42 REPORT OF THE INDIAN HEMP DRUGS COMMISSION, 1893-94. [CH. IV.
vation is illegal, and there is some evidence that cultivation was formerly carried
on in some of the Oudh districts until it was suppressed by authority. Witness
(135) says that in the time of the King of Oudh bhang used to be cultivated in
gardens abundantly.
Witness (251) speaks of Mahadeva ganja (in large
bundles) being formerly made in Sitapur and Nawabganj. Witness (61) says
that the district authorities having heard of the practice in Loohaisar, tahsil
Fatehpur, district Barabanki, forbade it. Witness (247) mentions Sitapur and
Lakhimpur and Kheri as districts where ganja was formerly cultivated, and that
it has now disappeared in the Province of Oudh. According to this witness,
it was fostered by the Nepalese in the parts of the province which were formerly
under their domination; and it would seem that the Mahadeva ganja got its
name from a place in Barabanki where the cultivation was formerly carried on.
This origin for the name is confirmed by the evidence of other witnesses. Mr.
Stoker is therefore probably mistaken in supposing that this sort of ganja was
imported from Nepal. The evidence leaves the impression that a system of prac-
tical restriction is going on tending to confine the cultivation to the districts of
Farakhabad and Hardoi. It also seems certain that the local production of ganja
has of late years very considerably decreased.
Rampur.
109. The only Rampur witness states that there is no cultivation of the
hemp plant in Rohilkhand, but there can be little
doubt that the sporadic cultivation prevails in Rohil-
khand and Rampur to the same extent as in the neighbouring British dis-
tricts.
Garhwal and Tehri.
110. The description which has been given of the general prevalence of Hima-
layan cultivation must be accepted for native Garhwal
and Tehri.
There is no memorandum from the
State and no evidence relating exclusively to it.
Punjab.
Himalayan cultivation.
111. The Himalayan cultivation of the Punjab does not differ from that of the
North-Western Provinces, but from the fact that there
is none in Kashmir, it would appear to decrease
in frequency westward. The plant is grown principally for fibre and in small
scattered patches, so that its area cannot be estimated. Mr. Anderson (10),
however, ascertained in 1880 that the area in Kulu and Plach was then about
200 acres. Witness (71) states that in British Lahoul every zamindar cultivates
a small patch for the sole purpose of obtaining its fibre, and that charas, which
he calls bhang, is imported.
Bhang cultivation in the south-
west part of the province.
112. In the south-west angle of the province there is a small amount of
systematic cultivation for the production of bhang.
The Excise Commissioner reports that this does not
exceed 100 acres. The evidence gives figures for some districts. Thus witness
(68) estimates the produce of the Muzaffargarh district at 100 maunds, which
would require some 10 or 12 acres of crop. Witness (24) states that the area
in the Jhang district in 1893 was only 20 kanals. In Dera Ghazi Khan
the area seems to be about 30 acres. Five acres are said to be cultivated in
Shahpur. Several witnesses talk in general terms of cultivation for bhang being
practised. Some describe the cultivation as consisting of the rearing of a
few plants in yards and gardens by fakirs and other consumers. Witness (39)