INSTITUTE AND COLLEGE, PUSA, FOR 1910-11. 



great vigour after the first heavy rain of the monsoon, but 

 is not active during the dry months. 



Dr. Leather has continued his investigation of usar land, 

 with special reference to its physical state. He has also, 

 in consultation with the Director of Agriculture, and the 

 Irrigation Department, United Provinces, carried out the 

 first stage of a comprehensive experiment directed to deter- 

 mine once for all whether, as is frequentl}' stated, irriga- 

 tion leads in certain lands to an increase of alkali. 



Mr. Annett is engaged on a general investigation of the 

 Date Palm sugar industry, a very important Indian indus- 

 try, about which little accurate information is available. 



An improved method of refining crude saltpetre was 

 devised by Dr. Leather, and has been described in a Bulletin 

 recently published. More nitrate is obtained than by the 

 ordinary methods in use, the product is of higher quality, 

 less fuel is required, and the process is independent of the 

 weather. Its financial possibilities, however, remain to be 

 demonstrated, and arrangements have been made to test the 

 method on a commercial scale this year. 



5. Botany. — Mr. Howard resumed charge of this sec- 

 tion, on the expiry of privilege leave and deputation in 

 Lngland, on the 29th July, 1910. He was deputed to advise 

 the Kashmir Durbar on hop cultivation from the 1st 

 August to the 27th September, 1910. During his absence 

 Maulvi Abdur Rahman Khan, Second x^ssistant, held charge 

 of the current duties of the section. Mrs. Howard, who has 

 ably assisted her husband during the past five years, was 

 appointed Personal Assistant for three years from the 1st 

 October, 1910. Mr. E. Holmes Smith, Supernumerary 

 Economic Botanist, was on deputation in the Bombay Presi- 

 dency throughout the year. He leaves the Department on 

 the expiry of his agreement in October, 1911. Mr. Howard 

 has been placed in charge of a scheme to develop the fruit 

 industry of Baluchistan, in addition to his own duties, for 

 a period of three years from the 1st May, 1911. He will 

 work in Baluchistan for five months, from May to Septem- 

 ber, each year. 



