The markets at Calcutta are open at daybreak; when very fine meat, of every kind, together with various sorts of choice fish, fruits, vegetables, &c., may be had on very reasonable terms. There, indeed, beef may sometimes be seen in the hottest weather; because, being cut up into small joints, a bullock may be readily sold off among so many customers; but, in general, the prime pieces, together with all the best fish, &c., will have been bought up by sunrise: the refuse joints are generally taken by the Portugueze, (who are the only customers for bazar-pork,) and by Europeans of the lower classes, or by persons who supply the shipping. The whole of the non-commissioned and privates, in the several regiments of Europeans, are served with meat, rice, spirits, and fire-wood, by contract; receiving their several quotas early in the morning, under the inspection of their commissioned officers, who make their reports regarding any deficiencies, either in quantity, or of quality.
Those gentlemen who produce pork at their tables, are extremely particular as to the manner in which their pigs are fed. Many are so extremely fastidious, as not to allow any to be served up unless educated, as it is called, in their own sties; the very circumstance of being born elsewhere, absolutely disqualifying, and rendering of no avail, all that change of bulk, and all that purification, derived from perhaps a whole year of confinement to a clean stye; in which nothing but the best corn (gram) is given to the grunting inhabitant. This, certainly, is carrying daintiness to an extreme; but it must be confessed, that swine are so offensively greedy in the indulgence of their appetites in that part of the world, as to give occasion for many very reasonable scruples regarding the use of bazar-pork; which is indiscriminately killed from the fattest of those wanderers that sometimes absolutely interrupt the operations of the multitude, who resort, generally at dusk, and at day-break, to lay their offerings at the shrine of a certain deity!
This calls to mind a very laughable circumstance which happened at Berhampore, in 1803. An officer, who had been many years at Gibraltar, where a joint of meat, of any kind, was probably snapped up without any questions being asked as to its education, produced at his table a very fine corned leg of pork, of which all his guests ate with great avidity. One of them, when the repast was over, begged leave to enquire how the gentleman kept his pigs; what had been then on table, being of so superior a flavor, that he presumed it was educated in some very particular manner. ‘Oh no,’ answered the host, ‘I never trouble my head about sties; my man bought a whole side of it this morning of Neeloo the butcher, for eight annas’ (15d.) This untimely disclosure operated not only like magic, but like emetic tartar; the whole company were taken with violent sickness, and retired to give vent, both to the pork, and to their feelings, on so dreadful an occasion. However, none died in consequence of having been thus poisoned; but the whole station received the tale with horror, and resolved, to a man, never to accept another invitation from the unfortunate hero of the rock!
Whether it be owing to the foregoing cause, or, that the time necessary for the completion of a pig’s ‘education,’ be too protracted to allow of persons, subject to removal, engaging in that branch of domestic economy, may be difficult to determine, but certain it is, that very few officers have piggeries; they commonly content themselves with hams and cheeks imported to them from England. The grossness of the viand is, however, so very inappropriate to the climate, that, even after the most delicate course of management, pork is by no means considered a choice dish: sucking pigs are more generally approved.
Veal is so very seldom to be obtained in the market, of a quality fit to be brought to table, that it is customary for four or five friends to subscribe for the purpose of rearing calves for their own expenditure; each taking a share of every calf that is slaughtered. The best, and most economical plan, is to agree with some butcher, through whose means alone it can in general be effected, to receive of him a cow and calf, the latter being newly born, and to return him the mother, after the calf may have been killed, together with four rupees (10s.) By this mode, the calf will thrive admirably, provided the cow be well fed; but it is usual, and I have practised it with great success, to give the little one as much scalded milk as it can drink, three times daily; drenching it with either a horn, or a quart-bottle: from three to four quarts, in each of which the yolk of a fresh egg is beat up, will commonly produce the desired effect, rendering the meat very fine by the end of a month; the usual age at which they are slaughtered. What with the keep of the mother, the milk and eggs given to the calf, and the necessary attendance, a gold-mohur, (£2.,) will generally be expended upon each calf, unless several be kept together as a successive supply for the table; in which case, about twelve rupees will be found the average expence. In this, I reckon the out-lay upon a calf that will now and then, perhaps one in five, prove a bad subject; and, notwithstanding every precaution, either scour or pine.
It is a great misfortune that, on account of the extreme antipathy the horned cattle of India always exhibit towards Europeans, no possibility exists for remedying many bad practices, and neglects, to which these animals are subject, when under the care of the native servants. An Indian ox, or cow, when at liberty, is always shunned very carefully, lest it should indulge its savage disposition. On first entering that country, the cattle would be supposed to be wild, instead of domesticated; for not one in a thousand will admit the approach of an European; nor are they always less gentle towards strangers of any description. As to what are called tame buffaloes, they are commonly more fierce than any British bull, and, when they have calves at their sides, make no scruple of attacking man and horse, with unbounded ferocity. Hence, it is extremely proper to be very cautious of approaching herds, or single cattle of either kind, even when tolerably mounted. Sometimes, in riding through the country, and especially where jeels (lakes) are to be forded, or pools to be passed, the unwary traveller may find himself, on a sudden, within a few yards of a whole herd of buffaloes, which, to avoid the heat of mid-day, wallow in the muddy water, so deep as to have, in general, only their noses and eyes above the surface. Being, perhaps, among rushes, &c. even those parts are not discernible, or, if in an open expanse, may be easily mistaken for clods of mud; for the horns lie back towards the false ribs. On a sudden, the whole herd sometimes rise, and at the least frighten the horse, whatever the rider’s heart may be made of: such a surprize, and from animals that, according to the old saying, ‘give but a word and a blow, and the blow comes first,’ is far from pleasant. In such situations, all depends on the conduct of the leading bull; if he snorts, shakes his horns, and advances, the danger is imminent. But it frequently happens, that, whether owing to lassitude, or the absence of any object particularly irritating to buffaloes, of which a red coat may be considered the extreme, the herd content themselves with rising from their reclined postures, and, after those who rouzed them may have passed on, again sink into the friendly pool.
The British settlers in India are extremely indebted to the Dutch for many essential improvements. The small town of Chinsurah, situate about twenty-eight miles north of Calcutta, on the banks of the Hoogly river, has, in this instance, proved serviceable to India at large. The Dutch, to whom that place appertained before the war, were the first to introduce the culture of that invaluable esculent, the potatoe; which was received from their settlement at the Cape of Good Hope: they likewise were the first to exhibit any disposition towards horticulture. From them the British received, annually, the seeds of every kind of vegetable useful at the table, as well as several plants of which there appeared much need, especially various kinds of pot-herbs. They likewise supplied us with vines, from which innumerable cuttings have been dispensed to every part of Bengal and its upper dependencies. The whole of the lower provinces, at least, those parts skirting the ranges of hills that bound them, produce immense quantities of wild vines, which, during the rains, may be seen partially to bear grapes of a red color, and about the size of a pistol-ball. These vines tower over the high saul trees, or creep along the rocky masses, throughout the Ramghur district especially, in all the majesty of wild luxuriance.
Here is a field for speculation! Let us suppose, that the wines which should be raised might not prove of the best quality, still we might derive the most important advantages from the brandy and vinegar to which they might be converted. As to wood for the staves, and iron for the hoops, they are both to be had on the spot; and, in regard to distillation, abundance of men, sufficiently skilled, may be found among the natives. Fuel is every where abundant, indeed, a perfect nuisance. The only impediment I could ever discover, is, that the neighbouring streams are not generally navigable, or, perhaps, only for a few months in the year: they might, however, be easily rendered adequate to every purpose, there being lime-stone in various adjacent hills, while, among the convicts, who are in a state of idleness for the most part, many persons might be selected fully capable of constructing whatever masonry, or timber-work, should be found necessary.
Some years ago, I had the honor of submitting this suggestion to the Court of Directors. The India minister of that day was forcibly struck with the facility obviously afforded of founding an immense national concern: and, had he remained in office, would probably have taken means to ascertain every point contained in my memoir, with the utmost exactitude: the result must have been perfectly satisfactory.
When we consider, that the Company pay two lacs of rupees (£25,000.) yearly for spirits, of a very inferior quality, for the use of the European soldiery; and, that good vinegar cannot be had under two rupees per gallon, (5s.) it should seem an object, even in that limitted view, to cultivate the vine for their own use; but, if we extend the prospect, and shew that any quantity of brandy, if not of wine, might be imported from Bengal, the benefits will be found so great, as to claim every encouragement on the part of the legislature. It appears highly probable, that full a million sterling would be annually saved to the nation, by its adoption of this speculation; which might be began at little or no expence, and be progressively extended, by giving employment to the whole body of convicts, who now are a heavy burthen on the revenue, without doing a thousandth part of the service of which they are physically capable. If my information be correct, there are now sold at Calcutta near four thousand pipes of Madeira, Teneriffe, &c., annually, and about as many chests of Claret, including French and English; the quantity of Brandy imported at that settlement is full 10,000 gallons, besides Hollands, Rum, and other liquors, of which I shall make no account. The licences granted for the retail of spirits are amply abundant; and the number of shops where Toddy, Mowah, Pariah Arrack, &c., are served out, absolutely incalculable.