434 XXIII. LEGUMINOSAE 







was even slight success attained. On a large scale the cost of such operations 

 would be prohibitive considering the proportion of failure likely to be met 

 with. 



Direct sowings, however, are very successful, provided certain precautions 

 are observed. The chief of these are as follows : 



1. Choice of site. In arid climates, as in Sind, the formation of plantations 

 is useless unless natural or artificial irrigation can be secured. It is doubtful 

 if plantations could ever be profitable in regions with a rainfall of less than 

 20 in., except on deep rich moist soil, such as that found along the sides of 

 rivers and streams. In any locality sowings on poor shallow soil such as 

 kankar deposits will never produce anything but poor stunted growth ; babul 

 sowings should be confined to the more fertile ground, the poorer soil being 

 reserved for neem {Azadirachta indica), kJiair {Acacia Catechu), and other trees 

 which are not exacting. Localities subject to severe frost should be avoided. 



2. Treatment of soil. Except in certain flooded riverain lands, thorough 

 loosening of the soil and removal of matted grass roots are necessary for the 

 success of babul sowings ; not only is this the case before the seed is sown, 

 but in places where the soil is apt to cake or crack it is also necessary subse- 

 quently, and can be effected, where the soil is not too stiff, by means of hand 

 ploughs. In black cotton soil it may be necessary to fill up the cracks which 

 form in the dry season. 



3. Preparation of seed. Where possible seed collected from sheep and goat 

 pens should be employed, as this germinates more quickly and gives a higher 

 percentage of success. Failing this a common practice is to soak the seed in 

 water or heap it up with moist cow-dung to stimulate germination. 



4. Weeding. Although exceptional cases occur where weeding is found 

 to be unnecessary, as in the flooded riverain tracts of Sind, as a general rule 

 systematic weeding of the young crop for the flrst two or three years is essential. 



5. Thinriing. In the United Provinces and Berar it has been found of 

 great advantage to commence thinning out the young plants in the first year 

 and to continue annual thinnings for a few years, followed by periodical 

 (usually 5-yearly) thinnings later. The early thinnings consist in spacing the 

 plants in such a way as to prevent contact of the branches. 



6. Admission of grazing. In some localities grazing of all kinds is excluded 

 during the earlier years of the plantation. In Berar, on the other hand, success 

 has been found to depend largely on the admission of light grazing by cows 

 and bullocks (not sheep and goats) from the end of the first rains onwards, in 

 order to keep down the growth of grass, which harbours rats, hares, and 

 beetles, and also suppresses the seedlings. In order to secure the utmost 

 benefit from grazing, the lines are widely spaced, usually 12 ft. apart, the 

 plants are regularly thinned, and their lower branches are pruned in order to 

 allow the cattle to obtain access to the grass between the plants. 



Various examples of sowings in different localities are described below. 

 The method of sowing must necessarily vary under different conditions, but 

 it has now been conclusively proved that in dry regions on non-irrigated 

 culturable land the method which has succeeded best, and is also very cheap, 

 is that of line sowings in conjunction with the raising of field crops, which has 

 been practised on a considerable scale in Berar. The ridge sowings emploj^ed 



