SUGAR-CANE 



SUGAR-CANE 



605 



about the great value of the improvements already 

 effected. Reports show that disease-resistant varie- 

 ties have been produced, and the analysis of cer- 

 tain seedlings in their first, second and succeeding 

 years, indicate that the sucrose content of sugar- 

 cane can be increased in much the same way as 

 illustrated in the recent history of the sugar-beet. 



Varieties. 



There has been no satisfactory study of the 

 varieties of cane, and, in consequence, there is no 

 satisfactory system of classification of the varie- 

 ties. The division most usually spoken of by plant- 

 ers, and that which may therefore be inferred to 

 be the one they find 

 most useful, is based 

 on the color of the 

 stalk. Three color- 

 groups are recognized: 

 (1) the green and yel- 

 low group, in which 

 the stalk is more or 

 less uniformly green 

 or yellow; (2) the red 

 group, in which the 

 stalk, is more or less 

 uniformly reddish in 

 color; and (3) the 

 striped group, in which 

 the stalk is more or 

 less distinctly striped. 

 This grouping is 

 wholly, or almost 

 wholly arbitrary, and 

 presents little to rec- 

 ommend it from a 

 scientific standpoint, 

 varieties 



est and best plowing is accomplished with steam 

 plows, the depth reached within economic limits 

 being eighteen inches to two feet. Sometimes sub- 

 soil tools are alleged to go below two feet, but that 

 is rare. The limitations are often determined by 

 the nature of the subsoil, which in some localities 

 is such that it is inadvisable to turn it up to the 

 surface except in small quantities. In some volcanic 

 soils, for example, the iron compounds in the sub- 

 soil are injurious to the growth of cane. 



Good surface tillage after plowing pays as well 

 with cane as with any other crop. ■ All the labor- 

 saving implements connected with big-scale agri- 

 culture are in use in some regions. 



Fig. 832. 



Hauling sugai-cane from field in wagons. In the old days all cane was 

 handled in this way. 



With the multiplication of 

 following on the production of new 

 crosses, it is to be hoped that increased knowledge 

 will result in improvements in nomenclature. It is 

 manifest that the color scheme mentioned above 

 includes in its striped division canes so closely 

 related to each of the other divisions as to require 

 its division into two coordinate parts, each on a 

 par with the uniformly colored divisions. Many 

 other objections to the above classification might 

 be pointed out. The great objection to the system 

 is that it leads to the assumption that striped 

 canes, for example, have some important property 

 in common, which is far from being necessarily the 

 case. 



Culture. 



Soil. — Soil that is good for average agricultural 

 purposes is good for cane. It should be naturally 

 well drained, or if not, drainage should be provided. 

 It is usual to provide drainage by means of open 

 ditches, comparatively little cane land being 

 drained by means of tiles. Soils naturally acid are 

 frequently corrected by the application of lime, 

 and often with very profitable results. Exceedingly 

 stony lands are sometimes profitably used. 



The plowing shpuld be deep, the deeper the 

 better, so that the depth is limited only by the 

 kind of plow and the nature of the land. The deep- 



. Fertilizers. — Stable manure is one of the best 

 fertilizers, but it is seldom to be had in sufficient 

 quantity, and artificial manures are widely used. 

 Where animal traction is in use there is much 

 stable manure plowed or harrowed in. When com- 

 bined with irrigation, the application of commer- 

 cial manures may be reduced almost to an exact 

 art. Cane-planters establish their own standards 

 of manure value, and make contracts on the basis 

 of their own analyses, less often making use of 

 state fertilizer control. The proportion of the dif- 

 ferent elements used in the fertilizers is influenced 

 to a large extent by the peculiar nature of the 

 industry, which consists of extracting from the 

 crop' and sending away from the plantation only 

 the sugar, a carbohydrate containing none of the 

 three most valuable elements in manure, namely, 

 nitrogen, phosphorus and potash. The burning of 

 the trash destroys much nitrogenous fertilizer, but 

 the potash and phosphorous compounds remain on 

 the plantation for future use, and if they are not 

 lost through leaching may be utilized over and over 

 in successive crops. It follows that the most com- 

 monly purchased ingredient for cane-fertilizer is 

 nitrogen. The soluble artificial fertilizers are ap- 

 plied in small quantities to the surface and with 

 more or less frequency, according to the require- 

 ments of the crop. The less soluble artificial 

 manures, such as dried blood and fish refuse, are 



