P.S. Melvill’s Ambala Settlement Report 1855 presented an interesting classification of agricultural land in Morni with many terms being still in usage with the revenue department.
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MELVILL’s 19th CENTURY CLASSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND IN MORNI |
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KOOLAHOO Land watered from kools (i.e., small water-courses from a stream etc.). Such land was ploughed.
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BARANEE (OBUR) Land ‘dependent on the heavens’ for moisture (rain-fed) |
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TODUH Land built up into small and narrow hanging fields (bughuree) that were piled one above the other. Land was ploughed. |
KHEEL Land broken up on the high slopes of the hills after cutting down and burning of jungle and mingling of ashes with the soil. Such land was rarely ploughed and instead it was dug with a ‘kusee’ (small hoe). It then lay fallow for a period varying from three to twenty years. |
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AVUL Land that was free from stones, was manured and produced well |
DOYUM Land was dry, stony and did not produce much |
FIRST KHEEL The hill side was not very steep and the soil was deeper because of lesser erosion- crops could be grown at lesser intervals |
SECOND KHEEL The slope was sharp and the soil was washed away with rain- a longer interval was necessary between crops |
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| SEER– Level land was called ‘Seer’ | ||||