MANUAL OF THE NiLAGIRT DISTRICT. 465 



(h) Native Ageiculture. ch. xxvii. 



Crops — korali—raggi— barley — wheat — same — naomi — mustard — kere — poppy — Ag ricultu re. 

 ' onions — garlic — peas — potatoes. — Yield per acre.- -Average price of staple food- 

 grains. — Manuring. — Ploughing.— Sowing.— Weeding. — Area under each crop. — 

 Cost of cultivation. — Implements. — Cattle. — Rotation of crops. — Terracing 

 and fencing. — Reaping, thrashing, storing. — Price of cattle. — Land for pas- 

 turage. — Fodder. — Cows. — Modes of bringing produce to market. — Markets. — 

 Results of agriculture. 



The various crops cultivated by the indigenous tribes of the Native 

 Hills, especially the Badagas, are as follow :— Crops'!^*'''''^" 



Korali is a niillet, and is grown on every soil, from the richest to — korali. 

 the poorest. On rich soils it may be seen nearly 2^ feet in height 

 and bearing some 6 cwts. to the acre of grain, and from I5 to 2 

 tons of excellent straw, much appreciated when fresh by 

 horses, bullocks, and cows. This straw, whenever practicable, is 

 all sold off the land and nothing in return put in — a ruinous 

 process. This grain is the chief food of the Badagas.^ 



This grain is now grown to some extent. On good soils it — raggi. 

 produces heavily when manured, from 7 to 8 cwts. of grain the 

 acre. It grows from 5,500 feet downwards. Its nutritive 

 properties are very high, ranking with oats.^ 



Barley is, with korali, the principal crop cultivated on the Hills, —barley. 

 It grows best on the dark soils, but the return is wretched, the 

 straw very inferior, deficient in silica ; in fact, barley crops, only 2 

 feet in height, are fi^equently laid by heavy rain or wind, so 

 deficient is the straw in silica. The straw is sold off the land. 

 Barley of late years has risen in price enormously. Formerly 

 60 to 70 lb. could be purchased for the rupee, now 30 

 can hardly be procured. New seed ^ and a different style 

 of cultivation is much needed. The soils and climate are well 

 adapted for the growth of the best kinds of barley if properly 

 manured ; but the fatal system of non-manuring and fallows is 

 the rule. A black barley shown at the Nllagiri Exhibition in 

 1869 was much approved of. It had been grown at Kotagiri, 

 and the yield per acre was said to be great. The return expected 



' From inquiries instituted I find that ordinarily the yield does not exceed 

 5 kandagams or 200 Madras large measures. This is also Major Ouchterlony's 

 estimate. The yield of straw is about 10 to 15 bundles of 60 lb. or |rd ton. 

 About 60 lb. seed are sown to the acre. The yield is about tenfold. It is often 

 sown with same. The grain is very small, one-twentieth of a grain of wheat. — Ed. 



^ This grain is chiefly grown in the lower Todan&d and P^rangandd. It is a 

 great favourite with the Hill-tribes and the Kanarese. The quantity raised by 

 the Badagas is insufiBcient for their needs, and consequently much of that 

 imported is consumed by them. The ordinary yield is eightfold — Ed. 



3 Grain of plants grown from seed introduced from Europe or Australia is found 

 to deteriorate rapidly. In three generations it becomes thin and lean, with 

 but little farinaceous substance and a hard kei'nel.— Ed. 



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