The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1884-12-24

A correspondent of the Country CEN
tIeBldn writing from Cuba gives the pro-
cess of planting sugar cane i'll Cuba,
which is about the same as in the other
West Indian Islands, He saws: "Pre-
pairing the soil for sugar-cane is not SO
very unlike the process of preparing
land for corn in New York; the Cuban
planter usually plows the land three
times, but he has it i'm no better condi-
ton than the average farmer of New York
has by blowing once and giving a good
narrowing, Here they use no harrows.
(such thing is not known, and the
blowing is done with wooden blows. A
round stick about four feet long, iointed
at the end, which slips into a socket of
iron, the iron extending out in front six
| inches, is made to resemble, somewhat,
pillow point. One foot from the back
end of the round stick is rod of iron
| Q4 round irony, which passes down
through the stick, leaving the upper end
sticking up about rs, inches; this passes
up through the beam, and is secured
by nut; but the beam of a Cuban
pillow Iisoa Tongues andfeYtendssferward
to the yoke of the oxen.9 ril9rofll one to
two yoke of oxen are attached to a pillow
(they.use no horses ier mules for farm
work hereDl3 q The fm0hldboard of this
pillow is made by winding palm leaves
around the standard or iron rod; ac-
cording as they want a wide narrow
furrow, they put OH more or less of the
palm leaves, s efs1@
= Now, We're it not for the fact that the
land is so very productive on the island,
with such farming, it would be impossi-
blelto raise a crppsa al butthe land is
rirlN and al -
with verN little. cultivation.
The process fplahting cane is similar
to that of planting a vineyard. The stalks
are usually cut in October, the leavesare
stripped off and the cane cut into short
pieces, one foot or Is inches long, or
long enough to contain one or more
joints. A furrow is now made with the
native pillow, and the LAYERS of cane are
placed in the bottom at an angle, much
after the manner of grape cuttings. They
are thea, covered about six inches deep.
The Young plants come out at the joints
of the cuttings and grow very fast, and
are usually cultivated twice; but the cul-
| tivation is not what New York farmer
would give his corn-not at all. The ma
tive pillow is run between the rows, and
the negroes follow with their big hoes,
hitting knock here and a cut there, and
call it hoed. But here nature comes to
the assistance of the cane, giving it such a
| Vigorous growth ,that,in spite ofthe slack
cultivationit has received, it soon gets
the start of the. grass and weeds. and SO
completely covers and shades theground
that all other vegetation is smothered
out. The cane is now out of danger from
any other vegetation, and unless it should
catch on fire Gas the fields sometimes do
in March orLApriL, is sure to make a
crop-in 10 to II months. after planting.
After field is once set with cane, there
is no further trouble with it.; -for at least
10 years it needs no cultivation. When it
| is fit to cut, the leaves are stripped of and
left between the rows, serving a double
purpose, keeping the grass and weeds
down, and furnishing most splendid
manure. 4sfr ~ E..ff
Speaking of manure, | am told there, is
not such thing known ON the island ,as
a farmer ever using any horse or cattle
manure. About some of these. old plan
tations there are hundreds and hundreds
of loads of well rotted manure. Every
year adds to its bulk, but they do not
haul it out upon their lands. They say
the land is rich enough without it for
generations. This land has been crop
ped and nothing is ever put back to en-
! Ych it."