HOCKINGS' GARDEN MANUAL. 



157 



Soil : Heavy soil produces the best return ; but it 

 grows well in the lighter soils, and they are easier cul- 

 tivated. 



Cultivation : The land should be well worked, to 

 prepare it for this crop. 



Sowing : After the prepared land has been again 

 ploughed and harrowed, if the soil is damp in the be- 

 ginning of September, sow the seed broadcast at the 

 rate of 35 or 40 lbs per acre, harrowing it in and rolling 

 the surface. During the first two months the crop 

 must be well cleaned once or twice, and the horse-rake 

 may be passed over it to loosen the surface and destroy 

 the young weeds. The crop is ripe in about ninety 

 days, and should be cut without delay, or some of the 

 lower leaves will fall and be lost. The appearance of 

 the ripe plant must be learned by experience. 



Manufacture : An interesting paper on this subject, 

 written by an indigo-planter, will be found in the 

 Queenslander newspaper of November, 1873. 



THE SUGAR-CANE. 



The the ten years which have elapsed since the ap- 

 pearance of the first edition of this work, have sufficed 

 to establish the sugar industry as one of the most 

 important in the colony. And as the cultivation of 

 the sugar-cane is now more generally understood, it will 

 not be necessary to give any very minute instructions 

 on the subject. 



Forty or fifty varieties of cane have been introduced 

 and tested ; but these have been grouped in classes, and 

 are generally spoken of as ribbon, Bourbon, and purple 

 canes. The Bourbon and purple canes are easier to 

 trash than the ribbon. In coming to maturity the 

 purple canes are earliest, ripening in from ten to fifteen 

 months ; the Bourbons follow next in rotation, and the 

 ribbons last. 



