'ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1909-1910' [‎176r] (83/148)

horticulture—pore sts.
1009
•1910.]
4o
‘ « r ^ e a Atupur and the Ear^tak! Z ' ^ ^
Pl Sont 2 to 4 seers per rupee lower than il the previous ytr jl/•,! P™ 6 , °- f gr ^ m ~
™' t t Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. proper the quantity per rupee bein g P | to 1 se“ lowl^ftrl^S
in cultivation but in bmd large imports from the United Provinces reduced the nrfce bv
i to 1 eier. A noticeable increase is visible everywhere in the price of ah A n P A A
! luxury to ttie lower castes, is a necessity to the higher castes. In West Khdudlsh the prW
this commodity has steadily risen from Es 36 per maund in 1904-1905 to Rs 48 ;„ til P f
v ear. In Poona the price was over Es. 4 higher than in the preceding year atd in l^n? 6 "
a still greater increase prevailed. The cause is to be found in the increased demand for f hi
a still —* r- 7 “’ —is u.j ue iouuq in tiie increased dem
owing to the larg-e numbers of marriage ceremonies performed during the year. The most
remarkable advance is to be found m the price of cotton where, owing to the very fevouS
season, it was combined with an increase in outturn of about 30 per cent The kepti
demand for cotton m foreign markets owing to the shortage of the American crop causedTrices
, 0 rise from 281 per cent over the average for the Broach long-stapled variety to 36^ per cent
for the short-stapled variety of Khdndesh. • " 1 cent.
10.—Wages.
Nowhere wasth^reany tendency for the price of labour to fall. In several districts the
rates for skilled and unskilled labour remained stationary but in many others there was a marked
increase. In bind m the majority of the districts the same rates prevailed as in the preceding-
year, but in Hyderabad unskilled labour increased in price from 6 annas to 8 annas per diem
and skilled labour rose by 4 annas to Rs. 1 |. In Sukkur also skilled labour ros- by 2 annas
Everywhere m the province the scarcity of labour is the subject of complaint and impedes th*
work of canal clearance and Local Fund contracts. There was, however, no tendency for
the high price of labour to affect agricultural operations as the haris are paid by a fixed ’
share of the produce. In the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. prop r, wages in Broach, Panch Mahals, Thana
N£sik, Poona, Jlanara, Kolaba and Ratnagiri were generally stationary, in Ahmedabad
the wages of unskilled labourers rose slightly and the activity of ginning factories made it
difficult to obtain unskilled labour for ordinary work. In Kaira the result of the demand for
labour is a contraction of cultivation and a difficulty in obtaining good settlers on waste lands.
Wages for skilled and unskilled labour rose considerably in the Satara district and less
noticeably in Surat, Ahmednagar and East Khdndcsh. Almost everywhere the shortage of
labour was felt, and to this fact must be attributed the general tendency of wa^es to remain
high despite the fall in the price of food-grains.
3- Horticulture.
Public Gardens.
1 . INine puVic gardens were maintained by the Bombay Municipality. The number of Bombay Muniei^.
visitors to the Victoria Gardens was l,9ol,bl7 compared with 2,060,343, in the previous year. Gardens -
Much difficulty was felt in procuring adequate labour. The budget grants and actual expendi
ture were Hs. 91,0s 6 and Rs. 8 o, 110 respectively. About 225 new plants were added to
the collection. Twenty-four animals were presented to the collection.
2 . The total expenditure on both gardens was Rs. 23,017 and the total income was Empress and Baud
fis, 24,650, the total profit being Rs. 1,333. Last year the expenditure and income were Gardens i Boon*.
Rs. 21,352 and Rs. 22,155 respectively. Ihe rainfall was well distributed but the failure of
^ate lains retarded the progress of cold season annuals. The income from flowers at the
btnpress Gardens was Rs. 3,632 or Rs. 204 less tb§n last year; income from plants also
eereasedby Rs. 500, due to decreased sales of ornamental plants. Mango grafts from Ratndgiri
sold well. The income of fruit-trees is reported to be Rs. 1,564, an increase of Rs. 16T ; this
includes Rs. 625 for mangoes. Sales
of vegetables
realized Rs. 389. Much progress was
noade m checking the destructions done by insect pests; The Bund Garden secured an income
th <5 an increase of about Rs. 273. The income includes a contribution of Rs, 100 from
e Suburban Municipality. The expenses decreased to Rs. 1,836, thus reducing the burden
outlie Empress Gardens to Rs. 830.
4. Forests.
India 8 563 '^ nuua ^ Report on Forests and tables under Forests printed in Part IV T [b) of the Statistics of British
1.—Northern Circle.
fores/, a tea of reserved forest was increased by 348 acres whereas the area of protected Area,
ecreased by 124 acres. The area of leased forest remained unaltered.
^ahd] TV U ^ r boundai y a length of 6 miles at a cost of Rs. 40 was cleared in the Panch Boundaries,
cost of S p 1Vi - i011 - Special boundary marks were put along 86 miles of forest boundary at a
I'i 1 ® tot 1 S ' •^■ () l a l :)a * Repairs were made to existing boundaries at a cost of Rs. 3,717.
a expenditure on demarcation amounted to Rf « 4,576.
B 922-12