169 



Nearly three years ago 1 proposed the same to the principals of the 

 experimental station at Pasoeroean. As 1 myself was appointed Director 

 in the same year, I commenced after my return from Europe in May, 

 1897, with the analysis of nearly 6,000 canes and cane-clumps, and 

 found that the available sugar in canes of the same age varied by as 

 much as 2 per cent. At the same time I showed that canes grown from 

 the same cutting and of nearly the same age might show a difference in 

 available sugar of from 7 to 8^ per cent. I concluded therefrom that 

 it was not advisable to select individual canes, but that it was necessary 

 to select, cane-clumps. When the juice of a whole cane-clump, except 

 the tops, has a great amount of available sugar,every cane of the clump 

 must have it also, and the chance that its descendants are rich in sugar 

 is greater than when some ?anes are very rich and others of the same 

 chimp are very poor, and the cuttings of these rich canes used for se- 

 lection. After I had arrived at this conclusion, 1 analysed 5,000 cane- 

 clumps belonging to five varieties, and selected 10 per cent of the high- 

 est and 10 per cent, of the lowest polarizing plants. I had the pleasure 

 to send you the pamphlet- No. 41 with the results of the analvses in 

 October, 1897. 



Since then 1 have reaped the canes grown from the cuttings, and 

 found that the descendants of the rich canes contained 1^ per cent, more 

 available sugar than the descendants of the poor canes (average of 3,200 

 analyses), I was astonished to find that the rich canes' descendants 

 were heavier than the descendants of the poor canes. 



I continued the selection with canes from other varieties or other 

 fields (5,700 analyses), and found as a general rule that the rich canes 

 were the heaviest, and also that the heaviest canes were the richest in 

 available sugar. I concluded from this that both a high content of 

 available sugar and a heavy weight are inherited by the descendants. 



The results of these -investigations 1 had the pleasure to send you 

 in August, 1898 (Pamphlet No. 3, Third Series). The sugar estates 

 who pay the expenses of our experiment station have granted me £500 

 to continue the selection on a larger scale, and placed at my disposal a 

 cane-field of about 30 acres. Herefrom I selected 30,000 kgs rich canes 

 and 10,000 kgs. poor canes for cuttings, and these showed again the 

 same properties. 



I mention these investigations which,perhaps, escaped your atten- 

 tion, as the pamphlets are written in Dutch. But you would find them 

 worth making known to sugar growers in the West Indies. 



I am, Ac. 



The Director, 



Royal Gardens, Kew. 



(Signed) J. D. Kobus. 



