BELGAUM.
234
The
or weirs thrown across them.
red
chief varieties of soil are black
and
by far the most fertile. It is of two kinds ; one so friable, that when swept by a strong wind it rises in clouds of almost impalpable powder. Under foot this soil is heavy, and when impregnated with moisture forms a tough, clay-like substance, almost impervious to water, and therefore very valuable as a lining for tanks. of these the black
The
is
other variety of black
unless
it
soil is
abundance of
receives
not so tenacious of moisture, and
irrigation,
either natural or artificial,
not nearly so productive.
The
to the fact that, being of a
more sandy composition,
for
a shorter time.
chiefly
retains moisture
it
In order to bring a waste of black
the field must receive
due
inferiority of the red soil is
soil
under
—one
tillage,
one and one diagonal. For the future it does not want any further ploughing on the contrary, the great aim of the cultivator is to maintain the surface as firm and consistent as possible, and all that is required annually before sowing, is to clear the ground and loosen the surface with a small knife. The red and sandy soils are very apt to cake and harden after rain, so that the object of the farmer is to keep them as loose and friable as possible. For this purpose the field must be ploughed ever)' year ; if possible, once lengthwise and a second time transversely. This is done by a smaller plough of the same constructhree
complete ploughings
direct,
transverse,
tion as the large plough used for black fields, but so light that the
farmer on his way to and from work
on
his shoulder.
may be
seen carrying his plough
Fields of pure black soil do not want
manure
on
the other hand, the out-turn from red and sandy lands seems to depend
almost entirely on the amount of dressing they have received.
Culti-
vators are aware that land requires stimulating, but, from the scarcity of
firewood,
sumed
On sown
much cow-dung, which would be
dry
their best
manure,
is
con-
as fuel. fields,
most of the
grain, pulses, oil-seeds,
and
fibres
are
of these some are cultivated on red and sandy soils during the
rainy months
others are grown
on black soil as a cold-weather crop. on black soil as a cold-weather crop, is usually sown about the middle of August, or rarely in September. Before sowing, the seed is first dipped in cow-dung and water, and then mixed with a little earth, that it may slip easily through the bamboo drill. Cotton is generally sown by itself, but it is sometimes drilled in rows in the same field with a crop of Italian millet {bdjrd).
Cotton, which
The
is
raised entirely
threshing of the
monsoon crops commences
the cold-weather crops, in March.
On
in
December ; of
a convenient part of the field a
1 2 to 20 yards in diameter is wetted and beaten until it becomes smooth, hard, and firm. In the case of spiked and red millet, The farmer’s the heads are cut off short and thrown upon the ground. whole stock of cattle is then fastened abreast to a rope round a post
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