Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057345).pdf/32

 24 HAR owners preserve fish and guard them, but the bulk of the proprietary bodies certainly do destroy fish wantonly. They take every fish they can catch at all seasons, whether the females are breeding or not, and whether the males are what is called spent fish or are in full condition.”—Francis Day's Fresh-Water Fish and Fisheries of India and Burma, para. 284. "The tahsildar of Hardoi gives the fishermen at 2,000, all of whom are said to also follow other occupations; their castes are Kahárs and Baurias, especially the latter. The local markets are insufficiently supplied with fish; more, it is observed, could be sold. The large sorts realize from one to one and a half anna 1, ser, the small from six to nine pies a ser, and mutton two annas for the same quantity. Two-thirds of the population are stated to be fish consumers. The supply is asserted to have increased ; very small ones are taken in large pumbers, in nets and baskets of various sorts, whilst the minimum size of the mesh of the nets will not allow a grain of gram to pass. Fish are also trapped in inundated fields during the rains. The nets employed arc tapa, dhundhi, katia, and khanchas." “The tahsildar of Bilgrám reports that fish are often used as manure; the other tahsildars that the nets will not allow grains of wheat or barley to pass. All state that the market is insufficiently supplied.”—Francie Day's Fresh-Water l'ish and Fisheries of India and Burma, para. 302. Cultivation in Hardoi is backward compared to the adjoining district of Fatehgarh. Opium culture is a fair test of this. The districts do not differ materially in size, but iu 1873-74 opium cultivation in Hardoi averaged 7,383 acres; in Fatehgarb 16,012 acres ; the outturn in Hardoi averaged 7-2 sers; in Farukhabad 8°4 sers; the imperial income from opium in the one district vastly exceeded that of the other. In these two years the Farukh- ahad opium amounted to 6,803 maunds 29 sers, that of Hardoi to 2,652 maunds 22 sers. As the average weight of each opium chest is one maund 28 sers, and the pet profit to Government Rs. 834 per chest, it will appear that the imperial revenue in Farukhabad was Rs. 33,37,668, and in Hardoi Rs. 13,01,040; but, indeed, this condition of things is general throughout the province. It appears from tables supplied by the opium agent, Gházipur, that in the twelve districts of Oudh the acreage and outturn of opium were as follows: Acreage. Outtura in maunds, 1873. IB74, 1873 1874. 64,408 63,026 8,614 11,623 Serg (1873 ... 5.34 A rerage produce per acre 1874 ... 731 Average acreage per district, 5,859. In the four bordering districts of the North-Western Provinces--Azam- garh, Jaunpur, Fatehpur, Farukhabad—the results are as follows:- Acreage. Ostturn in m&unds. 1879. 1874. 1873 1874. 39,315 33,016 5,902 7,259. Serg Sers. Average produce per acre 1873 ... 7-08 mean 7.93 Average acreage per district, 8,291. Sere. mean 6-32..