Buchanan, Francis: A Journey from Madras through the countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar ... (Band 1) (London, 1807)

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MYSORE, CANARA, AND MALABAR.

sow broad-cast; or, if none happen, steep the seed for three hours
in water. Plough in the seed. It has no manure, and in three
months ripens without farther trouble. Cut it down early in the
morning, stack it for one day, and then dry it five days in the sun.
Tread it out, and clean it with the fan. It preserves best in a store-
house, but does not keep longer than one year. The forage is here
reckoned inferior to Ragy straw. The seed for an acre is l-j-Vo
peck. The produce in a good crop is fifteen fold, or 4 bushels and
~ peck an acre; and in a middling one ten fold, or 2 bushels and
3 pecks.

For the grain called Harica, at the commencement of the rains
plough three times in the course of a few days. As soon as the
heavy rains begin, sow the seed broad-cast, and cover it by a third
ploughing. It requires no manure, and here the pulse called Tovary
is never sown with Harica. At the end of a month weed it with the
implement called Wiirawry. It requires six months to ripen, and
is cut near the root, stacked on the field for five or six days, and.
then dried in the sun, and trodden out. This grain is commonly
preserved in pits, and does not keep longer than one year. It is
never made into flour. The straw is bad forage, and is used chiefly
for manure. The seed required for an acre is l-~o¥o peck. The pro-
duce in a good crop, twenty fold, or 5 bushels 2£ pecks an acre; in
a middling crop, fifteen fold, or 4 bushels \ peck.

There are three kinds of the Panicum, called Shamay, cultivated;
Hari, Cari, and Hal or Bily. They are never intermixed, and the
cultivation of the first kind differs from that of the other two. For
Hari Shamay plough three times in the same manner as for Ragy.
If there be any to spare, give the field dung, sow broad-cast, and
harrow with the bullock-rake. In three months the grain ripens
without farther trouble; when it is cut down, stacked on the field
for six days, and then trodden out. It keeps best in the store-
house, and is never made into flour. Cattle eat the straw without
injury, but it is inferior to the straw of either Ragy or Rice. For

287

CHAPTER
V.

July 8, &c.

Harica, or
Paspa/um
frumcnt actum
Roxb. MSS.

Shamay, or
Panicum
miliare
E.M.

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