Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1867-03-29

about four fee; apar:-ani the depth of the ho
low is about eighteen inches-sometimes per-
F hlps two feet The remark is common that
the deeper the hollow is the better it will be for
the cane. 1t is a great object to have these
/ ridges AMI deep farrows made very straight ard
true, measurements for that purpose by sys-
TEN Of sticks being often resorted TO. A large
cane field prepared in this way has very
pleasing look and Is the result Of great deal Of
/ labor.
Before the emancipation the pillow was scarcely
known here sEd the entire work Of preparing
the ground was done with the hoe. This is a
pcnier0us instrument the blade weighs from
four to four and a half pounds and is about two
thirds as large as good sized spade 1t has a
I a large eve into which the handle rude strong
s'iea with the bark and knots dressed OF, and
FIVE or six feet loug-is secured by being slid
through the eye from the small to the larger
end Of the han de. after the fashion Of carpea-
ter's aize. The common use Of this hoe Is net
at al according TO the way in Ehish the light
tim hoe Of the Northern States Is handled IN
stead OF being pressed into the earth by the
force Of tie hand, i, IS lifted to fell heigh, in
the air then struck down into the ground and
poi!ei directly forward by the laborer. The
quick aud deXtrous manipulation II all direc-
tons which the light hoe Of the North admits Of
IN slilfal hands, Is impossible with the clumsy,
T haa-v and dull .ao1 rr, IL. -.---
In addition to the deep parallel burrows above
described, of.entimes holes are made still deeper
il them by working across the field. The
amour; OF hand labor needed to bring a large
cane Geld into the state Of preparation above
described any one can see mast lie very great
and 1t must have been vastly more when the
entire work Wss accomplished in that way.
Iae fell being prepared the planting next
follows. Tor this purpose pieces OF the cane
s'als, taken from tue upper part Of it, but
where the eye or bud, near "a Joint OF the stalk.
j, sufficiently mature. srl distributed by a bov
along IN the burrows or holes. These pieces are
ak or eight inches long, each containing one or
two joints. 4 iaborer then follows and with
shor, bar makes hole oblquely in the ground
st the bottom Of the furrow, thrusts in the piecf
Of cane So that It is fully covered with earth 10
the depth of perhaps two inches, and treads the
earth down oa It. These cane shoots are Sc; in
the r1Ws about two and half feet distant from
each other. In from ten days to three eeks.
according as the season Is wet or dry, the cane
shoots are above ground. Several shoots often
come up from one Joint, the appearance being
Ike that Of very wide blades Of grass SPY .nciur
from one root Tn ugh al 10 point Gifts growth
does the cane TOW have that neat and trim look
which a thrifty row Of Indian corn exhibits. vet
when the rains have been layor able and the
blades, each an inch OF so vide ard two to three
feet long, are even and Of q h althy green. the
appearance Of a large cane ie' ID is very beauti-
f1l
But as the cane grows q do the weeds grow,
AMI the whole ground 4ust be gone over again
and again with the b Je and hand to root them
out Sometimes Asrrow cultivator is drawn
between the rows to bIesk up the roots Of the
weeds and soften the intermediate ridges In
this process Of welding considerable earth is
brought down from the ridges to cover the cane
roots deeper, and often manure is placed in the
holloWs between the nils, being carried there in
trays from carts outside of the field. 1t is a
constant object to gather the moisture from the
rams around the roots and the manure, and to
protect the roots from the scorching heat o: the
I sun, till the cane has become so tall. and the
leaves which surround the stalks 50 dense,
as TO choke the future growth Of weeds
and thoroughly to shade the roots As
the season goes on, the stalk Of the cane
becomes firm and joints are formed, as
We see in the corn stalk, but the cane stalk is
round and strong and the joints are frequent
and at each JOINT leaf springs out, st its base
surrounding the stalk, but just above the joint
gathered into long and pretty strong leaf from
tnree 10 i've feet long and about two inches
broad for most of it's length. The frequency Of
the joints varies greatly according to the soil
and the season. If the season Is quite dry the
spaces between the joints may be not even an
inch long each. If the growth has been yigor-
Gus they are FIVE, six or eight inches in length.
The cane stalk varies from three fourths Of an
| inch TO an inch and a half in diameter, and the
length Of the solid stalk varies from four to eight
/ OF ten feet and believe il sometimes is much
longer As the growth proceeds the Leaves
/ (which come out alternately on opposite sides
above the joint begin to dry and fall down in
great numbers from the base upwards, and the
weight of the heavy stalks causes them to bend
and fall about in different directions giving the
whole when seen from near at hand an irregular
and tlatternly appearance. The entire mass Of
stalks and leaves in good cane field often
times seeming so dense as to be hardly penetra-
bic and reaching upwards Of ten or twelve feet
high, occasionally much higher before it Is fit to
be cut, forms an oyergrowth astonishing for its
quality.
IfalloEei to get its full growth, the cane
stalk shoots up from its top (or arrows. ssithey
say OF it here) a seed stem much after the fash
| ion Of a broom corn stalk, but very ieathery and
beautiful, with the semblance OF Inc seeds dii-
ferei throughout the plane, but all these seeds
abort;ons The cane Is not native Of the
/ leland snd never perfects its seed here An in
| telligent magistrate Of the island told me that
| the variety grown here came originally from the
/ island Of Otaheite-that some other varieties
had been tried here, but did not prove to be as
4 good for sugar SIS the ore now so long used. 1t
Is not usual t. let the growth proceed till the
cane arrows. The plant shoots upward no more
/ after that process Of nature is accomplished,
and | undo stand that the snowingis supposed
/ to lessen considerably the amount Of sugar from
the ersp. The object Of the planter is to have
the cane cut when the largest possible crop Of
sugar can be expected from it. This time ex-
/ perience enables him to determine with consid-
cradle exaclness and it varies from ten to thir-
teen mouths from the time Of planting according
Z "a circurustances The rlantinc ;s offended