are abused to the seventh generation. By the time the first weeding is
finished, the plant will be over a foot high, and if necessary a second
weeding is then given. After the second weeding, and if any rain has
fallen in the interim, the plant will be fully two feet high.

It is now a noble-looking expanse of beautiful green waving foliage. As
the wind ruffles its myriads of leaves, the sparkle of the sunbeams on
the undulating mass produces the most wonderful combinations of light
and shade; feathery sprays of a delicate pale green curl gracefully all
over the field. It is like an ocean of vegetation, with billows of rich
colour chasing each other, and blending in harmonious hues; the whole
field looking a perfect oasis of beauty amid the surrounding dull brown
tints of the season.

It is now time to give the plant a light touch of the plough. This
eases the soil about the roots, lets in air and light, tends to clean
the undergrowth of weeds, and gives it a great impetus. The operation
is called _Bedaheunee_. By the beginning of June the tiny red flower is
peeping from its leafy sheath, the lower leaves are turning yellowish
and crisp, and it is almost time to begin the grandest and most
important operation of the season, the manufacture of the dye from the
plant.

To this you have been looking forward during the cold raw foggy days of
November, when the ploughs were hard at work,--during the hot fierce
winds of March, and the still, sultry, breathless early days of June,
when the air was so still and oppressive that you could scarcely
breathe. These sultry days are the lull before the storm--the pause
before the moisture-laden clouds of the monsoon roll over the land
'rugged and brown,' and the wild rattle of thunder and the lurid glare