108
7. (a) Yes.
(b) No.
(c) No.
(d) No.
The ganja is cultivated in a small tract of
laud about sixteen square miles in area, lying
within the three districts of Rajshahi, Dinajpur
and Bogra.
8. Of late there has not been any increase or
decrease in area. In 1891-92 there was some in¬
crease in the area under cultivation. The increase
was due to the fact that in the year previous the
crop on account of flood failed, and in consequence
the price of ganja rose very high, which induced
cultivators to extend the cultivation.
9. The cultivation of Naogaon ganja has been
fully described in Babu Hem Chandra Kerr's
report, paragraphs 38 to 52. Therefore any de¬
scription that I would give would be recapitulating
Hem Babu's description. No change has since
taken place in the mode of cultivation.
10. No. The ganja cultivators are of the same
class as other agricultural cultivators.
11. No, so far as I am aware of.
12. Nowhere, so far as my experience goes,
wild hemp is cultivated for the production of
ganja.
13. So far as I am aware, the cultivation of
ganja is restricted in Bengal Province alone.
It is grown, as I have said above, to a limited
area in the districts of Rajshahi, Dinajpur and
Bogra. The cultivation of ganja was at the begin¬
ning confined to a few villages in the north of
Rajshahi district. Gradually it extended to the
tracts bordering the Rajshahi district, but locally
situated in Bogra and Dinajpur. Subsequently,
by Government order, the limit of the ganja tract
was specified and cultivation restricted to that
tract. Ganja could not be grown in low and
marshy land. I think, for the proper growth of
ganja plants, dry climate, mixed soil (sand and
clay), high land and facilities for irrigation are
necessary for producing ganja. I think it would
be impossible to grow ganja in the districts
bordering the sea and as well as in the high lands
of the districts in the north and west of Bengal.
14. (a) Yes.
(b) No.
(c) No.
In Naogaon ganja tract. From 7,000 to 9,000
maunds.
15. Only from cultivated plants, ganja is
manufactured in Naogaon. The process of manu¬
facture is simple and indigenous. When the
plants are mature they are cut and put in the sun
from three to four days. It may be noted that
the plants are cut into two or three pieces accord¬
ing to the size of the plant, each piece being
about two feet in length. Three or four hours
after, when the ganja leaves are dry and partly
fall off, the cultivator selects the pieces which
would produce ganja and rejects those that would
not yield ganja. Thus far the process is the
same for manufacture of both round and flat
ganja. If the cultivator wants to make his ganja
flat, he would take the selected parts and put
them in a circle in one layer. A gang of two to
five men stand upon the plants and press them
down with their feet. This is done in the open
field and in sunshine, the place, of course, being
made clean beforehand. When the first layer
is sufficiently pressed, another layer is put in.
Thus the process is continued till the layers
come up to the height of two feet. A cultivator
who has a larger number of plants to manufac¬
ture will make pressing-places according to the
quantity of ganja and the number of men at his
command. The first day's pressing being finished,
weights are placed on the heaps of ganja plants
so pressed. A chatai or country mat is put on
the top of the heap below the weight, in order
partly to give uniform pressure and partly to
protect from rain and dews. It is also noticed
that the pressing men themselves sit upon the top
of the heap and act as pressing weights. On the
second day the plants are taken out from the
heaps and again put in the sun for about three to
four hours. When some of the leaves fall off
again they are pressed in the manner described
above. The pressing process is continued from
three to four days. When the cultivator finds
that the flower with small leaves has taken a flat
shape and resinous matters sufficiently adhered
together, the plants are spread over the field to
dry; and when they are dry, they begin to brush
off the remaining long leaves by means of their
feet. The plants are then, at their convenience,
made into bundles of about two seers in weight.
The process of making the round ganja is
almost the same as flat, with this difference, that
the former is rolled down with hand and feet to
give it a round shape.
The chur ganja is not separately manufactured;
the bits that drop down during the process of
manufacture are collected and separately stored
and is called chur. Recently, however, the culti¬
vators, in order to get a ready sale, take off the
flowers from the flat ganja and sell them without
the branches.
(a) Naogaon ganja is only smoked. I am not
aware of people eating or drinking it. The pro¬
cess of smoking is this:—Smoker would take a
small quantity of ganja, put it on the palm of
his left hand and pick out the seeds and leaves
that might be in it with his right-hand fingers,
occasionally blowing with his mouth to separate
them. He would then bathe the ganja with
water in order to clear off any extraneous sub¬
stance. He would roll it up with a small bit of
tobacco leaf, and then cut it fine with a sharp
knife, as they cut the American tobacco before
smoking. He would put it in a small-sized chil-
lum. Some smokers first put the ganja and then
a layer of native tobacco upon it. A huka is
scarcely used for smoking ganja. The difference
between smoking tobacco and ganja is this:—
The former is smoked with easy pulls, whereas in
smoking the latter a smoker would pull his pipe
so long as he can keep his breath.
16. Bhang may be prepared generally by the
people in their houses. It may be prepared from
hemp plant wherever grown. Ganja and charas
cannot be prepared from wild plant wherever
grown.
17. Ganja is prepared by the ordinary culti-
vators, Hindus and Musalmans.
18. The drugs deteriorate by keeping. It
quite looses its effect in time. From two to three
years it keeps good with ordinary care. Evapora¬
tion of the narcotic matter is the cause of deterio¬
ration. If the drug is kept in hermetically sealed
tin boxes it might prevent deterioration.
19. The answers given under this chapter refer
only to ganja. Naogaon ganja is only used for