[ 866 ] 



the same. The collection of seeds of prolific varieties of 

 grains, pulses &c. may occupy the time of a special travel- 

 ling officer of the Agricultural Department. The same 

 officer may collect seeds, tubers &c. of drought-resisting and 

 flood-resisting crops. Some varieties of rice do well in 

 dry soils by sending their roots deep down into the soil. Some 

 varieties, on the other hand, increase in height as the flood 

 increases. A list of such prolific, drought-resisting, and flood- 

 resisting, crops, may gradually be prepared by the Agricul- 

 tural Department after careful enquiry and experiment ; and 

 seeds, roots and cutting of such crops may be kept for sale to 

 raiyats in the recognised seed-distribution centres This may 

 also have the effect of protecting raiyats from taking inferior 

 seeds from mahajans on loan on ruinous terms. A maund of 

 paddy seed, for instance, may be valued by the mahajan at 

 the sowing season when he gives it out for Rs 2. At harvest 

 time he values the paddy at Re. i a maund, and takes back 

 2 maunds of paddy by way of principal and another maund 

 by way of interest. The mahajan does not mind if the 

 raiyat loses his crop. He advances him another maund of 

 seed again to him next year, and then if he has a good 

 crop he takes back from him 7^ maunds, i. e. 3 maunds on 

 account of previous year, \\ maunds on account of interest 

 for that 3 maunds subsequent to the harvest, and 3 maunds 

 for the 2nd year's loan. Thus in two years the mahajan gets 

 back 7^ maunds for the loan of 2 maunds of seed which he 

 may have bought at a cheaper price than what he sells his 

 7^ maunds at. It is local price at harvest time that the 

 mahajan considers when securing his grain, and it is local 

 price at seed time at which he gives it out, and if the price 

 of seed is cheap, he sometimes does not give it out at 

 all but holds his stock till next year, or the year after, 

 when he gets the best bargain, selling the grain as grain 

 and not as seed. It is in this way some mahajans in Bengal 

 were found to own several lakhs of maunds of paddy in the 



