The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-12-09


and willows, which were cut down and
all roots and stumps dug out. The
land was ditched and under drained,
thoroughly plowed and cross ploWed,
then treated with one ton of hard wood
ashes and narrowed in. Ashes contain
from three to. seven per cent. OF pot
ash in the form of carbonate, and |
from one to two per cent. OF phos-
phoric acid. and about twelve hundred
pounds of lime to the ton. There are
thousands of just such low, swampy
places here in Georgia as mere de-
scribed, of more or less area, that py
proper treatment could be made TO
produce fine cane.
Soils of such nature that are coin-
posed of vegetable matter or hunus'
generally have sufficient nitrogen,
which is not always available, and to
hasten the decay of humus, should
have lime. Then again such SOILS as
water has covered any length or time
become sour, and require lime 10 sweet,
en- them and make the plant 1000
more available. 1t is a popular pellel
that sour soils are found only In low
places, where more or less wafer
stands; but sometimes dry uplands De-
come so sour that plants VIII not
thrive and grow. Any farmer can
make a test with blue litmus-paper'
Insert a small strip of the paper IN
handful of moist soil, and II II TURNS
red, which IL will if there is any aclolty
in the soil, you will know at once
that such soil is souring ana neeue
lining. Lime is the great sWeether
or neutralizer of nature. 1t should De
air slacken in the field by covering
with earth, to retain the strength
leave in small piles at proper ols-
lance in the field, to be spread evenly
and narrowed in. Lime should always
be top dressed after blowing as 1t
sinks in the soil Apply at the rate
of twenty five bushels per acre once III
three years In South Georgia, where
some lands lie so low ana lever ana
for the want of natural drainage, sat
urated and covered with water
through the winter montfaJ, there must
be more or less acidity to the soil
Sugar cane is generally planted In
| from four to six foot rows; burrows are
made with a. double shovel plow. Inc
cane is then laid in bottom OF lurroW
and listed over this by running smali
pillow on each side. Some make a prao
| tice of cutting the stalks up into toot
| lengths, as they claim this methou
gives them a better stand. When the
new growth begins, rake off the top OF
ridge that let's in the heat and warns
| I'D the soil After cultivation conslsts
of keeping the crop free from Weeus
and grass and the crust broken up Dy
blowing at least once in two weeks
until the cane laps the rows.
| The proper fertilizer for sugar cane,
as experience teaches me, is nne
ground bone and sulphate of potash;
| Use at the rate per acre, oOo
mounds of bone and 200 pounds sui
| phate of potash. From my experience
| with different fertilizers, where GROUND
| bone is used there seems to be less aclo
| III the juice, and where sulpnate OF
| potash is used there is inner navor:
| Sugar cane is an exhaustive crop, anu
| the Louisiana planters follow COW
peas with sugar cane. The COW peas
| furnish the nitrogen and leave the soil
| in a fine mechanical condition. As SUI
| gar cane is a crop that takes from
| spring to fall to grow, bacterial nitrl-
| fication is going on during the sum-
mer months, Transforming nitrogen al
ready in the soil into available plant
| food for the growing crop; therefore,
| the nitrogen furnished by the cow
| peas and ground bone is sufficient for
this exhaustive crop. Yet it is not adj
visable to plant cane on the same land
year after year. There should be ro-
| tation followed, planting cane not Of
| tener than once in three years.
Cleanliness is one of the main fea-
| lures that should be followed in max
| ing first class article of syrup. Pains
! should be taken to have all barrels
clean and kept clean during the entire
| period of evaporating the cane juice
into syrup. and to keep the juice we'll
skinned while boiling. Syrup to be re-
| fined should be evaporated to a dem
| sity of thirty degrees. Refining will
| show a density of 80 degrees, and syrup
of this density after refining with this
| process will not grain or sour. After
| reducing the juice to a density of 30
degrees it should be run off and put
in a clean barrel and allowed to cool.
| A refining pan four and a half feet
long by thirty-siX inches wide and one
foot in depth. should be prepared on
a brick arch for this purpose; the syr-
up should then be strained into this
pan through a flannel cloth, and then
a slow fire started sufficient to bring
the syrup to boiling. Have ready at
this time, supposing that you have so
gallons in the pan, one pint of sweet
milk, the whites of two eggs. and one
gill of lime water, we'll beaten, and as
the boiling increases, over the entire
surface pour this into the pan, stir
ring it from end to end. OF course the
boiling will cease until ii is brought to
a boiling point again. which it will do
in few moments. If the fire has been
kept up, when the boiling does take
Pidce, all the impurities VIII rise TO
the surface; then skim for dear life
until you get the surface clear. The
pan should be made with faucet in
one corner for draining off into jugs
or one gallon square tin cans which are
the best. This process is used largely
at the North for refining maple syrup
1t is a well known fact, that the syrup
made from cane grown at Fairview
fruit farm was the finest favored syr-
up produced in Rutland district, and
was grown on soil as black as ink II
could never have been produced with
out lining the SOIL and the use OF
proper fertilizers This syrup, after re-
filming, was sold in Macon market al
IS cents per gallon, under a guarantee
that 1t would not grain or sour This
process of refining syrup is within the
means of the smallest farmer. A par
OF the dimensions given. made from
galvanized iron should not cost over
$40. and any ordinary bricklayer could
build the arch at a small expense. and
by following this method, there should
be no such abominable syrup as we
find offered for sale throughout the
| country.