38 SCIENTIFIC REPORTS OF THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH 



cult matter to work up an export trade and to make use of 

 some of the improved types of this crop isolated at Pusa. 



Considerable progress was made during the year in the 

 preliminary classification of the various types of Indian 

 linseed so as to furnish suitable material for the further 

 study of this crop. It is hoped to complete this introductory 

 work during the next rabi season. A large number of forms 

 have been isolated, and as was expected, the range in root 

 development is very great. 



7. Soil-aeration. 



During the year under review, a large body of evidence 

 in support of our published views on soil-aeration has accu- 

 mulated. Confirmatory results from the cultural and 

 anatomical standpoints have been published in Great 

 Britain by one of Professor Potter's students. In India, the 

 dependence of quality on soil-aeration has been confirmed 

 by Mr. Clcfiston's experiments on cotton, sugarcane, and 

 ground-nuts at Chandkhuri near Raipur on the bhata soils 

 of the Central Provinces. At Pusa, a study of the root- 

 systems of the types of linseed, Roselle, patwa, wheat and 

 Java indigo has shown that all the varieties which really 

 do well on the Bihar alluvium are surface-rooted kinds, 

 while on the other hand the forms which do not thrive are 

 deep-rooted. The facts so- f n.x brought to light indicate the 

 all importance of soil-aera cl on during the monsoon phase 

 and also confirm our ideas on the general importance of this 

 factor. The addition of one inch of potsherds (thikra) to 

 the heavy soils of the Botanical area has led to a consider- 

 able increase in the yield of grain per acre — in the case of 

 oats the increment was 366 lb. per acre, in wheat 269 lb. per 

 acre. 



III. The Development of the Agriculture of 



Baluchistan. 



Thanks to the increased facilities provided by the 

 Baluchistan Administration and the effective co-operation 



