Further Remarks on the Roots of the Sugar Cane. 
By H. Ling Roth. 
- 
N June 1883, I had the honour to have a paper, 
on the roots of the sugar-cane,, read before the 
Royal Society of New South Wales.* In that 
paper were briefly explained two experiments made with 
the growth of some cane, the discovery of flesh-like 
roots, and I hazarded the conclusion that these new roots 
were most probably not distin<5l from the ordinary roots 
common to all Graminse. Unfortunately, in consequence 
of my omitting to have the negatives of the photographs 
of the roots enlarged, their smallness in the printing 
made them come out very indistinctly. Partly to remedy 
this omission, and in order to find out something more 
about these roots and their special functions, I made the 
following experiments. 
On the 2nd October 1883, at Mackay (Queensland) 
after some good spring rains, when the soil was moist, 
warm to the touch, and otherwise in good condition, 
I planted two pieces of Rose Bamboo sugar-cane in two 
deep separate boxes- 
No. 1 was planted three inches deep in the soil, No. 2 
seven inches deep, both at the usual angle, and otherwise 
in the manner commonly followed by planters. The 
shoot of No. 1 appeared above the ground on the 20th 
of October, and that of No 2 (the deeper planted) on the 
25th of 06lober. As usual, in both cases the soil was 
slightly raised by the pushing shoot shortly before any 
* Journal of R. Society of N. S.W., Vol. XVII. 1881. 
G 
