Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924024153987).pdf/232

 — BAH

134

out-turn of fodder, chaff and straw is an important matter from a It is generally supposed that a military point of view. Fodder. ^^^^ q£ wheat or rice grain should yield about the same weight, and a quarter more, straw and bhusa thus an average crop of wheat is twelve maunds or 984 lbs. per acre, the straw will be 1,230 lbs. per In this district, owing to the abundance of grazing, such fodder is acre. remarkably cheap. After harvest five maunds for a rupee is an ordinary The price, while the Lucknow market rate will be eight annas a maund. straw of gram or maize bears a larger proportion to the grain.

The



It will be apparent from the above

statistics that the cultivation in Tobacco, sugarcane, and garden crops only reach together about 10,000 acres, or little more than one per cent.

Bahraich

is inferior.

The cultivation of sugarcane is prohibited by local custom in some places, but the same superstition prevails in Kheri, which nevertheless exhibits about five per cent, of high cultivation. Rice ^°®"

The

is,

as will appear above, the most important a few details may therefore be given.

crop in Bahraich

entire crop

may

be divided into two great classes



First, the kharif rice, which is sown in Asd,rh, about the beginning of and is cut in Kartik. The most important species in this district are

July,

the sathi, batisa, mutamari, anjani.

—

Second, the aghani rice, which is sown in Sawan, July August, and is cut in Aghan, November. The most important kinds are gauria, jarhan, bilar, sutiari, raitasi, rudwa, karangi. Third, the transplanted rice, the mahin or bhartw^ri this is sown with the first and reaped with the second the extra time required is due to the delay and impeded growth caused by transplanting, which is done when the water is from six to sixteen inches deep.



The

principal species used for transplanting are

dherwa and

latera.

All the rice is, as a rule, sown in water, but rice for transplanting may be sown in moist earth, although it, too, must be transplanted into water. Good crops are per acre for BiaAfo 14 to 18 maunds. „ „

»

for aghani tor kharif

.^.

...

8 to 12 6 to 10

„

„

No

improvements have been made in the quality or length of staple. area tilled by each cultivator ranges from 3'47 acres in Hisampur to G'ST acres in Charda pargana the averSize ize f farms arms. ^^^ ^^^ ^^^-^ ^^^^ adult cultivator with his family is 5 J acres throughout the district. According to the census returns the agricultural population of the district is 495,750,* and there will be If acres to each member of the cultivating community. But this return is incorrect the numbers of the

The average





agricultural population are considerably larger. Of the total population, 774,000, 600,000 will be dependent upon agriculture. The crop area is 752,000 acres this will give exactly an acre and a quarter for each agricultural inhabitant, and less than one acre for each of the entire population.


 * Census Eeport, page 35.