Sugar-Cane 27 
by irrigation. The distribution of moisture is highly 
important, most of it being required during the period of 
rapid growth. A comparatively dry season during ripen- 
ing and harvest is desirable; and in the growing season, 
periods of clear skies and hot sunshine should alternate 
with the rainy periods. 
SOILS AND MANURING 
Because the cane plant is a vigorous feeder, it needs a 
fertile soil for its best growth. When so heavy a crop 
must be supported from the zone that is penetrated by 
the shallow roots of the cane, considerable available plant- 
food is required. If this is not present in the soil, it must 
be added as fertilizer if the highest yield is realized. No 
particular kind of soil is required; any good agricultural 
land that can be well aérated and that has sufficient 
plant-food will raise sugar-cane. Limestone soils are to 
be preferred for this as well as for many other crops. The 
saline condition often found along the coast causes trouble 
with cane, although high yields are sometimes obtained 
in the presence of some salt. A soil high in vegetable 
mold is likely to produce a vegetative growth at the 
expense of sugar formation. 
In some cane-producing sections, fertilizer is added“ 
twice for one crop, the first about planting time and the 
second after growth is well under way. In Hawaii, about 
$25 an acre are spent each year for fertilizers. 
Where irrigation is practiced, the land is laid out with 
furrows about five feet apart and eighteen inches deep, 
running on a contour with the land to prevent washing. 
