140 SUGAR 



an epitome of the full-grown cane plant, and it is, there- 

 fore, natural to look for variation in this part : and this 

 expectation appears to be justified to a considerable 

 degree. 



The amount of shooting in buds often helps to distin- 

 guish different but closely allied varieties. It has even 

 been asserted that the part of the mature cane, whether 

 the base, middle, or top, where shooting occurs can be 

 used as a distinguishing feature. But here, as in all 

 directions, climatic conditions play an important part, and 

 the subject at present requires further study. 



The mode of bursting of the bud, correlated apparently 

 with its shape, is an important character. It is com- 

 paratively easy to determine the point at which the shoot 

 will arise in quite young buds, because of the arrange- 

 ment of the veins on the scales. Bursting is usually 

 apical in elongated buds, whilst it is dorsal, that is to say, 

 in the middle of the back, in rounded or short ones. In 

 the Pansahi group it is almost always apical, whilst in 

 the Chin group it is typically dorsal. The matter is, 

 however, somewhat complicated by the fact that, in all 

 canes, the lower joints tend more to dorsal and the upper 

 to apical bursting. 



The size of a resting bud is a fairly constant character 

 for each variety of cane. Those of Pansahi are large, 

 extending even in the resting condition some way beyond 

 the growth ring, while in the Rheora group they are so 

 small that they do not reach half-way across the root- 

 zone. In Chin they are of moderate size, usually cover 

 the root-zone, and reach the growth ring. 



The shape of the bud also varies a good deal. In some 

 canes they are flat and round, in others bulged and 

 elongated, in some hemispherical and rounded, and, 

 again, in others scale-like and very long, truncated or 

 rhomboid, emarginate or apiculate, that is, indented at 

 the top or extending into a long beak, arrow-shaped or 

 lance-like in fact, a considerable repertory of botanical 

 terms is needed to describe the various forms of the bud. 



The bud may arise in close contact with the leaf-scar, 

 or it may have its base separated from it by a consider- 

 able space. If this occurs the part of the root-zone below 



