SUGAR 



935 



fore its cultivation had .come into considerable activity at the period of his second ex- 

 pedition, Towards the middle of the seventeenth century, the sugar-cane was im- 

 ported into Barbadoes from Brazil, then into the other English West Indian possessions, 

 into the Spanish Islands on the coast of America, into Mexico, Peru, Chili, and, last 

 of all, into the French, Dutch, and Danish colonies. 



The sugar-cane, Arundo saccharifera, is a plant of the graminiferous family, which 

 varies in height from 8 to 10 or even to 20 feet. Its diameter is about an inch anil 

 a half ; its stem is dense, brittle, and of a green hue, which verges to yellow at the 

 approach of maturity. It is divided by prominent annular joints of a whitish-yellow 

 colour. These joints are placed about 3 inches apart ; and send forth leaves, which 

 fall off with the ripening of the plant. The leaves are 3 or 4 feet long, flat, straight, 

 pointed, from 1 to 2 inches in breadth, of a sea-green tint, striated in their length, 

 alternate, embracing the stem by their base. They are marked along their edges with 

 almost imperceptible teeth. In the eleventh or twelfth month of their growth the 

 canes push forth at their top a sprout 7 or 8 feet in height, nearly half an inch in 

 diameter, smooth, and without joints, to which the name arrow is given. This is 

 terminated by an ample panicle, about 2 feet long, divided into several knotty rami- 

 fications, composed of very numerous flowers, of a white colour, apetalous, and 

 furnished with 3 stamens, the anthers of which are a little oblong. The roots of the 

 sugar-cane are jointed and nearly cylindrical ; in diameter they are about one-twelfth 

 of an inch ; in their utmost length 1 foot, presenting over their surface a few short 

 radicles. 



The stem of the cane in its ripe state is heavy, very smooth, brittle, of a yellowish- 

 violet, reddish, or whitish colour, according to the variety. It is filled with a fibrous, 

 spongy, dirty-white pith, which contains very abundant sweet juice. This juice is 

 elaborated separately in each internoclary portion, the functions of which are in this 

 respect independent of the portions above and below. The cane is propagated by 

 cuttings or joints of proper length, from 15 to 20 inches, in proportion to the nearness 

 of the joints, which are generally taken from the tops of the canes, just below the 



1921 



There are several varieties of the sugar-cane. The longest known is the Creole, or 

 common sugar-cane, which was originally introduced at Madeira. It grows freely in 

 every region within the tropics, on a moist soil, even at an elevation of 3,000 feet 

 above the level of the sea. In Mexico, among the mountains of Caudina-Masca, it is 

 cultivated to a height of more than 5,000 feet. The quantity and quality of sugar 

 which it yields are proportional to the heat of the place where it 

 grows, provided it be not too moist and marshy. 



Another variety is the Otaheitan cane. It was introduced into 

 the West Indies about the end of the eighteenth century. This 

 variety, stronger, taller, with longer spaces between the joints, 

 quicker in its growth, and much more productive in sugar, suc- 

 ceeds perfectly well in lands which seem too much impoverished 

 to grow the ordinary cane. It sends forth shoots at temperatures 

 which chill the growth and development of the Creole plant. Its 

 maturation does not take more than a year, and is accomplished 

 sometimes in nine months. From the strength of its stem, and 

 the woodiness of its fibres, it better resists the storms. It weighs 

 a third more, affords a sixth more juice, and a fourth more sugar, 

 than the common variety. It yields four crops in the same time 

 that the Creole cane yields only three. Its juice contains less 

 feculency and mucilage, whence its sugar is more easily crystal- 

 lised, and of a fairer colour. 



Another variety, valuable chiefly from its hardiness, is the 

 purple violet from Java. It grows from 8 to 10 feet high. This 

 cane is covered with a resinous film, which is difficult to grind ; 

 but as the sugar yielded is of excellent quality, this variety is 

 of considerable value in bordering cane-fields, protecting them 

 from the inroads of cattle. 



There is a caste in Ceylon, called Jaggeraros, who make sugar 

 from the produce of the Caryota urens, or Kitul-tree ; and the 

 sugar is styled Jaggery. Sugar is not usually made in Ceylon 

 from the sugar-cane ; but either from the juice of the Kitul, from 

 the Cocos nucifera, or the Borassus flabclliformis (the Palmyra 

 Palm). 



Several sorts of cane are cultivated in India. 



The Cadjoolee (fig. 1921) is a purple-coloured cane; yields a sweeter and richer 

 juice than the yellow or light-coloured, but in less quantities, and is harder to press. 



