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sarhanda; Pcnjab: Kdna (Sirsa), sarkara (E. Punjab), sarjbar 

 (Kangra) ; N.-W. Prov. : Ikar (Western districts), patdwar (East- 

 ern districts) ; Oudh : Palwar (Bhira). Other names given to separate 

 portions of the plant are — munj the sheath of the leaf and the fibre 

 which it yields; sar the leaves (Punjab); bind the flowering stem 

 (Doab), sarahri -('Eastern districts of N.-W. Provinces); sentha and kdna 

 the lower portion of the flowering stem ; sirki and til the upper portion of 

 flowering stem ; majori the entire stem from the base (Punjab) ; tilak or 

 tilon the blossom (Punjab), also called ghua (Eastern districts of N.-W. 



Provinces). 



A tall handsome grass, 8-10 feet high, smooth. Leaves long and 

 narrow, rough at the edges with minute forward prickles. Panicle 

 large ; branches in verticils, spreading. Spikelets densely clothed with 

 long white silky hairs. 



Plains of Punjab and N.-W. Provinces, becoming rare eastward of 

 Allahabad. It is of too coarse a nature to be used for fodder except 

 when quite young; it is used, however, for many other purposes; e.g., 

 in the manufacture of matting, rope, paper and for thatching ; the stems 

 are made into screens, sieves and baskets ; the thicker portions of the 

 stem are used for lining wells, and in the construction of chairs and 

 couches. In the Jhang district of the Punjab it is stated that in the 

 cold weather the leaves are often the only pasturage for the cattle. They 

 are also chopped up and mixed with bhusa, with grain, oil cake, or green 

 stuff. In the early spring the grass is fired, and the cattle graze on the 

 green shoots that quickly sprout again. Only the inferior patches of 

 sar are treated thus, as the plant seldom produces munj kdna after being 

 burnt (Jhang Settlement Keport, p. 23). 



S. officinarum, Linn. Vern. — Punjab : Ganna and kamdnd (Stew- 

 art), pona (grown for chewing), ikh and ikhdri (East of Sutlej), Jcamdd 

 (Central Punjab) ; Rajputana : Sdntlia (Ajmere) ; N.-W. Prov. : TJkh 

 and ukhdri (Eastern districts), paunda (grown in Dehra Dun for chew- 

 ing) ; Bundelkhand : Baraii (Lalitpur) ; Bengal : Katari (Chutia 

 Nagpur), ah, kajooli, kooshiar, kullooa and poori (Roxb.); Teling : 

 Cherukoo-bodi and cherukoo-duboo (Roxb.). The inflorescence of this and 

 other species of Saccharum is called tilak. 



Sugarcane is cultivated largely in Northern India as a kharif crop, 

 and sparingly in some of the warmer Himalayan valleys. It is propa- 

 gated by cuttings, the plants very rarely yielding seed. There are 

 several varieties, some of which are grown for the manufacture of sugar, 

 and others for eating raw. The refuse cane yields a strong fibre, and is 



