70 FOOD-GRALNS OF INDIA. 



three, if not four, or even five, harvests of rice every twelve 

 months, thus : 



"(i) Aus harvest, from July to August. 



" (2) Chotan dman, from October to November. 



" (3) Boran dman, from December to January. 



" (4) Boro, from April to May. 



" (5) Raida, from September to October. 



" Two harvests are all but universal in Bengal, with an 

 occasional third but smaller one ; two crops are frequently 

 taken qff the same field." " The long, thin chotan dman rices 

 are eaten by the richer natives." 



Rice grows well in stiff clays, especially in drainage-beds 

 and basins. Manure is not often used. It is sown in a moist 

 soil, or even in aq actual mud, either broadcast or transplanted 

 from a nursery when the plants are something less than a foot 

 high ; the distance between the plants is about 6 inches. The 

 yield of transplanted rice is 1 6 maunds of paddy per acre ; when 

 sown broadcast it yields from 10 to 12 maunds. Mr. Duthie 

 states that there are at least 100 cultivated varieties of rice in 

 the North- West Provinces and Oudh ; a distinct -indigenous 

 species of another genus, Hygrorhiza aristata (Nees), growing 

 wild round lakes and marshes, is gathered and eaten by the 

 poorer classes. The more important varieties of rice are semi- 

 aquatic, and need copious and repeated irrigations. In some 

 districts of Bengal a long-stemmed variety of rice is grown which 

 will keep its head above 12 feet of water. On the other hand, 

 there are varieties of rice which develop in temperate climates, 

 even ascending the hills to an altitude of at least 8,000 feet, and 

 requiring no irrigation. 



The analyses which have been made of a large number of 

 samples of " cleaned " rice, give figures which are wonderfully 

 accordant, considering the great differences in the appearance 

 of the specimens and the very diverse conditions under which 

 they have been grown. The fibre and adventitious earth are 

 sometimes rather high from imperfect cleaning of the grain, 

 but the nitrogenous constituents or albuminoids oscillate within 



