76 tiLLERING IN INDIAN SUGARCANES 



position as that taken up by Kilian and, for the present, his more special work 

 seems to be more to the point, as it deals rather with the quantity of suitable 

 manure than the kind of manure applied. 



Htruben,^ in 1911, asserts that there appear to be no definite experiments 

 on the effect of manuring on tillering. This seems rather strange, in view 

 of his later quoting from both Kobus and Kilian. He states that he has 

 often noted that very heavy manuring does not usually increase the number 

 of canes. His general conclusion is that manuring does not afiect tillering, 

 although he does not himself experiment in the matter. As we have pointed 

 out above, Striiben assumes the attitude that no appreciable alteration is 

 made in tillering by various changes in cultivation, whether spacing, earthing 

 up or manuring, and for this dictum he seems to depend on a generalization of 

 Kobus, made in his 1905 j)aper, referred to above, that " with a difference of 

 even 10 per cent, in the numbers of canes in a plot, there may be a similar out- 

 turn of sugar at crop time." This perhaps will throw light on Striiben's attitude 

 and, when he asserts that the number of canes is not influenced by manuring, 

 he may mean that, as far as total sugar obtained is concerned, such differences 

 as are noticeable are of little consequence. With this aspect we are at present 

 not concerned, and have little hesitation in concluding that manuring has 

 an influence on tillering, as well as any other means by which the healthiness 

 and vigour of the plant is enhanced. 



(6) Literature concerning the effect of spacing on tillering 



AND ON other CROP CHARACTERS. 



The most obvious way of regulating the number of canes produced at 

 harvest time is by varying the number of sets planted per acre. Spacing 

 experiments have been conducted wherever the sugarcane has been cultivated, 

 for the seed material, in many cases obtained by cutting up canes perfectly 

 fitted for passing through the mill, costs a good deal and figures largely in the 

 balance sheet. In some countries only tops are planted, namely, the upper, 

 immature parts of the plant where there is no sugar, and the canes harvested 

 produce these in sufficient numbers to plant up the new fields ; but, in other 

 places, tops are not available, as they form a valuable cattle food and, in 

 India, for instance, are often the perquisite of the men from whom the cattle 

 are hired for crushing the canes. We have already referred to the curious 

 fact that, even in India, there are varieties which cannot be successfully 



1 Striibuu. W. Uitstofling. Archlef v. <1. Suikciind. in Sed. Ind., Vul. XIX. Piut 1, 1911, 

 p. 487. 



