146 TILLERING IN INDIAN SUGARCANES 



The Nellikuppam canes agree, generally, in these particulars, but the 

 canes grown on the wet land, iiLstead of increasing in thickness show a steady 

 decrease. This is not at present explained, but must not be lost sight of in 

 drawing conclusions. Separation of early and late canes in the clump should 

 be fairly easy, but we have at present insufficient experience with this class 

 of cane to make generalizations, and further observations are desirable. 



In 1916-17, several clumps of Thick cane ratoons were dissected, and a 

 photograph and some drawings of these are reproduced. During 1917-18 

 twelve clumps of Red Mauritius ratoon canes were dissected at Nellikuppam, 

 half of these being in wet land and half in dry, as was the case with the twelve 

 plant cane clumps examined there. A couple of diagrams of these ratoon 

 dissections are added. The individual canes in these ratoons were treated 

 in exactly the same manner as those of the plant cane clumps. Formulae and 

 diagrams were constructed, the length of the basal part was measured in 

 each cane, and the average length of the joints in the lowest two feet and the 

 thickness at two feet from the base were recorded. (Pis. XXXI-XXXIII.) 



As the original set was in all cases still attached, we can thus obtain a very 

 clear idea as to what takes place when a cane crop is cut and the stool allowed 

 to grow on for another year. The analysis shows that the canes in these clumps 

 had an average formula, in the first year, of a +36 + 2c per plant, and, in the 

 second, of \c-\-2>d-\-\e. In both of these formulae we note that the plants in the 

 ratooned series were less well grown than in the plant canes dissected at the 

 same time, where the formula was a + 36 + 3c + Id, and in fact the formula 

 for each year falls into close agreement with that obtained at the Cane-breeding 

 Station. In the diagrams, a convention has been introduced, by which each 

 cane cut in the first year is indicated by a heavy black dot at its end. It is 

 interesting to note that all the buds on the fii'st year's canes have died, excepting 

 such as grew out to form new canes in the second year. Instructive data are 

 given as to the relative gro^Ath and ratooning power of the wet and dry land 

 canes, but perhaps it would be better to have a larger series of figures at 

 disposal before drawing any conclusions. 



