AUGUST, 1912.] 



141 



In 1895-6 the rice exports were valued 

 at 96 million rupees ; in 1909-10 it rose to 

 over 222 million. 



Almost all the paddy is husked and 

 milled before shipment. A large milling 

 industry, and transport trade by rail and 

 rivei, is fed chiefly by the paddy crop. 



The average annual export of rice and 

 its products during the last five years 

 amounts to nearly 2\ million tons. 



Bengal, East Bengal and Assam, Burma 

 and Madras together 



PRODUCE 80 PER CENT, 



of the rice grown in the Indian Empire. 



Statistics show that while in Bengal 

 and Assam the population is about two 

 per acre of paddy, there is just one 

 individual per acre in Burma. This ex- 

 plains why Burma is able to export so 

 much. 



Allowing for waste during storage, the 

 high seed rate and other causes, half an 

 acre per individual may be safely allowed 

 as the rate of consumption. This means 

 a total, as already stated, of 6 million 

 acres per annum. As 10 million acres 

 are cultivated, there is available for ex- 

 port something over 4 million acres. 

 Taking '65 to "7 tons as the average out- 

 turn per acre, this means 2'5 to 2'6 million 

 tons exported. 



Increased Production. 



So much as regards the present ; what 

 of the future ? That depends greatly 

 upon the increase of population. With 

 the favourable agricultural and economic 

 prospects of the country it may be assur- 

 ed that the rate of increased production 

 which has occurred during the last de- 

 cade (14 pei cent-) in spite of the increase 

 of population will continue for some 

 time to come at least. 



It may be reasonably supposed that in 

 fifty years' time there will be a population 

 of 20 millions, for which the 10 million 

 acres at present under cultivation will 

 just suffice. But there are over 11 mil- 

 lion acres of cultivable waste land, and 

 it may be taken for granted that 4 million 

 acres of this could be brought under 

 paddy ; so that Burma could still main- 

 tain the present rate of export, provided 



the fields do not decrease. All things 

 considered, it is probable that the fields 

 will be maintained. It is likely also that 

 reduccion of the present excessive rate 

 of sowing and prevention of loss in 

 storage and in milling will help to in- 

 crease the available amount of paddy. 



THE HISTORY OF GARDEN 

 IMPLEMENTS. 



It would be interesting to know what 

 form the first implement for the cultiv- 

 ation of the soil may have taken— inte- 

 resting, but probably quite impossible. 

 It is permitted, however, to hazard an 

 opinion ; and it may be guessed that the 

 unshod semi-barbarian would either 

 employ a forked stick to tickle the 

 virgin soil, or, when once the use of 

 metals was discovered, loosen the earth 

 to a greater depth by the 



use of a single-pronged mattock. 



The spade, in its present form, with a 

 clamp for foot pressure, would be use- 

 less until civilisation had advanced to 

 the stage of the wearing of shoes ; so 

 that probably all the tools used for 

 digging were sharp-pointed in the 

 nature of a fork. Even as late as the 

 17th century a spade of triangular shape 

 was used, as portrayed in Husbandry 

 Spiritualized. In Lawson's New Orchard, 

 of earlier date, a 



round-mouthed spade is shown. 



All the ancient nations of the Eaet 

 possessed husbandry implements of an 

 advanced kind, including pumping 

 machinery for the raising of water with 

 which to irrigate gardens. They had 

 spades, forks, rakes, shears for the clip- 

 ping of hedges and shrubs, hooks, and 

 scythes ; all these by no means inferior 

 to those in use here, at any rate, up to 

 a not-far-distant date. Pitzherbert (1,534) 

 tells his readers that forks were made 

 of wood as well as of iron, and describes 

 the right kind of branch for making 

 them. Rakes were often toothed with 

 willow wood, He also mentions knives 

 used for various purposes, and 



