136 SUGAR 



would appear to be different kinds of blushing. Some 

 canes show delicate shades of pink after being cut, which 

 are not seen in the living canes. The colour of the 

 young stem still enclosed in the leaf-sheaths of the bud 

 is frequently characteristic and different from older parts 

 of the same cane. Arid the buds, root-zone, growth 

 rings, etc., often show characteristic tinges which help 

 to distinguish varieties. 



The leaf-sheaths also appear to be peculiarly sensitive 

 to light and other influences, and assume different colours 

 accordingly. Thus, the Pansahi group always has dark 

 purple blotches on its leaf-sheaths. This is possibly due 

 to the attacks of a definite fungus, for there is no doubt 

 that there is a specific relation between canes and fungi 

 growing on them. Red rot, smut, Cercospora, and many 

 unnamed leaf fungi will attack certain varieties heavily, 

 leaving others growing in contact with them perfectly 

 untouched. The presence of fungi and the coloration 

 caused by them thus becomes a varietal character. The 

 leaf-sheaths of Dhaulu of Gurdaspur turn a clear crushed 

 strawberry on drying which I have not noted in any other 

 variety, and this coloration is only present in young canes, 

 and disappears in the withering sheaths of older canes. 

 There is a fine field for observations here, and I have only 

 mentioned a few of the differences which can be noted in 

 .any field. 



THE JOINT. The most striking part of the sugar-cane 

 plant is its stem. This is the part which has received 

 most attention in the slow selection of the past ages, and 

 it is therefore to be expected that it should vary markedly 

 in the different groups. I have found it convenient to 

 use the term " joint " for the portion of a cane between 

 two leaf-scars or nodes, thus including in each joint one 

 node and the internode above it. The cane is made up 

 of a series of similar joints placed one above another, 

 those at the base being the oldest and passing upwards 

 into successively younger ones until the vegetative apex 

 is reached. These joints vary in character according to 

 their state of maturity, and also with regard to their 

 position on the stem, but we may leave these differences 

 out of consideration here. 



