5 to 8 mds. of grain per acre is considered a fair yield but 30 

 or 40 mds. are sometimes obtained. The value of a 5 to 8-mnd. 

 crop is only about Rs. 10. An acre (if ravages of jackals are 

 prevented) may produce 20,000 green cobbs. If these are 

 sold at an average price of 8 cobbs. per pice, the produce of 

 i acre may come up to Rs. 35 to Rs. 40. In fact, about 

 Rs. 40 were realised in 1898 from the maize crop at 

 the Sibpur farm, out of T 9 F ths of an acre only, divided 

 into nine equal plots. There were, moreover, only 3 

 plots of maize grown singly, the other 6 plots containing 

 a mixture of maize and arahar, or maize and cotton, and 

 the maize in these 6 plots was known to have done badly, 

 partly on account of late sowing and partly on account of 

 the mixture. Maize is a profitable crop to grow near large 

 towns, where there is a ready market for the green cobbs. 

 The precaution of watching the crop day and night, not 

 only against jackals but also against crows and other birds, 

 squirrels, rats, and in some parts of the country, against pigs, 

 monkeys and porcupines, is most essential. 



335. It is convenient to use a maize-huller (Fig. 51) for 

 detaching the grains from the cobb. By flailing or beating 

 with sticks, the operation is done rather imperfectly. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



JUAR (SORGHUM VUI^GARE ). 



'"PHIS crop, thoughiof minor importance in Bengal, is the 

 staple grain crop of Southern India. Three varieties 

 of sorghum should be recognized as of special merit : 

 (i) sugar sorghum (sorghum saccharatum) which yields 

 several cuttings of sweet and palatable fodder ; (a) the Gahamd 

 or Karmi sorghum (Sorghum Roxburghi) which yields the 

 heaviest crops of fodder, and (3) the Deo dhan sorghum, the 

 Cholam of Southern India (Sorghum vulgare), which yields 



