1 REPORT ON THE ADMIN{STRATION OF THE NORTHERN INDIA
2 REVIEW BY SECTIONS. easy to commence extracting the salt at the close of October,
3 PACHBADRA.
4 and store all we wanted by the end of February, when dusty
5 weather usually sets in, spoiling the appearance of any salt
6 which may at the time be taken out of the pit for storage on
7 the bank in heaps.”
8 “ Dusty weather and storms do practically no harm to stored
9 salt, but stain and spoil the appearance of any salt just being
10 taken out and stored. It is therefore right to hmit the extrac-
11 tion and storage of salt from November to February. This
12 should always be possible in a yearof normal or light rainfall,
13 but when the rains are heavy, or late, manufacture of salt can-
14 not commence before December, the brine overlying the salt in
15 the pits must be saturated before the salt can be extracted with-
16 out loss, and when the rains are heavy or late, the brine remains
17 weak until the winter is well advanced.”
18 “Sixty-three pits were emptied last year, 2 in the Chota
19 Sambra section of the tract, 27 in the Posali section, and 34 in the
20 Hiragarh section. In the previous year salt was taken from 8
21 pitsin Bara Sambra, 23 in Chota Sambra, 31 in Posali, and 40°
22 in Hiragarh. No salt was taken last yearinthe Bara Sambra
23 section of the tract as the salt in the few promising, pits in it
24 was not ripe. The outturn of the Hiragarh pits averaged
25 maunds 17,000, and Posali pits maunds 10,000.”
26 * Only two pits were emptied in Chota Sambra, and in number
27 and quality this is insufficient to give a reliable average.”
28 “The average outturn per pit for the whole tract was
29 maunds 13,000, which is higher than the average outturn per
30 pitin 1894-95 by 3,000 maunds, as the majority of the pits
31 emptied last year were the best in the Hiragarh section, the
32 most productive part of the tract. It may be noticed that the
33 salt extracted last year was of from 18 months to 2 years
34 growth, whereas the salt taken out in the previous year was of
35 much longer growth. It is quite safe to assume that the
36 average outturn of any given number of pits will be not less
37 than 10,000 maunds provided that half the number are pits in
38 the Hiragarh section, the other half being pits in Posali, Chota
39 Sambra and Bara Sambra.”
40 “ Again last year the plan tried previously was continued of
41 (1) allowing the Kharwals to store the contents of the pits on
42 both banks (2) bringing up the salt from the pit edge on to the
43 pit bank to be stacked in a permanent heap, (8) using the salt
44 which forms around the edges of the pit, usually the most dis-
45 coloured salt in the pit, as a bed for the stack, and (4) estimat-
46 ing the contents of the stack by cubic measurement, This plan
47 gave satisfaction to all concerned. ‘The old plan was :—the salt
48 was brought up and stored in small heaplets on the pit bank,
49 where it was measured by a graduated rod, and thereafter
50 stacked in a single permanent heap. This wasmore costly to the
51 Kharwal than the present method; and besides involved too
52 much handling of the salt, which damaged its appearance by
53 soiling it. The salt at the edgesor “puncho” salt as it is called,
54 was discarded, it is now used as a bed for the stack, and
55 So saves a considerable portion of the best salt in the heap,
56 which rolls down the sides from getting buried in the soft soil
57 of the pit bank.”
58 “Previous to last year, when salt wasrequired, the plan was
59 to direct the Kharwals to take out for inspection samples of
60 from 1 to 5 maunds of salt. These samples were examined by
61 the Assistant Commissioner, and the salt in the pit accepted
62 or rejected. The samples were never fair representations, as
63 ( 40 )