, 1914-02-04

and front This protects the cane from
damage far better than 2 wheeled VENICE,
and also prevents the spray solution from
coming in contact with the cane leaves.
The question whether the weeds N the
cane could be killed without damaging the
cane itself is,in the writer's opjnion,dehuteIN
settled. The young cane stalk ~ hn'lf mp ot
the leaf sheaths, the outside OF winch are
covered with a layer Of wax anything OF q
caustic nature, to a limited extent, can be
SPRAYED on this stalk without damage, but,
Of course, any spray touching the leaves
damages them as much as a weed. The
heart of the young cane plant, however, IS
not actually killed By careless spraying, even
if all the leaves are, aud the problem arises
as to whether the cane RECEIVERS from Tie
slight damage due to a few leaves beng
DESTROYED. TO prove the positive slde OF
this query, q number of trials were carried
out, using the Nboye-named arseulte solution;
the spray0r, fitted with a 2 it. extension
and worked by hand was kept close to he
ground, and the liquid injected horizontally
among the cane, q time beng chosen when
the weeds were about 2 III. high. In every
case the weeds were killed the cane recoY-
cred quickly from the slight check, and IN
a few weeks was to all appearances the same
as the unsp.ayed plots. On smooth ground
a machine could DO used, but for most cases
it is advisable to use a hand sprayer.
The advantages Of spraying over hoelng
are very evident, the cost ot the latter being
estimated at at least four times as much,
since q hand sprayer can DO one ana " L'II
acres per day, and u machine working one
cane Row ut a time about five acres While
the cost of chemicals Is practically negllglDl7
being only about ten cents per acre II
has been proved eXperImentally by the writ
or that Il sprayed area remains weedIes5 lor
a very much longer time than u hoed area
since by the latter method fresh weed SEEDS
are brought to the surface, only needInE inns
upheaval to start termination Moreover,
in q wet tropical climate the weeds 0ct0 ~
rem0vea with the hoes or 10y h@ud VIII I'D
most cases continue growing ia a new i"ct-
tiou SO that, theoretically, one spraying
should take the place OF two on even tnFee
hoeiDgs. Hoeiug, and IN fact any surface
disturbance of the soil, leads to sou ""aplh8
during rain, and if done during wet weather
AS is often the case, tends to puddIe cIay
soils. It might be argued that leaving me
soil thus without any hoelng or CULTIVATION
would be harmful to the cane growth but
in rainy districts, to which tins article ft}lthy
applies, no good purpose eopleS y 'ne1o
operations as the Io0sened sou IS lmme@lalelY
beaten down compactIy on washed away.
AGAIN. the cane gets no cultivation for tho
last II or IS mouths Of growth, pad It seems
to thriye during that period as well as any
other. In the Hawaiian Islands the son Is
so porous that most Of the ram Percoates
at once through the subsoIl to the lava rech
underneath this brings about a natural
n]eration OF the soil, the mum object of cul-
%tlvatiou, but one that is undoubtedly nm
dered by hoeing or c%ultiynung SOILS in wet
climates. 1t most be noted finally that all
spraying operations require very great cure
il then manipulation during ram q course
i must nol be done, but soon after q shower
especially 5 re { if the sun shines, it can be cont'n-
ned since rain two hours after spraying is
no detriment. BY observing these rules,
and using ordinary intelligence spraying
can save a plantation III labour from 10 to
80 dollars a year per acre.-zhe Internal
Bo33oI .Su0qy ,T0uTldL.