INDIGOFERA 



Bengal 



Soil. 



Temperature. 



Drill Sowing. 



Seed to Acre. 



Season of 

 Cutting. 



Two Cuttings. 



THE INDIGO PLANT 



a supply from the deeper layers. Throughout the area the soil consists 

 of an extremely fine alluvial deposit which extends down to and below the 

 water-level 20 feet approximately. It is this unusual condition which 

 makes a rapid capillary movement of water possible. Unless, then, the 

 superficial four or five inches which have been disturbed by the plough are 

 compacted to an extent which will allow the capillary rise of water to take 

 place with a degree of rapidity sufficient to keep pace with the evaporation 

 of moisture caused by the sun's heat, germination and subsequent growth 

 of the plant will be impossible. It is to produce the necessary degree of 

 compactness in the superficial soil that the above processes are adopted. 



" Throughout this period November to February inclusive the lands 

 are kept scrupulously ' clean ' by constant weeding. Sowing, as already 

 stated, usually commences in late February or early March. The exact 

 date is dependent chiefly on the temperature, and it is the usual custom 

 to wait till a night temperature of 60 is recorded. Once sowing is com- 

 menced, it is carried on with the utmost speed possible. Under the most 

 favourable conditions the increasing day temperature will soon deprive 

 the superficial soil of its moisture, and it is necessary if the plant is to 

 survive that it shall have developed a sufficient length of root to be no 

 longer dependent on such moisture. The seed is sown by means of 

 drills, each drawn by two bullocks. Briefly, they consist of a trough, 

 containing the seed, into which small wooden wheels dip. When the 

 drill is in motion these rotate and pick up three to four seeds by means 

 of shallow holes cut at regular intervals in their circumference. The seeds 

 are thus carried forward and dropped down a slot, by which they are 

 guided into a shallow furrow formed by a share situated in front of the 

 slot. Each drill has six shares, corresponding to six wheels set at regular 

 intervals, and thus sows six lines. As soon as the seed is sown a light 

 choki is passed over the field and the seed is thus brought into intimate 

 contact with the moist soil at a depth of about one inch from the surface. 



" At the present time 8, 12 and even 20 seers (40 Ib.) are sown per bigha 

 (seven-eighths acre). There is no doubt that this is excessive, and it is 

 difficult to understand how the practice has arisen. It is quite possible, 

 with good seed, to obtain a yield in no way inferior to that normally 

 obtained when using only four seers (8 Ib.) per bigha. During the hot 

 weather, growth is slow, but with the break of the rains this rapidly in- 

 creases. The commencement of cutting depends to a large extent upon 

 the date at which the rains break, but usually takes place about the middle 

 of June. The low-lying crops are first cut, both because the more abundant 

 moisture has given greater growth and because delay in cutting causes 

 considerable risk of loss from sudden flooding. Two crops are normally 

 obtained except when the plant is growing in the river-bed, where the rise 

 of the river renders only one possible. These two cuttings are known 

 respectively as the morhun and khunti cuttings. The crop is entirely hand- 

 cut, and the cut plant is loaded into bullock carts and dispatched to the 

 factory with the least delay possible. Immediately after the morhun 

 crop is cut the land is ploughed. This, without damaging the crop, renders 

 the surface open and uneven, and subsequent rain is retained in greater 

 abundance. After the second cutting the land is ploughed and sown with 

 a rabi crop or prepared, as before, to receive indigo in the following 

 season. On arrival at the factory the carts are weighed, and the weight 

 of plant is obtained approximately by difference." 



674 



