86 



INDIA., 



. .. 



Suiuiic*. western provinces of the presidency of Bengal, in Mal- 

 wab, the nortlicrn circars, &c. In the southern pro- 

 vinces of India, it is not so commonly grown. The 

 district round Bilsah, in the province of Malwah, be- 

 longing to Scindiah, is highly celebrated all over India 

 tor 'the excellent quality of its tobacco, which is in great 

 demand, not only for home consumption, but for ex- 

 portation. Such,' however, is the indifference and in- 

 dolence of the natives, that this high character and 

 great demand does not appear to have stimulated them 

 to extend the cultivation of this plant; they prefer the 

 risk of injuring their trade, by mixing inferior to- 

 bacco with genuine British, or substituting the former 

 entirely in the room of tho latter. The tobacco grown 

 in the Kungpoor district of Bengal, though by no means 

 equal to that of Bilsah, is of good quality, and re- 

 markably cheap : the southern and eastern districts of 

 this province are principally supplied from Rungpoor. 

 In the vicinity of Baroach, in Guaerat, tobacco must be 

 a productive crop, as a begah of land planted with it 

 yielded a nett revenue to the government of 20 rupees; 

 whereas, according to Mr. Tennant, in the northern and 

 eastern provinces of the presidency of Bengal, " be- 

 tween 1() and 20 maunds of tobacco are reckoned a 

 medium produce from three biggahs," and the value of 

 each maund is only a rupee. 



While the crops are growing, such as require it are 

 watered, and they are generally hoed, but by an im- 

 plement which would be of little service, even if it 

 were more industriously and skilfully used than it is 

 by the Hindoos. In order to protect such 'of them as 

 are liable to the depredations of the birds, watchmen 

 are placed at the different comers of the fields. Dur- 

 ing the dry season, they stand upon a pillar of clay, 

 about ten feet high, which they exchange for a scaffold- 

 ing of wood, with a roof of straw, as soon as the rainy 

 season commences. These watchmen are provided with 

 a sling; but in consequence of the abhorrence which 

 the Hindoos feel to the shedding of blood, they seldom 

 or never use it, contenting themselves with bellowing, 

 that they may terrify without hurting the birds. Maize, 

 and some sorts of millet, when nearly ripe, require to 

 be watched, not only during the day, but also at night, 

 from the large kinds of bats, which would otherwise 

 destroy the crops. 



Harvest operations are performed in India in a very slo- 

 venly and imperfect manner. This arises in part from the 

 practice already adverted to, of intermixing a great va- 

 riety of crops, -which ripen at different periodsin the same 

 field; and partly from the indolent habits and the igno- 

 rance of the natives. The Hindoo peasant, in Hindostan 

 Proper, is little able, with his body almost naked, to 

 bear the inclemency of the morning air, at the period 

 of the spring harvest ; and he is as little willing, when 

 the weather is more favourable, to exert himself. They 

 also want method and regularity in conducting this 

 Im-iness; and their sickle, like all their other agricul- 

 tural implements, is very rude, and very small; with 

 this he picks out the ripest plants. In his other hand 

 he holds a rope, with which he ties up and carries home 

 all that he cuts down in the course of the day. His 

 wages consist of the tenth of the coarser kinds of grain, 

 and the twentieth of the finer kinds. The sheaves by 

 which he is to be paid, are selected alternately by the 

 reaper himself and the Ryot. When the season is far 

 advanced, an ultimate and positive order to the Ryots 

 for reaping the harvest is issued in the northern circars, 

 which is called dumbalah deron, literally, taking or seiz- 

 ing by the tail. Corn is very seldom put up in stacks; 



Mode of 



harvesting, 



indeed, the greater part of it is thrashed in the fields, Statistic* 

 either by the cattle treading it out, or, with respect to s """Y" g/ 

 the smaller seeds, simplj* by the staff of the peasant. 

 It is winnowed by being thrown int^ the' air, when 

 there happens to be a little wind; and after this rude 

 and imperfect dressing, is stored up, in Benares, the 

 western provinces, and the south of India, in subter- 

 raneous granaries, and in Bengal and other parts, in 

 jars of unbaked earth, or in baskets made of large 

 twigs. If the quantity is very considerable, it is de- 

 posited in round huts, the floor of which is raised about 

 a foot or two above the ground. Kilns of a small size, 

 and a very simple construction, are used in the damp- 

 er climates of Hindostan, to dry the grain before it is 

 ground. " They are large earthen pots, sunk deep in 

 the earth, and under them is a furnace for fuel. These 

 pots are filled with sand, which are heated almost to 

 redness, when it is taken out, and in this state mixed 

 with the grain. A "few minutes in this mixture fits it 

 for grinding, when it is cleared of the sand by means 

 of a sieve." Tennant, xi. 393. 



Having thus given an account of the most important 

 parts of the arable husbandry of Hindostan, so far as 

 it is conducted on the mingah and pungah lands, we 

 shall briefly advert to the garden cultivation, and the 

 principal implements by which all the three kinds are 

 carried on, before we notice the pasture husbandry of 

 this country. 



The proper garden cultivation is most common, and GstAea cul- 

 carried on with the most attention, skill, and success, tivation - 

 in the south of India. Near the town of Coimbetoor, 

 all kinds of soil are under this cultivation, and the rent 

 varies according to the depth below the surface at which 

 the water stands. In some garden grounds, it is with- 

 in eight cubits; in others, it is not met with nearer the 

 surface than 18 cubits. Such gardens as are watered by 

 machines, are called bagait, and are in great request, 

 and pay a high rent ; since from such gardens, a very 

 large produce may be raised with more certainty than 

 from those which are not thus watered. It is calcu- 

 lated, that a garden of 300 acres requires the labour of 

 six people if it be watered from a well, .but only three 

 if it be watered from a tank. Many of the crops, 

 which in other parts of Hindostan are grown in the 

 fields, such as sugar cane, tobacco, &c. are cultivated 

 in the south of India in gardens, as are also betel nut, 

 black pepper, cardamons, plantains, &c. In the west- 

 ern part of the district of Soonda, where the garden 

 cultivation is the chief and favourite object of the far- 

 mers, these are the common produce ; and it is re- 

 marked, both here and in the neighbourhood of Bed- 

 nore, that the garden pippins are of better quality than 

 those which grow spontaneously, in the proportion of 

 ten to nine. In the neighbourhood of Bangalore, in 

 the Rajah of Mysore's territories, the gardens are very 

 fertile, possessing a soil in some places 20 feet deep. 

 Here a gardener is a separate profession from that of a 

 farmer, and is considered of inferior caste. 



The vegetable fields, which are common in the vici- Vegetable 

 nity of most large towns, nearly resemble the gardens fields, 

 which we have been just describing. In the south of 

 India, they are in their greatest luxuriance and beauty 

 in the month of November, after the rainy season has 

 ceased. In them are cultivated, among other vege- 

 tables, the brinjaal, a species of solaman, which bears 

 a fruit as large as a pear ; it is eaten by the natives ei- 

 ther baked or made into curry ; a plant resembling 

 the holyoak, the seeds of which are soft and mucila- 

 ginous, and are much used in soups, &c. ; various spe- 



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