270 



Statistics of the 



[No. 38, 



for one plough would cost about Rupees 12, to this must be added 

 sundry incidental expenses to which he may be liable, as the death of 

 a bullock, the price of which varies from 10 to 15 Rupees, celebrating 

 the marriage of a son varying with his circumstances, from 50 to 200 

 Rupees, the expense attending that of a daughter's being but half 

 this amount : and live or six Rupees in fees to Brahmins, &c. on a 

 death, &c. occurring in the family. 



The Koonbee's ideas and habits have never reached a point beyond 

 providing the mere necessaries of life, and these two consisting ge - 

 nerally of the very coarsest kind ; by the daily expense incurred for 

 food we may see at how very small a sum they are enabled to sustain 

 life ; the standard of living is indeed very low, and in bad seasons 

 having nothing further to fall back upon, they are exposed to great 

 distress if not utter destitution. 



The ordinary daily food consists ofbajree or jowarree flour, knead- 

 ed with water into cakes and baked in a girdle over the fire : gar- 

 lic, onions, and chillies are made into chetnee with salt, and eaten 

 with them ; several species of pulse occasionally vary the diet, pre- 

 pared whole, or ground into flour for porridge, as dhall, gram, tour, 

 moong and mussoor, and seasoned with chetnee, or mixed with oil, 

 or ghee and salt ; it is very rarely flesh is tasted, Jbut when such an 

 indulgence occurs, some superannuated lean goat provides the feast, 

 and his flesh is eaten, cut up and fried, with oil or ghee ; the pro- 

 duct of the dairy forming a source of profit from which their few 

 wants are supplied, does not enter into their daily food. 



The hours of taking food are 8 a. m. when jowarree or bajree cakes 

 with chetnee are eaten, with the cold remains of yesterday's fare ; at 

 noon labor is suspended and the wife or child brings dinner to the 

 field, where the meal is eaten, and is composed of the same kind of 

 cakes as formed the morning's repast ; having boiled grains of pulse, 

 and vegetables, placed between them : at 8 p. m., the supper is eaten 

 at home, consisting of some sort of porridge, made from the various 

 kinds of pulse or Indian corn : though intoxicating drinks are not 

 prohibited by their customs, they invariably use water as beverage, 

 and are never seen intoxicated. Tobacco is but moderately employed, 

 and smoked by rolling up a portion in a leaf of the pulas tree, thereby 

 making a very simple and convenient pipe ; the number of people ad- 

 dicted to opium is considerable. 



