WEST INDIES. 
25 
CHAP. I.] 
tudinally in the bottom of the hole, are covered 
with mould about two inches deep; the rest 
of the bank being intended for future use. In 
twelve or fourteen days the young sprouts begin to 
appear, and, as soon as they rise a few inches 
above the ground, they are, or ought to be, care¬ 
fully cleared of weeds, and furnished with an ad¬ 
dition of mould from the banks. This is usually 
performed by the hand. At the end of four or 
five months the banks are wholly levelled, and the 
spaces between the rows carefully hoe-ploughed. 
Frequent cleanings, while the canes are young, 
are indeed so essentially necessary, that no other 
merit in an overseer can compensate for the want 
of attention in this particular.—A careful manager 
will remove at the same time, all the lateral shoots 
or suckers that spring up after the canes begin to 
joint, as they seldom come to maturity, and draw 
nourishment from the original plants. 
The properest season, generally speaking, for 
planting, is unquestionably in the interval between 
August and the beginning of November. By ha¬ 
ving the advantage of the autumnal seasons, the 
young canes become sufficiently luxuriant to shade 
the ground before the dry weather sets in. Thus 
the roots are kept cool and the earth moist. By 
this means too, they are ripe for the mill in the be- 
'.1 day. The richer the land is, the wider you line, of course the few¬ 
er holes to an acre; four feet by four feet gives zjzi holes. 
VoL TIL 
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