Vol. VII. No. 167 



THE AGRIClfLTURAL NEWS. 



295 



Morris, K.C.M.G., and therefore strongly urges on His 

 Majesty's Government the increasing, and indeed vital, 

 importance of takiiig immediate steps to establish this 

 ])epartment on a permanent basis, both in the interests of 

 the cotton industry, and for the fostering and safe-guarding 

 of trojiical agriculture generally, not only in the West Indies, 

 but throughout the whole of the Empire. This Conference is 

 further of opinion that the operations of the Department 

 ^uay with advantage be extended in the general scope and 

 value of its, work, and more particularly in the o[)portunitios 

 it can furnish fur education in tropical agriculture, and 

 would strongly urge that the existing grants from Imperial 

 funds should nf)t in any way l)e reduced. 



This Conference would further venture to impress on Hi.s 

 Majesty's Government that the futlire prosperity of the 

 whole Empire is largely dependent on the development of 

 cotton and other raw materials and agricultural products, 

 and that it is essential that there should lie a permanent 

 central department for the purpose of investigation, experi- 

 ment, instruction, and education, and for the co-ordination, 

 collection, and di.ssenunation of information, which work 

 must be consistently and continuously carried on ; and that 

 to ensure unity of purpose in the crindnct of such a Depart- 

 ment the foundation of it nuist be an an Imperial liasis. It 

 is further resolved that copies of this ri'solution be sent 

 to the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, 

 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the President of the Board 

 of Trade, the President of the Roard of Agriculture, and 

 also to the principal Chambers of Commerce and other 

 associations. 



In a letter accompanying copies of the resolution 

 sent out, Mr. J. Arthur Hutton, Chairman of the 

 British Cotton-growing Association, draws attention to 

 the facts that British tropical colonies are dependent 

 on the development of agriculture, and that it is 

 principally by such development thtt their prosperity 

 and purchasing power can be increased. This prosper- 

 ity would not be limited to the colonies concerned, but 

 would result also in considerable benefit to manufac- 

 turers and wage earners in Great Britain as well. 



THE WATER PROBLEM IN 

 AGRICULTURE. 



Under the above heading there appeared in Ntitare 

 of August b last, an interesting review ot several 

 papers that have lately been published in various 

 journals dealing with the (piestion of the conservation 

 of the water supply on agricultural lands. This 

 is a question which is worthy of attention in all 

 countries, and is one of pressing importance in districts 

 where the rainfall is fiequcntly deficient during the 

 growing season of the chief crojis cultivated. Tiie follow- 

 ing extracts are given from the article in (piestion : — 



The increasing use of artificial manures and of improved 

 tillage implements has rendered possibli' an incnasc in the 

 amount of produce obtained from a given area of land, and 

 attention has during the [last few jk'ars been directed to 

 another factor, viz., the water supply, which at [iresent limits 

 crop production in a number of cases. The amount of water 

 actually transpired through the crop dei>ends on too many 

 circumstances to be statefl with precision, but it may be 

 j-oucddy estimated at .300 ttj. or more for every pound of dry 

 matter produced, .so that if 2 tons of dry matter are produced 



j>er acre, at least 600 terns of water, equal to 6 inches of rain, 

 will be u.sed in transpiration, quite apart from what is lost 

 by evaporation, [lercolation, etc. A crop of this size is by no 

 means excessive ; indeed, m some types of inten.se cultivation 

 three times as nuich pmdace would be aimed at. 



In order that a large proportion of the rain-water should 

 remain near the surface of the soil within reach of the plant 

 roots, it is obviously necessary to reduce loss by per- 

 colation and evaporation. The [iractical man in dry districts 

 has succeeded in evolving methods which go some way to doing; 

 this. The methods and implements used by the iladras cultiva- 

 tors are described by Mr. H. C. Samp.son in the AjriniUund 

 Jonninl of India. In some districts, recourse is had to deep 

 ploughing with a heavy plough, followed by a lighter [ilough, 

 and then when the crop is up the land is hoed. In other 

 districts the plough is tlie oidy tillage implement used. But in 

 practically all cases the plan is to stir the surface of the soil 

 after a rain, and to keep the toj) soil loo.se during the gnnvth 

 of the crop. The methods adojited in the arid regions of the 

 United States include deep ploughing, followed by harrowing,, 

 so as to get the soil into a fine state. Harrowing is, as a rule, 

 repeated after each rain. When the crop is up the surface 

 soil is frequently stirred. It seems definitely established that 

 when the top layer of soil is in a loose condition it retain.s 

 water better than if it is compact, but the loose condition 

 must be maintained by constant stirring. 



The gain in water content may probably be ascribed to 

 decreased evaporation, for water evaporates less freely from 

 loose than from comjiact soil. The explanation usually given 

 is that the movement of water in soils (apart from the 

 gravitational How) is a surface-ten.sion effect similar to the 

 rise of water in capillary tube.s, and is therefore facilitated 

 when the spaces between the particles are diminished, and 

 iuqaeded when the sj)accs are kept large. Frequent stirring 

 of the soil, which prevents it from becoming compact, reduces 

 the capillary movement of water to the surface, anif conse- 

 quently lessens the evaporation. 



One of the papers dealt with in tiie article 

 appearing in Nature is entitled ' The Loss of Water 

 from Soil during ])ry Weather,' by Dr. J. W. Leather, 

 of the Agricultural Experiment Station, Pusa, Bengal. 

 L)r. Leather's paper contains an interesting series of 

 determinations of the water content in a soil at Pusa, 

 taken to a depth of 7 feet, at varying dates during 

 the dry season. It is shown that the water content of 

 a cubic foot of soil at the surface fell from 1897 lb. on 

 September 19 to lO-H ft. on June 15 in the following 

 year. On the other hand, the water content in a 

 cubic foot, taken at a depth of 7 feet below the surface 

 fell only from 26'42 ft. to 2400 ft. during the same 

 period. The occurrence of occasional showers of rain 

 during this time appears to have affected only the water 

 content of the soil at the surface. Taken as a whole, 

 the chief point indicated by Dr. Leather's figures, 

 is that the rate of loss diminishes as the depth increases. 



The report for 1907-8 of the Government Analyst of 

 British Guiana .states, that 973 .samples of milk were officially 

 analy.sed during the year. Of these, 13-5, or 139 per cent., 

 were found to be adulterated. This represents a very .satis- 

 factory decline in the practice of adulteration, the figure being 

 lower than any [)reviously recorded. Last year the percentage 

 of adulterated samples was 161 \\n cent., and in the previous- 

 year 17 '4: per cent. 



