602 



SUGAR-CANE 



SUGAR-CANE 



sugar extracted has reached as high as 97 per 

 cent of the total sugar content, so that the abso- 

 lute limit has been very nearly reached. The 

 economic limit has even been much more nearly 

 reached, since the extraction of the last traces of 

 sugar would be too costly to render it practicable. 

 The average of good mills is not far below 95 per 

 cent. 



The importance to the planter of understanding 

 the distribution of the sucrose in the stalk is also 

 shown by the bearing this distribution has on the 

 matter of harvesting. Cutting close to the ground 

 results in saving more sugar, and it frequently 

 happens that attention to this matter results in a 

 material increase in the profits at a cost small in 

 proportion to the gain. So, too, it sometimes happens 

 that in certain soils and under certain conditions, 

 when the land afterward is to be plowed and re- 

 planted, it is profitable to pull the stalks, in spite of 

 the fact that the operation is more expensive than 

 cutting. These details of the management are de- 

 pendent on the fact that the lower part of the stalk 

 contains considerable amounts of sucrose. Again, it 

 sometimes happens that the planting and the har- 

 vesting can go on simultaneously for months at a 

 time. Under such conditions it is possible to secure 

 seed-cane for the new planting from the tops of the 

 cane that is being harvested. Now the tops, above 

 a certain point that has accurately to be deter- 

 mined, contain comparatively little extractable 

 sucrose. The point at which to cut off the top for 

 seed purposes therefore becomes an important 

 matter, especially as it is precisely the parts that 

 contain the less amount of sugar that are particu- 

 larly good for seed. By cutting the tops too low, 

 tons of sugar may be lost without any correspond- 

 ing gain to the seed. 



(2) Structure of the stalk. — The nature and dis- 

 tribution of the fiber in the stalk determine the 

 resistance of the cane to various adverse influences, 

 so that these qualities become of great importance. 

 If, owing to the nature of the fiber, the stalk is 

 brittle, this fact will cause the cane to break more 

 easily during wind-storms, so that for windy 

 locations canes of this character are unsuitable. 

 The toughness of the stalk is also related to the 

 access of certain pests. Strong fibrous varieties 

 are more resistant to certain insect borers than 

 are the varieties with less fiber, so that, although 

 the latter may be higher in sucrose, it is some- 

 times more profitable to grow the former. "Where 

 the attacks of these pests are severe, the actual 

 yield and the profits may be greater with the 

 poorer variety, owing to the fact that the ravages 

 of the pests are less. 



In a somewhat similar way, it appears that the 

 infestation by certain fungous pests is determined, 

 to a certain extent, by the nature of the rind of 

 the stalk where the fibrous matter is in excess, 

 and, the presence of epidermal cells assisting, the 

 resistance of the cane to the fungous pests is in a 

 degree proportional to the amount of the fibrous 

 matter so located. 



Another matter connected with the structure of 

 the stalk, and one of great practical importance, is 



its size. By a mathematical law, the larger the 

 stalk the greater strength will be imparted to it 

 by the distribution in its outer layers of a given 

 amount of fibrous matter. Further, the larger it 

 is, in view of the foregoing fact, the more space is 

 available for the storage of sucrose in the interior 

 tissues. Hence, varieties with large stalks are 

 generally viewed with more favor than those with 



Planting cane in Louisiana. 



small stalks. Certain varieties of cane produce a 

 comparatively small number of long stalks, while 

 other varieties tend to produce a larger number of 

 shorter stalks. It is evident that these characters 

 adapt the various varieties to various conditions. 

 Short-stalked varieties are better adapted to certain 

 windy locations. 



Not only is the location and distribution of the 

 joints important in determining the value of a 

 variety, as above mentioned, but the size, location 

 and germinating power of buds and roots situ- 

 ated at the joints are also important factors. This 

 is so for two reasons: First, the growth of the' 

 roots is at the expense of the sucrose near by, so 

 that, if a variety has a tendency to root unneces- 

 sarily at the base, then the sugar-yield is lessened. 

 Second, it is the nature of the bud that determines 

 the value of the cane for seed purposes. This 

 factor is important in proportion to the frequency 

 of planting. In some localities ratooning is dis- 

 pensed with, so that after each crop is harvested 

 the land is at once replanted. In many localities 

 the cane is allowed to ratoon only once or twice 

 and then replanted. Of course, in such localities 

 the question of seed is one of greater importance 

 than in those localities where the cane ratoons for 

 a long series of years, and is not often replanted. 



Varieties of cane differ to a remarkable extent 

 in respect to the germinating power of their eyes. 

 In some varieties eyes in any part of the stalk 

 germinate readily ; in others, only those eyes near 

 the top can be relied on to germinate promptly and 

 vigorously, and these latter are by far the more 

 numerous among the best-yielding varieties. Then, 

 some varieties germinate much better as plant-cane 

 than as ratoon, while other varieties show much less 

 difference in this respect. The germinating power 

 of a variety depends on the vigor of the buds and 

 on the vigor of the root-tissues developed at each 

 node, but this is not the whole of the matter. It 

 happens that there are insects whose special habitat 

 is the buds of the cane-stalk, and resistance to the 

 attacks of these pests constitutes an important part 

 pf the value of cane for seed purposes. Buds, other- 



