( 20 )
the smaller quantity—more than 1,000 maunds—of 'large flat' exported during
1892 and the much larger quantity of chùr. Primarily it appears that the
difference was due to the bad quality of the crop, much of which, when har-
vested, yielded an unusually small number of flowering-tops per plant, and
therefore an abnormally high proportion of wood matter to gánjá; the g á n j á
not being presentable in its usual condition was therefore largely converted into
chúr. The consequent loss of revenue to Government was very considerable,
amounting to nearly Rs. 20,000 as compared with the issue of 1891-92, though
there is nothing to indicate that the dealers realized this favourable effect
to themselves when they took to accepting the broken gánjá more freely than
in former seasons.
T h i s g r e a t i n c r e a s e i n t h e a m o u n t o fc
h ú r
e x p o r t e d s h o w s t h a t g á n j á i n t h i sc
o n d i t i o n i s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y v i e w e d w i t h d i s f a v o u r . N o r i s t h e r e a n y e s s e n t i a l
reason why it should be, seeing that, as it has less woody inert matter in
company with the resinous flowering-tops than either of the sorts from which
it is derived, it is, weight for weight, intrinsically more valuable than these.
It is, however, about as bulky as 'flat twig' and more bulky than 'round';
is more difficult to deal with as the flower-tops are all loose ;filially, the flower-
tops are more apt to become powdery and lose their power than when left
a t t a c h e d , a s ' f l a t ' o r ' r o u n d , ' t o t h e t wi g s . Th e s e a c c i d e n t a l , b u t p r a c t i c a l ,
objections prevent an extension of the use of chúr If they could be over-
come, however, and if therefore all the gánjá manufactured could be at once
converted, into chúr, and most of the woody matter that accompanies the
flowering-tops thus thrown away, great advantage would accrue to all
concerned. In order to obtain some tangible estimate of the extent of this
advantage, a number of experimental weighments were made to ascertain the
relationship between the various kinds of gánjá. These weighments show that
when 'large flat' gánjá is converted into ' small twig' g á n j á ,
t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p i s
the exceedingly simple one of 4:3;for every maund of 'large flat' so broken
up, t hi r t y s eer s of ' s mal l t wi g' ar e obt ai ned. The r es i due i s not , however , al l
woody matter;as has been already explained, a certain quantity of c h ú r
necessarily results during this conversion, and a series of trials shows that the
average quantity thus obtained per i n i t i a l m a u n d o f ' l a r g e f l a t ' i s a b o u t t w o
seers.
When these thirty seers of "small flat' are in turn made into chúr, the
amount obtained is found to be twenty-five seers, so that the total outturn of
chúr. f r o m ' l a r g e f l a t ' i s t h u s 2 5 + 2 s e e r s , o r t w e n t y - s e v e n s e e r s o fc h ú r
p e r
maund, and the proportion of 'largo flat' to c h ú r
p r o d u c e d i s 4 0 : 2 7 . T h u s , 1 3
seers per maund, or 32½per cent. of the gánjá exported as ' l arge fl at, ' i s usel ess
wood.
Similarly, since thirty seers of 'small twig' yield twenty-five seers of
chúr, the yield per maund is 33 1/3 seers, or ' small twig ' bears toc h ú r
p r o d u c e d
t he proport i on of 6: 5 ; and 6 2/ 3 seers per maund, or 16 2/ 3 per cent . of t he "gánj á"
e x p o r t e d a s ' s ma l l t wi g , ' i s u s e l e s s wo o d . I n t h e ma n u f a c t u r e o f ' r o u n d '
gánjá there is, as we have seen, nothing packed and exported in a form cor-
responding to the 'l a r g e
f l a t , ' a n d e v e n a s c o m p a r e d w i t h 't
w i g
f l a t , ' t o w h i c h
the whole of the 'round' gánjá exported corresponds, the final trimming by
cutting of the stick ends of the bundles further slightly reduces the proportion
of woody material to flower-tops. An extended series of weighments shows that
in converting 'round 'g á n j á ,
t h e y i e l d p e r m a u n d i s 3 5 s e e r s , o r ' r o u n d '
gánjá bears to chúr produced the proportion of 8:7;and 5 seers per maund, or
12½per cent. of the gánjá export ed as ' round, ' i s usel ess wood.
The chúr exported, as has been already said, mainly results from the
conversi on of ' fl at , ' and especi al l y ' l arge fl at ' g á n j á ;
a s t h e f i g u r e s i n
T a b l e
I V
show, the export of these two sorts varies inversely. The conversion is for the
most part deliberate. In 'round' gánjá the chúr ' happens,' rather than is made,
at the time of the final trimming and dressing of the bundles, and the manufac-
turer keeps down the amount as much as he can, since it is the custom of the
trade for the chúr• of round' gánjá to be the perquisite of the dealer.
From the data supplied by these weighments, we may estimate the amount
of chùr • gánjá, i.e., flower-tops divested of inert woody matter, for the crops
detailed in Table IV or for any crop similarly tabulated by taking 2/4 7/0, 5/6and
7/8 of the figures for 'large flat, 'flat twig ' and 'round' gánjás respectively, and