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little and yet afford abundant returns ; and cases of this kind 

 must, of course, be very few. For instance, take the case of 

 irrigation by wells. A well, costing say Rs. 300, will irri- 

 gate about 4 acres, and to work the well by means of bullock- 

 power would require probably about Rs. 100 more, including 

 cost of wages of labour and depreciation of live and dead 

 stock. It makes to the ryot an enormous difference, whether 

 the sum of Rs. 400 can be borrowed at 6 per cent, interest 

 or at 12 or 18 per cent. In the first case, the annual charge 

 for interest amounts to Rs. 6 an acre, and in the second and 

 third cases to Rs. 12 and Rs. 18, respectively. If the produce 

 of the 4 acres of unirrigated land be taken at 40 bushels of 

 grain at the rate of 10 bushels an acre and valued at Rs. 40 

 at the rate of Re. 1 a bushel, it would not pay the ryot to 

 irrigate the lands, unless the produce is tripled, in other 

 words unless the produce per acre increases to 30 bushels, 

 if the interest on the outlay is 12 per cent. If, however, 

 the interest is only 6 per cent., the cultivation might pay if 

 the produce is doubled, or, in other words, is at the rate of 

 20 bushels an acre. Of course, if money has to be borrowed 

 at the rate of 18 per cent., cultivation by wells may be 

 stated to be well nigh impossible. Irrigation in this country 

 increases the produce enormously ; and in the case of ap- 

 plication of expensive manures, there is comparatively much 

 less scope for increase of produce. In the latter case, the 

 increase of produce per acre should be such as to pay 

 not only the interest on the outlay on manures, but also 

 such portion of the cost of the manures as will allow of its 

 being recouped during the period in which the manures 

 are exhausted. Further, when the risks in well-construction, 

 owing to uncertainty of finding water at a reasonable depth, 

 and the liability of the country to suffer from droughts, are 

 borne in mind, it can be readily conceived how much the 

 hard terms on which capital required has to be obtained 

 must retard agricultural improvements in this country. The 

 Government, no doubt, has been anxious to lend money for 

 land improvements at low rates of interest, and owing to the 

 prevalence of drought during the last two years, the Govern- 

 ment rules, in this respect, have been largely availed of by 

 the ryot population. In ordinary seasons, however, the ryot 

 has to fall back upon the assistance of the sowkar when \i.& 

 needs funds for purposes other than land improvement, and! 

 what is required is, that the rate of interest for money 

 needed by him for all purposes should be reduced. The 

 present arrangement, under which all prior claims are post- 

 poned to the claim of Government to recover the loan granted 

 by it for agricultural improvement by the sale of the land 



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