and compact villages-and no Khusrah is therefore necessary. But where the villages contain such an intermixture of property that the Professional Survey is unable to define it, then the native field measurement or Khusrah is essential to supply the deficiency. By these means the scattered lands of every mehal or village, however intricate, are brought together, and the aggregate areas thus obtained, are recorded on the plans of the Professional Survey. The Khusrah measurement therefore is only resorted to, when the division and intermixture of property is so minute and intricate, that the details cannot be professionally surveyed, except at a most disproportionate and unwarrantable expense. Where there may be only one or two parcels of intermixed lands in a village, of course the whole village should not be measured by Khusrah on that account, these parcels may easily be shewn by the Professional Survey, but where estates are held ÿjmallee, or in shares, and the lands are divided field by field, Khet-but (in Behar phraseology,) or Petulgolah (as it is termed in Bengal) the Khusrah, properly attested by the parties, is the only satisfactory, if not the only attainable, record of the state of the property. In Settled provinces therefore only a small moiety of the villages come under the Khusrah operations, generally not more than about 15 per cent. on the entire area, and as the nature of the soil and crops is a point of secondary importance, the labors and anxieties of the Surveyor are greatly diminished and a vast saving of expense also effected. CHAPTER II. ON THE MODE OF PROSECUTING THE KHUSRAH. THE number of villages requiring this process being ascertained from the lists furnished by the Demarcation Officers, the Surveyor at the commencement of the season appoints as many Ameens as he calculates will be able to keep pace with the professional work, (a very important point) and in most of the surveys of late years from 100 to 200 qualified men have been employed annually. The correct boundary of the village having been demarcated as before explained, the Ameen is deputed with suitable Perwannahs, (written orders or summonses) and copies of the Thakbust papers for his guidance; he proceeds at once to acquaint himself with the names of the chief Proprietors, Farmers and Gomastas, (or agents) and speedily enters into arrangements with them, for commencing the measurement of their fields, and demands the records of any former measurement which may be in existence, to assist him in his investigations, and to enable him to have some clue as to the rights of property in the village. All preliminaries being settled, which takes a considerable time to effect with recusant and unwilling landowners on the one side, and exacting Ameens on the other, the Ameen commences to measure each field or plot of ground with FORM OF THE KHUSRAH OR CHITTAH. Mouza Ramchunderpore: Pergunnah Meydunmull: District 24-Pergunnahs. This village is measured with a chain of 80 haths long, by Madhub Chunder Ghose, Ameen, in the Year 1848. District, most commonly a rope of raw hemp, or a short the linear measure in general use in the Pergunnah or Government by the same bamboo held in the centre, and thrown down touching the ground at either end. Every field is thus measured in the form of a parallelogram by simply taking the length and breadth, (or the mean of several measurements where the sides are unequal,) the position with reference to the adjoining fields being also carefully recorded. The measurements, whatever they may be, are called out loudly, for the information of attending witnesses, and of the rojo-nuvees, or village writer, who follows the Ameen, and takes a verbatim copy, for the satisfaction of the proprietors, and as a check against the Government functionary. The Khusrah Field-book. The field measurements are entered in a Tabular form of the description shewn in the preceding page, every holding and parcel of land differing in quality, or coming under the various denominations of settlements, whether lakheraj, (rent-free,) &c., are recorded separately, each field being distinctly noted as lying to the North, East, South, or West of the preceding one, and distinguished by the name of the jotedar (or cultivator) as well as proprietor, together with such other natural landmarks as may exist. At the same time with the entry of these particulars, the measuring Ameen constructs a rough eye-sketch (or shujreh) of the relative positions of all the fields, numbered to correspond with the Register or Field-book—and which therefore forms a complete index to this document. This map is merely traced by the hand, without scale, rule or compass-but by constant practice and a naturally quick eye, the Ameen is able to put each day's work together, so that when the whole village is completed, the exterior outline or contour of the boundary, bears a sufficient resemblance to the professional map, as to admit of easy comparison, and considering the means employed, and the large number of fields so put together, averaging from 1,000 to 1,500-it is only to be wondered at, that such accurate and useful results are arrived at. Plate XIV. is a |