410 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



According to tests made by the Louisiana Station, the 

 Striped cane, when compared with the Purple, grew slightly 

 larger and the stalks were softer and consequently more 

 easily crushed, whereas the Purple cane was hardier and 

 suckered more abundantly than did the Striped cane. The 

 Purple cane is the most popular variety in the Coastal pine- 

 belt. Green cane is a popular variety for chewing purposes. 



Little attention seems to have been given to varieties of 

 sugar-cane for the Florida cane region other than that the 

 best growers usually select the light colored canes because 

 they produce a light colored sirup. 



509. Japanese sugar-cane. This variety is suffi- 

 ciently distinct from the varieties described above to 

 warrant separate discussion. It is especially hardy, and 

 is successfully grown throughout all Florida, southern 

 Georgia, southern Alabama, southern Mississippi, Lou- 

 isiana, and southern Texas. The stems are slender, which 

 characteristic makes the stripping of the leaves a laborious 

 and expensive operation. Because of the extra labor in- 

 volved in stripping the leaves and because the stems are 

 harder and more woody than those of other varieties, 

 Japanese cane is not generally recommended for sugar or 

 sirup making. It is most valuable when used as a forage 

 crop for feeding live-stock. It suckers profusely and is 

 therefore an excellent yielder. South of latitude 33 the 

 stubble will generally survive the winter, a single planting 

 usually sufficing for two or more years. It makes excellent 

 winter pasture, and is also valuable either for silage or dry 

 forage. 



510. Improvement. There is much variability among 

 plants of sugar-cane not only as regards vigor of growth 

 but also in the amount and quality of the juice contained. 

 As these differences are often hereditary, much improve- 



