Sucrose is derived from sugar cane, maple sap, sorghum and the sugar beet. It is a solid, crystallizing in the form of monoclinic prisms, generally with hemihedral faces, which are colorless, transparent, have a sweet taste, a specific gravity of 1.6 and a melting point of about 320 degrees Fahrenheit. It is soluble in about one-half its weight in cold water, and in boiling water in almost all proportions. It is practically insoluble in alcohol, turpentine, ether, chloroform and similar fluids. The crop of 1914-15 showed a world’s production of 18,409,016 long tons of sugar, and in the chapters relating to the history of sugar will be found a statement setting forth the amount produced by each country. The total was derived about one-half from cane and one-half from beets, produced as follows: CANE BEET Total in America 5,017,375 660,236 ” Asia 4,268,618 ” Australia and Polynesia 348,408 ” Africa 523,788 ” Europe 7,376[4] 7,583,215 ---------- --------- 10,165,565 8,243,451 Sugar cane, described in botany as _Saccharum officinarum_, is a giant-stemmed perennial grass that grows from eight to twenty-four feet long. When ripe it produces at the top of its stalk a large feathery plume of flowers of a gray inflorescence called the “tassel,” which is from two to four feet in length. There are many kinds of cane, all of which are regarded as varieties of one species, although some botanists have raised a few to the rank of distinct species. The cultivated types are distinguished by the color of the internodes, yellow, red, purple or striped, and by other general characteristics. [Illustration: SUGAR CANE—SHOWING EYES OR BUDS] The stem of the cane is solid, with joints at intervals of three to six inches. In diameter it ranges from one to two and a half inches, and is unbranched, bearing in its upper part numerous long, narrow grass-like leaves, arranged in two rows. The leaves spring from large sheaths around the joints, and have a more or less spreading blade from three to five feet in length and two inches or more in width. The pith, of open cellular structure, contains the sugary juice. The tops, which contain but little sugar, are not crushed, but are used for seed, as the plant germinates from the eyes, or buds, which grow on the stem around the joints. Practically no cultivated cane is propagated from its seed. The roots that remain in the ground after the cane is harvested throw up fresh canes or ratoons for many seasons, after which replanting is necessary. Hawaiian growers do not count on ratoons for more than a few crops, whereas in Cuba this process can be repeated for many years.