Indian Science and Technology in the Eighteenth Century: Some Contemporary European Accounts c20.60

c20.60

The corn is reaped by the sickle, men and women engaging in this labour. It is not allowed to remain long in the straw, and is separated in the field by the ancient, and simple method of treading it out by oxen. It is evident that this method could only answer in a country, where the climate was regular, and the sun powerful. The process of thrashing, drying and winnowing, are all finished together. The grain is carried home in baskets, or in bags, which is performed by men and bullocks. It is then put into larger baskets, plastered in the inside with cow-dung, to exclude the air, and to protect the corn from vermin. It is lastly deposited in a granary. In some other parts of India the baskets are buried in the earth, but this can only take place in a dry soil and one which does not abound in springs, which is not the case in Malabar.