16 BULLETIN 486, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



deep plowing, bringing into effective tilth a considerable depth of 

 soil and opening the land for the storage of moisture. A reasonable 

 depth to plow is 8 or 10 inches, with a subsoiler run through the 

 furrow to a depth of another 8 or 10 inches. This deep cultivation 

 is especially advantageous during seasons with periods of drought. 

 In the experimental field at Cairo, Ga., in the season of 1915, the 

 yield was fully twice that of adjacent fields, which could reasonably 

 be attributed in large measure to deeper plowing and subsoiling, 

 coupled with the fact that the season was characterized by very 

 heavy rains in late winter and a drought of unusual severity in mid- 

 summer. With very sandy subsoil, lacking humus, deep plowing 

 may be disadvantageous. With a clay subsoil which previously has 

 always been plowed shallow, it is not advisable to turn up more 

 than an inch of the subsoil at one plowing. It is better to attain 

 the desired greater depth of plowing gradually, through a series 

 of years, giving opportunity meanwhile for the inert subsoil that 

 is turned up to become converted into a productive loam through 

 mixture with surface soil and vegetable mold. 



PLANTING. 



In Louisiana and parts of Florida it is deemed desirable to plant 

 in the fall, as late as is safe to avoid frosts. However, for eco- 

 nomic reasons the fall planting is done somewhat earlier, because 

 after the harvesting for the mill commences the available labor and 

 teams are fully occupied at that work. The fall planting therefore 

 usually stops in the latter part of October, and what is not planted 

 by that time is left to be planted in the spring as soon as the soil 

 is in suitable condition to work and the weather is such as to oc- 

 casion no fear of freezing the cane. In Louisiana this is usually 

 in February or early March. Occasionally there is suitable planting 

 weather in January. In Georgia and northern Florida the planting 

 is almost universally done in the spring. The impression prevails 

 that fall planting leads to an imperfect stand through the spoilage of 

 cane during the winter. In the spring the cane may be selected so 

 as to avoid using the spoiled stalks or portions of stalks. Availa- 

 bility of labor is also in favor of spring planting. 



The advantages of fall planting are threefold : 



(1) There is economy of labor. The cane is taken directly from the field 

 where it is growing to the place where it is planted, thus avoiding the labor 

 of storing it in windrows or banks and later digging it up to plant. (Fig. 5.) 



( l: i There is thought to be less spoilage of cane in the furrows than if 

 planted in the windrows or banks. 



(3) Fall-planted cane gets an earlier start in the spring, resulting in more 

 mature and therefore richer cane at the time of harvesting and a slightly 

 larger yield. 



