112 Indigo in ShaJiabad. 



purposes. The Suri and the Kara have in other dry- 

 years been bunded up by the Chenpore and Khelas- 

 pore Zemindaries. 



The first mahai or manufacture, called morhun in 

 Tirhut, commences in Shahabad sometime in July, and 

 consisting of the nauda-khuntis and jamooali, yields 

 the best produce and colour. The second mahai con- 

 tinues till the end of October, and consists of durzies 

 (local name for second cuttings of khunti) and 

 assarhi plant. Towards the end of the mahai, pro- 

 duce is very inferior, whilst the indigo made is black 

 and hard. Manufacture in Shahabad is, unlike Tir- 

 hut, mainly carried on without the aid of machinery. 

 The necessary apparatus consist of from 6 to 1 5 pairs 

 of vats of 800 to 1,200 cubic feet per vat, a boiling- 

 house and press and cake-houses to contain the boil- 

 ers and the implements necessary for pressing and 

 preparing the cubes of indigo, a reservoir, the cubic 

 capacity of which is at least sufficient to hold water 

 enough to fill a quarter of the factory vats before com- 

 plete displenishment. The reservoir is kept filled by 

 moths, (a description of which appliance has been 

 given), the water being taken from either natural or 

 artificial tanks, a lake, a river or wells. A bungalow, 

 offices, stables, and out-houses complete the tout 

 ensemble. These are generally located in a strip 

 of land taken under perpetual lease or mukarrari 



