30 REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH 



canals and excessive irrigation. The fact that the intro- 

 duction of a canal is accompanied by a rise of the sub-soil 

 water level has lent support to the argument. The two 

 features are, however, distinct, and it certainly does not 

 necessarily follow that they are related. We have some 

 soil, taken from fertile land in the immediate neighbour- 

 hood of alkali spots under observation; it is maintained 

 fallow with an artificial sub-soil water-supply at 2 ft. 

 from the surface, and the experiment should show whether 

 it will thereby become " alkali." 



But the work of the past cold weather dealt with an- 

 other aspect of this question. It is not only in canal-irri- 

 gated areas that " alkali spots " Ciccur in cultivated fields ; 

 they are to be found in well-irrigated tracts also. It was 

 decided, in consultation with the Director of Agriculture 

 and the Superintending Engineer, to take samples from a 

 series of such " alkali spots " situated {a) within a canal- 

 irrigated tract, and {h) within a neighbouring well-irri- 

 gated tract, and to compare them by means of such methods 

 as we at present possess. A suitable tract of country was 

 found in the Muttra and Etah Districts. In the Sadabad 

 (Muttra) and western part of Jalesar (Etah) parganas is a 

 tract of country under well-irrigation, and alkali spots 

 occur in many of the fields; thirty such alkali spots were 

 sampled to a depth of 9 ft., excepting in cases where the 

 kankar was too hard to drill throusrh. In the eastern half 

 of pargana Jalesar the irrigation is principally from the 

 Etawah branch, Ganges canal, and in this tract twenty- 

 nine alkali spots were similarly sampled to a depth of 9 ft. 

 In each case a separate sample of every succeeding 6" was 

 taken, and the whole of the specimens are now under ex- 

 amination. The first tract named is particularly suitable 

 because although it has always depended on well-irrigation, 

 the new Hathras branch of the Ganges canal is under con- 

 struction, and the tract will hence shortly come under the 

 influence of canal irrigation. All the fifty-nine alkali 

 spots have been registered, mapped to show the approxi- 

 mate area, and the exact position of the boring, from which 



