272 



The Journal of Heredity 



succumb to it. Otaheite and Calancana, 

 Cristalina and Rayada are most sus- 

 ceptible to gummosis, while Yellow 

 Caledonia and Cavangire are strongly 

 resistant, perhaps immune to it. 



D-1135 is very resistant to the 

 ravages of the white grub in Austra- 

 lia, while Otaheite is susceptible. It 

 is well known that Uba and others of 

 the North Indian type of canes are 

 immune to matizado. Otaheite is very 

 susceptible to it. 



COLOR AND MARKINGS 



Now, having emphasized the fact 

 of such striking varietal differences 

 in economic characters of the sugar 

 cane, let me call attention to a few 

 variations in such superficial characters 

 as color marking. The inference is 

 that, if bud variation is so often and 

 generally occurring in these unim- 

 portant characters, it may, and very 

 likely does occur in other and more 

 important characters, such as sweet- 

 ness and purity of juice, tonnage, 

 disease resistance, drouth resistance, 

 etc. 



Cristalina, a deservedly popular, 

 variety, and one very extensively 

 planted in Porto Rico, is a cane 

 yellowish green in color, with a rosy 

 flush where exposed to the light, 

 often so dark as to be almost red. In 

 Cuba, while not devoid of the pink 

 flush, it is practically a green cane. 

 The morphological characters which 

 distinguish this variety remain, how- 

 ever, the same in both localities. 

 Another popular variety, the Rayada, 

 is essentially the same as Cristalina 

 except that its canes are striped with 

 longitudinal red bands. Another va- 

 riety, Morad a, differs from Rayada and 

 Cristalina only in color. Its canes are 

 a solid deep red. Now, it is no un- 

 cornmon occurrence that these three 

 varieties sport into one another. Cris- 

 talina plants throw bud sports that are 

 striped. Rayada plants throw sports 

 that are either solid red like Morada or 

 green with reddish flush like Cristalina. 

 Seedlings from Cristalina do some- 



times show stripes but this is rare. 

 Perhaps one seedling out of one thou- 

 sand from Cristalina would be striped. 

 It is more than likely, tho not known, 

 that Rayada arose from Cristalina 

 as a bud sport, and Morada from 

 Rayada. 



Calancana or Imperial de Brazil, 

 sometimes called Green Ribbon, is 

 known to be a sport from Otaheite. 

 It is a green cane with pink stripes, 

 while the Otaheite is plain green. 

 At the present time one Calancana 

 plant in the fields of the Insular 

 Experiment Station has reverted to its 

 parent. Variety, two stalks from its 

 roots being green like the Otaheite. 

 Besides the green-and-pink striped 

 sport from Otaheite, called Calancana, 

 it has also given rise to a red- and 

 white striped variety. 



We have recorded^ that the variety 

 Mignonne, a green-striped cane, gave 

 rise in Mauritius to a self-colored 

 bud variation which is now known as 

 the variety Lousier. This is no doubt 

 very similar to the variety Otaheite, 

 and if not identical, the two cases 

 present parallel behavior in their 

 sporting. The Lousier subsequently 

 gave rise also, by bud sporting, to the 

 green striped Lousier, also known as 

 (jreen Ribbon and the red-striped 

 Lousier or Home, and the red Lousier 

 or Lousier Rouge. 



The plain green Salangore has 

 sported to a pink-striped cane, and 

 similarly, Porto Rico 317 has thrown 

 bud sports with pink stripes. 



A plant of the variety Calancana 

 in one of the experimental cultures 

 now growing at the Insular Kxpcri- 

 ment Station, has several canes with 

 white leaves (see illustration). Obvi- 

 ously, as these canes are dependent 

 on the resst of the plant for sustenance, 

 they could never give rise to new and 

 independent varieties. 



NEW VARIETIES FROM BUD SPORTS 



Now, the significance of these facts 

 stated above and illustrated with 

 a few instances that are well known to 



' Department of Agriculture, Mauritius. Bui. 2, 5, 1916. 



