eneous mass of
light friable soil, covering the weeds and dirt to let them rot,
exposing the least surface for the wind and heat to act on, and thus
keeping the moisture in the soil.

Now is a busy time for the planter. Up early in the cold raw fog, he is
over his Zeraats long before dawn, and round by his outlying villages
to see the ryots at work in their fields. To each eighty or a hundred
acres a man is attached called a _Tokedar_. His duty is to rouse out
the ryots, see the hoes and ploughs at work, get the weeding done, and
be responsible for the state of the cultivation generally. He will
probably have two villages under him. If the village with its lands be
very extensive, of course there will be a Tokedar for it alone, but
frequently a Tokedar may have two or more villages under his charge. In
the village, the head man--generally the most influential man in the
community--also acts with the Tokedar, helping him to get ploughs,
bullocks, and coolies when these are wanted; and under him, the village
_chowkeydar_, or watchman, sees that stray cattle do not get into the
fields, that the roads, bridges and fences are not damaged, and so on.
Over the Tokedars, again, are Zillahdars. A 'zillah' is a small
district. There may be eight or ten villages and three or four Tokedars
under a Zillahdar. The Zillahdar looks out for good lands to change for
bad ones, where this is necessary, and where no objection is made by
the farmer; sees that the Tokedars do their work properly; reports
rain, blight, locusts, and other visitations that might injure the
crop; watches all that goes on in his zillah, and makes his report to
the planter whenever anything of importance happens in his particular
part of the cultivation. Over all again comes the JEMADAR--the head man
over the whole cultivation--the planter's right-hand man.

He is generally an old, experienced, and trusted servant. He knows all
the lands for miles round, and the peculiar soils and products of all
the villages far and near. He can tell what lands grow the best
tobacco, what lands are free from inundation, what free from drought;
the temper of the inhabitants of each village, and the history of each
farm; where are the best ploughs, the best bullocks, and the best
farming; in what villages you get most coolies for weeding; where you
can get the best carts, the best straw, and the best of everything at
the most favourable rates. He comes up each night when the day's