15(; STUDIES L\ INDIAN Sl(!ARCAKE SEEDLINGS 



This varyiiig behavioui- of Madms seedlings gi(nvii in dilierent localities 

 raises the interesting question as to whether there is anything like it in ordinary 

 tultivated canes. A good deal of attention has been given 1o this question 

 and a number of analyses of certain cjuie varieties have been collected from 

 different places. It is hoped that, in time, sufficient data Avill be accumulated, 

 (1) to be able to forecast the ])robable behavioui' of selected canes and seed- 

 lings when moved fi'om one locality to another, and (2) to get a general idea 

 of the suitability of different localities for sugar production in India. 



The question as to the permanence of the juice characters of cane seed- 

 lings, when pro])agated as sets, is one of considerable importance and has 

 be(Mi studied as fai' as data are available. Many of th(! 11>1 1-13 seedlings were 

 found to yield far better juice when ])lanted in the second year from sets. J^>ut 

 the seedlings had been planted in very large pits with good soil and their 

 growth was in some cases very vigorous, and it is regarded as possible that 

 this may have had a prejudicial effect on their ripening. Besides this, the 

 great variations noted above in the ricliness of the juice in S(>edlings. when 

 j)]anted under different conditions, renders it unsafe to form conclusions from 

 isolated cases. There is also another matter, already referred to. which may 

 have an effect on the juice of seedlings when first analysed, namely the periotl 

 of year at which they are cropped. Owing to the restricted arro\\ing season, 

 the seedlings mature from June onwards, whereas the proper time for ripening 

 canes in this locality ap])ears to be much earlier in the year. Lastly, the 

 weather also a])pears to have considerable influence on the character of the 

 juice. The seedlings during the present (19f5) harvesting season show this 

 markedly, and much trouble has been caused by unseasonable rains. Duiing 

 the ripening seasoi\, usually a time of some anxiety as to whether any rain 

 will fall, we had this vear as mi ch as 10 inches, and this a[)pears to be reflected 

 in the juice analyses, the cro))ping time being in general three months later 

 than in the previous year. The canes in the varietal ))lots ap]>ear to have 

 been practically ripe at the begimiing of A])ril but, after that, stimulated 

 to renewed growth by tlie umisual rains, the suci'ose j)ei'('entage fell steadily., 

 and it was n<jt until the dry peiiod in July-August that there was a sensible 

 recovery. In tlutse conditio)is the richness of the juice shown by the replanted 

 1912-14 seedlings suffered, und in many cases was not so high as in the first 

 cropping season. Thf variations in suciose in IIm' juice jmc shown in the ac- 

 companying table, nil the analyses in which were made uj) to dead leaf {cf p. Ki.'J). 

 The series of analyses are spaced according to the part of the month in which 

 they were made. Below, is an average of the sucrose in the four Viuieties 

 chosen, with a curve to j'epresent it graphically, while at the base is a series 



