LIVING AND KICK FARMING IN INDIA. o5 



Tlu' practiceof iilowin-.' under renovating cropH I l)elieve is unknown in the Punjab. 



Cattle for plowing or lifting irrigating water range in value from ^il'i to !?2o per 

 liead. Buffaloes are worth ironi ?20 to $35 per head and canielH about $15 each. 

 The i>riee of cattle for work varies with tlie provinces. At Poona a good buffalo for 

 field work is worth $(>.,50; an ox $1(5 to $17. At Delhi a buffalo is worth $8 to $10; 

 an ox §16 to $20, according to size. Native plows generally sell for (iO cents each. 



COST OF LIVIN(;, 



Amono- the rvots no c-ash ostiniate of the cost of livino- could he 

 obtained. The following statement made by an educated Hindu may 

 be assumed to be correct as regards cost of living in the city: A 

 laborer needs 1 pound of rice, worth 2 cents; one-half pound of dahl 

 (split peas), 0.75 cent; one-half pound of barley, 0.875 cent; condi- 

 ments, 0.17 cent; fuel, 0.5 cent; making a total of 4 cents for a day's 

 living. Better living fpr laborers earning higher wages costs about 6 

 cents per day, divided as follows: Rice, 1 pound; nmtton, one-half 

 pound; barley, one-half pound; vegetables, condiments, oil or butter, 

 and fuel. The retail price of rice, low grade, is here given at 2 cents 

 per i)ound. Th«^ wholesale ijrice in India for this grade is about 1 cent 

 per pound and in Burma 90 cents per hundred. 



RICE FARMING IX LOWER BURMA. 



Rice farming in Lower Burma varies somewhat from that in Bengal. 

 The lands are richer, and the rains are more abundant. The cultivator 

 commences to plow about the 1st of June and continues to work the 

 soil till he secures an even surface of mud, which is kept soft by the 

 heavy rains. In Juh' women transplant the rice from the seed bed 

 and receive for this work at the harvest a certain number of bundles 

 per hundred plants set. The harvest commences in November, and 

 cutting, curing, thrashing, and winnowing are done in much the same 

 manner as in Bengal. Rice cultivation in Lower Burma comes nearer 

 being on a commercial basis than in India. Wages are regulated by 

 each village and are frequently paid in money. Laborers who are 

 imported from Madras in harvest time usually receive 23 cents per 

 barrel of product for cutting and binding. A large portion of the 

 crop is cultivated on the tenant system, the landlord furnishing land 

 and seed every other year and receiving one-third to one-half the 

 product. He furnishes no house nor other buildings and does not 

 fence the land. A yoke of cattle will work about 10 acres of land. 



RICE MILLING. 



Very little rice milling, as the term is commonly understood, is 

 done in India proper, except for resident Europeans. In the rural 

 districts, where the rice is wanted for local consumption or for export, 

 the hulls are removed by pounding, using a pounder worked by the 

 foot. Pounding and winnowing in the open air or by a fanning mill 



