CHAPTER VI 

 SUGAR CANE 



SUGAR CANE is a tall, rank-growing grass, presumably a na- 

 tive of India, Malaya, and Cochin China, and now cultivated 

 throughout the Tropics and subtropics. It is doubtful 

 whether the strictly wild species from which the cultivated 

 varieties of sugar cane have been developed has been pre- 

 served in any of its original habitats. Sugar cane is not only 

 an extremely vigorous grass of rapid growth, but is of con- 

 siderable ornamental beauty, especially when in 'tassel. 



The sugar cane is generally recognized as one of the most 

 important commercial crops of the world. The world's trade 

 in sugar is about 10,000,000 tons annually, of which 6,000,000 

 tons are beet sugar and 4,000,000 tons cane sugar. India also 

 produces about 2,500,000 tons of cane sugar annually which 

 does not come into commerce but is consumed locally. Large 

 quantities of sugar are also consumed in other sugar-produc- 

 ing countries. The total world production of sugar is about 

 20,885,000 tons. 



Sugar cane is referred by botanists to the species Saccharum 

 officinarum. There are several species of this genus, but 3\ 

 officinarum is the only one with which we are concerned as a 

 commercial sugar-producing plant. This species has been 

 divided for purposes of classification into the groups genuinum 

 (pale green or yellow canes), litt era-turn (greenish or yellow- 

 ish canes with red stripes), and molaceum (violet-colored 

 canes). These groups in turn are divided into the numerous 

 varieties of cane which are cultivated throughout the tropi- 

 cal countries. The stalk of sugar cane varies from 3 to 25 



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