UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 486 
Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 
WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 
Washington, D. C. 
March 19, 1917 
SUGAR-CANE CULTURE FOR SIRUP PRODUCTION 
IN THE UNITED STATES. 
By P. A. Yodeb, Sugar-Cane Technologist, Office of Sugar-Beet Investigations. 
CONTENTS. 
Introduction 1 
Geographic limits of the sugar-cane industry 
in the United States 2 
The nature of the sugar-cane plant and 
methods of propagation 3 
Varieties of sugar cane 5 
Soil requirements 10 
Manurial requirements 11 
Time and manner of application of fertilizers. 14 
Crop rotation 15 
Page. 
Preparation of the land 15 
Planting 16 
Cultivating the cane 21 
Harvesting 24 
Yield of cane, sugar, and sirup 27 
Storing cane for planting 29 
Insect pests and diseases of cane 31 
Some business considerations in connection 
with the sugar-ca ne and sirup industry 33 
Utilization of by-products 43 
INTRODUCTION. 
In the preparation of this bulletin the aim has been to present a 
description of the practices at present in vogue among the better 
class of farmers engaged in the production of sugar cane in the 
localities where sirup is the main product of the cane. It is in- 
tended primarily for those readers who are not already familiar with 
the farm operations employed in sugar-cane culture and sirup mak- 
ing. The present bulletin will be confined mainly to the consideration 
of field conditions and practices and to the farm-economics phase of 
the industry. The subjects of insect pests and diseases of the sugar 
cane will be discussed only briefly, as other publications of the United 
States Department of Agriculture deal with these more particularly. 
The scope of this bulletin is not intended to cover the making and 
the marketing of the sirup, though some reference to these factors 
needs to be made in dealing with the farm-economics phase of the 
subject, such as the cost of the production of the cane and the sirup 
and the profits accruing therefrom. 
Incidentally the sugar-cane industry will be considered in its re- 
lation to other farm operations, and some of the general problems 
arising will be noted and suggestions made as to their solution. 
63779°— Bull. 486 — 17 1 
