SUGAR. 



135 



chew it in preference to the other kinds, but the sap is not very rich 

 in crystallizable sugar. 

 8. S.fatuum, Bechey. 



There are also two other indigenous varieties met with on the 

 flanks of some of the mountains, which are not large, and designated 

 by the natives under the generic name of To-Aeho. The first, called 

 To-Patu, is red, and contains more juice than the second, the stalk 

 of which is white. These varieties belong to the species known as 

 >S^. sjwntaneum, Lin., or >S'. floridulum, Labill. 



The Tahiti canes yield a fourth more juice and a sixth more crys- 

 tallizable sugar than most of the other canes grown in the colonies. 

 As those known as Tahiti canes grown in the West Indies have much 

 degenerated, it is desirable that they should be renewed by fresh 

 stock. 



The botanical names given above are on the authority of 

 M. Pancher, botanist at New Caledonia. 



The Salangore cane, an eastern variety, has been introduced into 

 Brazil and the French West Indian colonies ; in the former it has 

 become diseased, but in the latter it is well spoken of. 



An acre of each of eighteen selected varieties of new sugar-canes 

 was planted by Mr. K. Thomson, the colonial botanist, in Jamaica, 

 in 1875 ; and about the same number of other varieties was also 

 experimentalized on, so as to ascertain which would be the best 

 to grow. 



The Salangore cane is spoken favourably of there ; it grows with 

 great vigour under irrigation, and the number of shoots springing 

 from each cane is remarkable. This variety should be planted wider 

 apart than the space allotted to other kinds of cane. 



The time has come when the yield of the cane must be increased, 

 and it is well known that certain species are more susceptible of 

 improvement than others. This law runs throughout the vegetable 

 kingdom; and people who cultivate vegetables for manufacturing 

 purposes always therefore not only seek for what grows best, but for 

 what will yield most readily to cultivation. The beetroot growers, 

 by acting according to good judgment on this point, have devoted so 

 much attention to the selection of the richest varieties of their plant, 

 that they have raised its saccharine strength from barely 4 per cent, 

 to 8 and even 12 and 15 per cent., and this within less than fifty 

 yearg. On the other hand, it is undeniable that the cane growers 

 have remained content with the gifts of nature, and have done very 

 little towards raising the quality and productiveness of their plant. 

 The humble root which rivals the cane has been doubled and trebled 

 in richness, whilst the sugar-cane has remained comparatively 

 stationary. It is asserted by many able to decide the question, that 

 beetroot has now reached its maximum of sugar-producing quality, 

 and we ought to be encouraged in our efforts to improve the cane by 

 the knowledge that this plant has not yet reached its maximum of 

 production. 



The results obtained from the trial of the Salangore cane at a planta- 

 tion called Grand Pare, situated near Basseterre, are specially note- 

 worthy. Planted at the full distance apart (two yards by two yards), 



