10 



Method of imgation of cane. — "Various methods of supplying 

 the water to the cane will suggest themselves to the planter, and 

 methods have to be devised to suit the circumstances. Fig. 2 will 

 illustrate one system where the land is comparatively level and where, 

 as is often the case in Porto Rico, drainage has to be carefully provided 

 for. A is the ditch carrying the water; B and D are small ditches 

 passing through the field at right angles to the rows of cane, a, b, e, tf, 

 etc., and 6"*, jfare drainage ditches. The water is brought down the 

 ditch and into the cane rows, one at a time, on either side, and is 

 allowed to run until it reaches the drainage ditches, which are parallel 

 to the irrigation ditches, when it is cut off and run into the next row. 

 This will be seen by reference to the figure, the water is run into D 

 and from there into row a until it reaches drainage ditch C on one side 

 and jE on the other, it is then stopped and turned into row b, and so on 

 for the whole field. Where the field is not level, it would probably be 

 more convenient to run the irrigating ditches parallel to the drainage 

 ditches, and at a distance of two or three feet. The water is run into 

 the cane rows on one side only and allowed to flow until it reaches the 

 next drainage ditch. Suppose the fall of the land in the figure is from 

 AtoS and £, C, I), and £!, are the drainage ditches, then the water 

 is run in shallow furrows on the lower side of each one of these, and 

 led successively into the cane rows. The appearance of the rows is as 

 represented in the figure, I, m., n, etc., being the bottom of the furrows 

 where the cane is planted and into which water is run. 



