34 BULLETIN 486, V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGBICULTT7KE. 



gig or Florida and about double this price in Louisiana. Good land 

 well located for citrus fruits would command higher prices, and con- 

 sequently would hardly be used for cane. Additional allowance 

 must be made for the investment in improvements. To cover the 

 interest on the land investment, together with expenses for upkeep, 

 taxes, etc.. the farmers in computing the cost of production of the 

 cane in sections east of Louisiana must allow about $2 to $4 an acre 

 as the annual rent for the land. 



The implements required in the present practices in these localities 

 are about the same as for other field crops, e. g., corn or cotton, and 

 usually include small and large turnplows, middle breakers, harrows, 

 a weeder, various forms of 1-mule cultivators with one or more points, 

 a fertilizer distributor, and wagons; also hand implements, including 

 hoes, shovels, etc. About the only special implements required for 

 the cane are the cane knives and the stripping tools. Under such cir- 

 cumstances as have been suggested under the headings " Preparation 

 of the land " and " Cultivating the cane " the farmer may add to his 

 equipment a disk plow, a subsoiler, and 2-horse cultivators. There is 

 thus to be charged to the sugar cane for implements such proportion 

 of the total equipment of the farm as the area of sugar-cane land 

 bears to the total area of cultivated land on the farm, or somewhat 

 more, because the cane requires more work. The same may be said 

 of the equipment in the line of work animals. In computing the cost 

 of production of the cane in this bulletin the interest on the invest- 

 ment for work animals and implements is presumed to be covered by 

 the expense for mule hire and labor. 



It is proposed in another bulletin to give a detailed discussion of 

 the sirup-making equipment. A summary only can here be given. 

 An equipment very commonly used for small farms with the approxi- 

 mate cost of the several items consists of the following: 



Mill with three rollers, each 1 foot long .$125 



Gasoline or kerosene engine of about 6 horsepower 250 



Evaporator, galvanized iron, 15 feet long and about 42 inches wide, with 



baffle plates and skimming troughs ' 20 



Bricks (about 2,500) and lime (3 barrels) for building the hearth furnace 

 for the evaporator, together with belt, juice receptacle, juice pipes and 



valves, and sirup receptacle 100 



Material and labor for shelter and labor for building the furnace ^ 105 



Total 600 



The capacity of such an outfit would be about 6 barrels per day of 

 12 hours, disposing of one-third to one-half an acre of good cane a 

 day. Assuming a 24-day grinding period, this outfit would suffice 

 for a cane area of 8 to 12 acres. 



For a small acreage, up to 3 or 4 acres, a horse mill and a round- 

 bottom iron kettle outfit are frequently used, especially in old instal- 



