352 DATE SUGAR INDUSTRY IN BENGAL. 



he calculates 1 that the annual produce of a full-grown date planta- 

 tion was 78f bazar maunds 2 of gur per Bengal beegah, 3 or nearly 

 19| seers or 39|fbs. from each tree. 



To arrive at this result he assumes that there are 160 trees per 

 beegah, and that 69 of these trees are cut daily. 



Sixty-nine trees yield bazar maunds 9, seers 8, daily of juice 

 using his figures. 



He takes the average productive season at 107 days. Thus the 

 number of productive days per tree in a season is equal to ^\? y x 107 = 

 46. In this period, however, are included days in which the yield 

 is diminished by rain or by fogs. To allow for this he deducts -1- of 

 the total yield. We then get daily 160 x 9 maunds 8 seers of juice 

 which is equal to bazar maunds 787-20-13, as the produce in juice 

 per season per beegah deducting 1 for bad weather as above. The 

 average produce per tree therefore comes out at maunds 4-36-4 

 or 392lbs. 



A correspondent of the Calcutta Agricultural Society in a letter 

 published in the 5th volume of the Society's Transactions and dated 

 Jessore, July 1846, 4 gives the average yield from a healthy date tree 

 for the season at 30 seers gur and from an indifferent tree at 10 seers 

 of gur. He thence assumes an average of 15 seers of gur which is 

 equivalent to 3 maunds, 30 seers of juice. 



Drury 5 puts the average yield per tree of juice at 180 pints per 

 year which is equivalent to 22 gallons or about 2 maunds 30 seers. 



Referring to more recent figures Mr. Kirtane 6 in experiments 

 made by him in the Kampura Parganna of the Indore State in 

 1901-02, found the average yield per day to be 4jfbs. of juice per tree 

 and the maximum daily yield of one tree 14lbs. The juice must have 

 been richer than that of Jessore since 6fbs. of juice yielded one of gur. 



1 Bengal Sugar Planter, page 55. 



2 One bazar maund equals 801 bs. 



3 Roughly J- acre. 



* Bengal Sugar Planter, page 55. 



6 The Useful Plants of India, by Col. Heber Drury, London, 187:5. 



8 Files of the Reporter on Economic Products. 



