CANE SUGAK. 



Stalk. The stalk of the cane is roughly cylindrical, and varies widely 

 in size, not only with the variety, but also with the conditions of growth ; the 

 diameter varies from a minimum of inch to a maximum of 3 inches. The 

 smallest diameter is found in varieties seldom cultivated, as, for example, 

 the Branchu, and among the reed-like canes grown by the ryots of British 

 India, and in some parts called Nanal canes. 4 The greatest is found in the 

 Elephant canes, while the Striped and Black Tanna canes are also of 

 comparatively large girth. The Cheribon canes (cp. Chapter IF.) are types 

 of the more slender cultivated canes, while the Bourbon may be considered of 

 average diameter. The length of the stalk in the best cultivated varieties 

 reaches to as much as 20 feet ; in others, such as the Bois-rouge and Branchu, 

 the maximum height is very much less. In its early stages of growth the 

 cane is erect, and in some varieties, e.g., Yellow Caledonia or White Tanna, 

 and D. 74, it remains so ; in others, such as the Otaheite, it becomes markedly 

 recumbent. 



FIG. 1. 



The stalk is made up of a series of joints, or intern odes, /, Fig. 1, 

 separated from each other by the nodes, e ; generally the internodes grow 

 in a continuous line, but occasionally they are ' staggered,' each internode 

 growing at an angle with the next one. The diameter at the node is generally 

 a little larger than at the internode, but in some varieties the internode is 

 notably swollen. The length of the internode may reach to as much as 

 10 inches, but in well grown Otaheite cane this is generally 4 to 6 inches; 

 the Tanna canes are distinctly short-jointed in proportion to girth, while the 

 B. 147 cane may be taken as an example of a long- jointed variety. The 

 length of joint is influenced largely by conditions of growth ; thus it becomes 

 very much reduced when affected by drought or by the cold weather, or when 

 the leaf of the cane has been attacked by disease. The number of internodes 

 may be as many as eighty, or as few as twenty. At each node, and alternately, 

 at opposite sides, is an embryo cane, known as the eye, b, Fig. 1 it is the 

 size of a pea or larger, and may be triangular, oval, or almost hemispherical ; 

 in some varieties, as the Branchu, the eye is swollen and prominent. The eye 

 is covered with a resinous substance and with several layers of bud-scales. 



