It will be seen that in the three years following the earthquake of 1897 the exports fell very low indeed. Since 1901 the trade has been steadily recovering, and the exports of 1904 reached half a lakh of maunds.
It will be observed that there has been some improvement, but the exports are still not half what they were in 1881-82. There are two kinds of sweet potatoes grown in the district, the Garo potato (u phan Karo), which appears to have been introduced from the Garo Hills, and u phan sawlia, the latter being distinguished from the Garo potato by its having a red skin, the Garo potato possessing a white skin. These kinds of potato are planted on all classes of land except hali, they do best on jhumed and homestead lands. The yam proper (u phan shynreh) is also largely grown. The small plant with an edible root called by the Khasis u sohphang (flemingia vestita Benth.), is also largely grown. The roots of the plant after being peeled are eaten raw by the Khasis. As far as we know, this esculent is not cultivated in the adjoining hill districts. Job's tears (coix lachryma-Jobi) [17] are extensively grown, and are planted frequently with the sohphlang mentioned above. This cereal forms a substitute for rice amongst the poorer cultivators. Maize or Indian corn (u riew hadem) is grown frequently, thriving best on homestead land, and requires heavy manuring; it is grown in rotation with potatoes. Next in importance to rice comes the millet (u krai), as a staple of food amongst the Khasis. There are three varieties of millets generally to be seen in the Khasi Hills:—u 'rai-soh (setaria Italica), u 'rai-shan (Paspalum sanguinale), and u 'rai-truh (Eleusine coracana). U 'rai-shan is cultivated in rotation with the potato, u 'rai-soh and u 'rai-truh are generally cultivated on jhumed land, where they thrive well. Millet is sometimes used instead of rice in the manufacture of spirit by the Khasis; u rymbai-ja (phaseolus calcaratus), and u rymbai ktung (glycine soja) are beans which are cultivated occasionally: Khasis highly prize the fruit of the plantain, which they give to infants mashed up. The following are the best known varieties:—Ka kait khún, ka kait siem, ka kait kulbuit, ka kait bamon, ka kait shyieng.
The most important crop on the southern side of the hills is the orange, which has already been referred to in the paragraph dealing with agriculture.
The oranges are sold by the spah or 100, which is not a 100 literally, but somewhat over 3,000 oranges. Different places have different spahs. At Phali Hat, on the Bogapani River, the spah is computed as follows:—
1 Hali = 4 oranges. 8 Halis = 1 Bhar. 100 Bhars = shi spah (one hundred) = 3200 oranges.
At Shella the computation is slightly different, being as follows:—
1 Gai = 6 oranges. 5 Gais + 2 oranges = 32 oranges. 4 Bhars = 1 hola = 128 oranges 27 holas + 2 bhars = shi spah (100) = 3,520 oranges.
By another method of calculation the spah consists of 3,240 oranges.
The price per spah varies from about 10 rupees in good years to
Rs. 40, when the orange harvest has been a poor one.
The lime is also cultivated, not separately, but along with the orange. The lime can be grown with success at a higher altitude than the orange. There is extensive betel-nut and pán cultivation on the southern slopes of the hills. The betel-nut tree is cultivated in the same manner as in the plains, except that the trees are planted nearer to one another. The trees bear when eight to ten years old. A portion of the crop is sold just after it has been plucked; this is called u 'wáí kháw, and is for winter consumption. The remainder of the crop is kept in large baskets, which are placed in tanks containing water, the baskets being completely immersed. This kind of betel-nut is called u 'wáí um. The Khasis, like the Assamese; prefer the fresh betel-nut. They do not relish the dry supári so much.