THE CANE. 



Immediately above each joint appears a ring of semi-opaque whitish spots; 

 this is the zone of adventitious roots; each spot is an embryonic root. In some 

 varieties the roots on the portion above ground under normal conditions develop 

 freely, and form a kind of aerial root ; under other conditions this sprouting of 

 the roots is one of the symptoms of the disease known as 'Sereh'; with canes 

 of a recumbent habit sprouting is frequent, and leads to a general weakening 

 of the plant. 



The outer surface of the stem is known as the rind ; it may be green, 

 yellow, red, purple, white or striped, or blotched in a combination of these 

 colours. 



The Root. The 'root' or root-stock of the cane is merely a prolonga- 

 tion of the stalk beneath the surface of the ground attached to the mother cane 

 in plant cane, or to the mother stalk in ratoon cane. The true roots of the 

 cane spring from the nodes of the stem ; they are fibrous, lateral, and very 

 delicate; they ramify in all directions, generally extending from 18 inches 

 to 3 feet from the stem. Stubbs 5 says that the roots do not penetrate veiy 

 deeply, but Ling Roth 6 mentions roots extending as far downwards as 4 feet, 

 and Liversedge 6 states that he has seen roots as far down as 8 or 10 feet. The 

 depth to which roots penetrate, however, depends largely on the nature of the 

 soil ; they extend furthest in light porous soils. In seasons of drought the 

 roots extend downwards following the water level; on the other hand, 

 in fields with a sour ill-drained sub-soil, the roots, after penetrating down wards, 

 turn back on themselves to the upper surface soil. The cane has no tap root, 

 and its roots have comparatively little hold on the soil. 



The Leaf. The leaves of the cane are alternate and opposite, one at 

 each joint ; actually, the leaf consists of two parts, the leaf sheath and the 

 leaf blade. The leaf sheath springs from the node. It completely embraces, 

 at its base, the stalk, and gradually recedes from it ; the sheath is colourless 

 or pale green, and about 12 inches long at maturity. The blade is from 

 3 to 4 feet long, and 2 to 3 inches wide ; in colour the leaves are varying 

 shades of green ; in some varieties, as in the Cavengerie, variegated or entirely 

 white leaves are often developed. Some Pacific Island canes fS. violaceum) 

 have purple leaves. The leaves taper towards the top, and are delicately 

 serrated along the margin ; in many varieties setae or hairs abound at the base 

 of the leaf, capable of forming painful punctures iu the skin; the leaf is 

 traversed longitudinally by a number of veins. The midrib is generally white, 

 but sometimes reddish or purple, and is formed with a channel-like depression 

 in its upper surface. The leaves at maturity fall away from the stalk, and in 

 some varieties separate themselves entirely. 



