CHAP. XV.] 



PLOUGHING. 



353 



rain was the signal for ploughing to begin, in order to sow 

 rice on all the flat lands between us and the town. The 

 plough used is a rude wooden instrument with a very 

 short single handle, a tolerably well-shaped coulter, and 

 the point formed of a piece of hard palm-wood fastened 

 in with wedges. One or two buffaloes draw it at a 



771. 



NATIVE WOODEN PLOUGH. 



very slow pace. The seed is sown broadcast, and a rude 

 wooden harrow is used to smooth the surface. 



By the beginning of December the regular wet season 

 had set in. Westerly winds and driving rains sometimes 

 continued for days together; the fields for miles around 

 were under water, and the ducks and buffaloes enjoyed 

 themselves amazingly. All along the road to Macassar, 

 ploughing was daily going on in the mud and water, 



vol. I. a A 



