Vol. X. No. 337. 



THE AQKICULTURAL NEWS. 



163 



staffs of the various Government Departments. There 

 are several reasons for this. In tlie first place, it 

 is far easier to work in a large and properly equipp- 

 ed central laboratory than in small isolated ones. At 

 the same time, the work receives material assistance 

 from the concentration of effort, the free access to liter- 

 ature from all parts of the world, contiiining informa- 

 tion on mycological subjects, and the sympathetic inter- 

 course between men engaged in similar study, all of 

 which are onlv obtainable at a central laboratory. 



The increasing demand for plant pathologists makes 

 it important that some sufficient means should be found 

 for supplying properly trained men, and in this it would 

 be of great assistance if the Universities would provide 

 adequate courses of instruction, not only in the methods 

 of mycology and in those of its application, but also in 

 general tropical agriculture. The demand for such men 

 will in course of lime become limited, but it will always 

 be constant. .Such a training might with advantage be 

 followed by a year's research work at the laboratory" of 

 one of the tropical Departments of Agriculture. Facili- 

 ties for this exist at Piisa in India, arxl also in Ceylon, 

 and Java, for the East, and in the Imperial Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, for the West. 



Although very rapid progress has been made in 

 recent years, both in the actual knowledge of plant 

 diseases, and in the recognition by the world at large, 

 and by Governments in particular, of the importance 

 of this, yet much more work must be done, and 

 many more men must be employed, before the full 

 advantage of the scientific knowledge which is even 

 now available can be obtained by agricultural commu- 

 nities. 



DRY FARMING IN INDIA. 



In certain jiarts of India a good crop is obtained liy 

 cultivators with 1.5 inches of rain if it is properly distributed, 

 and there are many cereal and other crops which are suitable 

 for dry land cultivation. But a sj'steniatic knowledge of 

 each of the operations which go to make dry farming 

 possible is highly necessary to enable the Agricultural 

 Dejiartments to see whether local methods of dry farming 

 are susceptible of improvement. In 19ri8 the Department 

 of Agriculture, Bonibay, commenced e.\periments in this 

 connexion at I'ahuri in Ahmednagar district which has an 

 average rainfall of about 20 inches, Tliese experiments 

 have since been transferred to a plot near Ahmednagar for 

 more convenient supervision. They are l>eing conducted on 

 the following lines: (1) to increase the capacity of the .soil 

 to store water, (a) \>y deeper and more thorough preparatory 

 tillage, (b) by packing the soil by sulisoil packer and heavy 

 roller; (2) to prevent evaporation by better intertillage; 

 (3) to allow the individual plant to get more water 



by thinner seeding and wider spacing and thus admit of more 

 mearly perfect development; (4) to as.sist germination by 

 (a) moistening seed, (li) firming after planting; (.5) to attempt 

 to increase the amount of stored water by bunding and im- 

 pounding. Deeper ploughing before tbe rains for a 'rabi' 

 crop has been found to give an incre.nsed yield of about 60 

 per cent. By practising interculture every week from 

 .sowing time till the [ilants are too large for passing bullocks 

 between them, a substantial increa.se in the yield was obtained. 

 With the use of the drill IS inches apart the results obtained 

 were much Iietter than with the 9 inches drill. The increase 

 in the yield by the reduction of the seed rate to half gave 

 striking results, the yield being increased by 75 per cent. 

 This might be an advantage in localities where grain has 

 a higher value than fodder. 



In view of the importance to India of dry farming, steps 

 have been taken for the representation of the Government of 

 India on the International Dry Farming Congress of America, 

 and the Inspector General of Agriculture has been made 

 Vice-President for the Indian Section of the British Empire 

 with Mr. H. C. Sampson, Deputy Director of Agriculture, 

 JIadras, as corresponding Secretary. (Report on the Progress 

 of Agriculture in India for l'J09-lli^ p. 75.) 



LEGISLATION AGAINST NOXIOUS WEEDS. 



The subject of legislation against noxious weeds 

 periodically arouses interest in parts of the West Indies, 

 when various suggestions are put forward in connexion 

 with it. In relation to proposals for such legislation, 

 the following passage contains inf<)rmation of impor- 

 tance; it is taken from Farmers' Bulletin N". .54, of the 

 Transvaal Dejaartmcnt of Agriculture, entitled Noxious 

 Weed Regulaflons, which has been received through 

 the courtesy of Mr. J. Burtt-Davy, Government Agros- 

 tologistand Botanist for the Department of Agriculture 

 of the Union of South Africa: — 



At congresses and meetings it is sometimes suggested 

 that the Government is not taking sufficiently active measures 

 to ci>pe with the no.Kious weeds of the country, and many 

 additions to the list have been suggested. 



I am convinced, however, that in such matters it is best to 

 pursue a conservative policy. It is an easy matter to proclaim 

 a weed as noxious, but a very dilferent thing to enforce the law, 

 especially in a country as thinly populated as South Africa. 

 To tax the fanner heavily for tlie eradication of weeds, before 

 it is well established and his farm imiiroved and well stocked, 

 might greatly hinder agricultural development. Aloreover, 

 weeds like the Mexican marigold {Tagetes inimUa), cosmos 

 (Coxmos bipinnatus), and darnel {Lolinm temulenturii) may 

 be kej't in check with little difficulty by proper tillage of the 

 soil. Better tillage would be to the farmer's advantage, but 

 it would not be advisable to pass legislation to force him to 

 till his soil. The remedy lies in the hands of the farmer 

 him.self; for such ca.ses he does not need protection against 

 his less enterprising neighbour. 



With burweed, cockle-bur and dodder, and some other 

 weeds, however, the case stands on an entirely different foot- 

 ing. The.se weeds ruin the veldt for grazing purposes; they 

 damage wool and mohair, two sta[)Ie products of the country; 

 they cannot be eradicated by ordinary farm practice, but 

 extra labour and extra expense, of an unremunerative charac- 

 ter, are required to get rid of them. Against such pests, 

 therefore, it is desirable for the State to legislate. 



