INSTITUTE AND C0LLEC4E, PFSA, FOR 1910-11. 31 



the sample was taken in February, registered by means of 

 distance and direction from a stone bench-mark especially 

 put down on the field border. We shall thus not only have 

 the results of the comparative tests of the present year, but 

 it will be possible to form a very exact opinion at a future 

 time, say ten or fifteen years hence, as to whether the intro- 

 duction of canal irrigation has caused either an increase of 

 the area of these '"' alkali spots '' or any increase in the per- 

 centage of " alkali " in the soil. The tests of the soil of ex- 

 perimental plots near Aligarh which were referred to in 

 last year's report showed that the only really effective 

 means which had been tried was gypsum, and in that case 

 the cost had been prohibitive. The land which Mr. Keven- 

 ter has reclaimed was especially interesting. By the ap- 

 plication of very large amounts of manure and liberal irri- 

 gation, crops have been grown for a number of years on 

 some very bad alkali land. But the samples taken to a 

 depth of 9 ft. showed that the result of the treatment had 

 been to reclaim only the top foot of soil, and that below this 

 layer, the soil is as bad as it was originally. The crops 

 subsist in fact on the liberal manure supply of the top soil 

 and can even then only succeed by the aid of frequent irri- 

 gation. 



Date Palm. — Immediately after his return from Cawn- 

 pore, Mr. H. E. Annett took up, at my suggestion, the gen- 

 eral investigation of the Date Palm Sugar industry. 

 Hitherto nothing had been done in relation to the chemis- 

 try involved in this industry, and it is obviously desirable 

 that this omission should be rectified. Mr. Annett toured 

 twice in the Jessore District, which is one of the principal 

 centres, and carried out a series of analyses of the juice on 

 the spot and later on of raw sugar at Pusa, besides collect- 

 ing much valuable information in regard to the methods 

 which are employed. The work will be continued on Mr. 

 Annett's return from Cawnpore. 



Saltfetre. — During the year an attempt has been made 

 to work out the practical details of an improved method 

 of refining crude saltpetre which had occurred to me some 



