226 



BOTANY OF CROP PLANTS 



spikelet. Each spikelct is two-flowered; the lower one is 

 sterile and consists of a palet; the upper is fertile and has 

 a lemma and palet, two minute lodicules, one to three sta- 

 mens, and a single ovary with two stigmas. There is a tuft 

 of long, silky hairs at the base of each spikelet. The grain 



Fig. 86. — Mill where sugar cane is crushed. (From Essentials of Geography _ 

 Second Book. Copyright, 1916. by Albert Perry Brigham and Charles T 

 McFarlane. American Book Company, Publishers.) 



is small, silky, and of low vitaUty. Mature grains are seldom 

 produced in cultivated plants and pollen is often infertile. 

 Geographical.^ — Saccharum officinarum is a native of the 

 tropics. It is now grown as a crop throughout our Southern 

 States and in many other warm regions. It is not a success 



