'REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY FOR THE YEAR, 1910-1911' [‎250r] (83/150)

HORTICULTURE—FORESTS.
igio- 19 11 *3
47
espectively, and that of Dharwar cotton by
Reaper hi Gujarat and the south Deccan,
but fell by 25 to 50 per cent, in Sind.
12 and 49 per cent. Grass was slightly
The price of kadbi rose in the south Deccan
Chap. IV.
PRODUCTION
AND
DISTRIBUTION.
10 .—Wages.
The scarcity of labour continued to be felt throughout 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. , and wages in
consequence tended to rise or to maintain their previous high level. The shortao-e 3 was
particularly noticeable in the case of unskilled labour. There was a keen demand for workers
in the big towns and for great irrigation and other projects. The supply of labour for aoricul-
tural purposes was consequently diminished, and it was further affected by the favourable
character of the season which made it unnecessary for many small agriculturists to turn to day
labour as a partial means of gaining their livelihood. In Sind the rates of labour were o-enerally
stationary. There was a rise, however, in the Hyderabad District, and Karachi is^singular
in recording a fall in the rates of unskilled labour in Karachi town, probably on account of
the influx of workers from Kathiawar and Cutch where the season was unfavourable. 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. proper the rates of labour remained unchanged in the Panch Mahals and
in the districts of Broach, Thana, East Khandesh, Satara, Kanara and Kolaba. The
other districts record a rise, especially in the rates of unskilled labour. Wages for unskilled
work were as much as 7 or 8 a.nnas in Poona, from 6 to 7^ annas in Sholapur and 6 annas
in West Khandesh. The rise is less noticeable in the case of skilled labour, but the
factory An East India Company trading post. hands of Athni in the Belgaum District secured an increase of 25 per cent, in their
wages. A noticeable feature of the year was the rise in the rates of cart and bullock hire
in several districts. The rates are stated to have doubled in Broach and there was also a
marked increase in Dharwar.
3. Horticulture.
Public Gardens.
1. Ten public gardens were maintained by the Bombay Municipality. The number of Bombay Municipal
visitors to the Victoria Gardens was 1,618,724 against 1,951,917 in the previous year. The Gardens
decrease is auTibuted partly to the exodus of mill-hands from Bombay on account of depression
in the cocton trade and partly to the fact that there were fewer band performances and the
practice of charging fees for admission on one day every fortnight was instituted. The
budget grams to the gardens amounted to Rs. 81,667 against Rs. 9T086 m the previous year.
The expenditure was Rs. 74,561 against Rs. 86,120. About 250 varieties of plants were
added to the collection. Purchases for the Victoria Gardens included a lion and two timers,
and 40 animals and birds were presented.
2 rr>^ e i nc0me both gardens was Rs. 23,591 and the expenditure, including Empress and Bund
a sum of Rs. 623 spent on botanical experiments, w^as Rs. 26,966. The deficit of Rs. 3,375 Gardens, Poona,
was met from the cash balance, which was Rs. 4>^ I 3 bho beginningof the year and Rs. 1,438
at the close. The income and expenditure in 1909-1910 were Rs. 24,650 and Rs. 23,017
respectively, the excess expenditure in the year under review being due to the building of a
new fern house in the Empress Gardens at a cost of Rs. 2,250 as well as to an increase in
the outstandings at the close of the year. The rainfall was above the average and on the
whole well distributed, although the rains of September, October and November prejudiced the
early sowing of cold weather annuals. A wave of frost during February also caused
considerable damage to vegetation. Sales of flowers from the Empress Gardens realized
• 3439 ) °f seeds Rs. 6,002 and of plants Rs. 8,539. Alphonse mango grafts obtained from
Katnagiri again sold well, and the income from grafted mango plants was Rs. 2,226; but the
severe frost in February proved fatal to many of these grafts, the Empress Gardens alone
^ Sln ^ 94 ^ ou t of 113 planted out. A small orchid-house built in the previous year was
s oc ed with a number of orchids which are being established. Exhibits from the gardens
were sent to the Agricultural and Horticultural Exhibitions held at Baroda, Haveri and Belgaum.
e accounts of the Bund Gardens show an income of Rs. 920 against Rs. 1,006 in the
previous year and an expenditure of Rs. 1,710 against Rs. 1,836.
4. Forests.
° r BrhishTndia 6 AnnUal Re P ort on Forests and tables under Forests printed in Part IV (6) of the Statistics of
i.—N orthern Circle.
decre 1 ru ! 16 area reserve< ^ forest increased by 31 acres and the area of protected forest Area.
t-iB ase 59 acres. In the leased forest of the Dangs in Surat 113 square miles and
acres were converted from “ protected ” into “ reserved ” forest.
at a A 0u t er boundary was cleared to a length of 2§ miles in the Panch Mahals Division Boundaries.
ln the R ^ S ' 11 ‘* ‘Spooial boundary marks were put up along 85 miles of forest boundary,
bounda '° a ° a an ^ P anc ^ Mahals Divisions, at an aggregate cost of Rs. 1,388. Existing
amount' 1 ?)- "r? 6 re P a ^ re( ^ at a cost of Rs. 2,657. The total expenditure on demarcation
Lea to R s . 4,056.