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on the fubjecl. They fay, that a farmer having five ploughs, if he lives near thetown, muft keep ten fervants, owing to the fcarcity of forage. At fome diftance,five men fervants are fufficient. In harveft and feed time, he muft hire additionallabourers, who are chiefly women, and muft have fourteen oxen.
Inftead of dividing the crops, as ufual in moft parts of the country, the fannerhere cultivates his watered land as he pleafes, and pays for each candaca of groundten candacas of paddy, which are equal in value to 1120 feers of rice. The averageprice of this is about 20. feers for a rupee. For this ground, therefore, he paysto the government 66 rupees, which is at the rate of il. 3s. an acre. Fie muft aliogive an allowance to the gods, and to the panchanga, talliari, and other villageofficers, in lieu of the ffiare which they were formerly wont to receive on a divifionof crops. The rent of dry. field is paid in money, according to an old valuationformed on an eftimate of its produce. With five ploughs a inan cultivates abouti2f acres of watered land, and 25 acres of dry field. The circar, or' government,is bound to keep the canals and tanks in repair.
The ryuts, or farmers, have no property in the ground ; but it is not ufual to turnany man away, fo long as he pays the cuftomary rent. Even in the reign of Tippoo ,fuch an aft would have been looked upon as an aftonifhing grievance. The gaudasare not here hereditary, but are appointed by the amildar, with the confent of thefarmers; for the amildar never attempts to put in any perfon contrary to the wiffiesof the people. Thefe gaudas receive a fixed pay of 20 fanams, or 13s. 5^d. amonth, and perform the facrifices, which in other places are ufually offered by thehereditary chiefs of villages.
The account of thefe perfons, concerning the quantity of ground that can belaboured by one plough, is probably under-rated. According to an account of theground that is now actually cultivated by the plough in the Pattana. Aflita gram, whichwas procured from Purnea, and given me by Colonel Clofe, the watered landsamount to 1369 candacas, or 8487 acres, and the dry field to 964 candacas, or22,172 acres. This divided by 3078, which, according to public documents, is thenumber of ploughs in the fame difirict, will give for a farm of five ploughs 13 g 0 -? ffacres of watered land, and 36 acres of dry field.
The hire of farmers’ labourers at Seringapatam , and generally within two milesfrom the city, when employed throughout the year, is 1 o iultany fanams, or 6s. 8 i d.a month. The fervant lives in his own houfe ; and it is cuftomary for the mafteron extraordinary occafions, fuch as marriages, to advance the fervant money. Thisis not deducted from his wages by gradual inftalments ; but is confidered as a debt,that muft be repaid before the fervant can leave his place.' In cafe of the fervant’sdeath his fons are bound to pay the debt, or to continue to work with their father’smafter ; and, if there be no fons, the mafter can give the daughters away in marriage,and receive the prefents that are ufually given on fuch occafions, unlefs thefe ftouldexceed the amount of the debt. In harveft, the daily hire of a man is fix feers ofpaddy. A woman tranfplanting rice gets daily g of a fultana fanam, or about two-pence. The only fervant that does work in the houfe of a farmer is a woman, whocomes once a day to fweep the houfe, and for her trouble receives a piece of clothonce a year. The women of the family cook, fetch water, and perform all otherfamily labour. The fervants are both Sudras and Whalliaru; but feven-tenths ofthe whole are of the former caft.
Six or feven miles from town, the monthly hire of a fervant is 8 fanams, or about5s. 46. Farther from the city, the hire is one fanam, and 80 feers (or a little morevol. vm. 4 1 than.