80 THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



The grower is little interested in seed-produc- 

 tion. When the stalk is cut, new shoots come up 

 from the roots — the "ratoons," from which the 

 new crop comes — sometimes for a long period of 

 years. Another means of getting new fields 

 planted is setting out cuttings. Any joint is likely 

 to root, if planted, and it may send up a number 

 of canes. The top of the cane is always deficient 

 in sugar, and best for making cuttings. This 

 fortunate combination of facts enables the grower 

 to send the best of his crop to the sugar mill, and 

 keep back the part of the canes that insures the 

 best crop next year in the new field. Two joints 

 to a cutting, and the cuttings set out in a horizon- . 

 tal position, are the usual methods on the up-to- 

 date plantations. 



Only in the tropics does the cane flower at all 

 freely. Many of the varieties grown do not flower 

 at all. This condition has arisen from the con- 

 tinued propagation of new plants by means of 

 cuttings and ratoons. 



A plant that is commercially grown in all 

 tropical and sub-tropical countries of the globe, 

 by peoples ranging from civilization down to 

 savagery, receives varied treatment, before 

 and after completing its period of growth. In 

 general, then, we can speak of the cultivation 



