IMPROVEMENT OF THE SUGAR CANE. 113 
and I will now briefly treat of the temporary improve- 
ment of the yield by means of manures. 
Using the term manure in a wide sense, we, in this 
colony, must include among manures certain substances 
whose a@tion lies not so much on the plant as on im- 
proving the texture and condition of the soil. Of these 
the most important and, praétically, the only feasible 
agent for us on a heavy clay land, is lime. 
Lime.—Although very many experiments on the large 
scale have been made, especially in this colony, with 
lime, but very few results are on record. In faét, I can 
only find fully recorded those of the Colonial Company 
by Mr. SCARD and those at the Botanic Gardens. Pri- 
-vately Dr. STuBBS of Louisiana has informed me that 
he has used lime in very varying proportions on sugar 
cane fields but without any apparent benefit. I have 
known it used in Barbados and in St. Vincent with 
results which gratified the planter; I have also known it 
used in those islands with results which were produ€tive 
to him of a€tual loss. But when one knows the differ- 
ences which occur in the soils of those islands, the varying 
results are capable of easy explanation. 
On the heavy clay soils of this colony lime would be 
expected to be a universally beneficient agent, but ex- 
perience has shown that whilst in many instances its 
use has been attended with marked benefit, in others 
it has done little, if any, good, and its application has 
resulted in financial failure. 
The Colonial Company from their published experiments 
appear to have applied lime at a rate costing $7.00 per 
acre per annum, and taking all the results into consider- 
ation on land not manured, the lime produced an increase 
4 
