lOd 



REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH 



son. Practically no crop had been produced and the im- 

 mature bolls were shrivelling. The plots of indigenous 

 varieties were only just coming into flower. This means 

 that bolls could only be ripened during the hot weather, 

 and as their produce at the best would only be equal to the 

 most inferior Berar or Khandesh cotton, they are scarcely 

 worth troubling with in a tract which grows more highly 

 remunerative crops, such as rice and jute. Deshila and 

 Bhogila are still later and the length of time they occupy 

 the ground is a serious objection to their cultivation. It 

 is to be regretted that the primitive people of Chutia Nag- 

 pur cannot be induced to extend the cultivation of Bhuri 

 cotton in their country, but, so far as they are concerned, 

 there is probably no material incentive for them to so exert 

 themselves. 



All the Indian varieties of cotton have now been tried 

 in the deltaic area of Bengal, and the inevitable conclusion 

 to be drawn from the experience thus earned is that the 

 conditions of soil and climate are not in any way suitable 

 for cotton cultivation, and I cannot recommend that ex- 

 periments with a view to introduce their culture should be 

 persevered with. 



The following samples from Chinsurah, Bengal, were 

 kindly reported on for me by Messrs. Tata, Sons & Co. of 

 Bombay : — 



Basis per caudy of 784 lbs. — 

 F. Bengal, Rs. 315. 



