352

MAIZE, E T C .

l ^

MILLET.

353

ground into meal, which is mixed with cold water and salt. This is called Chhatu. The natives have not the art of boiling 7 it so as to form porridge. In some places barley straw also is given to cattle. Maruya or the Cynosurns Coroca?iva of Willdenow, which from a minute difference in the fruit Gasrtner has chosen to call by a new name Elevsine is much used, especially on the west side of the Kosi! The Maruya is ground in a hand-mill, sometimes having previonslv been parched, sometimes not. The meal is formed with boiling water into cakes, that are toasted. The straw is often given to cattle. In poor soils this is cultivated, as in Dina j pur, with the Cylisus Cnjan and rice, which form a valuable crop. A good deal of maize, Indian corn {Zea Mays)} called here Makkai, is used. The people like it, but they imagine that it occasions fluxes. The experiments which the natives have tried on its cultivation show that, in their hands at least, the sanguine expectations which might be formed from the experiments tried at Ronggopur would not be realized. The grain is sometimes parched, and eaten with salt; or it is dried, ground into meal, mixed with cold water, and .; formed into cakes that are toasted. The leaves and fresh stems are sometimes given to cattle; but the^J quantity is so inconsiderable that the natives are not j | sensible of any advantage; and near Kaliyachak, 90 f slow is the progress of knowledge that the people whoi give all manner of other straw to their cattle burn; this, as being totally unfit for fodder. The cattle] however are voraciously eager to procure it, which is] perhaps the reason why it is neglected by the natives,! who would have a great difficulty in preserving thj crop. ' _ 'H Janera, or the Holcus Sorgvm of botanists, in this! district is a less considerable crop than maize. Thj natives think it more wholesome, but not so palatably It is used in the same manner; but when parched,f 1 exposed two nights to the dew, the grain swells out liK| the preparation of rice called here Lava. Cattle " the stems and leaves, but not eagerly. In some plaoo|| there is only one kind, and what I saw was everywhertj that which has a white seed ; but in Dharndaha

^people reckon three kinds : Gehungya, Narkatia and ijlaksa, w hich I did not see. \ The kinds of millet called Kaun (Panicum \italienm) and China {Panicum miliaceun E. M.) in [gome parts of this district are much cultivated, and in |*times of scarcity the cultivation has with great Advantage been much extended, especially that of the hatter, which ripens quickly and with very little rain. tThe China is of two kinds, called Bhadai and Vaisakhi Fccording as it ripens in spring or in the middle of f the rainy season. A very little Bajra, the Holcus hvicatus of botanists, is reared in this district. It |J8 but a poor grain, and does not deserve encouragement. The quantity is too trifling to have obtained a place in the Tables of produce. | There are two other kinds of millet, which are j^ared in a more considerable quantity. The one is {called Sama or Kheri, and does' not seem as yet to [have been introduced into the systems of modern ^botanists; but Dr. Roxburgh in his manuscript collecftions, I believe, calls it Panicum frumentaccum. It has a very strong resemblance to the Holcus Sorghum. The other is called Kodo, and is probably a species of jgaspalum, which I know grows in Tirahut. Both are iyery poor grains; and in a country producing so many etter kinds seem to deserve little attention.

"LEGUMINOUS PLANTS CULTIVATED FOR THEIR GRAIN.

On the whole the most common pulse here is the h Kalai, which has seeds of a green colour with hite eye. I have not seen this plant in a state fit ascertaining its botanical appellation, as it is cond to parts of the district which I did not visit in proper season. The name Max given to a kindred t by European botanists, according to the tuguese orthography, is the same with the Mash of ^ i n d i dialect, or the Mas of Calcutta; but so far as k judge, the Max of botanists is the Thakuri of district and of Dinajpur, which in Ronggopur is ted called Mas, but produces a pulse of very erent qualities, which is readily distinguished by alour. On the banks of the Ganges the Mash is
4 twv.

854

PULSE.

PULSE.

355

reared in vast quantities, and is often sown on the '$ mud as the river dries up, without any ploughing, and '* ripens without any sort of trouble. There it' fr^. quently forms the common diet of the natives, it ground into meal and formed into cakes, which aiV' toasted. In other parts, however, it is only used like^ other pulse, that is to say, it is freed from the husk and 1 split, forming what is called Dal. This is used in tw manners. First, mixed with rice, boiled and seasoned writh oil or butter, and salt and spices, it formt Khichri. very much used in cold weather. Secondly, fried with oil or butter, and capsicum, salt and turmeric, it forms what we call a curry, but by tbe natives here this also is called simply Dal. In thii district a preparation called Bari is made from Mash; The entire pulse is steeped a night in cold water, then| the integuments are rubbed off with the hand. Th< pulse is then beaten in a mortar or rubbed on a stone1with some water until it forms a paste, into whichi small pieces of the cucmrbitaceous fruit called Ku are put; to these are added salt, the carminative called Mauri, and sometimes Assaftida. The whola": is formed into small pyramidical plums, which are'' dried in the sun and used in curries or stews TheflGj are most commonly made in the dry season, and theo' will keep three months. Here cattle will eat bot] husks and straw of the Mash, and the latter is soi times kept for them. The natives imagine that pulse is cooling. The Max of botanists, here as in Dinajpur, if] called Thakuri, and is readily distinguished from thj foregoing by its seeds when fresh being black and greeF mixed. When old they become almost entirely ofj dirty black. It is reared in most parts of the district but on the whole in much less quantity than former. Khesari [Lathyrus sativus W.) is a very co pulse. It also is prepared in the manner called ~~ for which the Dal of this pulse is steeped for about O hours, and then treated as already mentioned. It also ground into meal (Besan), which is used bv who make sweetmeats. On the banks of the

{vers it is often sown as the floods retire, without the d having undergone any culture. h In this country vast quantities of the Cytisus fajan, called here Arahar, are cultivated. There are ) kinds, that from the months in which they ripen called Maghi and Vaisakhi. The latter is of the jst quality, and is sown by itself on a good clay 1 or placed in hedges round other crops, especially 'id sugar-cane, and is the kind raised in Ranggopur id in the south of Dinajpur. Some smaller pulses occasionally intermixed, as will appear from uo Tables. The Maghi is sown on poor sandy lands, Dmetirnes y it self but more commonly mixed with iner rice and Maruya, as described in Dinajpur, in o northern parts of wThich a good deal is reared. lis kind is also sown mixed with a variety of other The seed of r tides, as will appear from the Tables, llther kind will fail, if it is attempted to be managed ike that of the other. The stems of Arahar in this trict, owing to the scarcity of bamboos and reeds, frequently used for making the fences which rround the native huts. In this country there is reared a great deal of the lise which in the western parts is called Badam, and tihe Cicer arietinvm of Linnaeus. In the eastern side 'the district it is more usually called Chana or But, ,jd in other places it is called Dhangga. The kind pth a white flower is everywhere called Kablibut, and ills dearer, but very little is produced. This is conidered as a pure offering to the gods, while the variety *th a red flower is only fit for man. It is reckoned a >ting food, and by the natives is never given to ttle, Deing too high priced. It is used mostly split al) which is done by drying it two or three days in sun, and grinding it in a hand mill. It is also $ merely parched, and eaten with or without a little It or oil. Thirdly, it is sometimes merely steeped in water until it swells, and then it is mixed with a e salt or extract of sugar-cane. Fourthly, it is >trod into flour (Besan) for preparing sweetmeats. Masur or the lentil is much cultivated and is only when split (Dal).

358

PULSE.

OIL SEEDS.

357

A good deal of the poor pulse called Kurthi or Kulthi, mentioned in Ronggopur, is reared in thU district, and is the food that is used by the natives to fatten cattle. It is imagined to be very heating Men however eat it in curries. Before it is ground in order to separate the integuments it must he dried over the fire. The common field pea (Matar) is also a good deal cultivated, and is only used split. There are two varieties, Maghi and Vaisakhi, one of which ripens in winter, and one in spring. The Phaseolus Mungo in this district is a good deal cultivated, and is called Hari and Vaisakhi Mug. It is used both split and for making the kind of baila caller! Bari. It may be split and freed from the husks . either by drying it over the fire, or by oiling it and * exposing it to the sun before it is put into the mill. I heard of a species called Seha Mug or Mahananda, I which probably has some near affinity to the foregoing; but I did not see it. It is often sown on the banlcs of rivers, without any previous culture; but is raised to only a trifling extent. The Meth Kalai of this district is the Phaseoltu j minimus of Rumphius, which in Ronggopur is called :1 Kheri. and only a small quantity is reared, it is used | split, and is considered as very heating. The integu-* ments are separated by parching, before it is put intoj the mill." ' p Bora is a leguminous plant which I have not seen^ but in most parts of the district a little is reared|| Like Khesari it may be split without either previou^ oiling or parching. It is used also in the kind of balllh called Bari. The Barbati is a pulse very near related to the above, but its seed is vastly smaller, am told that it is the same with the ' Labiyah Oil Ronggopur, which is the Dolichos Sinensis. '. The Cadelium of Eumphius is here called Bbe Mash. It is of very little consequence. The sain is the case with another pulse called Tulbuli, which ^ have not seen growing. To judge from the appearanOgj of the grain, I should take it to be exactly the safli|j with the Mash Kalai

3. PLANTS REARED FOR THE OIL IN THEIR SEEDS.

In the greater part of the district these may be ,nsidered as the staple article of cultivation; for though on the whole greatly inferior in value to the iins which serve as food, yet they are the great object commerce, and that by which the greater part of the rent is paid. The most common are the two species Mentioned in my account of Dinajpur under the names %i Sarisha and Turi, which there I have considered as *" cies of Sin-apis, and often called mustard; but rhaps they approach nearer to the Rape-seed of ,rope and I shall now call them by that name. he two species differ in points which are so minute iat they do not deserve much attention. In Dinajpur jdeed it was supposed that the one was more prouctive of oil than the other, and that there was a ifference in the quality of the two oils; but neither the ieople of this district nor those of Ronggopur seem to "\ aware of these circumstances; and I am uncertain 'hether this is to be attributed to their want of observation, or to the opinion of the people in Dinajpur ftving its origin in imagination. I have not been hie to ascertain this circumstance, because the native omenclature for these plants, in this district, is so infused that without seeing the plant growing I can't trust to purchasing the seed; for the same names & applied to both very irregularly. These names ej Sarisha, Maghi Sarisha, Turi, and Kajali, and jP^ifferent vicinities these names are applied in oposite senses. '} The species of Radish (Raphanus), the seed of ijph is used for producing oil, in this district is red in great quantities, and is a very luxuriant p*. but the natives prefer the oil of the rape-seed. 18 plant is here also called Tora; but is more comy known by the name of Pur ab i Sarisha or old 6-seed, having perhaps been the kind that formerly " alone cultivated. It is also called Se-uti Sarisha hite rape-seed, the grain being much lighter 'Ured than that of the other kind. Rayi or the Sinapis Amboinicum of Rumphius rtiat should properly be translated mustard, as it ^qualities similar to the European plant of that

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