water formed by the rains in brooks and torrents. Here there 

 is to be seen a pretty large river called Yaigaiyaru. After 

 crossing a part of Madura, it enters Marava, and when its bed 

 is full, which ordinarily happens a whole month every year, it 

 is as large as the Seine. Yet, by means of canals dug by our 

 Indians far away from their tanks, this river is so drained on 

 all sides that it* loses itself entirely and does not reach its 

 mouth till it has spent several weeks in filling the reservoirs 

 towards which it is diverted. 'Vho. most common tanks have 

 banks half a league long ; there are others which are a league 

 and more in length. I have seen three, more Jhan three leagues 

 in length. One of these tanks furnishes enough water to 

 irrigate the fields of more than 60 plantations. As rice (paddy) 

 must have its stem in water until it has acquired perfect 

 maturity, after the first reaping, when there is still water in 

 the tanks, they manure the lands and commence sowing again, 

 for all times of the year are adapted to the growing of paddy, 

 provided there is no deficiency of water." That prices of 

 agricultural produce were subject to the most violent fluctua- 

 tions on account of want of outlet for produce in years of 

 abundance is evident from the following extract from the Jesuit 

 missionary's letter: — " It is owing to the abundance of water, 

 which the ryots caused to flow from theii- tanks into the fields, 

 that they are able to grow a prodigious quantity of rice. 

 When the rain is abundant, the price of rice and other 

 provisions is low. They get eight merkals ^ or large measures 

 of unhusked rice for one fanam, which suffice to noui'ish a man 

 for more than 15 days. But as soon as the rain fails, the 

 dearness is so great that I have seen the price of one of these 

 measures of rice rise to 8 fanams (eighteen sous)." This shows 

 that in years of scarcity the price rose to 64 times of what it 

 was in ordinary times ! In 1733, there was a scarcity in the 

 Chingleput district, which is stated to have been caused more 

 by the neglect of irrigation works under the rule of the Nabobs 

 of Arcot than by the failure of the seasons. The price of 

 paddy rose to 40 pagodas per garce, while the ordinary price 

 was 25 pagodas per garce. Twenty years before 1733, it is 

 stated that 25 pagodas per garce would have been reckoned as 

 famine price. In 1780 occiuTcd Hyder's desolating invasion 

 of the Carnatic followed by the grievous famine, the horrors 



*Mr. Nelson takes the price quoted as equivalent to 96 lb. for 2,^d. Father Martin 

 says that 8 merkals will suffice to nourish a man for more than 15 days. If we take the 

 quantity of rice required by a person at 31b. per diem, the quantity required for 16 days 

 would be 45 lb. Even if this reduced quantity were worth 2frf., the price would have 

 been 4^0 lb. per rupee or -,\-th of the price at the present time ; in other words the 

 parchasing value of the rupee would have been in the beginning of the 18th century 12 

 times what it is now. 



