199 



(more or less, depending upon the character of soil) into the drain- 

 age waters, and be lost. Sugar cane grows very little during the win- 

 ter, and is, therefore, incapable of utilising much nitrate. Will, there- 

 fore, the benefits accruing to the cane be more than counterbalanced hj 

 the losses from nitrification and subsequent leaching ? 



Again, it may be said that in fall or winter planting of cane, the good 

 judgment of the planter must be used in determining whether fertiliser! 

 shall be simultaneously applied. In spring planting, no doubts exist ai to 

 the advisability of placing a small quantity of readily available fertiliser 

 directly under and near the cane, provided two applications can be made 

 — the other in the month of May. If, however, only one application ig 

 feasible, let this be made at the time of planting in the spring. It is 

 too necessary to give a vigorous start to a young plant, to withhold man- 

 ures until you have a stand. (^) Usually the more perfect the incorpo- 

 ration of a manure in a soil, the better the results to be expected, and 

 therefore, in countries where short seasons and flat culture prevail, 

 manures are usually broadcasted and thoroughly mixed with the soil 

 before planting Such a procedure here would be reckless in the ex- 

 treme. The character of our lands and the methods of preparation and 

 cultivation, forbid broadcast manuring. The manure must be deposited 

 in an open drill. Into this drill it should be broadcasted, and machines 

 which deposit fertilisers in continuous rolls should be amended by a 

 shaker placed just below each sprout, so as to scatter the fertiliser with- 

 in the open furrow. After scattering, the fertilizer should be well 

 mixed with the soil by a fluke or double mould broad plough. 



1 n the spring, after the cane is closely off-barred, the fertiliser, if not 

 applied at planting, should be scattered on both sides of the plant, from 

 the centre of row to the off-barred furrow. In reversing the furrow, 

 the manure is covered, and subsequent cultivation v^^ill mix the latter 

 with the soil If the cane has received the first application at plant- 

 ing, the second one should be given in May on both sides of the row, 

 off-barring lightly with a one-horse plough at a distance on each side of 

 at least one foot from the centre of the row of plants. 



STUBBLE CANE 



should not be fertilised very long before each sprout has sent out its own 

 rootlets, since prior to this no good could be accomplished, and there 

 would be a waste of manure. The quantity to be used under both 

 plant and stubble cane, has already been discussed. 



Upon a pea fallow, plant cane requires but little nitrogen and goodly 

 .quantities of phosphoric acid. Tney should be used m the proportion 

 of at least one of nitrogen to two of phosphori? acid. An acid phos- 

 phate, containing 14 per cent, of phosphoric acid, mixed with an 

 equal quantity of cotton seed meal, will give a mixture containing these 

 proportions. On succession" cane, nitrogen should be largely increased 

 for reasons given elsewhere, and may sometimes reach with propriety 

 two of nitrogen to one of phosphoric acid. This is very nedrly the 



(5) In most parts of th« West Indies an effort is made to apply either a green 

 dre*8ing or an application of pen manure, (farm yard manure,) to the fields during 

 the preparation for planting ; where this ii done a good supply of available plant 

 food will exist in th« soil ready for the nourishment of the young rootlets of th» 

 .oane. 



