lf)8 STUDIES IN INDIAN SUGARCANE 



pp. 36-39). Sarethd and its class are characterized by considerable oblique- 

 ness in the youi\g shoots, approaching Saccharvm spontaneum in this respect, 

 where, on any river bank, nunierons seedlings may be seen which are at first 

 peifectly flat on the ground. Tlie members of the Sunnabile gro\ip, on the 

 other hand, tend to produce rather erect young shoots. Observations were 

 made on all the indigenous Indian varieties growing on the farm in 1915-16, 

 when the plants were 5-0 months old, and figures have been extracted for the 

 varieties now being considered. In each row of young canes the deviation of 

 the shoots from the vertical was measured by a clinometer, such as is used 

 in measuring the dip of strata in geology. Two figur;es are recorded for each 

 vaiiety and indicate the extremes met with. For example, Naanal 0°— 25° 

 means that, while some of the shoots were vertical, the greatest deviation of 

 the shoots from it was 25°. Taking the two series and striking averages, 14 

 members of the Saretha group gave 13°— 67° against 5°— 30° for the 12 Sunna- 

 bile varieties measured, the extremes in the two groups being 10° — 80° and 

 0°' — 45 respectively. This character is not an absolute one, and there are 

 cases of overlapping. Putli Khajee and Mojorah, for instance, in the Sunnabile 

 group, are distinctly obUque (Plate V). 



Habit and Mode of Growth. 



The Sunnabile and Saretha groups differ a good deal in general appearance 

 in the field, although this character is not easily reduced to measurement. It 

 is, moreover, difficult to determine the exact period when comparative obser- 

 vations should be recorded. These thin varieties, when grown in a few rows, 

 soon require propping to keep them in their respective plots, and as soon as 

 this is done all observations as to habit have to be given up. An exact 

 study of habit has thus been largely precluded on the Cane-breeding 

 Station. 



The Saretha varieties are generally characterized by a spreading if not 

 sprawling habit, the outer branches extending widely over the plot, and the 

 growth is irregular and untidy (Plate YI). It is easy, on the other hand, to 

 keep Sunnabile varieties within the limits of their plots ; there is a tendency 

 to a strict, erect habit and the branches at the base are closer together. In 

 this, as in other respects, the Saretha series resemble Saccharum sfontaneum 

 in their habit. And this relative erectness of the two groups is emphasized 

 by the character of the leaf tips. In the description of Punjab canes {Memoir 1) 

 it was noted that the leaves of Katha, Saretha, Kansar and Lalri soon became 

 bent at a sharp angle near the end, whereas this character was absent in J)haulu, 



