MYSORE AND OOOEG. 325 



Cultivation,— The betel-nut palm is propagated 

 readily from seed, which is planted in rows in half- 

 filled trenches of sand under shade. When firmly- 

 placed in position, the ripe nuts are covered over to 

 the depth of 4 — 5 inches with a compost of sand 

 and black soil in equal parts ; the trench is then 

 well saturated with water every third or fourth day 

 during the dry season, and until the seedlings are 

 well sprouted, but the latter should not be removed 

 to the plantation until they are properly rooted and at 

 least a foot in height. The partial shade which is 

 necessary in the early stages of cultivation, is 

 usually provided by an associated crop of bananas 

 planted a month or two in advance of the Areca-nuts 

 and intermediately with the pits prepared for the 

 latter. It is also customary to continue the cultiva- 

 tion of bananas or plantains with the object of 

 intercepting radiation and maintaining a cool, moist 

 surface for the benefit of the main crop. A fertile 

 black soil containing calcareous nodules near the 

 surface, is prized for this cultivation, but it is a sine 

 qua non that the water level should not be many 

 i'eet below the surface, and where such is the case, 

 alluvial silt, and ordinary loam are equally produc- 

 tive soils. It is necessary during the rainy season 

 to drain off superfluous water by means of open 

 ditches placed at intervals between the rows of 

 trees, for although the Areca requires a perennial 

 supply of moisture at no great depth in the subsoil, 

 it is keenly susceptible of being water-logged. In 

 the Malnad, it is usual to plant two seedlings in one 

 pit, the weaker of the pair being subsequently re- 

 moved when there is little risk of failure on the 

 part of the reserved specimen. In topes exclusively 

 apportioned to the Areca-nut, the planting is mostly 

 too close ; 1,200 to 1,600 trees being allotted to the 

 acre, exclusive of the banana trees. The results 

 woijld in all probabiHty prove more advantageousi 



