$S6 A JOURNEY FROM MADRAS THROUGH 
CHAP1EU Seringopalam. He says, that the manner of refining the raw su°*ar 
1S b y b °iling it with milk ; which, by its coagulation, would no 
July 19, 20. doubt answer the purpose, but the process must be expensive. 
VucMly, or In some places of this vicinity, the ground for sugar-cane is wa- 
^ch\nG for ma tered by the machine which the Mussulmans call Puckally, and the 
raising water, natives Cap'ily. It consists of two bags of skin raised by a cord 
passing over a pulley, and drawn by two oxen, or buffaloes, de- 
scending on an inclined plane. The great imperfection of this 
contrivance seems to be, that the cattle are forced to reascend the 
inclined plane backwards; but it appears to be a manner of raising 
water very capable of being improved, so as to become highly va- 
luable. One man manages both the cattle ; but these work only 
one half of the day ; so that the Puckally requires the labour of 
one man and four beasts. The cultivators here reckon, that one 
Puckally will raise as much water as nine men working with the 
largest Yatam , on which two men work the lever; or as seven men 
each working a single Yatam. This seems to confirm my opinion 
of the superiority of this last mentioned machine. The cost of the 
cattle is not reckoned to be more than that of one man, as they get 
no other provision than the straw of the farm, which they convert 
into manure, and which would otherwise be lost. Those who raise 
sugar-cane have two fields, on which they alternately raise that 
plant and Ragy. If they use the Cap'ily for watering their cane,, 
they pay a money-rent, which is reduced in proportion to their 
trouble ; but if they obtain a supply of water from a reservoir, the 
government takes one half of the crop.. 
Breed of Above the Ghats asses are a kind of cattle much used. Every 
asses. washerman keeps three or four females, and a male. The super- 
fluous males, as I have had occasion to mention, are sold to various 
kinds of petty traders. The breed is very small, no pains being 
taken to improve it ; nor indeed to keep it from growing worse; 
unless it may be considered as having already arrived at the ulti- 
mate degree of imperfection. For the purpose of breeding mules, 
