St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-02-12
Cool Season in India.
By REV. L. W. PARKER.
the Editor Of nc Caledonian:


By REV. L. W. PARKER.
To the Editor OF The Caedonian
A traveller visiting India wrote of
the climate that it was fit for the home
of angels. This does not seem ex-
travagant to those who see India only
during our beautiful months OF OctO-
Der, November aud the first half OF
December. The rains cease with the
close of September. leaving all nature
rejoicing. Then at once the farmers
complete their blowing and SOW their
wheat-the great crop OF Northern
Iudia-so that all through November
and December the wheat crops cover
the fields with green, and the flowers,
especially the roses and blooming
creepers, are in blossom IN the nnmer-
Gus gardens and in fact on all sides OF
us everywhere. The weather Is cool
enough To be pleasant, yet no night SO
cold as to freeze water or inlure the
flowers, and no fear of rain until about
Christmas, when we are sure of Il few
showers Such is our winter. No one
however, can fully appreciate this
charming season who has not passed
through aud been grilled by our burn
ing hot winds of May and June, before
which all vegetation is dried up and
cattle are driven to the moist lands
and has then tried our hot rains and
been stewed and steamed through July,
August and September, until ali ener-
gy and life seem nearly evapOrated
and passed into moisture IN the at
mosphere. Travellers however do not
stop for this hot weather experience.
1t is very common for missionaries
and for European government officers
TO take ii tent and go into the country
during these pleasant months for WORK,
pitching their tents in the beautiful
Mango groves that are scattered over
the plains. When we returned TO
India we determined to spend our
time, until our conference should meet
and give us work, in visiting our old
fields of labor. SO we borrowed a
tent, bought back our Old horse and
buggy, and started out among the viii
lagos. We always refer to the farm
ing districts as villages, as all the
farmers live in little mud houses or
matches with grass thrown together
in the centre of tract Of land meas
ured aud designated 10y government,
to be worked from that centre. Usu-
ally one man has the lease OF this en-
tire tract connected with this village,
aud he collects the rents OF the cult
vators. These rents are fixed also by
government or 10y the landlord, and
of course take the place of all taxes.
Farmers do not own their land, though
now they cannot be removed from
land which they have worked GER
tain number of years, SO long as they
pay the rent fixed. The rent amounts
to about two thirds of all they raise,
SO that little is left for the man who
does the work. The man who holds a
lease of the village comes III for u large
share of profits. and the balance goes
TO the government. Farming is very
different here from what it is in Amer
lea. Having no winter the great fields
of grass are unknown. The Hindus
do not eat meat and hence each farm
er only has, as IL rule, one pair of oxen
and one COW, 50 that very little pas
ture land is Iequired-in fact none at
all is reserved except the groves and
the rOadsides. Hence all the land is
under the plough nearly all the time,
and often two crops year are raised.
A farmer therefore only requires as
much land as lie can cultivate, so that
the average amount for each farm is
not over ten acres. During November
the wheat crop has TO be watered in
most parts of Northern India. This is
done by drawing water from wells
with oxen. The English government
has done much to aid irrigation by
digging canals through the most needy
regions. The wheat sown in October
is harvested in April.
Since our return to India we have
been living in a tent most of the time,
moving about among the farmers.
They see SO little that Is new that they
will gladly come into a grove at even
ing TO see pictures illustrating the life
of Jesus, aud thus we sasily collect a
large congregation who listen very at
tentively to several short sermons in
connection with the magic lantern
pictures.
We have of course, received the
news of the election of the new presi-
dent, and the scare has reached India
even, SO that ships loading for New
York or Boston ut Calcutta, could get
nothing for cargo. No merchants
would risk the trade. Our missionary
paper at Calcutta, edited by an Amer
lean, a; once published statement
showing that the scare was without
foundation. The fact however shows
how nearly the ends of the earth touch
each other now. India feels the pulse
of America and watches her actions