32 THE LUSHEI CLANS CHAP.

freely with the wild mithan, and the hybrids are, I believe, not
sterile. The other domestic animals are pigs, goats, fowls, and
dogs. The pigs are the scavengers of the village, but are
'generously fed on a species of arum and rice husks boiled to-
gether. The fowls are of a small breed; pure white, brown, and
black are the commonest colours, but there is also a handsome
spangled .breed. The dogs have bushy tails, which curl tightly.
Dogs are eaten freely, but their chief value is derived from the
demand for sacrificial purposes. The goats are splendid animals
with long silky hair and very large horns.

9. Agri- The only form of agriculture practised is that known to us
culture. generaiiy as jburning, and it consists in felling a piece of jungle
and when it has completely dried setting fire to it. The
ground is thus cleared and manured by the ashes at the same
time. Timber which is not entirely burnt is dragged to the side
of the plot and made into a rough fence to keep
deer out. The surface of the jhum is lightly hoed over and
then there is nothing more to be done till the gathering clouds
warn the cultivator that the rains are about to break, then
everyone sallies out, each with a small basket of seeds slung
over one shoulder and the square-ended dao in hand. Line is
formed at the lower end of the clearing, and the whole family
proceeds slowly upwards, dibbling shallow holes with their daos
and dropping into each a few seeds. It is considered very
lucky to get well soaked while sowing. The chief crop is rice,
but the maize, ripening as it does in August, is eagerly looked
for by the improvident Lushais who have probably used up
more rice than was prudent in the manufacture of beer. The
rice does not ripen till November or December, though a little
early rice is grown which ripens in September. Between the
sowing and the end of the rains in October the crop requires
constant weeding, a duty which falls on the women folk if the
family contains enough of them. In each clearing a small house
is built, well raised off the ground, in which the cultivators stay
during the time the work is heaviest. The other crops grown
are millet, Job's tears, peas, and beans. Tobacco and cotton are
also grown for home consumption. The rice is cut very high
as the straw has no value. It is threshed on a piece of ground
specially levelled near the jhum house. Threshing is done in