86 REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE 



Bihar Planters' Association Meeting on the 

 subject of the modified method of green- 

 manuring. 



6. May 1916. To Bakagaon, Dooriah, Motipur, Mehsi 



and Bara to inquire into the local methods of 

 nuniahs in connection with the saltpetre 

 industry. 



7. June 1916. To Saraya, Bara and Peepra factories, 



in connection with work on Indigo manufacture. 



II. Training. 



Mr. I). V. Bal, Assistant to the Agricultural Chemist to 

 the Government of Central Provinces, who was under train- 

 ing in this laboratory from 20th August 1914, finished his 

 course on the 17th April 1916 and was allowed to return to 

 his Province. 



Mr. S. N. Bose, Bacteriological Assistant to the Agricul- 

 tural Chemist to the Government of Bengal, is under train- 

 ing in this laboratory from 3rd January 1916. 



III. Soil Bacteriology. 



Toxins. Work on the lines indicated in the report of 

 this section for the previous year was continued, but was 

 considerably interfered with by the claims of special 

 enquiries on various technical subjects hereinafter dealt 

 with. Considerable progress, however, was made in col- 

 lecting evidence as to the occurrence in field soils of toxins 

 resulting from bacterial action, and of their unfavour- 

 able influence upon fertility as dependent upon nitrifica- 

 tion and correlated bacterial processes in soil. A series 

 of field experimental plots under wheat demonstrated the 

 production of infertility in soil containing nitrogenous 

 organic matter (oil-cake) as a consequence of semi-anaerobic 

 conditions artificially induced by water-logging; this infer- 

 tility did not occur to the same extent when ammonium 

 sulphate was substituted for cake, nor did the effect of the 

 water-logging become apparent until the roots of the plants 

 bad gone down some inches, to that level in the soil which 



