SUGAR-CANE 411 



ment can be accomplished by a careful selection of the 

 seed-canes. The continuous planting of large canes 

 through six generations by the Louisiana Sugar Exper- 

 iment Station resulted in an average production of 30 

 tons of cane an acre as compared with an average produc- 

 tion of 25.95 tons to the acre for the same period where 

 small canes were planted. All defective, diseased, or 

 immature canes should be discarded if the most profitable 

 results are to be secured. The planting of immature, 

 poorly developed canes results in a very uneven stand and 

 the production of many short-jointed small canes. Early 

 maturity is an important factor in selecting the best plants 

 for conditions in this country. 



In recent years much attention has been given to the 

 work of propagating new varieties of cane from seed rather 

 than by planting the stems. As sugar-cane belongs to that 

 group of plants which does not come true to type when 

 grown from seed, a crop of seedlings exhibits an enormous 

 amount of diversity, opening up a wide field for selection. 

 Throughout the tropical cane-growing regions many valu- 

 able varieties have been produced by this method. Since 

 1906 the Louisiana Sugar Experiment Station at Audubon 

 Park, Louisiana, has succeeded in producing a large num- 

 ber of seedling canes, the seed being secured from tropical 

 countries. It is highly probable that as this work con- 

 tinues some of these seedling canes will be developed into 

 excellent varieties. 



