266 NELLORE. Telugu-speaking Dravidian tribe, who have adopted Hindu practices to a considerable extent; but they worship their own indigenous demons, and bury their dead. Other wandering tribes are the Yerukálas, a race of Tamil origin, who live by selling jungle produce and carrying salt and grain on their bullocks and asses; the Sukalis or Lambadis, who speak a Maráthá dialect, and also support themselves as carriers; the Chenchus and the Dommaras. Agriculture. Of the total area of the District, only about one-half is under cultivation. The soil in many parts is poor and rocky; the annual rainfall is scanty, and liable to periodical failure; the means of irrigation are insufficient. In the south and east, and especially in the neighbourhood of Nellore town, rice forms the staple crop, being grown wherever artificial irrigation is available; but dry crops predominate along the western border and in the north. The harvest seasons dcpend upon the two monsoons, both of which contribute to the rainfall of the District, the south-west monsoon being most felt in the south, and the north-east nionsoon in the north. There are therefore two harvests in the year--the punas or mudaru, sown under the early monsoon from June to September, and reaped between December and March ; and the paira, sown under the late monsoon from October to January, and reaped between February and April. The mudaru comprises the greater variety of crops, but the paira covers the larger area. The following statistics for the fasli year 1291 (1881-82) exhibit the agricultural condition of the District from the fiscal point of view. Excluding the zamindári estates, concerning which no statistics are available, the area of the Government villages amounted to 4628 square miles, or about one-half the total area of the District. Of this, 3159 square miles were assessed for revenue, leaving 1330 square miles of cultivable and 1655 square miles of uncultivable wastë. The total assessment, levied on the occupied area, was £228,899, being at the average rate of 5s. per cultivated acre. The area under crops (including double crop lands) was 1,068,025 acres, of which 984,661 acres, or 92 per cent., were occupied by food-grains, including pulses. The area under each of the principal crops is thus given in detail :Rice, 234,763 acres; cholam or jonna, 317,409; ragi, 36,501; zaragu or allı, 187,059 ; kambu or sujjalı, 61,002; maize, 5260 ; oil-seeds, 1992 ; indigo, 46,875; tobacco, 3813 ; cotton, 15,830; chillies, 4586; wheat, 130; cheyroot and other dyes, 160 acres. In the same year (1881-82), the average rates of rent per acre for land suited for the various crops was returned as follows :-Rice, vis. 8d. ; inferior grains, 45. 4d. ; indigo, 6s. 3d. ; cotton, 2s. 8d. The average produce per acre was-rice, 2183 lbs. ; inferior grains, 920 lbs. ; indigo, 35 lbs. ; cotton, 82 lbs. The average prices of produce in 1881-82 per maund of 80
