The Hawaiian gazette., 1915-09-03
CANELEAVESSHOW
SUGAR CAPACITY
Recent Discoveries BY West In
dian Botanist May Save
Planters Much Money

I. A study of the anatomical charar.
tiers Of cane leaves by w. r. Dunlop
In the West Indies has led him to tho
that the number OF breath.
ing pores or stomata is more important
Tor sugar production than total leaf
surface. "The greatest stomatal area
was associated with very high sagar
eontent,'' he says.
. Professor Dunlop believes the man
ner in which the leaf curIs has a limit
ing action on the effectiveness of The
breathing pores and suggests that more
attention should be paid To labIt Of
growth In selecting cane for dry loca-
tons. Also the relative eregtncss of
the leaves appears TO havo some rela-
tion TO the number Of stomatn.
4These considerations are Il vnmn In
making selections of new seedlings
Microscopical examination of the
leaf surfaces and anatomical structure
may supply an exact index Of what
the sugar producing capacity of the
new variety will be.
Structural Adaptation to Uss
Many studies along these lines have
been made with all classes of ,lorn. suo
animals to show bodily aIaptrt,on 70
purpose conformation, thu $, cent.
lists call it. Less work has hoen zone
with plants and cultivated cops.
There are getting to be many who 20.
lieve that the same rule nrriICs t. all
living things, in bo'n :h~ animal ana
vegetable Kingdoms.
Modern agriculturIsts can preIlct
from measurements IF young animals
whether pullets will b, good oGG FRO.
ducers; whether yir"n calf will be
worth keeping as n beef animal; Or
whether a colt will ,'eyel0p into a sat.
isfactOry draft horse. II thrr words
there is certain correlation of huill
to purpose that shows out in all youn
animals irrespective of "registered
pedigrees and herd book records, which
mean more than the written certificates
Of breeding.
Exact knowledge
If the characters which indicate
conformation are known the farmer
can save time and money by rigid sc.
lection of his fiOcks and herds, eliminat-
| ing Improbable types at the beginning
These characters are stamped on the
| body of the animal. If the key is at
hand they can be interpreted. In Eu.
rope tens of thousands Of calves, colts,
| lambs, pigs and chicks have had their
individual measurements and rate OF
growth recorded.
Very often fluctuations from those
records have given the key to the prob
lCm. 1t has been proved, for instance,
that calves which make the greatest
increase in girth of body just behipo
the fore legs become better feeders anil
better beef animals. This can be de-
tcrmined by two measurements taken
at the sixth and the tenth months.
Calves which do not make large in.
crease in girth of chest at the periCl
in their development will never f1ttCr
prOftably and should be turned of as
veal. From similar tabulatious It ha8
been discovered that there Is q definite
relation between egg laying capacity ~
hens and the distance between the
pclvis and the end of the breast bone
Plants Conform" Too
| Animals have been more studied
than plants to determine conformn
tion' but some marked advances In
| knowledge have been made. For OK
ample, the discovery, recently chronic leD
in these columns that rubber yielding
capacity can be determined in Hevea
seedlings by crOss-sectioning the swoll
en- base of the leaf stalk and eountiGs
the milk tubes.
BY analogy, Professor, Duulop's dis
cOvery Of the relation between -
number of stomata, or breathing pores
hn nf lao e.
production by the variety Of cane. if
bis observations are confirmed, ma"
supply a clue that will save an i'm
mense amount Of time and rxperimen It'd
ti0n. There must be conformation of
structure to purpose in plants just a.
in animals. If the KEYS can only be
discovered to unlock the mystery OF
life processes great practical advant
ages are honnd to result Dunlop's
work seems to have been directed in the
| 81 lirrrtinn