10 June, 1918.] Fallow Competitions at Goroke. 371 



loams are staunch advocates of plenty of work, while many of those with 

 cementy sands aver that no working other than ploughing is necessary 

 on the fallows, and that anything more is positively harmful. The 

 chances are that, in certain cases, both opinions are right, but in others 

 both are wrong; each piece of fallow must be worked according to its 

 needs, and not by any rule of thumb. 



Advantages of Conserving Moistures ; Early Sowing Advocated. 



There is a general agreement locally that the conservation of moisture 

 at Goroke is unnecessary, owing to the heavy winter rainfall there, and 

 that moisture so conserved — especially in sandy soils — will add to the 

 waterlogging and puddling effect. But it can be shown that there are 

 tremendous advantages in favour of retaining moisture in the fallow, 

 and, further, that this extra moisture does not necessarily increase the 

 puddling. The following is the justification. 



Careful analyzes made from representative samples taken in the 

 field at Goroke during the visit, has demonstrated that those soils (sands 

 or clays) which were merely ploughed and left in the rough, or allowed 

 to become hard and packed, whether after working or not, were prac- 

 tically bone dry. It follows, therefore, that there could have been no 

 bacterial activity, so vitally necessary in producing available food 

 for the plants. That this bacterial activity was lacking, is furthei 

 evidenced by the fact that often the grass turned under at fallowing 

 showed no signs of decay. 



Again, it is of paramount importance at Goroke, where 13.47 inches 

 of rain, out of a total 19.76, falls in the growing period of wheat (May- 

 October), to sow early. The rainfall records for the past twenty years 

 show that only every other year, on the average, does an inch of rain 

 fall in April; while in June the average fall is 3 inches; and further 

 heavy falls are experienced in July, August, and September. Thus, if 

 there be no moisture conserved in the fallow, the light rains of April 

 and May may not be sufficient for the working and the safe seeding of 

 the soil; consequently, the farmer has to wait till June, when there is a 

 grave risk of total loss of the seed or damage to the seedling crop. But, 

 if the fallow be moist, advantage may be taken of light rains, which 

 would otherwise be insufficient to start germination. An early-sown 

 crop will make forward growth while the soil is still warm, and gets 

 its roots well down into the warm soil beneath, and can defy frosts and 

 excess moisture. A vigorous growth will not only draw water out of 

 the soil, but will shelter it from the packing action of the rain, which 

 is the real cause of the setting down of these sandy soils. The greatest 

 quantity of moisture that could possibly be carried over under Goroke 

 conditions would be equivalent, at the most, to 2^ to 3 inches of rain, 

 and the greater part of it would be located in the subsoil, available to 

 the plant, but out of harm's way. The whole of this moisture being 

 already in the soil will not assist in packing, which, as already stated, 

 is caused by the beating of the rain. 



Throughout the judging, I have constantly borne in mind the 

 necessity of conserving moisture, and have awarded points for moisture 

 and for mulch ; but I have been careful to remember that very little 



