208 THE AFRICAN SUGAR CANE. 
there is a clearness, a brightness, and a genuine sugar- 
cane sweetness in the juice of this variety, and of the 
Oom-see-a na, that I very much admire. In its growth 
and general appearance, it is very much like the E-en- 
gha; but its stalks are brighter and more slender: its 
leaves are not so broad, and its seed vessels are upon 
shorter and stiffer foot stalks. The stalks have a pinkish 
red tint, which increases as they approach maturity, and 
the seed cases have a pink and purple hue mixed with 
the general yellow ground. The Boom-vwa-na tillers 
very much, giving from ten to twenty stalks for one root, 
but they seldom weigh more than one pound each. I 
have obtained seventy per cent. of juice, which is easily 
clarified, and makes a beautiful sugar. The plant reaches 
perfection in from three to three and a half months. 
‘“ Oom-see-d-na” is a peculiarly marked variety, in 
consequence of the purple or black appearance of its 
seed-heads, arising from the sheath or seed cases being 
of this color, and not the seed itself. The seed head is 
wery stiff and erect, with short, strong foot stalks, and 
the seed is large, round, and full. In time of growth, 
and goodness of juice, it is very similar to the Boom-vwa- 
na; its stalks are small, but numerous. They both rat- 
toon well, in three months, from first cuttings. 
“* Shla-goova”’ is slightly inferior to the three last men- 
tioned varieties, but is nevertheless very valuable, and 
much prized by the Zulus. It takes three and a half 
months to ripen, and becomes a tall, good sized plant; 
but its chief distinction is the exceeding beatity and ele- 
gance of its seed heads. The foot stalks are extremely 
long, which causes them to have a graceful drooping, 
