1839] 



On the Statistics of Duhhun. 



393 



with bis head and back most securely protected by the Eerlub,* how- 

 ever much exposed the rest of his body may be. The transplantation 

 is performed under similar exposure. The other monsoon grains of the 

 Mawuls arc the Sawa, Wuree, and Natchnee, and Karlee, or Kalee 

 Teelt which is an uil plant of the only other monsoon product. 



The labour attending the cultivatioa of these grains, in a very unfa- 

 vourable climate, at the tisne they are grown, falls very s-everely on the 

 people, but thev are co-np-^nsafed for th'^ir labour and suffering by good 

 returns of that valu ible prodace rice ; and thi returns of the other grains 

 are great, an'.l the cro[)S seldom fail. 



The Koonbees, or f irm -rs of the M iwuN, also have an advantage 

 which those of the Desii are not always assured of, i. e. the certainty of 

 finding a market for one of Ji'^ir pr(/d;ic's, rice. 



Dry Season Crop ( \Jawal.s). — The d y crop of the Mawuls does not 

 call for any mention in this place. 



Dry Season Crop f Z)e.v.^/ ^. — With rsspect to the Deah, the most va- 

 luable is the Rubbee, or spring croi)t. The agrii'uUural processes in 

 both crops is certainly defective, less owing to the ignorance of the cul- 

 tivators, who are well aware of the advantage of a ploughing adapted to 

 the character of the soil, of good manuring, complete weeding, rotations 

 of crops and fallows ; than to their njces.dtics, which compel them to 

 rack their land ; they cannot generally afford to pundiase a sufficiency 

 of manure, they have not any stable-yards, and the dearth of fuel com- 

 pels them to burn much of their cow-dung ; an l, with a singular fatuity 

 and injurious caution, they sow half a dozen grains and pulses together 

 in the same field, which necessarily impede the growth of each other, 

 exhaust the soil, and give limited returns. The professed object is to 

 assure, in the occasional uncertainty of the monsjons, some kind of re- 

 turn at least for their labours, which might have been wholly unproduc- 

 tive had one grain only been sown. In short they want to have half a 

 dozen strings to their bow instead of one. 



Wet Crop (Desk).— The grains so sown ripen in succession, and two 

 of them remain on the ground between nine and ten months ; that is to 

 say, from the beginning of June to the end of February. In their ma- 

 nagement of the plough, the Koonbees do not want dexterity. Their 

 cattle have all names, know their names, and are obedient to them ; 

 with four bullocks to a plough, tlie leaders are guided entirely by the 



* Eerluh, or basket-work hood, covered v/itli leaves and quite impervious to rain. 

 + Wet season crop (Mawuls). 



T Consisting of wheats, gram, barley; Shaloo, (Jndropogon Saccharatum) ; Dhal, 

 (Ci/tisus cajan), oil-plants, &c. 



