I 



A CHAT ABOUT SUGAR-CANE 15 



mature in about twelve months. Ratoon-crops are 

 not usually so luxuriant as those raised from plant 

 canes. The possibility of cultivating them with any 

 success depends largely upon the fertility of the soil. 



And yet another striking difference : in some centres 

 the old-fashioned methods of hand forking and weed- 

 ing are favoured, whilst in other more advanced dis- 

 tricts labour-saving agricultural implements are used. 



A reliable guide as to the importance in local eyes 

 of the local cane industry in particular, and the whole 

 cane industry in general, is the amount of attention 

 given to manuring. 



And a very sure sign of progress is shown by the 

 existence of Grovernment Nurseries and Laboratories, 

 where experiments are carried on in the interests of 

 sugar-production in a particular country and its various 

 localities. Amongst the most important experiments 

 are those which aim at discovering the special varieties 

 of cane that are most likely to thrive under local con- 

 ditions, and those which have for object the breeding 

 of new varieties from seeds. 



Sugar-cane seeds abound in the clusters of tiny 

 flowers that appear when the canes arrow. What a 

 motley crop the planter would have if he sowed his 

 plantation with them ; no two can be relied on to 

 produce the same kind of plant. 



By being taken to different countries, and brought 

 up in different ways, members of the sugar-cane family 

 have acquired peculiar habits of their own, and de- 

 veloped individual traits. For instance, some sugar- 

 canes are of medium height and girth, others short and 

 slim, tall and slim, tall and fat. Thej^ all make a 

 brilliant colour display with their stalks, but whilst 



