26 



one location to another adapt themselves to new surroundings. The 

 tropical varieties generally have a growing period of one year or 

 more while the subtropical varieties reach maturity in from eight to 

 ten months. 



In tropical countries where the wet and dry seasons are well marked 

 there is a tendency for sugar cane to adopt an early maturing habit. 

 The common purple variety (caiia morada), which produces the bulk 

 of the crop grown in the Philippines, is often harvested in from eight 

 to ten months after planting, but does not reach maturity in less than 

 eleven or twelve months. 



In the higher altitudes where the range of temperature is low at 

 night cane tends to grow during a much longer period before reaching 

 maturity. 



A considerable area of yellow Caledonia cane grown in the Hawaiian 

 Islands at an altitude of 300 to 600 meters grows for a period of 

 eighteen to twenty-four months before being harvested. Such cane 

 generally contains a high percentage of fiber and a low percentage 

 of sugar. 



The color of sugar cane also varies with the climate in which it 

 is giown, the tendency being toward light colors in the tropics and 

 darker colors in the subtropical and temperate regions. Some types 

 of cane are much more susceptibfe to changes of environment than 

 others, and readily change in form, color, and composition. 



The effect of varieiy on yield. — The older types of sugar cane 

 grown in a given country generally run very uniform in tonnage 

 yield and content of sugar, or total tonnage of sugar produced. 



The ideal cane is the one producing the largest amount of sugar 

 on a given area, and the two factors most important in heavy sugar 

 production are large tonnage yield of cane containing a high percentage 

 of sugar. Nearly all of the experiment stations doing special work 

 in sugar are endeavoring to produce by selection and by the propagation 

 of seedling varieties ideal types of cane for the conditions prevailing 

 in the country where the work is done. The seedling variety D. 74, 

 produced in Demerara, South America, proved to be a short seasoned 

 cane of but little value in that country, but particularly well suited 

 to the conditions in Louisiana. The Hawaiian sugar planters' experi- 

 ment station at Honolulu has originated a number of varieties, among 

 which may be mentioned H. 20, which promises to be an exceptionally 

 fine cane for the Hawaiian Islands. It, however, has a serious draw- 

 back in the fact that it does not produce eyes on llie upper portion 

 of the stalk, thus making it impossible to propagate this cane by 

 points. This would necessitate cutting a supply of young body cane 

 sufficient for seed each year before it reached maturity, as the eyes 

 on the main stalk lose their vitality by maturity. 



In a preliminary test made in the Hawaiian Islands the seedling 



