mild temperature and after the cold weather has well passed 

 off, but a good while before the rains set in, may be followed 

 in every locality. Planting in May or June is very risky, 

 except in free and rocky soils, as water-logging or even 

 heavy rainfall, when the plants are still very short, is injuri- 

 ous to most crops. Sugar-cane, like maize or juar, is benefited 

 by heavy rainfall if it commences after the plants are about 

 a foot high. 



609. Various modes of planting are adopted. In Mauri- 

 tius where high winds prevail, planting is done in deep 

 trenches or holes to give the canes a good support at the 

 base. After the land has been ploughed up, holes or trench- 

 es are made about a foot deep, and 4^ to 5 ft. apart from 

 centre to centre. Three inches of loose soil is put in the 

 holes or trenches, and these are watered, and then the cut- 

 tings are planted and another three inches of earth put on. 

 When the plants are a foot high, the land is levelled that 

 is the trenches are entirely filled up, and a second earthing 

 makes shallow trenches between the rows of plants. 



610. In Bengal, the cuttings are planted in shallow 

 trenches (about 6 inches deep) made with kodalies, 2 feet 

 apart. This is much too close planting, involving the use of 

 kodalies for hoeing, earthing and trenching. The system 

 prevalent in Queensland, New South Wales and Fiji Islands, 

 seems worth adopting in this country. The cuttings are 

 planted in double rows 6 feet apart, the two rows close 

 together being only 18 inches apart. This is equivalent to 

 planting single rows 3 ft. apart. But a distance of three 

 feet from centre to centre of lines of plants does not allow 

 interculture by bullocks ; while a distance of 6 feet from 

 centre to centre does allow of such interculture being prac- 

 tised. In working on a large scale the employment of hand- 

 tools should be avoided as much as possible, and bullock- 

 power substituted. The trenches may not be so straight, 

 there may be some injury done by bullocks treading on 



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