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ing is done in July and in low lands in February or April. 

 In the first transplanting, the betel-nut seedlings are planted 

 equidistant from the mandar trees, i.e. 12 to 15(1. apart. But 

 another transplanting takes place when the first trees have 

 come into bearing. Before this is done the mandar trees are 

 cut down or only a fringe left around the circumference of the 

 grove. The betel-nuts in a fully planted grove are about 6 to 

 yft. apart each way. A certain amount of irregular planting 

 goes on every year as vacancies occur, and in many gardens 

 plants big and small can be seen every 2 or 3ft. apart. 



665. The regular flowering season is February and the 

 plucking season October and November. The flowers form- 

 ing in January will ripen fruit in October and those forming 

 in March will fruit in December and January. The fruiting 

 begins in the 6th or yth year, but in crowded plantations 

 not usually before the loth year. The trees put out in the 

 plantation, when the first plants are in bearing, do not 

 fruit for 20 years after planting. Old betel-nut lands replant- 

 ed with betel-nut trees after the usual preparation of planting 

 mandar &c. do not begin to bear for 20 years after replant 

 ing. A plantation is in full bearing after 30 years. The 

 fruiting life of a tree may be put down at 30 to 60 years 

 and the total life 60 to 100 years. Occasional top dressing 

 with tank earth or other earth and hoeing or clearing of jungle 

 are all the operations necessary after the plantation has been 

 once established. According as the soil is clayey or sandy, 

 an average of 8 or 15 maunds of betel nuts per Kani (5 bighas 

 4 kotthas) a crop worth about Rs. 100, is obtained per annum 

 without much trouble. The crops of large gardens are sold 

 by auction, and the owners have not even the trouble of 

 plucking the nuts. Plucking has to be done with the help 

 of expert labourers who can jump from one tree to another 

 instead of getting down and climbing again. 



666. The magnitudes of the betel-nut industry of Backer- 

 gunge and Noakhali mny l>e inferred from the fact that from 



