1842-43.] DR. WIGHT ON AMERICAN CULTURE. 



37 



Sowing in a farrow of about two inches deep along 50 

 the centre of each ridge. — In the Farms at Coimba- 

 tore the seed is sown thus. A slight furrow, from an 

 inch and a half to two inches deep, is run along the 

 centre of the ridge with a country plough. The seed is 

 then pretty thickly scattered in the furrow, and covered 

 in by running over it a small triangular drill harrow. 



Scraping out of superfluous plants and weeds. — 51 

 When the plant is three or four inches high, and be- 

 ginning to put forth a third or fourth leaf, it is 

 thinned or " scraped ; " that is, the greater part of 

 the superfluous plants, together with the weeds, are 

 scraped out with the hoe. About ten or twelve days 

 afterwards this scraping operation is repeated, to 

 complete the thinning and superficial cleaning of the 

 land. With regard to this hoeing, Dr. Wight re- 

 marked that the American plan of scraping was de- 

 cidedly inferior to that which he had adopted, viz. — 

 that of freely loosening the surface and digging out 

 the weeds. Had he not gathered up the grass roots 

 as fast as they were dug up with the hoe, they would 

 have subsequently grown all the faster. This defect 

 in the American system was, however, amply com- 

 pensated for by liberal ploughing between the rows. 



Banking up the ridges, first with the plough and 52 

 afterwards with the hoe. — When the hoeing has been 

 completed, or a few days later, the plant is sufficiently 

 advanced to admit of the plough being used between 

 the rows. The plough employed is small and light, 

 such as can be drawn by a single bullock ; with it a 

 light furrow is run within five or six inches of the 

 plants, turning the earth inwards towards the roots 

 to supply the place of that previously removed by 

 scraping. This operation of banking up the roots is 

 completed with the hoe. If the soil is foul, and at 

 the same time soft enough to be easily worked, the 

 ploughing may be repeated several times, the more 

 effectually to destroy the weeds. 



Keeping down extraneous vegetation until the crop 53 

 ripens. — By the time these various operations are 

 completed, the plant is between two and three months 



