Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/776

752 752 INDIA [AGRICULTUKE. grown as food for the silk-worms is not the fruit-tree that is common in England, but a comparatively small shrub. Silk- Besides the silk-worm proper (Bombyx mori), fed upon the worms, mulberry, several other species of silk-yielding worms abound in the jungles of India, and are utilized, and in some cases domesti cated, by the natives. Throughout Assam especially, an inferior silk, produced in this way, has from time immemorial furnished the common dress of the people. These &quot; wild silks&quot; are known to commerce under the generic name of tasar or tusser, but they Lac. jpur When wild, it feeds indiscriminately upon the sal (Shorea robusta), baer (Zizyphiis Jujuba), and other forest trees ; but in a state of semi-domestication it is exclusively reared upon the dsan (Ter- minalia alatd), which grows conveniently in clumps. The cocoons are sometimes collected in the jungle, but more frequently bred from an earlier generation of jungle cocoons. The worms require constant attention while feeding to protect them from crows and other birds. They give three crops in the year in August, November, and May of which the second is by far the most im portant. The tasar silk-worm is also found and utilized throughout the Central Provinces, in the hills of the Bombay presidency, and along the southern slope of the Himalayas. During the past twenty years repeated attempts have been made to raise this in dustry out of its precarious condition, and to introduce tasar silk into the European market. That the raw material abounds is cer tain, but the great difficulty is to obtain it in a state that will be acceptable to European manufacturers. Native spun silk is only fit for native hand-looms. In Assam two distinct qualities of silk are made, known as eria and mugd. The former is obtained from the cocoons of Phalcena cyntliia, and the worm is fed, as the native name implies, upon the leaves of the castor-oil plant (Ricinus communis). This variety may be said to be entirely domesticated, being reared indoors. Mugd silk is obtained from the cocoons of Saturnia assamungis. The moth, which is remarkable for its size, is found wild in the jungle, but the breed is so far domesticated that cocoons are brought from one part of the province to another, and the stim tree is artificially propagated to supply the worms with food. Raw silk was exported in 1878-79 to the extent of 1,534,715 Ib, valued at 623,871, besides manufactured silk of the value of 195,897. The collection of lac is in a somewhat similar position to that of tasar silk. The lac insect abounds on certain jungle trees in every part of the country, and from time immemorial it has been collected by the wild tribes in order to be worked up into lacquered ware. European en terprise has tried, with small success, to place the industry upon a stable and remunerative basis. Though lac is to be found everywhere, the foreign exports are almost entirely confined to Calcutta, which draws its supplies from the hills of Chutia Nagpur, and to a less degree from Assam and Mirzdpur in the North- Western Provinces. Lac is known to commerce both as a gum (shellac) and as a dye. The total exports in 1879 were 91,983 cwts., valued at 300,072. Farming. Farming. The efforts of Government to improve the native methods of agriculture, by the establishment of model farms under skilled European supervision, have not been generally successful. 1 Cattle. Stock. Throughout the whole of India, except in Sind and the western districts of the Punjab, horned cattle are the only beasts used for ploughing. The well-known humped breed of cattle predominates everywhere, being divided 1 Model farms have been abandoned in Bengal, in Assam, and in the Punjab. In the North- Western Provinces valuable experiments are prosecuted. In Bombay there are three model farms, and in the Central Provinces one, on which the common crops of the country are raised at a loss. The Saidapet farm, near the city of Madras, is the only establishment at which important experiments have been conducted on a scale and with a perseverance sufficient to yield results of value. Tins farm was started by the governor, Sir William Denison, in 1865, and has been for the past nine years under the management of Mr Robertson. It now (1881) covers an area of 250 acres in a ring fence. Many important experiments have been made, of which some have pro duced encouraging results, indicating the general direction in which im provements may be effected in the agricultural practice of the presi dency. It has been proved that many of the common &quot; dry crops &quot; can into many varieties. Owing partly to unfavourable con ditions of climate and soil, partly to the insufficiency of grazing ground, and partly to the want of selection in breeding, the general condition of the cattle is miserably poor. As cultivation advances, the area of waste land available for grazing steadily diminishes, and the prospects of the poor beasts are becoming worse rather than better. Their only hope lies in the introduction of fodder crops as a regular stage in the agricultural course. There are, how ever, some fine breeds in existence. In Mysore the amrit mahdl, a breed said to have been introduced by Hyder All for military purposes, is still kept up by Government. In the Madras districts of Nellore and Karnul the indi genous breed has been greatly improved under the stimulus of cattle shows and prizes, founded by British officials. In the Central Provinces there is a peculiar breed of trotting bullocks which is in great demand for wheeled carriages. The large and handsome oxen of Guzerat in Bombay and of Hariana in the Punjab are excellently adapted for draw ing heavy loads in a sandy soil. The worst cattle are to be found always in the deltaic tracts, but there their place is to a large extent taken by buffaloes. These last are Bui i more hardy than ordinary cattle ; their, character is main tained by crossing the cows with wild bulls, and their milk yields the best gin, or clarified butter. In British- Burmah, the returns show that the total number of buffaloes is just equal to that of cows and bullocks, being about 700,000. Along the valley of the Indus, and in the sandy desert Can which stretches into Kajputana, camels supersede cattle for agricultural operations. In the Punjab, the total estimated number of camels is 170,000. The breed of Hoi- horses has generally deteriorated since the demand for military purposes has declined with the establishment of British supremacy. In Bengal Proper, and also in Madras, it may be broadly said that horses are not bred. The chief breeds in Bombay are those of the Deccan and of Kathiawar, in both of which provinces Government main tains establishments of stallions. The Punjab, however, is the chief source of remounts for the cavalry regiments, the total number of horses in that province being returned at 80,000, in addition to 50,000 ponies. About the beginning of the present century, a stud department was organized to breed horses for the use of the Bengal army, but this system was abolished as extravagant and ineffi cient under the governor-generalship of Lord Mayo. Kemounts are now obtained in the open market ; but the Government of the Punjab still maintains about 130 stallions, including 60 imported from England and 40 Arabs. The best horses are bred by the Baluchi tribes along the western frontier. The best ponies come from Burmah, Manipur (the original home of the now well- known game of polo), and Bhutan. Four great horse fairs are held in the year at Bawal Pindi, Dera Ghazi Khan, Jhang, and Dera Ismail Khan at which about 4500 horses were exhibited in 1877-78, and a total sum of about 1300 was awarded in prizes ; the average price given for native cavalry remounts was only 17. In recent years much attention has been paid in the Punjab to the breeding of mules for military purposes ; and the value of Mul -these animals was conspicuously proved in the course of be profitably cultivated for fodder at all seasons of the year. Those most strongly recommended are yellow cholam (Sorghum yuttfare), guinea grass (Panicum jumentaceum), and horse-gram (Dolichus uniflorus}. Sugar-cane and rice also yield excellent fodder when cut green. Atten tion has also been given to subsoil drainage, deep ploughing, the fertilizing powers of various manures, and the proper utilization of irrigation water. It has been decided to establish a school of agri culture at Saidapet in connexion with the model farm, with subordinate branches in the districts, so as to diffuse as widely as possible the agricultural lessons that have been already learned. In the year 1877-78 the total expenditure at Saidapet on both farm and school of agriculture was about 6000.