728 PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 



masonry, instead of on planks as shown in the figure. On the ^jlatform 

 first of all a thick layer of straw is spread, on which the grain is poured 

 and the building commenced. The lowest roj^e is very thick and made 

 in the form of a ring and distinct from the upper ropes. It helps the 

 straw intended for Uning to stand. The grain is poured in and the 

 rope taken round and round. At the top the grain stands in the form 

 of a conical heap and on the top of it there is the thatch which is thick 

 and proof against rain. Plate 116, fig. 2, shows the morai after it is 

 complete and Plate 117, fig. 1, shows a diagrammatic vertical section of it. 



About 20 to 500 maunds of grain jan be stored in each morai. 

 Provided the materials are ready it can be built up and completed 

 in the course of a single day by two or three men. In it the 

 cultivator has devised a very cheap, efficient and convenient method 

 of storing paddy. The ropes last for about 7 or 8 years with a little 

 care, even when used frequently. If, however, the morai is built and 

 left unopened they are known to last for more than ten years. Paddy 

 grains are known to keep in it perfectly safe from insects. 



The morai (Plate 116) built at Pusa was about i\ feet in diameter i#t 

 the base and about 5 feet high. It accommodated 60 maunds of wheat. 



Balhari. — In Bihar the outdoor granaries take the forms shown in 

 Plates 118-121. These are called hakharis. All are built on a platform 

 somewhat raised from the ground in order to avoid damp. The walls 

 of the round hakharis (Plate 119, fig. 2) are usually made of the stems 

 of Saccharum fuscum, locally known as Ikri, and plastered with mud. 

 Plate 119, fig. 1 shows a larger bakhari under construction. It has four 

 chambers with a door for each. The walls are of wattled bamboo 

 which will be plastered with mud. On the right-hand side of Plate 121, 

 fig. 1, part of such a bakhari in the finished condition is seen. On the 

 left side of this figure there is a bakhari with masonry walls, with open 

 arches beloAV for prevention of damp and with three chambers as is 

 evident from the three doors. Wheat, barley, maize, peas, etc., are 

 stored in the hakharis with plenty of bhusa (usually broken wheat straw, 

 chaff, etc.) all around the grain as shown somewhat diagrammatically in 

 Plate 117, fig. 2. Sometimes gunny bags filled with grain are similarly 

 kept in the midst of bhusa. The bhusa is well pressed to make it as 

 impervious to insects as possible. In the case of wheat, barley, and 

 maize, wliich are very liable to be damaged by insects, some people take 

 very great care foi storage. The bakhari is filled with bhusa which is 

 very well pressed down. Then a hole or cavity is scooped out in this 

 bhusa: Grain is poured into this cavity and covered with a layer of 

 bhusa on the top. Wheat is said to remain immune in this manner for 

 two or three years. On the other hand it has been observed to be 



