186 SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



Sugar-cane is adapted to tropical or semi-tropical latitudes, the two 

 predominating essentials to growth being warmth and moisture. A mean 

 annual temperature of 70° F. and a minimum annual rainfall of about 60 

 inches are essential to the successful growth of sugar-cane. One of the 

 difficulties in growing sugar-cane is in the control of water. In Louisiana 

 as much as five to seven inches of water may fall during one rain. The 

 problem, then, is to get rid of the excess water before it damages the crop. 

 Good tile drainage is necessary on most of these sugar plantations. If for 

 any reasons, tile drainage is not possible, it is then necessary to depend on 

 surface drainage. 



There are times when irrigation is necessary. The ideal sugar-cane 

 plantation should be equipped with underdrainage as well as irrigation 

 ditches. In Louisiana, scarcely a year passes that irrigation water cannot 

 be used at some time. Irrigation may be used to help prepare the seed-bed, 

 as well as to supply water when needed for the growing crop. 



Varieties of Cane. — Many varieties of cultivated cane are grown 

 in this country. These have been and are being introduced from 

 various parts of the world. The Louisiana Agricultural Experiment 

 Station has arranged the varieties into groups and then under classes as 

 follows: 



Class one — white, green and yellow canes. 



Class two — striped canes. 



Class three — solid colors other than class one. 



In the Louisiana Bulletin No. 129, the variety known as D.74, a light- 

 colored cane, is recommended very highly. It is very high in sugar and 

 outyields by 20 per cent the green or ribbon canes. 



Rotation and Preparation of the Land. — It is not desirable to grow 

 sugar-cane continuously. A common rotation is two years cane and one of 

 corn and cowpeas. The cowpeas are sown in the corn to be plowed down 

 for the benefit of the cane crop which follows. The plowing is generally 

 done in the fall of the year. The land must be plowed very deep, the 

 deeper the better, up to twenty to twenty-four inches. Traction plows are 

 quite generally used, as the work is too heavy for horses. On small plan- 

 tations, heavy mules and disk plows are used to break the soil. 



After the land is plowed it is bedded with a two-horse mold-board plow. 

 This gives surface drainage between each two rows of cane. When ready 

 to plant, the rows are opened with a double mold-board plow. Two or 

 more running stalks are deposited in this furrow and covered by a disk 

 cultivator. 



It has been demonstrated in Louisiana that fall planting gives best 

 results when winter freezing is not too severe and when the seed-bed is 

 properly prepared and drained. Planting may take place any time from 

 the middle of September to the first of April. 



Fertilizers. — Cane is a rank-growing plant and demands the liberal 

 use of fertilizers. Since most of the potash and phosphoric acid removed 



