PART FIRST. 



ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE SUGAR CANE. 



CHAPTER I. 



A DESCRIPTION OF THE METHODS OF CULTIVATION USUALLY 

 PRACTISED IN THE WEST INDIES. 



The old system of cane cultivation is too well known to 

 need description, but for the sake of comparison, I shall 

 briefly advert to it. 



The land under cultivation was generally divided into 

 three or more nearly equal portions, according to the 

 desire of the manager, to ratoon once, or oftener; and 

 soon after the termination of the sugar making season, the 

 preparation of the portion of land to be planted in the 

 beginning of the succeeding year w T as commenced, by 

 putting a gang of negroes with hoes, to break up the sur- 

 face. This was generally done in a very superficial man- 

 ner, as the labourer naturally exerted all his ingenuity to 



give his work the appearance of being well performed, 



c 



