CHAPTER XXXV 



'SUGAR-CANE {Saccharum officinarum) 



ShgartCANE is a rank-growing, coarse-stemnied peren- 

 nial grass. It is grown for its stems, the juice of which is 

 extracted for making sugar, sirup, and molasses. 



497. Nativity. — The genus Saccharum includes about 

 a dozen species, all of which are native to the Old World. 

 The natural habitat of wild sugar-cane is thought to have 

 been southeastern Asia, although it is doubtful whether 

 the wild form has ever been observed by any scientist. 

 The domesticated sugar-cane is a very ancient crop, the 

 origin of its culture having been lost in antiquity. It is 

 probable that sugar-cane is one of the first crops cultivated 

 by tropical people. 



DESCRIPTION 



498. The plant. — Usually' a plant of sugar-cane 

 consists of a number of stalks growing together in a cluster, 

 a habit that is due to thfe tendency of the main-stem, and 

 oftentimes the secondary stems, to throw up additional 

 stems from the underground nodes. The usual height 

 of the plant is 8 to 12 feet,, although in tropical regions it 

 grows taller (Fig. 71). , 



The duration of the plants varies in different regions. 

 lA tropical countries one planting usually furnishes several 

 harvests, the stubble remaining alive from season to 

 season. In the Gulf Coast region of the United States two 

 or three crops are usually secured from one planting, while 



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