An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon in the East Indies: Together with an Account of the Detaining in Captivity the Author and Divers other Englishmen Now Living There, and of the Author's Miraculous EscapeKnox, Robert
History
An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon in the East Indies: Together with an Account of the Detaining in Captivity the Author and Divers other Englishmen Now Living There, and of the Author's Miraculous Escape
Knox, Robert
Sri Lanka -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800; Sri Lanka -- Social life and customs
When the Seed is ready to sow, they drain out all the Water, and with
little Boards of about a foot and a half long, fastned upon long Poles,
they trim the Land over again, laying it very smooth, making small
Furrows all along, that in case Rain or other Waters should come
in, it might drain away; for more Water now would endanger rotting
the Corn. [Their manner of sowing.] And then they sow their Corn,
which they do with very exact evenness, strewing it with their hands,
just as we strew Salt upon Meat.
[How they Manure and order their young Corn.] And thus it stands
without any Water, till such time as the Corn be grown some three
or four Inches above the Ground. There were certain gaps made in the
Banks to let out the water, these are now stopped to keep it in. Which
is not only to nourish the Corn, but to kill the weeds. For they keep
their Fields as clean as a Garden without a weed. Then when the Corn
is grown about a span high, the Women come and weed it, and pull it up
where it grew too thick, and transplant it where it wants. And so it
stands overflown till the Corn be ripe, when they let out the water
again to make it dry for reaping. They never use any dung, but their
manner of plowing and soaking of their Ground serves instead thereof.
[Their manner of Reaping.] At reaping they are excellent good, just
after the English manner. The whole Town, as I said before, as they
joyn together in Tilling, so in their Harvest also; For all fall in
together in reaping one man's Field, and so to the next, until every
mans Corn be down. And the Custome is, that every man, during the
reaping of his Corn, finds all the rest with Victuals. The womens work
is to gather up the Corn after the Reapers, and carry it all together.
[They tread out their Corn with Cattel.] They use not Threshing,
but tread out their Corn with Cattel, which is a far quicker and
easier way. They may tread out in a day forty or fifty Bushels at
least with the help of half a dozen Cattel.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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