The working year on a sugar plantation started with clearing the ground and ended with shipping out barrels of sugar. This image shows the Great Gang, who did the hardest work, preparing the square beds for each cane plant. They planted a cutting in each bed, which rooted quickly. The other gangs and children would weed and water the cuttings. Everyone would be involved in the harvest, when speed was of the essence to get the ripe cut cane to the mill and boiling house before the sugar cane began to deteriorate, which affected both quality and yield of the crop.