THE TCHOU-MA, OB CHINESE FLAX. 239 



Transplantation and Propagation of the Tchou-ma. 

 (Imperial Treatise on Agriculture, lib. Ixxviii. fol. 5.) 



When the tufts of the tchou-ma are strong enough the earth 

 around is dug, and new stocks are detached and transplanted 

 elsewhere. The principal stock then grows more vigorously. 

 At the end of 4 or 5 years, the old stock becoming excessively 

 strong, they are divided and replanted in other beds. 



Some persons are satisfied with bending the long stems down 

 and obtaining layers in the ordinary way. 



When a bed becomes too crowded, another must be formed, 

 and then another and another. In this way the plants may be 

 propagated to any extent. 



A stiff soil that has been well worked in autumn is chosen 

 and manured with fine muck. In the following spring the 

 plants are transplanted. The best time for carrying on this 

 operation is when vegetation commences ; the next best is when 

 the new shoots appear ; and the worst is when the stems have 

 attained a considerable size. 



The new plants are placed a foot and a half from each other, 

 and when they have been well surrounded with earth they are 

 watered. 



In summer as well as in autumn advantage must be taken of 

 the time when the earth has just been moistened by rain. The 

 offsets can be transplanted to places near at hand, but it is 

 essential to have a ball of earth around each plant. 



Same subject. 



To propagate the tchou-ma, portions of its roots 2 or 3 inches 

 long are detached by a knife, and are placed by twos and threes 

 in little trenches that are about a foot and a half from each other. 

 The roots are then surrounded with good earth and watered ; 

 the watering is renewed three or five days afterwards. When 

 the new stems have attained a certain height, the earth must be 

 often hoed. 



If the earth is dry it must be watered. If the plants have to 

 be carried to a distance, their roots ought to be surrounded by 

 the soil in which they have been growing, well enveloped in 

 leaves of the reed. They are placed, in addition to this, in a 

 mat folded so as to exclude them from air and light. They 

 may then be carried without danger to a distance of many hun- 

 dred miles. 



The first year, when the plants are a foot high, they are ga- 

 thered ; they are gathered again in the second year. The fibres 

 of the cut stems are fit for spinning. 



