THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Dec i, 1895. 
the tank or any portion of it Bhall be cultivated ' 
and if it be decided to cultivate any portion of it 
each proprietor bhall be entitled to a share of the 
•xtent it is proposed to cultivate, in proportion 
to his share of the fields ; and no proprietor shall 
be allowed to cultivate any portion of the tank, if 
it be decided by a nnajority of the proprietors not 
to carry on any cultivation in the bed of the tank. 
An appeal from a decision in tliis case may be 
made to the Government Agent or Assistant Agent 
of the district, Avhose decision shall be final." 
In the Vanni the thrashing of the crop is UBually 
delayed for months, and a cultivator thrashes a 
small quantity only at the time of harvest ; thus 
"out of 50 bushels sowing exteut he thrashes about 
&')." This portion is equally divided between him- 
self and hiaYarra/c' nilin, and is what is called juttir. 
They have a superstitious ffar that unless they 
make a iionlal v/ith pntir (oi "first fruits" of their 
labour) before they finally stack their paddy crops, 
the devils will destroy, or to use their own words, 
run away with all the paddy. " This custom is 
religiously observed by the WannianB."{o) 
Mr. Dyke remarks with respect to the custom 
in the Vanni of deferring the thrashing of the crops 
for months : — " I have been familiar with the fact 
ever since I knew this country, but I have never 
been able to undei'stand the real reason for the 
great delay in thrashing the crops." 
In numerous villages that we have been in they 
have not yet thrashed even the Kalapiiolaiii~ a,nd 
now they must expect rain to interrupt them and 
perhaps injure the paddy; besides there is all the 
enormous additional labour of watching the heaps 
for all this time. The explanation given by one of 
the Mudaliyars when he was consulted on the 
subject was that it was due to two principal reasons 
which, however, the people were disinclined to 
divulge. (t) 
1. By keeying the crops unthrashcd the share 
of the T^araldiuli is detain'el with it, and as long 
as the share thus remains undecided the Varakkttdi 
could not well quit his master's service or engage 
himse'f to another employer, or make any engage- 
ment with another employer. Consequently, the 
thrashing is generally done and the share of the 
VaraMcudi is allotted to hira after he has done a 
considerable share of the work of the next cultivation. 
2. It is a prevailing custom among natives when 
Ihey wish to secure their grain, money, or other 
articles, from being carelessly spent, to invent some 
means to keep these articles under some restriction, 
i.e., in such a way that access cannot readily be 
had to them. For instance, in the case of money, 
they would not keep it in loose coin but change 
it into notes or gold, and perhaps hide it under 
ground to prevent it from being spent without 
sufficient necessity. So in the case of a paddy crop, 
it is probable that the thrashing is deferred from 
similar consideration. When paddy is actually 
required a certain quantity is drawn out from the 
stack and thrashed by the cultivators themselves, 
treading out the corn. 
Obstacles in the way of cultivation, besides the 
periodical droughts, are occasionally want of seed 
paddy, want of command of labour, and, after one 
of the periodical epidemics of murrain, scarcity of 
a (Diary of Mr. Atherton, 16th April 1854.) It gives 
the renters a hold upon the cultivators, as he informs 
them that for partially thrashing in this way they 
are liable to a penalty under the ordinance to the 
extent of double the tithe. If his tithe is 10 parras 
he tells them that if they will give him 15 parras 
he will not prosecute them : knowing that they had 
no right to act as they did, they pay him the 15 
parras in money or kind. 
h Diary of 2nd November 1848. The reasons alleged 
by the people themselves were want of cattle, want 
of time, and carelessness but these the Mudaliyar 
did not believe. 
builaloeB.(a) As regards Uboor the Varakk^i tjantra 
followed in Jaffna generally prevails. This uystttm 
is fully explained elsewhere. (t) 
I take the following from Mr. Dyke's diary of 36tb 
August 1842. " The rent of paddy Laud is usually 1 
marakkal of paddy for each marakkal of sowing exteut. 
Tlie average rate of produce may be taken at 10 for 1, 
The person holding the land in rent pays lithe. 
For 10 marakkah sowing exteut of groond tnerefore 
he probably pays 10 maralckaU for rent and 10 for 
tax— in all 2<t." 
Except perhaps in one or two villages such as 
Putukkudiviruppu it is probable that the exteut ot 
paddv land available ia quite as much as the prenent 
population is able to cnltivate.(> ) buch beiug the 
case it is not to be expected that the extent of 
land cultivated with paddy will show any tendency 
to increase. The following tables bhew the extent 
sown at different periods: — 
Paddv. 
Divisions. 
Karikkadduraulai 
North 
South 
MuUiyavalai 
Put ukkudiyiruppu 
Karuuavelpattu 
North 
South 
Tunukkay 
Mclpattu North 
Total 
Wuiiu iiui 
IVriod 
Dutch 
Pi-riod 
1807 
1879 
IMtO 
G40 
15.-1 
410 
7»;i> 
512 
153 
410 
1155 
C4 
25 
233 
1475 
AM 
3U6 
525 
]54i^ 
42U 
3y7 
512 
1282 
1538 
153 
512 
2(j51 
1025 
384 
709 
102 
20;> 
7C 
96 
172 
4G2 
107 
220 
412 
4944 
5«16 
2029 
3552 
3019 
PaddT' 
Extent 
Divisions. 
Kilakkumulai South 
,, North 
Nad lie hchcddik ulara 
Simiachchc-ddikulam 
Morkumulai 
Pauuukaniam 
lldaiyaur 
Melapattu South 
, , East 
Total 
— Vavini 
wn ia ae 
Wauuian 
Period 
230 
250 
5.38 
512 
612 
25G4 
7G1 
.384 
384 
VA. 
res.(<f) 
DuUh 
I't-riod 
205 
381 
C82 
7G9 
512 
2051 
380 
410 
512 
1807 IHMit 
93 
179 
38 
51 
38 
128 
51 
51 
153 
8.'.1 
270 
(173 
32G 
87 
172 
88 
1*10 
3G1 
6141 5905 
782 2990 
Extent sown from 1879 to 1889 (in acres). 
Year 
Vanni j'a 
AfuUaittivu 
1879 
.3554 
1880 
3C67 
1881 
2989 .. 
3«4« 
1882 
3012 
4524 
1883 
1884 
3501 
4790 
1885 
4191 
4791 
1886 
4015 
45.36 
1887 
3151 
4480 
1888 
3015 
3589 
18-89 
2990 
3620 
a These obstac'es have been subjects of compla-'nt 
since the beginning of the century. In February 1863 
the cultivators were paying Is a day to coolies. It is 
customary for a propietor of paddy land if he has 
no seed paddy to allow another man who has to sow 
his field. In that case he gets a quantity equal to 
the seed paddy for rent. 
6 See chapter on "Labour-wages." 
c See Mr. EUis' Adm. Report for 1880. 
d I have reduced the figures given in Tumour's 
diary from marakkals of 12 and 15 seers to acres, 
taking marakkals of 15 seers as sowing one 
acre's extent. In all the figures, factions are neglected. 
The figures in the first two columns are of course 
nearly conjectural, and in their original form are 
given in round numbers. Hence the appearance of 
identical numbers in the two columns, from which 
extreme accuracy and a series of curious coincidences 
jpuat not be inferred. 
