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CANE SUGAR.Function of the Boot.—The functions of the root are two-fold;the root hairs closely envelop particles of soil, thereby maintaining the hold ofthe plant on the soil, and, secondly, the root hairs absorb water and plant foodfrom the soil and transmit it to the other parts of the growing plant.Physiology of the Cane.—The physiology of the cane has beenstudied chiefly by Went 7 who concludedFig. 7.1. That eane sugar is the chief product of assimilation in the cane leaves,dextrose and levulose only being formed by inversion; maltose was notidentified; the proportion of sucrose, dextrose, and levulose in the juice ofthe leaves is as 4 : 2 : 1.2. The sugar of the leaves is carried during the night in the form ofinvert sugar to the stem and deposited round the cellular vessels as starch.3. The parenchyma of the leaves, and above all of the central rib, is veryrich in sugar and tannin, while the cellular vessels contain less sugar andtannin and more albumerioids.10