82 Indigo in the North- Western Provinces. 



The katcha bigha is an unknown quantity in Lower 

 Bengal, a little more than % of a Shahabad bigha of 

 5*4 haths, 2^2 katcha bighas go to one pucca bigha 

 of 5^ haths, or, roughly, ^th of an acre. 



An agreement is formally drawn up, in presence 

 of witnesses, by the gomashta (or head servant) of the 

 factory, and to this document the usually illiterate 

 contractor affixes his mark, or he may simply touch 

 the pen with which the contract has been drawn up. 

 In a few instances, he is able to sign his name. The 

 deed sets forth the extent of land to be cultivated ; 

 the quantity of plant, gad, or seed to be delivered 

 by the contractor ; and the rate to be adhered to, 

 which, for the plant, is, generally, from Rs. 4 to Rs. 6 

 per hundred maunds, and for gad, Rs. 12 per maund. 



One hundred maunds of plants will, as a rule, 

 yield the planter 2^/ 2 maunds of gad. It is 

 stipulated that it be delivered in such a consis- 

 tency that 3^ seers, or about 6 ft>, can be taken 

 up with the hand. It is also customary to pay 

 the contractor in advance the full value of the 

 plant or gad, which he has guaranteed to deliver, 

 though another system is also in force. In the lat- 

 ter instance the terms are as follow : one half in 

 advance, a quarter after the first irrigation has been 

 completed, and the remaining portion after the first 

 weeding. Indigo fields are generally irrigated before 



