MEDICAGO 



SATIVA 



Lucerne 



MATS AND MATTING 



Taleef Shereef (Playfair, transl.), 31 ; Gee, Monog. Fibrous Mat. Pb., 1891, 2 ; 

 Dodge, Useful Fibre Plants of the World, 1897, 319 ; etc., etc.] 

 Khas-khas. Vetiveria zizanioides, stapf; the khas-khas (see p. 1106). 

 Trade. Trade and Commerce. The statistics of mats and matting given in 



the annual official returns of trade exclude Coir Manufactures, and it 

 is not shown to what extent they include mats or rugs other than grass- 

 Exports, mats. The EXPORTS to foreign countries during the years 1899-1900 

 to 1906-7 showed no great fluctuation in quantity but a remarkable 

 undulation in value, due perhaps to the demand for cheap goods in 

 one year being supplanted by more expensive articles in the next. 

 The highest recorded value was Es. 2,41,887 in 1900-1.. In 1903-4 

 the amount stood at Es. 58,754 ; in 1905-6 was only Es. 27,267 ; and 

 in 1906-7, Es. 47,617. Madras has more than half the trade in quantity 

 but realises less in value than Bombay. The re-exports were at their 

 highest value in 1903-4 (Es. 26,234), and represented chiefly trade from 

 imports. Bombay to East Africa, Turkey-in-Asia and Persia. Of the IMPORTS 

 a large share should probably appear as Carpets and Eugs, as, for example, 

 the supply (56 per cent.) that comes from Mekran and Sonmiani. Other 

 considerable contributors are China (Hongkong) and the Straits Settle- 

 ments. The highest value in the years mentioned (1899-1907) was 

 reached in 1904-5 (Es. 2,94,182), and of that Es. 1,52,782 and Es. 49,473 

 were taken by Bombay and Sind. 



Coir. As regards COIR MANUFACTURES (excluding rope and presumably 



including some proportion of articles other than matting) the trade is 

 almost entirely concentrated in Madras, which in 1903-4 exported to 

 foreign countries some 473,281 cwt., valued at Es. 46,78,050, chiefly to 

 the United Kingdom and Germany, the total foreign trade of all provinces 

 having been 483,355 cwt., valued at Es. 47,90,110. In 1906-7 the ex- 

 ports from Madras were 552,703 cwt., valued at Es. 55,24,154, and the 

 total foreign trade 559,329 cwt., valued at Es. 56,00,268. At the same 

 time the Madras Presidency contributed to Bengal and Bombay a fairly 

 large quantity, namely Es. 9,00,000 worth. (See also Cocos nucifera, 

 p. 362.) 



D.E.P., MEDICAGO SATIVA, Linn. ; Fl. Br. Ind., ii., 90 ; Pram, 



v., 199-203. Beng. Plants, 1903, i., 414 ; LEGUMINOS.E. Lucerne, Purple Lucerne, or 

 Lucerne. Alfalfa, vilayti-gawuth, hoi, spastu, sebist, yurushea, beda, vilayti-hullu, 

 etc. 



According to De Candolle, the plant is a native of western temperate Asia, and 

 is found apparently wild in Afghanistan and Baluchistan. Stein (Ancient Khotan, 

 1907, 130) speaks of it as extensively cultivated in Khotan and used as fodder. 

 It is now largely grown in many parts of India and affords excellent forage 

 Two Forms. for horses and cattle, if given in moderation. At least two varieties are culti- 

 vated, the Kandahar and the Persian or Arabian. The latter is the crop 

 ordinarily met with. 



Cultivation. In the Poona district, according to Mollison, the best time 

 for sowing is either early in the rains or between October and December ; in 

 the north of India, from the middle of October to the middle of November. 

 The price of seed ranges from Rs. 0-14 to Us. 1-8 per Ib. The usual Native 

 method of sowing is broadcasting on a clean, well-prepared bed, but by this 

 method the field gets foul by deep-rooted grasses and other weeds, and the lucerne 

 Cultivation. fails when it ought to be in full vigour. A good method of cultivation is as 



follows : The field should be well ploughed and brought into a thoroughly friable, 

 smooth, clean condition during the rains. In September, 30 cart-loads per 

 acre of well-decayed farm-yard manure should be given. The manure must 

 be evenly spread and mixed thoroughly with the soil. Ridges are then formed 



778 



Manure. 



