794 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[May I, 1886. 



delicacies of the honey-comb, and the essence of the 

 sugarcane, you do not taste in JatVna." Tlie exquisite 

 delicacy of the lam/ni, for instance, or of the Mozuf- 

 ferpore leechee, must be lost upon those who can be 

 poetical over the heavy jak. — Indian A(/rici'Jtiirif>t. 



ll'ntil the Ceylon Patriot condemned the mangoes 

 grown in the calcareous soil and dry climate of the 

 Jaffna Teniusula they were considered the best in 

 Ceylon. We hold to that belief still where the kinds 

 grown are good and receive attention, for oidy 

 recently we ate some from the north which quite 

 composed with " Uonibay mangoes.'' — Ed. 



EXPERIMENTS AVITII FEliTILIZBRS AT THE 



OAWNPORE EXPERIMENTAL FARM. 



Are thus recorded in an official report si'iit to us: — 

 In the series of duplicate plots saltpetre gave the 

 largest yield nf all the single manures. The results 

 of Bp))lying this fertilizer appear to be always, or 

 nearly always, certain : and for cereals it would appear 

 undoubtedly the best. The increase which it has 

 given, compared with ordinary cowdung during the 

 last four years, is as follow : — 



Increase per cent, over mimannred land. 

 Saltpetre. Cowdung. 



1881-82 83 7 



18ai-f<3 101 61 



1883-84 22 34 



1884-85 84 42 



Among the combined manures bone superphosphate 

 yielded fair rcsult-s when applied in combination with 

 saltpetre. It is doubtful, however, whether this 

 manure can ever at present prices come into ordinary 

 use by the Indian cultivator. In the I'iUf Scries 

 the re.5ults of the present season confirm those of 

 previous years, vi.:., that for a cereal crop a soluble 

 nitrogenous manure is essential. This fact is now 

 completely established. The series will therefore be 

 dropped. Applicutivn (\f twcrcmeiit of Ojljf'erent kinds. — 

 The scries appears for the first time. J'oudrette heads 

 the last. Sheep-dung comes last. Green Soilimj. — 

 ludigo plouged in green yiekled a net increase of 

 R27'S per acre, against R19 obtained last year. This 

 difference in favour of the present season is chiefly 

 due to the heavy late rains, which throughly rotted 

 the green plants and allowed of rapid and easy assimil- 

 ation of the fertilizing ingredients. IJsar soil* in the 

 vicinity of Cawnpore was treated in situ with calcic 

 sulphate in the rains of 1884. Barley, gram, and 

 peas were sown, but the land evidently had not 

 time to be pulverized, and the plants, after coming 

 up a few inches above the ground, withered and 

 died. Samples of soil from the usar plain where 

 these experiments were tried have been analyzed, at 

 my request, by Dr. Itomanis, Chemical K.xamiuer 

 British Burma. He is of opinion that the fault lies 

 more in #he mechanical texture than in the chem- 

 ical nature of the soil. The report which Dr. Remains 

 very kindly prepared is appended. 



■\\'o add further e.xtracts: l\ep Ploiii/hivi/. — Taking 

 the average of all the experiments, deep ploughing gave 

 an increase over the ordinary shallow country ploughing 

 of ; 3'5 per cent when the land WiS ploughed !' inches 

 deep and 435 per cent when iilonghed 5 inches deep, 

 although the number of shallow ploughings was twice 

 AS many as of the deep ploughing. lu order to give 

 practical proof of the wisdom of deep ploughing, 

 ploughmen from this experimental .station, under the 

 charge of apprentices, have been sent out to five 

 selected districts with the new (duplex) plough, and 

 are now touring about in these districts, ploughing 

 for ciiUivalers wherever they get a chance. It is no 

 »»e exhibitini.' a new plough when ploughing opiritions 

 are ever. The important matti'r h to catch thi' people 

 while ploughing is going on and drive the new 

 plough in the fielils side by side with com- 

 mon country implement. The work done thus in 

 ordinary course naturally draws the attention of the 



« Soil rendered in fertile by a saliuc iu floresconce, 

 titteii the result of • irrigater,— Ed, 



cultivator. If we are ever to get deep ploughing into 

 the heads of the people, this, it seems to me, i.s the 

 only way. The district officers of the five selected 

 districts and some of the selected zamiudars and 

 talnkdars have cordially co-operated. The reports 

 of progress received up to date arc encouraging. 

 The addition of gram as well as peas to wheat and 

 barley crops seems to result in a large aggregate 

 yield. This explains why the Indian farmer is so 

 fond of mixtures. 



RE,SOURCES OF UPPER BURMA* 



Note by Dr. Remains, Chemical Examiner, on his 

 return from the Upper Burmah exjiedition. — AuRicor.T- 

 UBE. — There is little cultivation from Thayetmyo to 

 Nyaungu, near Pagan, except near Sinbyugynm at 

 the mouth of the Salen river ; and the country is dry 

 and barren. From Pagan to Ava the west bank, in- 

 cluding the delta and valley of the Ohandwin, is fertile. 

 l^Iyingyan, which may be considered the commercial 

 capital of Upper Burma, is the centre of this di.strict. 

 The staples are maize, millet, sesamum, pulse, and 

 cotton, the latter exported to China. The east bank 

 round about Jlandalay and towards the south-east 

 along the valley — the Myitnge— is a rice-growing district, 

 about 30 miles in length by 15 in breadth. Between 

 Myadaung and Bamaw, both on the Irrawady aud 

 north of Mandalay, i.s a sparsely inhabited (listrict 

 which seems fertile, but is reported to be very un- 

 healthy. 



MiNKRALS. — Coal occurs at three localities on the 

 west bank near Thingadaw and at Kabaing nearly 

 opposite on the East bank, and is reported to be found 

 near Sagaing opposite Ava. Good coal is reported to 

 occur at Kale on the Ohiudwin far to the north- 

 west. The Thingadaw coal was worked by the Bur- 

 mese for some time. 



PETnoi.ErJi. — The best known locality is Yenang- 

 yaung about 70 miles south of Pagan on "the Irrawady. 

 The oil here is very viscid, flowing slowly into the 

 wells. It contains much paraffin. At Pagan on the 

 west bank of the river, and a short distance from it, 

 there was a well flowing some time ago rather more 

 limpid, also containing paraffin. There is said to be 

 petroleum in the Yaw countiy west of the Tangyi 

 hills opposite Pagan ; it is described as flowing 

 from springs at the surface of the ground. It is said 

 to be more limpid than tho Yenangyauug oil, resembl- 

 ing the Boronga oil. It is only used locally as there 

 are no roads in that district. The yield from Yenang- 

 yatnig is estimated at 600,00<) viss, or 1,000 tons per 

 mensem. There are two groups of wells there, about 

 three miles from the river, with about 20O wells pro- 

 ducing oil, many others exhausted. The oil occurs iu 

 little basins like the Baku oil and unlike the American, 

 which seems to form subterranean lakes. 



Ii>-ON. — Iron was once worked at Pupadaung, 30 

 miles from Pagan. The manufacture is now discon- 

 timied. 



SiivKR. — Silver and lead are brought from the Shan 

 States ly'ng to the east of I'pper Burma. The great 

 silver mine at Bawdwingyi is now flooded and not 

 worked . 



Goi.o. — Cold is saiil to occur at Bamaw, but, it is 

 believed it comes really from Yunan lying to the 

 further north of .Shan S'atcs. 



Pr.ATixi'M. — Platinum is said to occur in the saud 

 of the I'liindwin near Kaimi. A large quantity of 

 what was supposed to be platinum ore luis lately been 

 collected and sent to England from this locaHty. 1 



* From Rangoon, the capital town of Lower Burnia, 

 to IMandalay the scat of (imernment of the late king 

 of U]iprr Burma, the river 1 1 »\.rly .stretches almost 

 (hw nnv'h. Thayetmyo lies at a dista?ice of nearly 

 200 miles; north of Thayetjnyo is the town of Pagan. 

 Avi lies to the north-easi of the latter place at a 

 distance of nearly loo miles in direct line. Half way 

 between Ava and Pagan is the town of Myingyau, 

 the connnercial capital of I'pper I'.urma. From Ava 

 to Mandalay the ilistauce is about '20 miles. All tliesa 

 towns are situated ou the east bank of tbe Irrawady, 



