Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 December 2007
Estimates are established for the number of integers of size N, in intervals of size $N^\theta$, that fail to admit a representation as the sum of s cubes (s = 5, 6). Thereby it is shown that almost all such integers are represented in the proposed manner. When s = 5 one may take $\theta = 10/21$, and when s = 6 one may take any $\theta >17/63$. Similar such conclusions are also established for the related problem associated with the expected asymptotic formula.