In all they filled three barrels, the smallest of
which, containing sixty pounds of the finest tobacco, Mr. Hardy
kept for his own use and that of his friends; the rest he sold at
Buenos Ayres at a profitable rate. The venture, like that of the
cotton, had proved a success, but the trouble and care required had
been very great, and Mr. Hardy determined in future to plant only
sufficient for his own use and that of the men employed upon the
estate.
The next experiment which was perfected was that with the
sugar-cane. In this, far more than in the others, Mrs. Hardy and
the girls took a lively interest. Sugar had been one of the few
articles of consumption which had cost money, and it had been used
in considerable quantities for converting the fruit into fine
puddings and preserves. It was not contemplated to make sugar for
sale, but only for the supply of the house: two acres, therefore,
was the extent of the plantation. Mr. Hardy procured the cuttings
from a friend who had a small sugar plantation near Buenos Ayres.
The cultivation of sugar is simple. The land having been got in
perfect order, deep furrows were plowed at a distance of five feet
apart. In these the cuttings, which are pieces of the upper part of
the cane, containing two or three knots, were laid at a distance of
three feet apart.
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