Vou XVlll, Ho. iil. 



THE AGKICULT UllAL JSBWtf. 



SOIL AERATION. 



In the Scientific Report of t lie* Agricultural. Research 

 JnstitHte, Pusa, 1917-18, it is stated ftat the decision of the 

 Bilnchistan administration in 1911 to start a' small experi- 

 .iiicuLa! station near Quetta for the study of locul questions 

 has, in one direction, suggested far-reaching developments in 

 Indian agriculture. In the Qiietta valley the texture of the 

 soil is such that after surface flooding, ventilation is very 

 •easily impeded, with disastrous results to the crop- The 

 investigation of this matter led ^o the recognition of the 

 iuipijitance of soil aeration as a factor in crop production. 

 iDaring the years 1913-14 a number of observations and 

 TfsuUs had acenmulated at Quetta, which appeared to be 

 ■most easily explained, on the assumption that the stiff soils of 

 the valley ,?'.fFered from want of aeration, and that in the 

 removal of this factor lay the best line of advance. A similar 

 explanation seemed to underlie numerous other results and 

 observations made in the plains of India and elsewhere. The 

 available evidence in favour of this view having been pub- 

 lished, was the meaiis of setting in motion a great deal of 



-!cxperimental work both ic India and other countries- 

 The connexion between surface drainage, soil aeration, and 

 irrop produstion, and the increase in yield which follows the 



aliahtest improvement in surfac? drainage has been clearly 



■demonstrated. 



During the past year careful experiments have been 

 i^ouduuted both at Pusa and at Quetta on the effect on the 

 yield of the addition of inert materials, such as potsherds and 



49and. In ai! cises increased yieMs have been obtained both 

 in th-? case of cereals and of leguminous crops. Similar results 

 lave been obtained on a large scale on an estate in Bihar, 

 where in 1918 the best yield of wheat was given by the 

 jilot to which 1 inch of broken tiles had been added to the 



naoil. That such resuita are possible can only be explained in 

 one way, namely that the aerition of the soil had been 



•^tffeotive. The increased yield is due to the increase in 



•oxidation which follows the improvement in the porosity of 

 ihe soil. 



The existence of the soil aeration factor furnishes an , 

 vxplanalion of the low yield.'^ of poor quality which always 

 a'ollosr over irrigation on alluvial soils. The texture of these 

 soils deteriorates after being flooded with water. As the soil 



•dries under the hot sun, the surface bakes into a hard crust 

 largely impermeable to air. Each successive irrigation destroys 



■the soil texture more and uKire, and the surface crust becomes 

 iutore and more impermeable to ait. The effect of irrigation on 

 alluvial soils therefore, interfere.? with the ventilation. Irri- 

 gation removes one limiting factor, the want of water, but it 

 introduces another, namely the need of aeration. Successful 

 irrigation, therefore, involves the working out of a practical 

 compromise between the two conflir'tiog factors, water and 



iair, The aim of the irrigator mu.?t not be the mere applica- 

 tion of water, but the provision of water in such a manner a.«i 

 to interfere as little as possible with the aeration of the soil. 

 Confirmatory evidence of the iraportance of soil aeration 

 m agriculture has been abundant in recent agricultural 

 literature. For instance, in the central provinces of India, 

 Mr. Ulouston, the officiating director of agriculture of the 

 entral provinces, his shown that poor laterita soils, of 

 vhich there are millions of acres which have hitherto only 

 jorne occasional crops of inferior inillet in the rains, and 

 ';ave been considered useless for igricultural purposes, in 

 reality possess, in their porosity and good drainage, enor- 

 mous potentialities. With the addition of organic manure 

 and irrigation wa er, very fine crops of various products have 

 been obtained. 



Mr and Mrs Hjward of Pusa, and Mr. Hole of Dohra 

 Oun, have done great service to agriculture in calling atten- 

 tion to the iinportauce of drainage and soil aeration a.s soil 

 factors which count for even more in crop production thaa 

 manuring. 



The necessity for drainage, in order to munit-aia s")l! 

 aeration, most especially in orchard crops such as limss and 

 cacao, has been frequently and cousistently advocated in the 

 publications of the Imperii! Department of Agriculture for 

 the West Indies. 



WEST INDIAN PROBOCTS. 



DRUGS AND SPICBS ON THS LONDON 

 MARKET. 

 Mr. J. R. Jackson, A.L.S., has forwarded the fol- 

 lowing report on the London drug ;ind spice markefi 

 for the month of January 1919:— 



OINGEE. 



There has been very little demand throughout the montii 

 lor this article. At auction on the 2.3fd of the month washed 

 Cochin was quoted atllO.*-., rough Calicut 105.r., Japan 

 80i^., and African 95.c. per cwt. Pimento likewise has been very- 

 dull at an average rate of \d. per ib. Nutmegs were fairly 

 represented at auction on the 9th of the month when some 

 (il packages of West Indian were offered, and 1 9 sold at the 

 following rates; 118"8 at l.v. Zd. Si's to 913, slightly wormy, 

 XQid. to 10|(/. Some 10 bags of garbled Bombay wera 

 also .sold 76"s to S-o'.s at I.e. M. to \s. 6;/., and 90's to lOS's. 

 is. 3hd to is. \d. At the first auction on the 9th of the 

 month mace was represented by 2ij packages of West Indian, 

 bright curly pale fetching 2.f. bd. per lb., fair to good bright 

 pale to reddish \s. \<)d. to 2j\ ^d., ordinary red to fair pala 

 Is. hd. to is. ~d-. aud pickings Is. id. to \d. 



.SAKSAPARILLA. 



At auction on the l-5th of the month sarsaparilla was in 

 abundant supply as folbws: grey Jamaica 62 bales, 28 of 

 which were disposed of, fair to good sound realizin" Zs. 8r<, 

 to 3.f. 10(/. per lb., while for partly damaged by sea-water, 

 and mouldy, 2.f. Crf. to of. 6(/, was paid, and for badly sea- 

 damaged Is. was realized. Of other kinds offered but none 

 disposed of were native Jamaica 133 bales, Lima. Jamaica 41 

 bales, Honduras 28 bales, and Mexican 54 bales: 'is. 6d. 

 per S). was the price asked for the Lima-Jamaica, 3.>'. 9d. for 

 the Mexican, and is. Qd. for the Honduras. 



AREOWROOV, CtTKIf. ACID, LIME JmCE, LIME OIL, KOLA, 

 \lsX> TAMABINDS. 



At aui;tion on the J)th of the month 236 barrels of 

 St. Vincent arrowroot, common to dull fair wera offered, and 

 a!) bought in ;« from I'V. to Is. At the beginning of tha 

 month citric acid was quoted at from 4^. Sd, to 4s. 'dd,' 

 a week later it was to be, obtained at; 0)^.g psasy chsapor, 

 and at the close the price stood at 4j-. 7.^ ' i ! ■ "^ ■'. At tha 

 early part of the month it was rejjortci' atitiea 



of West In 'ian lime jui :!■ had arrive^ ~* :3 



were no quotations as to prices. At ' ;i 



of the month West Indian distilled oil J 



of at 5s. 6d. per lb., \?hile liaud p 



At the some auction kola was fully :•',',)"-■' ;■; :;.j- J6S 

 packages only one of which found a ouyc-r ;i; SJ. psr Ib. for 

 fair bold halves, St. Lucix.. At the same auction as minj as 

 105 barrels of West Indian tamarinds from Barbados were 

 offered in bond, and were heldjat 90.f. 



