ighbouring farmers, finding that there
is a demand for it, have taken to growing it for sale, and it can be
bought in the bazaar; but as the supply is not certain, it is better to
enter into a contract with one of the growers to supply the quantity by
weight daily required. In making this bargain it is best to use the agency
of the head "syce," as if it falls short, or is not forthcoming, he can be
made responsible; and natives being erratic creatures, it is quite
possible that some morning you may be told that there is no more, or that
the grower has sold his crop to some one else, perhaps at even a smaller
price than you are giving. Whenever there is a well in the compound, and I
have been long enough in one place, I have always grown as much as I could
for myself. It is easily done, and there is no more useful crop in
connection with an Indian stable. In the dry, hot weather the difference
in the condition of horses that are getting a fairly liberal supply of
green food, and those that are only getting the burned-up grass that is
then procurable, is most marked. The only difficulty about growing lucerne
is that at first a large supply of water is necessary until the roots
strike. If you have a garden, then, of course, you have to keep a pair of
bullocks to raise water from the well for irrigation purposes; but if you
do not run to this luxury, then a pair of bullocks can be hired for two or
three days in the week. The landlord of the house has to keep the well and
the Persian wheel, by which the water is raised, in order, and find the
first pair of ropes for it. The tenant has to find the earthen pots, or
"chatties," that are fastened on to it, by which the water is raised up.
These "chatties" are cheap things enough, but they are easily broken. I
always found that the best plan was to provide the first lot myself, and
then give a small sum monthly to the gardener to keep them going; and it
saved money in the end, as I found that not nearly so many were smashed
under this system as when I paid for what were required. If a gardener is
regularly employed, it is, of course, part of his business to look after
the lucerne bed; but for an ordinary stable of, say, four or five animals,
an acre of lucerne will be ample, and a man exclusively for this is not
necessary. A gardener can be got for about Rs. 10 a month, but a man can
be got to come two or three times a week and look after it for half this.
I found, however, that if