68 SCIENTIFIC REPORTS OF THE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH 



mm 



further trees needed and should supplement the work of the 

 experiment station. Unless some such principle is adopted 

 and means are found of developing local agencies to take 

 over portions of the work when it has passed the experi- 

 mental stage, the burden of routine will become so great that 

 no further investigations will be possible. Fortunately, a 

 beginning has already been made in this direction and two 

 private nurseries have been started at Quetta by retired 

 Europeans. The work is not arduous and when carefully 

 carried out should prove both interesting and remunerative. 

 One of the surest means of increasing the income of a private 

 garden at Quetta is by raising a number of young trees for 

 sale every year. Similar work might also be taken up in the 

 districts. 



5. Fruit packing. 



The sale of improved fruit boxes to the public, which up 

 to 1916 had proceeded very satisfactorily, has latterly been 

 greatly interfered with by the war. Although arrange- 

 ments were made in 1916 for the delivery the next year of a 

 large supply of cardboard boxes, punnets and crate wood, 

 all the consignments were delayed and arrived at Quetta 

 too late. The consignments of cardboard boxes and pun- 

 nets from Great Britain happened to be shipped to India by 

 the same vessel which struck a mine outside Bombay and 

 only just reached port. In due course, both consignments 

 arrived at Quetta at the end of the fruit season. The crate 

 wood was arranged for in 1916 from two Indian factories 

 but in each case delivery did not take place till the middle 

 of 1918 due to the fact that both the saw mills were engaged 

 in war work. At the time of writing, July 24th, 1918, the 

 last of the consignments ordered in 1916 has arrived at 

 Quetta and the various boxes and crates can now be put 

 together. It was hoped that the box boards prepared in 

 India from locally grown timber would be considerably 

 cheaper than similar supplies from Norway, Great Britain 

 and Japan but this expectation has not been realized. 

 Indian boards have proved inferior to and considerably 



