906 
to the violation of it. Even in our 
military cantonments, an officer can 
by no means trust the charge of his 
house to centinels ; he is obliged to 
hire two or three Chockidars, the 
only terms upon which he can hope 
for security; without this precau- 
tion, the thieves have attained to 
such dexterity in their trade, that 
they can easily steal the pillow from 
ander his head during night. 
The most numerous class of la- 
bourers in a country village is that 
of the ploughmen. In this village 
they amount to about an hundred ; 
and the wages of each is five seer of 
grain daily, and one rupee each hul- 
wary, or ploughing season: two 
stated ploughing seasons occur each 
year, one at the setting-in of the 
rains in June ; the other after they 
break up in November. The wages 
of other country-labourers is five 
seer of grain per day 5 and, during 
harvest, the twenty-fifth sheaf. 
The Aheer or Burdiah (cow-herd) 
is another necessary profession in 
every Hindoo farm. ‘The ploughed 
Jand is neither fenced nor lying con- 
tiguous, but in scattered detached 
spots, perfectly exposed to every 
invader. The cow-herd receives 
two mauns of grain each month; 
and for every ten cows under his 
charge, he receives the milk of one; 
if butlaloes are under his manage- 
ment, he is entitled to the milk of 
every fifth beast. ‘The cause of this 
difference I have not learned ; but 
conceive it to be the greater trouble 
occasioned by keeping these bulky 
and obstinate animals. The pasture 
is common to the whole village, and 
the tradesmen graze cows on paying 
their proportion of the cow-herd’s 
fee, which is two anas per month 
for each buffalo, or the milk of the 
cow every fifth day. Sometimes the 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1803. 
pasture fields lie far from the vils 
lage ; to it, however, they are driven ; 
and should it be necessary to cross 
a river, the cow-herd lays hold of 
the tail of a buffalo, and transports 
himself to the farther side with 
great ease. In the community of the 
pasture grounds the joint possession 
of several tenants, and the payment 
of rent in kind, you will perceive 
a strong similarity to the pra¢tice of 
certain distriéts in the Highlands of 
Scotland. 
The two trades I am next to de- 
scribe, are so different from every 
profession to which European man- 
ners give rise, that I beg leave to 
refer you to the authority upon 
which this narrative is grounded; 
for I here wish to disclaim all re- 
sponsibility, as well as merit, in 
giving the information they may af- 
ford. — 
The trade of a Barhi, is to pre- 
pare dishes of leaves from which the 
Hindoos eat their food. In Bengal 
the plantain Jeaf is so common, and, 
from its size, so commodious. for 
this purpose, that the objeét is at- 
tained, at once, without the inter- 
vention of professional skill ; but, 
in the upper provinces, there is no 
single leaf which can supply the 
place of the plantain ; an artificial 
combination is made up, by patch- 
ing different leaves together, which 
forms a substitute for a plate at the 
Hindoo meals. Five or six different 
kinds of Jeaves are employed for 
this purpose, according to the pre- 
duce of each distriét. In all, how- 
ever, the manufacture is carried on; 
and, for every hundred plates fur- 
nished by the Barhi, he receives two 
anas; the zemindar paying half that 
sum, either because he affords a 
house to the Barhi, er because he 
takes the leaves from his trees. 
ring 
