[ io8 ] 



83 ft.-lbs. per minute. As the famine labourers were mostly 

 non professional diggers and as they were somewhat weak, 

 the work done by the average Bengali labourer habitually 

 employed in digging may be calculated at about 125 ft.-lbs. 

 per minute though cases of 200 to 300 cubic ft. of earth being 

 dug by one man sometimes came to notice even in the famine 

 operation. Basing on this calculation of a Bengali labourer 

 being able generally to perform only half the amount of work 

 of an English labourer, he should be able to show : 



(1) 125 ft.-lbs. of work per minute in digging. 



(2) 165 ft.-lbs. ,, ,, filling dung in carts. 



(3) 250 ft.-lbs. pitching corn. 



(4) 2,000 ft.-lbs. ,, rowing a boat. 



137. In filling dung in carts, an English labourer will 

 load 30 to 40 cubic yards in 10 hours to an average height of 

 4 ft. The weight of fresh dung is 12 to 14 cwts. and of well- 

 made rotted dung, i ton, per cubic yard. 50,000 Ibs. lifted 

 into carts 4 ft. high means 200,000 Ibs. raised i ft. high per 

 day of 10 hours, which is equivalent to 330 ft.-lbs. per minute. 

 In pitching corn an English labourer can pitch the corn of 

 i acre per hour, i.e. 2 tons of grain and straw. The average 

 height to which the corn is pitched is 6 ft. 5000 Ibs. lifted 

 6 ft. high = 30,ooo ft.-lbs. per hour i.e.> 500 ft.-lbs. per minute. 



138. The relation between horse-power and human- 

 power is as 7:1 in the case of the English labourer. We 

 may approximately put down the relation between horse- 

 power and the power exerted by a Bengali labourer as 14 : i. 

 But it entirely depends upon the character of the particular 

 work whether human power is so much less efficient or still 

 less so. For steady draught purposes a pair of Bengal 

 bullocks is at least ten times as efficient as a labourer, though 

 theoretically a Bengal bullock, as we shall presently see, is 

 only 1 4 times as powerful as a Bengali labourer. 



139. Calculating wages at 3 annas a day, the average 



