( 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. 



