1365.] On the Boksas of Bijnoitr. 163 



for the tobacco-crop. A very few of them remain all the year in the 

 forest (I met with one), and take two crops off the gixmnd. The Semis' 

 houses are almost invariably in a little cluster apart from the Boksa 

 village. I could not clearly discover what terms as regards land-rent 

 are made with the Boksas. The facilities for getting excellent 

 manure render tobacco a very luxuriant and lucrative crop, but men 

 of the plains say, its quality is not so good as that grown outside the 

 forest. The Boksas give as the reason why they do not grow tobacco, 

 that it is unlawful for them to break off the top of the plant (as is 

 done to prevent its running to stalk and flower) ; but this appears 

 absurd enough, and the cause assigned for their allowing the Sanis to 

 cultivate their village-land on any terms, viz. that the Boksas have 

 too few men, seems to me almost equally so. It is to be found that 

 laziness is the chief cause of both circumstances. 



I can only give details, as to the area of land cultivated in propor- 

 tion to the number of inhabitants, in regard to one village, and that 

 the most comfortable-looking of all those visited. It contained less 

 than one hundred inhabitants of all ages, and the extent of land under 

 cultivation, for one or other or both crops, was about fifty acres. The 

 Government land-rent paid by the Boksas appears to be in general 

 exceedingly light, 



After what has been said of the agriculture of the Boksas, it 

 will be apparent that their food is of the simplest. It consist of 

 bread made of the flour of wheat, barley, or some of the millets, or of 

 rice with a small proportion of dal, and more rarely some lahi or 

 wild herbs -cooked as greens with a little oil. They also, as above 

 indicated, consume a large amount of the flesh of wild animals com- 

 pared with the ordinary inhabitant of the plains. And, were they 

 always able to procure such food as the above, they would be, to say 

 the least, no worse off than millions of the inhabitants of India. But, 

 besides that the disarming process has affected their supply of meat, 

 it will be at once evident, that if the proportion of land to popu- 

 lation throughout is similar to that in the village instanced above, 

 even were it cultivated in the highest perfection, sufficient food could 

 not be grown for the inhabitants. We accordingly find that, even in 

 ordinary years, most of the Boksas live for months on a wild yam, 

 called githi, which, fortunately for them, is found in abundance ia 



