88 



INDIA.' 



I'tr.ccs. 



Produce of 

 the dairies, 

 ghee, Ac. 



dia, where the pastures arc abundant anil nutritious. 

 In the north-west quarter of the province of Delhi, 

 and partly in the northern extremity of the province of 

 Aimeer, there is a jungle called the Lacky Jungle, 

 which is celebrated all oxer Hindustan Proper for the 

 fertility of its pasture lands, as well as for its excel- 

 lent breed of horses, xvhich, originally pood, have been 



supply ; in those districts the sheep are generally shorn Statistics. 

 twice a year, once in the cold, .and once in the rainy '~~~Y~ m * 

 season ; it is calculated ^hat 12 sheep xvill t'urhish wool 

 sufficient to make a blanket six cubit* long and three 

 wide. 



In discussing the nature of the landed tenure in In- State of th 

 dia, we incidentally noticed some particulars relative K'otsin 



much improved by IV,: urn horses "introduced at the to the condition and circumstances of the Ryot or hus- HiiMosua 



.- i- ' ci-_i- ] A I..1..11: TK:*. I......!.. hanttman if u/ill Kp nrnnpi* hnwpvpr h^f'/ifo 'o il/x<?n rroPcf ; 



invasion "of Nadir' Shall and Abdalli. This jungle, 

 whieh I'onns a i-irdi 4') miles in diameter, is bounded on 

 the north by the country of Roy Kellaun, on the east 

 by Hurianeh, on the south by Batneer, and on the 

 l>y the Sandy Desart. The Poorneah district of 



bandman ; it will be proper, however, before we close Pro P ut5 

 this chapter, to attend to this subject more directly, 

 and rather more fully. 



In Hindostan Proper, the Ryots hold their lands ei- 

 ther directly from the zeminiiars, or from the talook- 



I is also distinguished by the extent and fertility dans ; the latter are of two sects ; some of them pay 



. _ 1 _1 *T*I II . _ .!, 1 , . . 1 1 . ...I. ., r *P (-Im *int- avtrl at/*/\i n fr ri t n<i r>/ll*if>t-ii\Mo v *T*ir *-.,!- 



of its pasture land. The excellence of the bullocks of 

 Guzerat, which has already been adverted to, is in some 

 measure owing to the richness of its^rass in those parts 

 of the province particularly which lie near the Run, 

 one tract of land in this district being emphatically 

 called Wuddyar, which term, in the language of Gu- 

 zerat, signifies a herdsman, and designated the origin- 

 al inhabitants of the borders of the Run. Immense 

 herds of cattle are sent to pasture here. The table 

 land of India, especially the Mysore, from its elevation 

 and consequent coolness, is favourable to the produc- 

 tion of those grasses which are most nourishing to cat- 

 tle ; and its pasture lands are accordingly extensive and 

 rkh. 



The pasture lands of India, such as we have descri- 

 bed them, are used for the grazing of the cattle that 

 are kept for labour, subsistence, breeding, and the dai- 

 ry, and for the feeding of sheep. Such cattle as are 

 for labour are confined to the patches of grass that are 

 intermixed with the arable land : the other cattle, as 

 well as the sheep, are allowed to wander in the forests, 

 &c. In either case, it is necessary that they should 

 be watched and prevented, either from injuring the 

 arable land, or going astray. For, in many parts of 

 India, the only fences consist of a low bank. In some 

 parts of Delhi and the adjoining provinces, indeed, the 

 strong jungle grass is plaited into a kind of basket 

 work, which is carried along the s ; des of the field to 

 protect the grain from the cattle. In Guzerat, the fields 

 are divided and protected by dry stone walls; and 

 in the south of India, fences of the milk bush are not 

 uncommon. Besides the shepherds who have fixed re- 

 sidences, there are found in many districts of Hindos- 



the rent, and account for the collections* they make 

 from the Ryots to the zemindars ; others to govern- 

 ment : the latter are called independent talookdans, 

 and are in fact ouly petty zemindars. The poorest 

 Ryots are, by the custom of the country, considered as 

 a sort of proprietors, entitled to a perpetual lease; they 

 are attached in the strongest manner to the toil, and 

 never migrate but in cases of absolute necessity. Waste 

 and jungle land, if low and fit for rice, can be brought 

 into cultivation in one season, and the poorest Ryot 

 can undertake it. ; he can with ease cultivate 16 by- 

 gars of rice, and supposing the half to go for rent, 

 the remainder will afford i'ood tor four or five persons. 

 ." uch was the state of' the poorer Ryots before the Bri- 

 tish acquired a permanent and extensive footing in 

 Hindostan Proper, under such zemindars as were just 

 and equitable landlords, and regulated their conduct to- 

 ward their tenants by the customs of the country ; 

 but the condition of those xvho rented their land un- 

 der the generality or zemindars was quite the reverse : 

 agreements, indeed, did pass between the landlords and 

 their tenants at the beginning of the year ; but they 

 were commonly broken by the zemindar. 



The condition and circumstances of those Ryots, who 

 occupy more land than they can cultivate by them- 

 selves and families, and who, of course, are obliged to 

 hire servants, do not appear so favourable. From the 

 produce of their crops they are obliged to give, not 

 only the necessary servants of the farm, high grain 

 wages, as well as money, but also the poet, Brahmin, 

 blacksmith, &c. so that, after "deducting from the pro- 

 duce of his land, that part of it which they require, and 

 that part which is paid to the zemindar for rent, the 



tan Proper, shepherds who come from the country of share of the Ryot himself will be but small. It should 

 the Batties in search of employment. They are scat- be observed, however, that his whole stock is small ; 

 tered ail over the Punjab and the high grounds to the 



east of the Indus. The herdsman is in" every case a 

 person attached to the farm on which he is employed. 



Milk, ghee, and cheese, are the produce of the coxvs 

 and female buffaloes. In various parts of Guzerat, 

 Cutch, and the Decan, there is a particular tribe, 

 whose chief employment is selling milk and day-la- 

 bouring. In the provinces of Hindostan Proper, it 

 is calculated that the produce of each cow, annually, 

 is nearly 1500 maunds of milk ; and that one maund 

 will produce 2* seer of ghee or clarified butter. Ghee 

 is made of butter which is kept for two or three days ; 

 in this time it becomes rancid, after which it is melt- 

 ed in an earthen pot, and boiled till all the water has 

 evaporated; it is then poured into pots, or leathern 

 jars, and kept for use. Some cheese is made in Gu- 

 zerat, and other provinces in Hindostan Proper, but it 



in the district about Allahabad, it does not amount to 

 eight rupees, exclusive of the value of his cattle. The 

 cultivation of the province of Bengal, according to Mr. 

 Grant, does not require a greater agricultural stock 

 than a crore and a half of rupees. 



The preceding observations apply to the cultivators ; n the soutk 

 in Hindostan Proper: those in the south of India, es- of India; 

 pecially in those provinces which were least affected 

 by the Mahomedan conquest, are in a better condi- 

 tion. The Ryots here hold directly under the govern- 

 ment, or rather pay rent as revenue to government. 

 Districts are divided into villages, and each village is 

 under the management of a Potail, or head farmer, in 

 what are called the sixteenth villages, from the land 

 and rent being divided into sixteenth shares. All the 

 Ryots assemble to fix their respective rents, a little be- 

 fore the season when cultivation commences: the 



n . ., . * w|jv, vuv 11. lui c LUC aeuauu w iicii uuiuvautMi WMIMJICIIV^O n.* 



Sheep. 'ery inferior quality. The wool of the sheep is of amount of the agricultural stock possessed by each m- 



tle value, except in those districts where the climate dividual, the quantity of land, its probable produce, are 



requires clothing warmer than that which cotton will ascertained, and the rent is then fixed; and such apor- 



