SUGAR CANE 137 



everywhere receiving the attention of experimenters. 

 Great confusion exists in regard to the names of these 

 varieties, since the same kind has often received dif- 

 ferent names in the various countries to which it has 

 been introduced. This active comparative study of 

 varieties, and the production of so many new ones, 

 will, it is hoped, soon lead to an improvement in the 

 average sugar content, as has been done in so marked 

 a way by similar work with the sugar beet. Mean- 

 while it is interesting to note that the industrious 

 Dutch investigators in Java have recently conclu- 

 sively demonstrated the complete practicability of 

 largely and permanently increasing the sugar con- 

 tent by the chemical selection of the best strains 

 found in existing varieties. The practical impor- 

 tance of this discovery is greatly enhanced by the 

 fact that increased richness in the juice seems to be 

 correlated with large size and vigor in the cane. 

 This fact seems to have been proven by long-con- 

 tinued and extensive breeding experiments. If it 

 shall be confirmed by further experimentation in 

 other countries, it will prove a discovery of the 

 utmost practical importance, since by simply per- 

 sistently selecting the most vigorous, heaviest canes 

 for planting, year after year, we will not only de- 

 velop a strain yielding a greater tonnage, but one 

 yielding a considerably richer juice as well. The 

 importance of a careful selection of seed cane is a 

 question that has been grossly neglected in most cane- 

 growing countries. 



Diseases and Insects. — The cane borer (^Diatrea 

 saceharalis Fabr.) is a lepidopterous larva that is 



