C 



lished while it yields heavy cuttings 8 or 10 times in the year 

 where facilities exist for irrigation. Fairly heavy soil, rich 

 in lime and well drained, also dry climate, should be chosen 

 for this crop. Lime and tank earth have been found very 

 good manures for this crop. 



1,067. Cultivation. In April or May after the first shower 

 of rain the land should be given one ploughing. At the end 

 of the rainy season about 100 maunds of tank earth should be 

 spread per bigha and the land ploughed and harrowed 4 or 5 

 times. After the cultivation is finished 3 or 4 maunds of lime 

 per acre or 6 maunds of bone-dust should be sprinkled over 

 the land. Trenches should then be made lengthwise so as to 

 form ridges about 2 feet apart unless the land is hilly with a 

 natural slope. The seed should be sown on the top of the 

 ridges. Little holes may be made with a sickle and seed put 

 in them and the earth battered down. Thus sown 4 seers of 

 seed will be found sufficient per acre. If the plants do not 

 come up within 10 days after sowing and if the soil appears 

 to be too dry one or two waterings may be required before 

 the plants come up. The plants being grown on the ridges 

 or on hillsides, rain is not able to spoil them, and the trenches 

 between the rows of plants can be utilised both for irrigat- 

 ing and for hoeing the land. After each cutting, the plough 

 should be passed through the trenches and weeds cleared in 

 this way. After every two or three cuttings manure should 

 be applied in the trenches ; in other words, if 3 cartloads of 

 rotten farmyard manure are applied at one season and at 

 another a maund of bone-meal or 2 maunds of castor-cake or 

 rape-cake per bigha, 5 to 6 cuttings of plants may be had 

 from the land during one year and an average crop of 50 

 maunds per acre can be obtained at each cutting, or 300 

 maunds of green food in all, during the year. With special 

 facility for irrigation one can obtain 600 or 700 maunds of 

 green stuff per acre. Europeans are quite familiar with the 

 value of lucerne as a fodder for horses, and there should be no 



