INSTITUTE, PUSA, FOR 1918-19 35 



REPORT OF THE IMPERIAL AGRICULTURAL 



CHEMIST. 



(W. H. Harrison, D.Sc.) 



I. Administration. 



I availed myself of privilege leave from 4th July to 7th 

 August, 1918, and during this period the First Assistant, 

 Mr. J. N. Mukerji, was placed in charge of the Section. 

 For the rest of the year I was in control. 



Mr. J. Sen, Supernumerary Agricultural Chemist, 

 continued on special duty under the Government of the 

 United Provinces in connection with the opium investiga- 

 tions. His continued absence from his permanent post at 

 Pusa entails considerable inconvenience to the head of the 

 Section who, as a consequence, must necessarily give more 

 attention to the routine analytical work than is desirable 

 if material progress is to be made in research. 



II. Education. 



Mr. A. K. Mitra, who joined on 1st June, 1918, as a 

 stipendiary student of the Bihar and Orissa Government, 

 received tuition during the whole of the year under review. 



III. Meeting of Agricultural Chemists. 



The First Meeting of Agricultural Chemists was held 

 at Pusa on 24th February, 1919, and the following days. 

 The proceedings were opened by the Agricultural Adviser 

 to the Government of India. The subjects placed for con- 

 sideration before the meeting covered a wide field and 

 comprised the drafting of a Fertilizer Act applicable to 

 Indian conditions; the proposal of the Industrial Commis- 

 sion in regard to the formation of a chemists' service; 

 standardization of analytical methods; the regulation of 

 soil surveys and the necessity for the formation of groups 

 of scientific officers for the specific study of specialized 

 agricultural problems such as animal nutrition, soil biology, 



