738 Account of the Origin, etc. of the [July, 



end of the bill. 'Tis no great matter, and firing is the last effectual 

 process. Amid the ashes the seed is sown by a dibbler and a sower, 

 the former of whom, walking erect, perforates the soil in quincunxes 

 by sharp strokes of his pointed staff, (called Shoman by the Bodo and 

 Dhumsi by the Dhimals) so as to make a series of holes from one to 

 two inches deep, and about a span apart ; whilst the latter, following 

 the dibbler, and furnished with a basket of mixed seeds, drops 4 to 6 

 seeds into each hole and covers them at the same time. All the various 

 produce raised is grown in this promiscuous style. Chait, Baisakh 

 and half Jeth,* comprise the season for preparing and sowing the soil. 

 Sawan, Bhadun, Kuar and half Kartik,f that for gathering the various 

 products, save cotton, which is not gathered till Piis-Magh.J The rest 

 are reaped as they successively ripen : first cucurbitaceous plant s 

 (Kohara, Louka, Khira, Kankara Karela.) ; then greens (Sem, mattar, 

 Bengan, Chichinda, Poi) ; then the several edible roots (Yam, Arwi, &c.) ; 

 then the condiments (Haldi, Adrak, red peppers) ; then the millets 

 and pulse (Marwa, Kulthi, Urid) ; then Maize ; next rice ; then the 

 mustards (Tori or Sarsun or Til), and last of all, cotton. The fields, 

 which are much better worked in eradicating the jungle than those 

 for which the Bengal plough performs the same office, are likewise as 

 much better weeded ; and how strange soever to mere English ears, 

 the huge mixture of crops may sound, this mixture does not greatly 

 exceed the practice of Bengal, nor is it inconsistent with good re- 

 turns, though there be no artificial irrigation whatever. The cotton 

 is a biennial of inferior quality, but it is the main crop, and that from 

 the sale of which in the plains, the Bodo and Dhimals look to provide 

 themselves with the greatest part of the rice they consume ; for their 

 own supply is very inadequate. Nevertheless rice is usually spoken of 

 as the crop next in estimation to cotton, though maize and even millet 

 seem to contribute as much to the quantity of home-reared food. The 

 rice grown is similar to the " dry rice" — " the Ghaia" of Nepal — the 

 " summer rice" of the plains. The other articles grown, have all been 

 enumerated above, save Indigo, which, with the cochineal of the forest, 

 and Madder procured from the hills, supplies the Bodo and Dhimals 



* March, April, and May respectively. 



f July, August, Sept. and Oct. respectively. 



% December, January. 



