A JOURNEY FROM MADRAS THROUGH 
412 
CHAPTER 
VI. 
Aug. I — 6. 
Increase on 
the seed no 
guide for 
judging of the 
fertility of a 
country. 
Actual pro- 
duce, at Sira, 
of the dry- 
field. 
I have strong suspicions, that the chief of the village,- or Gauda, from 
whom I had most of the above information, although a very sensible 
man, diminished in his accounts the produce of the different grains. 
There being no estimate of the extent of dry-lands here, it will be 
very difficult to form any comparison between the success of the 
operations of husbandry here and in other places. The increase on 
the seed is scarcely any guide; as in different places and countries 
the quantity sown on the same extent of ground is extremely va- 
rious ; and the only rule, on which we ought to depend, in judging 
of the success of agriculture, is the quantity of grain produced on 
the same extent of ground after deducting the seed. With the 
wretched climate and agriculture of the highlands of Scotland, four 
seeds of oats is reckoned a good crop ; and at Sira the farmer ex- 
pects 64 fold from his field of Jola ; but after deducting seed, the 
highlander has 18 bushels from his acre, while the Hindu has only 
1 for on the acre the former sows nearly 24 times as much seed 
as the latter does. 
I measured a field said to require 12 Seers of Huruli, or 2 Seers 
of Suja, or 12 Seers of Shamay for seed, and found it to contain 2 T Vo 
acres. On these data the acre requires only about parts of a 
peck for the seed of Shamay and Huruli ; of the former, according 
to the Gauda' s rate of twenty seeds, it would produce only about 
3f bushels with a little pulse ; and of the Huruli it would produce 
less than 2 bushels. An acre would sow about 0,124 parts of a 
peck of Suja , and produce something less than 5 bushels with a 
little pulse. 
I am farther confirmed in believing that the Gauda under-rated 
the produce, by having measured a field which had been last year 
sown with Huruli. It took 24 Seers of seed, and in a bad year pro- 
duced 5 Colagas, or 20 seeds, which is double what he stated as the 
produce of a good year. The field contained 3 acres 9 chains. At 
this rate, the seed for an acre is about T s do parts of a peck, and the 
produce about four bushels. This last agrees with the account 
