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SUGAR-CANE. 
( Saccharum officinarum) . 
The sugar-cane is a tall grass or reed, reaching a 
height of from eight to twelve feet, and is found 
cultivated in all tropical countries. The chief coun- 
tries in which it is grown on a commercial scale are 
Cuba, India, Java, Fiji, Mauritius, Guiana, Hawaii, 
Philippines and the West Indies. The cane-sugar 
of commerce is obtained from the juice of the 
sugar-cane, although the sugar beet yields a similar 
product. 
History . — It is stated that sugar-cane was cultivated 
by the Chinese in Province Wellesley long before the 
colonisation of Penang, and cane-sugar was actually 
exported from Penang in 1805. Later the Malay 
Peninsula became one of the foremost sugar pro- 
ducing countries, sugar and coffee being the two 
principal crops grown on a commercial scale. 
The principal areas under sugar cultivation were in 
Province Wellesley and Krian, but about 1901 its 
cultivation was extended to Lower Perak. All these 
areas were gradually planted with rubber, replacing* 
the sugar-cane, and, except for small areas where it 
is grown for eating purposes, its cultivation has been 
abandoned. 
Varieties of Sugar-cane . — It is not possible in a 
brief article to give a description of the large number 
of existing varieties of sugar-cane, but it might be 
of interest to point out that some of the canes origin- 
ally grown in this country, such as the “ Selangor ” * 
cane and the “Red Purple” cane of Singapore, 
formed the stock from which a number of new 
varieties have been developed. The two common 
* Also known as the “ Salangore ” cane. 
