Jan. 1907.] 57 Miscellaneous. 



the tanks did not fill and very little paddy was planted at all. The little 

 patches of paddy land found in every Kwin in the district and which rely 

 on petty shallow depressions (often excavated by harrow only) to supply the 

 necessary addition to the rainfall to bring the crop to maturity have a very 

 precarious existence. Seldom will they have good crops, often they will fail 

 entirely, and always they will give a smaller outturn than the fields below 

 the larger tanks. For this reason the mogaung paddy is divided into two assess- 

 ment classes, 



Paungya Paddy.— In addition to the four paddy crops mentioned, paddy is 

 found in taungyas in the vicinity of Popa. In Popa circle the seed sown is sabasangale 

 and taungbawgyi, and in the Nyaungunya circle ingyiubyn and kunzabya. There is 

 really very little difference between tbese seeds except in the local nomenclature. 

 The local taungyas do not differ from those in regular tauugya tracts. The trees and 

 undergrowth are felled and burnt and the ground is harrowed up in a 

 perfuuctory way. Two baskets of seed are sown to the acre. The seed is sown 

 broadcast. The anticipated outturn is ten baskets, though in the vicinity of 

 Popa peak the yield is often fifteen baskets. The price per basket never falls 

 below one rupee. 



COTTON. 



Cotton.— There are three kinds of cotton found in this district: Wagyi, 

 Gossypium acuminatum, Wagale ; Gossypium wightxanum. 



Wagyi lives for three years and is cropped each year if the field is protected 

 from cattle. Wagale and Wani are annals and die off iu the cold weather. Wagale 

 is the variety chiefly grown in the district. Wani is grown exclusively for local con- 

 sumption. Its colour is not red, but is similar to khaki, though somewhat brighter. 

 It does not lose its colour in the wash. The coats of the humblest cultivators are 

 almost entirely woven from this cotton. This variety as well as Wagale has been 

 grown for generations locally, but Wagyi has been introduced in recent years, it is 

 said, from the Thayetunyo district. It is not a very popular crop, but it is con- 

 sidered to do better on light sandy soil than the other varieties. It gives a longer 

 thread than the other kinds. Theoretically a sesamum crop should be reaped off 

 the land the year before the cotton crop is grown and all cotton land should be 

 manured. Cotton does not follow a millet crop, though millet follows the cotton 

 crop preparatory to the land being left fallow for such period as]the particular 

 land is considered to need it. In May and June the land is ploughed and reploughed 

 several times with harrows supplied with from seven to three teeth. The seed is 

 sown broadcast in July and is buried in the ground with a three-teethed harrow. 

 The quantity of seed sown varies slightly, but in Natogyi, the best cotton tract, 

 it is invariably four baskets to the acre. Immediately the seed sprouts the soil is 

 broken by the harrow, and when it is 6 inches high, hoeing begins and continues 

 until the crop commences to flower. If the weeds bid fair to obtain the mastery 

 over the crop the four-toothed harrow is again used, but it is not requisitioned unless 

 absolutely necessary as it roots up many plants with the weeds. It is of vital im- 

 portance to keep the young crop free of weeds, and long lines of men and women are 

 to be seen daily in the fields during the hoeing season. The wages given for hoeing 

 are two or three annas per woman and four annas per man, and two meals to all 

 workers. The crop is perhaps hoed three times in the season ; this depends entirely 

 on the rainfall and the growth of the weeds. Five women are supposed to hoe an 

 acre in a day. Wagyi is plucked in March and April, and Wagale in October and 

 November. The crop ripens gradually and so the plucking extends over a period of 

 weeks. There are generally six different pluckings, the first and the last being the 

 least profitable, When labourers are hired to gather the cotton their wages take 



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