4 BULLETIN 1370, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
it can not be cultivated, and without cultivation it is not porous 
enough to give the aeration needed for normal plant growth. Heavy 
or stiff clay lands may be greatly improved by heavy applications of 
humus-forming material, such as barnyard manure or green crops 
plowed under. So treated they may return big crops of cane. The 
quality of sirup made therefrom, however, is likely to be poor. 
A sandy-clay loam, a mean between sandy soil and heavy clay soil, 
is best for sugar cane. The sand makes the soil porous enough for 
aeration and drainage, easy to cultivate, and warm early in the spring. 
The clay supphes mineral plant-food constituents and enables the 
soul to retain them and moisture. ! 
Rich dark loam soils are among the best for big yields of cane, but 
they are not suitable for cane to be grown for fancy sirup. The 
very rich dark alluvial soils of the Mississippi River delta and the rich 
black bayhead soils and pond borders, as well as soils enriched by 
cowpenning or by heavy applications of barnyard manure, give big 
yields of cane. ‘The sirup made with ordinary farm outfits from such 
cane, however, tends to be dark, with a rank flavor, and to contain || 
suspended matter and sediment which has not been removed by | 
skimming. To make a salable sirup from such cane, it 1s necessary 
to subject the juice to a special process of decolorizing and clarifica- 
tion, which is usually convenient and economical only in large 
factories. 
The extent to which appreciation of fine quay in sirup is reflected 
in market prices governs the selection of soil. Sometimes the whole- 
sale prices for a fancy product are not enough higher than those for 
ordinary sirup to compensate for the lower yields on lighter soils. 
Rich dark loam soils will then be sought. Sirup from cane grown on 
such soils, however, is often not suitable for table use. Sirup makers 
who cater to a fancy trade and grow cane on medium sandy-clay 
loam soil, with only moderate applications of fertilizers, can usually 
get a sufficiently higher price for their sirup to compensate for the 
ower yields. 
FERTILIZATION 
The sugar-cane area is usually a relatively small portion of the 
sirup-producing farm, in most cases a mere ‘patch.’ Land where 
soil conditions are best suited for cane can therefore be chosen. 
Thoughtful farmers select the area a year or two in advance, and be- 
fore planting it m sugar cane give it a special preparation. Corn 
and legumes are good crops with which to precede the sugar cane, 
light applications of commercial fertilizer being necessary with the 
corn. On the sandy-loam soils prevailing in most of the cane-grow- 
ing sections, the velvet bean is the favorite leguminous crop. Cow- 
peas may also be used to advantage, especially on the heavier soils. 
The vines of the leguminous crop and ae old cornstalks are turned 
under in the fall to supply more humus. If crops which repay heavy 
application of fertilizer are grown on the farm, it is good practice to 
plant the cane in a field that has been previously thus cropped, so 
that the cane may utilize the residual fertilizer. Thus, if the soil and 
the location with reference to shipping points are suited for water- 
melons or cantaloupes, old watermelon or cantaloupe ground may ~ 
be taken for the cane field. 
Sweet potatoes respond well to heavy fertilization, . especially 
to applications of barnyard manure. Although sugar cane also 
