THE SUGAR-CANE PLANT 



Bourbon. 



Batavian. 



Transparent 

 Ribbon. 



SACCHARUM 



OFFICINARUM 



Varieties 



Mauritius about 1838 (if not much earlier) and was so named in consequence, 

 but is in reality the yellow- violet cane of Java. It is said to excel the red Bombay 

 cane both in size and quality, and to yield one ratoon crop or sometimes two 

 (when grown on rich soils), but as the roots get considerably above ground 

 it requires subsequent surface dressing. 



Otaheite. 2. Otaneite or Yellow and Straw-coloured Cane. This was introduced into 



India about 1840, and became widely distributed, especially in Eastern Bengal 

 and Assam. It is questionably distinct from the Mauritius canes of many 

 plantations. The leaves are broad, pale green and droop considerably, especially 

 on nearing maturity. It shows a marked tendency to arrow, especially if grown 

 under the influence of sea-breezes. It has not proved a success in India, however, 

 as it demands the finest soils, the most thorough agricultural methods, and per- 

 fect protection ; is withal very liable to disease and to the attacks of white ants. 

 According to many observers it rapidly deteriorates in India. 



3. Bourbon Cane. This is by some persons supposed to have been originally 

 discovered on the coast of Malabar, and from there to have been carried to 

 Reunion, improved, and then returned again to India via the West Indies. By 

 other writers both this and the straw-coloured Otaheite canes came originally 

 from Madagascar, while still other writers affirm that the Bourbon cane is one 

 and the same as that often called the Singapore. 



4. Batavian Canes. There are several distinct forms, such as the violet cane, 

 of which Sir John Lefroy wrote in 1794, " The Batavian canes are a deep 

 purple on the outside." Wray says the yellow-violet and purple-violet or Java 

 canes, as also the transparent or ribbon canes, all belong to this type. The 

 yellow- violet differs from the Bourbon and Otaheite in being smaller, less juicy, 

 considerably hardier, slower of growth and with the foliage darker and more 

 erect. When ripe it is usually of a straw-colour with the rind thick and the pith 

 hard, but its juice is rich and tolerably abundant. The purple- violet, on the 

 other hand, is fully as thick as the Bourbon, and has the joints from three to six 

 inches long. The leaves are darker green than the yellow- violet, and it yields 

 a juice richer in sweetness than almost any other cane ; but it is hard, difficult 

 to grind, and affords but a low percentage of juice. The transparent ribbon- 

 cane is of a bright yellow, with a number of blood-red streaks ; its leaves are like 

 those of the yellow-violet, but more erect. In Jamaica it is generally planted on 

 light eandy soils, where no other cane will thrive. 



Canes Eaten. It yields a fair quantity of juice of excellent quality. This cane was in- 



troduced into India (via Bourbon) in 1838, from which circumstance it came to 

 be called " striped Bourbon." Mr. Kobus, who visited India in 1891 to en- 

 deavour to procure fresh stock for the Java plantations, recognised the paunda 

 canes of India (the canes grown specially to be eaten, and not used in the 

 manufacture of sugar) as identical with the canes grown by the Dutch for 

 sugar manufacture. The ukh and ganna (the kinds specially grown in India 

 for sugar manufacture) were previously unknown to Kobus, and he accordingly 

 took back with him a large supply of these. It thus seems highly probable that 

 most of the edible canes of India have been developed from imported stocks, 

 such as those briefly enumerated above. 



China. 5. China Canes. This is the S-|IJ-IIMI ftinensts, which Roxburgh re- 



garded as distinct from the indigenous canes of India. The distinction that he 

 made has not, however, been upheld by modern writers, namely in the leaves 

 being flatter and the margins more hispid. The flowering panicles, Roxburgh 

 says, are ovate in general outline, with simple or compound verticillated branches. 

 The Indian forms he separates as having panicles spreading, the branches alter- 

 nate, decompound, and the corolla one-valved (instead of having the two valves 

 on the same side, seen in the Chinese canes). These canes were introduced into 

 the Botanic Gardens of Calcutta in 1796. Most writers, who experimented with 

 the China canes shortly after their introduction, reported that they were hardy 

 and prolific, not liable to attack by white ants nor jackals, and moreover able 

 to withstand the hot weather better than the indigenous sorts. These opinions 

 are vouched for repeatedly in the Journal of the Agri.- Horticultural Society of India, 

 but it is feared that if the original stock of China canes survive to this day at all, 

 the plants have very possibly been largely merged into the indigenous forms and 

 their origin mostly forgotten. 



Singapore. 6. Singapore Canes. As already affirmed, the more important of these seem 



to be identical with some of the Batavian and Bourbon canes. Wray gives 

 eight different kinds met with in Penang, Singapore and Malacca. The prin- 



934 



Introduced 

 into India. 



