The Otaheitan, or the Bourbon cane, has been brought from Cayenne to Pernambuco since the Portuguese obtained possession of that settlement.  I believe the two species of cane are much alike, and I have not been able to discover which of them it is.  Its advantages are so apparent, that after one trial on each estate, it has superseded the small cane which was in general use.  The Cayenne cane, as it is called in Pernambuco, is of a much larger size than the common cane; it branches so very greatly, that the labor in planting a piece of cane is much decreased, and the returns from it are at the same time much more considerable.  It is not planted in trenches, but holes are dug at equal distances from each other, in which these cuttings are laid.  This cane bears the dry weather better than the small cane; and when the leaves of the latter begin to turn brown, those of the former still preserve their natural color.  A planter in the Varzea told me that he had obtained four crops from one piece of land in three years, and that the soil in question had been considered by him as nearly worn out, before he planted the Cayenne cane upon it.—­("Koster’s Travels in Brazil,” vol. 2.)

Mr. E. Morewood, of Compensation, Natal, who has paid much attention to sugar culture in that colony, has favored me with the following details, which will be useful for the guidance of others, as being the results of his own experience:—­

         &nb
sp;                                                     lbs. 
  Produce of one acre of sugar cane 72,240
  Juice expressed, (or 64 per cent.) 46,308
  Dry sugar 7,356
  Green syrup or molasses 2,829
  This syrup carrying with it a good deal of sugar out of the
  coolers, contains fully 75 per cent. of crystalizable sugar, or 2,121
  Thus the total amount of sugar per acre is 9,477

The average density of the cane juice was 12 degrees Beaume, or 21 per cent.  All the improved cane mills are now constructed to give at least 75 per cent. of juice.  With such a mill, an acre would yield 11,075 lbs. of sugar.  With proper cultivation I have no doubt the produce could be largely increased; for, as the numerous visitors who have seen this place can testify, my cane fields were not attended to.

To enable me to show the cost of producing a crop of canes, you must
allow me to go into the expense of cultivating the land first.

To keep one ploughman going, a person requires—­

20 Oxen at L3 L60 0 0
1 Plough 7 10 0
1 set Harrows 7 10 0
Yokes, Trektows, Reins, &c. 5 0 0
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L80 0 0

Then the expenses per month will be:—­

Ploughman’s wages L2 10 0
Board 1 10 0
1 Driver, 10s., Leaders, 5s. 0 15 0
Food for two natives 0 10 0
Wear and tear of oxen and gear,
at 25 per cent. per annum 1 10 4
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L6 18 4