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yellow or shining grain-like colour. In testing the gul,
the up-country merchant is assisted usually by the village
dalal. The merchant then inquires of the farmer whence
the pots have been bought and even weighs some of
the empty ones to assure himself of the truth of the far-
mer's statement. Then follows an amusing process.
The Bulsar Dalai and the village dalal on the one hand,
and the up-country merchant and the Bulsar Dalai on the
other, join their hands under the cover of a shawl and
shake their heads, talking all the while in a mysterious
language. This is the way in which haggling is
concealed from the farmer who is the real owner of the
commodity for sale and who, in justice, should have a pro-
minent share in determining the price. A similar method
is followed in the cotton market in Bombay. Of late, the
Ujaliparaj farmers are generally consulted by the dalals.
After a good deal of haggling the price is fixed and the
merchant buys, say, 100 pots of gul. The up-country-
merchant and the Bulsar dealer then leave the village, en-
trusting to the cultivator and the fatakia dalal the task of
despatching 100 pots of gul, each filled to the brim, to
Bulsar in carts, to be sent by the Bulsar dealer. All
charges incurred from the time the pots of gul are purchas-
ed at Atgam, to the moment when they are stacked in his
godown at Broach, are to be borne by the up-country mer-
chant.
After they are gone, the farmer gets 100 pots of gul
weighed by a 'tolat* (weigher) and fastens earthen lids on
their tops by means of pieces of fresh shoots of sugarcane.
One morning early a line of carts is seen coming to the
farmer's field. These are sent by the Bulsar dealer to
carry the pots of gul purchased. The village broker
is sent for. The broker, the farmer and his men
assist the carters in loading the pots in the carts and care-
fully fasten them to their seats. These pots are taken
to Bulsar station, carefully loaded in a goods train,
and despatched to Broach. The railway receipt is posted
to the Broach merchant. On learning of their arrival,