180 COTTON IN THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY. [1849. 



CHAP, more on dry land, and twice as much more on garden land.* 

 - The whole of these 500 acres was worked by his Farm esta- 



blishment and cattle ; but in addition, he was preparing 

 about 200 acres to be cultivated by Native labourers em- 

 ploying their Native implements and cattle on the contract 

 system. The ploughing for the season had already been 

 completed ; and he proposed to sow the land in two months 

 time, that is in July, with three different kinds of American 

 seed ; and also with some Sea Island seed lately received from 

 the Court of Directors. The Court's order for six thousand 

 bales was about half executed ; and Dr. Wight continued to 

 purchase Native seed Cotton, and to gin it, as it kept the 

 gin house Cattle at work, and the ginned Cotton yielded a 

 profit of 20 or 25 per cent, on cost and charges. He had 

 100 bales of ginned Native Cotton at Cochin ready for ship- 

 ment ; and 8000 rupees worth of seed Cotton, purchased at 

 Coimbatore, was being ginned as rapidly as possible. 

 As regarded the culture of the coming season, Dr. 

 Wight calculated that it would pay all the agricultural 

 expenses of the Farm, exclusive of his own salary ; and he 

 considered that, now that the sowing time had been changed 

 from the cold weather to July, the American Cotton could 

 no longer be regarded as an uncertain crop. 



236 Application of Dr. Wight to be permitted to sow 

 and gather one crop more : refused, June. It will be 

 seen from the foregoing para, that Dr. Wight was under 

 contract both to Native landholders and to Native cultiva- 

 tors ; and that the land had been engaged, and compensa- 

 tion paid, up to May 1850. Accordingly one of the Members 



* All lands under a system of artificial irrigation, are called nunjah or 

 garden lands. Those under no irrigation, beyond what is supplied by the 

 natural fall of rain, are called punjah or dry land. The Native Cotton is 

 generally grown on dry land or punjah. Dr. Wight however had been 

 anxious to try the experiment of growing American Cotton on nunjah, or 

 irrigated land. It need scarcely be remarked that a higher rate of assess- 

 ment is raised from nunjah than from punjah land. 



