Miscellaneous. 



58 



f Jan. 1908. 



the form of a share of the result. Women usually do the plucking. The shares of 

 the cotton pluckers are as follows :— 



1st picking— $ result, 4th picking — T l result. 



2nd „ — £ „ 5th „ — £ 



3rd „ - k „ 6th „ - \ ., 



The crop varies enormously. In parts of Natogyi 130 viss of cotton per acre 

 is anticipated, and the expected outturn throughout the regular cotton country 

 varies from 50 to 130 viss, but 50 viss is considered a small outturn in this 

 tract. The best cotton soils are the-wun-gon, myeni-the-wun, sane-myenet, and 

 myetha. The value of unoleaned cotton is Rs. 15 per 100 viss. It is sent to Bhamo» 

 en route to China and to Rangoon. It takes 400 viss of raw cotton to make 100 

 viss of clean cotton for Bhamo and only 300 viss of uncleaned cotton to turn 

 out 100 viss for Rangoon. The local industry of cleaning cotton for exportation 

 was almost killed by the cotton-ginning mill which was started in Myingyan in 

 1898, and its existence is deplored by the people at large. It has thrown 

 hundreds of the cultivators' wives and daughters out of work who formerly made 

 Rs. 6 per mensem (Rs. 2 per 100) in December, January, February and March by 

 cleaning cotton for the local Chinese merchants. Many petty brokers and merchants 

 too have been ruined. Before the cotton was taken to the mill the seed was dear 

 at eight annas a basket, but now its price is Rs. 2. The seed which passes through 

 the mill is damaged by machinery and i3 not used for sowing, The mill-owners ship 

 the seed to Rangoon for sale. It contains oil. The cultivator has no difficulty in 

 disposing of his crop ; the mill-owners and the Chinamen and their brokers (who 

 are still fighting hard for their business) will always advance money to the culti- 

 vators in the regular cotton tract, and the cotton is sold and paid for at the villages 

 and local bazaars and does not have to be carried into Myingyan for sale. 



AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION, MYSORE. 



Report by C Dbieberg, 

 Superintendent of School Gardens. 

 Sir,— I have the honour to report that on authority granted by your letter 

 No. 3363 of the 14th October, I proceeded to South India on the 15th to visit the 

 Mysore Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition, and returned to Ceylon on the 31st 

 idem, after a fortnight's absence. 



The Committee of Management appointed by His Highness the Maharajah 

 of Mysore in connection with the work of the Exhibition included the Revenue 

 Commissioner (President), the Chief Engineer, State Geologist, Inspector-General of 

 Education, Conservator of Forests, Agricultural Chemist, Superintendent of 

 Government Gardens, Superintendent of Government Industrial Schools, and a 

 lew others. 



The primary object of the Committee as set forth in their Prospectus was to 

 impart to the Exhibition a purely educative character and to bring together articles, 

 machinery and processes, the use of which it was thought desirable to bring to the 

 notice of the ryot, the artisan and manufacturer, by actual demonstration. 



The Exhibition was the first of a series to be held annually about the same 

 time every year. It was kept open from the 5th to the 31st October, the cattle and 

 sheep show lasting from the 17th to the 21st idem. The existence of permanent 

 buildings, known as the police reserve lines, were taken advantage of as a nucleus 

 rour d which a number of iron sheds were set up for the accommodation of the 

 exhibits. 



