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the prices ruling in the rural tracts. The general average 

 money value of the feeding charges of an adult labourer may 

 be taken for the Presidency at Rs. 20 per annum ; and (4) the 

 remuneration of a permanent farm- servant may, on an average, 

 be taken as twice the cost of his feeding and clothing 

 expenses. The practice in the northern parts of the Vizaga- 

 patam district, where, in the case of permanent servants fed 

 in the master's house, the remuneration is cut down to 

 one-half, clearly shows this. 



The next class of agricultural labourers consists of those 

 who are engaged by the month or for the cultivation season. 

 In Coimbatore, labourers are employed by the month by ryots 

 who have dry or garden land to cultivate. These are called 

 padials and receive from 16 to 20 bullahs of grain, if men, 

 and 12 to 15, if boys, the money value being Rs. 2 to 

 Rs. 2-8-0, in the case of a man, and from 10 annas to Rs. 

 1-8-0 in the case of a boy. The padial is bound to give the 

 whole of his time to his master. The grain given is cumbu, 

 ragi or samai. A bullah is equal to two Madras measures 

 and a man's ration is ^ to f Madras measure or 1^ to 2 J lb. 

 If a ryot has a large farm the head padial is sometimes paid 

 25 bullahs — value Rs. 3. At the end of the term of hiring the 

 padial receives Rs. 2 or two cloths. The daily wages of the 

 labourer are thus between two and two-and-half times the 

 daily ration. The perquisites of a padial consist of a basketful 

 of corn at the time of cutting, which may consist of 8 bullahs 

 of grain valued at 1 rupee and a portion of any other crops, 

 the value amounting in all to Rs. 2. The wife of a padial, 

 if she works at the picking of cotton or harvesting of a crop, 

 gets a little more than ordinary women, who get one-eighth 

 of the pickings of cotton or a bullah of grain equivalent 

 to from 2 annas to 2^ annas. In Salem main division, the 

 monthly wages of an adult labourer vary from 18 to 24 

 vullums (each vuUum measuring SJ seers of 80 tolas each) 

 with a cash payment varying from Rs. 2^ to Rs. 3 at the end 

 of the year. In the Sub-division, the yearly wages vary 

 between 3 and 4 kandagams (187 seers of 80 tolas per 

 kandagam) and Rs. 4 or 5 at the end of the year. In the 

 Head Assistant's division, 112 seers of 80 tolas of cumbu or 

 varagu together with 5 annas per mensem are given. Taking 

 the quantity of grain required for each adult at 2 lb., the 

 grain wages are between two and two-and-half times an adult's 

 ration in the first case, and between three and four times 

 in the second and third cases. In the Nellore district, Giiddr 

 taluk, labourers are paid 2^ tooms of paddy per month or 

 4| seers or 6f lb. per day, 2 tooms in addition to one meal 



