148 



landholders whenever they have more work than can be done 

 by their own servants, especially in times of reaping, digging 

 and levelling the fields. They are mostly employed by con- 

 tractors in road works and their daily wages are much higher 

 than those of Pannials — often double. 



Among agricultural labourers, the highest class consists 

 of those who cultivate lands on the sharing system. These 

 labourers must be men of some means ; they must ordinarily 

 have at least ploughing cattle. The sharing system does not 

 prevail to any great extent in the dry districts, for instance, 

 in Anantapur. In the few places of this district in which it 

 prevails, the cultivator gets half the produce for mere labour 

 and when he contributes cattle, a still larger share. In 

 Bellary, the varum or cultivator's share is one-half ordinarily 

 and two-thirds where cultivation is expensive, as when water 

 has to be baled or land overgrown with long grass has to 

 be broken up. The cultivation expenses are borne by the 

 tenant and the landowner pays the assessment. In both 

 cases village servants' fees and the harvesting expenses are 

 deducted from the produce before division. If the land- 

 owner contributes half the seed, he takes half the straw. In 

 the Salem district the conditions are very similar. In some 

 cases where labour is not easily procurable, the produce is 

 equally divided after the cultivation expenses are deducted. 

 The cultivator also pays sometimes half the assessment, 

 getting three-fourths, or three- fifths of the produce, the 

 landlord paying the full assessment. Sometimes, again, the 

 arrangement is that the cultivator should take one-fourth or 

 one-fifth of the net produce plus a fixed quantity of grain. 

 In the case of irrigation by baling, the landlord's and culti" 

 vator's shares are two-fifths and three-fifths, respectively ; 

 the cost of seed and harvesting is shared equally. In the 

 Cuddapah sub- division and in the Kanigiri taluk of the 

 Nellore district, labourers who do not contribute anything 

 for cultivation expenses are given, what is called, half a 

 "bullock's share," that is, if the ryot has four bullocks, he 

 employs four servants and gives each servant one-eighth 

 share of the produce. The "pungal" system in the Pollachi 

 taluk of the Coimbatore district is somewhat similar. Buch- 

 anan describes the system as it existed in 1800 as follows. 

 The pungals go to a rich farmer and for a share of the crop 

 undertake to cultivate his lands. The farmer lends the 

 cattle, implements, seed and money or grain that^ may be 

 required for the subsistence of the puiigah. He also gives 

 each family a house. He takes no share in the labour which 



