CULTIVATION OE THE SUGAR CANE. 



should it be necessary to give higher wages during crop 

 time, for the purpose of ensuring continuous and rapid 

 manufacture, we should only be in the position of the 

 British farmer, who necessarily spends more while reaping 

 his harvest, than at other seasons, and, like him, we should 

 command the services of many who never assist in the 

 labours of agriculture, except at such a juncture, but who 

 would lay aside their various vocations to participate in the 

 additional reward for labour, which it would be to the 

 interest of the Planter then to give. And although, by 

 this system, a large force of labourers would be brought 

 into the market at the close of the manufacturing season, 

 there is no fear of running into the opposite extreme — 

 there need be no want of employment. Those persons who 

 possess, or could procure capital, would be able to improve 

 their estates by draining, making roads, &c, which im- 

 provements they cannot now attempt for want of labour ; and 

 as these are operations which they can arrange at their 

 own convenience, they would be able to accomplish them 

 at the cheapest rate — a very different matter from the 

 chance of a crop of ripe canes rotting for want of labourers 

 to take them off, because some more fortunate or less 

 scrupulous neighbour is employing them in digging cane- 

 holes, or weeding young caries, operations which, as we 

 have shown, can be better performed with the plough and 

 the hoe harrow. 



By pursuing this system not only would the cost of pro- 

 duction be immensely reduced, but the crops in time be 



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