Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. Poverty of the People of Monghyr.—Cheapness of Pood. —The Crops of the District.—Abundance of Pish.— Fishing in the Government Tank.—Water Insects.— Catching a Raja.—The Mango and Mahwa Crops.—The Mahwa Flowers as an Article of Commerce.—Oil seeds. —Indigo.—Opium.—Tobacco. — Government Experimental Garden.—Indolence of the Natives.—Productive Powers of the Land.—Potatoes.—The Native Method of Feeding Cattle.—Method of raising Funds for Cattle Breeding.—Certain Method for catching a Thief.— Exciting Chase. Although the people of Monghyr are very poor, there is probably no country in the world where, in ordinary times, food is so cheap as it is in the district here. Alternate sun and rain, aided by a mean temperature of 80 in the shade, raise a succession of crops all the year round, whilst fish increase and multiply in every stream and pool. Rice, the principal crop, which covers about one half of the total 32 A CHEAP FEAST. cultivated area of the district, is cut in December, and is followed by the rabbi crop, which covers nearly all the residue of the arable land. This crop consists chiefly of wheat, barley, peas, pulses, vegetables, and oil seeds, harvested in April. It is raised on the highest lands around villages, and on the low- lying tracts inundated during the rains. It is usually followed by a second crop of monocotyle- donous plants or grasses, Indian corn, and millets, which ripen during August and September. The latter crop yields what may be called the poor man's harvest, as the produce is nearly all consumed in the district; whilst much of the more valuable wheat and rice is exported to pay the rent of the land. When a poor low-caste man wishes to give a feast to a large number of his friends, and do it cheaply; he can purchase a large f...