They do not permit rice to be sown within
two miles of the cities, on account of the insalubrity. Notwithstanding
this, when the water is drawn off the fields, in August, the whole
country is subject to agues and fevers. They estimate, that the same
measure of ground yields three times as much rice as wheat, and with
half the labor. They are now sowing. As soon as sowed, they let on the
water two or three inches deep. After six weeks, or two months, they
draw it off to weed; then let it on again, and it remains till August,
when it is drawn off, about three or four weeks before the grain is
ripe. In September they cut it. It is first threshed; then beaten in
the mortar to separate the husk; then, by different siftings, it is
separated into three qualities. Twelve rupes, equal to three hundred
pounds of twelve ounces each, sell for sixteen livres, money of
Piedmont, where the livre is exactly the shilling of England. Twelve
rupes of maize sell for nine livres. The machine for separating the
husk is thus made. In the axis of a water-wheel are a number of arms
inserted, which, as they revolve, catches each the cog of a pestle,
lifts it to a certain height, and lets it fall again.
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