Indigo in the North- Western Provinces. 89 



indigo from March, making a paying speculation out 

 of both. Sugarcane, tobacco, and potatoes are now 

 the chief rivals of opium, and the first named crop 

 has, of late years, made serious inroads on the opium 

 cultivation of Shahabad. Were the Sone canals as re- 

 liable for cane irrigation as they ought to be, the 

 opium cultivation in that district would be consider- 

 ably more reduced than it is. The price paid for 

 opium has risen, but not so high as the times would 

 warrant, and the profits made from the monopoly 

 by Government keep suggesting, still fairer and more 

 reasonable treatment of the cultivators. 



