d, which prevents the sun and dry west wind 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 land remains till the time of planting the cane
cuttings, which is generally the 1st to the 15th of February; but
should there have been a fall of rain in the mean time, or excess of
moisture 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_.--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 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 ground, 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
cane top being about fifteen inches long.

Near 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.

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 cut