Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057352).pdf/91

 PAR 83 to April, and, except when rain happens to fall , each row receives two and sometimes three waterings daily. From about the middle of June commences the stripping of the leaves, and continues regularly for about a year, after which the plant becomes exhausted, and is used for stocking a fresh plantation on another site, the old site being allowed to rest for a year or two. The leaf is sold in bundles of 200 called dholís, the price varying according to quality and age of leaf, frora 14 pies to as much as 14 annas per dholl. The plantation usually consists of twenty rows, or as they are styled “autar;" and it is reckoned that one row or < autar » should yield on an average Re. 1-8-0. Several kinds of vegetables are also frequently cultivated within the limits jof and around pán gardens. All produce combined, the yearly returns accruing to a tamboli from his plantation may, on an average, be set down at from Rs. 25 to Rs. 30. Rent is paid to the landlord at the rate of two annas per row, which comes to Rs. 2-8-0 on the whole. Tal and jhil produce. Under this head I shall shortly notice the singhára, a kind of water put; the pasáhi or passari, and the tinni, both species of wild rice, and the kaserú, a succulent root of the gon grass, of which matting is made, and which grows in water. Singhára (Trapa bispinosa).—In the month of November the sin- ghára nut ripens, and such of the fruit as remains from gathering falls off and sinks to the bottom of the water. When the water dries up in May or June, these nuts or bulbs are found to have thrown out a number of shoots. They are then carefully collected into a small hole in the deep- est portion of the tank or pond, and covered with water: when the rains commence and the ponds begin to fill the bulbs are taken up; each shoot is broken off, enveloped in a ball of clay, in order to sink it, and thrown into the water at different distances. They at once take root and grow rapidly, until in a short time the surface of the water is covered with the plants. The fruit forms in October. The produce of a standard bigha is about two and a half maunds, which, at the selling price of ten sers for the rupee, represents a total value of Rs. 10. As an article of food the singhára is much more extensively consumed by the Hindus than by the Muhammadans. Paschi or passari and tinni (Zinania aquatica).–These are both species of wild rice of spontaneous growth, found on the borders of certain ponds and swamps. The tinni is a larger and better grain than the other. The sale is regulated by the price current of ordinary rice or dhán, the amount of the former procurable for one rupee being half as much again as that of the latter ; while the pasáhi or passari, as it is also called, is somewhat cheaper still, Kaserú (Cyperus tuberosus).—The kaserá is the root of the sedge called gon, and is dug up after the water has dried up. It is highly esteemed for its reputed cooling properties, and finds an extensive sale in large towns and bazars; the ordinary price being two annas per ser standard weight. The digging is a very labourious process, as the coveted root lies very deep in the ground. Pásis, Kahárs, and Kurmis are the most industrious