Page:The Imperial Gazetteer of India - Volume 10 (2nd edition).pdf/113



MISORE. 101 23,993 by sugar-cane; 20,378 by wheat; 6068 by tobacco; and the remainder by mulberry, pepper, fibres, and lac, in smaller proportions. Average rates of rent and produce are as follows:-Rent per acre for rice (1880-81), ios. 6d. per annum ; for wheat,. old. per annum; for inferior grains, including ragi, zs. 64. ; for cotton, 3s. 8{d.; for oilseeds, 3s. 3 d.; for fibres, 3s. 2 d.; for sugar-cane, 135. ; for tobacco, 6s. 3 }d. Produce per acre in 1880-81, of rice, 1170 lbs.; of wheat, 831 lbs. ; of rugi and inferior grains, 1087 lbs.; of cotton, 392 lbs. ; of oil-seeds, 834 lbs.; of ordinary fibres, 414 lbs. ; of sugar-cane, 1510 lbs.; of tobacco, 397 lbs. The prices current of produce in 1880 were as follows per maund of 80 lbs. :-Rice, 55. 2 d. ; wheat, 6s, id. ; cotton, £2, 3s. 1d. ; sugar, £1, 11S. ; salt, Ss. 10 d. ; gran, from 25. to 5s. 6d. ; rugi, is. 11 d. ; dúl, 6s. 7.}d. ; beans, 3s. 10 d.; tobacco, £2, 1os. 4. d. ; molasses, iis. 3d. ; ghí, £2, 16s. od. A pair of bullocks cost from £i to £20; a sheep, from 45. to £i; fish, from id. to 10d. per ser of 2 lbs. ; iron, 16s. per maund of 80 lbs. ; and silk, about 16s. per lb. The wages of labour in 1880-81 werefor unskilled labour, from 3d. to is. 3d. per diem; for skilled labour, from 6d. to 25. per dien. The hire of a cart per day varies from is. to 2s.; of a score of donkeys, from 3s. to 155. ; and of a boat, fronı IS. to Ss. The agricultural stock of the State was in 1880-si returned at 2,444,906 cows and bullocks; 1,729,088 sheep and goats; 38,130 donkeys; 29,480 pigs; 4325 horses; 14,156 ponies; 563,314 ploughs ; 68,153 carts; and 118 boats. Rage is the staple food of the mass of the people, generally eaten in the shape of a porridge or pudding, called hittu. This crop is entirely dependent upon rain ; and therefore a scanty rainfall, at the time when rain is wanted, is productive of much distress. Nor would artificial irrigation afford a remedy, inasmuch as the red soil on which ragi flourishes is not found in the valleys watered by channels and tanks, or only to a limited extent. On the other hand, ragi is a very hardy plant, withstanding successfully a long drought, while the grain keeps for many years. The more valuable products of the soil, other than grain crops and oil-seeds, which together occupy 90 per cent of the whole cultivated area, are the following:—The areca or betel-nut is produced by an elegant endogenous tree, grown in shaded and fenced gardens where a good supply of water is available, and where shelter is afforded from high winds. In 1880–81, areca-nuts to the value of £169,806 were exported from the State. Although the coffee-plant is said to have been introduced into Mysore by Bábá Búdan many generations back, the first successful attempt to cultivate it on a large scale was made by Mr. Cannon about fortyfive years ago. The success of Mr. Cannon's experiment led to the