77
the fakirs who go there on pilgrimage to Badri-
nath and Kedarnath.
7. Hemp is cultivated in this country very
largely, but more for its fibre or seeds than for
charas. Bhang and ganja are not prepared in
this district.
This district is divided into the following par-
ganas :—
Pain Khanda, Dasoli, Nagpur, Badhan, Chandpur,
Dewalgarh, Barah Syun, Talk Salan, Malla Salan,
Ganga Salan, and Choundkote. In Ganga Salan
and the southern and warmer portion of the Talla
and Malla Salans hemp is not sown. The people
wear cotton clothes, and are not dependant on
hemp for clothing. In the higher and colder vil-
ages of Parganas Talla and Malla Salan hemp is
cultivated.
In Parganas Pain Khanda, Dasoli, and Nagpur,
which are in the north, and in the greater portion
of Pargana Badhan, very little hemp, and that in
a few villages only, is sown. The people of these
Parganas rear goats and wear woollen cloth, and
so they do not depend for clothing on the hemp
plant. They make a kind of shoe called 'chabel'
from the fibres, which is very useful in walking in
the snow and precipitous ground. This is the only
use these people make of the little hemp they
grow. They make a little charas also, but they
don't sell it. They give it to the fakirs who go to
Badrinath or Kedarnath. It is in the Parganas of
Chandpur and Dewalgarh more largely, and less in
Barah Syun, Talla and Malla Salans, Choundkote,
and Badhan that hemp is cultivated extensively.
Roughly speaking, hemp is cultivated in parganas
or parts of parganas which represent about a third
of the Garhwal district. In this area, in almost
every high village varying in altitude from 4,000
or 7,000 feet above the sea level, hemp is cultivat-
ed. Every cultivator of the Khasia or Dome caste
sows hemp in area varying from one-fourth to four
nalis (one nali is equal to about one-twentieth of an
acre).
Charas is made more in parganas Chandpur and
Dewalgarh, and less in the other parganas.
People do not sell charas to the license vendor ;
sometimes they sell it privately to those who
smoke, and sometimes give it to the fakirs who
come to their village, and generally take it with
them to Ramnagar or Kotdwin, the principal
marts of this district, where they sell it privately,
and bring salt, gur, or clothing for the money.
8. There is some decrease in the cultivation of
hemp for the following reasons :—
(1) People are becoming more and more civil-
ized. In former times they used to clothe
themselves with clothing made of hemp fibres,
but of late they have taken to cotton and
woollen clothing, and the cultivation of hemp,
which involves much labour, is to a certain
extent abandoned.
(2) People used to cultivate waste land covered
with trees after cutting the forest at some
intervals, and they used to cultivate hemp in
this land. This is locally called khil cultivation.
But this practice involved a ruthless destruc-
tion of forest. Consequently the district
authorities have now put a stop to this cultiva-
tion. Hemp cultivation has decreased to that
extent.
(3) In other places people have found chilly
(mirch, red) growing more profitable. Con-
sequently they have begun to grow chillies in
land in which they used to sow hemp.
9. A light, well-manured soil is necessary for
the cultivation of hemp plant. The more manure,
the better. Hemp is sown in fields near the
houses, as they are generally better manured. The
altitude necessary for its growth varies from 4,000
to 7,000 feet above the sea level ; the higher the
ground, the better suited it is to hemp cultivation.
About the beginning of Jeth all the rubbish in
the field in which hemp is sown is burnt, and on
any day following that in which a copious rainfall
has occurred the field is ploughed, and about the
beginning of Asar on a fine sunny day the seed is
sown. The seed won't grow if sown on a wet
day. After sowing the seed some chaff is scat-
tered over the field to prevent birds from peck-
ing up the seed. The seed germinates in about
8 days. A fortnight after the seed has germin-
ated, it is weeded with a hoe very carefully.
Great care is taken that no plant is trodden down.
A fortnight later a second weeding is done. In
the month of Bhadon, when the plants have grown
up, some of them bear seed, and are called "sujan-
go," or "kalango."
Some don't bear seed, and are
called ''phulango."
The latter is weeded out by
being plucked out of the roots by hand. These
plants are put in the sun to dry for a few days.
The stalks are then collected into small bundles,
and put in pool of water with a stone over them.
They are kept in the water for about 10 days, and
then fibres are taken out from them. A kind of
cloth and bags and nets are manufactured from the
tenderer fibres and from the coarser ones ropes are
made. The cloth made from the fibres of phulango
is finer than that made from the other hemp plant.
When 'phulango' is weeded out, the other
plants called sujango are allowed to grow up.
They grow up to a height of about ten feet, of which
two-thirds from the root is bare, and one-third is
full of leaves and seeds. In the month of Kartik
the plants are cut at the root, and spread on the
ground to dry for about 24 hours. After this
those who care for charas rub the leaves between the
palms of their hands and get the charas (vide
answer to question 15). When charas is taken out
the seed that falls on the ground with the leaves is
separated from the leaves. The crushed leaves are
of no use. They are used as manure ; some people
preserve a little of them, which they either sell or
use for medicinal purposes. Sabji and majum con-
sumed during the Holi festival are made from these
leaves. Sometimes these leaves called 'bhang
dhusa' after being washed and powdered are cook-
ed with meat or urd paste, which makes both
somewhat intoxicating ; but it is very rarely used
for this purpose. After charas is taken out and
seeds are collected, the stalks are left in the sun to
dry for some days. They are then put in a pool of
water, and the same process as is done in the case
of phulango is repeated. A kind of cloth, bags,
and ropes are made from the fibres.
This plant is the most useful production in this
country, and is as necessary as food grain for the
well-being of the people of this country.
No part of this plant is useless :
(1) The seeds are eaten after being parched,
or are mixed with vegetables and cooked with
them after being finely powdered, the husk
being separated from the kernel. It makes all
vegetables palatable and wholesome. The oil
extracted from the seeds serves all purposes,
and has some medicinal qualities too. The
'khal' or 'pina' after the oil is extracted is
made into small cakes. These cakes are cooked
in ghee and spices, and are taken as vegetables.