IV 
CLOVES 
183 
and we were able to gather a much larger proportion of cloves. 
The men and women of the shamba were rated as follows : — 
1 Nkoa or headman . .27 pice for every 400 pishi brought in. 
2 Wakadammuor headmen, 
23 pice each . . 46 „ ,, „ 
1 Storekeeper and caretaker 20 ,, ,, ,, 
2 Women cleaning sweepings 15 ,, ,, ,, 
Total . .108 pice per 400 green pishi. 
Pickers 3 pice per pishi, and 3 pice per day (that is, one 
pishi gratis) for spreading out and taking in the cloves in the 
morning and evening, and in showery weather. 
Wa-geni pickers, or outsiders, 3 pice per pishi. 
The number of wa-geni pickers varied from 60 to 100 a day 
early in the season, dropping to 40 as gathering became general. 
The cloves were conveyed to the custom-house for sale on 
donkeys at the rate of 24 pice per bag of 20 dry pishi, equal to 
40 green pishi. 
The total cost of gathering, not including the overseer’s 
wages, may therefore be calculated as follows : — 
Per 400 green pishi : — 
Nkoa, etc. ........ 108 
Picking at 3 pice per pishi ..... 1,200 
25 spreaders daily at 3 pice each ; reckoning an 
average of 400 pishi picked per diem . . 75 
Transport (10 bags) . . . . .240 
Total pice . . 1,623 
1623 pice at 68 pice per rupee, the local rate of exchange, 
are equal to Kupees 23 pice 59. 
Eeckoning now that 20 green pishi will when dry weigh one 
frasla, we have : — 
Total cost of gathering and conveying to market : — 
Kupees 23 pice 59 per 20 frasla (400 green pishi), or Rupee 
1, pice 13, per frasla. 
Quantity picked per Day. — “Picking” includes the actual 
gathering and subsequent stalking. Pickers stop gathering at 
a quarter to three o’clock, and bring their loads in stalk, after 
which the cloves are measured, stalks not being counted. 
Stalking and measuring will sometimes go on up to half-past 
six. The average quantity picked (and stalked) at Machui in a 
day was about 6 pishi per head. Our best picker was a woman, 
who gathered 9 and 10 pishi regularly, though she lost from 
an hour and a half each day in taking the cloves in and out. 
