352 



INDIGO. 



The foregoing remarks apply chiefly to the culture by ryots, but we 

 must not ignore the large area of land held by planters in their own 

 hands, and cultivated by them at their own expense. In many fac- 

 tories, especially in Sarun, the area thus cultivated is far larger than 

 that occupied by the indigo grown by ryots, and as long as these lands 

 are what they are supposed to be, viz., lands let to the factory by the 

 zemindar, or in villages leased to the planter, lands known as " zeerat," 

 that is, lands by immemorial custom set apart for the use of the land- 

 owner or the lessee as his representative, there, can be nothing to 

 object to in this mode of cultivation. Additions to this area may also 

 be legitimately made, from lands abandoned by absconding ryots, and 

 from those lapsing owing to the failure of heirs to former tenants. 

 The out-turn from the Sarun district is estimated at 12,000 maunds 

 on a cultivation of 45,000 acres. 



The industry is managed almost entirely by Europeans, as the few 

 zemindars and bankers who have invested their money in the business 

 almost all employ European managers, those who do not manufacturing 

 on a very petty scale. In Sarun, however, native capitalists have 

 lately taken to the business with some eagerness. Tvventy-one fac- 

 tories with 19 attached outworks are owned by natives, and 17 of 

 these factories have sprung uj) within the last five or six years. 



In the districts south of the Ganges, the system is different from 

 that above described. The area is much less, and in Gya and Patna 

 the business scarcely worth mentioning. An attempt by a native to 

 start a factory in the Patna district promises to be anything but suc- 

 cessful. The cultivation is for the most part niz, and is carried on in 

 lands leased by the factory from the zemindars or ryots. The ex- 

 penses of cultivation are paid directly by the planter, who employs 

 his own labourers and bullocks. The seed is sown at the beginning 

 of the rains, and the plant remains on the ground during two years, in 

 each of which it is cut. In strong lands, a third year's crop is some- 

 times taken, but generally speaking the land is given up at the end of 

 the second year (when it is eagerly sought after for the growth of green 

 crops), and engagements are made for other lands. Many factories 

 have running agreements for two sets of lands, one of which is occu- 

 pied by indigo, and the other remains in the hands of the ryots. 



The little indigo that is cultivated by ryots is grown on poppy 

 lands and irrigated. The crop is sown in March or April, and reaped 

 at the end of the rains, in time to allow a crop of opium being taken 

 off the land. The crop is cut by the ryots, but is carted to the factory 

 which supplies the seed, gratis at its expense, and the bundles there 

 weighed, measured, and paid for at the rate of four bundles, measured 

 with a five-cubit chain, to each rupee ; but the frequent disputes arising 

 out of the measurement, have in some factories given rise to a practice 

 of appraising the crop on the field. Arbitrators are appointed, selected 

 by both parties, who calculate its value before it is cut, and this 

 system is said to be preferred by the ryots. The sums paid to them 

 vary, according to the quality of the crops, from Es. 5 to Es. 20 per 

 beegah, the average being about Es. 11-8. As the sole expense to the 

 ryot is that of cultivation, and he is able to take a second crop off the 

 land, the arrangement may be considered as profitable, the more so as 



