[ 323 ] 



- Watering before sowing .,, ... 280 

 v PicklTrig of seed (5 seers) with dilute sulphuric 



acid and the ordinary pickling powder ... i o o 



(or rubbing with cowdung, in which case the 



cost is almost nothing) 



Cost of sowing behind plough ... i o o 



Watering after sowing ... ... ... 280 



Hoeing and thinning or patching ... ... 200 



Picking ( T yh o f produce) 200 



Rent 3 o o 



Gleaning or ginning (\\ annas per 10 Ibs.) ... TOO 



25 8 o 



96 Ibs. of cotton at 4 as. a Ib. can fetch only Rs. 24 and 

 unless a heavy yielding variety of cotton is chosen, cotton- 

 growing does not piy. Ginning usually costs a good deal more 

 than what is calculated above but where the industry is well 

 established poor women do actually work at these low wages. 

 475. Silk cotton or simnl (Bombax Malabaricum) is a 

 tree. The fibre of this is worthless for textile purposes, and 

 it is used chiefly as padding for pillows. Akanda (Calotropis 

 gigantea) pod fibre may be looked upon in the same light. 

 But the fibre obtained from the stems of this plant is one of the 

 strongest fibres known. The stems are cut into sticks about 

 18 inches long, dried in the sun for 2 or 3 days, battered 

 afterwards and then the outer bark peeled off and the fibre 

 picked out with teeth and fingers from the inner bark, and 

 then twisted into rope for cordage or fishing net. No water 

 is aged either for retting or for helping in the twisting of the 

 rope. 



