THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE SUGAR-CANE BY HYBRIDISATION, 325 
The first seedlings grown were chosen haphazard, but eventually 
various systems were evolved, such as planting in alternate rows and 
bagging the arrows on the chance of getting fertile seeds. 
It is also interesting to note that as early as 1899 a method of 
what may be called natural hybridisation, by which several hybrids have 
been obtained in the West Indies, was fully discussed by Boname,'* but 
was thought to be impracticable on a field scale. It was suggested that 
the inflorescence be enclosed in a muslin bag when quite young, and then 
the inflorescence of another be introduced when its flowers were ready for 
pollination. No record can be found of this method being practised in 
Mauritius. 
The raising of seedlings in Mauritius appears to have centred around 
the collection of the arrows from their best varieties. The Big Tanna, 
which is one of their most vigorous canes, has received considerable 
attention, and a large number of seedlings have been obtained from it. 
Although many of these seedlings have proved to be worthless and others 
have shown great fluctuations, yet a considerable number has been pro- 
duced, some of which not only show a greater saccharine content than 
the other varieties, but also a greater resistance to disease, and con- 
sequently give a larger yield of sugar per acre than most of the older 
varieties. 
JAVA. 
The raising and cultivation of seedling canes have been taken up to a 
considerable extent in Java, on account of their comparative freedom from 
disease. After the discovery of fertile seed of the sugar-cane in 1887, 
many of the larger planters cut the cane arrows, planted them, and raised 
large numbers of seedling plants. From these they selected such as had 
a high saccharine content and showed themselves able to resist disease for 
planting on a large scale, and then finally selected those which were best 
suited to their estates. 
Owing, however, to the insufficiency of the trials before introduction 
into the general cultivation, much distress was incurred, and therefore 
planters began to look to the experiment stations for selected seedling 
canes. 
In 1894, Wakker, the director of the East Java Experiment Station, 
discovered that the Cheribon cane bore infertile pollen while the ovary 
was normal. Bouricius crossed the Cheribon with the Fidji, and later 
Kobus crossed it with the Chunnee, one of the imported East Indian 
canes, for this showed a large proportion of fertile pollen. The two 
chosen varieties were planted alternately in rows in order to obtain 
natural cross-pollination. A very large number of seedlings was obtained 
by sowing seeds from the “ self-sterile”’ arrows of the Cheribon, many of 
which combine the high sugar-content of the Cheribon with the disease- 
resisting power of other selected varieties.* 
All the resulting seedlings are tested for four years in the station before 
being recommended for general cultivation. In this way a race of hardier 
* In 1905, over 16,000 seedlings were raised at the East Java Experiment Station. 
Of these, the parentage of 7,170 was known on both sides, for they were produced 
by the above method, and that of 7,460 others was known on one side only. 
