the small proportion of scholars. As in the preceding district, the number of scholars of the writer-caste is less than even the nunnber of teachers of that caste; and there are not fewer than seven castes, each yielding a greater number of scholars than the brahman caste, to which they are inferior in social estimation. It will be seen from the list that the very low castes—as the Luniar, Mahla, Kairi, Dhanuk, Pashi, &c.—have here also begun to seek the advantages of instruction in the common schools.
The following is the distribution of the scholars into the four established grades of instruction:—
| (a) | Scholars who write on the ground | . . . | 250 |
| (b) | Scholars„ who„ on the wooden-board | . . . | 172 |
| (c) | Scholars„ who„ on the brazen-plate | . . . | 55 |
| (d) | Scholars„ who„ on plate | . . . | 30 |
In three schools commercial accounts only, in four agricultural accounts only, and in fifty-eight both accounts are taught. In one school commercial accounts and vernacular works, in four agricultural accounts and vernacular works, and in ten both accounts and vernacular works are taught.
The vernacular works read are Dan Lila, Gita Govinda, and Ram Jamna formerly described; and Surya Purana, a translated extract from the Purana of that name. Sundar Sudama is another native work which was stated to be occasionally read in the common schools, but I did not meet with it, nor could I ascertain whether it was the same with Sudam Charitra formerly mentioned. Those productions are written in the Hindi language and Nagari character; but in the northern and eastern parts of the district the Trihutiya is prevalent, which, as a character, is nearly identical with the Bengali, and as a language differs from the Hindi and Bengali chiefly in its inflections and terminations.
Section VI.
General Remarks on the state of Vernacular Instruction.
It may be useful to bring under one view the principal conclusions deducible from the preceding details which include all the information I have collected respecting the state of education in the common schools of the country.
First.—The languages employed in the communication of vernacular instruction are, of course, chiefly Bengali in the Bengal, and Hindi in the Behar, districts. In Burdwan Bengali, and in South Behar Hindi, are exclusively used; but in Midnapore Ooriya is largely employed as well as Bengali; in the city of Moorshedabad and in the district of Beerbhoom Hindi is used to a very limited extent in addition to Bengali; and in some parts of Tirhoot Trihutiya in addition to Hindi prevails as the language of
