Part I] Lindsay and Harlow.: Lac and Shellac 5 1 
half an anna, according to the locality, or even at lower rates at the 
discretion of the Deputy Commissioner. 
In the Kolhan (Singhbhum) Government Estate, the tenants 
cultivate lac free on Ber trees planted near their holdings and for 
other trees rent is charged at one anna per tree for Palas, and four 
annas for Kusum. 
In Manbhum the raiyats have full right to cultivate lac on Ber 
trees in their homestead lands, and pay no separate rent for this 
right. This is the main type of lac cultivation in this district. For 
other trees, Palas and Kusum, there is no fixed custom. In one 
village the raiyats will cultivate without paying rent, in another a 
rough rental will be charged, and in a third the landlord will do the 
cultivation himself. The Settlement Department records the rights 
as they are found. 
In the Sonthal Parganas the zamindar is entitled to realize rent 
(one-half to four annas) for each tree on which lac is grown by 
raiyats, whether* the tree is in the raiyat’s holding or not; but local 
custom is usually the guide. In Damin-i-koh Government Estate, 
Government is entitled to collect a separate rent for lac, but does 
not do so. The export of forest produce is, however, controlled by 
the Poorest Department who collect a royalty under the rules of 
Re. 1-4-0 per maund, and sell to contractors on a three years’ lease the 
right to collect this royalty in bazaars. 
In the Central Provinces, where Government Forests are com¬ 
mon, it is only natural to find that the methods of landholders are 
influenced by the actions of the Forest Department, whose lease 
forms are often copied almost verbatim. The lac on trees growing 
on malguzari waste land is the absolute property of the mal- 
guzar. That on trees growing in a tenant’s holding has now been 
definitely settled, by section 96 of the Central Provinces Tenancy 
Act of 1920, which comes into force on 1st July 1921, to be the 
property of the tenant concerned. The methods employed by the 
malguzars and zamindars vary considerably. Some will give a lease 
for a whole estate to a capitalist, who may simply act as a monopolist 
and sublet the right of cultivation to tenants. In Bhandara the 
malguzars give out numbers of petty leases for long periods, the 
agreements being in simple written form, or even merely verbal. 
Owing to the enormous increases in the value of lac leases in 1919-20, 
[5i] 
