242 
CULTURE OF THE SUGAR-CANE. 
some of the New York implements, and has been 
attended with the most satisfactory results. 
In preparing the land for cultivation, after provid¬ 
ing a sufficient number of deep ditches as before 
described (page 173) the surface is deeply turned 
over with four-horse plows. Sometimes this is 
done by a huge plow, called the giraffe, requiring 
six good animals to move it. The intended bed for 
the cane is then excavated to a depth of 4 or 6 in¬ 
ches, with a wide fluke, ox double-mould-board plow, 
leaving a furrow 8 to 12 inches wide. The more 
careful planters then clean out this by hand, and 
place three or four rows of the best plant in paral¬ 
lel lines 4 inches apart, lapping each and arranging 
them so that the eyes which occupy opposite sides 
may germinate horizontally, and shoot upward at 
the"same time, thus giving evenness of growth to 
each stalk. Some planters have occasionally found 
some of their best cane from planting 6 or 8 paral¬ 
lel lines of the tops in each row, but this is an un¬ 
certain result, and is seldom resorted to, except from 
a deficiency of good seed cane. They are then 
covered with light mould. The planting may be 
commenced in December, and should be completed 
early in March. If done during the winter, protec¬ 
tion from frosts requires that they be covered to a 
depth of 4 or 5 inches. On the approach of warm 
weather, this earth is removed within an inch or 
two of the cane, at which depth it is covered if the 
planting is deferred till this time. This is done to 
j promote early germination, which is of great im- 
; portance to secure a satisfactory maturity of the 
: cane in this climate. 
After the young shoots appear, the fine earth is 
gradually brought around and over it, and the plow 
is used for turning the furrow towards the rows. 
This operation is repeated as often as is necessary 
' to keep the land sufficiently light and clear of weeds, 
and gradually lead the soil to the roots. When 
the cane has acquired sufficient growth to shade the 
ground, the final operation of ridging up, or laying 
by the crop, is performed with the plow and hoe. 
The cane ought to be so forward as to admit of this 
by the middle of June. The depressions between 
each row, when thoroughly cleansed, serve as 
drains for the surplus water. During all this time 
the minute spaces between the plants are kept per¬ 
fectly free, of weeds by the use of the hand hoe. 
The cultivation of the rattoons, which are the 
second, or any subsequent year’s growth after plant¬ 
ing, is somewhat different in the earlier operations. 
The trash, or cane-tops, are thrown upon the rows 
when cut, in the autumn, and allowed to remain as 
a protection against frost, during the winter. On 
the approach of spring, they are raked off. Many 
then use a cumbersome machine for paring and re¬ 
moving the top earth of the rows of cane, to give 
access to the sun, and cut close to the healthy, 
vigorous part of the plant; and to give early growth, 
the earth is also barred off or removed by running 
the land-side of the plow as near the roots as pos¬ 
sible without injury. If not previously done with 
the machine, the tops are then cleared off with the 
hand hoe as near to the crown of the cane as may 
be done without risk from frost, say within an inch 
or less. The subsequent operations are similar to 
those with plant cane. 
In the East and West Indies, Mexico and other 
climates not subject to frost, the cane will continue 
to thrive for 10 or 12 years from a single planting; 
and even in Louisiana and especially on new land, 
in its southern extremity, it will occasionally pro¬ 
duce 4 or 5 years, and sometimes longer, from the 
original stock. Col. White informs me his rattoons 
have sometimes produced as fully in the eighth 
season as during any previous one. This, however, 
is a rare exception in this climate, and from the 
rapid decline in products, after the third year, it has 
become a general system in the State, to allow the 
cane to remain in the ground three years, one as 
lant cane, and two as rattoons. Where the land 
as been planted for many years and become some¬ 
what exhausted of its original vegetable matter, it 
is usual to throw out one-fourth of the land for 
rest or renovation, when corn and the cow-pea is 
planted with whatever manure is at. hand. The 
corn and a few of the peas are gathered, and the 
remainder plowed in; or the whole ground is sown 
with peas, when, if turned in before fully ripe, the 
season is sufficiently long to mature two crops, 
which with the luxuriant growth they afford, makes 
a large addition to the carbonaceous matter in the | 
soil. Two crops of corn, thickly drilled or sown 
broad-cast, may be matured sufficiently for this pur¬ 
pose, in a season, and would probably yield a greater 
quantity of vegetable nutriment for successive 
crops. 
The amount of the salts or inorganic matters 
taken from the soil by the cane is so small that ex¬ 
haustion from its continued cultivation on rich 
lands is very slow, and even this can doubtless be 
prevented, by burying the entire plant after expres¬ 
sing the juice. The quantity of plant per acre is fre¬ 
quently enormous, and may sometimes reach beyond 
30 tons of fresh-cut cane (inclusive of trash) per 
acre; yet if all the solid part be returned to the 
land, nothing is exhausted but what may be again 
absorbed by the growing plant, from every passing 
breeze and every falling shower. The elements of 
water and carbon make up more than T 9 ^ 9 ¥ 0 ^ of the 
entire sugar-cane. Herapath found that 1000 
grains of the cane when burned, left but 7 k grains 
of ash, which was made up of inorganic bases in 
nearly the following proportions, viz.; silica, 1.8 ; 
phosphate of lime, 3.4 ; oxide of iron and clay, .2 ; 
carbonate of potash, 1.5; sulphate of potash, .15; 
carbonate of magnesia,-.4; and sulphate of lime, 1. 
Cane and rice, which are undoubtedly the two 
most profitable crops in the United States, have 
this other vast advantage over almost all others, 
except those of grazing lands. They scarcely di¬ 
minish the value of the soil when rightly managed, 
at the same time that they make a large annual re¬ 
turn in their products. The water with which the 
rice lands are flooded brings to the growing plant al¬ 
most every principle that it appropriates, and espe¬ 
cially if this is brought from a running stream, 
which is often highly charged with fertilizing sedi¬ 
ments ; and in every case holds more or less of 
those salts in solution, that are necessary to the 
crop, and would otherwise have to be drawn from 
the soil. Sugar, on the other hand, like nearly all 
crops that do not produce seed, except tobacco, 
takes very little from the soil except what is drawn 
indirectly from the atmosphere; and by burying the. 
refuse of the plant, even that little may be restored 
