42 LABOUR 



Spreading. — Manure. — The heaps are generally one cart- 

 load (10 cwt.) ; with light dressings (15 to 20 cartloads) 6 

 women per acre will spread ; as the heaps get closer there is 

 less lead but more stuff to carry, so for heavy dressings 8 

 women will be needed per acre. 



One man will spread 8 cartloads per day. Applying 

 castor cake to sugarcane, 1 man will apply one bag and for 

 every 4 men, 1 woman or boy will be required to carry. 



Thatching.— One man will thatch 400 square feet per day 

 with a woman to help. 



Threshing— Ckolam. — The heads are spread out on the 

 floor and are either beaten by sticks or are pressed under the 

 stone roller. One man will beat the produce of an acre 

 (1,000 lb. of heads or 600 lb. of grain) in one day. With roller 

 two pairs of animals with drivers, and 2 men and 4 women 

 will thresh out 6,000 to 7,000 lb. of grain in a day. 



Threshing by bullocks— A. team consists of four animals 

 with driver, 2 men to turn heads and 2 women. They will 

 thresh 1,300 lb. of grain per day. 



For threshing with machine, 2 men to feed the machine, 



1 woman to supply heads, 5 women to collect and remove 

 the empty heads after the second threshing, and 1 woman to 

 collect the grain into a heap 15,000 lb. per day of eight hours. 



Paddy. — This is usually threshed in two operations. The 

 heads are first beaten against a board and 90 per cent of the 

 grain removed. One man with a woman or boy to hand him 

 the bundles can thus beat out 2,000 lb. a day. The straw is 

 afterwards trodden out by cattle. In this second threshing 

 roughly, 16 bullocks with 4 boys to drive will thresh out 

 2,000 lb. per day while six will stack the straw in the same 

 time. 



If the paddy is trodden out directly by cattle, a team of 

 16 cattle, i.e., four yokes of four each with 4 men or boys to 

 drive, and 3 men to turn the straw, will thresh out 7,000 lb. 

 of grain per day. 



Bengal gram. — With the stone roller, a team of two pairs 



2 drivers and 3 women will thresh 4,000 lb. per day. If the 

 stuff is trodden with cattle 16 bullocks and 7 men or boys 

 will thresh 5,000 lb. per day. If threshed with sticks 1 

 woman can thresh out 80 lb. grain per day. 



Ragi. — Two pairs of cattle, 5 men and 2 women can 

 thresh about 2,000 lb. per day. 



Cumbu. — Two pairs of cattle, 2 men and 2 women thresh 

 1,500 lb. per day. 



Trenching. — For cane, 25 men per acre. 



