474 CEOPS AND HARVESTS. Chap. XXVII. 



The agricultural imjjlemeuts used in the Deccan are the 

 same as were in use upwards of 3000 years ago. They 

 consist of a plough, which makes a mere scratch, made of 

 babool-wood ; a rude cart on two solid wheels ; a harrow with 

 wooden teeth ; and a drill-plough.^ The oxen do most of the 

 Avork ; and the sheep are black and white, with long hanging 

 ears. There are two crops, called the KJiereef and Ruhbee. 

 In the Khereef crop the sowing takes place in June and 

 July, and the harvest in October. Bajree is sown with a 

 drill-plough in rows, mixed with toor and other pulses. It is 

 the chief food of the people. Next comes the other common 

 gvQjmjowaree. Italian millet, raggee, hadlee, and the amaran- 

 thus are sown in smaller quantities. All land, whether 

 ploughed or not, is subjected to the drag-hoe, first lengthways 

 and then across, loosening the surface and destroying weeds : 

 and crops of millets are alternated with those of pulses. 

 When the harvest begins, a level spot is chosen for a thresh- 

 ing-floor, and made dry and hard. A pole, five feet high, is 

 iixed in the centre, the grains are heaped round the floor, and 

 the women break off the ears and throw them in. Oxen 

 are then tied to each other and to the post, and driven round, 

 to beat out the corn. Winnowing is done by a man standing 

 on a high stool, and pouring out the grain and chaff to the 

 winds. Ceremonies are then performed in honour of the five 

 Pandus, and the grain is stored in large baskets. The pulses 

 which are sown in the KJiereef crop are toor raised in jowai-ee 

 and hajree fields, the pods of which are detached by beating 

 the plant with a log of wood ; moong, sown by itself, and when 

 ripe pulled up by the roots ; ooreed ; mutkee ; and lahlab. 



Plants from which cordage is made, namely the sun {Gro- 

 talaria juncea) and amhadee {Hihiscus cannabinus) are also 

 raised. They grow to a height of five or six feet, and are 



" The ploughs, and the carts on I the fiekls, are mentioned in the 1st 

 wheels bringing home the food from | Ashtaka of the Kig Veda. 



