970 CERItAL AND PULSE CROPS 



leaves, cut along the midrib, and placed sothat the latter forms a borderright 

 round. Care must be taken to fill all vacant spaces with leaves with their 

 midrib excised. It is still better to build up with two or three layers of 

 leaves a bed of a width of about a yard and a length nearly equal to that of 

 the ricefield dyke. On the leaves a layer of 2 to 2 ^cms. of rice husk or 

 finely chopped rice straw is placed, and on it the germinated rice is sown 

 very closely. i6 ^ gallons of seed suffice for sowing 2 beds i6 yds. in length 

 by 3 ft jins. in width each. 



The afternoon is preferable for sowing, and it is advisable to strew 

 carefully over the seed the mud lying around the seed plot. It is general- 

 ly necessary to protect the plot against excessive heat by placing at a 

 height of II to i() inches above it light shelters made up of banana leaves 

 spread over a bamboo and board framework. During the first few days 

 after sowing the plot is watered several times a day. In the work of the 

 writer the use of ordinary garden watering cans was found very practical, 

 lyater on, when the seedlings are no longer liable to be carried away by the 

 water, they should be irrigated with slow running water until the time of 

 transplanting, because stagnant water might, during a day of great heat, 

 seriously injure the young plants. Care will be taken of course not to sub- 

 merge them, and never to leave them dry. The rccts, being unable to pass 

 through the banana leaves, grow laterally rather than vertically, and in- 

 terlace with each ether, forming a carpet easil}' separated from the sort of 

 matting placed below. At transplanting, the interlaced roots are cut into 

 vStrips of a length such as can be kept spread over the arms and shovilders, 

 or both the young plant roots and the banana-leaf matting are civt into strips. 

 They are rolled up slowly with the banana-leaf outside and unrolled on reach- 

 ing the field. 



Here the root matting is cut up into fragments of about the size of a 

 small plate, which are distributed over the rice field at regular intervals, as 

 is done with the small bundles of young plants in the ordinary method of 

 transplanting. In carrying out their work the transplanters hold the frag- 

 ment of root matting in their left hand, keeping it spread over the palm 

 by means of the thumb of the same hand. With the first 3 fingers of the 

 right hand, they detach a tuft of several plants and plant it in the mud. The 

 young plants are ready for transplanting 10 to 14 days after sowing. Ex- 

 perience proved to the writer that if the plants are healthy and transplant- 

 ing is skilfully done, 3 or 4 per bundle, at the ordinary distance of 4 or 6 in. 

 square, are sufficient to ensure regular growth and a maximum crop, under 

 ordinary conditions. Generally, however, transplanting is done much more 

 densel3^ The young plants, if transplanted more than ii days after sow- 

 ing, are greatly weakened and many die. If they have grown with excep- 

 tional vigour, they must be topped before transplanting. The seed plot 

 is planted like the rest of the field after taking away or turning in the banana 

 leaves. The rice-field is harrowed and covered with .=ilt fur the last time on 

 the day of transplanting or partly the day Ijefore. 



By the " dapog " method the yield obtained is higher than by direct 

 sowing. Under labour conditions in the Phili])pines the value of the sur- 



