Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057352).pdf/87

 PAR 79 to weigh 50 lbs., and the mannd as before to be 82.24 lbs., represents 1315-84 lbs. or 26-31 bushels. The usual crop in England, it is said, is from twenty-eight to thirty-six or thirty-eight bushels. An average of 26:31 bushels does not therefore, in my opinion, belic the alleged fertility of the soil of this district. Rice.-There are four sorts of rice ordinarily grown-viz., those distin- guished by the names of “kuári dhán," "jethi dħán," "sáthi dhán," and tahsil, and the neighbourhood of the large jhíls and swamps in the tahsil of Kunda But little rice is to be seen in Partabgarh. These last three divisions of the district may be said to depend mainly on the spring or rabi harvest; while a failure of the kharíf or autumn crops causes most distress in Patti. Yield, rate, &c.--The yield of the different sorts of rice above enuine- rated varies a good deal. The outturn per acre of kuári dhán is on an average from twelve to thirteen maunds, and the selling price at harvest time is ordinarily one maund for the rupee. Kuári dhán is sown with the first fall of rain, and is cut in Kuár (September October), hence the name. Jethi dhan is sown in April . in places where water is still lying, and it is cut at the beginning of June. This kind of rice prevails chiefly in the Kunda tahsil. The average yield per acre is from eighteen to twenty maunds. This rice (which appears to be precisely similar to the kuári rice) entails far more labour in its cultivation than any of the other kinds. During the great period of its growth the fields are flooded. But the water is not allowed to lie incessantly. It is generally allowed to lie for twelve hours, and is then drained off for twelve hours. This latter period is during the night. Sáthi rice--so called because it is said to ripen sixty days after sowing—is the least esteemed of the different sorts of this grain. Sáthi dhán is very little grown, and is seldom cultivated in places where there is the least hope of a better crop: The average produce per acre may be set down at nine or ten maunds. Jarhan is the best rice grown, both as regards quality and quantity; the average yield per acre is fifteen maunds, and the selling price fifty sers for the rupce when eut:- Kuári dhán ordinarily sells 40 sers for the ropee. Jethi dhán Sátbi dhán These three kinds of rice are preferred by the poorer classes to jarhan, because they swell to a much larger bulk iv process of cooking, and conse- quently tess is required for a meal. Jarhan is thickly sown in small plots and is transplanted, when rather more than a foot high, in bunches of four or five plants, into fields which have been previously carefully prepared. Gram, peas, and other food grains. Of other grains, gram, peas, arhar, juár, and bájra are perhaps alone worth special notice. Gram, peas, and arhar cover an extensive area, and are reckoned valuable crops. They belong to the spring or rabi harvest. Gram is a crop to which water is not indispensable, and it is often grown on poor light soil where mud wells are impracticable, Peas and arhar are also hardy crops; but the former, 30 42 77 3: >
 * jarhan." The principal rice localities are the low-lying lands of the Patti