Cultivation, Manuring, Measuring, etc. 55 



short, the time can ill be spared. By taking a gun 

 many a good shot has been had at unexpected stray 

 heads of game, such as a chance hare, leopard, civet 

 cat, floriken, wisp of teal or plover, deer, wolf, fox, or 

 what not. They do shoot foxes in India, generally 

 for the fur, which is very handsome in the cold wea- 

 ther. It is often the case that when without a gun 

 many good opportunities are lost as the American 

 farmer said when he saw for the first time a couple of 

 young " dudes " perambulating the principal avenue 

 of the city. " Gosh ! " exclaimed the rugged cultiva- 

 tor of the only free soil in the world, " what things a 

 man DOES see when he harrit got his gun along with 

 un." It is always advisable to have the " iron " 

 handy, and a couple of cartridges in one's pocket. 



Often in very dry weather irrigation becomes neces- 

 sary, or much of the plant would die for want of 

 moisture. There are several modes of raising water 

 in vogue with the natives and planters, viz., the slung 

 basket, worked by two men at a time ; the lever and 

 bucket, balanced with a lump of mud at the end of 

 the pole, as shown in illustration ; the pair of bul- 

 locks and inclined plane ; the China pumps, the Per- 

 sian wheel, and the various steam pumps ; but the 

 three latter sorts are too expensive for most native 

 cultivators. Irrigating indigo is unknown in Lower 

 Bengal, and is only practised in the Upper Provinces. 



