AT LOS ANGELES BY F. N. WEIGHT, B.A, Settlement Officer. 3 ALLAHABAD: KOBTH-WESTBBJf PHOVISCK3 aOYEBWKBXT T B E . 4 1877. THE Director of Agriculture and Commerce, North-'W estern Provinces and Oudh, will be obliged if purchasers or recipients of Mr. Wright's Memo, oil Agriculture in Cawnpore will forward to him any notes made during the ensu- ing year, and containing either corrections of or additions to the contents of the Memo. The date fixed for collecting such notes is the first week in January, 1879, after which a new edition will be published, containing additional information from other districts. INDEX. PABA. PAGB. en 0-1 Preface ... Physical division of district Irrigation ... Depth of water below surface Classes of cultivators Instruments of husbandry PART I. [Plough ... Cart Miscellaneous ... f Wells ;M I tT Artificial aids to husbandry ...< _ Q } Other sources of irrigation V Manure ... ... Crop statistics PART II. PART III. Rotation of crops ... ... ... ... ... f Chamar ... ... Agricultural operations for one year 5 Eachhi ... ... ' Eurmi ... ... Cultivators' debts and money-lenders ... ... , The potter, " Kumhar" ... Village tradesmen .., < The grain-par cher, * Bhurji " vThe cotton-carder, " Behna" Cattle ... ... ... ... Trees .., ... ,,, ^, ... M , Conclusion ... 1 1 11 3 ... 15 4 ... 16 *. ... 24 5 ... 31 7 ... t*. 8 ... 33 9 ... 48 13 ... 54 16 ... 59 17 ... 68 20 ... 69 75 ... 74 76 ... 76 79 ... 77 84 ... 86 92 94 99 ... 102 100 ... 105 102 ... 109 103 ... 124 105 ... 135 108 (U. 10 22 2$* 2 7 ' ft, fj. fj 4 . 72. W? PREFACE. THE following memorandum pretends to no scientific accuracy, nor is its intention to put forward any suggestions for the improve- ment of agriculture in this district : this being a matter to be settled by the collation of facts from every district, rather than by ex- perience only over a limited area. The memorandum merely sets forth what has been ascertained by constant enquiry, checked by experiment, during tbe progress of settlement, and is based on results carefully tabulated and analyzed. The system to which these results are due was instituted by Mr. Buck when settlement officer of this district, and carried on by me on his transfer to the office he now holds. I am greatly indebted to him for the privilege of using the statistics he has collected and tabulated, and for his kindness in giving the benefit of careful supervision to these roughly-strung-together notes. CAWNPORE, ) > F. N. WRIGHT. The IZth June, 1877. ) AGRICULTURE IN THE DISTRICT OF CAWi, PART I. 1. THE district of Cawnpore lies between the large rivers Ganges and Physical division of dis- Jumna, and is intersected by smaller rivers, the Pandu, trict - the Rind (or Arind), and the Sengar, in the above geo- graphical order from north to south, and in the same order of importance as affecting the physical characteristics of the district. The Isan passes through the north of the district for but a short portion of its course, and affects the general character but little. Other smaller streams drain local areas, and mostly discharge into the three principal rivers ; of these the " Non," which drains pargana Akbarpur, obtains considerable volume and discharges into the Jumna in zila Fatehpur. A smaller stream also called Non (the term Non implying srnalfncss, not saltness) drains Bilhaur and discharges into the Ganges. 2. We have therefore several doabs in this district, which may be de- tailed in the following order : 1. The Isan ... ... Kali nadi. 5. The Ganges ... ... Panda. 3. The Panda ... ... Rind. 4. The Rind ... ... Sen gar. 5. The Sengar ... ... Jumna. 6. The Rind ... ... Jumna. Subordinate to which are 1. The Rind ... ... Non. | 2. The Non ... ... Jumna. 3. The soils of these several doabs naturally vary considerably, but the district is popularly divided roughly into the Ganges and Jumna parga- nas, which division would fairly enough contrast the different characteristics of pargana Bilhaur, north Shiurajpur, north Jajmau, and north Sarh Salempur on comparison with Sikandra, Bhognipur, and south Ghdtampur, but does not call sufficient attention to the intermediate class represented by Rasiilalad, De- rapur, Akbarpur, south Jajmau, south Sarh Salempur, and norlh Ghatampur. 4. The following table gives the relative positions of the several parga- nas to the doabs as shown in para. 3 : Isan-Kali nadi ... ... ... Bilhaur. f Bilhaur. Shiurajpur north. Jajmau north. S&rh Salempur north. / Kasulabad north. ,,.,., } ShiurSjpur south. Pndu-Rind . , -) Jajmau south. V birh Salempur couth. Sari: Ba adopted by the settlement officers gives the follow- iii between the Ganges on the north and the Jumna Dodb. Soil. ... Isan Kali nadi ... Dumat and bhur. " } f Ganges bhur. '" > Ganges-Pandu ... < Dumat. " ) / Pandu red soil. ...} fP4ndu red soil. ... > Pandu-Rind ... 3 Dumat. ... ) (. Rind red soil. '.'.'. JRi ' f Rind red soil. Rind-Sengar ... < Dumat. (. Seogar red soil. > ( Sengar red soil. " 'Sengar-Jumna ... 3 Dumat. :::}< 1JU~ :.,, t JvUK,l- uiuua ... j_/ uiiicn.. Bhogmpur ... ... j ( Jumna soils. If Rind red soil. Rind-Jumna ... < Dumat. ( Jumna soil. 6. It should, however, be noted that the word " dumat" represents vary- ing degrees of consistency in the soil thus described, being composed of two (do) original soils (motti), sand (bhur) and clay (matydr), i.e., the more northern dtimat of pargana Bilhaur, &c., contains a larger admixture of clay, whilst the ddmat, so called in the Jumna parganas, contains so much sand as to approach the limit of the soil called bhur. 7. The term " bhur" also includes varieties of soil from the sand-blown hillocks near the Isan to the hard red sand found in the Jumna ravines : the Pandu and Rind rivers being fringed with a belt of an intermediate soil called locally " pilia," red (or yellow) soil. 8. The " clay" (matydr'), though an original soil, is practically subor- dinate to these two broadly defined classes. In this district it is found only in depressions where water lies or slowly drains : it is in fact the collection of the lighter particles of alumina washed out from the higher loams and sands. 9. Broadly, then, we may assume that the district of Cawnpore con- sists of the soils " diimat" and " bhur" representing varying degrees of con- sistency of the two elementary soils, clay and sand. 10. On the Jumna, however, we meet with small areas of the soils peculiar to the country on the other side of this river (Bundelkhand), namely, mdr and kdbar ; the soils called parwd and rdkar are merely modifications of the generic terms dtimat and bhur. 11. The power of irrigation varies like the soil from north to south : from the almost complete irrigation of the Ganges par- ganas to the total absence of wells along the Jumna. 12. During the current settlement, the character of the irrigation has been enormously changed by the two branches of the Ganges Canal called the Cawnpore and Etawah terminal branches. The Cawnpore division passes through the Ganges-Pandu doab, a distributary running down the Pandu- Rind Doab as far as pargana Jajmau. The Etawah division takes the line of the Rind-Sengar doab, and heading the river Sengar tails into the Jumna at Garantha : the last three miles are not dug, and the surplus water is discharged into a ravine at Baksara. Numerous distributaries, large and small (rajbahas and minors), bring the water within reach of a very large area, so that it is not too much to say that the Ganges-Pandu doab as far as Cawnpore and the Rind- Sengar doab as far as Akbarpur are thoroughly protected from drought. Portions of pargana Rasulab&d, Shiurajpur south of the Pandu, Sarh Salempur north of the Pandu, and a small area in Bhognipur east of the Sengar also receive a considerable amount of water, whilst a new rajbaha included in the system of the new Lower Ganges Canal has commenced to irrigate Ghutampur. 13. The Lower Ganges Canal is to pass through the Rind- Pandu doab for its entire length, a branch crossing the Rind and supplying the Etawah terminal with water for a further extension of the Ghatampur line. At the same time a large distributary will be brought into the Sengar-Jumna doab, and thus the entire district, except the Ganges-Isan doab, will be brought under canal irrigation. 14. At present the irrigation is distributed as follows : Pargana. Percentage, well. Percentage, canal. Percentage, other sour- ces. Bilhaur 21-2 263 11-2 Shiurujpur 196 409 59 Jajmau 35-6 107 34 Rasulabad 48-7 86 10-6 Akbarpur 39-3 12-8 3-9 Sarh Salempur 40-4 72 8-6 Derapur 6-8 40-3 1-2 Sikandra 28 2-5 Bhognipur | 12 57 20 Ghatampur * 10-4 105 3-9 That is to say, this is the distribution as classified by the settlement officers, and on which their assessments are based. 15. The depth to water varies from 20 to 25 feet in the Ganges-Panda Depth of water doab, 25 to 35 feet in the Pandu-Rind doab, 35 to 45 feet below surface. gouth of the md to 60 or g Q feet even a ] ong the J amna> where irrigation is practically impossible. The method of irrigation I notice below. 16. The agricultural population of Cawnpore district consists of Tbakurs, Classes of cultivators. Brahmans, Ahirs, Garariyas, Kurmis and Kachhis in about the proportion of the order in which they are enumerated. 17. The four first named castes are found all over the district ; the Kurmis are more localised, being confined to well defined tracts in Bilhaur, Shiurajpur, Bhognipur, and Ghatampur. Kdclihis are found wherever a large village attracts them by the amount of available manure or demand for market garden produce ; but in the southern parganas one or two Kachhis may be found in many small villages where the proprietor has induced them to settle by the use of a good masonry well. 18. The relative characteristics of the above six classes are well known, and but brief notice is required here. Thakurs and Brahmans grow the ordi- nary crops, and being compelled by caste prejudices to employ hired labour, occupy somewhat larger holdings which they do not cultivate closely, but, ge- nerally speaking, in a careless neglectful manner. 19. Ahirs and Garariyas are good, honest cultivators, whose command of manure makes them raise better crops than we should expect from their unscientific method of cultivation. 20. Kurmis are sound cultivators : every able member in the family is in the field from morning till evening ; every one knows the proverb quoted by Elliott in his supplementary glossary n vrat ^im gf%^ SRI *ufi WTO ii " A good caste is the Kunbin ; with hoe in hand They weed the fields together with their husbands." 21. By sheer dint of industry crops are raised even in dry tracts by this class such as enable them to pay much higher rents than any other cultivators except Kdchhis, whilst where irrigation is complete, as in pargana Shiurajpur, and population is dense, their cultivation approaches that of the real market gardener, the Kdchhi (or Murdo). Round Bhaisau, Kansamau, &c., the richest crops are raised and exorbitant rents (where the proprietor is not self-cultivating, as he often is in this caste) demanded and paid. The Kurmi, as a rule, occu- pies a medium-sized, manageable holding, all of which he manures in turn, and most of which (if possible) he will irrigate. , h //~ ( 5 ) 22. The Kdchld occupies a small holding close to the site of the village, in which he raises the vegetables and potherbs most in demand ; depending for these less on manure than on his own labours and that of his family, and con- stant manipulation of the (already enriched) soil. "Where he takes up the higher cultivation, as of potatoes, cane, &c., he manures heavily. 23. Of Lodhas (Kisdn), another industrious class, there are comparatively few in the Cawnpore district. Their place is supplied by the Kurmis, and where they are found they cultivate little, if any, better than Ahfrs and Garariyas. 24. The instruments used by the ryot in this district Instruments of hus- bandry, are few and cheap : The plough. 25. Consists of the following portions, made of the materials, and cost- ing as noted opposite each : Phdrd, the share of steel, costing 12 annas. Ihrhdri, the sole, on which the share is shod ; of babiil. Kurh or Kurhai, the step ; of babul. faretha, the stilt of babul. Muthia, the handle of babul. ffaris, the beam of sdku, costing 12 annas. Hareni, the cross-bar to which is tied the yoke (jud). Parel % Pachh&T \ Agmdsi ( Pe s wluch secure the different parts. Pachmdsi ) The yoke consists of Mdnchi, the upper bar. ^ Tar-mdnchi the lower bar. f /- . n Gdt or ffatar, the inner pegs, f Cost 8 annas > &nd "*&! of ** Sail, the outer pegs. ) Nahna, the rope, often of leather, which attaches the yoke to the beam. Chonga y funnel of bamboo attached to handle, down which seed is poured into furrow. 26. Thus the actual outlay for plough and yoke does not exceed Rs. 2, but the blacksmith and carpenter receive annual dues, which will be shown ( 6 ) subsequently for constructing and repairing. The plough lasts three years easily. fhdora, or kilwa, or spade ; iron blade, babdl handle ; costs from Re. 1 to Re. 1-4-0, and lasts five years. Kudar is narrower than the phdora and is used for digging cane-fields and wells ; costs about eight to ten annas, and lasts three or four years. Khurpd, hoe, blade iron, handle babtil ; costs four annas, and lasts two years. Koldba is a kind of hoe which is used for cutting the slips of cane or arhar plants ; costs four annas. Havsya, or sickle ; costs four annas. Gardnsi, chopper, to cut fodder or cane ; costs from 8 annas to Re. 1. Kulhdri, axe, costs 8 annas to Re. 1. Mai, pahtah, or pateld is a beam of wood used as clodcrusher after ploughing : in it are two pegs (keora) to which are attached the hauling ropes (baghan) ; costs from Re. 1 to Re. 1-8-0. Pdchhi is a flat board for making the irrigation bed ; one man holds the handle, a second pulls it towards himself by a rope. It is also called kirhd or kydri. The forms of these tools are so well known that it is needless to represent them. 27. In the south of the district for the heavier soils, such as mar, the plough or bullock-hoe called " bakhar" is used ; it is thus described in the supplemen- tary glossary : " It has an iron scythe in the room of a share about 20 inches broad and five deep, fixed to the centre of a beam of wood between four and five feet long and six inches broad. This scythe enters about eight inches into the ground, effectually eradicating weeds and grass, and the beam pulverising the earth as it is turned up." 28. The ryot also has his well gear as follows : Pur or charsa, leather bag of buffalo hide, value Rs. 3 ; it holds 13 to 15 gallons. Kondrd, the iron hoop, which holds the mouth of the bag open, costs about Re. 1. Bart, the rope, value Re. 1, which, however, is not bought; the ryot makes it of his own hemp. Khuttij or bildri, the wooden handle, which attaches the rope to the pur. Girri, wheel of lahtil with two pins of iron, costing eight to twelve annas. Dhordhi are the uprights on which the wheel rests. Pat&r, the wooden beam at mouth of the well on which the pur is landed. Thus the whole of the well gear purchased costs about Rs. 6 to 8, and will only last about one year. The yoke for the well bullocks is, I am told, usually 8 inches shorter than that for the plough. The average value of the tools for husbandry, that is to say, those which the ryot will have to purchase, amounts to Rs. 10, giving an average annual cost (according to the time each lasts) of Rs. 5-11-6. 29. The wood (babul or chenkar) the ryot almost invariably obtains from the wild trees on the estate by permission of the landlord, or he grows a tree or two near his own field. 30. It must not, however, be supposed that every ryot has all the tools enumerated in the above list : much work is done by mutual borrowing, and nothing indeed is more common than mutual help in ploughing. Ordinarily, however, a fairly well-to-do ryot will have the majority of the tools ; but only those really well off will have a cart. 31. The cart, as generally belonging to the cultivator, is a small affair, used for carriage of manure to the fields. The larger carts used for carriage of produce to near or distant markets belong to the well-to-do man who, either on his own account or with prospect of hire from the grain merchant, can afford the heavy outlay necessary. The following is a detailed description, as cor- rect as possible, of this complicated piece of workmanship : * n3v of l&tdur or "Rope/ '/ rtar = til _- ; ;;/7< */ fair r 5vjO' T J 3Jhzvv * =Pffo^c TJiharpa; 1 The names of the different parts vary almost in every pargana, those of the principal parts being most constant. I do not guarantee the correctness of the names I give. ( 8 ) Jud, yoke, of nim, babiil, or sirras ; costs about eight annas to Re. 1 ; sail, pegs on yoke. Chireya, hooks on yoke, to which khunth or ropes round bullocks' necks are tied, and by which draught is distributed. Ndr{, the rope by which yoke is fastened to cart, reaches length of the cart and is braced by a piece of wood called ? Bichhud, hooks, to keep ndri in place. Shaguni, a pointed piece of wood (babul) at end of body of the cart to which the plidrs are fastened : the centre piece being called mdthdpdrd, and in this the prop (unthard or utJiarpd) is fixed. Phdr, the two pieces of wood which form the framework for the whole body of the cart, made of sdku, and costing Rs. 5. This is strengthened by a band of iron patti. Mdjhia, three thin bars which reach whole length : also of sdku wood. Katkili, pegs and iron nails which are clamped. Mdkhari, three cross-bars to keep phdrs firm. Hangar, unfinished poles stretching length of cart along phdrs to strengthen them, tied together by 12 sonthds. Pateli, seat of babul. Murhid pdteld, cross-bars in which uprights (khuthili) are fixed. Bhartua patela, cross-bars to allow of loading, forming the bottom. Bdnsa, upper poles fastened to khuthili by ropes, gurdu. Axle and wheels. Suja, cross-bars to which the heavy beams (painjani) on which axle-pins work, are fastened. Sdi, extra cross-bars, above behind, below before. Mathakha, wooden J_ block or fend with pins |, keeps siija apart from tai. r Ankh, cross-bar below in middle, to which are fixed \ ' ' v Ndson, in which dhuri (iron) is fixed. Dhuri, axle-pin. Chendi are fends of leather or rope keeping wheel off painjani. V Pair, wheel, consists of four puthis (felloes) and four dm (spokes.) Nave (ndh) has two dwans of iron inside to prevent wearing, and is bound with a band of iron to prevent splitting, called " ban." Between dwan and ndh is the momdi of iron. Edges of wheels are bevillecj, off (magar) to lessen friction. Between dwan and dhuri is a fend of hemp, khdndan : dnkh is fastened to ndsora by ghinni through a kunda fastened in the phdr. Painjani is fastened to stija byjantras or movable strings called kharkaria, Ganjia is a hempen bag for carrying hemp and castor-oil ongan. Nails by which patelds are fastened to mdjhias are called batdsa*. di, prop when wheels are taken off. ij fastened edges of body. Cost ,.. } .. [ sdhu Ka 5. ' Md/'t'd ... ... ... Bdngar ... ... ... ... nim 8 aunas. lidnsi ... ... ,.. ... nim 8 Suja ... ... ... ... *a'Au Ui. 2. Kc. 1-4 making. J'afc/i Wheels, iaitff, Rs. 4 to Ea 16 a pair (average Rs. 7.) Shaguni "\ Unthara > ... ... ... ,., babul 8 annas. Mdthdpdra ) Axle ... ... ... ... iron Re. 1. nails, &e. ... ... ... ... Rs. 4. Rope ... ... ... ... 1. I\'d/i ... ... ... ... 5 annas. The whole about Rs. 30. Artificial aids to husbandry. 32. The irrigation in this district is now chiefly obtained from two sources, wells and canals. I have described in my 15th paragraph the general local distribution of well irrigation, and now proceed to describe the well itself. W ells - 33. Wells are of the following description : 1. Entirely of masonry, cemented with mortar. 2. Of brick uncemented. 3. Uubricked. 4. Half brick, half unbricked. The wells lined with a wooden cylinder (jhdkan) or wattle cylinder (ludsdr) are not made in this district. The bricks used are of three kinds : 1 . Gumma, the large brick ordinarily used in building 12 /r X 0" X 3^. 2. Makheya, small bricks 6" X 4" X 1 /' 3. Garh, tile bricks forming segment of a circle according to size of well. 34. The first class of wells is naturally the most expensive. They are built largely as works of charity for the refreshment of way- farers, or as additions to temples, &c., and also by zemindars and cultivators for agricultural purposes ; less, however, now-a-days by the former than the latter ; whilst altogether the expense of such a permanent work of utility seems beyond the power of all but a very few. The cost depends of course on the depth to the permanent spring, but the average expense is rarely less than Rs, 300 for a well with a single run ; whilst though the cost does not increase proportion- ately to the number of runs, the ordinary four-run wells only costing about Rs. 350 to Rs. 400, the large eight-run wells cost from Rs. 500 upwards, more often Rs. 800, and often Rs. 1,000. 35. The method of construction is as follows : -A large hole is dug down to the drip-stratum, approached by steps as in a " baoji." Here a wooden frame nawdr of gular and jdman or dlidk strongly clamped together is fixed, and on it the brick cylinder is built up level with the ground. Skilled men (generally divers, gotd-klior} dig out (ubdo, ugdr) the earth with " jhatns," the earth and water being pulled up by cattle. The cylinder is then built up until it rests on the rnotd or firm earth, when the spring is tapped with a sang. Some time is allowed to elapse for the cj'linder to settle, and the mouth is then, built according as the well is for irrigation or merely drinking purposes. 36. A masonry well is generally married with the same ceremonies as are observed in the case of men aud women ; the owner and his wife taking * - c3 the parts of bridegroom and bride, presents are given to Brahmans and a feast to friends and relations. As much as Rs. 200 will be spent on this unnecessary ceremony, and no man is so poor but that he will spend Rs. 15 or Rs. 2Q in pre-? sents to Brahmans. Wells, however, meant for irrigation only are not usually married. 37. The uncemented and small brick wells are generally made by the cultivators, and it is no uncommon custom where the subsoil is favourable to. gradually brick up the well from the bottom ; at any rate as far up as will prevent the earth falling in from the filtration of the water. The tile bricks, cost about Rs. 5 per 1,000, and will, for the entire well according to depth, cost Rs. 25 to Rs. 50 : the total cost of the well being from Rs. 60 to Rs. 100. This, class of wells, however, forms but a small portion of those used for agriculture, the unbricked (kucha) well being almost universal. In some parts of the district, e. g., Rasulabad and Ghatampur, hucha wells mil not stand - r but water is sufficiently near to alloiy of the construction of a masonry well being remune- rative. 38. The kucha well is constructed thus : one man digs and a second fills. a large basket with the earth, which is drawn up by bullocks driven by a third man ; a fourth lands the basket, throws out the earth, and returns. On reaching the stratum where water commences to filtrate, both men in the well dig and fill, and a fifth man spreads the wet earth to dry. When the spjing is reached a " sang" or spear of iron is thrust into the soil, and the water gushes up, and fills up more or less of the lower stratum. This is often firm, when the well is said to be in " mota," but is generally protected by wattle-binding (" biyhe") of arhar stalks which require renewing every year, (The higher up this binding yve/ ( 11 ) comes the better.) Tlie run for the bullocks is then dressed and the well ready for use. 1 39. The cost of construction of course varies according to the depth to water and difficulties which may have to be contended Cost of construction. with. Ibe following is the actual cost of construction of a well, in which xvater was found at 40 feet from the surface and the spring at 60 feet. The men who dig the well get good wages on account of the (some- times) dangerous nature of their work : instances of the middle stratum falling in and burying the men whilst digging are not rare. R S . a . p . First 40 feet 2 men @ 4 annas, 12 days ... ...600 3 @ H 12 ... ... 1 14 Next 20 feet 2 @ 4 6 ... ... S 3 @ 1J ...160 Wattle-binding 20 bundles, @ 1 anna ... ... ... 1 4 O ft .-easing run, 2 men @ 4 anna, 2 days ,., ... ... 5 Total cost Rs. ... 13 13 G 40. But as grain is usually given in part payment of wages, 2 seers a day to the diggers and 2 annas cash, and seer of parched grain to the others and one anna in cash, the total cost varies according to the price of grain, being Rs. 8-10-0 in cash plus 2^ maunds of grain. 41. Thus the average cost of a well may be calculated at about Rs. 10, but as a fact the cost varies from as low as Rs. 3 to Rs. 15 or 16 ; much of the work, however, amongst the lower caste is done by the cultivator and his rela- tions themselves ; only the digging has to be done by trained hands, generally of the chamiir caste, called ku'iyd for this reason. They last generally from two to four years, but in the last five years numberless wells have fallen in from the rise in water-level. This rise is due partly to the presence of canal water and partly to the heavy rains of 1870 74. The approach of settlement opera- tions may also be credited with some of the disused wells. 42. In most wells after the upper firm (" porhi") soil which may be 20 feet in depth, a stratum of sandy loose unbinding soil is reached, from 8 to 12 feet in thickness, called " chitta." When the water-level rises as high as this the well invariably falls and is useless. It is not uncommon to brick ov^r this stratum alone, leaving the remainder of the well unbricked ("nang&"). 1 Parts of a well : Man or jagat, the mouth ("if of masonry). Chuldr, receptacle for water as discharged from bucket. Paindi, run for cattle. Dk&rdhi, wooden upright to receive. Cirri, wheel. Lifdn, run above ground. Khvrii/a, run below ground. Paindha, fodder trough in middle. ( 12 ) Curiously enough, however, in the south of Sikandra the water-level it said to hare fallen, but with the same result, viz., the falling in of the wells. 43. It would be tedious, if possible, to detail the various strata met with in digging wells ; they vary from village to village, and even in the same village, and nothing but most minute investigation, only profitable for any special pro- ject, would give satisfactory results. 44. An ordinary well with one run will water 5 biswas (one-eighth of an acre) a day, if on the edge of the field ; less, if at some distance : this is the work of one pair of bullocks, who have to be allowed a rest for an hour or so at noon. It is not unusual to work two pairs of bullocks in the day when as much as 8 biswas can be watered, but this depends on the supply of water. 45. The cost of well irrigation is most difficult to calculate, so many elements of variation enter into it. One man with his. family will do all the work, another has to employ hired labour ; cattle differ ; depth to water differs ; amount of water available differs ; some wells give a constant supply, in others not only has the water to be slowly used, but oftentimes given for the well to replenish. The fairest method in my opinion is to calculate the cost of the entire agricultural operations for a whole year of any one cultivator : this alone can give a trustworthy basis for the comparison of irrigation from wells with other means of irrigation. 46. The following is the minimum cash outlay for irrigating one acre : Rs. a. p. Hire of pair of oxen with gear and driver, 8 days @ 8 annas per diem ... 400 Wages of 2 men for 8 days @ 1 j anna per diem, lifting and distributing water ... 140 Total Rs. 640 47. In low lands where the water is close to the surface (e. g., the lands of pargana Jajmau) the lever well or " (Jhenkli" is commonly y>g / 7 / / / /i ^ /e> tr #-c Jv%* A*t^ V^ CA^. h. it / 7-3 _ . ^ Ai^ V*e L-4-P II. 68. THE following are the detailed statistics of the cultivation of each plant grown in the district, arranged on a system suggest- Crop statistics. '*..",, , ed by Mr. .DUCK. I he accounts given under the statistical columns are as full as enquiry could make them, but I beg that allowance may be made for defects, considering the difficulty of obtaining, under our system of work, full information for every pargana : J W AK. Kharlf NAME OF CHOP. STATISTICS PEB ACRE. 1 T he "3 be c o ID bio tii 1 = Average outturn. .1 "So a 1 S o 'a a "o PQ "bo P O PH *S a> |.s o 0} B V V 'S. el V 00 H O ' Grain. Straw. Primary. 2- ^ M. s. c. ^ l-M^ nn> to unr* Ur rtf Hc^ji At^t^U^ 4 / w t / w /I A ^trrT) ^? cfyc-r-tL Ph-*^ p^s a-t^t-^ d ^^HJL^h fa^n*^ * ( 21 ; The ground is ploughed from two to four times, but Ploughing. rardy more than twic ^ The seeds of all the crops (except lobia) are mixed and sown broadcast, ploughed in, and the " patela" or clodcrusher run over : the lobia is planted by hand on ridges (kunr), about 10 rows to an acre. If rain falls immediately after sowing, the seed will not germinate, and a fresh sowing is necessary. Seed is generally selected, i.e., fine heads are set aside for this purpose. Jwdr is weeded once, or at the outside twice, but when about 3 feet high Intermediate ope- is ploughed or dug up by the " kudar" (this operation iug l< and harvest. called " gur/ii" from " gorna"), to break up the caked earth and allow moisture to filter down. It must be watched for 25 days before cutting, morning and evening, to keep off the birds, and at night for protection against thieves and wild animals : a man is generally hired to watch at night at Rs. 2 or Rs. 2-8-0 a month, in the day the cultivator or his sons manage it. Jwdr is cut in the end of Kdtik or beginning of Aghan (middle of Novem- ber). First the urd and mting are collected, then the til and lobia; lastly the jwdr is cut with the sickle, generally only the heads (bhuttd) at first, leaving the green stalks in the field to be cut as wanted, cattle preferring them soft. The reapers get one bundle in 20. The arhar stands till Chet, and is cut with the rabi. Threshing. Each crop is threshed out in the usual way separately. Winnowing. Each crop is winnowed in the usual way. The average outturn is about seven maunds per acre, with 6 maunds arhar, 1 maund .8 seers urd or muna, 24 seers til, and 20 seers lobia, but the following is the result of a cutting in Mandoli, soil rich loam, manured the previous year with 220 maunds, ploughed three times and weeded twice: Area cut. Produce in Government maunds, Rs. 80 to seer. Rs. a. p. 1 bigha 11 biswas (about Grain 12 maun is 15 seers. Valne 28 O f ths of an acre). Twice weeding, cost Rs. 2-8-0. Set aside for seed 25 (15 seers of unthreshed heads). Rs. a. p. Rent of field, Ra. 4 Drd ... 20 Value 100 ,, chaff 1 maund 5 ., 5 O Fodder 18S bundles with an average of 480 179 stalks to a bundle. Total cost Ra. 6-8-0 Total value of crop 38 13 Profit on crop Ra. 27-5-0 (but this was an exceptional case). Uses. Jwdr flour is made into bread, but only eaten by the poorer classes : wheat flour is often adulterated with jwdr flour. The stalks (karbi) are most excellent fodder : they are chopped up with a gardsi and mixed with other green food (grass, leaves, especially of castor-oil plant), j Cost of production. One acre jwdr. Cost. Produce. Value. Us. a. p. Rs. a. p. Ploughing ... 10 Jwdr 1 maunds @ 1 maund per 700 Ditto and sowing 10 rupee. Seed 083 Arhar 6 maunds @ 1 maund per 600 Clod crushing 060 rupee. Weeding 1 4 Urd 1 maund and 8 seers @ 24 200 Thinning (gurdi~) 050 seers per rupee. Watching (proportiona hare) 1 Til 24 seers @ 12 seers per rupee. 200 Cutting 10 Lobia 20 seers @ 1 maund per 080 Threshing 1 rupee. Winnowing 030 Hemp 12 seers ... 1 Rent < 600 Fodder jwdr 132 bundles or 22 600 maunds. Arhar stalks and bhusa ... 8 13 6 Urd, bhusa 10 Total cost 12 7 3 Total produce 28 15 6 Deduct total cost ... 1273 Balance of profit ,. v 16 8 3 Injuries. Jivdr is liable to following attacks : " Agia" or " makari," a spider, attacks the bud before the flower forms, and no grain is produced ; chiefly due to want of rain. Thuntha attacks the pith in Bhddon; chiefly due to want of rain. " Lassi" also attacks Jwdr in drought. The area recorded under this crop in the measurement papers is 162,184 acres. In the experiment above noted, after threshing and winnowing, the grain was heaped by the cultivator in the shape of the figure 8, its head towards the Ganges and a sickle (or hoe) and a branch of maddr (akowa) in honour of Madar Shah (of Makan- pur) stuck up in it. All round the heap a line of cowdung was traced and the smoke of a sacrificial fire made to blow upon the heap to keep of the " jinns." One double-handful (lap) was given in honour of Shah Madar, one to the blidt, one to the gangdputr, one to the parohit, and half seer each to the carpenter, the lohdr, the barber, and kahdr, value 4 annas 6 pie. Area. General. ^ ^ n ) ifa **. Co ^> ^ -I v> I ftnr i _ jf^K UU ( 23 ) B A J R A . (Kharif.) NAME OF CHOP. STATISTICS PBB ACRE. bib i . bo _g bo .S Outturn. Eng- lish. Hindi. Bota- nical. M p . _e S V c 'S. V a E .5 Ml o> IV J3 Grain. Fodder. cu H CO OS H * primary. S. Cht. Small (bul- Bdjra. Holcus spica- Twice. Sawan 2 Once; 16 men 12 men in 2 1 pair of 2 men 6 to 10 maunds. 30 to 32 maunds. rush) tus or to an days. oxen millet. Pencil- acre @ in a laria l| an- day. spica- na, if ta. oftener Subordinate. lOmon. >i ./>/** 2 8 2 maunds. 5 maunds ' bhusa and Urdor ... ... 2 8 3 stalks. Moth, ... ... ... 2 8 or \ ... 8 men ... ... 1 niauud i 20 seers. Mvng, ... ... ... S 8 Rosa, ... ... ... C 4 J Til . ... 2 ... 2 men. ... ... 20 seers to 1 niauud. _ None : several heads of l>dira are often seen on one stalk (never ofjtcdr\ /-//// rh\ *'*'*%+ "y*-ti^r t\ Bdjra is generally sown in sandy and poor soils, but as it can be sown , later than jicdr is sometimes substituted for that ., Preparation of land manure. it* TX crop it the first sowing is lost tor any reason. It is rarely if ever manured. It is chiefly grown on the sandy soils of the Ganges, Sen far and Jumna, especially the latter, where it is also grown in the kachhdr. The seeds of the different grains are mixed and sown broadcast, after which they are ploughed in and the " patela" or clodcrusher is run over the field to level it. The lobia or " rosa" is sown on ridges (kunr) in lines about eight or ten to the acre. Bdjra is not often weeded more than once, the men being paid one anna and a quarter per day. This is when it is a couple of inches high, but when a foot high it is ploughed or dug up (gurdi). It is watched for about 20 days before cutting. The heads are cut off with a sickle, the stalks left standing, to be cut as wanted. Harvest, reaping. Outturn. Threshing. Is threshed out as usual. Winnowing. Is winnowed as usual. The outturn of bdjra varies very much. It is grown on the very poor- est land, and little cared for or watched. The under- growth (moth, mting, &c.) is often more valuable than the main crop, and the grass amongst the mting, &c., is valuable for fodder. Eight maunds is a very good average outturn for an acre, all circumstances being favourable. The grain is made into flour for food, the cobs burnt, and the stalks used for fodder, but not so pi^ed as those of jwar, as they contain less leaf-food and more silica. Cost of production. Uses. Bdjra one acre. Cost. Rs a. p. Produce. Value. Rs. a. p. Ploughing ... Ditto and sowing Seed 10 10 020 Paird 8 maunds at SO seers per rupee Fodder 80 bundles or 30 to 32 mauuda... 10 10 300 Weeding ... Watching (proportion Cutting Threshing ... Winnowing Kent Total cost share) Bs. 1 4 1 o 11 o 060 060 300 8 1 Total produce Deduct total cost Balance profit 13 10 8 1 590 Bdjra is very susceptible to the east wind ; if it blows in Kwdr the flowers die off and fall ; the grainless heads are called Kandwa. The area recorded under this crop in the measure- ment papers is 37,961 acres. Injuries. Area. '/ nt+c-Lt*. firv oL ci^^ n^cL h /t" ^ ( 25 ) COTTON. (Khartf.) NAME OF CROP. StiTISTICS PER ACHE. to _g Outturn. "fr Eng- lish. Hindi. Bota- nical. a 2 bo 3 O CO s o S t3 M .3 -o 0) tab a I Kapig. Stalks and bhusa. O s H 2 * du Primary. s. c. Cotton Kapds Gossy- 2 t Asarh 7 3 times ; From Pinkeri 4 to 6 p in m 4i 1st time Kartik paid by maunda. Herba- 30 men, till end of Hth Ct'Ulll. 2nd tiin Aghan, share of 15 men every ', produce rd time 3rd day 15 men Subordinate. Arhar ... t 10 ... >< >M 4 maunds. maund* bhusa and stalks. Til 2 SO seers Urd 1 10 ~)f\ Ap/ir<9 Cnstor- ) *v 4vvr9tf oil plant, I- ... ... 1 (V. ... ... I maund. flemp, **' ... ... 1 * ... ... seers. Varieties. None. Cotton is almost invariably sown in the best land, i.e. t the gatihan, in Preparation of land, ma- villages cultivated by the less industrious classes ; hure > &c - but the industrious classes devote their gauhan to even higher cultivation and grow cotton in the " manjha." It is generally, though not always, manured with 50 to 80 maunds the acre, but is always grown in land habitually manured, except in the poor lands of Sengar and Jumna ravines, where it is often grown as a first crop on newly broken-up land, to strengthen it by the leaves, &c., shed by the plant. The land is well ploughed, certainly twice, seldom oftener, as it is impor- Ploughing. tant to get the seed in 5 I jg Plant. Seed. K H 02 * F W H Indigo Nil. Indigo Fera 2 to 4. Chet March 4 or 5 seers. Once. 4 16 or 20, men for 1 pair of oxeo for 50 to 80 maunds 5 maunds. or Subordinate. tinc- one day. 2 days. or 100 8 maun da. toria. maunds. $ Arhjar ... ... 4 seers. ... . ... 2 maunds. 5 maunds. TL Anili, 20 seers. Bhusa and 1 10 . stalks. 20 Varieties. None. Ploughing, sowing.. Intermediate operations. The field is not manured, but it is best to sow the year after a manured crop like cotton. It must be prepared by watering VM^Jyiyy Preparation of land. J (paren) before ploughing for sowing. The ploughing, sowing, levelling, after sowing and making the irrigation beds, are all done in one day whilst the ground is moist ; the cultivator borrows ploughs to help him, and his hired labourers work all day. The seed is sown broadcast and ploughed in, the tf mai" being run over afterwards. The plants show in a fortnight, and must be watered at once, and every fortnight afterwards till the rain falls. When the plant is two finger-joints high 'porua\ and whilst the ground is moist, but not wet, a weeding is given, which must be finished in a day or two at the outside. Old women or children are usually employed in this, and get 1 anna and "chabena." Rain (asdrh) sowings require weeding more than earlier sowings, as the plant whilst still young is liable to be choked by the grass that springs up in the early rains. For plant (for dye) the indigo should be cut in Bhddon, just when the flower bud begins to show ; 16 or 20 men will cut an acre in the day. The carriage to the vats is a matter of contract with the factory. The stumps are left for seed, or where there is no indigo factory the whole crop is left for seed, and is cut at the end of Novem- ber (Aghan). The pods are first separated from the stalks by a man beating a bundle Threshine ^ sta ^ s on * ne ground, or with a stick, and the seed is threshed out in the usual manner ; one pair of oxen taking two days to thresh out the produce of an acre, Cutting. pi ^k^L^^ ff f roflt 550 1 11 8 4 13 1 The only danger besides that of drought is from the ravages of a small green fly (gandhuki) which attacks those rices of which the fronds come out of the leaves. Walking through a rice field, one may put up myriads of these flies. Pigs destroy rice, but will not touch bearded sorts. The area recorded under this crop in the measure- ment papers is 27,143 acres. The same portions (hakk) are taken from the thresh- ingfloor as described in wheat. In pargana Sikandra it is very common to sow rice and jwdr together ; if heavy rain destroys tbeji0ar, the rice gives a salvage crop. Area. Genera'. ( 34 ) INDIA N-C OBN OB MAIZE (Kharlf.) NAME OP CROP. STATISTICS PKB ACBE. English. HindL Botani cal. Plough- ings. Time of sowing. Seed. Weeding. Reap- ing. Thresh- ing. Win- now- ing. Outturn. Grain. Fodder Primary. In d i a n- corn. Subor< Mai-Tea or mo~ kai. iinate. Z e a mais. 2 or 3 Asarh, 5 seers, Twice 1st time 16 men. 2nd time 12 inea. 4 men for t-w o days. 1 pair of oxen for 2 days. 8 to 16 rnauuds. None. KAkun Kakri L'rd. Jwar ... J seer, i seer. 2 maonds 2 Ks. worth. 1 mauud. Varieties. Preparation of land manure None. Is generally sown in home lands, and manured with about 80 maunds to the acre. Ploughing. The land is ploughed at least twice. Takes rather long to sow, as each grain is separately planted on the ridges ; hence a man is generally hired to help. The ground when sown is levelled by the " patehi." The kdkun is sown mixed with earth broadcast. Maize must be weeded at least twice, the first time taking longer than the second ; and the stalks are strengthened by earth heaped up round the roots with the " phaora." It is watched for about a fortnight. o It is ripe in Bhddon, and the trees are first cut down and stacked, the cobs separated from the stalk and spread out to dry, when the grain can either be rubbed off" with the fingers or threshed out in the usual way. The cutter often gets one-twentieth share in lieu of wages. Sixteen maunds an acre may be considered a full crop, as the crop is nearly always grown in the best lands. The grain is eaten either ground and made into bread, or whole as porridge, or parched. The stalks are useless for fodder, no cattle will touch them they are so hard (very rarely they are given mixed up in a lot of chopped green food) ; nor are they thrown on the manure heap, as they breed white-ants ; hence they may nearly alwpys be seen lying near the field where they grew. Intermediate operations. Harvest. Outturn. Uses. 7-7- l*+ h /*/f w trite, fc frt ftnsh. k*~* k*^ T#s(ri t^ ^/ & ^ ^ - t* *y* F fttj /' J - l4~-f**. . *7 A- y / kiLCHcL Z klltU* Cvfk If frv* /Zz%6 W & **J - ( 35 ) Cost of production. "MakaV Indian-core," one acre. Well. Cost by canal, one lift. Canal flush. Produce. Value. Rs. a p Rs. a. p. Manure ... 206 Indian-corn or makdi, 16mds. I'loughing Do. and sowing ... 10 13 @ 1 Re. per maund ... Kdkun, 2 maunds ... 16 o 20o Seed 050 Jwdr, i maund (round the Weeding twice 8 12 edge) ... ... ... 1 f o Watching (proportional Kahri ... ... ... *00 sharej ... ... 1 4 - Cutting Do. headfl(iAuWa) ... 050 050 Total produce Rs. Deduct total cost Rs. ... 21 20 5 Threshing 14 6 Rent 10 Balance profit Rs. ... 11 Total cost Rs. ... 20 5 ~ A fter Indian-corn, Bijhra (double crop). Ploughing ... ,.. ] 2 8 2 8 O 280 Bij/ira, 12 maunds @ 32 seers Cleaning ... ... 10 10 10 per rupee 15 3 Ploughing and sowing .. 12 6 12 6 12 6 Sarson, 2 maunds @ 13J 6eers Seed 296 296 296 per rupee ... ... 600 Watering twice ... 10 8 2 10 060 Seohan, 20 seers ... ... 100 Canal charges ... 000 180 240 Ldhi, 10 seers @ 16 seers per Cost of nandha 000 i fr 000 rupee ... 10 Do. rope and beri ... a o o 086 000 Bhtisa, 2(5 maunds @ 4 mds. Cutting ,. A ... 12 12 12 per rupee ... ... 680 Threshing ... ... I 2 1 2 1 2 Winnowing ... ... 6 \, 060 060 "~ _J Total produce Ra. 29 2 Total coat Rs. ... 19 4 13 2 1160 Total produce Rs. ... 29 2 29 2 29 2 Deduct cost Rs. 19 4 13 2 1160 Balance profit Rs. 9 14 16 17 12 C Porcupines are very fond of the young cobs and cut down the trees to get at them. The young cob is also liable to attacks of a green insect. The area under Indian-corn, as shown in the settlement papers, is 24,085 acres, but this is much below the marjc, because the crop being off the ground before the measurement staff began work, and its place taken by another crop, much must have been omitted. Injuries. Area. ( 36 ) SMALL MILLETS. NAME OF CHOP. STATISTICS PEB ACBE. English. Hindi. Botanical. CO 1 g den sown. Seed. "d "O a Outturn. Grain. Price per s * 5 P Small Millets. Kakun (Kangni) Panionm Itali- cum ... 2 or 3 August (Sdwan.) | seer Twice ... October... 3 maunds 34 to 30 seers per rupee. Sdnwdn ... Panicum milia- 2 or 3 August ... Jseer Once October . . } maund do. ceum with jwdr Marua Cynosurus Co- ! do. (Bdgiy ... rocanus . . Chenwa ... Panicum fru- 2 March . . 4 seers Never .. May 4 maunds do. mentaceum? Kodo Paspelum f ru- with cot- with cot- | seer with cot- November J maund MtoSOseers^ mentaceum ton. ton. ton. Sdn'Mdn. These small millets do not form a large proportion of the food crops of ihe district, but are grown in sufficient quantities to warrant notice. Statis- tics are given above. Kdkun is sown in gauhan lands, and the ground is manured. TLe head is pulled from the stalks by the hand, the tree is not cut ; the green stalks are given as fodder ; what is left goes into the manure pit. A second crop is always grown after Mkun is cut. Sdnwdn is sown alone in a similar manner, but often (in the Jumna par- ganas) with jwdr, before which it is cut. By being sown with so tall a crop it escapes the ravages of birds and insects. Us leaves too are rough (kharJchara), and an insect if it crawls en them sticks, and cannot progress ; hence jwdr too benefits by the sdnwdn entrapping the " agia." When cut it is stacked to ferment (dandak), by which the seed is more easily separated from tho ear; it is then threshed out with sticks. Four men will thresh and winnow out in a dav the produce of Sdnwdn sown with other crops. There are two kinds, " lal " and " maila," the latter being the better. Sdnwdn is looked upon quite as an extra, and not usually sold, but consumed in the house in the shape of bread, or as rice (bhdt) ; partridges and quail too are fed on it and kangni. Being, when sown alone, cut by October, it is always followed by a second crop. Chena or chenwa is very little grown in this district ; it takes a great deal of watering, as ono day's " hot wind " (luh} may kill it, or scatter the grain, if any, from the ear. The stalks are of no use as fodder, but are thrown on tho manure heap or used as bedding. AM^X f/**v*i^M~ /i/orTi^^c pi ftk^L^-Ycic /6VK /W Ay >e^U^> 0/r Mzr*~*4n cnL . ^'^irn^^^i r > CY*TJJ ^ i* ~. ** ^s+t * 44+*+- * ~ / h ^. V**I**A V- ^^ ^ ^ *^*\- ^sA^ ^>^vv ^\WA n- . \ k , V V j.rt -^V\~4^^ . ^A ^ *i^ir^ - ^jj^ji ' ^*>* ( 37 > Kodo can be grown in any kind of soil, and is always sown with other crops, chiefly cotton, in which it has room and light ; it suffers much from the " agia." As its ears lie hid in the leaves it escapes the ravages of birds. It requires much weeding. It is cut in November, tree and all, and lies a week to ferment, after which it is still difficult to beat out, and it will take twice as many men as Sdnwdn to thresh and winnow. The straw is not used for manure, but is valuable for bedding, being soft and warm. The seed is eaten as rice, and is considered good for ague : it is eaten too by Kurmis with buttermilk. Marud is little grown in this district ; its treatment is that of chena. 358127 ( 38 ) PULSES. NAME OF CHOP. STATISTICS PER ACRE. id t a Pulses... a 3 Botanical. d The pea is often eaten raw 3 or the pod is parched and eaten ; it is usually given a browning in ghee and called " nimona" or eaten as ddl. Price. This pea used to sell at 40 seers the rupee. Cost of production. Pta (matar) one acre. Cost. Produce. Value, * Rs. a. p. Bs. a. p. Ploughing, four tiroes Ditto and sowing Seed, i ^ maund 280 13 230 Pea (matar), 8 maunds at 1 maund per rupee. Alsi, 25 seers at 12 J seers per 800 200 Cutting Threshing 080 100 rupee. Bhfaa, 20 maunds at 4 maunds 500 Winnowing Bent 040 600 Total produce ... Deduct total cost ... 15 13 4 Total cost 13 4 Balance profit 1 12 it fly, - } fT f It is liable, like gram, to an insect (bahddura) which attacks the unripe pod (ghenti) and also to frost. The area recorded under this crop in the mea- surement papers is 5,200 acres. This pea is essentially a make-shift crop. The seed is said to have ori- ginally come into this district in some bijhra from across the Ganges or from the west (the two quarters from which everything new is said to come), and to have been selected and come into fashion as a separate crop, especially as the size of the pea over- weighted the bijkra. ( 42 ) CASTOR-OIL PLANT. Name of crop. Statistics per acre. English. Hindi. Botanical, Pn mary. Castor-oilplant. Andi Palma Christ). Sown with other kharif crops, cut with rain. Subo Beans 'dinaie. Sem ... Phaseolus mag nus. Sowing. Varieties. None. As it requires good rich soil it is usually sown round or in cane and cotton fields, though in the alluvial lands of the Jumna it is Preparation of land. otten sown in an entire field, but very scattered ; bdjra leing intermixed in kharif or mustard in rabi. The seeds are sown separately by hand and a little manure put over every seed. It is a common custom to plant the tree on the walls of new groves, &c. ; the root stands high, and free from moisture. The plant is often earthed up to strengthen it. Beans are planted be- tween the trees, on which they are afterwards Intermediate operations. trained. The tree is cut down, the pods taken off and buried in a hole covered with earth to destroy the husk. Cultivator generally only plants enough to keep himself in oil. Outturn. The beans are worth 8 annas to Re. 1 a,n acre. The seed is crushed by the "bhurji " (not teli) for oil, who uses the refuse (" lugdi") for fuel. The leaves are a common green food for cattle. The longer and straighter stalks (koro) are used for thatching, the crooked ones are burnt. The bhurji crushes the seed in a kundi or wooden mortar, and then boils over a quick fire, when the oil floats to the surface and the refuse sinks to the bottom. The bhurji gives one-third of gross weight in oil to cultivator (see til). Harvest, Uses. Manufacturing processes. AT ( 43 ) HEMP. NAME OF CROP. STATISTICS PEB ACRE. English. Hemp. Hindi. San. Botani- cal. Jj II m- Time of sowing. o IV 03 Weeding. Cutting. Peeling Outturn. San. Price. 10 seers per rupee. Croto- 1 a r ia juncea. Once Asdrh Sdwait 2 mda. None 20 men 70 men will peel an acre's outturn 10 mda. of hemp in a day. Preparation of soil. Harvest, cutting, &c. Varieties. None. Hemp requires a light good soil. Stiff clay gives a short stalk, and hemp is not sown in it. Jn better soils hemp is sown in rows round fields of cotton or jwar ; in light soils it ia sown thick, unmanured. Ploughing' One ploughing is enough. So win g Seed is sown broadcast and ploughed in. Intermediate operations. None. At beginning of Kdtik the heads are cut and given to cattle, and the plant is cat a few inches above the ground and tied into bundles which are stood up in ponds (the lower part of the stem is thicker than above ; if the bundle were at once laid down this part would rot later). Green hemp, if not exposed to wet, will keep for several days before being soaked. In hot weather it takes about four or five days to rot, and six or seven days in cold weather. For this it is laid down flat in the water and kept down by earth dug from the pond itself. About the fourth or fifth day it ia tested. The fibre is threshed out of the stalks by men holding handfuls at a time. It is severe labour, hence a man can only work three hours at a time, in which time he will thresh out five bundles, each bundle being 50 or 60 Ibs., giTing only 3 Ibs. fibre per bundle, or inall!51bs. The stalks when white with fibre are stood up to dry in a stack (kondar]. The whole process must begone through in one day or the fibre knots and breaks. When threshing it is usual to strip a few inches of the stalk clean, so that the fibre peels off easily. $.B. If cut for fibre, it is cut when it flowers ; if for seed, when they ripen in Aghan. Threshing. If sown round a field of an acre square the yield will be ten bundles or 30 seers fibre. In a whole field about ten maunds ; ten mannds of seed per acre are also got. The fibre is used for ropes. The seeds are boiled and given as food to cattle. The stalks are burnt. Price. About ten seers the rupee. The area recorded under this crop in the measure- ment papers is 1,469 acres. Outturn. Uses. Area. Hemp, one acre. Cost. Produce. Value. Ploughing ... Seed, 2 maunds ... Cutting Bundles of plant for standing in the pond. Cleaning, &c. ... Peeling Bent Total cost Us. a. p. 1 4 500 1 8 12 1 11 3 12 800 Hemp, ton maunds at Us. 4 per maund. Deduct total cost ... Balance of profit Rs. a. p. 40 21 15 19 1 21 15 General. A bundle of fibre is called " lachhe." If short stalks remain in fibre it is called arjhd (tangled). If then cleaned it is called tilohrd. NAME or CHOP. English. Hindi. Botanical. Hemp Patsan^oT^Latia ... Hibiscus cannabinus or cor chorus capsularis (Elliott). Patsan is sown round cotton, cane, or indigo fields, never thick. Its fibre is not threshed but rubbed out with the hand, and takes longer to separate than that of " san." It comes clean off the stalks, and is called tilohra. If sown round an acre will give 50 bundles of plant, each bundle giving 2 seers fibre. Fibre is best nearest the ground, to which the plant is cut close. Its price is 12 seers the rupee. The fibre is coarse and dark, but good for well ropes and gunny bags. n VV*> \ j^^ *VNJT\^-\sj^ ^r-*V*-\ **f\*k lv^V**^^ rtwA^ \ ^*-t ^rv\ A l4n * w* +- fa -h^. 9./-0 '*& ( 45 ) WHEAT. (Rabi.) NAME OF OBOF. STATISTICS PEB ACBE. d bo bb bo n Outturn. "3 d bo . _g g . o il> H O 1 I "3 3 l-i U a ja "o 9 flJ * S.9 1 B I B JS C _a a -3 5 H H W B CO H ^ O fi PH mary. M. s. c. \launds Wheat (Jehun Triticum 8 to 12 'Kdfik 1 20 3 or 4 12 men 4 oxen 4 men 8 to 16 24 mds. Sativum. will reap in 6 one Subor din a.e. an acre in a day. days. day. Mus- Sarson 1 3 mds. tard. Rape Ldhi 1 li do. Dudn or Seo- f hdn. Saf- Kus- 1 16 seers fiower am. Varieties. Land, manure, &c. 1 . Dudya, white beardless. Full-grain soft husk, thick stalk, clean white flour (commonly called seta). 2. Mandya, beardless, rarely sown, chaff hard. 3. Manneya, bearded, reddish grain, amount of chaff above average, short stalk. 4. Pisiya, small tree, few grains, but a larger grain than kathiya, sweet flour, but gets heavy (aintha) when cold. Very liable to rust. 5. Kathiya,) red bearded, thick stalk and grain, many stalks to one plant. Flour very digestible. The best land in the village is usually chosen, especially for dudya. Loam preferred if manure not heavy, but well ma- nured sandy soil equally good as well manured loam. Manure seldom put on specially for wheat, which generally follows cane or cotton, for which the land has been well manured. Kathiya is sown unman ured in mar soils. Pisiya is sown in the kachhdr lands (hence liability to rust and frost-bite, the ground being cold and wet). As a rule, eight to twelve ploughings are required, followed each time by a harrowing. Manneya requires less ploughing, and for kathiya the mar soil is ploughed twice only, but with the " bakhar." Wheat is sown after 15th October (swati nichattar). It is sown through a " bans" attached to the plough, the seed of sarson being mixed with the wheat. The field is then harrowed. The other subordinate crops are sown in lines eight feet apart. Two men and a yoke of oxen can" sow and harrow a field of an acre in two days. Ploughing. Sowing. ( 46 ) Wheat is always irrigated, except in the Jumna parganas. Irrigation beds and channels are made by twelve men in a Intermediate operations. . . day. Ine wheat must be watered when eight inches high (or the ends of the leaves turn yellow and white-ants attack it), and is generally watered two or three times more. It is sometimes, but not always, weeded once ; sixteen men can weed an acre in a day. The crops are cut separately with the sickle (hasya), the reapers getting one-twentieth in kind for wages ; but for this the sheaves are also carried to the threshingfloor, where it is generally protected bythearhar being heaped round it, the cut stalks out- wards. The reaper generally manages that his sheaf 1 (dab) shall be larger than the others. A reaper can earn about three sheaves up to noon, after which he will carry to the threshingfloor. Three or four oxen tied together tread out the grain, driven by a man behind. They will take six Threshing. , , , , , , r , days to thoroughly thresh out an acre s growth of wheat. One man lifts the mixed grain and chaff in a basket and slowly pours it out, so that the wind (which is generally blowing Winnowing. hard from the west at this time, but if not, must be artificially created by two men waving a blanket or dhoti) separates the chaff from the grain, another man heaps up the grain as it falls. This process is repeated and the clean grain heaped up. Heap unthreshed ... ... ... ... Marni. threshed, not winnowed ... ... ... Sairk or kundi. winno-vred once .,. ... ... ... Sili. of clean grain ... ... ... ... Eds. Average outturn per acre. Eight maunds for the dry sorts. Sixtee. maunds for the best sorts sown in the best land. The area recorded tinder this crop in the Area. measurement papers is 52,618 acres. Much wheat is exported, especially the white or mixed white and red. As a rule, the better class folk eat it as bread. The chaff (bhiisa) of wheat is hard and slippery, and sticks to the palate. It is not liked by itself, but is of course used mixed with chaff of other crops. The bhiftsa of kathiya is said to prevent wind in horses. The price of " manneya" is a seer in the rupee less than other sorts. p . Kathiya and pisiya again are cheaper than seta (sufaida or white "dudiya" wheat). The price has varied too much of late to make it worth while making any statement here. 1 Each sheaf contains about 2 J seers grain. ^* (it i; fadi Cost of production. Cost by Wheat, one acre. Well. canal Canal flush Produce. one lift. Rs. a. p. Rs. a. p. Rs. a. p. Ploughing, 10 times, 640 640 640 Rs. a. p. Sowing ... 0116 0116 11 6 Seed, 1} maund ... 250 250 250 Wheat, 16 maunds at 10 seers per Clodcrushing 050 050 050 rupee. 32 Making irrigation 030 030 030 Sarson, 3 maunds at 13 j seersper beds. rupee. 900 Watering ... 17 8 3 15 090 Bhusa, 24 maunds at 4 maunds per Canal charges ... 1 8 240 rupee. 600 Cost of ndndlid ... 1 6 ... Kuiain, 16 seers at 4 seers per ,, rope and " beri", ... 026 ... rupee. 400 Weeding ... 12 0120 13 Ldhi, I maund and 20 seers at 16 Cutting 1 1 100 seers per rupee. 3 12 Threshing 15 15 15 . Winnowing ... 060 060 060 Total produce Rs. 54 19 Rent ... 800 800 800 Total cost Rs. ... 38 5 6 26 8 6 23 10 6 Total produce Rs. 54 12 054 12 54 12 Deduct cost Ri. ... 88 5 6 26 8 6 23 10 6 Balance profit Rs. 16 7 6,28 4 6 31 2 6 Wheat is liable to be blown down when ripening. It is subject to ravages of General. Injuries. Giriui, rust, Lassi, blight (a small louse-like insect), Ldklid, which are nearly always brought by moisture and east wind, disappearing when the dry west wind blows again. I may here enumerate the various demands on the cultivator's grain before he touches it himself (to speak strictly, it is usual for the ryot to cut all his fields, leaving one from which he satisfies all his " tahluas") : Per heap of grain (rds) Fakir ... ... ... ... | seer Family priest ... ... ... ... 4 ff rarohit or Bhdi ..." ... ... ... 4 Mdli (who. supplies flowers for worship of Debi) ... \ S~~ Chamar for cleaning threshingfloor, per heap one ddb, besides the gleaning that is left on the floor, about two seers ... ... ... ^ Per plough. Blacksmith (also J seer first day of ploughing for sowing), 10 Carpenter ... ... ... ... ... 10 ., Per holding. Washerman (+J seer for each piece washed) 2 ddbs or... 3} Barber (+j seer for each shave J 2 dabs or ... 5 Potter ... ... ..i ... ... 10 ,, Gorait or watchman, 2 dabs or ... ... ... 11 ,, Note. A dab represents what a reaper can cut without moving. Hence its weight in grain va- ries according to the thickness of the crop. Workmen too get a larger allowance than recipients of chanty. ( 48 ) B A RLEY. NAME OF CHOP. STATISTICS PER ACRE. i IB Outturn. t* O tb _n English. Hindi. Botanical. a i "3 s bi c 1 o i S3 e o> ei S.2 3 eS V E Bj ja D I 1 o 02 H ^ M H ^ O s Primt *ry, M. 8. C. Barley. Jau ... Hordeum 8 to 12 1 20 -STd/iA Twice V.S. 3 pair of 4 men 8 to 16 28mds < vulgare oxen mds. Subordinate. working 3 at a Sarsom \ time. Ldhi.. [l 80 400 Dudn } Kusam Alsi ... 1 20 Varieties. None, but it is in this district rarely sown alone, but sometimes with wheat, when it is called " gojai," sometimes with gram, when it is called jauchana, or gram and peas (matar), vetches (chitara), when it is called bijhra. Rarely barley alone is called befhar. Not often specially manured, but frequently follows manured crops, e.ff., maize or cotton, when this fails. It is very corn- Preparation of land. monly 80WQ after indig()j Is sown through a bdns attached to plough. Two men with a yoke of oxen take two days to sow and harrow an acre Sowing. o f |. )ar j e y > A less weight of pulse is sown than of barley. Barley or bijhra is more frequently left dry than watered, unless canal water is in abundance. It is not often weeded, and Intermediate operations. . never more than once. Harvest. The entire operations are the same as for wheat. Sixteen maunds is a good outturn, and considering that this is a crop sown in all lands, good and bad, too high an estimate must not be made. For dry outlands four or five maunds to the acre is a very fair crop. Are the same as wheat, but the mixed crops are largely eaten by the middle and poorer classes, who sell their wheat. Outturn. Uses. -c, fr W) A**- 7 cs o A ~ , s V ** S >4 ? 0-6 ( 49 ) Cost of production. Cost by Bijhra, one acre. Well. canal, one lift. flush. Produce. Value. Ks. a. I' Ks. ;' a. |P Rs. a P Rs. a. P- Ploughing six times .. 3 \'2 3 12 ( s 12 G Bijhra, 1 6 mds. at 32 seers Ditto and sowing.. \-A 13 ( t 13 per rupee ... ... 20 Seed 4 maund... 2 9 1 2 9 1 1 9 Sarson, 3 mds. at 13) Olodcrushing ... B 5 5 seers per rupee 9 Making irrigation beds. 3 ii a j Ldln, \ md. at 10 seers Watering twice 11 2 10 6 per rupee 2 8 Canal charges I 1 1 1 4 Ahi, 20 seeraat 14 seers Cost of ndndhd 1 per rupee ... ... 1 8 Ditto rope and " beri" 2 1 1 Bhtisa. 28 mds. at 4 mds. Cutting 1 1 f. 1 f) ( per rupee 7 Threshing ... ., 15 15 18 II . _ Winnowing ... 6 ( fl (1 6 ( Total produce Rs. ... 40 (J Rent 7 7 7 Total cost Ks. ... 27 15 21 5 (i 19 9 Total produce Rs. 40 4d 40 Deduct cost ... 27 5 21 5 (1 19 9 ( Balance Profit Rs. ... ia 1 18 11 20 7 Injuries. Barley and bijhra are liable to attacks of lassi and girwi (see wheat), but rust attacks barley much more rarely than it does wheat. Area The area recorded under this crop in the measure- ment papers is 325,913 acres. In the Ganges parganas the subordinate crops are generally of the mus- General tard class ; but in the southern parganas kusam is fre- quently sown, and in poor fields, where the pulse pre- dominates over the cereal, flax is commonly sown. The object of the cultivator in mixing cereals and pulses is first that dew- readily forms on the leaves of the chana, which would not form on the wheat, and in seasons of drought the practice is often the means of preserving both crops (Elliott's Glossary) : and, secondly, that cereals and pulses are not liable to the same injuries ; one or the other is sure to thrive if the other suffers, e.g., damp will cause rust in the wheat, but the gram escapes j frost will kill the gram, but the wheat escapes. Gojai is a common crop in dry sandy soils. ( 50 ) GRAM. NAME OF CHOP. STATISTICS PER ACRE. Outturn M .3 be _ t o bb * 3 'fl 8 fl HU .5 to S f 1 Jj '3 1 I 1 U "o pq JD i P o V CO "S * OS 5 c Jd H o f O M PQ Pn mary. M. s. c. M .B.C. 10 Gram, Channa Cicer arie- 6 or 7 Novem- 1 10 Dry Cut in 1 yoke 8 men 12 aids. tinum. ber. Ckeit of Subordinate. by 12 oxen men to in 2 Sarson. the days. Lahi. I seer acre. 1 mds. Dudn. Alsi. Varieties. None. Gram is either sown in strong clay, when it grows thick and like a carpet, or in light sandy soils. In the former instance it is a Preparation of land manure. . * . . sign 01 good soil of its kind, in the latter of poverty of soil. It is often sown in tardi lands. The land is ploughed as often as opportunity offers, but being generally considered only a third rate crop, it gets less care than wheat and bijhra. In tardi lands it of course only gets such ploughings as there is time for after the water clears off. It is sown in the usual way, the mustard being either sown in rows or mixed up ; the flax always in rows. It is not watered, and rarely weeded. It is cut, threshed, and winnowed in the usual way. This varies much. On the poor sandy soils three maunds is a good outturn ; in the stiff clays ten mauuda is not too high an estimate. Gram is principally used as horses' food, but is also used for bread, as pulse (ddl) made into sweetmeats, or parched (chabena) : in this form it is constantly given to labourers as part of their hire. It is a common viaticum. The bhtisd is excellent for cattle, but isf too good to be used alone, and is mixed with the chaff of cereals. Ploughings. Sowings. Intermediate operations. Harvest. Outturn. Uses. 9 4-00 24.0-0 r r **. I ( 51 ) Cost of production. Gram, one acre. Cost. Produce. Value, Rs. a. p. Rs. a. p. Ploughing six times ... 380 Gram, 10 maunds @ 32 secre per rupee, 12 8 Do. and sowing 12 6 Alsi, 1 maund @U do. do., 300 Seed, 1 j maund 1 9 6 Ehiisa, 12 maunds @ 6 maunds per Re. 200 Cutting ... 090 Threshing 15 Total produce Bs. ... 17 8 Winnowing 030 Deduct total cost Rs. ... 11 3 Rent 400 Total coat Bs. ... 11 3 Balance profit Ra. ... 650 Injuries. Owing to the plant having very short roots it is very liable to be blown up in high winds, and is peculiarly susceptible of frost. " Lassi" attacks the plants. Bahddurd (a large caterpillar) attacks the young pod and destroys the gram. Area. General. The area recorded under thia crop in the measure- ment papers is 57,226 acres. Oxalic acid forms on the leaves when dew has fallen on them, and causes considerable irritation to the naked foot when walking through a field of gram. p O;P P Y . NAME OF CROP. STATISTICS PEE ACRE. bb i H M o Outturn. o be 4 JO c -3 B? 13 V 0) V 60 a a 5 o P g V 5 o c3 o Opium. Seed. H M n 0. CO * * O Poppy Post, Papaver somni- 8 to 16 End of Novem- 3 seers 3 times, 4 times, Middle of March 8 to 10 seers. 6 mds. ferum. ber. Intermediate operations. Varieties. None. Poppy i s often sown after maize or kdkun. The ground is heavily manured (200 maunds to the acre) and watered pre- Preparation of land manure. . , , . , ., , . _ n viously to sowing (paren), the soil being carefully pulverised. Poppy may be sown in the same soil every year, as animal manure and decayed vegetable matter restores it (Opium Manual). Goat and sheep dung is very beneficial. The seed is sown broadcast, a smoothening log run over, and the watering beds made (6| by 7^ feet) larger than for other crops, to allow of the irrigation being more gradual. Poppy requires three or four waterings and at least three weedings. The first weeding is carefully done by a large number of men, estimated from 30 to 50 to an acre : each weed is picked with the fingers (chutki se). The other weedings are done with the hoe by 12 to 16 men per acre. First the petals are taken off by the hand formed like a tube and run up the plant ; they are not pulled off. Then in one-third of the field incisions are made in the poppy heads and the exuded juice is scraped off next morning up to noon. For the remainder of the day a second third is so treated, and so on in rotation, each head being cut twice, thrice, or even four times. Men employed in this get two annas a day: the labourer must be more or less skilled, as the outer rind (pericarp) only must be cut. Finally the heads are cut off by the women of the family and stored till dry, when they are broken and the seeds separated from the husk. Varies according to season from eight to ten seers per acre. To each five seers opium three maunds seed. The juice is collected in earthen pots, and is the opium of commerce. The petals are made into flat cakes (chapattis} and are used for packing the opium. Harvest. Outturn. Uses. Price, The seeds are used for sweetmeats, curries, or oil is expressed from them on the usual terms. The oil is used for burning or for cakes amongst the poor. The husk is much in use for fomentations. The leaves and stalks are sold as " trash" for packing the opium cakes in. Manufacturing process. Is thoroughly described in the Opium Manual, to which I refer. The details of price are also given in the Manual ; on an average four to six rupees a seer is given accord- ing to quality. The seed in good years fetches Rs. 4 a maund, but if mustard has been plentiful, as little as Re. 1-4-0. Of oil the cultivator gets back one-third of gross weight of material sup- plied to the teli. " Trash" fetches 12 annas a maund, but in this district the cultivator does not usually go to the trouble of pulling up the stalks ; or if he does, he only burns them. Pansdris (druggists) buy the heads (bondi). Cost of production. Poppy, one acre. Well. Cost by anal one lift. Canal flush. Produce. Value. Rs. a. p. Rs. a. p. Ra a. p. Rs . a. p Manure ... 200 900 200 Opium, 10 seers at Rs. 4-8-0 45 Ploughing 1 times ... 640 640 640 per seer. Seed, 3 seers ... 4 O 040 040 Seed, six maunds at Rs. 4 24 Making irrigation beds and 10 10 10 per maund. clodcrushing _____ Watering before sowing 540 1 5 030 Total produce Rs. ... 69 Cost of " nindha" >.. 1 6 ______ Cost of rope and " beri"... ... 026 Ploughing after sowing and 1 1 1 6 making irrigation beds 050 050 050 again. 1st weeding 300 300 300 '2nd do. 1 I 1 3rd do. 080 080 080 Watering 3 times 15 12 3 15 090 Canal charges ... 200 300 Collecting juice 1380 IS 8 13 8 Cutting poppy heads .. 080 080 080 Breaking up heads 040 040 4 Bent 10 10 10 Total cost Rs. .. 60 3 46 11 42 15 Total produce Rs. . 69 69 C 69 Deduct cost per head Rs. . 60 3 46 11 42 15 Balance profit Rs. ... 8 13 C 22 5 C 126 1 When the plant is two inches high drought produces " bahadur&" (cater- pillar), which watering drives up the plant where birds eat it. It is usual to put gourd and castor-oil leaves near the plants, which attract insects, and on which they can be caught. Injuries. ( 54 ) East wihd is very bad for the poppy ; juice will not exude. West wind is favourable if unaccompanied by clouds. Rain and damp breed blight. Smoke is injurious. Saline water is injurious. " Soil composed of saline earth, or where nitre is seen diffused in other earth substances, or land abounding in siliceous or calcareous earths, where the latter is found in form of kunkar, are to be avoided." ' (Opium Manual.) The area under poppy, according to the settlement papers, is 5,009 acres, but it is extending every year. Other castes besides Kdchhis, even Thakurs and Brahmans, now grow it. The advance (about Rs. 8 per acre) comes most oppor- tunely in September, either to meet the first instal- ment of rent, to carry on till the kharif harvest, or for its legitimate purpose, preparing the ground for the crop, and repairing or construction of wells. This advance is accounted for at the weighments in May, where a still further 2 annas per rupee is held up till further test of quality has been made at the head office. This 2 annas is paid, if allowed, in the following September. The red-flowered poppy gives less juice, and is therefore carefully eradi- cated. There is also a superstition that a red flower amongst the white attracts the evil eye. ( 55 ) MUSTARD. (Oilseeds.) NAME OF CBOP. STATISTICS PEB ACHE. English. Hindi. Botanical Ploughing. r v ^m t^^rv>VA^^i Jl > . JTV ^ +4 U >K * . 31 /fc: tfy Kt * I / tit , At lit* v \ /T7/ Ud JtL t* tt\Zl~ , fy/fctm */*"' 2' o A //> ( 59 ) SUGARCANE. (Annual.) NAME or CROP. STATISTICS PER ACRE. Outturn. t a English. Hindi. Botanical. f V o a to 4) o .S bo M a tyL litY i P T si ^ 5 ^ 18'i-o 7' f - 7 IMSBrl < J -SM v i r S i t 1 ** *< i- R ^ A \\ V ./ * a l \y - \ ^ ~ ^"T, ^FT~^^ / * / / _. /i v~zt tits* Cr 014 tin f-*>A 1**-, crtfi * , vfL^ Lbtsf- A 4* ( 61 ) (gareri) by a hired man, paid one and a quarter anna and a seer of rdb per diem. The material (gMn) is carried to the mill, pressed, and the juice exudes through a hole below into a nund fixed in the ground. Two ndnds will be filled from ten bundles : when the ndnds are full the mill is stop- ped, the juice put in the boiler and boiled till midnight, tended by four men, whilst a hired man feeds the fire from outside. When sufficiently boiled the juice is taken out with a spoon (dohra) and put into earthen pots (kunddn), in which it is stirred with hoes till it coagulates, when it is broken into twenty-seven or twenty-eight lumps (l/ielis). The remaining ten bundles will be treated in the same way next morning, and so on till the field is cut. When the boiler is taken off at midnight they will put in the juice obtained by pouring water on the pressed slips (khoi) and allowing it to trickle into a ndnd from a slanting chabulra, the juice being often twice poured over cane. In two experiments I have made the outturn has been under 10 maunds (gur) per acre, but in one 33 maunds 28 seers were obtain- ed. I look upon 320 bundles giving 20 maunds gur as a fair average outturn that may in ordinary years under favourable circumstan- ces be expected. In addition four maunds a rab" will be got. There is besides the produce of the castor-oil plant and the hemp, and till Jeth melons are often grown in the cane field, producing about ten rupees' worth of fruit (the stalks are dug in for manure). It is hardly necessary to describe the uses Uses. . ' to wich sugar is put. Manufacturiog process. This \ have described above. I may here describe the mill. The kolM or mill consists of the following pieces: The mill itself, or kolliu, is made of labul, tamarind or riris, and costs Us. 4 to Rs. 6. Round the top a frame of babul is bound (bunnd) by a wattle of arhar stalks plastered with mud. The spout from which the juice runs is called patokhd. Rs. a. p. The upright or jdt (in Malnpuri Ldf) costs ... 100 The boom or hdnlar ( Pdth) ... ... 200 The outer upright, ) , . . ,, , parallel to jdt j r ' ena < MaMam) 080 The wood that joints | .,. , j* and KM at the top } or *"' < Chuyaor btleya) ... 004 are of babul, the whole costing about Rs. 10, lasting about three years, and being the common property of from four to five men. Gur sells for the cultivator at from 10 to 14 seers the jtrice. rupee according to quality ; early pressings fetch more. ( 62 ) Cost of production. Sugarcane, one acre. Well. Cost by canal one lift. Canal flush. Produce (if sold standing). Value. Watering u (Pareh- na)" ... KB. a. p. 540 Rs. a. p. 1 5 o Rs. a. p 030 Cane, 40,000 at 500 per rupee ... f Castor-oil seed, 3 mds. at 16 Rs. a. p. 80 Manure ... Ploughing 6 times ... Seed, 4, 000 can es ... Cutting canes in field and clearing 290 3 12 8 14 6 050 290 3 12 8 14 6 050 290 3 12 8140 050 seers per rupee ... ^J Meloni v j Beans ( Castor-oil stalks, 15 bundles l Cane leaves, agaura 780 20 080 1 14 20Q Cutting slips for seed and burying in the Total produce 111 14 ground 050 050 050 Sowing Clod crushing Making irrigation beds 1 9 060 5 (/ 190 050 050 1 9 <> 060 050 Produce (if pressed). Well. Cost by canal, one lift. Canal flush. Watering 8 times ... 42 10 8 1 8 ( Cost of " nandha" ... < 6 000 B?. a, p. Ks. a. p. Rs. a. p. Do. rope and " beri" 000 026 000 Gur 20 mds. at 12 Canal charges Thinning (gurai) ... o o c 3 12 354 3 12 500 3 12 seers per Re. ... Udb 5 mds. at 16 66 10 4 Watching melons ... 1 9 1 9 1 9 seers per Re .... 12 8 Rent 10 10 13 A. Add castor-oilj seed, &c. ... 31 14 Total ... 111 4 Ill 4 Ill 4 Total cost (B).... 80 9 6 i8 11 10 40 6 Deduct Share of T, Total produce ... 111 14 C 111 14 * ill '4 co,t of Es ' a 'P Deduct total cost 80 9 G 48 11 10 40 6 mill ... 3 8 10 f Do. aindhi 05 6 1 Labourers 600 -{897 1057 10 2 48 14 10 Add total j Balance profit ... 31 4 6 63 2 2 71 13 cost B. ... 80 9 6 Balance profit ... 21 8 653 9 10 62 1 C Cane is chiefly liable to ravages of the insect Idkha, and is also suscepti- ble to frost, which dries up the juice. Pigs injure it much, but it is generally protected Injuries, by a wall set with brambles. Area. General. The area recorded under this crop in the measurement papers is 13,773 acres. Cane is never sown on Mangal (Tuesday), because the earth is supposed to sleep on that day, which is called after her son ; nor in " Bhadra Nachattr." After sowing, the remaining slips are always scrambled for (uchhdlnd, lutdnd, nohar.} On Deo uthdni, efaidashi Kdtik the cane is worshipped by gU and gur being burnt in the north-east corner, and presents of four or five canes are given to friends. One man informed me that before sowing he set up fourteen or fifteen ( 63 ) plants in the centre of the field and worshipped with gld and molasses, and then knocked them down to typify the bending down of the cane from its weight : after this a little feast was given. Thepaunda cane calls for separate notice. It is more carefully sown, being sometimes bedded out and watered constantly. In the alluvial lands of the Ganges it is watered every third day by the "dhenkli" from chohas (small holes). It is manured when 1^ feet high, weeded every week for a couple of months. It is cut from Bhadon, and is gener- ally sold standing to " kunjaras." An acre is nominally worth Rs. 100, but I sold some by auction for Mr. Buck on the municipal land at Rs. 250 the acre. In the Jumna parganas cane (usually barokhd) is grown without irriga- tion. After sowing the ground is covered with a layer of grass, which keeps off the heat of May and June ; this process is called " paleo." When rain falls the field is uncovered and the cane grows as usual. The stocks (peri} of the biennial canes are left in the ground, and give a second but poorer crop the following year. ( 64 ) EDIBLE BOOTS. N A MB OF CHOP. STATISTICS PUB ACBE. f} Outturn. Eng- lish. Hindi. Botanical. to . rt 05 fcC of sow- Seed. Weed- ing. Water- ing. When dug. Wht. a, .2 ing. Price. Potato Ala Solatium '20 Novr. 2mds. 2 or 3 February 200 12 annas tuberosum. times a mds. to Re. 1-4 Yam Batdlu Dioscorea month. per md. sativa. Sweet Shakar* Batatas 5 or G Aug. 1 md. Twice 3 or 4 February 42 8 annas Potato hand. e dulis. mds. per ind. Zimikand Ghuydn Arum colo- Feb. 16mds. 8 once a 50 do. casia. week mds. The cultivation of the potato is spreading in the district. It is grown round Cawnpore (but not largely till the cultivation was encouraged by Mr. Buck, by his settling a colony of Kdchhis from Farukhabad, where the triple- cropping maize, followed by potatoes and then by tobacco is practised) and a good deal in the rich Kurmi villages of parganas Sheorajpur and Bilhaur where manure is most plentiful, or can be brought from adjacent encampin^ grounds. The cultivation is on the European method ; the ground is heavily manured, ridges (khdwd) are made with the spade (phdora) after as many ploughings as possible, the eyes being dibbled in about six inches apart. The plants are watered two or three times a month till ripe, accordino- to the weather. Two hundred maunds per acre is not an extraordinary outturn, but the expense of cultivation is enormous. The shakarkand, ratdlu, and zimikand are garden crops grown by Kdchhis in ground fairly well manured. The tubers are dibbled in and watered the crop is again watered three times at least, and dug up in February. There are two kinds of shakarkand : (1) red, long, thin, and not stringy and sweet- (*2) white, short, and more stringy. It is often exchanged for an equal weight of grain (kliont bardbar lend), but sells at Re. 1 per maund. Beino- duo- early it can be followed by a crop of chena or some vegetable. The stalks are given to cattle as fodder. The cultivator can make, if he pays for Jabour Rs. 15 an acre profit, unless the rent taken is very high. Ghuydns are sown in February, and require constant watering, once every week at least, and also eight weedings: as in addition, 16 maunds seed per acre is sown. It is not a very paying crop, the average outturn being 50 maunds per acre ; it is not extensively grown in this district. When it is dug half a seer of the root is given to the labourer instead of chabena. It is a poor tasteless vegetable, and a very poor substitute for potatoes. < 65 ) GARDEN CROPS. .NAME OF CBOP. STATISTICS PER ACRK English. Hindi. Botanical. Plough, ings. . When soWn Seed. Weeded Ripe in Outturn. In weight. Inalue. its. Egg plant. Baingan, Solanum 3 or 4 Asdrh, 4 seer 8 or 9 NoTr. 17 mds, 10 to 12 melongena. times. Bhindi, Carrot. Gajar, Daucus 8 or 10 Asdrh I4tol6 24 men Xovr. or 40 do. 39 caruta. 2 to 5 and seers. to an Feby. JKwdr, acre. Radish. Mali, Raphanus 2 or 3 do. |2J to 4 Novr. or sativus. seers. Ffcby. Red pepper Mirich, Capsacum 2 do. 4 frutescens. Spinach. Paldki, Spinacea oleracea. Fenugreek. Methi Trigonella fenugroecum Aniseed. Sonph, Pirn pin ella anisum. Cumin. Zfra, Cuminum cyminum. Soya, Ginger. Adrak, Amomutn zinziber. Turmeric. Haldi, Curcuma longa. Beau. Rowa or Dolichos Lobui, sinensis. Do. Sem, Phaseolus magnus. The above are grown chiefly by Kdchhis, and are therefore generally known as kachhidna. I have described elsewhere (para. 76) the incessant labour the market gardener class bestow on their crops, which are grown in the best land of a village, that near the site. The ground for baingan (also called bhdtd) l is, if necessary, manured with about 160 maunds per acre, and the ground ploughed three or four times. It is sown in Asdrh (i. e.,at fall of the rains), lib. seed per acre being sown in seed-beds and the seedlings planted out. The plant is dug up (gurai) twice and weeded eight or nine times, and as it occupies the ground the whole year it is watered every week after the rain ceases to fall, and " nona" (or saline earth) is applied to the roots. The plant fruits from November to March, the ripe fruit being pulled daily. It is much grown by Kewats (malldhs) on the kachhdr lands of the Jumna. The other vegetables are grown much in a similar manner ; weedings and waterings vary, but as the gardener is at one or the other from morning to night, and the general result to him is more wanted in this place than a hand- book on gardening, it is unnecessary to give further details. 1 Bddinjdn, Pers., corrupted into brinjdl. 9 A kachhi can make an acre of garden land pay him at least Ra. 40 in the year, and when it is considered that the labour of himself and entire family are devoted to the nork, this result does not give an extraordinarily high rale of wage. Carrots, however, are grown in small patches by all cultivators for their cattle (the heads are also given green), or near a well for the use of those at work there. Of course the outturn varies in such cases, being as low as eight maunds, for a fair crop fourteen maunds per acre. Soya is one of the potherbs known as sag. I may mention that the cultivation of turmeric is declining in this district since the price has fallen. GOURDS. ( Cucurbitacece./ NAME OF CROP. STATISTICS FBR ACHE. English. Hindi. Botanical. Plough ing. lime of sowing. Seed. Weed- ed. Water- ing. When cut. Outturn. Water- melon. Tarbuza, Cucurbita ci trull us. Once June or Decem- October & March Ba. ber. Melon. Kharbuza, Uucumis 8 or 9 2 seers Once June ... 40 melo. times. Kakri, Cucumis utilissimus. Kareld. Laoka, Momordica charantia. 8 to 10 times. January, Febry. Every week. Every 3rd day. May and June. H Bottle Cucurbita gourd. logenaria. Taroi, Cucumis acutangulis. Phut, Cucumis momordica. Cucumber. KMra, Cucumis sntivus. The water-melon is also called kallnda. It is sown unmunured in sand, four or five seeds being put into one hole. It is only liable to injury from east wind. Each plant should bear from eight to fourteen fruit, fetching one pice to one anna, according to size and quality. They are considered cooling and given to allay fever. The ground for melons is heavily manured before sowing (use of poudrette for this purpose is now common, near municipalities), and again when the leaves form. The seed is sown in drills after the plough. It is weeded once. The leaves are not allowed to rest on the ground, matting is spread under them, and they are thereby saved from effects of frost ; manure is ao-ain applied when the plants are a foot long. The fruit is much sought after by porcupines and jackals ; insects attack the root, and " lassi '* the leaves. The names of some of the varieties are lira, wiafira, surdhi t &c. The seeds of surdhi are eaten cooked in syrup. ( 68 ) BETEL. NAME OF CROP. English. Hindi. Botanical. Betel ... V&n Piper betel. Varieties. Raker. Large leaf, described as of mild flavour. Desdwari. Round leaf, described as sweet. Kaptiri. Long leaf, mild but slightly bitter. Bangla. Sweet. Pan is sown on the slope of the mound (bint) which is formed by the earth thrown out of a tank. Fresh earth is heaped up in the Preparation of land. ^^ ^ Ckait (March ) and the f ramew ork of senthat, bamboos erected, which protect the delicate plant during the hot wind, fan and jwdr are sown on the same ground in alternate years. The tender shoots from a growing plant are laid flat and covered with wet earth, then with grass, over which water from the pond is sprinkled four times a day. It is planted in rows, " mandha," of which in an acre there will be fifty rows of 125 cubits, each row three cubits broad, and a cubit between each row. In each row are thirty *'kuntra," in each kuntra eight or nine gdten, in each gat six " dhapian" or lumps of clay in which the " sentha " is stuck and the plants sown, two to five being trained up each sentha. For each row the following must be bought 125 bamboos, four bundles " gandar" grass, and 1,000 " senthas " (stems of mtinj grass) ; kus grass is brought in from the jungle and used for tying. The seedlings cost as follows : Per dholi (v.i.), leaker three annas, bangla and desdwari two annas, kapiiri one anna. Constant labour is required to rear the plant; it must be watered twice every day till well grown, when once a day Intermediate operations. . J is enough ; and atter the rams every third day ; fifteen Picking. gharas of water per row are given, and one man can only water five rows in the day. Meanwhile plants of the pumpkin kind are grown over the frame- work to keep the interior cool, and the betel vines are trained up the light sup- ports prepared for them. In Sdwan, Bhddon, and Kicdr the plants are manured with a mixture of flour (kanak) and oilcake. This costs 10 annas per row. " Jeth Dasera," the oldest member of the family, goes to the mid- dle of the "bhib" worships the " Veota" with a burnt offering of ghi and gur, and picks a dholi (200 leaves), which he distributes to his friends, from whom he receives presents (only the inferior leaves, however, are picked till Kwdr Dasera) ; after which the plant is pulled every fortnight as long as there is any left ; five rows being left for seedlings, which are never touched except near the ground to keep them clean. Pan leaf is used for chewing mixed with cMna (lime), katthd (catechu), supidri (areca or betelnut), ilaichi (cardamoms) and to- bacco, rolled up in the leaf (bird or gilauri), which is fastened by a clove or piece of supidri, and sometimes adorned with gold and silver paper. It is an excellent stomachic, bangla being much in favour in the cold weather, but desdwari is the kind most in request for festivals, &c. Price. The price varies according to age, thus : Ki ditto 3 Sometimes in Aghan as high as eight rupees per leso is reached. Pdn is often kept for a long time ; old pdn sells better than new, as high as eight leaves per pice. I give facts as ascertained by me from two informants : Cost of production , one acre. Uses. Cost. Produce. Bamboos Bs. a. p. 93 Rs. a. p. Grass ... ... ... 640 3,000 liholit. Sentha ... ,.. ... ... 18 12 Seedlings 320 At one anna ... 139 Watering ... ... ,., Manure ... ... 10 16 6 6 At two annas,.. Total ... 97 936 Kent ... ,., Total 20 Cost ... Profit 167 6 6 167 8 6 68 7 6 But in this instance the watering was paid for, which is unnecessary - r and no account is taken on the credit side of the pumpkins, which fetch about Rs. 10 per " bhit." [The rent is generally so much per row, eight annas to Rs. 2, according to demand or custom. I found, however, on an average of years that Rs. 20 an acre is a fair rate per acre. In off years jwdr is sown, and only four annas an acre is taken.] For ten_rows. / Cost. Produce. Value. 400 bamboos ... ... (had 400 old ones). Sentha, 30 bundles... ... Grass ... ... ... 6 labourers 3 days (to help in sowing). 1 labourer 10 days ... (to make framework). Bs. Add rent, Bs. Total cost, Bs. Bs. a. p. 11 700 200 1 6 6 16 22 6 6 15 375 dhotis = f> leso 15 dholis. 1 leso desdwari ... ... 1 ,, kapuri . ... 3 bang la ... ... Sold at odd times ... ... Value of seedlings... ... Bs* ... Deduct total cost, Bs. ... Profit, Bs. ,.. Bs. a. p. 600 280 16 400 66 83 8 37 6 6 46 2 6 37 5 6 Neither of these estimates is satisfactory. The area recorded under this crop in the measurement papers is 137 acres. Pan is stored in " cholis" (holding one dhoti) of "gandar" grass tied with kus grass, or in " jhawa" bam- boo baskets. The betel growers (bdrei) are very averse to allow a stranger entering the vinery, fearing the mal occhio. Area. General. Terms. Bhit Mdndah Euntra Gdt Bel Dholi Leso Mound on which grown. Bow. Main props of bamboo. Minor props of Senthd, one span apart. Young seedlings for planting. 200 leaves. 60 jhohs, ( 71 ) NAME or CROP. English. Hindi. Botanical. Water Calthrops. Singhdra ... Trata natani. The singhdra is grown in the ponds (tdl, taleya, pokhar, gadha) of nearly every village, forming one of the fiudi or extra receipts. The kahdr or water- carrying class almost exclusively cultivate it. Plants that may have remained in a pond from last year are pulled up and thrown into a pit or pool of water where they germi- nate and are sold by the owner to purchasers by the ban- gU (| maund) weight, one maund per rupee. The purchaser plants his shoots (bel) t which increase again, and he then sows as follows: He prepares 800 pegs as thick as his finger, points them with his sickle, and ties each plant ( bel) to a peg with kus grass. Floating on a support of two gharas upside down joined by a bamboo, he plants out his pegs, diving where it is deep ; thirty-two men would sow an acre in a day. The plant must be examined every day for the purpose of clearing off the Intermediate opera- insects. The owner and his friends (as kahdrs generally tions> join in a lease they have not to hire labour) astride on their rafts float round the pond doing this : eight men will manage an acre in the day. The plant flowers in November, and on Deo uthdni Ekddashi, or five days before the end of Kdtik, singMras are eaten and given as offerings. The owner pulls as many as he wishes for sale, and the nuts continue forming till the end of Decembfci^ when the plants rot, the nuts fall, and are dragged out by a primitive drag. They may be gathered in this way as late as the end of February, as the nut is protected by its thick spiky shell. The nut is eaten raw or boiled when fresh. Druggists store them for use as offerings or to be made into flour for " pharhar," or the feast after a fast in which grain may not be eaten. Outturn. About ten maunds an acre would be a fair outturn Price, fetching one anna a seer. The singhdra plant is so liable to the ravages of Injuries. y , certain insects that m some years the whole crop is a failure. The first that attacks is the " orna," very small, red i a colour ; next the " chitya," white, even more minute (the size of a poppy seed); next the " sunri," a black caterpillar about a barleycorn in length -, and lastly, "ghuhan," yellow, as large as a small pea. ( 72 ) TOBACCO. NAME OF CHOP. STATISTICS PER ACKK. i J. Outturn. o (3 'a tab g M tab o g _S == 4 a 1 -a 3 S **> o .S 13 V o> C 5 "S o it S G 3 i CJ c5 *"-* * _ 5 *> 3||lll ""I's'is |g|!ll|| . * 8 p<-2 o to 9T1IBA O _; O O O O 00 OO CO ^ O * CM 00 i-l e: " 1 I i O 03 O O O 1 O O 00 o * s to Cl o >o : : : o eo CO CO * 00 o> * >a in * aadnj jad sou j ,-J O O O O S O O t". CO "> CO St o o o o o o ' O C 00 eo -i o CM CM ~+ O O = :: 5 ' w ._ , '" 4B O E Ot 1 ^ CC Tl Tl C. <-i O O 91 O O O o o o o CO oo kO eo CM o o CO 00 CM o o o 4* 2 T3 5^ ^803 IBJOX & d :::::: o CO O e C! o cj o 00 O * CM CO CO CO * M CUTTING. saS'BjVi d j : o : : ; : to o o <= cs o : : : : natn jo igqranjj * :"^ : : : : .... . . . WEEDING. saS^ P, d ::::: * M o 71 * : : : : : o S-l * uaro jo jaqratiK 5 Q H CD 90T.IJ O O O O <0 OS CO 00 ^" - CO " jg 00 000 CO * o o o o * * CN CO CD O O o o o I o >a jnnomv ^ C 00 O ^ W 00 * O rt ^ o o o o e o CO - o o o * o 5 O IO CO CM o CM o o * 51 CO * * 1 to Tf (aiouf) suq8iq ni wajy ,0 ji o o : ; o : P5 --* o o t- s o o o : : a o o (0 : : ': CO I g a 3 1 3 r3 * ^^ o5 ._ u f- v ? a ^csogo 1^ 11 3 11 iff 3 ^^ e g S* J ^ If? | ( 79 ) 76. A Kdchhi generally holds a smaller area than other cultivators ; it is in the best land mostly, and he devotes his whole Kachhi. attention to it. Let us suppose a Kachhi with wife and three boys 8, 10, and 12 years of age respectively, and allow him eight bighas of land, of which three bighas are in the gauhan or homestead, four bighas in the midlands, and one bigha in the outlands ; he has one pair of plough bullocks, and either has a well of his own or uses a masonry well of the xamindar. His agricultural operations will be much as follows : When the rain falls (about middle of Asarh, say, or end of June) he will plough for his maize (one bigha), taking two days, and will then with a hired labourer and his eldest boy sow the field up to noon. As every grain has to be separately and carefully sown, labour is increased ; after noon they will clear the field of grass, weeds, &c., and level it. He then throws a cartload of manure on the maize field and ploughs for his jwar (one bigha), which takes a day ; he then sows it and levels the field. He now sets to work to plough for his poppy and rabi crops, till in the begin- ning of Sawan (or end of July) he, his two sons, and seven hired hands, costing 10 annas, weed the maize, and next day the jwdr at the same cost, and he then again ploughs his rabi fields. After this he and his son will plant out four biswas egg-plant and two bis was pepper, and again weed his maize as above. About this time he runs his plough through the jwdr (" gurai" from " gorna"), which keeps the soil pulverised, lets the rain soak in, and thins out the crop, and goes on with his rabi ploughings. Bhddon has now arrived, and the maize has to be watched by a hired man who costs for 25 days Rs. 2-5~6. In the day the eldest boy, and at night the Kachhi himself help in the watching. During the day the father is employed in ploughing up to noon, and then looking after the cattle, &c. Now he and his two sons and one hired man will cut the maize, and next day with two hired men costing three annas cut the cobs from the stalks and pile them in the threshingfloor, where they will lie for a week, watched at night by the cultivator himself. In the day the field will be ploughed for a second crop, bijhra. When Kwdr comes he will with his son sow carrots and radishes, and still plough his rabi fields, or, as leisure offers, thresh out his maize (sometimes with cattle, sometimes by merely beating the cobs with a thick club). Kdtik having arrived, with one labourer he and his son will now sow the rabi (two bighas wheat and one bigha bijhra) in three days, paying the labourer two annas a day, as there is great demand for labour at this time, and then make the irrigation beds. There is now a press of work, watching the jwdr, water- ing the vegetables, preparing the field for poppy cultivation ; so his second son will watch the jwdr morning and evening, and the father with the eldest son and his wife will water the vegetables : when the boy comes back from the jwdr fields the wife will go home and cook the food. It will take sis days to ( 80 ) water the vegetables. Tho field for poppy will take twelve days to prepare by watering, and has at the same time to be broken up by the hoe, taking fifteen men costing Re. 1-6-6 : in this is included the sowing also. He will now with his son cut the urd, mung, lobia, and til sown with his jwdr, and take them to the threshmgfloor, in all four days, and then cut the heads of the jwdr. Aghan has now come and the rabi must be watered, taking fifteen days ; for this one man is hired, for the son is watching the grain on the threshingfloor. But in the meanwhile he will take a day for treading out tliejwdr and another for winnow- ing it, and a third for the small crops, so he has to pay the man hired Re. 1-11-0. The poppy now wants watering, which will take ten days, after which it is weeded by hand (ckutki se), each weed being separately pulled up with the fingers ; this will take four days, and besides the family thirteen men must be hired costing Rs. 4-14-0, and weeding the wheat will cost Rs. 2-4-0, being at the rate of eight hired men for three days. The vegetables will now be watered, taking five days, and then weeded, eight men being hired for the latter employment. The vegetables, wheat, and poppy will be watered twice more, the bijhra only once, which will bring us to the beginning of Phdgon (about February), when a field will be prepared for cane, being first watered, and then ploughed for four days. With hired assistance he will cut the canes he has bought for seed from the field where they are growing, strip off the leaves, chop the canes into lengths, dig a hole and bury the pieces in it, covering them with the leaves and moist earth. All this will have cost him about fifteen annas. When the pieces have lain three days, during which time he waters the vegetables again, he will sow them (as described separately under head " Sugarcane") at an expense of twelve annas. He has now two important duties, to keep the cane field properly pulverised, and to water the poppy, which will keep him ten days employed, whilst his wife and son pull the petals of the poppy flowers, which are made into cakes and sold to the opium agency. For the next fortnight he and four hired labourers will make the incisions in the poppy heads on the afternoon, and the next morning up till noon scrape off the exuded juice : this costs Rs. 5-10-0. Now to water and plough up (gorna) the cane, costing twelve annas, and then the bijhra being ripe for cutting, he will call in two men, paid by a share in the crop (lonhdri), and cut it in two days ; and after this the wLeat, which takes half as long again. For a week the sheaves will lie on the threshingfloor watched by the man and his family : in one day they will pick the poppy heads : if pressed for time they will hire assistance. Then the Kdchhi and his son will thresh out the bijhra, taking eight days, and the wheat, taking seventeen days, and then beat out the poppy seed, which the wife will clean from the husk. The winnowing will take a week, and bringing home a couple of days ; two men will be hired to help, costing Re. 1-14-0. The cane must now be watered ( 81 ) again, and a wall built round it to protect it from pigs, &c., after which the field will be manured by farm-yard refuse mixed with mud from the village pond. Some grain may yet be got out of the colder (guthra,) and then the cane must be watered again and ploughed up j for the latter job hired assistance is necessary. By this time the rains may be again expected. For the method and cost of expressing the juice from the cane see the separate description. To express the juice from one bigha of cane will take eight days, the cultivator using his own cattle if he can find leisure from his irrigating, or, as sometimes happens, if he has no leisure, he will sell the field of standing cane, which fetch about Us. 40. 11 Statement showing agricultural Name of crop. Sowing. Manure. % a Water- V\ Weeding. ing ?atch- \. M . 1 in 9- M iking :ation eds. 8 bO i Area sown in bij "- 1 acre.) _ | Number of men. j Wages. Number of men. Cost. Number of men. Wages. | Number of men. Wages. rNnmber of men. Wages. | Number of men. Indian-corn ... Rs.ap.j 1 6 ... is. a. p. 020 14 s. a. p. 1 5 L. Rs.a.p.l 10 ... : '.'.! '.". !!'. ... ... ... : ... ... . ... ... 7 10 6 ... ... ... Urd Hemp ... )"i( I f 11 ... "'. u ... .. ::: L .. ("(r '-" - !!. u ..: , Total Kharif ... Wheat Bijhra. In maize field. 2 1 2 2 ... 1 6 L 4 .. 020 ... 020 ~ 21 24 1 15 6 .. 2401 r 10 L i '.'.'. L ::.' . :: .: ::: :: Vegetables. j .. Spinach ... V i 8 ... . 12 . .. ( .. ) ' "' .. :.. : Poppy Poppy heads ... > 1 66 ... ... 68 660 '/.: " ... i ... .. "'. Total Cane Edb 5 I B 1 12 6 ., . 10 960 1 6 6 ... 1 l ' B I 110.. . 2 2 < ) 14 160. . Melon ... Total Bent f 1 1 81110, 2 2 J 1 160. - Share of cost of well Share of cost of well gear. Share of cost of mill GBAND TOTAL... ... ,. . 8 3 739 . ..24 \ 13 ., 5 12 10 61 51 66 10 10 . . ... Eate. Rent. Detail of holding !3 bighas gauhdn wet 4 man j ha wet 1 barhet dry Us. a. p. Rs. a. p. 600 380 1 1. 15 14 1 12 operations of a Kachhi cultivator. JS umber of men.i 1 P ut ting, k o to 1 t Collect- ing. Thresh- ing and winnow- ing, frc. Construct- ing wall for pro- tection. Seed. Total cost. Produce. Price per rupee. Total ralue. Number of men. 0? B i Number of men. f y * Number of men. 2 i ^ Amount Price. 3 Rs a.p. 046 Ks.a.p. Bs.a.p. Rs.a.p. M. s. c 028 004 004 Rs a. p 020 003 003 1 006 1 ( 003 Rs. a. p. 290 003 003 1 006 1 003 M. 8. C. 800 20 1 3 20 24 060 12 M. s. c. 100 1 100 i "6 o 24 IS 12 Kb. a. p. 800 080 1 O 1 380 1 6 I 1 1 6 ... ... 9 030 ... 1 4 008 1 002 4 060 - ... 2 14 6 030 ... ... 5 14 053 3 11 8 14 2 ... 16 b .1 rs 4 1 8 080 M 1 5 090 ' ... 1 20 30 1 8 020 300 1 3 030 030 M o "2 o "6 7 940 2 IS 6 030 030 12 IS *8 6 "o 7 16 600 400 1 20 *o"*5 1 20 3 20 32 o IS 4 16 1 15 1 32 0- 780 12 3 12 15 20 22'"8 400 300 12 ,.. 6U 5 10 ... ... ... 010 1 4 :e 200 GO 5 10 20 1 14 8 ... 2 15 ia 4 11 7 280 040 26 IS 7 32 ... 106 7 1 14 12 2,000 10 4 o "4 o flO 2 20 12 16 33 5 4 640 700 1 4 1 14 8 12 014 2 12 10 8 12 20 46 9 4 1 - 30 12 1 8 400 1 12 5 '.'.I ... 22 20 260 tit 5 10 3150 8 12 9 22 14, 7 12 10 f 79 3 58 22 M 169 8 79 3 ;). * I * Opium at R3, 4-8 per seer. Deduct total cost ... Ralancc of profit ... ( 84 ) 77. A Kurmi is, next to the Kdchhi, the best cultivator in this district ; he farms on a broader scale, but in devotion to his land and industry, both of himself and of his entire family, he rivals the more closely working market gardener. Take a Kurmi with a wife and throe boys aged 8, 10, and 12 respectively, with one pair of plough bullocks and fifteen bighas of land. His agricultural operations will be as follows : In Jeth he will prepare (by watering) a field to be sown with indigo, for seed, not plant. He will hire a man to help, and as the field is very dry it will take five days to water ; meanwhile three labourers will plough his field. He must also water the cane, taking four days, and dig it up (gurai) with the kuddr, hiring three men to help. The indigo is then watered, taking five days, and again the cane, taking four, which will then be weeded by ten labourers. Another watering will be given to the indigo, and then it will be weeded, eight men being hired to help, and a third watering given the cane, after which the man and his son will bring mud in a cart from the pond and throw it on the cane field : this will take two days, and two men will be hired to assist in putting the mud at the root of each plant. Mow to, manure the maize field with one cartload (20 maunds) of stable refuse, the hire of the cart being two annas, the man himself will spread the manure in a day; when the rain falls he will plough the field for maize for two days, and the son aad four labourers will weed the indigo ; after which he, his son, and labourer will sow the maize up to noon, cleaning the field for the rest of the day. He will then plough for cotton and sow it the next day himself, and when this is done, plough for and sow his jwdr (three bighas), in all four days. He is now at liberty to commence ploughing his rabi fields : after giving them one ploughing he will plough for his bdjra, and weed his cotton, hiring two men for two days, and his maize, hiring four men fortwo days, and his cane, hiring two men for two days, and his indigo, hiring ten men for one day. Sdwan has now arrived, and he gives the rabi fields another ploughing, after which he sows his bajra, cleans the field, and then for three days weeds his jwdr with eight hired men. Againhe ploughs his rabi fields and weeds his maize with four hired men for two days, and then his cot- ton with six men for two days. Bhddon has now commenced, the rabi fields are again ploughed, and the maize weeded and the roots strengthened with earth heaped up round them, four men being hired to assist. Again the cotton is weeded and the rabi fields ploughed, and the bdjra weeded by ten men, taking two days. After another ploughing forra&i, the jwdr is thinned in two days and the indigo cut by his family and three hired men, and the cultivator himself. Suppose it to rain for three days and Kvadr is oome, then there are three things to be done - to watch the maize, plough the rabi, and collect fodder for the cattle. The first js done by a hired man, costing Rs. 2-5-6 a month; the second by the cultivator ( 85 ) himself; the third by the eldest boy. Towards the end of Kwdr the kdkun and maize will be cut, the cobs separated from the stalks, five men being hired to help, and the maize field will then be cleared, " bhut&i karna," for rabi and ploughed. The hired man must be kept on to watch the jwdr and bdjra, and the cultivator, helped by another man, sows his rabi (one bigha wheat, three bighas bijhra, including ths dofasli field, two bighas jau-chana) in four days, levels the fields himself and with a man to help for t 5 i E +-i jr 3 ^ 1 Number of men. I i m i o> 1 1 CD I g tx S 03 1 P Indigo i Rs.a.p. .. ... 41 Bs. a. p. 336.. Rs.a.p. Ditto stalka Cotton ... ... Indian-corn ... ... Jwdr .. | Kakun . f Phut . } Jwdr . ... Urd i i 'i o "i s 030 28 20 280.. 190.. m i io o . ... . 3 ' - ... 24 1 14 0.. . ... . ... * Hemp Til ... BdJTCL ... ... Total Eharif Cane ... ... Rdb ..t ..< 3 ... ... 20 190. . ... . ... . ... 9 i 1 S ... 020 133 10 6 6 . . ... 1 10 1 ** 7 11 9 ... 1 12 26 206. . ... Total Wheat ... ... Bijhra (in maize field) ... Jau-chdna ... ... 1 7 11 9 1 12 26 206. 1 2 2 1 6 1 1 3 076 1 ... 5 15 060. 1 2 M .. .^ *. Total Rent ... .. 5 8 10 ... 20 189 .. ... i t Share of cost of well gear Share of cost of mill ... , GHAND TOTAL 15 If 1 7 "I 1 " ' 179 13 15 9 1 10 Detail oi holding .. IGauhdn 4 bighas wet Manjha 5 Barhet 6 dry Kate. Rs. a. p. ..500 ..380 ,. 1 12 Rent. Rs, a. p. 20 17 8 10 8 r 87 operations of a Kurmi cultivator . 9. 10. 1 1. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. t 1 3 H l. a. p. 500 18 10 1180 800 1 8 1 10 8 333 13 440 12 Cutting. Collect- ing. Winnow- ing and threshing, ting wall of protec- tion. Seed. Total cost. Produce. Price per rupee. Number of men. Wages. a S <+- c b 1 p K i 9 b I | to 1 ~j ri J Amount. Rs.a.p. 90 11 3 tJ . ... Rs.a.p. .. ... M. I. c. 040 Rs. a. p. 0110 "i I 020 006 3 '*4 3 o "s o Rs. a. p. 499 3 "i 3 2 14 6 006 2 6 4 3 1 14 6 M. 8. C. 2500 300 200 800 1 20 10 20 1 37 10 1 11 900 M. 8. C. 500 6 11 ~ 1 1 M* 100 84 12 C IS 30 ... 1 00 5063 028 028 008 4050 3 12 3 10 20 26 030 202 90 19 14 1 9 15 5 9 62 18 ... 76 6 3 1 14 ... ... 2,000 280 0*40 8 14 3 "i 10 2 20 12 16 33 5 4 640 10 014 1 14 1 4 9 12 923 12 20 ... 49 9 4 30 2 10 1 SO 7 12 1 8 3 10 il 6 3 10 o 'e o 046 1 15 3 543 8 ' 22 10 12 20 32 32 1 o is 4 16 16 27 8 IS 8 12 300 22 8 500 1 7 273 3 1 **6 4 - ... ... - * 030 030 7 20 2 ... 4 33 IS 864 10 9 61 20 ... 99 15 225 14 7 90 5 6 135 9 1 ... ... 48 1 8 4 1 12 *** ... 202 9 ( >.. ... il 14 C >.. ... 1 5 14 H 13 11 Oil 136 18 ~ Deduct total cost Balance of profit ... ( 88 ) 78. It is not out of place to briefly describe what such a cultivator wears, what he owns in the way of pots and pans or jewellery, and where he lives. The following details are the result of constant enquiry, and may be accepted as approximate to actual fact. 79. The cultivator will want for himself a pair of waistcloths (dhoti) costing Re. 1-8-0, a couple of pagris (angochha) costing 6 annas, a jacket (mirzai) costing for the hot weather 5 annas, and a stuffed one for the cold weather costing 14 annas. Over his shoulders he will throw a cloth (pichhaura) costing 12 annas, and if he is well up in the social scale he will have a coat (angarklia) costing 13 annas. These will chiefly be made of country cloth, but a consider- able proportion is of Manchester goods. He will also buy a pair of shoes, cost- ing 8 annas. His wife will want a petticoat (lalmga) costing Re. 1, a shawl (lugra or dopatta) costing 8 annas, and a jacket (jhola) costing 4 annas, and a small dhoti costing 8 annas. These are nearly entirely made of country cloth. 80. The children rarely come in for new clothes ; when they wear any at all, the cast-off garments of their parents do duty for them. In the cold weather a couple of blankets must be bought, or quilted coverlets (gcdtf or razdi) made of purchased cloths stuffed with the cultivator's own cotton. 81. The total cost of clothes for a family of five will amount to about Rs. 15, and the proportionate annual expenditure to about Rs. 10-8-0, 82. The following abstract of enquiries made by me is interesting, as giving the grounds of the above details : z - /y - /. ~ < . o /IL/ /3 't ' /A? // & W ap-era-qstiSug; ui epiS jo A"iimBj at sjfoq jo jaqtanjvj ui namoA\ jo ni aam }o aoqcun^j pajTnbna suosaad jo raojj S 12 aad aanjipnadxa aSeiSA* & CS 05 P ga P5 I AIIOIBJ HI SIJTS jo laqumji I A"IIUIBJ ni s^oq jo laqumjq; m natn jo jaqoin^ raojj paimLna snoaiad jo jaqmn^ 83. In his house the cultivator must have Rs. a. p. I Karhdi, iron pot, costing ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 1 Kalchhul, iron spoon ... ... ... ... ... 3 O 1 Tdw&, iron plate on which the "chapati" is cooked over the " chula" ... ... 8 1 Batloi, brass cooking vessel about 6 Ibs. in weight ... ... ... 3 o 3 Lotd, brass drinking vessel ... ... ... ... ... 2 15 2 Tdthi or tkdli, flat brass dishes ... ... ... ... ... g 2 1 Kathothi, large wooden dish (deep) for kneading, &c. ... ... , 6 2 Katheli, small wooden dishes for scraps, &c. The above will last 6 to 10 years ... 2 21 Gharas, hdndis, earthen pots ... ... ... ... 1 Chalnl, sieve ... ..4 ... ... ... 1 1 Sup, grain -cleaner (of rirki) ... ... ... ... ... o 9 1 Musal, pestle of heavy wood, such as bab&l, sisam... ... ... ...070 1 Chakki, stone hand-mill (both stonea included) ... ... ... ... 12 1 Silwat, stone on which condiments are ground ) 1 Lurhwd, stone with which ditto ditto ^ 1 Tardzu, scales of arhar stalks ... ... ... ... ... o a o 1 Dholak, drum for amusement ... ... ... ... ... o 4 o 1 'chdrpdi, bed (string and all) ... ... ... ... ... o 8 1 Khatola, cot - ... ... ... ... ... 4 O 84. He will eat maize-flour in September and October, ju-dr from No- vember to March, and from March to September again bijhra. For a family of five 36 maunds grain will be required, costing, say, Rs. 36, to which must be added lib. pulse (ddl) and 2 033. salt per diem, costing altogether Rs. 11-4-0. He will vary his diet with vegetables or richer cakes on festivals, for which another rupee or two must be allowed. 85. These exemplars are the result of constant enquiry ; every point has been discussed over and over again with cultivators ; I am not even now satis- fied that the minimum cash expenditure has been reached ; I am confident that more use is made of the labour of the wife and younger children than I can get admitted ; but they are approximately true, and show what profit in an ordinary year a cultivator may look for. It is nothing great certainly even then, but it must be often exceeded, or whence does he get the money for masonry wells, for weddings, &c. And it need hardly be stated that the cultivator has not to look for cash; he can eat the grain, cheap or dear, he has himself raised. On the question of his indebtedness I touch in a later paragraph; but I think the foregoing exemplars show that the condition of the cultivator need not be the one of abject misery it is so often represented. It is true his life is one of almost uninterrupted toil from year's end to year's end, but let him alone, and he is happy. He has not as yet the intelligence or education to make him aspire to better things. Can we not all say that where he has, he comes out of the ruck, adds bigha to bigha, rupee to rupee (unfortunately too often by lend- ing to his less thrifty brethren), and dies perhaps the proprietor of a snug little ( 92 ) estate, which his son will either enlarge or dissipate according as he inherits his father's good qualities, or is corrupted by the surroundings which a well-to-do lad is too often brought up in ? 86. The subject of the relation of the cultivator to the money-lender is perhaps the one most constantly discussed in any paper dealing with agriculture in India. As a rule, the ryot is pictured as hopelessly in the grasp of a merciless creditor who takes the entire result of his labour, and barely doles him out suf- ficient to keep body and soul together, and that only as long as there is any prospect of more being got out of him. 87. I am not prepared to say that up to a certain point this is not true. A large proportion of the cultivators are in debt, some hopelessly, but many only from year to year. There are many who do not remember the com- mencement of their indebtedness, and cannot say how much they now owe. There are many more who borrow, it is true, year by year, but they punctually pay, and can state within a few annas the amount against them in the banker's books. There are a very large number who do not owe a pice. 88. I have made extensive enquiries on this subject, and have had the results tabulated. I do not pretend to say that the statements made are absolutely and beyond doubt trustworthy, but every possible care has been taken to obtain correct answers. I have, as far as possible, verified the statements myself from the banker's books, and rarely found discrepancies. I have myself enquired minutely into the circumstances of the person questioned, and, as far as possible, made him give a reason for every statement made (e.g., 1 have made him give the details of his cultivation, why he wanted money, and so forth); where there has been the least suspicion that a body of ryots have been, for any reason, foisting on me a ready-made tale, I have rejected their statements. Though I am aware how little reliance is or can be placed on Indian statistics, I only sub- mit that these are as trustworthy as care in their compilation could make them : Statistics of indebtedness. Eon O 2 C QJ S In debt. I 3 iJ 05 S Name of pargana. "g Is i 03 B no B 1 E 00 5 * t-t i >, 1 14 ^ s o S ^^ ^ c3 1 B o> o 00 ,0 o j., 1 u o o ^ s a I "a a> 1 3 *^ ^ CJ o & JS o 5^ 5 Tti ^ o 525 fe UH H fK s H s H 5 H Akbarpur ... 2,123 572 107 135 139 185 116 438 149 128 154 1,551 Percentage... ... 26"9 5-0 6 3 6'5 8-7 5-4 20-6 7-0 6-0 7-2 730 Ghatampur ... 2,500 1,188 206 138 151 135 104 309 114 61 94 1,312 Percentage... ... 47-5 82 5'5 6-0 5-4 4-1 12-3 45 2-4 3-7 526 6. 2- 3 . ( 93 ) Object of first loan taken. , , o }- "s ^ s . -1 o S s "S Name of pargana. ' ? * .2 3s tt v d B ij 1 ft 3 5 d c - 1 11 a "^ g OS W ll f D Akbarpur ... ... All 130 595 72 47 96 Percentage .. ... ... 394 8-3 33-4 46 3 Ghatnmpur ... ... ... 199 225 616 129 93 150 Percentage... ... ... 15-1 17-1 393 98 7-1 114 These men paid their kharif rent as follows : a h B c . y 2 ^ oi I 0) -j 3 O O 3 Name of pargana. . "> hi fl) ,J> 3 E 3 O 3 en Pi o 2 a CD i BJ- 8 - d hi o 5i o a 2 1 - 3 a 1 'S -2 5 2 J _ CM O M Akbarpur ... 655 377 162 632 196 13 12 76 Percentage 30-9 17-7 7'6 29-7 9-2 0-6 05 35 Gh.itampur 1,818 67 64 455 37 6 1 53 Percentage ... 72-7 27 25 18-2 T4 0'2 o-o 2-1 Their rabi rent as follows .* d -73 g V a | in o oi V. ^ Name of pargana. 'O o Ot ii *B O D O 00 3 <* sl oT o o o a C J3 5 T3 fl O 5 B CO M PH * O O a Akbarpur 1,083 215 74 627 83 3 6 SI Percentage ... 61-0 10-1 3-4 295 3-9 0-1 02 1-5 Ghatampur ... 1,824 34 77 428 37 3 12 85 Percentage ... 72-9 1-3 8-0 17-1 1-4 O'l 0'4 34 Purchased their seed as follows : o hi o 00 S"i > ^ B 1 . s 2n g S Name of pargana. o cL -o S n y CO t- 1 "a 3 O 11 a ""^, S O _. h. i a o hi 11 c 3 i SB 3 = "x 3 1 3 S a e* n A 3 N o O A Akbarpur ... 481 755 200 309 22 346 5 5 Percentage 22-6 35'6 94 145 1*0 16-) 02 o-j jthatampur 1,292 25 4 1,091 18 4 ... 66 Percentage 51*6 1-0 O'l 43-6 0-7 O'l ... 8-6 ( 94 ) And stippofted themselves thus : I 13 e T3 ce x 0> 3 * O) 9 1 m V . a < y Si < 8 o J 1 Name of pargana. o & a 1= * "a 1 a * oT u o> 1 i 1 ii o o 1 || II s o a 1 3 O n Akbarpttr 473 494 226 606 235 76 13 . Percentage 222 23-2 10-6 285 11 35 0-6 ... Ghatampur 1,105 324 220 608 164 42 12 25 Percentage 44-2 129 88 24-3 6'5 1-6 0-4 I'O 90. Nor is the relation of the money-lender and fyot all on one side. Why is it that such enormous interest is required? It is simply that the security on which an advance is made is almost nil. The crops are hypothecated for the rent, and as every English trader knows, as well as the village banker, a decree of the civil court results in a " charpai and a lota" only representing the mov- able property of the judgment-debtor. I give here two genuine extracts from a banker's book, which show that though it is true the whole of the supposed produce of the ryot went to the banker, the banker has been (as in numberless instances he is) a loser in the end. Banking account of Konrowd Chamdr of flathirud, holding 17 bighas at Rs. 34-8 0. DR. CB. Year. Debit. Rs. a. p. Year. Credit. Rs. a. p. 1920... Balance brought over, 183 7 3 1920... tf//'Ara42fmds., after deduct- 59 Cash 1 ing 8| mds., @ 29 seers. Interest ... 34 8 9 Arhar 6 mds., @ 35 seers ... 6 11 9 For rent 14 Gram If tnd, @ 27 ... 2 15 6 Grain 8| nids. for 7 ... Cash 86 maunds. 1921... Balance brought over, 1 25 1921.. Nil Cash 89 7 Interest, Kdtlk 30 13 6 Food 19 14 Hent 14 Food 500 Interest, Chait 42 15 Rent 14 1922.. Balance brought over, 291 1 6 1922.. Jwdr 13] mds , @ 23 seers... 23 5 3 Food 29 Bdjra 4j @ 25 730 Seed 22 13 6 Urd If @ 15J 4 10 6 Interest, Kdtlk 58 8 Til 1 @ 16| 2 12 Rent 20 14 6 Cash 050 Interest, Chait 69 2 Bijhra.llb @ 20 34 8 Rent 30 9 Arhar 5 @ 21 980 Kist 14 Gram 4$ @ 20 9 1 Wheat 6f @ H , ... 19 5 6 Cash 14 12 9 ( 95 ; Banking account of Konr owd Chamdr of flathirud, holding 17 biyhas at Us. 34-8-0 (continued.) PR. CK. Year. Debit. Rs, a. p. Year. Credit. Rs. a. p. 1923... Balance brought over, 408 9 6 923... Urd 9 mds. @ 20J seers.- 18 8 For cattle ... 15 8 Jwdr 5| @ 24 ... 990 Food ... 31 12 Bdjra @ . 6 10 9 Interest, Kdtih ... 85 8 Cash 4 O Seed 35 Bijhra \ 2 mds. 5 J srs. @ 24 era. 20 8 6 Rent 10 1 6 Gram 7 17 @ 12 6 Kist 14 Wheat 21 3 @ I6J 60 12 6 Interest, Chait 105 3 Arhar 6 @ 28 seers ... 890 Kist 14 Cash 10 Rent 27 1924... Balance brought over, 613 6 3 Account closed. 1926... Balance of former 300 3 9 926... Bijhra 38 mds. 25 srs. @ 21 srs 71 14 years '23 '24 '25. Arhar 7 ,, @ 26 srs. 10 IS 3 Interest, Kdtik ... 56 4 Rent 35 1 1927... Balance brought over, 308 14 6 927... Cash ... _ 16 Food 1100 Bijhra 32 mds. 37 J srs. @ 34 srs. 38 12 Cash 16 Wheat I3 mds. @ 26 sr*. ... 20 6 Interest, Kdtik 25 8 Arhar 12 @ 1 md. 1200 Seed 39 3 6 Gram 1 md. 25 srs. @ 32 srs. 206 Interest, Chait 74 11 6 Rent 36 14 6 Kist 28 1928... Balance brought over, Interest 451 1 6 82 11 1928... Casl} Bijhra, 1 md. 15 srs. @ 30 srs. 41 9 1 6 Kist 14 Arhar, 7| mds @ 30 seers ... 10 6 Interest .. 98 9 Gvjai, 4 @ 5 10 Kist 400 Rent 55 10 6 Buffalo 26 Interest 4 11 6 Food 2 12 1929.. Balance brought over, 671 13 1929... Cash ... 850 Interest, Kdtik ... 119 9 Do. Chait 141 14 1030.. Balance brought over, 924 3 3 1930... Cash - Bijhra 10 mds. @ 20 seers .. 100 20 Accoun closed. Gram 3 mds. 25 srs. @ 20 srs. 740 Balance account ... 22 13 3 Food 21 11 Interest, Kdtik ... 420 Do., Chait 436 Seed 17 11 9 Interest, Chait 13 2 Rent 920 1931.. Balance brought over, 64 13 3 1931... Cash 980 Interest, Kdtik 12 Do., Chait 14 4 Rent ... 26 10 6 1932.. Balance brought over, 108 3 9 Food ... 11 12 6 Abstract Rent ... of above. 268 6 Value of grain and cash ... 651 14 a Cash and kin is ... 444 10 9 Seed ... 113 12 9 Cattle ... 41 8 Food ... 155 11 3 1,023 15 9 Interest 1,078 3 3 Not known... 91210 ... 2iO 1 9 ( 96 ) Banker's look of Maddri Singh Thakur of Hathirud. cultivating 9 Uqhas at R*. 13-7-6. Year. Debit. Rs. a. p. 1 Year. Credit. Rs. a. p. 1920... Dash ... ... 27 o 1920... Cash 700 Ditto ... 080 Urd, @ 26 seers 1 Food ... 500 Wheat, 15 maunds, @ 22 seers 27 12 Interest, Chait 3 10 Arhar, 6J @ 35 723 A dvauced for rent 25 2 3 Bijhra, 13J @ 19 18 10 1921... Balance carried over ... Cash ... 300 921... Cash 500 Interest, Kdtik ... 1 11 For seed ... 400 Food ... ... 320 For weeding t.. 200 Cash ... ... 300 Food ... 200 Do. ... 300 Interest, Chait 296 1922... Balance brought over 19 7 6 .922... Bdjra,4 rods. 15 srs. @ 26 3rs. 700 Food ... 10 Jtedr, 4J maunds, @ 24 seers. 7 1 3 Seed ... 12 10 Urd, 2| @ 17 6 1 Interest, J Kdtik ... 4 16 6 Cash 2 O Cash for bhusa ... 1 4 Gram, 2J maunds, at 20 srs. 500 For rent 880 Bijhra, U @20 22 8 Interest,2ndhalf Chait 676 Rent ... 500 1923... Balance brought over 18 10 3 1923... Urd, 4 maunds, @ 20J seers 7110 Food ... 15 Cash 10 Interest, Kdtik 636 Bijhra, 17 mds 8f srs,@ 24 srs. 28 11 Seed ... 16 8 Wheat, 8 10 @16J 20 Cash 1 Gram 4 @ 24 seers ... 6 10 9 Interest, Chait 6 10 6 Arhar, 1 2 srs., @ 28 srs. 1 8 Rent ... 780 Cash 060 For an old debt SO 3 maunds bijhra to ... be paid 3 maunds 36 seers 1924.. Balance brought over 22 1 6 1924,. Bijhra, 1 md. 15 srs., @ 34 srs. 196 Food 700 Wheat, 7 @ 24 seers ... 11 II 6 Interest, Kdtik 670 Arhar, 7 @ 45 5 14 Seed ... 12 15 6 Gram, I 35 srs., @ 36 srs. 233 Rent 11 10 Cash M 200 Interest, 2nd half 8 14 6 Chait 1925.. Balance brought over 44 11 1925.. Bijhra, 20J mds, @ 1 9 seers ... 43 2 6 For cattle ... 800 Arhar, 3 @ 20 ... 600 Food ... 700 Ditto ... 300 Interest, Kdtik ... 11 12 Seed ... 16 Rent ... 270 Interest, Chait ... 17 3 3 Rent 10 10 Bijhra 1 maund to be ... paid 1J maund. 1926. Balance brought over 70 9 3 1926.. Bijhra, 5 mds. 4 srs., @ 17 srs. 12 Food ... 10 Urd, 3 mds 20 srs., @ 14 10 Interest, Kdtik 14 9 Mung, 20srs., @ 16^ srs. ... 1 2 9 Seed ... 19 1 3 Jwdr, 4J mds., @ 20 900 Cash ... 260 Cash 100 Rent ... .. 10 10 B(jAra,22mds 20srs.,@ 21 J srs 41 14 Interest, Chait .. 17 10 Arhar, 1 md. 25 srs., @ 26 srs. 280 Rent ... 13 13 ( 97 ) Banker's book of Macttri Singh Thdkur of Ilathiruci, cultivating 9 Ughas at Rs. 13- 7-6 -(concluded). Year. 1927.. Debit. Rs. a. p. Year. Credit. Rs. a. p. Balance brought over Food ... Interest to Kdlik ... Seed ... Interest to Chait ... 81 1 9 770 16 8 13 3 21 12 1927 Urd, 30 era., at 20 sra. Bijhra, 1 2 rods. 6 srs.. at 34 srs Wheat, 7 25 at 86 Gram, 25 srs , at 32 srs. Arhar, \ nods. 20 srs., at 1 md. 1 8 14 4 11 13 3 0126 480 1928... Kent ... Balance brought over Cash ... Interest to KAlik ... 13 10 9 120 4 3 286 14 1928 Bijhra, 6 mds. 5 srs., at 30 srs. Arhar, 7 10 at 30 Cash ... ... 830 9 10 300 Ditto Chait ... 26 3 Cash ... 4 12 1929... 1930.. Kent ... Balance brought over Interest to Kdtik ... Ditto Chait ... Cash ... Rent ... Balance brought over Interest to Katik ... Ditto Chait .. 19 166 2 9 31 2 36 15 2 12 18 219 1 9 37 8 37 8 1929 (930 Bijhra, 1 mds. 3 srs., @ 24 srs. Gram, 4 15 @ 24 Arhar, 1 15 @ 27 Wheat, 4 9 @ 15i Cash Bijhra, 7 mds. 10 srs., @ 20 sr3. Gram, 3 @ 20 ars. Cash 12 14 6 749 200 11 10 3 200 14 8 600 11 Food ... 18 8 Seed ,.. 15 8 3 Interest to Kdtik 370 Ditto Chait .. 5 10 Rent ... 15 1931... Balance broughtover. Interest to Katik ... 321 11 3 58 5 1931 Ditto Chait ... 58 5 Rent and food 26 6 2 1932... Balance brought over Food and seed 464 7 9 !8 10 Abstract oj a t love. Rent ... 187 6 Value of grain, &c., repaid,.. 4C2 3 3 Cash ... 2126 Seed ... 107 11 3 Food ... 110 11 Weeding Cattle ... 1 800 Old debts ... 57 Interest ... (492 9 3 | 453 14 3 13 ( 98 ) 90. These are not isolated instances ; over and over again the cultivator absconds, leaving his banker unpaid. I do not say that the money-lender is not oppressive in the rates of interest he takes, nor that he does not take all he can get out of his debtor ; but I do say that without the banker the agriculture of the country could not proceed, any more than it does in England without banks supported by and supporting the agricultural interest there. I say that the cultivator is generally thriftless and improvident, spending any extra re- ceipts he may have in weddings, and often to the deliberate defrauding of his creditor ; and where he is not so improvident, he is, as so many are, not in debt to any man, and gradually becoming a substantial man. In a profession so greatly dependent on the chance of a season or some con vulsion of society, it would be strange were we to find every year as profitable as the last, or the careless improvident cultivator as prosperous as his thrifty brother. But at any rate he has now every chance of keeping his head above water ; he is not, under the new distribution of instalments, called upon to pay his rent when he has not touched one pice of the produce of his field. This relief, so strongly combated by money-lending zamiudars, does not, strarge to say, entirely re- commend itself to certain minds even yet, but it seems to me unjust to deli- berately force a man to borrow, and then turn round on those who lend and call them extortioners, &c., whilst the miserable state of the cultivator, forced into debt by our system of collection, is quoted to excite commiseration, and to form the basis of attacks on the system of settlement. 91. The following are the usual forms of money transactions betwe3n the cultivator and his banker : iwdi If the ryot takes grain in Kdtik he returns five- fourths in Je'h in grain or money value, that is, the amount of grain due is converted into its money value in Kdtik (when it is dear), and in Je'h, when grain is cheap, the money due, enhanced one-fourth, is reconverted into grain ; thus if wheat sells at 16 seers the rupee in Kdtik) but at 24 seers in Je:h, the lender gets 30 seers for his 16, or 87 per cent, profit. Uglidi. Is a form of loan of Es. 10 to be repaid in monthly instalments of Re. 1 in 12 months. This ia " clihoti ughai." Rs. 20 for a loan of Rs. 16 (also repaid at Re. 1 per mensem) is called "Iambi ughai." If a man does not pay his instalment he is charged two pice in the rupee on his arrears, or he will serve his banker, being credited with the usual rate of wage against his debt. If a debtor pays off before the term fixed he gets no allowance, the creditor natu- rally liking long credit. 92. The usual rate of interest is Rs. 2 per cent, per month, and the amount paid is first credited to payment of interest. ( 99 ) 93. I have endeavoured to picture the daily life and surroundings of the average cultivator of this district. It is beyond the province of this memo- randum to describe the trades, except in BO far as they are directly connected with agriculture, as I think I may consider that of the potter, the gram parcher, and the cotton cleanor. 94. Potters take three parts clay from the village pond, and one part . " pili" matti, which is found in most, but not all, villages The potter, Kumhar. a few feet from the surface. As it is wanted it is brought in and pounded well with a mallet (monyri), and then sifted through a basket of arhar stalks. It is then kneaded (gundhna) with water with the hands, and afterwards with the feet (khtindhna). It is then put on a stool (pirha) of baked earth, mixed (rondhna) with the hands and divided into lumps (londa) of five seers each. The wheel (chak) is a yard in diameter, thickening from circum- ference to centre from ttfo to three inches. It is made of the same earth as pots, which is made more adhesive by being mixed with beards of the rice plant (stkur). It weighs about two maunds. lu the centre of the wheel below a square piece of stone about the size of the palm of the hand, costing six pies, is fastened, with a slight hollow (ghdr) to catch the peg on which it revolves. The peg (gaodum] is made of well-seasoned tamarind wood, eight inches long, and pointed, and costs three pies (a wheel will last two years, is made in two days, and dries in fifteen). The wheel is caused to revolve by a stick placed in a hole near the edge. This stick is called "chaketi," is a yard long, and is taken out when the requisite speed is obtained. 95. The lump of earth is now placed on the centre of the revolving wheel and the pots fashioned according to will, the hand being kept wet. When the shap (dhancha) is worked out it is separated from the wheel by a string. One day's manufacture is put aside in a shady place where the wind comes to half dry (phararha). Next morning each pot is stretched and harden- ed by being patted outside (garhna} with a stick (thdpfy against a ball of hard earth held inside, which is prevented sticking to the half-dried pot by old ashes from the kiln or river sand. The top is patted before the bottom (penda), as thinner and drying more quickly : and the pot is put upside down on its mouth to dry. During the above operation the pot is not allowed to touch the ground, but is kept in an earthen platter (Mnda}. The pot is ready for tha kiln in three to fifteen days according to season, 96. Meanwhile water has been prepared (nitharnd) by being mixed with " pili matti, " which is allowed to settle, and with it rod ochre is mixed and spread over the upper half of the pot with a " pochara." The water makes the colour viscous (las-ddr) : sometimes babiil gum is used instead. ( ioo > The lower half is rubbed with wet " pill matti," which fills up chinks and rubs off roughness. Patterns are put on the pot whilst tapping and before colouring. 97. The kiln is thus prepared : Dung cakes are placed in layers at the bottom, and the largest pots arranged in the lowest tier "(tahj " mouth down- wards : pats and fuel (upld or kandd) are placed alternately, the interstices being filled with small pots. The whole is covered with bhusa, dry grass (phiis) and leaves, and plastered over with clay. A hole is left right down the kiln for lighting and draught. The kiln burns two days. 98. The expenses are as follows: whilst the wheel is at work a second man is absolutely necessary to bring earth, carry off the pots, &c. For a kiln for 100 pots of sizesone rupee's worth of fuel cakes are required ; this expense may be saved by the lads of the family collecting (arrtd kandd) droppings from cattle out grazing. Out of every 100 pots, fifteen will probably be failurea (chhijna?) 99. The value of 100 pots of sizes is about Re. 1-11-6, 100. One informant stated that his family consisted of himself, two women, and one child. He could make 1 ,100 pots in ten days, worth Bs. 7-6-3, meanwhile collecting fuel or purchasing what was required. The pots would weigh nearly 37 maunds. For thirty pots of sizes (16 matkas, 8 gharas, 6 Mndis) he would get in the year five seers from the grain heap each harvest and four chapatis (one at Asdrh sudi Puranmdshi, one at Sdwan sudi Panchmi, one at Diwdli) one at the Holi), but from high castes he would get besides five "dabi" weighing two seers at rabi harvest, and heads of jivdr or bdjra weighing one seer at kharif harvest. For the privilege of collecting fuel the potter gives the zamindar as many pots as he wishes in the year. 101. The following are the pots usually made in order of size and value : - Dakar, for storing grain ... ... ,,. ... 2 annas. fiand, for steeping ,.. ... ... .,. 1 anna. Matkd, for water and pickles (holds two gharas") ... ... 3 pies. Ghara, for water ... ... ... ... 1J pie. Hdndi, for milk, curds, gld, cooking, &c. ... ... \\ Karua, for drinking and votive offerings (has a spout) ... pice, J)abkena, for drinking ... ... ... ... 2 annas per 100. Kunda, flat platter, for kneading in ... ... ... 3 pies. Eikdbi, plate or saucer ... ... , ... 2 annas per 100. Diy&, lamp ... ... ,.. ... ... 2 AaZ, water-pipe ... >.. ... .,. ... 3 pies. Parndla, waterspout ... ... ... ... 3 102. This useful member of village society is employed by the cultiva- The grain parch- tors in several ways. First asparcher of grain. For this he cr, Bhurji or Bhar- ,.,,,. ,,. , . ,, . , ,, builds nis oven (bhar) thus : m a strong room he digs a ( 101 ; trench four feet long, two feet broad, aud four feet deep. On the edges of this trench he sets up six gharas in couples, of which the necks join, the gharas being slanted towards one another. In each of the gliaras he makes a small hoie on the side near the fire to let the heat well in, and a larger hole on tho outer side to admit a spoon (kalchhd) to take out the sand. The spoon has an iron cup and a wooden handle two feet long : it will hold 2H>s. sand, and costs nine annas. The trench is then closed in, leaving the upper hole in the gharas exposed ; a hole at the end lets off extra heat aud acts as safety-valve. At the mouth of the oven a framework of wood is. placed through which the fuel is put in. The fuel consists of all the sweepings of the village streets and the leaves from groves. A man will hire a grove for a year, paying 8 annas per hundred trees, preferring mango trees, as their leaves are heavy, and lie where they fall. As they fall, the bhurji collects them into high stacks. Ordinary river sand or the sand brought up in digging wells is used. Near the oven two hollows are made in the ground. In one an earthen pan (kunda) is put, in which tha hot sand from the gharas is first put, and the grain put on it and mixed. Taking up handfuls of mixed sand and grain, the Ihurji separates the former from the latter through a bamboo sieve ; some grains are parched more than, once. For this purpose some of the gharas near the door are kept less hot, so that the grain is first given a half parch (kalhdrna.) The parcher is paid in cash half-pice per seer, or in grain three or four chittacks. 103. The following grains are usually parched : Gram is parched twice, and is eaten simply parched or split (" deoli") ; it sells at fourteen seers the rupee. Wheat is parched twice, and mixed with " gur" is made into cakes called " gurdhani." Barley is parched twice, mixed with much sand. For mixture with gram- flour (called " sattu") barley is prepared by being first wetted, half dried (pha- ra/tm), pounded in a mortar, and then parched. On every llth day of the month the oven is closed, and on " Sheo- bart" (Phdgunbadi teras puja) is performed with water, rice, flowers, and ghi. 104. The bhurji also extracts his castor oil for the cultivator. First slightly warming (kalhdrna) the seeds in a potsherd, he pounds them in a stone mortar (a wooden one would absorb the oil). The pounded seed (lugdi or khadwe) is then thrown into pots of hot water, when the oil floats to the sur- face and the refuse falls to the bottom. The oil is then skimmed off, and is obtained in the proportion of one-third of gross weight The lugdi is used aa fuel. Cotton-carder, Dhunia or Behna. ( 102 ) 105. The tools with which the cotton-carder works w jll b e Des t understood from the following sketch: 106. The "dhunki" is of dhiip wood, "and is thicker at one end than the other. The nob (kuskia or chiriya} and bridge (pata) are of nim. They cost altogether Re. 1-4-0, but last twenty-five years. The string (" tant") is of leather, double. This costs 1^ anna, and often requires renewing. The bridge is protected by camel-skin pads, the nob by a band of iron costing about 1 anna Spies. The plectrum (" rauthia") is of tamarind wood, the bow (Jcamdn) of bamboo, with leather cord. It is fastened to the roof of the house, and is attached to the carding-bow by strings of leather, keeping the latter about one foot from the ground. By the flexibility of the " kaman" the carding- bow bends and gives. Holding the dhunki in his left hand, the carder places a heap of cotton near his right hand under the string, and striking the tant with the " muthiya" separates the fibres. When a heap (gola) of about 4 oz. is clean, he puts it aside, collecting the cotton with a (" gaz") yard. A man will card 2 Ibs. cotton in three hours ; but it is such exhausting work that he will only work five or six hours. He is paid an equivalent weight of grain (but never wheat) to the cotton carded. As this work generally is in hand from October to January, payment is generally made in jwdr. 107. The cotton-carder also spreads the cotton in jackets or quilts that are to be stuffed, getting one pice per jacket, and two pice for a coat or razai ; but the less cotton the higher charge, and for fine work as much as 12 annas or Re. 1 is charged. -^* >* (f 10 f- fl of. ^ 0r z'A. tr 2V ' ( 103 ) 108. As the carder only gets carding work in tlie winter months he cannot make a living out of it, so he keeps a cotton-gin, " rentha" or " eliarkhi." This primitive machine ia either one-handled or two-handled. The gin consists of two uprights (kunthra) on a piece of board (patri). Two rounded rods, one of babul, the other of iron, are fixed in the upright, handles being attached. The cotton being placed between the rods, t]je handle or handles are turned and the seed pressed out. The price of a " charkhi" is 8 or 9 annas. The charge for cleaning a maund of cotton (kapds) is Re. 1 or Re. 1-4-0 and the seeds (binola). The average outturn is two-thirds seed to one-third cotton of gross weight. To clean (" otna") 15 seers of cotton (Jcapas) is a good day's work. 109. The following breeds of cattle are most in demand amongst the Cattle. agricultural classes for purposes of husbandry : Country (Desi), bred from the ordinary country cow, covered generally by some bull (sand) which has been let loose at a death, wanders loose about the country, and mixes with the herds out to graze. This breed is generally small in stature, dun-coloured, worth only Rs. 10 or Rs. 12, and lasts but five or six years. Jamneit, or from beyond the Jumna, generally red and of medium stature, worth Rs. 15 or Rs. 16, and lasts for 15 or 16 years. Kanwaria, from the Ken river (Banda), red in colour, but white fronted, fetches as high as Rs. 30 or Rs. 35, but only lasts 15 or 16 years. A strong breed. Painthua, from the Gogra (the name is derived from an old legend that they were only bred in 35, painthis, villages), a long-horned breed, rather wild, last 12 or 13 years, and fetch Rs. 20 or Rs. 25. Ilaridnth, from Hariana, a slow breed, and only working for 10 years ; fetches Rs. 13 or Rs. 14. Mewdt, a short-horned breed of some stature, but heavier in hinder quarters ; a good worker, lasting for as long as 20 years, and fetches Rs. 20 or Rs. 25. Bliaddwar, from the Bhadauria country, a slow, poor, rough breed, only fetching Rs. 10 and lasting 5 years. 110. The four first named are the breeds most commonly in use in this district. Country cattle are not castrated ; the other three breeds are to tame them ; hence also they last longer. 111. The country-bred cattle may generally be bought at the Bindki or Burhwan (in Fatehpur) markets. In this district the principal cattle mar- kets are at Makanpur, twice annually ; Gajnair, once annually, in June (at these fairs high priced cattle are sold for carriage) ; Chanbepur, Sen, As&lat- ganj, Barei-Garhu, Satmarra, Pokhraen, Bari Pal, and Daulatpur, bi-weekly. ( 104 ) To these villages they bring their home-bred calves or their worn-out cattle, which some hapless cultivator who cannot afford more than three or four rupees will buy to carry on with. (The cultivator rarely gives above Rs< 15 for an ox, buying young if possible.) 112. Besides these opportunities for purchase, Banjdras come from April to June "from the west" with herds (" heri") of two-year-old cattle of west country breeds, and travelling eastwards, sell as they go, taking only earnest-money, and leaving the balance due unprotected by any note of hand, fec. But when they return in November and December they alight at the door of their debtor in such numbers that he is glad enough to pay them up and get rid of visitors who will eat him out of house and home, if they do not insult himself and family. 113. Country-bred buffaloes are much used by those who cannot afford better cattle, as they cost but Es. 10 at the outside : they last about ten years. Till lately Brahmans and Thakurs had a prejudice against using this animal, which is giving away under the pressure of poverty. 114. Country-bred cattle have their nose pierced by chamars when they have two teeth ; the incision is kept open by a string of mdnj grass, which by its roughness does not adhere to- the wound. The chamar is fed on the occasion of the nose-piercing. 115. The country cattle are much in demand across the Ganges, as their small stature fits them for the light soils prevalent there, and they are not wanted for irrigation, which is said to be carried on chiefly by " dhenklis." 116. Ahirs are the principal cattle breeders, but as far as possible every cultivator keeps a cow or buffalo, and rears or sells the calves. 117. The cultivator can generally feed his cattle on the produce of his fields, eked out in some months by grass and " hariyai," Keep of cattle. J . or a mixture of green food containing grasses, weeds, leaves, or whatever comes to hand. Thus in October there is " chari," jwdr grown thick for fodder, and cut green; in November bajra "karb" is to hand, or tops of the hemp plant; in December to March jwdr "karb" is plentiful, and is cut up and mixed with seohdri, sarson, &c. (called " katiya") ; from March to April, if the " karb" is finished, the cattle are rather pinched, but sufficient " bijhra" to keep them alive is cut green and given them till the crops are down, when the cattle graze amongst the stubble. In April, May, and June there is plenty of bhusa, whilst for July to September there is grass enough and to spare. 118. Thus if an acre of jwdr gives seventy bundles of " karb," averaging twenty-five seers a-piece, the ordinary quantity of food given to a full-grown working ox being ten seers (or a little under), the acre of jwdr will provide food *"* y ^- ^^ - ^ >W.w X T! N*^\ J - K> v > -V- .-.*^. -^ ^ \K ^^ 9 ( 105 ) for a pair of oxen for nearly three months, and an acre of wheat or Ujhra giving twenty-eight maunds of bMsa will support a yoke of oxen for nearly two months. For a milch cow or buffalo, besides cut grass, &c., cotton-seeds (binauld) and khalli are necessary in the cold weather. 119. The favourite herbs for cattle, and which are mixed in "hariyfc," aro : Golhi (hieracium ?) Jjathui (chenopodium album, white goose-foot ?) also a favourite pot- herb eaten as greens. Bondi. 1 20. The best grasses are jankari and musel or gandhel, which give two cuttings in the year and are carefully guarded in groves, &c. 121. A milch buffalo is a great help to a cultivator, often paying the rent like the Irishman's pig. A good cow will give four seers milk a day, from which two seers glii will be made in the week, selling for Re. 1 at the nearest market. It is a common custom to agree with a mahajan to supply so much say a maund of ghi in the year, taking an advance on it. The mahajan credits the cultivator with the ghi received, taking at the rate of one and a quarter seer for one seer. The buttermilk and fuel cakes must be reckoned in estimating the profit from a buffab. 122. A piece of tortoise-shell or the wood from the socket of the flour- mill is hung round the neck of a milch cow to avert the evil eye: great, too, is the fear of an enemy bewitching the cow, and charms and incantations known only to Ahirs and Gareriyas are resorted to ; whilst at an eclipse the cow in calf is rubbed on the horns and belly with red ochre to secure an unblemished offspring. 123. Non-agriculturists pay an Ahir (gwdld) or Gareriya 8 annas a year for a buffalo, 4 annas for a cow, and 2 annas for a goat to take them out daily to the " har" to graze. Zamindars generally get this done for nothing. In ad- dition to this, the gwalas of a village collect after the Diwali festival (when Gober- dhan, vulgo Gordhan, is worshipped in the form of a little heap of cowdung deco- rated with pieces of cotton), and go round to the houses of those whose cattle they graze, and to the music of two sticks struck together and a drum (beaten by a Kori) sing rude melodies and get presents of cloth, grain, or pice. This is called dang (a club) Diwali. A fee of two pice is also claimed, Sdican badi Doj, for every cow brought to graze, called " merwai," supposed to repay the extra trouble necessary in the rains to keep the cattle off the field boundaries (merh). Every day the gwdld milks a buffalo he gets a chapdtti, and every other day for a cow. 14 ( 106 ) 124. I add here a short notice of the most useful trees found in the district : Babul Acacia Arabica is generally self-sown in culturable wasteland, Its wood is hard and durable, and used for nearly every agricultural implement, as well as for cart wheels. It is also burnt for charcoal. The bark is largely used in tanning, and also in distilling spirits. The smaller branches are used for firewood, and the twigs are made into toothbrushes. The gum is collected, and the leaves and pods are a favourite food for goats and camels, and have also medicinal properties. A tree will be fit for cutting in ten years, and be worth, according to size, from Rs. 2 to Us. 10. There is no more generally useful tree, and every encouragement has been given to zamindars to plant it, as the leaves, &c. (and the droppings of the animals that feed on it), falling on the ground gradually fit it for cultivation. Shiskam (Sissu). Chiefly valuable for the wood, which is flexible, and therefore used in making " raths, bailis," and especially for furniture, as taking a good polish. It is fit for use after twelve years, and will fetch Rs. 5 or Rs. 6, every year adding to its value. It attains considerable age. Nim is useful, both young and full-grown. The peculiar bitter proper- ties of the wood which protect it against the ravages of the white-ant make it valuable for doors, doorposts and lintels, bed frames, &c. It is thickly planted in coppices to obtain straight scantlings for building. The twigs are used for touthbrushes. The bark has medicinal properties, and is applied to boils, and the tender inner bark is soaked and given as a febrifuge. The leaves are eaten by camels and goats, and sprinkled amongst cloths to keep out insects, or made into a plaster are put on boils as a poultice, or over an eye affected with ophthal- mia, or a decoction is drunk as a blood purifier. The seeds are collected and oil is expressed on the usual terms. The tree is full grown in twelve years, after which the inner wood decays. A full-grown tree will fetch from Rs. 4 to Rs. 6. From some trees water (nim-jal) distils, which is most valuable as a blood purifier. Dhdk Butea frondosa grows wild. The wood is a common fuel, its irregular growth unfitting it for other uses. The leaves are made by the " bdri' 1 into eups and plates, fastened by a splinter of the nim tree. The flowers yield the dye used in the Noli festival, and the gum is used medicinally and to fix -uuigo aiiJ other dyes. It is fit for use, and is generally cut every third year. The roots, being fibrous, are made into ropes. Mahua Bassia latifolia is a cultivated tree, and takes the place of the mango in the southern or drier parganas of the district, as it does not require so much moisture. The wood is used for general purposes, but ( 107 ) especially in boat-building. Charcoal is also made of it. From the flowers spirit is distilled, and from the nuts oil is expressed, much in use as a liniment in rheumatism. GtilarFiciis glomerata is planted in small numbers. Its wood is soft and useless, except to burn, and, as it decays slowly in water, for the special purpose of lining wells or making the framework on which the brick cylinder is constructed. The fruit is eaten unripe as a vegetable or ripe, but it is liable to get full of maggots ; fetches one pice a seer. The milk is used as birdlime or medicine for coughs. It is full grown in ten years, and will sell for as much as Rs. 5. Jdman is also a tree planted occasionally ; it requires much moisture, but its shade is thick, so it is often planted near wells. The wood, like that of the Giilar, resists the decaying effect of moisture, and is therefore used for well-linings. The fruit, a kind of sloe, is eaten, or its juice distilled into vinegar. The tree is full grown in ten or twelve years, and will fetch as much as Rs. 5 or Rs. 6 when 20 years old. The fruit of one tree will fetch as much as Rs. 5. 125. The above are the most common trees found in the district, and the cultivation of which is most profitable. The following are occasionally found, and have their special uses : 126. The fruit of the bel possesses useful medicinal virtues, especially for diarrhoea ; it is also eaten roasted. The leaves are offered at the shrine of Mahadeo ; hence the tree is used for nothing else, but when dry is sold for firewood, fetching about Rs. 3 or Rs. 4. 127. The fruit of the kaithd, kachndr (baahinia), aonld (phyllanthus emblica), and karll (wild caper) is used for pickles and " chatuis ; " and the leaves of the kaithd are used as a poultice on festering wounds, whilst the fruit of the aonld (myrobolari) is much used in dyeing. 128. The wood of the siris, aryan, and amli or tamarind is much used for sugar-presses (kolhu), and the wood of the ber (zisyphus jujula) and the Idbhera is valuable, especially for bedframes ; the wood of the latter being light, it is also used for sword sheaths and panels of palanquins, as is that of the arru. 129. The chenkur, reonj, and suhora are jungle trees. Goats,