INSTITUTE AND COLLEGE, PUSA, FOR 1907-09. 43 



is much more complicated than some of the other works. 

 The phosphates form the chief objective, because of the 

 importance which the more perfect valuation of this group 

 of constituents in soils would possess. The only area in 

 which field experiments have been made up to the present 

 in conjunction with the laboratory work, is in Behar. The 

 soil of a large part of Behar is, so far as one can tell from 

 laboratory tests, greatly deficient in readily assimilable 

 phosphates, and field trials were made during the monsoon 

 of 1907 and the following cold weather. The former 

 yielded doubtful results, but the latter yielded, with one 

 exception, considerable increases due to superphosphate. 



10. Soil Gases. — Closely allied to the study of the 

 assimilable plant food in soils, is probably a more perfect 

 knowledge of the nature of the gases in soils and their 

 quantity. Such information as we possess regarding this 

 subject is but meagre, and since the Indo-Gangetic allu- 

 vium offers an exceptionally suitable material for the work, 

 an investigation in this subject was commenced. The 

 results obtained have been embodied in a memoir entitled 

 " The System Water, Calcium Carbonate, Carbonic Acid." 



11. Black Cotton Soil. — An investigation into the 

 nature of constituent or constituents of this soil which 

 occasion its peculiar colour, was undertaken by Mr. 

 Annett, Supernumerary Chemist. The results obtained 

 from this investigation are about to be published. 



12. Other Investigations. — Chief among these is a 

 determination of how the composition of the various crops 

 grown on the permanent experiment plots at Pusa, varies 

 with different systems of manuring. 



In conjunction with the Imperial Entomologist, some 

 work has been done with the object of freeing stored wheat 

 grain from weevil. 



13. General Analytical Work.— The number of samples 

 of agricultural materials which are sent by the provin- 

 cial departments for general analysis, is now practically 

 nil. The chief calls on the laboratory for this purpose 



