, 1890-07-19
Experimental Cane Culture.
tDemerara ArgoSy.)

unable to deal with it fully this week.
We consequently confne ourselves to the
exterimental cultivation OF the sugar cane
which has for several years past been
carried on upon the ground aback OF me
Gardens. AS that ground Is remote Aid
difficult Of aces, Mi. lehman had, last
year, Il half VOW Of The principal Varieties
Of cane grown IN the Nursery. toI in>rec-
ton uy visitors who mi2liI rot care to AXE
tie trouble to 20 abatk. Tie Iai:d q! lhe
Nursery is much richer than that a3Hck,
having been repeatedly maiiurc'i III past
wears with stable compost. As Il coIHe-
Que!ce, the Weld OF cane upon Ii Was dou-
bic that OF the laid aback. Both SETS
we're twice mamured with gypsum aId
peruvian guano, at The late OF two barrels
of the former and 8 " of the latter To the
acre, la f of each being given at each drcS-
sing. Although: The land aback Is Vely
poor, it yielded, in consequence OF the
wet seasons experienced, an average weight
Of cane. In the Nursery piUt Tie land IS
tiledrained, and consequently possessed
One-Sixth more bearing ground than the
land aback. That, however. does not &C
count for the enormous difference III the
yield of the TWO plots, which was solely
due to the difference in the quality OF the
land. Both plots are insutficiently dram
ed, the Nursery plot being, however, The
vi IA wv III tA'N ANNI N~''
lamrnied death of Mr.. Francis, the late
Government Analyst, prevented he aAaIy-
sis being made as early as III previous
years. But Professor HARRISON, lmme-
uiateiy after his arrival, energcttcaiiN tn.
tered upon the work, and the very elabO-
rate table of results tul niShed ~ linn IS
given i'll the report. In connection there
with Mr. Jemman observes that the juice
on sugar estates generally was poor last
-t,,A lint Ind .TnNnTnNrn1 with fhn nuA
ot The canes when they were cut. OF the
canes grown i'll the Galdens, the yield OF
tie White MauritiuS, a variety which Mr..
JeEman regards as the same as S~tlangorc,
was greatly in excess OF any other variety
Of the plots aOack, as well as of the plot of
SelaEgore. This, however, was due to the
fact that It occupied 1t ridge OF elevated
friable land at the end of the field. AS a
contrast, showing how much circumstances
affect the yield of the same kinds, the COWS
of White Mauritius and Selangore in the
Nursery were almost at the bottom Of the
list in weight of yield. 1t is impossible to
deal in detail with Mr.. HaIriSon's table
today, but We may mention that Of the
two kinds named by Mr.. Jenman the yield
per acre was as follows White MauritiuS
No. of canes, $4,000 weight, IS tons, 4
cwt., 80 lbs. gallons of juice lO,410; sue
rose III juice !5,24O lbs. :-SelangOre-NO.
Ol canes, -fjJOO WclSut, I'll tOIlS, ~ CWl'S
40 lbs. gallons Of juice $685. sucr0se III
jnIre, 9,349 lbs. The canes analysed We're
Two year old ~ratoons. Mr.. lehman says that;
taking the best varieties. the yield Is one
of the glealest he has ever seen recorded;
but, taking all the ~ varieties, equal pro.
portions OF each, standing OH so square
roOds, yielded 1892 lbs. This, multiplied
10y six, gives as til yield per acre, 46 tons,
5 cwt., 81 lbs, and the number of caues;
1924
Concerning the very interesting expert
ment with Seeding canes, much very
valuable information is given. Mr.. Jenman
says that in April Mr.. Bowel sen. over a
Seeding from Dodd's Botanical Station at
Barbados, which at the time was about
three inches high but which at the time
be wrote (3lst March) had grown into one
of the most robust cane plants he had ever
seen. This is the cane the analysis of which
was given in the ArgOsy of last week.. The
Variety is distinct from any Mr.. Jenman
had previously. known. Again in Decem-
Der, Mr.. Bowel sent twelve canes of six of
the best varieties raised at Dodd's in 1888.
All these are likewise distinct from any Of
the kinds in cultivation here. So that, in
addition to the lot of seedlings raised here
list year, the Gardens now possess and
nave under trial nearly a dozen Seeding
canes raised in Barbados. In connection
with this subject, Mr.. Jenman observes