245 



" In this state the land remains till the time of 

 planting the cane cuttings, which is generally the 

 1st to the 15th of February ; but should there 

 have been a fall of rain in the meantime, or excess 

 of moisture appear, the field is again ploughed and 

 the hengah put over as before. A day or two 

 previous to planting the cane, the field is ploughed 

 and the hengah put over lightly." (Trans. Agri- 

 Hort. Soc., VI., 45.) 



Sets. When the canes are cut at harvest time, 

 twelve or eighteen inches of their tops are usually 

 taken off and stored, to be employed for sets. 

 These tops have several joints, from each of which 

 a shoot rises, but seldom more than one or two 

 arrive at a proper growth. 



When cut from the stem, the tops intended 

 for plants are tied in bundles of forty to fifty each, 

 and are carefully kept moist. In a few days they 

 put forth new leaves, are cleared of the old 

 ones, and separately dipped in a mixture of cow- 

 dung, pressed mustard-seed, and water. A dry spot 

 is then prepared, and loose rich mould, and a small 

 quantity of pressed mustard-seed, strewn over it ; 

 the plants are then placed separately therein, strewed 

 between with a small quantity " of earth, and 

 covered with leaves and grass to preserve them 

 from excessive heat. Ten or twelve days after- 

 wards they are transplanted into the fields. 



In Burdwan, the tops are cut into pieces four 



