600 



SUGAR-CANE 



SUGAR-CANE 



juice and converting it into sugar and molasses, 

 did the plant take on its modern high rank in 

 agriculture. As a source of sugar it stood practi- 

 cally alone until the beginning of the last century, 

 and, notwithstanding the immense increase in the 

 culture of other sugar-yielding plants, it still 

 maintains in most countries its preeminence in this 

 respect. 



The plant is grown under so many various con- 

 ditions, is handled by such a great variety of 

 machines, and converted into sugar by such intri- 

 cate methods, that it is doubtful whether there is 

 another crop plant whose various features are the 

 subject of so much discussion from a practical 

 point of view. The crop is grown where labor is 

 cheap, and by hand methods, or, at least, with simple 

 machinery adapted to cheap ignorant labor. It is 

 also grown where labor is much more expensive, 

 and where intricate and costly machinery has to 

 take the place of the ordinary simple agricultural 

 implements. Furthermore, the plant is usually con- 

 verted into sugar, — even reiined sugar, in some 

 cases, — on the plantation where it is grown, and 

 usually under the same management, by means of 

 machinery of the very largest and most costly 

 description, and by exceedingly intricate methods 

 requiring expert knowledge of a high and varied 

 order. The adaptation of the crop to these various 

 methods involves the consideration of hundreds of 

 features that are never, or at least rarely, con- 

 sidered in connection with any other plant. Most 

 important among these features are the structure 

 and physiology of the plant. It is only by a clear 

 understanding of these matters that the rationale 

 of the culture of cane and its conversion into sugar 

 can be properly understood. From an industrial 

 point of view, we need to consider the structure 

 of the root, stalk, leaf and blossom. [For other 

 botanical characters, see page 367.] 



Physiological considerations. 



Boot. — Among the numerous roots of the cane 

 plant, there is no single prominent taproot. The dis- 

 tribution of the system under ground is for a short 

 distance, at least, somewhat uniform in the space 

 available, various individual roots, however, pene- 

 trating to a distance of several feet. The nodes of 

 the stalk are supplied with incipient roots ; and the 

 lower nodes are particularly active in rooting, so 

 that it is very common for them to produce roots 

 successively from the base up, that enter the 

 ground and actively function in promoting the 

 growth of the top. It is common for the older roots 

 to perish, and be replaced by new roots derived in 

 part, at least, in this way. As a rule, the roots of 

 the cane branch but little. The root-cap presents no 

 novel features, except that it is now known to be 

 a vulnerable point in some varieties for the entrance 

 of various fungous parasites. When the end of the 

 root is thus infested and killed, it is not uncommon 

 for buds to be produced higher up on the same 

 root, the new root thus originated taking up the 

 functions of the destroyed part. The structure of 

 the roots of some varieties is such that they are in 

 other ways susceptible to various pests inhabiting 



the soil, though destruction of the roots is accom- 

 plished for the most part by fungous pests, in 

 many cases an entrance is made for these pests by 

 wounds caused by soil-inhabiting nematodes and 

 insects. These facts have been brought to light by 

 the most modern researches and emphasize the 

 necessity of giving greater attention to methods of 

 culture that will diminish losses of this nature. 



Stalk. — The industrial value of the cane-stalk 

 depends on a great variety of features, all related 

 to the amount and nature of the saccharine matter 

 that can be extracted at a given cost, and the 

 ability of the stalk to reproduce itself with its 

 properties unimpaired. This subject is very com- 

 plicated, and only a brief outline can be undertaken. 

 Two main features will be discussed : (1) The amount 

 and nature of the saccharine matter ; (2) The struc- 

 ture of the stalk. These two are closely related. 



(1) Amount and nature of the saccharine matter. — 

 The Saccharine matter is distributed in the stalk 

 according to a definite law which may be roughly 

 expressed by saying that it reaches its maximum 

 near the middle of the stalk' and is at a minimum 

 near the ends, the decrease being least toward the 

 ground and greatest near the top. At a certain 

 period of growth, varying widely with climate, 

 the total saccharine matter reaches a maximum. 

 This is the ripening period, and, of course, the 

 period at whose termination the cane should be 

 crushed. Judging this stage is a (Jrucial test of the 

 grower's skill. Not only does it vary with the gen- 

 eral climate, but also with the particular season 

 and with the soil and the variety. In general it 

 may be said that the ripening is governed by the 

 temperature and the sunlight. Two plantations 

 having the same conditions otherwise, but the one 

 subject to more cloud shadow than the other, will 

 vary in the richness of the juices extracted from 

 the cane. In a similar way any change in the tem- 

 perature will work a like change in the yield of 

 sugar. One plantation, irrigated with cold spring- 

 water derived from high mountains, will vary 

 materially from another irrigated with rain-water 

 brought from a distance in open ditches, and there- 

 fore applied at a higher temperature. 



After reaching their maximum, the extractable 

 saccharine matters decrease as the cane grows 

 older and begins to form its inflorescence. In fact, 

 it is for the work of flowering that the cane plant 

 stores up saccharine matter. In the effort to har- 

 vest the cane at its maximum saccharine content, 

 the planter is aided by the chemist who makes 

 analyses of sample stalks of the crop. This test, 

 however, is not always resorted to, as the planter 

 learns by experience to judge the ripeness of the 

 cane by its outward appearance, i. e., its color, the 

 stage of its inflorescence, and the like. 



Because of the expensiveness of the modern mill, 

 it is necessary for economic reasons to prolong the 

 crushing season as much as possible, and for this 

 reason the planter resorts to various methods to 

 prolong the ripening of his fields in such a way 

 that they reach their maximum sugar yield in suc- 

 cession during the crushing season, which may thus 

 last for several months. By using several varieties 



