96 
The Journal of Heredity 
SUGAR CANE 
THAT OUTGREW 
ITSELF 
An unusual abnormality in sugar cane 
is shown in the accompanying photo- 
graph from H. B. Cowgill, plant breeder 
of the Insular Experiment Station, Rio 
Piedras, Porto Rico. ‘This stalk,” he 
writes, ‘‘was taken from a seedling cane 
which was grown here in the year 1913. 
The photoesraph shows four complete 
internodes or joints of a stalk; each of 
these joints has, as usual, a bud growing 
from it. But in every case, it will be 
observed, this bud is transversed 
squarely across the middle by a great 
fissure. All the stalks of this seedling 
showed this abnormality on many of the 
internodes. As may be seen, it is a 
rupture of the outer portion of the stalk 
across the center of the bud. Seedling 
canes frequently show peculiarities, but 
this is the first time I have known this 
particular abnormality to happen. It 
seems to have been caused by an un- 
usual formation of the bud. In sugar 
cane the point of the bud is usually free 
from the stalk, but in this case it ad- 
hered closely to the stalk and seemed to 
have grown fast to it. The bud within 
evidently developed faster than the 
stalk, while its outer scales could not 
do so on account of being fastened to 
the latter. The pressure produced 
seems to have been sufficient to rupture 
the stalk. It was not possible to make 
any test to determine whether this 
abnormality would be inheritable.” 
(Fig. 14.) 
