32 
Indian Forest Records. 
[Vol. .VIII 
known to have been charged for large Kusum trees heavily infected 
with lac. If the lac crop should fail no charge is made, and quarter 
or half rents will be taken for poor crops. 
The cost of brood-lac for infection will naturally vary with the 
condition of the market and the circumstances of the case. In nor¬ 
mal years a bundle of brood-lac sufficient to infect four fresh trees 
would cost one rupee ; in addition the cultivator frequently intro¬ 
duces each year a small quantity of fresh brood-lac, which he may 
obtain either by purchase or by transfer from other trees settled with 
him. Two annas for each tree is perhaps a fair estimate of the 
average annual cost of infection in normal times, although prices 
have risen during the recent boom. 
Each cultivator can infect from eight to ten trees in a full 
working day and for this the cost may be taken at two annas. 
There is also the cost of guarding the lac during its development. 
This charge, like that immediately preceding, is difficult to work out 
as it represents not the market cost of labour, but the value to the 
labourer of employment during his spare time ; it may be taken at 
Rs. 2 per mensem for each block of ioo trees. The collection of the 
lac and its rough cleaning by the removal of superfluous twigs, etc., 
represents a full day’s work for each tree and this also may be taken 
at two annas. 
The total cost of cultivating a good crop of ioo Palas trees may, 
therefore, be taken at :— 
Rent, say 
Brood-lac 
Cost of applying brood-lac 
Cost of guarding lac for 4 months 
Cost of harvesting 
Rs. a. p. 
1280 
1280 
1 4 0 
800 
1280 
The total cost is thus 
46 12 o 
Against this expenditure the raiyat may expect to get a return 
of say two seers or four pounds of clean or biuli lac from each tree ; 
that is to say, from 100 trees 5 maunds, for which he will obtain 
during a normal year from a minimum of Rs. 10 to a maximum of 
Rs. 20 per maund. During years when prices are abnormally high 
he may of course be able to secure as much as Rs. 40 or even 
Rs. 60 per maund for the best qualities ; and such windfalls are 
remembered and their effect lasts for a considerable time as a 
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