SUGAR-CAN K CULTITRK I'OK SIHIJI' I'liOl) I 'CTJO X . 



17 



The spacing between the rows varies from about 4 to G feet. In 

 the rich soils of Louisiana the usual spacing is 5£ to 6 feet. In 

 southern Georgia 4-J feet is the most common spacing. The more 

 rapidly the cane grows and the longer the growing season, the wider 

 may be the spacing. It is desired that by midsummer, at laying-by 

 time, the crop shall shade the ground well. 



On the flat plantations in Louisiana, with the fields divided by 

 permanent headlands and drainage ditches, it is customary to plow in 

 beds, maintaining the same rows and consequently the same spacing 

 from year to year. On the rolling uplands of southern Georgia and 

 adjacent States there is need of special precautions against soil erosion. 

 Besides terracing the land on the hill slopes, the rows are usually run 

 on contour lines or so as to give them a fall of only 4 to 6 inches per 

 hundred feet. If the field is terraced these terraces afford the neces- 



Fig. 5. — Stripping the sugar cane out of the bank ready for spring planting. 



sary guide lines. If it is not terraced it is most advantageous to 

 run guide lines every 3 to 5 feet of vertical rise in advance of laying 

 off the rows. This may be done rapidly and very satisfactorily by a 

 crew of three persons, using a small telescopic level, a suitable leveling 

 rod, and a 1-mule marker. The man with the level directs the rod- 

 man up or down the hill slope until he has the proper altitude for 

 the guide row that is to be run. (Fig. 6.) The rodman then steps 

 off a distance of about 50 yards approximately on a level along the 

 hillside. The man with the level again directs him up or down the 

 slope until he has an elevation of 6 to 8 inches higher or lower than 

 at the previous station. They thus locate a series of stations about 

 50 yards apart, each varying 6 to 8 inches in elevation from the pre- 

 ceding. The man with the marker meanwhile follows immediately 

 behind the rodman, marking the gradually rising or falling contour 

 63779°— Bull. 486—17 3 



