SUGAR-CANE 113 



which differ from the erect ones in having very short 

 internodes. The erect stems do not usually branch, 

 unless near the base, but the underground ones branch 

 freely, and give rise to clusters of erect ones. 



The topmost internode sometimes grows out rapidly 

 to a length of 90 to 120 cm, bearing at its top a panicle of 

 flowers. Most of the cultivated varieties never flower, 

 and those which do flower rarely bear any seed. The seed 

 is never used to reproduce the plant, except for the sake 

 of getting new varieties. 



History of the Plant. The botanical name of cane is 

 Saccharum officinarum. The plant does not grow wild, 

 and it is very probable that it is only a cultivated form 

 of an uncultivated grass common in India and Malaya. 

 This is Sacc/iarum spontaneum, which is called talahib 

 in Tagalog and tigbao in Bisayan. The earliest cultiva- 

 tion of cane was certainly in India, and was exceedingly 

 ancient. The plant was introduced into China at least 

 sixteen hundred years ago, and was grown all over the 

 Malayan region before the arrival of Europeans. The 

 Moors took it into Europe in the eighth century; and 

 the Spaniards took it to the West Indies in the six- 

 teenth century. 



Varieties of Cane. The cultivated varieties of cane are 

 exceedingly numerous, and the same ones have different 

 names in different countries. Among the most impor- 

 tant varieties are the following : 



i. Bourbon cane, also called Yellow Otaheite: This 

 is a big, rich cane, usually straw-yellow in color. It 



