( 27 ) 
and kill the rank growth of weeds and grass which 
springs up in the fields after harvest ; in others -a 
peculiar implement, a heavy blade set at right angles 
to a long wooden handle, is used with an underhand 
swing to cut down the grass, while in Negri Sembilan 
a wooden hoe takes its place. Harrows are used 
after ploughing to remove the weeds, and where 
other methods of cultivation are employed the weeds 
are also drawn out of the plots. 
When the grass has been cut or ploughed, some 
water is admitted through a breach in the bunds 
which surround the patch, so as to kill off any roots 
which may be left and to soften the soil. The field 
is often further prepared by driving a buffalo round 
and round, which drags a heavy, fluted wooden roller 
behind it. A still simpler method of preparing the 
soil is to loose a herd of buffaloes in a field and make 
them do the work of turning up the ground by 
driving them continuously over its surface. 
When the fields are ready, the soil in them 
having been reduced to a semi-liquid mud, the seed- 
lings are planted out in rows, their roots having 
been previously cleared of adhering earth and their 
tops trimmed off. The planting out is done by the 
women and frequently only the hand is employed, 
but a small wooden dibble is also used, and in some 
places, a curious pronged instrument, held in the 
right hand, with which the seedlings are removed 
from a bunch in the left hand, and thrust into the 
ground. Some Malays, however, say that this im- 
plement, which is called the “ goat’s hoof ” damages 
the seedlings, and do not use it for that reason. 
As soon as the seedlings have been planted out 
in rows, more water is admitted, until it reaches 
&■•**}*** 
