175 



wind from abstracting the moisture, ^ hich is of great importance 

 at this period of the season, ftr, should there be no rain, there 

 would not be sufficient moisture at the time of planting the cane 

 to cause vegetation. 



In this state the land remains till the time of planting the 

 cane cuttings, which is generally the 1st to the 15th of Eebruarv ; 

 but should there have been a fall of rain in the mean time, or 

 excess of moistiu*e appear, the field is again ploughed, and the 

 hengah put over as before 



A day or two previous to planting the cane, the field is ploughed 

 and the hengah lightly put over." — (Trans. Agri-Hort. Soc.vi. 4, 5.) 



Sets. — ^"hen the canes are cut at harvest time, twelve or 

 eighteen inches of their tops are usually taken ofi', and stored, to 

 be employed for sets. Each top has several joints, from tfach of 

 which a shoot rises, but seldom more than one or two arrive at a 

 proper growth. 



"Wlien first cut from the stem, the tops intended for plants are 

 tied in bundles of forty or fifty each, and are carefjiHy kept moist. 

 In a few days they put forth new leaves : they are then cleared 

 of the old leaves, and separately dipped into a mixture of cow- 

 dimg, pressed mustard seed, and water. A diy spot is prepared, 

 and rich loose mould and a small quantity of pressed mustard- 

 seed ; the plants are separately placed therein, a small quantity of 

 earth strewed amongst them, and then covered with leaves and 

 grass to preserve them from heat. Ten or twelve days afterwards 

 they are planted in the fields. 



In Burdwan, the tops, before they are planted, are cut into 

 pieces from four to six inches long, so that there are not more 

 than four knots in each. Two or three of these plant tops are put 

 together in the orroimd. and a beegah requires from 7,500 to 

 10,210 plants. 



In Eimgpore and Dinajpoor, about 9,000 plants are required 

 for a beegah, each being about a foot in length. 



In Beerbhoom, 3,000 plants are said to be requisite for a beegah, 

 each cane top being about fifteen inches long. 



]Sear Calcutta, from 3,000 to 8,000 plants are required for a 

 beegah, according to the goodness of the soil, the worst soil 

 needing most plants. In ^Mysore an acre contains 2,420 stools, 

 and yields about 11,000 ripe canes. 



Xear Eajahmimdry, about 400 cuttings are planted on a cutcha 

 beegah (one-eighth of a:n acre) . In ZiUa, Xorth ^Irioradabad, 4,200 

 sets, each eight inches long, are inserted upon each catcha beegah 

 of low land, and 5.250 upon high land. 



In the district of G-oHagore the Eyots cut a ripe cane into 

 several pieces, preserving two or three joints to each, and put 

 them into a small bed of rich moidd, dung, and mustard-seed 

 from which the oil has been expressed. At Eadnagore, when the 

 time of cutting the canes arrives, their tops are taken ofi", and 

 these are placed upright in a bed of miid for thirty or forty days, 

 and covered with leaves or straw. The leaves are then stripped 



