38 REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH 



of the leaf are new, and mark an advance in the application 

 of modern methods of plant breeding to crops of economic 

 importance. 



Gram.—- The selection experiments with gram referred 

 to in the last annual report have been continued. The 

 season was not very favourable to gram as the seed bed was 

 too wet due to the storms of November followed by heavy 

 rains at flowering time. The high yielding white gram, 

 which in 1912 was valued at Rs. 5-8 per cwt. f. o. r. Bom- 

 bay, again did well at Pusa and seed of this and of some of 

 the other kinds is being tried in Bihar and also on various 

 Government farms in the Central Provinces and in the 

 United Provinces. 



Fibres. — A good deal of work was done during the year 

 on fibre plants, particularly with regard to the inheritance 

 of characters in Hibiscus Sabdariffa. This is being con- 

 tinued and it is expected to publish the results obtained 

 during the coming year. 



In the case of Hibiscus cannabinus the promising kind, 

 known as Type 3, has been grown for fibre with satisfactory 

 results. Seed of this kind will be offered to the various Pro- 

 vincial Departments of Agriculture during the present 

 year. 



Methods of pollination- — Observations on the methods 

 of pollination in the various crops grown at Pusa have been 

 continued and an effort will be made next year to publish 

 the results. 



Indigo.— In consequence of the decision to close the 

 Sirsiah Experiment Station, the work on indigo formerly 

 carried out there was transferred to the Botanical Section 

 at Pusa at the end of the last financial year. Six small 

 tubes of selected indigo seed were received from Sirsiah and 

 these have been sown at Pusa. In addition, a large number 

 of indigo experiments were started at Pusa in October 1912 

 in continuation of those begun the year before. The indigo 

 industry, which is now in a declining condition, presents 

 three problems for immediate solution. In the first place, 

 the best methods of growing Java indigo so as to avoid the 



