AND COLLEGE, PUSA, FOR 1915-16 3;* 



Soil-aeration. 



The preliminary results obtained on the aeration of soils 

 in India were published during 1915 as Bulletin 52 of the 

 Pusa Institute. A considerable amount of interest has 

 been aroused by this publication of which a second edition 

 was called for during the year. This paper was reviewed 

 very favourably in Nature of February 24th, 1916, and has 

 been well received in Europe. A paper on soil-aeration 

 was read at the Indian Science Congress at Lucknow in 

 January last when Mr. Hole, the Imperial Forest Botanist, 

 also gave an account of his work on aeration from the point 

 of view of Indian Forestry. Both these papers attracted 

 a good deal of attention and were keenly discussed. 



The views put forward on this subject in Bulletin 52 

 were amplified and developed in a lecture given to the Board 

 of Agriculture at Pusa last February. This lecture has 

 been passed for printing and will shortly appear as Bulletin 

 61 of the Pusa Institute. In this paper, the connection 

 between soil-aeration and the development of quality has 

 been outlined and considerable space has been devoted to 

 the practical applications of soil-ventilation including the 

 saving of irrigation water and the increase in crop-produc- 

 tion in the plains of India. 



Surface drainage. 



As in the case of soil-aeration, the publication of Pusa 

 Bulletin 53 on soil-erosion and surface drainage has led to 

 such a large demand for copies that a second edition of this 

 paper had to be arranged within a year of the appearance 

 of the first. This bulletin was written largely as an intro- 

 duction to the discussion on these subjects which took place 

 at the last meeting of the Board of Agriculture. The views 

 put forward in this paper were accepted by the Board and 

 three resolutions, largely based thereon, were recommended 

 to the consideration of the Government of India. 



Interest continues to be taken in the Pusa system of 

 surface drainage which is to be seen at Dholi on an estate 



