142 SUGAR 



the bristles on the flanges. The minute black hairs are 

 found on the buds of many varieties, and can only be 

 seen with a moderately powerful lens. Sometimes 

 present only about the apex, they are on other buds seen 

 among the hairs composing the basal patches, in extreme 

 cases replacing the latter entirely. Or they may occur 

 all over the base, between the basal patches, in a position 

 where hairs are usually not present. Their presence or 

 absence has been used as a distinguishing character in 

 at least one case of closely allied forms; in Katha they 

 are hardly ever seen, while in Dhaulu of Gurdaspur they 

 are constantly present. 



Doubtless other characters of the bud will come to light 

 which may be of use in classification as more canes are 

 studied; but enough have been mentioned to vindicate the 

 assertion that the study of the bud is of considerable 

 utility in separating the different canes. 



The leaf, its sheath, and lamina, and especially the 

 various processes which arise at the point of junction .of 

 these latter, have produced a considerably larger number 

 of characters than those mentioned for the bud, but to 

 give them in detail would be wearisome in this place. I 

 would, however, point out that all these observations are 

 necessary in a pioneer study of this kind, because one can 

 never tell which character is likely to prove fixed and of 

 systematic value, and which varies under different con- 

 ditions. With this latter possibility in mind, it will be 

 seen at once that the classification of closely allied forms 

 purely by their vegetative characters is a work of con- 

 siderable magnitude. These observations merely form 

 the basis on which the scheme of classification is to be 

 raised. It does not seem likely that any one character, 

 or set of characters, can be used in the form of a key 

 for analysing the different varieties. The method of 

 grouping the canes according to a natural system, in 

 which the sections have the greatest possible number of 

 characters in common, appears rather to be indicated. 

 Such a method will also have the advantage of throwing 

 light upon the origin of the different forms and on the 

 gradual changes which have occurred as the sugar-cane 

 has passed from place to place as cultivation has spread. 



