SUGAR-CANE 491 



471i Improvement of cane. — It has been proved that 

 sugar-canes propagated from buds differ among themselves 

 in the percentage of sugar and in other useful qualities. 

 It has also been found that the selection for planting pur- 

 poses of canes from clumps or stools the stalks of which 

 are rich in sugar, results in an improvement in the quality 

 of the next crop. By this mode of selecting good stalks, 

 some improvement can be made in sugar-cane. 



An experiment conducted at the Louisiana Sugar Experiment 

 Station through six generations showed a decrease in yield from 

 the repeated planting of small canes. Taking the average for 

 all years the continuous planting of large canes produced an 

 average crop of 30 tons of cane per acre. The repeated planting 

 of medium-sized canes yielded 29.85 tons ; and the continuous 

 planting of small canes afforded an average crop of only 25.95 

 tons of cane per acre. The decrease from using small seed canes 

 was greater in the first crop, or " plant cane," than in the second 

 crop, or " stubble cane." 



However, it is a general rule that plants grown from 

 seed show greater differences among themselves than do 

 the same kinds of plants when propagated from buds. 

 Taking advantage of this, selection is made of those seed- 

 ling canes which show especially desirable qualities, and 

 these strains are thereafter propagated by planting the 

 canes in the usual way, thus retaining and perpetuating 

 the quality desired. The planting of true seed is now the 

 first step in the usual method of bringing into existence 

 new varieties of sugar-cane. 



Composition 

 472. Proportion of parts of the cane. — At the Louisi- 

 ana Sugar Station, for each tbn of stripped cane of the 



