xiv 



INTRODUCTION. 



it is impossible to construct earthen wells, and if tliere is no clay stratum within a reasonable dis- 

 tance, masonry wells for reasons given above are equally impossible. Unfortunately this state of 

 things is not at all exceptional. 



The supply of water in a well varies considerably according as it is drawn from below an im- 

 permeable bed of clay or merely from loose water-bearing strata surrounding the bottom and sides 

 of the well. " Spring " wells are, therefore, those which have been sunk down to the clay through 

 which a hole is then bored, while percolation wells end in loose sand. In the first case a plentiful 

 supply of clear water rises from a basin which forms below the clay, while in the second case there 

 being no such reservoir the water drains but slowly into the well, being much impeded by the sand 

 which is mixed with it. 



In places where the water table is at a greater depth than 55 and 60 feet from the surface, cul- 

 tivators do not consider well irrigation profitable, and for this reason wells occur but rarely in the 

 high tracts over-looking river beds. 



When the depth to water is more than 12 or 18 feet, the water is lifted by a leather bucket 

 drawn by bullocks, and although this means appears a rude one, yet experiment has shown that it is 

 far from being inefficient. The capacity of the bucket varies between 12 and 25 gallons, and it is 

 suspended by a rope which passes over a wooden pulley fixed above the well mouth, and is secured 

 beyond to the yoke of the bullocks. In order to give the bullocks all the advantages to be derived 

 from dead weight, the run is excavated in the ground, and forms a steep slope down which the bullocks 

 literally hurl themselves, the driver often subscribing his own weight by sitting on the rope. There 

 are considerable differences between the capacity of the bucket, the size and efficiency of the pulley, 

 and the slant of the bullock run, which are often strictly localized, although with no apparent reason. 

 Thus west of Aligarh the pulleys are all neatly made in wheel form and are of large size, while east 

 of Aligarh they are merely rough discs of wood generally far too small for efficiency. 



Two systems are used in working the bucket. In one (known as nagor) each bucket is worked 

 by a single pair of bullocks, while in the other (called Uli) two pairs are employed, one pair drawing 

 the bucket while the other are on their way up to the well mouth. This is effected by the driver 

 detaching the rope from the yoke when the bullocks have arrived at the bottom of the run, and 

 walking up to the well mouth carrying it in his hand while his bullocks turn iato a side run made 

 for the purpose, and by which they find their way to the well mouth. The driver arrives there before 

 them, but finds the other pair waiting for him, and by the time these have drawn their load the former 

 pair are in position. Each bucket whether worked by nagor or Mli requires two men, one to drive 

 the bullocks, and one to empty the bucket at the well mouth. The Mli system saves the difference 

 between the time in which the driver walks up to the well mouth and that which the bullocks would 

 take to do it, and the rest which the bullocks obtain after each effort enables them to work nearly 

 two hours a day longer, and that too on a bucket which is larger than could be used with a single 

 pair. Hence the single bucket performs very nearly if not quite as much work as two buckets 

 worked by nagor, and the labour of two men is therefore saved. 



The strict localization of the two systems is therefore a matter for some surprise. East of Etah 

 hardly a well can be found worked by Mli, while west of it one worked by nagor is equally rare. 

 There are no differences in soils, depth of water, or quality of cattle sufficiently great to account for 

 this, although undoubtedly the cattle are finer in tracts where the Mli system prevails. 



The efficiency of the well bucket increases with the depth from which water is raised. At a 

 depth of 20 feet the useful work performed by each bullock is only about -07 horse-power, while at 

 35 feet it increases to •12 horse-power. The area irrigated in a day varies between -Jth acre at 

 20 feet and 1th acre at 40 feet. In parts of Rohilkhand, Oudh and the Benares Divisions, coolies 



