( 60 ) 



soils where unfailing moisture can be obtained. The land is always heavily 

 manured with at least 200 maunds to the acre. 



The field cannot be ploughed too often, never less than eight times, and 

 Ploughing. as many as twenty are given in my experiments. 



After the ploughings the field is watered, during which time the cultiva- 

 tor with his friends (jita pdra) cuts the canes he has 

 bought for seed from the field in which they stand, 



strips, cut them up into slips, "paicra," each slip including a knot (canes are 

 generally chosen for short knots), and buries them under " patel" grass 

 and earth in a square hole dug for the purpose, and waters them to induce 

 them to germinate. Leaving the slips for five or six days, he ploughs every 

 evening, and leaving the field to drink in the dew at night, harrows in 

 the morning, and then takes up the slips, and starts two (sometimes three) 

 ploughs. The first makes shallow furrows, the second has two boards (pakhd) to 

 throw off the earth ; the slips are thrown into the furrow made by the last 

 plough; seven men are employed, two plough, two bring the slips, one carries 

 them by the ploughmen in a basket, two sow. The field is then harrowed over 

 the same night. 



Two days after sowing the field is again harrowed, and in fifteen days (i. e., 



before leaves appear above ground) it is weeded by eight 

 Intermediate operations. . . . ,, . . 



men. A fortnight after it is watered for the first time, 



and then dug up (gorna) with kuddrs and stamped down with the feet. Alto- 

 gether the field is watered six times, or oftener if rains are late, and perhaps once 

 again in the cold weather, as was done by one informant to keep off frost. It is 

 also dug up (gorna) twice at least, and perhaps given a second weeding with the 

 hoe. A wall too is built round to keep off wild animals (canal officers look 

 to a regular demand for water for this purpose). 



The time for cutting varies. Edible canes come into the market in 



November, though it is a superstition not to cut before 



Harvest cutting, &c. . 7 * . ../ 



Kdtik llth. Cane for sugar is generally cut in Magn, 



or from January 15th to February 16th, when the cultivator has thorough 

 leisure from his rabi cultivation. Meanwhile the sugar-mill (aindhi) will have 

 been got ready, the press cleaned and strengthened (tipna), a new chopping 

 block sunk in the ground, filtering vats prepared, the boiling-house roofed, and 

 the iron vessels (kardhi or karhdo) in which the juice is inspissated hired for 

 the season. The kardh is worth Us. 40, and lets at about Rs. 10 a season. In 

 all this four or five men club together. Friends being collected, about twenty 

 bundles are cut and carried to the mill that afternoon : for cutting and carrying, 

 the tops, "agaura" (excellent food for cattle), and three or four canes per 

 bundle are given. 1 As the bundles arrive, the canes are cut into slips 

 * The stem leaves, "patti," are used as bedding, 



