the time 

 of planting, the canes becoming tough and turning a pale yellow 

 colour when ready for cutting. They are cut as close to the 

 ground as possible, for nearer the root the better the sugar 

 content. The roots or stools will continue to crop for at least 

 3 or 4 years, sometimes as many as 8 or more, the subsequent 

 crops being known as ratoons, these being " first," " second," or 

 " third " ratoon, etc., according to the number of crops obtained. 



Yield, etc. Under favourable conditions a good variety will yield 

 30 to 40 tons of canes or more per acre ; but under ordinary 

 circumstances the yield may not be more than 20 to 25 tons, 

 varying according to variety of cane and soil. FAWCETT considers 

 the average yield in Jamaica to be about 22 tons per acre, and 

 LYNE estimates the average yield in Portuguese East Africa to 

 be about 25 tons. The best varieties of cane, under suitable 

 conditions, should give about one ton of marketable sugar for every 

 10 or 11 tons of cane ; thus the crop may vary from 2 or 3, 

 to 4 tons of sugar per acre. The canes are put through machinery, 

 which either crush, macerate, or slice the canes longitudinally. 

 The sweet saccharine juice is afterwards submitted to processes of 

 clarifying (in which unslaked lime is used to neutralise the acids), 

 then heating, filtering, bleaching, etc. The fibrous material left 

 after the juice is extracted is known as 4t megass," which is used 

 as fuel for the machinery. Raw- sugar or 44 muscovado" is boiled 

 and clarified to form crystallized or white sugar, and this is at 

 once ready for the consumer. To make loaf or lump sugar, the 

 muscovado is exported. Molasses and treacle, from which rum is 

 made, are the uncrystallizable product drained from the muscovado 

 or raw-sugar. 



VARIETIES. Numerous varieties are in cultivation, and 

 in recent years many seedling varieties, which considerably 



