Cultivation of the Orange and Lemon. 97 



nursery is prepared either on the ground or on a 

 raised 'rnachan.' The earth, to the depth of about 

 nine inches, is finely powdered and sifted. The surface 

 being smoothed, the dry seeds are spread over it and 

 are then covered over with finely powdered and sifted 

 earth to the thickness of an inch. The ground is then 

 covered over with plantain and other leaves, during 

 the heat of the day, the covering being removed in 

 the evening and some water sprinkled over the sur- 

 face. This process goes on till the seeds germinate, 

 generally between 20 to 30 days. In the seed nursery 

 the plants are allowed to remain till they are about four 

 inches high. Then they are transplanted into a second 

 nursery and placed eight or nine inches apart, either 

 in May or June of the same year. The soil of the 

 second nursery is lightly hoed before transplanting and 

 then it is kept free of weeds and foreign trees. Here 

 they are allowed to remain till, in the end of the 3rd 

 or 4th year, they have grown to a height of four or 

 five feet. They are then finally planted out in the 

 gardens. In the second nursery no hoeing or water- 

 ing is necessary, and all that the Khasias do is to clear 

 any jungle trees with their dhaw twice, and some- 

 times three times, in the year. The garden is never 

 hoed or harrowed before receiving the orange plants. 

 It only once undergoes a thorough clearing of all 

 jungle with the 'dhaw,' and a hole dug for the plant. 

 After planting, all that is done to the orange garden is 

 to clear it of jungle growth twice or thrice a year. 

 Neither hoeing, nor harrowing, nor irrigation, is re- 

 quired. The seasons selected for jungle clearing are 

 at the beginning and end of the rains. The Khasias 

 always put in the plants obliqiiely. The reason they 

 give is that new and straight shoots are given off near 

 the root, and the original oblique one withers away. 



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