132 STTTDTE.S IX INDIAN SUOAROANK SREDLTNOR 



ill the soil mixture uped, the size of the pots and their wateriiio; and exposure 

 to the suii and their ultimate treatment when planted out. It is not easy to 

 determine whether the poor growth of seedlings is transmitted, foi' the further 

 wTcnvth of ])0()r. stunted seedlings, although i)erhaps oF scientific interest, 

 would hardly be defensible, considering the main object of the Cane-breeding 

 Station, and such plants as are obviously inferior in these respects have been 

 uniformly rejected when planting out. The only information as to the future 

 growth of the seedlings wliich show signs of weakness during their first year's 

 growth is to be obtained from a study of the first (1911-13) seedlings, all of 

 which have been grown on for several years. Tn these the fate of the weak 

 seedlings is clearly traceable, in tliat most of them have gradually become 

 weaker and died out one by one, although soine of them lia"\'e shown that they 

 possess very fnir juice; and this a])]^ears to justify the method of rigorous 

 selection, practised in the young seedlings of any year and also when they are 

 chosen for vegetative reproduction in the second year. 



Attention has alreadv been drawn to the fact that the seedlings of some 

 varieties, while coming u|) in large immbers, quickly die out. thus indicating 

 feebleness in their early stages. Such are Java, Red Manriiivs and possibly 

 B 208. In other canes, notably Poovan and Fiji C, the lack of vigour appears 

 later and, after planting out, the plots of these varieties soon present a sorry 

 appearance, manv of tlie seedlings becoming weak and sickly, and compara- 

 tively few surviving so as to be ca])able of analysis at crop time (Plate XIII). 

 From present appearances, the Red Mauritius seedlings suffer all along, but 

 we have had too few seedlings of that variety to be able to state the case 

 definitely-^ Ii^ contrast with these feeble seedling varieties. Sarethu .ind 

 Pansahi seem to have good germination and healthy seedlings, few of which 

 succumb. Of the o.OOO ;SV/W^r/ seedlings obtained in the 1911-16 period, 

 some 1,200 are being grown on, 70.0 in the plots and the rest in a piece of 

 waste lan<l where they seem to be perfectly at home. There have been 

 hardly any deaths, and there is little doubt that practically the whole 5.000 

 could have been raised "if it had been desirable to do so. 



Knrim, Chitkm and Kalvdui Boothan seedlings are also easy to laise. 

 But this is especially so with genuine crosses, which have thus far in all known 

 cases been exceptionally vigorous. It must be mentioned, howevei', that most 

 of our crosses, thus far obtained with certainty, have been between North 

 Indian canes and wild parents, but the thick VeJIai x >>acehanmi Narevga 

 seedlings are very similar as regards luxuriance. 



» The seedlings of Bed Mfntrilias in 1915-17 appear to Uie more healthy. 



