612 ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER IV 



geographical positions of Mauritius and the Malabar Coast are such that this 

 cane could easily have travelled to that island and have become confounded 

 with the real Otaheite. 



In the Deccan, in Marathi, the word " Pundya " means " overgrown " 

 and hence thick ; a second Marathi word, " Pandhra," means "white " ; 

 and this second derivation of the term " Paunda " is that favoured by Sir 

 George Watt in his "Dictionary of the Economic Products of India." 



For much of the above information I am indebted to Mr. J. B. Knight, 

 Principal of the Poona Agricultural College. 



Cane Introductions. After the introduction of the Otaheite cane to India 

 from Mauritius by Sleeman in 1824, it became extensively cultivated ; it 

 is on record that about 1857 it became suddenly attacked by a disease, 

 since when its extended cultivation in India has ceased. 



From India this cane travelled to Burma, about 1840, and it here remains 

 in extended cultivation, being known as Otaheite and as Toungoo Yellow, 

 from the district where mostly grown. In this case the pedigree is fully 

 known : Otaheite to Mauritius by Bougainville (1782), Mauritius to India 

 by Sleeman (1827), India to Burma (1840). As seen by the writer on the 

 large scale at Zewaddia, it was at once recognizable as typical Otaheite, 

 though no taxonomic analysis was attempted. The stock now extant in 

 Burma should, then, serve to fix the original Otaheite type, as other intro- 

 ductions here tending to make for confusion do not seem to be on record. 



From sources not available when the manuscript of this book was pre- 

 pared, it appears that the original Mauritius industry was founded on 

 stock imported from Madagascar at the end of the I7th century, and that 

 again, about 1800, Madagascar canes were imported to Mauritius. The 

 names of these canes were all distinguished by the prefix Fary-, but none 

 seems to have become established. 



The planters of Mauritius in times past have always been most active 

 in introducing canes from other districts, and a full account of these intro- 

 ductions will be found in de Sornay's " La canne a Sucre a Tile Maurice,'* 

 which was published very shortly before this work was issued. Conversely 

 it may also be put on record that Mauritius has formed the distributing 

 centre whence many other districts have obtained their supplies of varieties. 



Quoting from de Sornay, the following amplifications and corrections 

 may be made to the subject matter of Chapter IV : 



The Tanna cane as the striped variety reached Mauritius in 1870, its 

 native name being Wopandon. 



In 1874 a Dutch astronomer, Soethers by name, who had come to Bourbon 

 to observe the transit of Venus, introduced a cane to which his name became 

 attached in Mauritius. Dating from Kruger's " Das Zuckerrohr " (1899), 

 the name of a cane known in Java as " Loethers " has been supposed to be 

 a misspelling of " Louzier/' and no inconsiderable confusion has arisen 

 on this account, the Java " Loethers " being sometimes taken as being the 

 Mauritius " Louzier," whereas it is actually a different cane. The short 

 descriptions available of Soethers and Loethers tally, and a misreading of 

 " S " for " L " explains the whole confusion. 



