[ 220 ] 



about Aus paddy apply to Aman paddy also, and it is only the 

 distinctive characters of this crop that will be described here. 



272. Soil. Lowlying clay soils are preferred for this 

 crop. High lands which cannot be easily irrigated are not 

 suited. The fine varieties specially are supposed to need 

 to be under 6 inches or 9 inches of water from the time of 

 transplanting to that of the plants coming to ear $ but the 

 need for a large accumulation of water at the base of the 

 fine varieties of Aman has been much exaggerated. In light 

 soils Aman paddy is sometimes sown broadcast. It is a lazy 

 system which is prevalent in the southern portion of Murshi- 

 dabad and northern portion of Nadia and perhaps in other 

 parts of Bengal also. 



273. Cultivation. The land should be ploughed and 

 cross-ploughed immediately after the previous Aman harvest, 

 if feasible i.e., in December. Time should not be wasted allow- 

 ing the land to get too dry for ploughing. If the land has 

 become too dry already a shower in January or February 

 should be taken advantage of in ploughing up new fields. 

 If kaldi or any rabi crop follows the Aman crop, the first 

 ploughing and cross-ploughing should take place in March 

 or April, z>., as soon as there is a shower of rain following 

 the rabi harvest heavy enough to allow ploughing of the land. 

 At the beginning of the rainy season, or a little earlier, i.e., 

 about the end of May, if possible, seed is to be sown in pro- 

 perly cultivated seed-beds. The paddy fields should undergo 

 regular cultivation after the commencement of the rains, 

 ploughing being done in puddle. The object of this is to 

 bury the grasses and weeds. Two ploughings and two cross- 

 ploughings followed by one laddering in each case, are 

 enough for the field to receive seedlings. 



- 274. The method of transplanting is the same in the case 

 of Aus and Aman, only in the latter case, transplanting is done 

 later. Aus paddy is commonly sown broadcast and no trans- 

 planting is done. The earlier the transplanting can be safely 



