INTRODUCTORY NOTES
same quantity, but the quantity to be obtained for the same amount of money. In other words, prices in India are quantity prices, not money prices. When the figure of quantity goes up, this of course means that the price has gone down, which is at first sight perplexing to an English reader. It may, however, be mentioned that quantity prices are not altogether unknown in England, especially at small shops, where pennyworths of many groceries can be bought. Eggs, likewise, are commonly sold at a varying number for the shilling. If it be desired to convert quantity prices from Indian into English denominations without having recource to money prices )which would often be misleading), the following scale may be adopted — based upon the assumptions that a seer is exactly 2 lb. and that the value of the rupee remains constant at 1s. 4d.; 1 seer per rupee = 3 lb. for 2s'.; 2 seers per rupee = (about) 6 lb. for 2s.; and so on.
The name of the unit for square measurement in India generally in the bigha, which varies greatly in different parts of the country. But areas have always been expressed throughout the Gazetteer either in square miles or in acres.
