Cultivation of Sugar and Cotton in the East Indies [pp. 511-543]

518 CULTURE OF SUGAR AND COTTON IN THE EAST INDIES.
fields are again plowed well, and all grass, weeds, &c., removed
with the hoe; then the surface of the field is made as smooth as possible by putting the hengah (a piece of wood eight to ten feet in
length, and five or six inches in breadth, and three or four inches in
thickness, drawn by two pairs of bullocks, and the man standing
upon the wood to give it weight) over several times for three or four
dalls in succession. This makes the surface of the field very even,
and somewhat hard, which prevents the sun and dry west wvind from
abstracting the moisture, which is of great importance at this period(
of the season, for, 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 lands remain till the time of planting the cane
cuttings, which is generally the 1st to the 15th February; but should
there have been a fall of rain in the mean time, or excess of moisture appear, the field is again plowed, and the hengah put over as
before.
,"A day or two previous to planting the cane, the field is plowed
and the hengah lightly put over."
Sets.-When the canes are cut at harvest time, twelve or eighteen
inches of their tops are usually taken off, and stored, to be employed
for sets. Each top has several joints, from each of which a shoot
rises, but seldom more than one or two arrive at a proper growth.
When first cut from the stem, the tops intended for plants are tied
in bundles of forty or fifty each, and are carefully 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-dung, pressed
mustard-seed, and water. A dry spot is prepared, and rich l1ose
mould and a small quantity of pressed mustard-seed; the plants are
separately placed therein, a small quantity of earth strewed among
them, and then covered with leaves and grass, to preserve them from
heat. Ten or twelve days afterward 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 less than two nor
mnore than four knots in each. Two or three of these plants are put
Together when planted, and a beegah requires from 7,500 to 10,240
plants.
In Rungpore 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 plant being about fifteen inches long.
Near Calcutta, from 3,000 to 8,000 plants are required for a beegab.
according to the goodness of the soil, the worst soil requiring most
plants.
In Mysore an acre contains 2,420 stools, and yields about 11,000
ripe canes.
Near Rajahmundry, about 400 cuttings are planted on a cutcha
beegah (one-eighth of an acre). In Zilla North Mooradabad, 4,200
sets, each eight inches long, are inserted upon each cutcha beegah of
low land, and 5,250 upon high land.
In the district of Gollagore the Ryots cut a ripe cane into several
pieces, preserving two or three joints to each, and put them into a
small bed of rich mould and dung, and mustard-seed from which the