'84 STT^DIES IN INDIAN SUriARCANKP 



the eyos in the latter ai'e uniformly disposed in t\V(» or three rows. The 

 growth rings are narrower in the Siinnabile series and the loot zones are wider, 

 and often contain more rows of root eyes, the lowest of which is separable 

 from the rest and has eyes of a considerably larger size. 



Bud Characters. 



In comparing varieties of sugarcane, one alwa} s turns to the bud, as an 

 organ in which it is safe to find differences in one form or another. The buds 

 have therefore been subjected to a careful scrutiny in all the varieties under 

 consideration. In both classes they are distinctly small, often not exceeding 

 the gro\vth ring in length and, consequently, such differences as exist must be 

 packed up into small compass. Furthermore, on separating the Katha (brown) 

 from the Mesangan (green) sections of the Saretha group, the latter is found 

 to be transitional between the Katha section and the Sunnabile series, and this 

 introduces comphcations which were not understood until the two Saretha sections 

 had been separated. In the nature of things, the study of such small buds 

 has tended to become microscopic, and such differences as have been noted are 

 likely to be less useful in separating the two classes in the field. The compara- 

 tively dry climate in which the canes are grown at Coimbatore does not admit 

 of much shooting of the buds, and this character is generally absent, excepting 

 at the tops of canes which have flow^ered ; and, as we have seen, the Saretha 

 group flower much more freely and regularly than the Sunnabile series. This 

 shyness of shooting is, however, of great advantage for our general study, 

 in that the buds, although mature, are resting. 



(1) Bursting. In the Saretha group, the bursting of the buds is generally 

 apical, as indicated by the convergence of the veins of the lowest bud scale. 

 Occasionally buds show dorsal or more frequently high dorsal bursting, but 

 these are usually low down on the cane and are practically confined to the 

 Mesangan section. In the Sunnabile group the bursting of the buds is dorsal, 

 with occasional exceptions in the upper part of the cane. 



(2) Size, All the varieties, excepting Mojorah, have small buds. They 

 are smallest in the thin canes of the Katha section, while the thicker members of 

 the Mesangan section and the Sunnabile group have practically equal sized buds. 

 The average variations in length are as follows : — Katha section 0*1 7"— 0*3", 

 Mesangan section 0-22"— 0-32", Simnabile group 0-22"— 0-32", from which 

 average lengths of 0-23", 0-27'', 0'27" may be deduced. This seems to indicate 

 a close relationship between thickness of cane and length of bud, but a study 

 of the individual varieties shows a fair number of exceptions, and it cannot be 



