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Part I] Lindsay and Harrow : Lac and Shellac 
varieties of the lac insect and to special climatic conditions. This, 
however, requires investigation. 
Arhar .—Arhar is a field crop cultivated widely throughout 
India. Recently a field of Arhar plentifully infected with lac was 
seen in the Palamau district not far from Daltonganj. The brood had 
been taken from neighbouring Palas trees. The cultivator estimated 
that the lac crop would be ready to collect shortly before the Arhar 
itself was finally cut and harvested. Only in Assam, however, does 
Arhar live for a sufficiently long period to allow of its infection on a 
commercial scale with lac. There it is grown in freshly-burnt (or 
“ jhumed ”) jungle soil, and survives long enough to bear two crops 
of lac. Infection is carried on from one Arhar crop to another. The 
possibility of introducing a longer-lived Variety of Arhar, as a lac 
host, in India proper, would undoubtedly be worth investigation. 
Although the quality of the lac is not particularly good, the yield is 
plentiful and the incrustations are thick and well-developed. 
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