30 



BULLETIN 486, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the plows hint. 1 thrown up, and finally hand hoes are employed to 

 cover such gaps as the plows and cultivator failed to cover. At plant- 

 ing time the cane is pulled out of these windrows bj^ the use of a mule 

 pulling a specially constructed implement with prongs or books 

 crosswise of the rows. The storage of cane by banking is similar to 

 windrowing in principle, but the layer of cane is usually deeper and 

 the space covered wider. The depth of the cane in the bank before 

 covering is from 18 to 30 inches and the width from about 5 to 10 

 feet. The length of these banks is governed by convenience. Only 

 the edges can be covered with plows and the center strip of the bank 

 must be covered by hand with shovels. (Fig. 17.) About 1 to 2 

 inches of soil is put on the bank. Some prefer to leave a strip of 

 about 8 inches in the middle of the bank uncovered until colder 

 weather or all winter. At planting time the soil is shoveled off these 



Fig. 17. — A bank of sugar cane in Georgia ready to cover. 



banks and the cane pulled out by hand and stripped of leaves and 

 topped. It is thus seen that banking the cane, while possibly some- 

 what more economical of planting material, requires proportionally 

 much more hand labor, and it can therefore be practiced only where 

 the cane areas are small and the labor available is relatively abun- 

 dant. 



Whether the cane is to be banked or windrowed, it is necessary 

 to take every precaution to see that it is well matured and kept 

 as cool as possible in storage. The nonavailability of labor while 

 harvesting for the mill and the danger from frosts lead the 

 planters usually to store the seed cane before beginning to harvest 

 for the mill, thus sacrificing some in maturity of the cane. Cool, 

 wet days are chosen, if possible, for the work of storing. If it must 

 be banked when the ground is warm and dry, it is advisable to scrape 



