MANUAL FOR SUGAR GROWERS. 65 



should be green-dressed, i.e., a crop should be grown 

 upon the land and turned in. This, has been pre- 

 viously discussed in Chapter II. , and it has been 

 shown that plants of the pea and bean tribe (le- 

 guminosce) are preferable for this purpose. When 

 leguminous crops are grown and turned in, there is, 

 as has been said, a gain of nitrogen ; there is no ac- 

 tual gain in potash, phosphates, and other mineral 

 matters, though this treatment will bring up mineral 

 matters from below and deposit them near the sur- 

 face in an available condition ; hence green-dressing 

 should be followed by a liberal manuring with the 

 necessary mineral manures, potash, phosphates, and 

 the like. 



Amongst the plants suitable for green-dressing 

 may be mentioned the pigeon-pea (Cajanus indicus), 

 woolly pyrol (Phaseolus mungo), Bengal bean. These 

 plants take from three to six months to grow to suf- 

 ficient size to be ploughed in ; when they are suffi- 

 ciently developed they are cut down and arranged 

 in rows to enable the plough to open furrows ; the 

 green dressing is laid in the furrows and covered 

 with soil, the banks being raised over the green 

 dressing. 



In some cases where the soil is in very bad con- 

 dition it is often expedient to raise a green dress- 

 ing on the banks between the canes, even after 

 the canes are planted and while they are growing. 

 This may be done by planting pigeon-peas, woolly 

 pyrol, or the like, upon the banks as soon after their 

 preparation as possible ; the green crop then grows 

 up with the cane, and, if it be carefully watched, will 

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