10 



CHAPTER I 



rh 



X75 



after Cobb,^ enlarged 30 diameters, 

 of a single flower of Lahaina cane. 

 At I is the ovary, the growth of 

 which produces the seed ; it is ovoid 

 and sessile. From the ovary pro- 

 ceed two styles of a reddish colour, 

 bearing the plumose stigmas, 2. At 

 3 are the three anthers which pro- 

 duce the pollen, that serves to fer- 

 tilize the stigmas ; at 4 are the two 

 lodicules, the function of which is, 

 by swelling at the proper time, to 

 open the cane blossom ; at 5 is the 

 innermost palet of the cane flower, 

 and at 7, 6 and 8 the remaining 

 palet and the glumes ; at 9 are the 

 bristles that surround the base of 

 the flower. It is only exceptionally 

 that the cane forms fertile seed. Some 

 varieties never flower, and others do 

 so only in the tropics. The age at 

 which the cane flowers varies from 

 eight to fifteen months, and is de- 

 pendent on variety and climate and 

 also on the time of planting. Flower- 

 ing takes place at certain definite 



which also arise by a con- 

 tinual process of cell sub- 

 division all the other 

 tissues of the root. 



Function of the Root. — 

 The functions of the root 

 are two-fold ; the root 

 hairs closely envelop par- 

 ticles of soil, thereby 

 maintaining the hold of 

 the plant on the soil, 

 and, secondly, the root 

 hairs absorb water and 

 plant food from the soil 

 and transmit it to the 

 other parts of the grow- 

 ing plant. 



The Flower. — The in- 

 florescence of the cane is 

 a panicle of soft silky 

 spikelets, borne on the 

 end of an elongated ped- 

 uncle, called the arrow, arising from the 

 terminal vegetative point of the cane. 

 In Fig. 12 is given a drawing 



Fig. r2 



