ratoon vs sprig

ratoon

noun
  • A shoot sprouting from the root of a cropped plant, especially sugar cane. 

  • A rattan cane. 

verb
  • To sprout ratoons. 

  • To cut a plant, especially sugar cane, so that it will produce ratoons. 

sprig

noun
  • A small shoot or twig of a tree or other plant; a spray. 

  • A youth; a lad. 

  • An ornament resembling a small shoot or twig. 

  • One of the separate pieces of lace fastened on a ground in applique lace. 

  • A brad, or nail without a head. 

  • A house sparrow. 

  • A small eyebolt ragged or barbed at the point. 

verb
  • To decorate with sprigs, or with representations of sprigs, as in embroidery or pottery. 

How often have the words ratoon and sprig occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )