IMPROVEMENT OF THE SUGAR CANE. 95 
The first instance I can find recorded of the discovery 
of a bud variation occurs in the Report of the Royal 
Botanical Gardens, Mauritius, for 1869* in which Dr. 
HORNE, the Dire¢tor, wrote under the heading of Azd- 
bon Cane. “On examining the plants of this cane 
at “ Mon Plaiser’’ a plant was noticed producing green 
instead of striped canes. On further examination 
two other plants were found, one cf which was pro- 
ducing striped canes from one eye, and green canes 
from another eye, both of which eyes belonged to 
the same piece of cane, while the other plant was produc- 
ing both striped and green canes from one and the same 
eye.” Now here appears to be an account of the authentic 
produétion of bud varieties noticed by an observer of high 
standing, but as far as I can find, no further notice was 
taken of the matter at the time, and I cannot definitely 
learn as to whether or not these apparent bud varieties 
were separately cultivated or lost. That, however, Dr. 
HORNE was fully satisfied of the correétness of his 
observations and that these varieties or others similarly 
obtained were probably preserved may be gathered from 
a letter which he wrote to the Direétor of Kew Gardens 
under date of December gth, 1890, and from which the 
following is extraéted :— 
“| think it probable that more and better results will 
“be obtained by good cultivation and by new varieties 
from bud sports, Of these last we have eight or nine 
in Mauritius alone, some of them are very fine canes and 
they are extensively planted. Most of them are hardier 
than their parents and yield more sugar. They are 
mostly obtained from new canes recently introduced. 
* Sugar Cane Vol. ii. p. 673. 
