THE DISEASES OF THE SUGAR-CANE. 303 



the ruins of the rotting cane. The success or failure of the 

 growing and grown plant appears to depend less on the 

 thickness of its skin, than on the vitality of the parenchy- 

 matous sugar-cells of its stem — whether or not they are 

 able to resist the inroads of parasitic fungi when freely 

 exposed to them. 



8. The literature of cane diseases is of comparatively 

 recent date, and this literature is probably due as much to 

 the contest with beet as to any marked increase of disease 

 during late years. 



We have, unfortunately for our self-esteem, to look to 

 a foreign country, where a little-known language is spoken, 

 for the bulk of the descriptive work of the last ten years — and 

 there was little done in the cane-fields before that time. It 

 has been the enlightened policy of the Dutch planters to 

 attach biologists as well as chemists to their three sugar 

 stations in Java. And, thanks to the well-directed efforts 

 of these investigators, we are to-day in possession of a 

 valuable descriptive literature, which will serve as a basis 

 for the study of sugar-cane diseases.^ 



The Mid-Java Experimental Station has, it is true, 

 ceased to exist ; but a series of important papers were 

 published there by Benecke, who also induced Mobius, 

 Migula, Wieler, and other European botanists of note to 

 contribute essays on special subjects for his journal."^ 



From the East-Java Sugar Station a series of papers 

 have been issued by Valeton, Kobus, Wakker and Zehnt- 

 ner.^ Of the seventy odd pamphlets published at this 

 centre, over one-third are devoted to diseases of cane plants. 



We are indebted to the West-Java Station in Kagok- 

 Tegal for papers by van Breda de Haan, Kriiger and 

 Went,* describing a great number of parasitic fungi, while 

 the late talented artist, Lucassen, has produced some 

 excellent coloured plates of diseased canes.^ 



Not content with establishing these experimental sugar- 



^ Translations of many of these papers are published in T/ie Sugar- 

 Cane and abstracts are to be found in Zeitschrift der Pflanzenkrankheiten. 

 ^ Meded. Mid-Java. ^ Meded. Oost-Java, and later, Archief. 



'' Meded. West-Java, and later, Archief. ^ Lucassen (i) 



