rice now may be left to itself, excepting for the necessity of
keeping it constantly supplied with water, which is raised from the
neighbouring river or creek by many ingenious appliances, and carried
to the fields by pipes of bamboo or channels in the mud.

While the crop is growing the cattle have an idle time, for with the
exception of the bullocks which draw the market-carts, and a few which
may perhaps be working in the oil or sugar mills, there is nothing for
them to do. For the rest, the time between the sowing and reaping is
passed enclosed in large pens or roaming by hundreds in the jungle.

The harvest begins in October, and lasts until December or later,
according to the district. When ripe, the rice is 3 to 4 feet in
height, each plant growing several ears, the grain being slightly
bearded, like barley; and in good soil, where the water-supply has
been continuous, its growth is so dense that it is impossible for
weeds to grow.

I know few prettier sights than a harvest-field in an early autumn
morning. Through the steamy exhalations from the ground, and dancing on
the dewdrops which hang heavy upon every blade or ear, the early sun is
shining. Everything is mysterious in the haze, through which the belt of
forest which surrounds the cultivated land is grey and ghost-like; huge
cobwebs hang between the bushes laden with glittering beads of moisture,
and the whole scene is bathed in a curious opalescent light in which all
sense of distance is destroyed. Scattered through the fields are the
harvesters, whose brightly-coloured "lungyi" and gay head-scarf are the
only spots of definite colour.

The rice is cut with sickles a little above the ground, so as to leave
sufficient straw to serve as fodder for the cattle or to fertilize the
land. The grain is bound into sheaves much as we do at home, and after
remaining in the fields for a day or two in order to dry, it is
carried to the threshing-floor. This is simply a piece of selected
ground where the surface is dry and hard, on which the sheaves are
placed in the form of a large circle and the grain trodden out by
cattle. When the threshing is complete and the straw removed, there
remains a huge pile of grain and husks freely mixed with dust. This
has to be cleaned and winnowed, which is done by a very simple
process, the grain being thrown into the air by means of large shallow
trays made of bamboo, when the wind, blowing away the dust and loose
husks, leaves