ordinary Aman. Only the ears and a foot or two of straw are 

 harvested. The rest of the straw is used for fuel or gathered 

 and burnt. 



283. Rdydd. A peculiar kind of boro rice is known as 

 rdydd or bhdsd-ndrdngd. This is sown along with ordinary 

 boro rice, in December. The young stems are shorn when 

 the boro crop is removed, but this does not seem to do the 

 rdydd any harm. It continues to grow attaining a height of 

 10 and even 20 ft. and is not harvested till September or 

 October, thus remaining on the land for 10 months. Only 

 the ears with a foot and a half of straw are harvested, the 

 rest of the straw or ndrd being left to rot on the land, or 

 gathered and set fire to. 



284. Aus, boro and rdydd paddies supply the food of 

 the poorest people of Bengal. Fully one third of the whole 

 produce of Dacca belongs to the Aus and boro classes of 

 rice, and even the Aman paddy of Dacca especially the long- 

 stemmed variety, is a coarse and inferior grain. Rdydd is 

 also grown in Eastern Bengal. 



285. The most favourable climatic conditions for the 

 rice crop are : (i) Premonitory showers in May facilitating 

 preparation of land and sowing in seed-beds ; (2) Heavy 

 showers at the end of June and July, facilitating transplant- 

 ation ; (3) Fair weather for a fortnight in August facilitating 



weeding operations ; (4) Heavy rains in September when 

 the Aman is coming into ear ; (5) Casual but heavy showers 

 in October about once a week especially during the first 

 fortnight ; and (6) One or two good showers at the end of 

 January facilitating ploughing up of rice land in cold 

 weather. The Aus crop does not need such a heavy rainfall, 

 nor late rainfall, as the Aman does. 



286. Average Outturn. The outturn differs so much in 

 different districts and for different varieties that it is difficult to 

 strike an average. Sir W. Hunter gives 15 maunds of clean 

 rice per acre as the average yield, while Sir A. P. Macdonell 



