18 
* we are at present acquainted,” is quite correct. To the experimental 
station at Samarang belongs, not only the honour of having been the 
first to obtain seed from the cane and cane from seed, but also of having 
furnished the first detailed scientific description of the seed and the 
process of germination 
As regards the establishment of the first point, the fact does not 
appear to be as yet generally known that Dr. F. Soltwedel, at that time 
director of the experimental station in question, was already in реи 
of seed of the true sugar-cane а year before Messrs. Harrison and 
Bovel. At any rate, Мг. G. Dureau, in an article “ Les Graines de 
Canne à Sucre” (Journal des Fabricants de Sucre, for 16th April 
1890), makes no mention of this, and the editor of the Sugar Cane 
expresses himself doubtfully on the point. The following are the words 
of Dr. Benecke in his treatise “ ase suikerriet uit zaad, P 5608 а 
summary of Dr. Soltwedel’s original communication :— 
As early as the spring of 1885, Pr Soltwedel had commenced, at the 
Bendokerep factory at Japara, his investigations with re = dete to the 
fructification, principally of Saccharum spontaneum, . (Glagah). He 
had observed tbat normal pollen grains were presen en species, 
which developed further on the pistil, and that fertilisation also too 
place resulting in the formation of actual seed. He had already 
succeeded, in 1885, in inducing these seeds* to germinate and obtained 
from them proper plants. In the same year Soltwedel was also engaged 
in studying the flowers of two varieties of Saccharum officinarum, L., 
viz., Tebce Cheribon (Java), and Teboe Poetih (Bendokerep). In this 
ase he also met with perfectly developed weston , but observed neither 
germination of the pollen grains nor fructification. Although the reports 
of other оков боя offered little encouragement to seek for from 
the first-named kind, yet Dr. Soltwedel was impelled to do so by seeing 
bees flying so often to the tassels of this cane. He assumed from this 
fact that the latter must contain something that enticed the bees, and 
further reasoned that the plants must be furnished with this means о 
attraction for the benefit of their fruetification, Hence he did not allow 
himself to be deterred by a series of unsuccessful experiments. 
Dr. Soltwedel continued his observations in the experiment field at 
Samarang from April to July 1886. In this year also he failed to find 
any seed formation in any variety of the true sugar-cane, but in the case 
of Saccharum Glonggong (a kind of sugar-cane growing wild in Java, 
in the same manner as Glagah, and also not cultiv ated), seeds of which 
he induced to germinate, he obtained individuals which were exactly 
similar to the mother plant. 
n the year 1887 Soitwedel -— attained his object. > he 
formerly observed in the case of ers, a variety very rich in sugar, 
fertilisation without formation of шей he first of all tried to 6 
seed by crossing it with a wild kind which produced seed. Here 
нын refrain from reproducing the original report of Soltwedel, which 
appeared in the Tijdschrift voor Land en Tuinbouw, etc., of the Ist 
July 1887, in order to show how minutely he went into the question. 
He writes: “ For the purposes of this орах of cross-fertilisation 
** we this year selected Glagah and Loethers ; Glonggong was out of the 
“ question, because this kind of cane i not come into flower. until 
* Loethers has done flowering. But the endeavour to produce cross- 
** fertilisation is accompanied, in the case of the sugar-cane, with almost 
** endless difficulties, because of the extreme minuteness of the flowers. 
* Dr. B. uses, instead of seeds, the more accurate botanical form “ fruits." 
