Fig. 213. Stalk of Sugar-Cane
A-B, joints of cane showing roots;
B-C, stem;
C-D, leaves
The sugar-cane is a huge grass. The stalk, which is round, is from one to two inches in thickness.
The stalks vary in color. Some are white, some yellow, some green, some red, some purple, and some black, while others are a mixture of two or three of these colors. As shown in Fig. 214 the stalk has joints at distances of from two to six inches. These joints are called nodes, and the sections between the nodes are known as internodes. The internodes ripen from the roots upward, and as each ripens it casts its leaves. The stalk, when ready for harvesting, has only a few leaves on the top.
Fig. 214. Stick
of Sugar-Cane
A, buds, or eyes;
C, nodes; D, internodes;
X, semi-transparent
dots in rows
Under each leaf and on alternate sides of the cane a bud, or "eye," forms. From this eye the cane is usually propagated; for, while in tropical countries the cane forms seeds, yet these seeds are rarely fertile. When the cane is ripe it is stripped of leaves, topped, and cut at the ground with a knife. The sugar is contained in solution in the pith of the cane.
Cane requires an enormous amount of water for its best growth, and where the rainfall is not great enough, the plants are irrigated. It requires from seventy-five to one hundred gallons of water to make a pound of sugar. Cane does best where there is a rainfall of two inches a week. At the same time a well-drained soil is necessary to make vigorous canes.
The soils suited to this plant are those which contain large amounts of fertilizing material and which can hold much water. In southern Louisiana alluvial loams and loamy clay soils are cultivated. In Georgia, Alabama, and Florida light, sandy soils, when properly fertilized and worked, make good crops.
