88 THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 
saw appear the Kaffir sorgho; and two days later the 
Chinese Sugar Cane.” 
Once out of the ground, the plants develop their leaves. 
It was not thesame with the Chinese Sugar Cane. The lat- 
ter remained for a long time before developing its leaves, 
its increase was very slow. Thus wé see that, as compared 
with broom corn, the Chinese Sugar Cane requires three 
days more to make its appearance above the ground. A 
sreat difference is observable in the comparative flexi- 
bility of the leaves of the sugar cane and those of others. 
of its congeners. The Chinese Sugar Cane leaves can be 
bent and rebent into perfect circles without breaking 
them, whilst the others will snap in two. 
WEIGHT OF THE STALK. 
Dr. Sicard, from a desire to relieve the questionings in 
regard to the comparative weight of the Chinese Sugar 
Cane and the broom corn, took from each one of these of 
the same length, about twenty-nine inches, and that there 
might be no mistake as to the identity of their period of 
development, measured their diameter. These precau- 
tions taken, he weighed them, and found that the broom 
corn weighed thirty-five grammes, and the sugar cane one 
hundred and thirty-seven grammes. Let those, then, who 
say that the Chinese Sugar Cane is no more than broom 
corn, that the juice of the one is as good as the other, 
compare this result, which, from our experience of the 
comparative weight of the two plants, (though we have 
made no precise experiment,) we should think would be 
a faithful indication of the differences, in the vast majority 
