INSTITUTI^ AND COLLEGE, K'^A, FOR 1909-10. io 





but this feature of the process must nevertheless b 

 recognised; and if the amount of water moving to the root 

 in a given time is too small for the nourishment of the 

 plant, there may be abundance of water in the soil, and 

 yet unable to reach the roots sufficiently quickly; 

 the plant's energy would thus become reduced, and the crop 

 might die oft; altogether. 



There were thus three distinct questions involved, 

 namely, (^) the high sub-soil water level, {ii) the aniali in 

 the soil, and [iii) the impervious nature of the soil. The 

 investigations which are being conducted at Pusa hcive to 

 do with Nos. {ii) and {Hi) of these questions. 



In order to study the subject in the field as far as 

 possible, Mr. S. C. Kar, M.A., the second assistant, was 

 deputed to work under the instructions of Mr. B. C. Burt, 

 Deputy Director of Agriculture, United Provinces, at 

 Bhadan, where a temporary laboratory was fitted up. 

 Here the amounts of alkali and water were determined in 

 the soil at specific points, in every 6 inches depth down 

 to 7 feet or 8 feet from the surface, until the middle of 

 May, when this part of the work was transferred to Pusa. 

 In addition to an estimate of the amount of salts in these 

 soils, it was especially desired to ascertain the amount of 

 their upward movement during dry weather or their down- 

 ward movement during the rains. But since no two tests 

 can be taken in exactly the same place and since further 

 it is known that the amounts of such salts vary consider- 

 ably within comparatively short distances in the lateral 

 direction, it became necessary to determine this latter, as 

 an adjunct to the former feature. Such an investigation 

 involves more work than might appear necessary at first 

 sight and the whole series of tests are not yet complete, 

 but it has become abundantly evident that {i) the amount 

 of variation laterally is, as was anticipated, comparatively 

 large, and (n) that in these soils the amount of upward 

 movement of salts to the surface during the dry weather is 

 only nominal. This latter feature is quite in accord with 

 expectation; the amount of salts brought to the surface 



