A JOURNEY FROM MADRAS THROUGH 
S82 
CHAPTER 
July 8, & c. 
Vais&ka crop 
of rice, in the 
sprouted- 
seetl cultiva- 
tion. 
Utility of 
much 
ploughing. 
Preservation 
of rice. 
the large grained rices require about lyoY Winchester bushel; 
1 -^— bushel of the small grained rices is sufficient. The prod uce 
of the Doda Byra , which is the common coarse grain of the country, 
is the greatest. A good crop of this is said to be 15 seeds, or nearly 
20| bushels, an acre; and a middling crop about 10 seeds, or 13 T V 
bushels. The other kinds, on the same extent of ground, produce 
eight or ten Seers less. 
The Mold cultivation for the Vais aka crop is as follows. Having 
inundated the field, plough it five or six clays during the course of 
the twenty days preceding the feast Dipamli , which happens this 
year on the 18th of October. In the course of the next month 
plough four times. Then let out all the water, except two inches 
in depth ; manure with leaves ; and, having trodden these well into 
the mud, sow the prepared seed broad-cast. Next day dry the field, 
and manure it with dung. Three days after, water for two hours. 
Then every second day, for three times, water for four or five 
hours. Afterwards keep the field inundated. At the end of 
the month harrow, with the Halivay, three times in three direct 
tions, with a day’s rest between each harrowing. A week after- 
wards weed with the hand, and in two weeks repeat this operation. 
This is the most productive crop, and gives from one to two seeds 
more than that which is reaped in Kdrtika . 
It must be observed, that one or two ploughings less, or more, 
make a great difference in the produce. What I have stated here 
is the full cultivation ; but some farmers are so necessitous, that for 
a crop that is sown sprouted-seed, they can only afford four or five 
ploughings. 
The mode of cultivation, or the season of sowing, makes no dif- 
ference here in the quality of the grain, nor in the length of time 
that it will keep good. The grain is always preserved in the husk; 
and until wanted for immediate consumption, is never beaten. In 
store-houses, or Canajas , if well dried in the sun previous to its 
