VARIATION IN MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS. 



The first few seedlings, obtained before starting the Cane-breeding Station, 

 were reared in the Botanic Garden. Their rejDuted parentage was four 

 local Coimbatore canes and Cheiii from Mysore. It was noted that the seed- 

 lings in each batch differed a good deal among themselves, while those of Cheni 

 stood apart as a class separate from the rest. During the next two flowering 

 seasons much time was spent in touring throughout the cane-growing tracts 

 of India and, although occasional notes Avere made as to differences in the 

 young seedlings, there was no opportunity for going thoroughly into the matter. 

 During the 1914 flowering season, the whole of the 1914-lG seedlings, ,3,400 in 

 number, were submitted to a more or less detailed examination before planting 

 out, and have been classified and put into the ground according to the differ- 

 ences noted. The present section, in which some of these variations are dis- 

 cussed, is largely based on the observations made during this examination. 



Most of the seedlings fall under the term " General Collection," by which 

 is indicated that no special means were taken to prevent the arrows from being 

 pollinated by neighbouring ones which happened to be protruding at the same 

 time. Some hundreds were " selfed," that is to say, protected from foreign 

 pollen by fine muslin placed over them before emergence. In studying these 

 two classes of seedlings, it has been noted, however, that there seems to be 

 practically no difference between them, and the opinion has been gradually 

 formed that, in the field, where open anthers are present, the great bulk of 

 the general collection are in reality selfed seedlings. It is only in cases where 

 the mother arrows have practically no open anthers that the seedlings have 

 shown, by their intermediate characters, that crosses have been obtained. 

 The descriptions enumerated below have been drawn indiscriminately from 

 batches of selfed seedlings and those obtained from the general collections of 

 arrows. 



Vigour and Size. 



It is obvious, at a glance, that the seedlings of any one batch differ greatly 

 in size and vigour (Plates I & XII). This is not likely to be altogether due to 

 their environment, as care is taken to treat all in exactly the same manner, 



