44 MANUAL FOR SUGAR GROWERS. 



terminal bud, or when the top is planted the terminal 

 bud will grow in preference to the lateral buds or 

 eyes, giving rise to the appearance known as " capon 

 tail," from the fact that the first leaves springing 

 from the terminal bud have been partly cut off; the 

 young leaves having thus lost their tips present a 

 truncated appearance suggestive of a capon's tail. 

 Plants grown in this manner do not bunch well, and 

 the early developed cane arising from the terminal 

 bud ripens before the other canes, and thus tends to 

 arrow. Tops for planting should be taken from 

 sound, ripe canes, those taken from sound but soft 

 green canes rarely grow well. Mr. J. Sutherland 

 was kind enough to make the following experiment 

 at the author's suggestion : Three tops were planted 

 in three tubs, care being taken to make the condi- 

 tions equal in all three ; two of the tops were from 

 mature cane, and one was- from young green cane. 

 The two tops from mature cane sprouted in eleven 

 days, while the immature one did not throw out a 

 shoot until the twenty-second day. 



Mr. E. R. Hall made the following experiment on 

 the author's, behalf: Three adjacent plots were 

 planted, one with tops from ratoon canes, the indi- 

 vidual tops being carefully picked in order to obtain 

 those of a large size ; the second plot was planted 

 with selected small ratoon tops, and the third with 

 good average tops from plant-canes ; all these canes 

 are now growing, and, so far as the eye can judge, 

 there is no difference between them. 



From these experiments, as well as from general 

 experience, it follows that any good, sound, mature 



