919. The implements and operations of Hindustanée agriculture are as simple as can well be imagined. The plough, of which General Beatson has given several forms (fig. 119.), is little better than a pointed stick, and is carried to the field on the shoulder like the spade. It scratches the sandy uplands, or the mud left by the rivers, in a tolerable manner; but the strong lands of Bengal, that send up the Juncus already mentioned, ap 119 pear as green after one ploughing as before; "only a few scratches are perceptible here and there, more resembling the digging of a mole than the work of the plough." To accomplish the work of pulverisation, the ploughman repeats the operation from five to fifteen times, and at last succeeds in raising mould enough to cover the seed: one plough and pair is allowed to five acres. From this mode of repeatedly going over the same surface and effecting a little each time, General Beatson has drawn some ingenious arguments in favour of the use of the cultivator in this country, which will be afterwards noticed. 920. The cart, or hackery, has two wheels, and is drawn by two bullocks. The wheels are under three feet in diameter, and the body of the carriage consists of two bamboos, united by a few cross-bars, also of bamboo, and approaching each other the whole length of the machine, till they meet at a point between the necks of the cattle, where they are supported by a bar projecting sideways over the shoulders of both. By this the oxen or buffaloes are often galled in a shocking manner, and the suppuration which takes place in consequence is, perhaps, not perfectly cured during the whole life of the animal; the evil being aggravated by the crows, which set upon him as soon as he is relieved from the yoke. 921. As no department of aration can be carried on without artificial watering, that operation becomes very expensive and troublesome in elevated districts. In the Mongheer district of Bengal, a deep well is dug in the highest part of the field. The fields, after being ploughed, are divided into little square plots, resembling the checkers of a backgammon table. Each square is surrounded with a shelving border, about four inches high, capable of containing water. Between the square checkers thus constructed small dykes are formed for conveying a rivulet over the whole field. As soon as the water has stood a sufficient time in one square for that portion to imbibe moisture, it is let off into the adjoining one, by opening a small outlet through the surrounding dyke. Thus one square after another is saturated, till the whole field, of whatever extent, is gone over. 922. The water is raised in large leathern bags, pulled up by two bullocks yoked to a rope. The cattle are not driven in a gin as ours, but retire away from the well, and return to its mouth, accordingly as the bag is meant to be raised or to descend. When raising the filled skin they walk down hill away from the well, and they ascend backwards as the emptied skin redescends into the water. The earth is artificially raised to suit this process. is kept perpendicular in the pit, by a pulley, over which From the mouth of the well thus placed, the rivulets are formed to every part it runs. of a field The rope 923. In the district of Patna the wells are not so deep. Here the leathern bags are raised by long bamboo levers, as buckets are in several parts of this country. In a few places rice is transplanted, which is done with pointed sticks, and the crop is found to be better than what is sown broadcast. 924. In the hilly districts they neither plough nor sow; what grain they raise is introduced into small holes, made with a peg and mallet, in a soil untouched by the plough. The only preparation given to it is the turning away of the jungle. In the vicinity of Rajamahl there are many tribes of peasants, who subsist partly by digging roots, and by killing birds and noisome reptiles. In these savage districts ninety villages have been taxed for two hundred rupees; and yet this paltry sum could only be made up by fruits peculiar to the situation. The wretched state of these peasants, Dr. Tennant observes, outdoes every thing which a European can imagine. 925. Harvests are gathered in at different seasons of the year; and as often as a particular crop is collected, the ryot sends for the brahmin, or parish priest, who burns ghee and says prayers over the collected heap, and receives one measure of grain for his trouble. 926. The selections we have now submitted will give some idea of the aboriginal agri culture of Hindustan; not in its details, but as to its peculiar features. It is evidently wretched, and calculated for little more than the bare sustenance of an extensive popula tion: for though the revenue of the state is in fact the land rent, that revenue, notwith standing the immense tract of country from which it is collected, is known to be very small. The state of agriculture, however, both politically and professionally, is capable of great improvement; and it is believed that the present government has already effected material benefits, both for the natives and for itself. Wherever the British influence is preeminent, there Europeans settle and introduce improvements; and even the more industrious Asiatics find themselves in greater 120 security. The Chinese are known to be a remarkably industrious people, and many of them have established themselves in BritishIndian seaports. Wathen (Voyage, &c., 1814) mentions a corn-mill, combining a bakehouse, both on a large scale and driven by a powerful stream of water, as having been established at Penang, in the island of that name, by Amee, a Chinese miller. The building is in the Chinese taste, and forms a very picturesque group in a romantic spot. (fig. 120.) About sixty people are employed; though great part of the labour is done by machinery, and among other things the kneading of the dough. The shipping is the chief source of consumption. SUBSECT. 6. Of the Agriculture of the Island of Ceylon. 927. The agriculture of Ceylon is noticed at some length by Dr. Davy, who says the art is much respected by the Singalese. The climate of that country is without seasons, and differs little throughout the year in any thing but in the direction of the wind, or the presence or absence of rain. Sowing and reaping go on in every month. 928. The soil of Ceylon is generally silicious, seldom with more than from one to three per cent of vegetable matter. Dr. Davy (Account, &c.) found the cinnamon tree in a state of successful culture in quartz sand, as white as snow on the surface, somewhat grey below; containing one part in one hundred of vegetable matter, five tenths of water, and the remainder silicious sand. He supposes the growth of the trees may be owing in a considerable degree to the situation being low and moist. 929. The cultivation in the interior of Ceylon is almost exclusively of two kinds; the dry and wet. The former consists of grubbing up woods on the sides of hills, and sowing a particular variety of rice and Indian corn; the latter is carried on in low flat surfaces, which may be flooded with water. Rice is the only grain sown. The ground is flooded previously to commencing the operation of ploughing, and is kept under water while two furrows are given; the water is then let off, and the rice, being previously steeped in water till it begins to germinate, is sown broadcast. When the seed has taken root, and before the mud has had time to dry, the water is re-admitted: when the plants are two or three inches high, the ground is weeded, and any thin parts made good by transplanting from such as are too thick. The water remains on the field till the rice begins to ripen, which is commonly in seven months: it is then let off and the crop cut down with reaping hooks, and carried to the threshing floor, where it is trod out by buffaloes. W 122 930. The agricultural implements of the Singalese are few and simple; they consist of jungle hooks (fig. 121. a), for cutting down trees and underwood; an axe (b); a sort of French spade or bêche (c); a plough of the lightest kind (d), which the ploughman holds with one hand, the beam being attached to a pair of buffaloes, by a yoke (e), and with the other, he carries a long goad (f), with which, and his voice, he directs and stimulates the animals. A sort of level (g) is used for levelling the ground after ploughing, which, like the plough, is drawn by a pair of buffaloes, the driver sitting on it to give it momentum. For smoothing the surface of the mud preparatory to sowing, a sort of light scraper (h) is employed. The reaping hook (i) is similar to ours; their winnow (k) is composed of strong matting, and a frame of rough twigs. The threshing floor is made of beaten clay; and previously to commencing the operation of treading out, a charm (fig. 122. 1) is drawn on the middle of the floor. A forked stick (m) is, used to gather and stir up the straw under the buffaloes' feet. (Davy's Ceylon, 278.) m 931. A Singalese farmyard bears some resemblance to one of this country (fig. 123.); but fewer buildings are required, and no barn. 932. An embankment, or retaining mound, by which an artificial lake of three or four miles in circumference is dammed up, is described by Dr. Davy. It is nearly a straight line across the valley, twenty feet high, and 150 or 200 feet wide; the side next the water forming an angle of 45°, and faced with large stones, in the manner of steps. This must have been a work of great labour to so rude and simple a people. SUBSECT. 7. Of the present State of Agriculture in the Birman Empire, in Java, Malacca, Siam, Cochin-China, Tonquin, Japan, &c. 933. The agriculture of these countries, and of others of minor note adjoining them, differs little, as far as it is known, from that of Hindustan. In all of them the sovereign is the lord of the soil; the operative occupier is wretchedly poor and oppressed. The chief product is rice; the chief animal of labour the buffalo or ox; the chief manure, water; and the chief material for buildings and implements, the bamboo. 934. The Birman empire is distinguished for the salubrity of its climate, and the health and vigour of the natives. In this respect they possess a decided preeminence over the enervated natives of the East; nor are the inhabitants of any country capable of greater bodily exertions than the Birmans. 935. The seasons of this country are regular, and the extremes of heat and cold are seldom experienced; at least, the duration of that intense heat, which immediately precedes the commencement of the rainy season, is so short that its inconvenience is very little felt. The forests, however, like some other woody and uncultivated parts of India, are extremely pestiferous; and an inhabitant of the champaign country considers a journey thither as inevitable destruction. The wood-cutters, who are a particular class of men, born and bred in the hills, are said to be unhealthy, and seldom attain longevity. : 936. The soil of the southern provinces of the Birman empire is remarkably fertile, and produces as luxuriant crops of rice as are to be found in the finest parts of Bengal. Towards the north, the face of the country is irregular and mountainous, with headlong torrents and rivers in yawning chasms, crossed by astonishing bridges but the plains and valleys are exceedingly fruitful; they yield good wheat and various kinds of small grain which grow in Hindustan, together with most of the esculent legumes and vegetables of India. Sugar-canes, tobacco of a superior quality, indigo, cotton, and the different tropical fruits in perfection, are all indigenous products of this country. Besides the teak tree (Tectona grándis), which grows in many parts of the Birman empire, as well to the north of Ummerapoora, as in the southern country, there is almost every description of timber that is known in India. 937. The cattle used in some parts of the country for tillage and draught are remarkably good; they put only a pair of them to the plough, which is little different from the plough of India, and turns up the soil very superficially. In their large carts they yoke four stout oxen, which proceed with the speed of a hand gallop, and are driven by a country girl, standing up in her vehicle, who manages the reins and a long whip with ease and dexterity. Many of the rising grounds are planted with indigo; but the natives suffer the hills for the most part to remain uncultivated, and only plough the rich levels. They every where burn the rank grass once a year to improve the pasture. The Birmans will not take much pains; they leave half the work to nature, which has been very bountiful to them. In the neighbourhood of Loonghe many fields are planted with cotton, which thrives well; sesamum is also cultivated in this soil, and is found to answer better than rice, which is most productive in low and moist grounds. In the suburbs of Pagahm, there are at least two hundred mills employed in expressing oil from the sesamum seed. In this operation the grain is put into a deep wooden trough, and pressed by an upright timber fixed in a frame; the force is increased by a long lever, on the extremity of which a man sits and guides a bullock that moves in a circle; thus turning and pressing the seed at the same time. The machine is simple, and yet effectually answers the purpose. 938. Among the vegetable productions of this country, we may enumerate the white sandal-tree, and the Aloéxylon vèrum, producing the true jet-black ebony wood; the sycamore fig, Indian fig, and banyan tree; the Bignònia indica, Naúclea orientalis; Córypha rotundifòlia, one of the loftiest of the palm trees; and Excæcària cochinchinensis, remarkable for the crimson under-surface of its leaves. To the class of plants used in medicine and the arts, we may refer the ginger and cardamom, found wild on the sides of rivers, and cultivated in great abundance; the turmeric, used by the natives of the coast to tinge and flavour their rice and other food; the betel pepper, Fagara Piperita, and three or four kinds of Capsicum; the Justícia tinctòria, yielding a beautiful green tinge; Morinda umbellata, gamboge, and Carthamus, furnishing yellow dyes; the red wood of the Lawsònia spinosa and Casalpinia Sáppan; and the indigo. The bark of the Nérium antidysentérica called codagapala, and that of the Laúrus Culilaban; the fruit of the Strychnos núx vómica, the Cássia fístula, the tamarind, and the Cròton Tíglium; the inspissated juice of the aloe, the resin of the camphor tree, and the oil of the Ricinus, are occasionally imported from this country for the European dispensaries. The cinnamon laurel, sometimes accompanied by the nutmeg, sugar cane, bamboo, and spikenard, is found throughout the whole country; the last on dry hills, and the bamboo and sugar cane in rich swamps. The sweet potato, Ipomoea tuberosa, mad apple and love-apple Solanum Melóngena and Lycopersicon), Nymphæ'a, Nelumbium, gourds, melons, water melons, and various other esculent plants, enrich this country by cultivation; and the plantain, cocoa-nut, and sago palm, are produced spontaneously. The vine grows wild in the forests, but its fruit is inferior, from want of cultivation and through excess of heat, to that of the south of Europe; but this country is amply supplied with the mango, pine-apple, Sapíndus edùlis, mangostan plum, Averrhòa Carambola, custardapple, papaw-fig, orange, lemon, lime, and many other exquisite fruits. 939. The animals of the Birman empire correspond to those of Hindustan. The wild elephants of Pegu are very numerous; and, allured by the early crops of rice, commit great devastation among the plantations that are exposed to their ravages. The king is the proprietor of these animals; and one of his Birman majesty's titles is "lord of the white elephants and of all the elephants in the world." The forests abound with tigers. The horses are small, but handsome and spirited, hardy and active; and are frequently exported in timber-ships bound for Madras and other parts of the coast, where they are disposed of to considerable advantage. Their cows are diminutive, resembling the breed on the coast of Coromandel; but their buffaloes are noble animals, much superior to those of India, and are used for draught and agriculture: some of them are of a light cream colour, and are almost as fierce as tigers, who dare not molest them. The ichneumon, or rat of Pharaoh, called by the natives ounbaii, is found in this country: ut there is no such animal as the jackal in the Ava dominions, though they are very numerous in the adjoining country. Among the birds, which are the same with those of other parts of India, is one called the henza, the symbol of the Birman nation, as the eagle was of the Roman empire. It is a species of wild fowl, called in India the Bramin goose; but the natives of Ava do not deify this bird. 940. The agriculture of Java has been noticed by Thunberg, and more fully described by Sir Stamford Raffles. The climate, like that of other countries situated within about ten degrees of the equator, presents a perpetual spring, summer, and harvest. The distinction of weather is into wet and dry, never hot and cold, and rain depends on the winds. The surface of the country is low towards the coast, but hilly in the interior; unhealthy about Batavia, but in most other parts as salubrious as any other tropical country. The soil is for the most part rich, and remarkable for its depth; probably, as Governor Raffles conjectures, owing to its volcanic origin. 941. Landed property in Java is almost exclusively vested in the king, between whom and the cultivator there are no intermediate holders; and the cultivator is without lease or right beyond the will of the sovereign. The manner in which the king draws his income from the whole surface of the country is by burdening certain "villages or estates with the salaries of particular officers, allotting others for the support of his relatives or favourites, or granting them for the use of particular charitable institutions; in the same manner as before the consolidation act in Britain, the interest of particular loans was paid upon the produce of specific imports." Tradesmen, government officers, priests, and the government, are all alike paid in kind. 942. The crops raised by the farmer for home consumption are chiefly rice and maize, some wheat is also grown; but the staple article is rice, of which one pound and a half per day are considered sufficient nourishment for an adult. 943. The crops raised by the colonists are coffee, sugar, cotton, tobacco, and a variety of other productions of the East. One of the principal articles is coffee. The coffee plants are first raised in seed-beds, then transplanted under an open shed for the sake of shade, and then in about eighteen months removed into the garden or plantation, where they are destined to yield their fruit. A plantation is laid out in squares, the distance of plant from plant being commonly about six feet, and in the centre of each four trees is placed a dadap tree, for the purpose of affording shade, which in Java seems necessary to the health of the plants. They are never pruned, grow to the height of sixteen feet, and will bear for twenty years; but a plantation in Java is seldom continued more than ten years. In general three crops of berries are produced in a season. 944. The live stock of the Java farmer consists of the ox and buffalo, used in ploughing, and the horse for burden: they have a few sheep, and goats and poultry. 945. The implements are the plough, of which they have a common or rice ground sort, a dry-soil plough, and a garden or plantation plough, all of which are yoked to a pair of buffaloes, or oxen, in the same manner. The harrow (fig. 124. a), on which the 124 driver sits, is a sort of rake; and they have a sort of strong hoe, which they use as a substitute for a spade (b), and a lighter one, used as a draw hoe (c). weeding, pruning, and reaping (fig. 125.a tof),are very curious; one of them (g) is used both as an axe and bill, and another (h) as a thrust hoe and pruning hook. It is observed by Governor Raffles, that in reaping they crop off "each separate ear along with a few inches of the straw;"an "operose process"' which he was informed had its origin in some religious notions. Crops are generally dibbled or 125 Their knives for |