﻿22 
  ROBERT 
  VEITCH. 
  

  

  cultivation, 
  the 
  interior 
  being 
  one 
  mass 
  of 
  mountains, 
  which 
  not 
  infrequently 
  run 
  

   down 
  to 
  within 
  a 
  mile 
  of 
  the 
  coast 
  line. 
  The 
  most 
  profitable 
  soil 
  for 
  the 
  growth 
  

   of 
  sugar-cane 
  is 
  found 
  on 
  the 
  alluvial 
  flats 
  along 
  the 
  banks 
  and 
  near 
  the 
  mouths 
  

   of 
  the 
  rivers 
  ; 
  between 
  these 
  cultivated 
  river 
  flats 
  and 
  the 
  mountains 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  

   variable 
  quantity 
  of 
  undulating 
  land 
  and 
  foothills 
  on 
  which 
  some 
  cane 
  is 
  grown, 
  

   but 
  only 
  a 
  small 
  percentage 
  of 
  that 
  land 
  can 
  be 
  profitably 
  put 
  under 
  sugar-cane, 
  

   and 
  consequently 
  very 
  little 
  cane 
  is 
  grown 
  at 
  an 
  elevation 
  of 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  hundred 
  

   feet 
  above 
  sea-level. 
  

  

  The 
  cultivated 
  soils 
  may 
  be 
  classified 
  under 
  the 
  following 
  headings 
  : 
  (1) 
  alluvial 
  

   flats, 
  (2) 
  red 
  hill 
  soils, 
  (3) 
  sands, 
  (4) 
  stiff 
  clays 
  and 
  (5) 
  " 
  tiri 
  " 
  or 
  reclaimed 
  salt- 
  

   swamps. 
  The 
  alluvial 
  flats 
  are 
  very 
  rich 
  and 
  give 
  heavy 
  crops 
  of 
  Qane, 
  while 
  the 
  red 
  

   hill 
  soils 
  are 
  deficient 
  in 
  humus 
  and 
  give 
  a 
  light 
  but 
  sweet 
  yield 
  ; 
  the 
  sands 
  give 
  

   good 
  sweet 
  crops 
  in 
  wet 
  years, 
  but 
  in 
  dry 
  seasons 
  the 
  results 
  are 
  frequently 
  poor. 
  The 
  

   stiff 
  clays 
  are 
  difficult 
  to 
  work, 
  and 
  consequently 
  they 
  rarely 
  give 
  good 
  returns. 
  

   The 
  reclaimed 
  salt-swamps 
  vary 
  greatly 
  in 
  physical 
  properties, 
  but 
  are 
  all 
  alike 
  

   in 
  giving 
  only 
  a 
  medium 
  or 
  poor 
  yield 
  of 
  cane. 
  

  

  The 
  season 
  for 
  replanting 
  fields 
  that 
  have 
  been 
  under 
  fallow 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  

   months 
  of 
  the 
  year, 
  while 
  the 
  harvesting 
  season 
  usually 
  commences 
  in 
  June 
  and 
  

   ends 
  in 
  December. 
  

  

  The 
  leading 
  varieties 
  grown 
  are 
  Badila, 
  Malabar 
  and 
  Pompey. 
  Badila 
  is 
  the 
  

   best 
  all 
  round 
  variety, 
  and 
  in 
  1917 
  it 
  constituted 
  97 
  per 
  cent, 
  of 
  the 
  crop 
  at 
  Lautoka, 
  

   97 
  per 
  cent, 
  at 
  Labasa, 
  88 
  per 
  cent, 
  at 
  Rarawai 
  and 
  32 
  per 
  cent, 
  at 
  Nausori. 
  At 
  

   the 
  latter 
  mill 
  Malabar 
  is 
  the 
  leading 
  variety, 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  believed 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  most 
  suitable 
  

   for 
  the 
  poorly 
  drained 
  flats 
  surrounding 
  that 
  mill. 
  Pompey 
  is 
  now 
  being 
  exten- 
  

   sively 
  grown 
  on 
  the 
  second-class 
  lands 
  at 
  Rarawai, 
  and 
  on 
  such 
  soils 
  it 
  seems 
  to 
  give 
  

   a 
  better 
  financial 
  return 
  than 
  Badila. 
  

  

  The 
  general 
  rotation 
  is 
  a 
  25 
  per 
  cent, 
  one, 
  which 
  means 
  that 
  25 
  per 
  cent, 
  of 
  the 
  

   land 
  is 
  under 
  plant 
  cane, 
  25 
  per 
  cent, 
  under 
  first 
  ratoons, 
  25 
  per 
  cent, 
  under 
  green 
  

   fallow 
  and 
  25 
  per 
  cent, 
  under 
  preparation 
  for 
  replanting. 
  Mauritius 
  bean 
  (Stizo- 
  

   lobium 
  aterrimum) 
  is 
  the 
  green 
  fallow 
  crop 
  usually 
  ploughed 
  in, 
  although 
  cowpea 
  

   is 
  also 
  used 
  to 
  a 
  certain 
  extent. 
  

  

  The 
  Cane 
  Beetle 
  Borer 
  (Rhabdocnemis 
  obscura, 
  Boisd.) 
  (fig. 
  1). 
  

  

  The 
  beetle 
  borer 
  has 
  long 
  been 
  known 
  as 
  the 
  most 
  destructive 
  pest 
  of 
  sugar-cane 
  

   in 
  Fiji, 
  where 
  it 
  now 
  constitutes 
  a 
  very 
  serious 
  entomological 
  problem. 
  The 
  available 
  

   evidence 
  indicates 
  that 
  its 
  original 
  habitat 
  is 
  New 
  Guinea, 
  whence 
  it 
  has 
  spread 
  

   to 
  North 
  Queensland, 
  Fiji, 
  Samoa, 
  Tahiti, 
  Hawaii 
  and 
  other 
  islands 
  of 
  the 
  Pacific. 
  

   It 
  is 
  believed 
  that 
  the 
  pest 
  reached 
  Fiji 
  in 
  a 
  consignment 
  of 
  seed 
  cane 
  imported 
  

   from 
  Hawaii. 
  

  

  The 
  borer 
  shows 
  a 
  marked 
  preference 
  for 
  soft 
  rank 
  cane, 
  and 
  as 
  this 
  occurs 
  

   most 
  commonly 
  in 
  the 
  heav}^ 
  crops 
  on 
  rich 
  alluvial 
  flats, 
  it 
  follows 
  that 
  this 
  pest 
  is 
  

   more 
  destructive 
  on 
  such 
  soils 
  than 
  elsewhere. 
  The 
  amount 
  of 
  damage 
  does 
  not 
  

   depend 
  solely 
  on 
  the 
  type 
  of 
  soil 
  on 
  which 
  the 
  cane 
  is 
  grown, 
  for 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  found 
  

   that 
  the 
  susceptibility 
  of 
  the 
  different 
  varieties 
  varies 
  greatly. 
  Badila 
  is 
  a 
  soft 
  

   sweet 
  cane 
  liable 
  to 
  fall 
  and 
  rot, 
  while 
  Malabar 
  is 
  a 
  hard 
  cane 
  with 
  a 
  low 
  sugar 
  

   content 
  and 
  with 
  a 
  less 
  marked 
  tendency 
  to 
  fall 
  to 
  the 
  ground 
  when 
  heavy 
  tonnages 
  

  

  