IMPROVEMENT OF AGRICULTURE 89 



a kingdom in miniature, and whilst encouraging its com- 

 merce with distant markets, the development of its own 

 resources must be attended to. 



Improvement of Cultivation. 



The landlord, more than anybody else, can improve the 

 standard of cultivation of his tenants; and this by working 

 along several lines at the same time. The tenants are 

 not quick to learn ; especially when they are illiterate and 

 suspicious. Moreover, they have often a well-founded objec- 

 tion to trying experiments. To them the failure of a crop 

 is a terrible disaster ; and they need practical certainty of 

 success before they will venture on something new. The 

 landlord can do little by way of direct assistance of his 

 tenants. The majority of them will listen respectfully, but do 

 nothing. He will probably be successful, however, if he se- 

 lects one or two or the more enterprising and intelligent men 

 from each village, gains their confidence and promises them 

 some reward if they are successful in trying the new seed 

 or implements he proposes. Such men, once they have 

 succeeded with a new method, will probably of their own 

 accord instruct the neighboring tenants of the same village. 

 But, if necessary, they may receive some little inducement 

 to do so. 



The landlord will be well advised to have a farm of his 

 own on which he tries all the new seeds, implements and 

 other improvements before recommending them to his tenants. 

 They will see that they are successful on land close to their 

 own ; but it will need experiments actually on their own 

 land to convince them that the cost is not too great for their 

 own resources in fact, that the improvements are protitable. 

 The landlord should not farm his own land only for the sake 

 of gaining the greatest profit by large-scale farming. If he 

 wishes to farm part of his land in that way, well and good ; 

 but on another part of his sir or khndkasht land he will have 



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