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represented the quality of the cane might be different, but as it has 

 been found out since that a selection of this kind is not necessary, I 

 have made no further experiments. Selections were first made with 

 the Brix spindle, by which means all canes containing a medium amount 

 of solids in the juice were discarded, leaving only the extremes of the 

 rich and poor canes. The juice from these latter was taken into the la- 

 boratory for further analysis, and all canes of low per-centage of solids 

 in the juice and having a purity under eighty-five, were planted as re- 

 presenting the poorest canes to be found. In like manner the richest 

 canes were selected from those containing a high per-centage of solids 

 and having a purity over eighty-five. 



" Both extremes v^ere taken in preference to one, because it was 

 thought that if anything was to be gained by this line of experimen- 

 tation it would be shown much quicker by watching the progeny of 

 vital opposites instead of comparing only one extreme with an average, 

 which, to say the least, would be veiy difficult to obtain. In fact, se- 

 lecting the extremes was the only way a comparison could be made. If 

 only the richest canes had been selected there would have been no 

 standard by which to judge whether anything had been accomplished. 

 With the extremes if there is a difference in their offspring, there must, 

 also of necessity, be a difference between each of their offspring and the 

 mean. We have, then, if we find that the richest canes which can be 

 selected produce a cane richer than that from the poorest canes selected, 

 proven that this resulting cane is also richer than the average of the 

 lot of cane from which the selections were made would have produced, 

 had the canes of medium sucrose content not been thrown out 



" In reviewing also what continually is coming under our notice I 

 cannot either see any reason why disbelief should exist as to some good 

 being accomplished by this line of investigation. Rich and poor canes 

 are continually coming to our notice from the same part of a field and 

 where the conditions for their development seem to be as favourable to 

 one as to the other. Anyone who has made a great number of single 

 stalk analyses, as has been done here, is especially aware of this. It is 

 also evidenced by the almost total impossibility of getting samples from 

 a piece of standing cane which will accurately represent the whole plat. 

 The extent of this variability can perhaps be better appreciated by com- 

 paring sugar cane with sorghum, a plant which has had a very unen- 

 viable reputation as regards the vagaries of its individual stalks 



"There is a belief among the Creole planters that the Ribbon cane as 

 commonly known in this State reverts to the Purple, though no scientific 

 observations have been made to test the truth of the belief. Dr. Stubbs r 

 at the Experiment Station, has had, I believe, some difficulty in securing 

 a pure stock of these two varieties, but has not attributed his trouble to 

 one cane changing to the other. If there is any truth in the belief, it 

 would suggest the probability that many of the existing varieties were 

 derived in the same way instead of by sudden bud variation. If this 

 were so it would add another link to the chain of suppositions which led. 

 me to believe that the plant could be educated to meet our wants. 

 Yariation in fact seems to be the only law that we can depend on with 

 safety at the present time. Why, then, can we not take advantage of 

 this continual change and train it to meet our wants ? If we cannot 

 bring it to excel its original qualities, cannot we, at least, keep its?;. 



