78 Indigo in Bengal. 



The indigo plant springs up in this new soil with 

 great vigour and freshness at first, but as the fiery 

 heat of April and May tell upon the plant, it remains 

 stunted, and withers up to a mere little stick, as wiry 

 and thin as a piece of a knitting-needle, and with two 

 or three shabby little leaves on the top as an apology 

 for verdure. But they are very hardy, however, and 

 when the rains commence, about July, these little 

 plants shoot forth at the first heavy shower, and, as 

 the rainwater penetrates to their tap-roots through 

 the cracks in the top soil, the plants spring up with 

 renewed vigour, and soon throw out a fine show of 

 handsome leaf. 



Cultivated sowings, performed much after the 

 Tirhoot style, are also sown in Lower Bengal,in October, 

 besides the cheetanee sowings. The ploughs used are 

 the same, but the seed is thrown broadcast, and no 

 drills for sowing are used ; neither are rollers used to 

 break the clods, nor hand-labour, but the clods are 

 pulverized by dragging a couple of large bamboo 

 frames resembling ladders, and called in Bengali 

 mooies over the land until the clods are sufficiently 

 reduced in size. If this operation is delayed until 

 the freshly ploughed-up clods dry and harden in the 

 sun, it is impossible to obtain a satisfactory result. 

 After every ploughing, the mooies should, therefore, be 

 promptly applied. When the seed is sown, the mooie 



