1862.] Literary Intelligence, Sfc. 291 



five years the want of rain had prevented cultivation. " Why don't 

 you grow foreign cotton ?" Where can we get the seed ? The 

 Burman cotton won't grow here, and is bad. The " Thimbau" 

 (literally ship) cotton would answer very well, if we could get it. 

 " Well, supposing now I were to give you and all the people here the 

 seed, would you cultivate it, and sell me the produce by contract at a 

 certain rate agreed on ?" " Oh yes, and gladly." " We are all in 

 great distress now, and do not know what to do." "What taxes 

 have you to pay." " None, we only give a quarter of the produce for 

 the land." " And your service, what wage do you get for that ?" I 

 knew before, — •" What wage, what do you mean ?" I am an ' amoodan.' 

 An amoodan is an hereditary servant of the throne. All the soldiers are 

 amoodans, there are amoodans of all kinds. Soldier amoodan, 40,000, 

 boat amoodan 10,000 (?) mahout amoodan 3,000 (?) horse amoo- 

 dan 3,000. (The General commanding the Cavalry, told me 25,000 !) 

 artillery amoodan 1,000, blacksmith amoodan, tailor amoodan 

 300, &c, amoodan of all occupations in fact, who are the hereditary 

 slaves of the crown. All amoodan children are amoodans, and a free- 

 man marrying an amoodan's daughter enlists himself thereby. 

 There are amoodans who do nothing but cultivate the royal land, 

 unless called to some special work ; and on special occasions all the 

 population become amoodan, i. e. render free labour and service 

 to the king's order, for instance the great canal which as yet has 

 failed. 



They live then on the three quarters of the produce of the land 

 lent them by His Majesty. This amoodan system has opened up 

 several questions to me that will probably be of practical interest to 

 vis at some future day. 



Well, continuing north-east by north we passed over a large ex- 

 panse of good soil, with but here and there a little cotton (Burman) a 

 little Indian corn, a little patch of unhealthy paddy. It seemed to me 

 good, arable land, rich but a little too dry for paddy. The Mahout's 

 accounts confirmed this. 



About 1 o'clock p. M. I noticed some bluish limestone cropping 

 up with a surface altered into chalkiness. This was in situ, of a 

 fine quality. Would pay immensely if burnt, for lime is of enormous 

 price at the capital. No more stone, till we came to " Bouk," a 

 village at the foot of a high part of the range of mountains, about 3 



