SUGAR PLANTS 



81 



and harvest of cane, and the manufacture of 

 sugar. 



During the ten months between the planting 

 and harvesting of sugar-cane it is kept free from 

 weeds, and the soil mellow to retain moisture. The 

 fields must be irrigated if good crops are demanded 

 in regions of insufficient rainfall. The lower 

 leaves are often stripped to let in the sun, and 

 make the canes stand up better. When tests 

 indicate that the time for cutting has arrived, the 

 men go into the harvest with machetes, or other 

 stout knives. The stalks are cut near the ground, 

 for otherwise much sugar would be lost. The 

 part of the field earliest to get a start in spring is 

 the one earliest ready for the knife. This is fortu- 

 nate, for the canes cut must be crushed in the mill 

 soon afterward, or they will quickly deteriorate. 



The growth in the cane brake is tremendously 

 heavy, and for this reason the most enlightened 

 planters take advantage of inventions that carry 

 the canes to the mill. Barges, if water is near, 

 trolleys, lines of railroad with open cars, even 

 flumes, are means of transportation made use of 

 to save expense in time and human muscle. 



The improvement of machinery from the puny 

 wooden wheel crushers, driven by mule or buffalo 

 power, that left a large percentage of the sugar in 



