26 REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH 



the average with regard to moisture conditions. At one 

 time there seemed to be a fair prospect of jute being grown 

 in Behar on a large scale, but the difficulty of obtaining 

 sufficient labour at the time of retting, the fall of the 

 abnormally high prices of three years ago to their normaJ 

 level, and the fact that in a very dry hot season like that of 

 1908 the crop may be a complete failure, has discouraged 

 further cultivation. The Fibre Expert to the Government 

 of Eastern Bengal and Assam has taken over the collection 

 of varieties for classification and selection, but otherwise 

 the crop is no longer grown at Pusa. 



(c) Flax. — The results of the experiments with flax 

 continue to be promising. In the rabi season of 1907-08 

 the yield and the quality of the flax straw were quite good, 

 and there seems to be little reason to doubt that when the 

 requirements of the crop are properly understood, flax will 

 be capable of being successfully grown in Behar. 



(d) Tobacco. — Zimmer's Spanish tobacco was grown on 

 an area of 5 acres in the cold weather of 1908-09 for 

 experimental curing in the curing house, but at the critical 

 moment the expert assistance promised could not be 

 obtained. In any case, owing to the unfavourable seasonal 

 conditions, the crop was considerably below the normal both 

 in yield and in quality. 



5. Manurial Experiments on Wheat. — In the cold 

 weather of 1907-08, calcium cyanamide and calcium 

 nitrate were compared with sodium nitrate, Indian 

 saltpetre, sulphate of ammonia, rape-cake and farm-yard 

 manure as fertilizers for wheat. Owing to an attack of 

 white-ants and the late application of the manures in a 

 rather dry season, the results of the experiment were 

 somewhat inconclusive, but calcium cyanamide and calcium 

 nitrate proved as effective as any of the other manures 

 except rape-cako. The readiness with which the latter 

 manure becomes available as plant food, even under fairly 

 dry conditions, is remarkable. 



