Vol. XV. No. 375. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS 



299 



PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURE IN INDIA. 



Though somewhat belated, the report on the progress 

 of agriculture in India for 1 9 H- 15, issued by the Agricul- 

 tural Adviser to the Government of India, contains a large 

 amount of valuable information and shows tlie extent to 

 which both the Imperial and Provincial Agricultural Depart- 

 ments in India have extended their activities during recent 

 years. This report is further of interest in the West Indies 

 in that the general nature of the organization of the Agri- 

 cultural Departments in these islands is parallel to that in 

 India, though, of course, the West Indian organizations are 

 relatively small. Nevertheless, in both the West Indies and 

 India similar agricultural problems have to be faced : they 

 only differ in degree. 



As regards the results obtained at the Agricultural 

 Kesearch Institute, Pusa, reference is made first to the field 

 experiments dealing with the maintenance of soil fertility 

 under double cropping. In regard to chemistry, the conclu- 

 sion of the work on soil temperatures is referred to, as is also 

 the work on the 'clamping' of sugar-cane. In regard to 

 botany, work with wheat has been continued, while the 

 results of the indigo experiments so far undertaken seem to 

 point to the fact that the problem of wilt is solved. Impor- 

 tant work has been accomplished in regard to fibres. After 

 referring to the mycological and entomological work, reference 

 is made to the studies conducted in agricultural bacteriology, 

 which has concerned bacterio-toxiiis in soils. The inhibition 

 of nitrification in water-logged soils was found to be due 

 rather to the action of toxins resulting from certain classes 

 of bacteria which thrive under these conditions than to lack 

 of oxygen merely. It was found that germination in 

 a water-logged soil was interfered with owing to the rapid 

 reduction of nitrate which takes place under such conditions, 

 and it seems probable that the toxins produced under these 

 conditions would not only affect the germination and growth 

 of seedlings, but also alter the character of the soil complex 

 so as to promote reduction of nitrates to nitrites for just so 

 long as this abnormal character persisted. 



Turning to progress in the Provinces, it is learnt that 

 in Bombay, besides progress in the work on some of the 

 special crops like cotton, sugar-cane and fruits, considerable 

 advance has been made in effecting improvements in general 

 farming matters, as for instance, the more extended use of the 

 iron plough. 



In Madras, the most notable events of the year were the 

 admission of twice the usual number of students to the agri- 

 eultural college as a result of the institution of the new 

 courses, and the holding of an agricultural and trade 

 conference in Madras. The activities of the Department 

 during the year were mainly directed towards the selection 

 and distribution of seed of the best varieties of crops, more 

 especially rice and cotton, the two most important crops of 

 the Presidency. 



In the Central Provinces, the Department has continued 

 to make great progress in the development of co-operative 

 organization referred to in previous reports not only for 

 demonstrating improved methods, but also for the production 

 and distribution of a large quantity of seed. 



In Bengal, the work of the Department suffered most 

 owing to paucity of expert staff. Useful work is, however, 

 being done on rice and sugar-cane and date palms. Among 



the crops of the United Provinces, wheat, cotton, and sugar- 

 cane continue to receive most attention during the year. 

 Reference is made to an effort to produce a variety sf sugar- 

 cane possessing qualities fitting it for general cultivation in 

 different parts of the Provinces 



In Punjab, the activities of the Department were mainly 

 concerned with the demonstration and sale of improved 

 implements, and with the spread of improved wheat and 

 cotton .seed. 



The remaining and greater portion of the report deals 

 with progress made in the study of crops and special subjects. 

 The detailed information will prove useful for reference but 

 scarcely needs further attention in this article. 



It may be pointed out in conclusion, that much of the 

 most valuable work accomplished in India is the result 

 of investigaton in economic botany as exemplified by the 

 production of Indian wheats and fruit. The need for 

 extending economic botanical research in the West Indies is 

 clearly indicated; if this were effected, it would soon lead to 

 valuable results Scarcely a single crop in the West Indies 

 has been specifically investigated from a general botanical 

 standpoint. 



Tobacco Fertilizer from Indigo Plant.— The 



residue of the indigo plant, after the extraction of the indican, 

 known commercially as indigo, is used in the Karachi 

 district, and probably also in other parts of India, as a 

 fertilizer for the tobacco, says the United States Consul at 

 Karachi in a recent report. This substance is known locally 

 as "seeth.' The roots of the tobacco plant require free access 

 to air, and seeth breaks up the ground in a way which allows 

 the air to penetrate. Experiments have been made recently 

 by the Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa with the 

 object of securing better results from the use of seeth. The 

 substance his been used for years by the natives, but little 

 scientific work has been done in India until the last ten 

 years. The experiments so far indicate that tobacco soil in 

 which seeth and bits of broken tile or broken chatties (baked 

 clay water-jars) are mixed, produces better crops than soil 

 under no special treatment. The cost is moderate, and the 

 results achieved warrant the extra expense. A plot of 

 tobacco land near Pusa was treated in this way nine years 

 ago, and has shown marked superiority over adjoining plots 

 ever since. Indigo, adds the Consul, has had a remarkable 

 'boom' since the war began, and the amount of seeth 

 available as fertilizer has increased accordingly. (^Journal of 

 the Royal Society of Arts.) 



Grenada Prize Holdings Competition.— The 



Reports of the Judges on the 1915 Cacao Prize Holdings 

 Competition held in various parishes have been received, and 

 the following features of interest are herewith extracted In 

 the parish of St. George's the results of the competition do 

 not appear to have been very satisfactory; there were fewer 

 entries, and the work shown was not equal to last year'.s 

 standard. A similar report has been made by the Judges in 

 St. John's and St. Mark's. In St. Patrick, the work on the 

 whole was good, with the exception of drainage, which was 

 very faulty. The forking and bedding was found to be 

 good, and most peasants used pen manure. The sum devoted 

 to prizes in each parish amounted to about £25. This year 

 the Grenada Prize Holdings Competition is being pushed 

 more actively by the oflicers of the Agricultural Department: 

 this has been facilitated through the appointment of a second 

 Agricultural Instructor. 



