SUGAR-CANE CULTURE FOR SIRUP PRODUCTION. 



23 



obliquely placed, straight, flat cutting bar or two horizontal disks, to 

 cut through the ridge left at the time of barring off and to cut off the 

 partly decayed upper ends of the old rootstocks. Suitable plates on 

 the implement brush the loosened soil into the furrow at the sides 

 and thus leave the tops of the shaved stubbles exposed. This removes 

 from the rows all the weeds and most of the weed seeds and thus aids 

 greatly in keeping the row clean during the early growth of the crop. 

 Later, and before the crop has made much progress in growth, it is 

 advisable to loosen the soil with a special implement, the stubble 

 digger. (Fig. 10.) 



Neither stubble shavers nor stubble diggers have been adopted to 

 any notable extent in the sirup sections east of Louisiana. As to the 

 implements for further cultivation, practice in the sirup sections 

 differs widely from that of the large plantations of Louisiana and 

 from that with other crops in the 

 Northern and Western States. After 

 the preparation of the land, nearly 

 all the work is done with 1-mule 

 implements, using a 1, 2, or 3 point 

 single cultivator in the early cul- 

 tivation (fig. 7, d and e to j) and 

 sweeps for the later shallow cultiva- 

 tion. To one accustomed to the 2- 

 horse or larger implements used in 

 other sections of the country (fig. 

 11), this farming with 1-mule im- 

 plements seems like very inefficient 

 utilization of farm labor. It has a 

 partial justification, however, in the facts that the farms and fields 

 are mostly small; that there are many short rows, especially where 

 they are laid off along contour lines on the hill slopes; that no head- 

 lands for turning around are provided; and, finally, that the wages 

 of laborer and mule are nearly equal. 



When we consider, -however, that not uncommonly the operations 

 of marking the rows, opening the furrows, distributing fertilizer, and 

 covering the cane require altogether eight trips of laborer and single 

 mule along each row, there seems undoubtedly room for improvement 

 in efficiency. Practically the same disproportion of trips per row to 

 the work accomplished exists in the later cultivation in these sections. 



Cultivation generally ceases and the crop is " laid by " about the 

 middle of July or first of August. By this time the crop shades the 

 ground and the rows have spread out until it is impracticable to get 

 through with the single-mule implements. 



Fig. 10. — A type of stubble digger used 

 for sugar-cane tillage in Louisiana. 



