INSTITUTE AND COLLEGE, PUSA, FOR 1913-14. 83 



was very apparent as a marked increase in crop, but owing 

 to the waterlogging of part of the area and the consequent 

 interference with the regularity of the series, definite 

 quantitative conclusions could not be drawn as to the rela- 

 tive value of this method. 



Small plots in the compound of the outside laboratory 

 of about g^th acre area were used for qualitative experi- 

 ments in green manuring, the rabi crop being oats; varia- 

 tions in the method of preparing the fermented manure 

 were tested and showed decided differences which are de- 

 scribed in the report on the subject for 1913-14 now in hand. 

 It was also found that for this crop on light soil no appar- 

 ent advantage was obtained by concentration of the manure, 

 improvement of the crop being probably due to the compara- 

 tively high availability of the nitrogen content of the 

 fermented material. Further experiments dealing with 

 the application of the method to other crops such as tobacco 

 are in progress during the current season. 



In connection with this work a considerable amount of 

 research has been carried out in the laboratory in continua- 

 tion of that of last year which dealt mainly with the 

 ammonification and nitrification of the buried green crop: 

 further observations on these two points have been made 

 and in addition some fourteen species of bacteria appar- 

 ently closely connected with the decomposition of buried 

 Sann hemp have been isolated, and their physiological and 

 morphological characters studied. It is remarkable that 

 no one species of bacterium capable of attacking cellulose 

 has been found so far in the general soil complex although 

 the symbiotic relationship of two or more has been shown 

 to produce this result; the opinion expressed in the Bulle- 

 tin on green manuring published in 1914 that soil fungi 

 probably played an important part in the breaking down 

 of cellular tissue is strengthened by further observation ; it 

 is hoped that work on soil fungi by the Mycological Section 

 of this institute may furnish valuable information on this 



point. 



! g2 



