SUGAR-CANE 409 



VARIETIES AND IMPROVEMENT OF SUGAR-CANE 



508. Varieties. Four varieties of sugar-cane make 

 up the bulk of the crop in the cane-growing regions of the 

 United States. These are the Purple, or Red Cane, the 

 Striped, or true Ribbon Cane and the recent varieties re- 

 ferred to as D. 74 and D. 95. The Purple and Striped 

 varieties were introduced into Louisiana in 1825 by John 

 J. Coiron, a planter. The distribution of these excellent 

 varieties throughout the State gave the sugar industry of 

 that region a substantial impetus. Notwithstanding the 

 large number of varieties that were subsequently intro- 

 duced, particularly by the Louisiana Sugar Station, the 

 Purple and Striped canes ranked as the best varieties for 

 Louisiana conditions until within recent years when the 

 Louisiana Station introduced from Demerara the two new 

 varieties referred to as D. 74 and D. 95. These latter 

 varieties have received from the Louisiana Station the 

 unqualified recommendation as being better than the 

 Purple and Striped canes for Louisiana conditions. Both 

 are early maturing varieties, reaching maturity in about 

 10 months even when grown in sections where the entire 

 twelve months is available for their development. Their 

 chief advantages are, (1) high yield, (2) high percentage 

 of crystallizable sugar and (3) high purity of the juice. 



"D. 95 is a large, erect, purple cane. It has long joints, 

 large stalks, and pale green foliage; it " suckers" or 

 "rattoons" well and is fully as hardy toward cold as 

 ordinary purple cane. 



"D. 74 is a tall, erect, green cane with long joints and a 

 deep green foliage. It " suckers " abundantly and produces 

 large stalks and heavy yields." l 



1 J. F. Duggar, "Southern Field Crops," p. 506. 



