A History of Agriculture in India v1.c40.s2.1

v1.c40.s2.1

Machines (*yantra*) for crushing sugarcanes are mentioned in a description of the winter season in the *Upamitibhavaprapanchakatha*. Fields irrigated with Persian wheels (*arahata*) and with leather buckets (*charsa*) are mentioned in a record of A.D. 946. Again, it appears from Medhatithi that the Vaishya (the agriculturist *par excellence*) was expected to know, among other things, what seed was to be sown thickly and what thinly, what soil was suitable for a particular kind of seed, and what harvest was expected from a special variety of seed.