282 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XIX. 



PAPERS READ. 



1. A Cystic Worm found in the Common Cockroach, by Dr. N. F. Surveyor. 



2. The Indian Doum (Hyphcene) Palm, by I. H. Burkill, M. A. 



3. The Flying-fish of India. Do they fly ? by G. F. Pollard, F.Z.S. 



FLORA OF PANCHGANI. 



The Rev. E. Blatter, S.J., read an interesting paper on " The Flora of 

 Panchgani in October," and in the course of his remarks drew attention to a 

 suggested experimental agricultural and horticultural station at Panchgani. 

 He said : — " I should like to point out in this place the advantages of having 

 an experimental station at Panchgani, not only for arboriculture but also for 

 agricultural products. We are most of us aware of the wise policy of the Bom- 

 bay Government during recent years in starling experimental agricultural and 

 horticultural stations in different parts of the Presidency, and scientific agri- 

 culture on this side of India is still in advance of the rest of India, but it is 

 not apparent why Panchgani with its particularly favourable climate has been 

 passed over ? The average rainfall is only 66 inches, whilst the altitude of 

 4,550 feet allows the place to enjoy a temperature similar to that of Maha- 

 bleshwar, without any of its disadvantages. 



Everybody knows that, in general, experimental stations have almost 

 without an exception formed a part of the scheme, wherever the work of 

 agricultural improvement has been taken in hand. The only question is where 

 such stations are needed. There is not sufficient reason for establishing an 

 experimental station in a certain district simply because, in theory, it is a good 

 thing to have a place for trying experiments. The main consideration should 

 be whether there is anything definite to learn, any particular question to solve, 

 and whether this has any relation to the agriculture and arboriculture of the 

 country around. If we can answer these questions in the affirmative an ex- 

 perimental station will be of practical value. When I speak of an experi- 

 mental station I am not thinking of the more specially scientific experimental 

 inquiries such as the finding out of new scientific truths or the testing of 

 scientific theoi'ies by experiments on the nutrition of plants, the assimilation of 

 different soil constituents or of atmospheric gases by plants, the exhaustion 

 produced by continuous cropping, or the effect of extreme application of 

 stimulating salts. I have in mind a more practical kind of experiment, such 

 as the testing of the value of different processes already in use, the economical 

 effect of various manurial ingi-edients upon particular crops, the collection of 

 information regarding the outturn of crops, and especially the introduction 

 and growth of new crops and fruit trees. Such inquiries will be for 

 the benefit of the surrounding agriculture, supposing that the land chosen 

 for the experimental station be composed of soil which is fairly typical of that 

 of the country around, so that the result may be applicable to as large an area 

 of similar land as possible. This is certainly the case with Panchgani. Its 

 lateritic soil is practically the same as that of most of the surrounding hills. 

 It is, besides, on the one hand, naturally not so rich as to call for no improv*^" 



