, 1881-06-04
BEET ROOT d. CANE SUGAR.
BY Walter Hill, Director Of the Botanic
Garden, Brisbane, Queensland.
From the Sugar Cane).

has afforded me much satisfaction. 1t IS
generally admitted by experienced plant
ers that in many instances the sugar-cane
has deteriorated. This has been the re-
suit Of a variety of causes, prominent
among which are careless cultivation, I'M
suitable soil and climate, and want OF care
in the selection Of plants. In other in
stances, where a careful system Of cultiva-
ton has been pursued and a judicious
selection of plants made, the most success
full results nave ensued. This can be
safely asserted from the results of an ex-
perience of many years in the experiment
tai cane nursery established in connection
with this department. That the estab-
lishment Of experimental nurseries of this
description in the whole of our sugar pro-
ducing colonies would be q source of
benefit to all those engaged in this indus-
trv cannot be denied. Since the formation
Of this one in 1862, numerous Applications
for cane plants have been received, and
many thousands OF plants supplied not
only TO the planters within the colony, but
to others ia Nauritius, Java, Honolulu,
IIIi, America, and other places, as far as
the supply would admit Of They are fur
niShed tree Of cost to the applicants, but
there appears to be no reason why these
experimental plantations Should not be
made Selfsupp0Tting by adopting the
Mauritius plan, where a small charge suft
cient to cover the cost Of production is
made, and clleerfully paid by the planters.
At the present time we have seventy
eight varieties Of Sugarcane under c%ultiya-
ton, no additions having been made dur
ing the past year. These varieties are now
very generally distributed throughout the
colony, and increased observation and
experience confirms me in my previously
expressed opinion, that soil and climate
greatly affect the quality Of the juice, and
materially influonna both in quantity and
quality the sugar produced by the plant.
This is shown by the fact that a variety Of
cane, strong, healthy, and yielding profta-
bic returns in one district, when removed
TO another within fifty miles has been
known to lose many of its good qualities.
With regard to the selection Of cane
plants, the best developed and most vigOr.
Gus plants should be chosen, as imperfect
or diseased plants are not likely to pro.
duce good canes. The age of the plants
from which the cuttings are selected is
not Of so much Importance as favourable
vigorous growth and well Horned joints
and eyes. IN the older sugar producing
countries The cane tops, most probably in
the first instance from motives of econO-
my, have been used for plants. Some
growers prefer them, considering that they
produce Garner plants than cuttings from
the matured portion of the cane. 1t is We.
ry probable that this practice of planting
the immature portions of the cane has been
in some measure the cause of it's deteriora-
ton but whether the most sacchariferous
joints of the cane produce the most profit
able plants is, | think, an open question,
for it must be borne in mind that the
amount Of sacCharine matter contained in
the sugar-cane does not remain the same
throughout the scar, at some periods the
amount being hardly perceptible but eX-
perience has not shown that cuttings takan
when the cane IS in this condition have
produced worse plant canes than those ta-
ken when the density Of the Juice was at
its highest. Something moro than the
saccharine matter contained in the cutting
IS necessary for the support of the young
plant, for we find that upon planting q
cane cutting, when-the eyes shoot forth at
the same time a number ofroots are thrown
out around the whole circle of each Joint.
Their uses are to supply the young plants
with suStenance until they are sufficiently
advanced to form their own roots. This
sprouting of the eye and the simultaneous
formation of roots at the Joint constitute
the effort made by the cane to reproduce it.
self. Ii the cutting be deprived of these
roots, the young shoots will continue grow.
ing for some time, and eventually die away
before they have become strong enough to
form roots OF their own. From this we
may safely infer that something more than