‘REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY FOR THE YEAR 1882-83.’ [‎131r] (270/498)

1882-83.]
WEATHER AND CROPS.
199
. . In f limadabad tbe late r ram off to ° long, and affected the jowari and rice, but tbe
Mjn and pulses gave a satisfactory return. Rabi crops were not very good except cotton,
whicli was nearly a full crop. In Kaira tbe rams were very favourable, and tbe outturn of all
crops, except bajn, was very good and more especially tobacco and mangoes, the latter being
exported m vast quantities Ihe rice crop of the Panch Mahals was abundant, and in
Surat the on y part which suffered was Jalalpur, where the floods caused some damage. The
season was above the average in Broach, although there was some damage in low-lying lands
from floods. The reports from Thana and kolaba speak of a favourable season, a little loss
being occaisoned m Rolaba by floods. Locusts appeared bere in October but did not do
much damage. In Eatnagin although the harvest was good the heavy rain iniured the
seedlings. The locusts also destroyed the hank and nagli, and damaged the young cocoanuts
Tbe cocoanut and sugar-cane harvest of Kanara was extremely profitable ; but tbe violence of
the winds broke off the unripe branches of betelnnts, and tbe heavy floods also causing great
damage, it is not considered that Kanara bad a prosperous year.
Chap. IV.
PRODUCTION
_ AND
DISTRIBUTION.
Gujardt.
Konkan.
In Khandesh although the khanf crops were favourable, the locusts infested the country
from July to October, and did a great deal of damage to the karbi. The rabi crops were
good, the cotton being a bumper crop, but the wheat although large in quantity was not
considered to be of good quality. The heavy rain in Nasik caused disastrous floods and the
locusts did great damage m the northern parts. The rabi is said to have been good- but on
the whole, Nasik cannot to be said to have enjoyed a good season, and the adversity of ^the
district is reflected in a loss of revenue, in greater remissions, and in a reduction in the number
of cattle and carts. In Ahmadnagar the season was not unfavourable over a great part of the
district, and the crops were a very good average; the locusts, however, afflicted the northern
half of the district, especially Kopargaon. The western parts of Poona enjoyed a favour
able season, but locusts did considerable damage in the northern talukas; yet, on the whole
the outturn was estimated at a twelve-minas’ crop. Locusts appeared in Satara in September
but without causing much damage. Half of the crop is supposed to have been injured by locusts
in Sholapur, and the floods in Kaladgi did some damage at Ilkal. The floods in Dharwar
were very destructive to crops and houses ; and the heavy rain, which appears to have soaked
into the giain pits, caused great losses. At the outset the rain was timely in Helgaum but in
July it was excessive, and the crops suffered.
Deccan.
The condition of Sind was the worst in the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. . The rain was unusually heavy Sind
and the inundations were never known to be so high. The canals were breached and over
topped, and as a consequence cultivated lands were submerged, and there was great destruc
tion of property. The Upper Sind Frontier, however, is protected from floods by the Kashmor
and Begaii bunds, and the condition of the crops there was said to be exceptionally good.
In Thar and Parkar also the floods are under control; and although the area of cultivation
has decreased in lands under the canal owing to the exhaustion of the soil and the necessity
tor rest, yet the seasonable rains made a large extension of cultivation in the desert possible.
In Haidarabad also it is reported that, in spite of floods and damage to the rice lands, the
result was on the whole favourable, but in Shikarpur and in southern parts of Karachi the
enect of the floods was disastrous.
Pkices.
There appears to be very little difference between the general level of prices in 1881-82
and m 1882-83. In the former year the effect of several prosperous seasons was seen in an
abnormal fall in prices, and as the season of 1882-83 was on the whole favourable to produc-
lon, prices have remained more or less stationary. The character of the season also and the
emarid for cotton induced a very large extension of the cultivation of that product whicli
promised to give much better returns than the profits to be derived from grain. The price
o cotton, however, was affected by the very large exports from America to England, and the
rates realized were on a lower level than the rates in 1881-82. Bajri and jowari were perhaps
a little dearer generally; and in particular districts such as in Khandesh, Nasik, Ahmadnagar,
atara and Dharwar, where the crops had been injured by rain or by locusts, the prices
Were 10 to 20 per cent, dearer than in 1881-82. In Ahmadnagar jowari could be bought
a 7 sers for the rupee and bajri at 21 sers. The great outturn of the rice crops brought
own the prices and stimulated its export to foreign countries. Wheat, on the whole, was
aot successful, and the prices realized were lower than in the last year.
Wages.
Field labour is almost invariably paid in kind, and there is little, if any, variation in the
cus omary rates. The unskilled labour employed in towns is generally remunerated at 3
annas to 5 annas a day, the rate for women and children being less in proportion. Skilled
a our commands from 10 annas to 1 rupee and in some places Rs. a day. The railway
or g m progress in Kaladgi and Dharwar have attracted a great deal of outside labour, and
srn S ll combaTled with the cheapness of food, has prevented a rise in prices except to a very
of \f e ^ n ^ a ^ 0U ^ ^ bere were a f ew local works which had to be postponed from the difficulty
u °, . aiail j I £ labour. In Sind the rates of labour have not changed except in Karachi, where
j£ g S i od labour commands as much as Re. 1 to Rs. a day, and cartmen are known to earn
fU «i a p ^ a day;-"-the rates in the district being 5 to 10 annas for unskilled labour and
tor a cart.