CICER 

 ARIETINUM 



Chick-pea 



C. Prov. 



notation. 



Seasons. 



Chief Districts. 



U. Prov. 



Forms grown. 



Mixed Crop. 



Seasons. 



Expansion. 



Raj put ana 

 and 



Central 

 India. 



Panjab. 



Sandy Soils. 



THE BENGAL GEAM 



Chindwin ; (2) November : Shwebo, Sagaing, Mandalay, Pakokku, 

 Myingyan, Meiktila, Magwe and Yamethin ; (3) January : Minbu and 

 Thayetmyo. The district with the greatest area appears to be Pakokku, 

 followed by Minbu and Sagaing. 



Central Provinces. In these provinces a rotation of gram, massur 

 (Lens) or butana (Pisiun] with wheat is much valued since the soil 

 is thereby so improved that it does not require manure. This has been 

 specially investigated at the Experimental Farm of Nagpur. [Cf. Rept. 

 1900-1, 10, 12 ; 1901-2, 9-10, 13 ; 1902-3, 8-9 ; 1903-4, 7, 8, 9 ; Voelcker, 

 Improv. Ind. Agri., 1893, 26-7, 234-6.] Gram is sown in October- 

 November and harvested March-April. Two forms are mentioned as 

 specially valued, a grey and a white. It suffers very much from falls in 

 temperature or by hail-storms. In Narsinghpur, Hoshangabad, Betul 

 and Kaipur the crop is of special importance, and of Sambalpur it might 

 be said gram is not cultivated. In a " Note on the Outturn of Land 

 Under the Principal Crops," Sir J. B. Fuller has shown that the average 

 outturn ranges from 377 to 860 Ib. an acre, and that the standard there 

 accepted was accordingly 600 Ib. 



United Provinces. Very little of importance has appeared regarding 

 the gram of these provinces subsequent to the publication of the Dictionary. 

 Duthie and Fuller observe that there are two main varieties grown 

 a large- and a small-grained plant. The former is reddish and the latter 

 light-brown coloured. A black variety is not uncommon and there is also 

 a very large white-grained form known as the Kabuli, which is, however, 

 raised mainly as a curiosity. It resembles the Spanish form spoken of as 

 garbanzos. Gram is largely grown as a mixed crop with wheat or barley. 

 This would appear to have been the practice in Europe in classic times. 

 Thus, for example, in the Geoponicon (a work attributed to the Emperor 

 Constantine, A.D. 300) there occurs an interesting passage to the effect 

 that deer seeds should be soaked in warm water the day before they are 

 sown, and " some add nitre." Then follows the observation that if an 

 early crop be wanted it should be sown together with barley. The Indian 

 practice is thus apparently a very ancient one. 



The seasons of sowing and reaping are those already mentioned, viz. 

 September to October and March to April or May. It is a dry crop mainly, 

 and will grow on soils too poor for wheat. The outturn is on an average 

 said to be 12 maunds (984 Ib.), valued at Rs. 30, and the cost of cultiva- 

 tion Rs. 12 to 13. Within recent years the area under this crop has in 

 many districts apparently been greatly expanded and at the expense 

 evidently of wheat. It may be grown on a heavy clay to a rich loam, 

 preferably the former. The tops of the shoots are nipped off with a view 

 to make the plants bushy and thus increase the outturn. 



Rajputana and Central India. The seasons of sowing and reaping 

 are those already mentioned. Of Bharatpur it is estimated that the cost 

 of cultivation comes to Rs. 6 to 10, the produce Rs. 20 to 10, and the net 

 profit per acre would therefore be Rs. 14. It is said that the average 

 yield in Ajmir is 300 Ib. and in Merwara 446 Ib. an acre. 



Panjab. This pulse is by Baden-Powell, Stewart and Aitchison spoken 

 of as largely cultivated throughout the province. Numerous passages 

 regarding the methods of cultivation, seasons, yield, etc., will be found in 

 the Settlement Reports and Gazetteers. One feature of interest may be 

 specially noted, namely that the plant grown is said to succeed fairly 



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