l r )8 



bookings' garden manual. 



A fair average crop of cane would be about 25 to 26 

 tons, which, at a density of the juice marking 10° 

 Baume, would yield about 3 tons of sugar and 5 cwt. 

 of molasses per acre. 



Soil, dec. : A deep, rich, loamy soil, damp, but not re- 

 tentive of water, is the most suitable for the growth of 

 sugar-cane. The situation should be warm in the 

 southern part of the colony, to guard against injury 

 from frost in severe winters ; and it should be such as 

 to afford shelter from high winds. 



Planting, &c. : The soil should be drained of all 

 stagnant water, at the least six inches deeper than it 

 is intended to plough it ; the depth to which it should 

 be ploughed is eighteen inches ; and on a porous 

 subsoil no drainage will be necessary. To prepare for 

 planting, run a light plough over the land, and mark 

 furrows four feet six inches to five feet apart, and cross 

 furrows at the same intervals. At each intersection of 

 the lines make a hole about two feet long, and a clear 

 foot deep, being two inches wide at the bottom. See 

 that the earth is carefully banked up, so that it will 

 not fall into the holes. All is now ready for planting. 

 The best sets are pieces of healthy, well-grown, ripe 

 cane, containing four well-developed buds and joints ; 

 the smooth, hard covering over the buds, which is part 

 of the foot-stalk of the former leaf, should not be 

 removed. The cane being cut into lengths containing 

 four joints, one may be placed along the bottom of each 

 hole, and covered one inch deep with soil, not deeper. 

 The cuttings should not be exposed to the sun and air, 

 but be planted immediately they are cut. The shoots 

 will generally appear in ten or fourteen days, and, 

 when six inches high, one inch more earth may be 

 carefully drawn on to the sets. Avoid putting too 

 much earth upon them, as it would greatly interfere 

 with their growth and vigor, but gradually fill up the 

 holes as the joints of the cane become visible. In 

 young plantations the hoe should be almost incessantly 



