Vol. X. No. 230. 



THE AGHICULTUEAL NEWS. 



149 



something similar, was fitted, for tlio purpose of regulating the 

 size of the jet of water produced when the bulb is squeezed. 

 An arrangement of this kind is suitable for huge flowers, 

 such as those of the Conipositae and Leguminosae. 

 For every small and fragile flowers, however, the jet of 

 water formed in this way is too largo: it may be obtained 

 of a suitable size from bulbs of the kind sold for 

 the use of dentists. Where many flowers are being treated, 

 several such bulbs arc used, each being placed, compressed, 

 in a bowl of water, after it has been employed; so that by 

 the time it is required again, it has e.xpanded and filled 

 itself. Other useful bulbs are similar to those used on 

 photographic cameras; these can be adapted for the work by 

 fitting them with jets made from drawn out glass tubing. 



Information is given regarding the kinds of forceps that 

 are most suited to the needs of the plant breeder. The 

 suggestion is made that those in common use would be more 

 suited to the work required of them if they were sup)plied 

 with a flattened pin attached to the handle and pointing 

 away from the ends of the forceps. The special advantage of 

 such an attachment is that it makes it unnecessary for the 

 operator to lay down one tool and take up another while he is 

 performing a piece of work that requires his undivided 

 attention. An arrangement of the kind can be easily obtained 

 by tying a needle t(j the handle of an ordinary pair of 

 forceps. 



Detailed particulars are presented of the way in which 

 depollinaticn by water may be employed in the case of 

 alfalfa. Those are followed by a description of a means by 

 which these flowers, as well as others, may be depoUinated 

 by using compressed air. In this method, after the flower 

 has been prepared for the removal of the pollen, the stamens 

 are subjected to a current of air coming from a small cylinder 

 at a pressure of 20 lb. It has been found convenient for the 

 nozzle of the air tube to be held about i-inch from the 

 stamens, by an assistant. Satisfactory cross-pollination has 

 been effected with the aid of this means, but the success was 

 not as great as when a jet of water was used in depoUination. 



WILD INDIGO AS A GREEN 



MANURE. 



Intbniialion concerning wild indigo {TepJirosia 

 purpurea), used ns a green manure, has appeared in 

 the Agricultural Neivs, Vols. VIII, p. 405; IX, p. 281; 

 and X, p. 75. The following is taken from an article 

 in the Aqrlculturdi Journal of India, Vol. VI, 

 p. 88:— 



Wild indigo is an erect .shrub growing up to 3 feet in 

 height and 3 feet in diameter at the top. The plant belongs 

 to the family of pulses, and is recognized as one of the best 

 green manure crops there is in the country. It has a long 

 tap root which strikes on plant food from the deeper layers 

 of the soil and is a means of improving the texture and the 

 moisture-retaining quality of the land. It possesses the 

 power or means of absorliing nitrogen from the air. 



The plant is generally found on high level waste lands, 

 plains, and fallow lands which are fairly loose in te.xture. It 

 is keenly sought after for manure, during the cultivation 

 season, when it is s[>read and trodden in the land which has 

 been puddled for the sowing or transplanting of paddy. 



The Agricultural J)epartment [of India] is taking much 

 interest in spreading the practice also in other districts by 

 purchasing the required quantity of seed at Sivagiri. Durinc 



the present season the Department purchased 200 bags, or 

 more than 1-i tons, of seed for the district of Tanjore alone. 



The seed should be first sown on the land at a rate of 

 three Madras measures, or 10 lb., per acre, and then covered 

 with one or two ploughings, as is generally done in the case 

 of pulse crops. 



It may also be sown along with gingelly [sesame {Sesa- 

 mum indicuiii)] as a mixture, when it thrives and forms a good 

 green manm-e after the harvest of gingelly. When sown under 

 favourable conditions, a good portion of the seed germinates 

 within about a week, the remaining poi'tion sprouting in batch- 

 es at different times later on. The chief peculiarity of this seed 

 is that it lies dormant in the soil for even a year without 

 losing its vitality. There are several instances in which the 

 seed did not germinate in the first season it was sown, but 

 yielded a satisfactory green manure crop after the succeeding 

 crop of paddy had been harvested, the seed lying dormant in 

 the soil throughout the period the paddy crop was occupy- 

 ing the land. 



Occasional showers help the crop to come up well, but 

 continuous heavy rains producing water-logged conditions 

 even for a day would kill it, especially a young crop. The 

 crop should therefore be sown at the end of the rainy season. 

 After five or six months' growth it can be ploughed in and 

 applied as green manure for the succeeding grain crop. 



As goats and cattle do not relish wild indigo, there is no 

 fear of the crop being destroyed by stray animals. 



This crop will not grow on stitt'and saline soils, but 

 even these are known to bear a crop of wild indigo when 

 improved by continuous and heavy applications of tank silt, 

 sand and leaf manure, obtained from outside. 



Wild indigo can also be sown on dry land as a mixture 

 with gingelly or with the final hoeing of other crops. In 

 this case also, it can be applied as a manure by being 

 ploughed in either standing, or after being cut and spread on 

 the land. 



As has been stated already in the Agricultural 

 News, seeds of wild indigo have been obtained by the 

 Department from Java and distributed, for trial, among 

 the different Botanic and Experiment Stations in the 

 West Indies. 



Agriculture in the Straits Settlements. — 



According to Colonial RejMvts — Annual, No. G63, dealing 

 with the Straits Settlements in 1909, the increase of rubber- 

 planting in Singapore was phenomenal during that time; there 

 was also a slight increase in cocoa-nut planting and in that of 

 indigo, citronella grass, ginger and ground nuts, while pepper 

 and gambler showed signs of a return; pine-apple and veget- 

 able cultivation decreased considerably: the soy bean proved 

 a failure. In Penang and Province Wellcsley, there was 

 a large increase in the area under rubber; the exports of 

 tapioca, cocoa-nuts, nutmegs and rice were larger than those 

 of the previous year, while those of copra and cloves were 

 smaller: the cultivation of native, or basket sugar, has almost 

 disappeared, on account of the sale of their lands by the 

 natives, to Europeans, for rubber-growing. The impulse to 

 rubber-planting in the above-mentioned places was shared by 

 Malacca, where large areas of land were applied for during 

 the latter part of the year, though many of the applications 

 could not be finally dealt with: the plants were generally 

 healthy. The output of tapioca and gambler has decreased, 

 beca,use these plants are now grown chiefly as catch crops for 

 rubber. Attention was being given to cocoa-nut planting, 

 but the extension of this was limited by the interest in 

 rubber. 



