SACCHARUM OFFICINARUM. 



57 



A cane crop is, as a rule, preceded by a whole year's fallow, tlie land not having 

 been occupied in either kharif or rabi preceding. Occasionally, chiefly in the sub- 

 Himalayan tract, it follows a kharif crop of rice or pulse, when it is known as khariJc 

 as opposed to pural or fallowed cane, and its produce is estimated to be decreased 

 by to ^rd. Now and then it is even sown immediately after a crop of gram on 

 land which has not been allowed even a half year's fallow, but this is rare. The rents 

 charged for cane in the Sitapur District are Es. 10-12, Es. 9-9, Es. 8 and Es. 6-12 

 per acre according as it is grown after a year's fallow (purali), after rice {d/iankeri), after 

 autumn pulse {maseri), or after gram (c/iarreri). But these are exceptional cases, and 

 the rule for the Provinces is that cane requires a year's open fallow ; land lying fallow 

 for cane is known Si.s pdndra. 



A crop of melons or onions is occasionally gathered off a cane field, being planted 

 on the ridges of the irrigation beds, and being off the ground before the canes have 

 made much progress. Hemp and castor are frequently grown as a border, but beyond 

 this no subordinate crops are ever mixed with the cane. 



Sugar-cane land is usually good loam or light clay, and is invariably manured except 

 in tracts such as the Himalayan Tarai and the old bed of the Ganges in the Etah District, 

 where the ground is saturated with moisture, which' is made to supply the place of both 

 manure and irrigation. The weight of manure applied per acre varies between 150 and 

 200 maunds. In the Shahjahanpur and Muzaffarnagar Districts it is the custom to 

 apply the whole of the available manure to the cane fields, and the manured fields are 

 therefore not collected in a belt round the village site, as is usually the case, but scattered 

 at intervals over the village land. From Fatehpur the practice of herding cattle at 

 night on cane fields is reported. The manure is applied shortly before sowing and well 

 intermingled with the soil by frequent ploughings. 



Ploughing commences with the rains, and is continued in as opportunity offers till 

 sowing time. During November the land is allowed a rest, it being considered unlucky 

 to plough in that month (Bareilly), possibly because it may encourage the germination 

 of weeds, many of which are seeding then. The number of times to which cane land 

 is ploughed is occasionally as many as 25, and averages about 12 or 15. 



Cane is propagated by cuttings or layers and not from seed. The cuttings are 

 made either from the upper portion of the cane, which is of but little use for sugar 

 making, or from the whole cane, and must be always long enough to include two inter- 

 nodes, i.e., three nodes or joints. The young canes are produced from buds which spring 

 from the nodes under artificial stimulation, and with an eye to this the seed canes are gener- 

 ally kept for some days buried in damp earth, and sometimes even soaked in water for 

 12 hours before sowing (Allahabad). The following graphic description of the process 

 and ceremonial of cane sowing is taken from Mr. Moen's Eeport on the settlement of 

 the Bareilly District: — "An ordinary plough which has been appeased with sacrificial 

 " offerings of turmeric and rice, and decorated with the tika (forehead mark) in red 

 " earth strikes the first furrow. This is followed in the same furrow by a second, with 

 " mould board attached to widen and deepen the furrow, behind this comes the sower, 

 "wearing silver ornaments with a necklace of flowers round his neck and a red tid-a on 

 "his forehead. He is usually well fed with ghi and sweetmeats before commencing. 



