272 The Sugar-Beet in America 
In these furrows the cane is planted, and they also serve 
as carriers for the irrigation water later. Water is ap- 
plied soon after planting and at intervals of about a week 
throughout the growing period. 
CULTURAL METHODS 
The cane stalk is so cut in joints that there will be at 
least one bud on every joint; these are dropped in the 
furrow end to end, as shown in Plate XXX, with a slight 
lapping to insure a good stand. The upper part of the 
stalk, not suited for anything else, is usually planted. 
They are covered with one inch to an inch and a half of 
soil, and carefully watered in order to promote an early 
sprouting. Cultivation is also begun and continued as 
long as the plants permit. In some parts of the tropics, 
practically no care is given the cane after it is planted ; 
it is allowed to yield from year to year whatever nature 
will produce unaided. 
In some sections, fresh plantings are made for every 
crop, but a more common practice is to allow “ratooning,”’ 
or a growing up from the roots. When this is done, a 
furrow is plowed along the row after cutting to help in 
aérating the soil, and a fresh growth begins at once. 
When but one year of growth from the roots is practiced, 
it is called a “short ratoon”; when the growth is con- 
tinued two or three years or longer, it is called a “long 
ratoon.” In Hawaii it used to be the practice to plant 
every crop, but now ratooning two or three crops is more 
common. In Cuba the crop is ratooned for long periods, 
sometimes twenty years or more. i 
