History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c32.s2.t9.28

v1.c32.s2.t9.28

Let us examine the actual working of the bullock *mhōte*. In this type, a pair of bullocks move down from the slope, specially constructed to the wall of the well, lifting behind them a bucket or a leather bag which is discharged into the connecting channel by means of a rope. After discharge the bullocks walk up the slope until they reach the top by which time the bucket will have again reached the surface of the water and got filled; and then the process is repeated. This method is not free from the application of human labour; for the man who sits on a seat in between the animals has to conduct the animals properly during the process. Two reasons may be ascribed for the low efficiency of this practice: (1) water flow is discontinuous and insufficient; (2) the time consumed by the animals during each operation is so much that the water-supply hardly covers the required portion of land. And this mode of practice, not withstanding its handicaps and deficiencies, must have certainly given stimulus to the invention of other semi-mechanical and full-mechanical devices.